Weekly Workout Totals 5/8/2006-5/14/2006, or Am I Really Tapering?

Here are the weekly totals:

Weekly Totals 05/08/2006-05/14/2006
Swim: 12250 yards in 4.12 hours; 24% of weekly workout time; approx. 1532 calories burned
Bike: Approx. 134.46 miles in 7.68 hours; 45% of weekly workout time; approx. 3647 calories burned
Run: Approx. 25.21 miles in 3.77 hours; 22% of weekly workout time; approx. 1969 calories burned
Strength: 1.45 hours; 9% of weekly workout time; approx. 363 calories burned
All Sports: 17.02 hours; approx. 7511 calories burned
Sleep: 8.57 hours avg./night
Stretching: 2.4 hours

17 hours doesn't look like much of a taper, huh? Last week I hit 17.61 hours, so in aggregate, the weeks look similar. No worries, though. Last week I swam 2.75 hours, biked 9.6, ran 3.93 and did 1.53 strength. So my bike, run and strength (I also decreased my total strength reps) are tapering down. Swimming not so much, and same will be true next week, but my bike and run will go down to not much at all. I'm starting to feel rested. My legs have plenty of spring in them while running (despite 3 brick runs this week). My legs have plenty of power in them (see previous post). My swim is coming around, and I think this Friday's TT will be good. So yep, I'm tapering, and loving it.

Last night I totally treated myself for dinner--I had pizza (more in a few minutes!), fried calamari (I removed a lot of the breading but added a lot of salt), beer, and angel food cake for dessert (I had some of that cake before today's ride, too). After tonight's meal, it's time to watch the calories and fats a little more closely, but I will be sure to replenish my glycogen every day.

Below is the usual data that I post as part of these weekly total reports. Enjoy!

Season Totals 09/12/2005-05/14/2006
Swim: 298600 yards in 105.25 hours
Bike: Approx. 3052.58 miles in 175.7 hours
Run: Approx. 1014.72 miles in 159.09 hours
Strength: 53.09 hours
All Sports: 493.13 hours; approx. 219671 calories burned
Stretching: 54.21 hours

Season WeeklyAverages 09/12/2005-05/14/2006
Swim: 8531 yards in 3.01 hours
Bike: Approx. 87.22 miles in 5.02 hours
Run: Approx. 28.99 miles in 4.55 hours
Strength: 1.52 hours
All Sports: 14.09 hours
Sleep: 8.49 hours avg./night
Stretching: 2.17 hours avg./week

Goals from Last Week:

• Average 8+ hours of sleep per night. DONE.
• Stretch over 2 hours for the week. DONE.
• Continue race visualization, and assemble race plan. ALMOST FINISHED!
• Stay on top of nutrition. DONE.
• Be careful to hold back during workouts when I am supposed to. DONE.

Accomplishments This Week:

• Nailed all my bike FT intervals at or above FTP.
• Got through 3 brick workouts quite well.
• Improved my 2.4-mile swim TT time from last week.

Goals for Next Week:

• Average 8+ hours of sleep per night.
• Stretch over 2 hours for the week.
• Finish race plan.
• Stay on top of nutrition.
• Remember all the wonderful people who've helped me get to this point.
• Pack!