Today's workouts

7:30AM Lifted weights, 1 set of 12 reps, except for abs/core where I do 2 sets of 15 reps. Took me 47' today. To give you an idea of my weight lifting routine, here are the number of exercises I do by body part:
Biceps: 5
Triceps: 4
Delts/rotators: 13
Pecs: 4
Lats/Traps: 5
Calves: 1
Ab/Adductors: 5
Glutes: 3
Hams: 4
Quads: 6
Abs/core: 12

No wonder my shoulders don't tire when swimming 2.4 miles! I will increase the sets to 2 in 3 weeks, and then hold there for quite a while. I used to go 3x12, 3x15, 3x20 and then 2x20 in my periodization, but since I added so many different exercises, it's just not practical for me to do that many sets, and it won't make that much of a difference anyway, as long as I keep doing 2 full-body workouts per week.

1:55PM Bike workout on trainer, 1:20, as follows:
15' warmup
3' spinups
3x(2' Z3 HR, 1' cd)
3x15' (2') FT
4' cd

Man, those FT intervals are FUCKING HARD!!! But I do them, and I make them HURT. I have to increase my cadence or gear on the 2nd and 3rd interval just to generate the same power. I averaged 155 watts each interval today. I want to be at 160 in 2 weeks. It's amazing I can even do this workout after lifting in the morning. 47' doesn't sound like a particularly long or intense strength session, but remember, I have all the weights in my house--no waiting, no wiping down, so my workouts are more like circuits, and if I rest more than 5", I stop the clock for how long I've been working.

I got a delivery of some new pink stuff from Nordstrom today. Cute, but I am not including a picture. I am waiting for new pink shoes to arrive.

I gave Shelley "the talk" today via email. By that I mean the talk about getting real about her training and racing goals. So many people say "I want to do X time" in a race without anything to base it on, other than the passage of time. Great, so you keep doing essentially the same thing, and expect to get faster. That's the definition of insanity! Anyway, I hope she doesn't get too pissed at me for telling it like it is.

My belief is that many coaches nowadays are actually capitalizing on the stupidity/gullibility of most athletes who figure if I just keep training long enough, I will achieve whatever arbitrary goals I've set for myself, and that if I also just pay a coach, I am even more likely to hit those goals. What coaches should be doing is understanding the athlete's past training and racing history, time available to train, expectations, and then work with the athlete to come up with a reasonable training plan that meshes with reasonable goals. This has to include periodic fitness measurements, or else it is just shooting in the dark. And the testing protocol has to be specific to the race distances. For example, it makes no fucking sense to extrapolate one's Ironman marathon time based on a 5K outcome, or even a standalone marathon! Triathlon running is not the same as standalone running, especially at the longer distances.

Enough of that rant.

Today's words of wisdom: GO FUCKING HARDCORE AGGRO OR GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!!!