With this in mind, I labeled this Week 1 and started the season fresh from here. I put in 71.3 points last week and 79.3 the week before, so my goal this week was to get somewhere between 90 and 100 points total. I figured that would be enough to me moving in the right direction without leaving me too drained after a sluggish, snowy winter.
Swim
I swam twice. My buddy Ben and I met Tuesday for our regular Tri Club swim and put in an easy warm-up, followed by two 50s fly for time. After that, I pulled either twelve or thirteen 100s on 1:30 to finish with a total of 2000 yards. That wasn't a bad swim, but it wasn't particularly noteworthy.
Saturday was different. Ben went to a regional meet in Boston, leaving me to fend for myself. I decided on the following:
5 x 100 @ 1:30 warm up
200 kick
10 x 200 swim @ :15 rest, descending by twos.
-- 2 x 2:45 / 2 x 2:40 / 2 x 2:35 / 2 x 2:30 / 2 x 2:25
100 warm down
This was an outstanding swim. I hit those pace times precisely. My last 1000 yards averaged well under 1:15 per 100, which is terrific for a 41-year-old dude who swims at most twice per week. Overall, it was probably the best swim I've had since I got back in the water back in 2007. It was so good that I was honestly doubtful that I'd ever feel that way in the water again.
So yeah. I was not expecting a transcendently beautiful swim to start my weekend, but that's what happened, and it was awesome. The endorphin rush afterwards left me feeling like I was floating, and when I came down, I felt like I'd been run over by a tractor.
Swimming total: 2 x swims (2000, 2800); 48 pts
Bike
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| Bike selfie, taken after I got my ride back Wednesday. |
It wasn't a perfect week for riding by any means. I got back on the bike, and that's good, but I busted a pair of spokes almost immediately upon putting my wheels down in Harlem, and after that I had to put my baby in the shop. She's riding better now, but I missed a couple of days of... well, highly mediocre commuting weather, anyway. And then we had a few inches of snow on Friday.
Ugh.
I rode to work on Monday, rode back on Wednesday--in 40 mph winds!--and then road the full commute on Thursday. I also ran both Wednesday and Thursday as well, so by Friday I was ready for a day off. Despite its frustrations, this was not a terrible way to transition back to being on the bike.
Cycling total: 2 x commute rides (10.1 miles each); 20.2 pts
Run
My goal all offseason has been to run three times per week, but I already had 95 points after my swim Saturday morning, and I didn't see a way to do a meaningful run and finish with anything less than 120 points total. 120 points might be a decent goal for this coming week, but it would be quite a bit more than I've done all offseason, and I decided not to go straight into it. Like it or not, experience shows that I'm better off ramping up my training a little slower than that.
So. I ran twice, once on Wednesday and once on Thursday. Wednesday I went 2.5 miles in about 22:00. Thursday I went 4.2 miles in 36:00. Those are both decent runs, and overall I feel like my offseason running has done its job. I'm running easier now than I have in a while, and although my left knee has been bothering me a bit, that's the only thing that is. As long as I keep making smart decisions, I expect I'll set myself up for a decent season.
Running total: 2 x runs (2.5, 4.2 miles); 26.8 pts
Triathlon training total: 95.0 pts
We're supposed to have better weather this week, which means that I will almost certainly be on the bike more. Assuming everything else is equal, four commute rides during the coming week will again put me at my point goal with only two runs and two swims. That's a little aggravating from the standpoint of my running fitness, but as I said, experience shows that rushing into 140+ point weeks is a mistake.
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