I went into last week expecting to be exhausted and
depleted from a big training weekend up in Mont Tremblant. 100+ miles of biking
and almost 20 miles of running – including 4 days of running in a row, which is
a rarity for a heavy, not-running-focused athlete like me – was sure to wear me
down.
Except…it didn’t. I did some hill repeats on my bike that
were just fine, my swimming paces were OK, and running felt great. I even
pulled off a nearly 21 mile run at 9:32 pace as a solo effort, which, while
mentally difficult, is huge for Ironman race day, where I’ll be spending 13+
hours in my own head.
A normal person would look at this week and be pleased
that they weren’t ground down and could jump right back into training after a
big weekend.
However, we have established on many occasions that I am
not normal, so instead, I’ve decided that I obviously haven’t trained hard
enough, and I’m now about to start taper with insufficient training load and
fitness.
Figures.
Monday: Rest day.
Tuesday: 45 minutes of strength training in the morning,
then 3400 meters of swimming alone in a hot pool, including 40 50s at right
around 1:22/100m pace.
Wednesday: 15 miles of hill repeats on the bike, where I
found some hills near home that resemble the tough part of the IM Mont
Tremblant course.
(For curious DC locals: Follow Loughboro. Bottom is at
Sibley Hospital, top is at Nebraska and Foxhall.)
Thursday: 6 miles of speedwork on the treadmill,
including 8x600 @7:03/mile pace.
Friday: Short 2500 meter swim.
Saturday: A 100% solo 20.6 mile long run in 3:16
(9:32/mile pace). It was cooler and less humid than it has been recently, but
the heat was definitely creeping up towards the end, and I couldn’t get enough
fluid fast enough when I got home.
Sunday: 60 miles of hilly biking in rural Maryland, then
1500 meters of easy swimming to shake the last heavy weekend of training out of
my legs.
Seems to me like you're training like a beast. Swimming in a hot pool is bad enough for me, let alone running that long solo! Nice work.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great solo run- you're totally set up to crush mont tremblant!
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, I've never done a triathlon...but I read a lot of triathlon blogs and it definitely seems like you are training PLENTY! And you've been kicking ass at these workouts. Don't worry, you are going to kill it!
ReplyDelete21 mi solo? Hardcore.
Nice work, friend--you are so ready for this race!
ReplyDeleteWhen you put it like that-13 hours in your own head...wow. It's been nice to have a slightly cooler week though still hot. I can't wait to see how Tremblant goes. That 20.6 mile run sounds so rather intense in this heat. Thanks for the advice on refueling with that by the way.
ReplyDeleteThat's an awesome pace for 21 miles! IMHO, getting mentally ready is pretty close to being equally important to the physical stuff.
ReplyDeleteAh, I know Loughboro. Never biked it. Hmm, a new challenge!
ReplyDeleteAlso, this is great that you're not even tired. You're nailing it.
Fantastic statistics for running and other athletes. Wetsuits and triathlon shorts for running and other athletes. Many many thanks for the compact post.
ReplyDelete