Training Log: 1/11 to 1/17 (Week 3)

This was kind of a different week for me.  I've been struggling to find a sense of purpose for my training lately, especially because I've been enjoying running and lifting weights so much, but swimming is undoubtedly my best thing.  Around mid-week, I finally decided that I needed a change of pace, and in putting together my calendar afterwards, I chose the Danbury Half-Marathon on April 3rd as my next race.  

I'm not going to actually enter the race until I get a little further into my training and have assured myself that my knees and ankles are going to hold up for the long runs, but it feels good to have a training target.  More importantly, I'm happy to have a focus that won't force me into the pool so many times per week.

Swim, Bike, Run

I spent some time developing a training plan after targeting the Danbury Half.  You can find that here if you're interested.  It's a Google Sheets document, but you should be able to download it as an Excel file and modify it for yourself if you want.  The plan has me running three times per week, swimming once or twice, riding my commute an average of four times per week, and lifting twice.  We'll see how that goes.

Swim

I swam once this week, on Saturday after my weight workout with Hannah.  Wound up putting in 3000 yards.  That was necessary because I only ran twice and road my commute three times, leaving me with fewer aerobic points than I'd have preferred.  I made up the difference in the pool, and that's probably what I'll continue to do over the course of this training plan.  That wasn't necessary easy immediately after lifting, but it worked.

200 SKIPS*

12 x 100 @ 1:25, every 4th 100 tempo pace

6 x 50 kick @ 1:05

8 x 50 @ :50 (tempo), breathing every 3rd stroke

100 warm down

Swimming Total: 3000 yards; 30 pts

Bike

I rode my regular commute three times, and froze my ass off all three.  I hate riding when it's cold, but it's by far the best way to get to work, and it's necessary as a form of exercise.

Ugh.

Cycling Total: 3 x commute ride (32.1 miles); 32.1 pts

Run

I ran twice, but the first time wasn't until Friday.  I put in 2.75 miles, and though I'd planned to take it easy, Friday was the warmest day of the week, and Pandora's Running Radio played a lot of songs that I really liked. Wound up averaging a bit under 8:45/mile, which  is fast for me on average, and my last half-mile was uphill at about a 7:30/mile pace.  

That was badass.  I felt really good afterwards as well, which was awesome.

My long(ish) run was 4.55-miles on Sunday morning.  I went slower there, mostly because I had trouble keeping connectivity with Pandora and wound up futzing with my phone for half the damned run.  I finished around 9:23/mile pace, which is not bad.  Overall, I think weight training--and doing core work in general--is really helping my running form.

Running Total: 2 x runs (2.75, 4.55 miles); 29 pts

Weights

Hannah and I lifted chest and triceps on Tuesday, and while it was a struggle to get out the door on a night when temperatures were in the 20s, I felt like she did really well.  Our main set was dips with weight assistance, and she maintained terrific form.  We also did a lot of abs, and a little bit of work on our legs.  Hannah is definitely getting stronger, with the result that both her appetite and eating habits have improved dramatically.  

We lifted back and biceps on Saturday, with an emphasis on wide-grip pull-downs and lower back work.  Hannah prefers back exercises, which is good because I think they are a extremely beneficial for her long-term.

Weights Total: 2 x workouts

Training Total: 91.1 points

That's not a lot of points, and indeed, it's going to take a while to build up my long distance runs to where they equal what I usually do in the pool.  That's not a problem, but I'll have to rebalance my training in the meantime in order to keep an appropriate overall workload heading into the race in April.

Questions?  Ask 'em below!