Triathlon Training Log: 5/26 - 6/1 (Week 1)

I should subtitle this week's entry:

"How not to train for a triathlon."

The good news is that I finally managed to get a decent Rest Week in.  Last week was both Memorial Day and my birthday, and so although I still somehow managed to go over 100 points for the week, I also took three days off from working out--together, in the middle of the week--so that by the time this week started, I was feeling like myself again.


Swim:
I got in the water twice this week.  The first time was at Tri Practice on Tuesday.  My friend Ben and I did our respective warm-ups and then did 5 x 200 @ 3:00 and 15 x 100 @ 1:30 as a single set.  That workout was really competitive.  I worked the 200s hard, with the goal of negative splitting each rep and keeping the pace under 2:30 overall.  That turned out to be harder than it sounds, but I managed it (finally) on reps four and five.  But I was tired after that, and Ben kicked my ass for the ensuing 15 x 100.  He just kept closing me out in the last 25-yards of every single rep.  It was frustrating because I could not stop it no matter how hard I tried, but it was also a great swim for him, and that's rewarding, too.

I got in the water again Saturday morning for a longer, more considered workout, and that was great, but it was also 4200 yards total and it left me feeling fuzzy-headed for the rest of the day.

Swimming Total: 2 x Swim (3050; 4200); 72.5 pts

For what it's worth, I realize that I've been doing more swim-focused training this season, and that's been at least partially deliberate.  First off, I've actually enjoyed being in the water for the first time in a long time this year, and secondly, without any specific races in my future, there hasn't been a good reason not to spend time doing what makes me feel good.


Bike:
I rode my regular commute ride twice.  That was no big deal, but I made an effort on Friday to take it easy.  For what it's worth, I ought to do that more often.

Cycling Total: 2 x commute ride (22 miles); 22 pts


Run:
There was a stuck bridge in Norwalk on Thursday morning, and as a result, I wound up taking an unscheduled day off.  As it happens, Thursday was beautiful, and I didn't mind having to use the vacation day at all.  I'd planned to ride my regular commute and then put in a run of maybe 30 minutes at lunch, but since I was home, I decided to do that same amount of work but to run all of it.

I've done a lot of swimming and a decent amount of riding this month, but until Thursday, I'd not run at all in more than two weeks, and even before that, I'd not run more than 10 miles in a week since the beginning of the month.  Again, I am not training for anything specific, so there didn't seem to be any reason to force the issue with running, and I've been putting in plenty of work overall, but still... Running is my weakest discipline, and it's bad form--at a minimum--to let your weakest discipline lag like that.

I started off thinking I was gonna run maybe seven or seven and a half.  But I got a little more than four miles in, and I realized that it was never gonna happen.  Part of that was maybe down to nutrition (i.e. I didn't eat enough in the morning before heading out), but a larger part came from a simple lack of conditioning.  I'm in decent aerobic shape, but running is its own animal, and I got tired out there.  So I cut it short and came back at six miles total, and afterwards, I was tired.  And more to the point, I was super, super sore on Friday and Saturday afterwards.  Honestly, i felt like I'd been beaten.

Argh.

It finally occured to me that I've been going about this running thing all wrong.  I realize that 41-years-old is a little late for an epiphany like this, but still.  I've been trying to run fewer times per week but to still fit in one long(ish) run every week, and it has not been working.  I keep getting hurt, and I run like shit.  What I need to do instead, I think, is to run more often but less total mileage.  I'm thinking maybe run four times per week but only two miles per run.  Condition my body to running routinely, and then start building mileage.

So I started that program Sunday afternoon after church with a little two-mile run.  We'll see where we are in four weeks and re-evaluate then.

Running Total: 2 x run (6.05; 2.06); 32.4 pts

Triathlon Training Total: 126.9 points

That's not super-training or anything, but I feel good, and I've had time to spend with Sally and the girls, and that's really all I care about.  If I can start running a little better, that'll be a bonus, but at this point, I'm still taking it one day at a time.

I could lose a little weight and need to keep working on my tan.

Eh.  I suppose I look okay, but I'm still tipping the scales at aroun 195 lbs, and that's fatter than I need to be.  I suppose this isn't bad for 41, but it's not terrific, either.