Tri Training Log: New Year's Week (Week 1)

Last week was New Year's, and now the holidays are over.  It's getting towards time to get back in the saddle.  Triathlon season is almost here.

Swim
This was a big swimming week.  We got in the water three times, and that was a luxury.  The first time we swam was Tuesday.

 - 5 x 100 @ 1:30 warm up
 - 200 kick
 - 15 x 100 @ aerobic pace

That was a nice little workout.  My goal for the main set was to hold aerobic threshold pace, and I felt good doing it.  I came out of the water Tuesday night psyched up about how I swam and ready to swim more over the course of the week.

Thursday was New Years.  I took the kids to the YMCA and swam, putting in 1000 yards (200 SKIPS*) before hitting the weight room.  That was no big deal, but it did help me to hold form through the course of the week, something I don't usually get a chance to do.

Saturday was our first key workout of the season.  I met my friend Ben, and he brought along a workout that his Ironman coach had written for New Years.  It totalled 4600 yards.

3 x 400 warm-up @ :15 rest

20 x 50 @ :45
 -- 4 x build
 -- 2 x easy
 -- 8 x fast (90% effort)
 -- 2 x easy
 -- 4 x sprint

3 x (200 / 150 / 100 / 50) descending effort @ :15 rest
 -- 50 easy between each set

500 kick / warm down

That 50s set was tough, not so much because of the interval as because the pacing was a challenge.  Change-ups on short intervals are hard.

I liked the descending 3 x (200 / 150 / 100 / 50).  We did the 200s easy, the 150s at medium pace, the 100s fast, and the 50s sprint.  That totaled 1500 yards.  Of course, it was challenging to do pace work by the time we got to that point because of fatigue, but it was still a worthwhile effort.  I'd like to do that set again, using it as Main Set in a shorter workout.

Swimming Total: 3 x Swim Workouts (2200, 1000, 4600); 78 pts.


Bike
I didn't ride this week.  Truth to tell, it was kind of nice taking some time off from my commute.  I'm back on the back this morning, though.


Run
I ran three times last week.  At no point did I run hard, but I feel good running, and really, that's all I ask.  Tuesday and Friday were both lunch time runs.  I ran the same route at roughly the same pace both days, 2.8 miles just under 8:45/mile.  That was no big deal, but I feel like I run better when I can get out on the road more than twice/week.

We've been trying for months to get our kids running, and on Sunday, we finally got out and started making it happen.  That's good because our kids need the exercise.  Neither of our girls is doing much athletically, and while I don't particularly care if they're ever successful in competition, now is the time for them to start learning to be lifelong athletes who have healthy habits.  If we wait longer, it'll only get tougher to teach things like proper stride and breathing techniques.

We ran easy for five minutes and then started doing intervals, 10 x :30 running, :30 walking.  We then walked easy for a few minutes and closed out at a light jog.  All told, we covered two miles in which the girls easily exceeded my expectations.  I was pleased with both their effort level and their strides--once we'd gotten a little coaching done--and I think everybody enjoyed being out there.  That's critical at this stage.  Now we just need to stick with it.

Sally and I dropped the girls at the house once we got back and then ran for another twenty minutes or so.  All told, we put in about four miles.

Running Total: 3 x Run Workouts (2.8, 2.8, 4); 38.4 pts.

Triathlon Training Total: 116.4 pts.

That's not bad for a week in which I didn't ride at all.


Looking Forward
We're back in season now.  Sally and I are going to run the four mile YMCA Sweetheart Race in February, and then the Woodruff Family YMCA is holding it's annual "indoor" Y-Tri in April.  After that, we'll be into the meat of the season, and while I'm not sure exactly which races I'm going to run, there's definitely going to be at least one olympic triathlon in there, and Sally wants to run a half-marathon as a couple.  At this point, that's enough to focus our efforts.

The challenge this week is to put in a full training week without overworking on my commute rides.  I'm going to run at lunch today, swim tomorrow night, lift Wednesday, and run again at lunch on Friday.  Saturday we'll probably swim and lift, and then Sunday will be another family run with the kids.  That's a lot, so we'll need to really keep the easy parts easy, building base aerobic fitness for later in the year.