Monday, November 16, 2015

Week 5 of base building for races next year

300 days until my next goal race- seems like an eternity and also not enough time. When I started this cycle or (base building for base building for this cycle) I assumed swimming and cycling would be my biggest challenges to get to the finish. After 5 weeks of base, I'm feeling much more confident in my swim abilities even after just 2 times in the pool. I took a year off from swimming after my triathlon in 2014, but pretty much picked up where I left off once I started swimming again a few weeks ago. Once I am able to get my shit together and manage my time better I'll go to the pool 2x a week. The cycling which is nearly 80% of the race is now going to take more of my focus. I have a nice trainer but have a very difficult time staying on my bike with it more than 20 min (I get so hot!)- although I almost made it 1:30 while watching the Ironman Kona broadcast on Saturday. I go back and forth about these races- from feeling really excited to seriously questioning why I decided to do this in the first place.. (a post for another day) But I always return to being pumped about the challenges ahead for me. I had a "stress" dream about the IM last night- I was all set to do a half IM and because of weather they changed the course to a Full at the last minute And instead of being upset, I was ecstatic and had a blast during the race.


Workouts:

Monday: 17 miles cycled

Tuesday: 6 mile run

Wednesday: AM- 5 miles cycle (Trainer) PM 4 miles cycle (trainer)

Thursday: 12 miles cycled, 2 mile run

Friday: 8 miles cycle (trainer)

Saturday: 4 mile run, 2 mile cycle (to-from the pool), 1800 yard swim, 18 mile cycle (trainer)

Sunday: 4 mile pup run

Total: 83 miles for 7:37 duration

Swim: 1800 yards, 38:00

Bike: 66 miles, 4:36

Run: 16 miles, 2:22.28 


Goals for this week:


  • Check the weather and ride outside if possible.
  • Speed workouts for running and cycling (also cycling drills). 
  • More focused swim workouts.
Snapshots:

The owl head hat returned this past week since it was super windy and cold.

I swam for the 2nd time and felt really really good. Im sure it's because of the sweet sugar skull cap.
My view during the IM Kona broadcast. ALL THE FEELS.
Went to see Spectre with Vicky Saturday evening and had a blast!

Took the Churro dog for a 4 mile run around Northerly Island on Sunday. It was 50+ degrees and absolutely gorgeous out! I regret not taking him earlier and also fitting in a bike ride, but I know I shouldn't increase my workouts too much too fast because burnout/overtraining is no fun.


-Xaarlin

9 comments:

  1. We saw Spectre Saturday night too, and enjoyed it! I appreciated that it wasn't confusing as some Bond movies have been, for me.

    Nice bike mileagage! But where's your rest day?! :P

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  2. Yay owl hat and skull cap! Yes, totally understand that 300 days can seem like a lot of time and not enough time. Are you planning on racing for a certain time goal? Is the bike portion 80% of the mileage or of the estimated time? From the few tri's I've seen on tv, I have seen the "running specialists" passing the "bike specialists" during the run portion near the finish. I don't know if that's always the case.

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    1. I have some time goals in mind- but as I get closer I'll be more accurate with it- plus I like training with something in mind to have direction- but finishing is #1! The 80% bike refers to the mileage. Based on my calculations, it would be roughly 54% of the total time I expect to take in the race. Which now makes this whole thing sound a little less scary :) I'm sure the running specialists have a leg up on this since supposedly depending on fitness, you would expect to be about 10-20% slower on the run than your normal Pr- and of course the more fit you are the smaller percent.

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    2. Yes, just finishing an IM is an incredible feat and would be my goal for my first one. I would probably be so wiped out by the end of the bike portion (if I could even finish that) it would be very difficult to run a full marathon afterwards! Yes, 54% bike doesn't sound as intimidating as 80%! I don't know much about endurance events beyond 26.2 miles (running), but I imagine it's good to do long slow workouts that increase endurance, but don't tax the body so much that you need more than a day of recovery afterwards. I guess the good thing with triathlons is that you are spreading your training over three disciplines, therefore you are stressing (mostly) different muscle groups for each discipline instead of the same muscle group over and over.

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  3. I wish I could offer some awesome advice, but I have NO knowledge of IM stuffs. I just know you have amazing passion and heart, and I have no doubt you'll do what you've set your mind to do!!! <3

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    1. Thank you for your support and encouragement- that is definitely something very useful during training cycles :)

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  4. I have two favorite cycling drills: the one-legged drill (on the trainer only), and cadence drills. Ideal cycling cadence is 85-95 RPM, and practicing at higher (100-110) for 30s-1min can help to increase one's cadence. Here's more detail on drills: http://www.trainingbible.com/joesblog/2009/12/pedaling-drills.html

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    1. Thank you so much for sharing these! I'll definitely try this out next time I'm on the trainer. :)

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  5. Love that you watched Ironman Kona while biking! There's no better way to get pumped for your own IM than to watch others doing one, yes? I am usually never more excited to run a race than when I am a race spectator.

    You are already tearing it up with your training!!! SO AMAZING.

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