Weekly Training Totals (3 weeks' worth): 3/6/2006-3/26/2006

It's been an interesting past 3 weeks. I got sick, I didn't start my only triathlon prior to Ironman Brazil, my mom was hospitalized and found to have cancer (she's doing much better now--walking and going potty on her own!), my job changed like 3 times (more of that to come, no doubt), I puked my guts out one night (no relation to the URI) and I almost swallowed a live spider.

Out of all those things you probably want to know about the spider. Well, last night, just before I was going to go to sleep, I went into the bathroom to have another glass of water. There was already water in the glass, and I like mine room temperature, so I put glass to mouth and was about to swallow the first swig when I felt something sort of hairy in my mouth. I spit the water out into the sink and saw Mr. Spider (still very much alive) struggling to escape the water. So sorry--I don't normally kill every house spider--only the dark colored ones that I assume are likely to bite me--but this guy, a pale house spider, hey, he had to go down the drain. I laughed that I had almost swallowed him whole and wriggling. Truthfully, it wouldn't have bothered me. I didn't jump in alarm or anything. I rinsed out the glass and refilled it with water and had a nice pull on it, of course, after I checked it once more for spiders!

I guess you could say the stress was piling on me the last 3 weeks. I know it has because my stomach has been acting up. Either that or my body is telling me it wants to be at a lighter weight. If I recall correctly, every time I've managed to bust through another bodyfat percentage plateau, it was announced by my body rejecting food, which is one sure-fire way to get me to eat less! So we shall see. The other thing that enters into the picture is that I changed my long run day from Sunday to Thursday this week, which must have messed me up a bit, and also this was my highest volume training week so far. With everything else going on, it's tough to isolate one single thing at work here; it's probably cumulative. Then there was the simultaneous joy and fear in looking at my training schedule for the next 5 weeks. I have to tell you, it's awe-inspiring, even to me. I have NEVER trained as hard as I am now starting to. Of course, I have never trained as hard as I have for the past 4 months, so I guess this is just a continuum. In summary, I wouldn't wish my last 3 weeks on anyone!

And I'm not sure I would wish my next 5 weeks on someone unless they are really and truly committed to the whole training gig--workouts, nutrition, sleep, stretching, strength training, stress reduction (I'm working on that one, you know), time management. I am sure my blogging will decrease as I will be just too fucking tired to sit here and write. Actually, I'm pretty fucking tired right now. I need to go pack my bike in preparation for next week's training camp.

So, herewith are my last 3 weeks. Read it and weep!

3/20/2006-3/26/2006
Swim: 9,550 yards in 3.43 hours; 21% of weekly workout time
Bike: 6.5 hours; approx. 114 miles; 40% of weekly workout time
Run: 4.68 hours; approx. 30 miles; 29% of weekly workout time
Strength: 1.58 hours; 10% of weekly workout time
Total Hours: 16.19 (MOST SO FAR THIS TRAINING SEASON)
Approx. Calories Burned by Exercise: 7,415
Average Sleep: 9.14 hours/night
Stretching: 3.38 hours (MOST EVER)

Goals from Last Week:

• Average 8+ hours of sleep per night. DONE.
• Stretch 15' per day. DONE.
• Continue to recover from illness and return to full-strength training. DONE.
  

Accomplishments This Week:

• Met goals.
• Hit highest weekly training hours so far this season.
• Hit highest weekly stretching hours so far this season. I think I’m synching up my stretching with my volume/intensity automatically now. This is a good thing!
  

Goals for Next Week:

• Average 8+ hours of sleep per night.
• Stretch 15' per day.
• Continue mental work to reduce stress.
• Use common sense during the training camp to monitor fatigue, etc. Although we have a schedule, I’m flexible. The goal is to get in some solid biking; everything else will be gravy.
  

3/13/2006-3/19/2006
Swim: 4,400 yards in 1.52 hours; 13% of weekly workout time
Bike: 3.75 hours; approx. 66 miles; 33% of weekly workout time
Run: 4.58 hours; approx. 29 miles; 41% of weekly workout time
Strength: 1.45 hours; 13% of weekly workout time
Total Hours: 11.3
Approx. Calories Burned by Exercise: 5,524
Average Sleep: 9.39 hours/night
Stretching: 2.05 hours

Goals from Last Week:

• Average 8+ hours of sleep per night. DONE
• Stretch 15' per day. DONE
• Recover from illness and assess ability to race Ralph’s. More or less DONE. Mostly recovered from illness--nagging cough hung around, and decided on Monday to not race Ralph’s, as I wasn’t feeling like I’d be recovered enough by the weekend.
  

Accomplishments This Week:

• Met goals.
• Listened to my body and continued resting Monday and Tuesday.
  

Goals for Next Week:

• Average 8+ hours of sleep per night.
• Stretch 15' per day.
• Continue to recover from illness and return to full-strength training.
  

3/6/2006-3/12/2006
Swim: 8,650 yards in 3.15 hours; 34% of weekly workout time
Bike: 1.42 hours; approx. 25 miles; 15% of weekly workout time
Run: 3.03 hours; approx. 20 miles; 34% of weekly workout time
Strength: 1.6 hours; 17% of weekly workout time
Total Hours: 9.2
Approx. Calories Burned by Exercise: 3,936
Average Sleep: 9.0 hours/night
Stretching: 2.35 hours

Goals from Last Week:

• Average 8+ hours of sleep per night. DONE
• Stretch 15' per day. DONE
• Hang tough. Well, I tried to, but despite my best efforts, I got sick on Friday, 3/10, and was unable to work out Saturday and Sunday.
  

Accomplishments This Week:

• Met 2 out of 3 goals.
• Listened to my body and rested.
  

Goals for Next Week:

• Average 8+ hours of sleep per night.
• Stretch 15' per day.
• Recover from illness and assess ability to race Ralph’s.