IMLP Training Recap: Week 20

Happy Monday to everyone!  We finally had some nice weather here.  I really wish I could have ridden outside on Sunday, but it was just not in the cards.  Overall, I am still feeling good.  I notice a definite difference cardio-wise.  My coach told us that anything at the "endurance pace" should be done at a pace where you feel you could go all day long.  My runs and bikes this week were exactly like that.

I'm looking forward to Lake Placid next week!  Hopefully the weather will be good.  Temps up there are all over the place right now but seem to be around 50 degrees. Except this Wednesday when snow is predicted.  Please don't snow when we are up there.

Week 20:

Swam: 57 minutes (2,650 yards)
Biked:  3:36 hours (all on trainer - watch says 48.8 miles)
Ran:  2:58 hours (20.04 miles)

Workouts:

Monday - Rest Day!  Yay! 
Tuesday - long swim
Wednesday - bike with speed intervals + 2 mile shake out run
Thursday - easy brick
Friday - long run at endurance pace
Saturday - endurance pace run
Sunday - long endurance pace bike

Monday was a rest day.  I really needed it after my hard effort at the Philadelphia Love Run half marathon the day before.  My quads were really sore!  I enjoyed every second of my rest day.  I capped it off by using my stick roller on my screaming quads, which is definitely a love/hate exercise.  It hurts so much when I do it, but feels great after.

Tuesday was a long swim, which felt really good and helped loosen up my still kind of tight quads.  This swim workout is one I'm growing to like: 200 yards easy, four sets of 600 yards (150 easy/50 semi-hard and then repeat 3xs), and an easy 50 cool-down.  The 600 yard intervals seem a little daunting, but breaking them up into 200s makes it go pretty fast.  I was really psyched when someone joined my lane and I was lapping her.  Until I realized she was about 50 years older than me.  [still ... I won. #nailedit]

Wednesday and Thursday were bike+run workouts.  Usually, I do my bike and shake out runs in immediate succession kind of like a brick, but on Wednesday I had to drop off the kids at school, so I did the bike early and then took them to school and then did the run after drop-off but before work.  This was the first time I ran since the race and it felt good and I was very fast.  Ditto Thursday's run.  That brick was ah-maz-ing and it helped that it was nice and warm and sunny on the run!  Short sleeves! See?


Oh and ... who wants tickets to the gun show?  I should mention that I also have many leather bound books and my apartment smells of rich mahogany.   If you want to go fisticuffs, fine. I've got Jack Johnson and Tom O'Leary ready for ya.



My arms are getting really cut and it's all due to swimming.  I used to do an at-home workout with free weights at least once a week, but I have stopped that because I work out every.single.day and I would much rather enjoy my down time with a beer [currently a rotation of Hop Devil, Dirt Wolf and Stella] on my couch than do more workouts.  Plus, the swimming is making my upper body pretty darn strong.   And beer seems to be a vital carb in my training.  And a vital part of happiness.  And life.

Friday! Friday was a 90 minute run at endurance pace.  I really loved the conditions: cool, kind of damp and overcast.  A little Eeyore-like but it meant I would be perfectly comfortable the entire time.  I wore short sleeves and arm warmers and capris and that was the perfect mix.  I put on my most mellow playlist, settled in and enjoyed a truly comfortable pace.  It felt terrific.


There were two hiccups on this run, though.  First, about 3 miles in, I realized I absolutely needed new sneakers and new inserts. My arches were bothering me, which means it's too late.  I rectified that by purchasing new shoes (Saucony Ride) at lunch. The second hiccup involved an idiot driver.  I was coming to the corner of two roads, which always makes me nervous because drivers - especially in the morning - don't really look both ways when they are at intersections, so I need to look out and assume they don't see me.  In this case, the guy didn't look and didn't see me and cut that corner very close.  I ran out of the way and smacked my left thigh into a guardrail.  I yelled some choice words that may have involved a few body parts, but the guy kept going.  I have a huge bruise on my thigh to show for it.  :(

long run = fuel belt time
Saturday's run was thankfully uneventful.  I had a great run - faster than the day before and it was sunny and warm.  I felt a little perkier, so I went with poppity pop songs that were very happy and covered in glitter.  I wore my new sneaks with new inserts and they were amazing.  Not gonna lie: I don't love the color scheme on my sneakers at all (especially after my old ones which were beautiful and super reflective and neon pink and orange).  But ... I know it will be time to replace these bad boys in early July, so I will at least have sneakers that I love at Ironman.  I also realized it's time once again for speed laces.  I have a pair of hot pink ones which I need to put on my shoes ASAP.  Maybe they'll make me like my new sneakers' colors a bit more.




Sunday:  I had a 2 hour bike ride on the trainer.  All endurance pace.  Not much to say about two hours on the trainer.  It was fine.  I got it in.  It felt good.  I watched HGTV and played on my iPad.  

See you swoon,

No comments:

Post a Comment