The Swim
My swimming is the one sport where I feel like everything is clicking right now. My stroke is feeling smoother than ever (thanks to a great lesson from Fitz at Chicago Blue Dolphins a couple months back) and my times in the pool are reflecting the hard work I've been putting in.
Since my regular indoor pool is now closed until August, I spent some time trying to find alternative locations to swim for the next couple weeks until my local outdoor community pool opens after Memorial Day. I've always been an early morning swimmer (dictated by the pool schedule) but I was forced to alter my schedule a bit this week to be able to swim at some pools that are close to my office. I found a couple that are great and within 10 minutes of the office so I just zip over at lunch, knock out a workout and get back to work by 1:00. I traditionally have done my run workouts over lunch, so by flip-flopping the times of these sessions I've found that my body actually handles this training load better. Plus, the swim is such a good recovery from a hard run!
This week was my first open water swim (OWS) of the year. It was so great getting back to the lake even if there were huge seaweed and algae colonies to swim through! I've never seen anything like it. I'd be swimming along then meet a huge mass of slimy algae head on. Disgusting, but manageable. These OWSs will become a weekly session every Friday from now until IM in September.
The Bike
I pretty much got right back on the horse after Sunday's half marathon. I was a little nervous about doing a bike trainer session Monday morning but I really want to jump start the bike fitness so I gave it a go with decent success.
I was also able to get in back-to-back bike workouts over the weekend which is one of the hallmarks of Endurance Nation Ironman training. No weekend races or other things to get in the way this week. I didn't feel my best during the second ride but I put in a solid effort in some very warm and humid weather. I was also playing around more with my bike position during these weekend rides - I feel quite a bit more comfortable in the saddle and cockit. Just a couple more tweaks to make over the coming weeks and I think I'll have my IMWI position pretty dialed in.
The Run
After the build up over the last several weeks for Sunday's half marathon, I pulled back the reigns a bit on the mileage to give the body a break. Even though I'm feeling great, I've found that this can be the time when injury can abruptly present itself.
Key sessions were a track/speed workout, long-ish run and a few easy, short "recovery" runs. I'm loving the track workouts and will probably continue to do at least one per week if my body responds well to it.
Body Composition
I had a pretty intense focus on body comp in the weeks leading up to the half marathon, so I decided to give it a rest for the week and allow myself a few indulgences. I may get back at it prior to my big bike weekend over Memorial Day weekend (easier to carry a few less pounds up those Madison, WI area hills to stay with the stud riders).
Here are the day-to-day training highlights for the week:
Monday: Short early morning trainer session with 4 x 5' at FTP as the main set. Great high effort 3,400m swim in a new (to me) pool during my lunch hour.
Tuesday: Early morning speed workout at the high school track up the road. Tough getting the legs to wake up but hit the intervals well.
Wednesday: 75' on the trainer with some long FTP intervals then a 20' easy brick run after.
Thursday: Pilates and yoga in the morning. Solid 10 mile run during lunch with 2 x 2 mile intervals at threshold pace. Felt great the whole run like I could have gone all day.
Friday: First open water swim of the year: 1.6 miles and faster than my best from 2009 despite the the cool, rainy weather and algae/seaweed slowing me down!
Saturday: Just under 3 hours in the saddle at .8 IF & 187 TSS. Still tweaking position.
Sunday: 2 hr ride at .79 IF & 123 TSS followed by 30' brick run at 7:05 pace. Hot & humid finally. I love it!
Data for the week:
Time spent training: 11:56
Time spent at or above FTP on bike: 46'
Time spent at or below LTHR pace on run: 35'
Avg bike Intensity Factor (% of FTP) = .808
Mileage: 167
Training Stress Score (TSS): 860
Chronic Training Load (CTL): 103.4 TSS/d
Training Stress Balance (TSB): -24.7
Weight: 170.0 lbs
Functional Threshold Power (FTP): 293 watts
Vdot: 54.3
Performance Management Chart (PMC) through week 20:
Life Outside of Triathlon
Now that the weather is warming up, Drew wants nothing to do with being inside! He's constantly playing in the yard with his lawn mower or riding around on his "bike" (a 4-wheel scooter). I wouldn't want it any other way - I hope he retains this desire to be outside as he gets older because there are way too many kids who don't get their butts up off the couch to explore the outdoors.
Another highlight was Drew's first trip to a petting zoo. He was a little freaked out at first actually seeing real, live animals from his books but after 15 minutes we couldn't tear him away. A ride in a trailer behind a tractor quickly distracted him. It was such a fun afternoon!
We're also in the middle of a few house projects. We've been doing quite a bit of landscape work and the yard is finally starting to look pretty good and tidy now. We also have a contractor doing a couple indoor projects for us: turning our laundry room into a mud room with built-in lockers and re-facing our fireplace with stone (replacing the old, red brick) and new doors. Should all be complete in the next couple weeks.
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