Weekly Workout Totals 06/26/2006-07/02/2006: Still Slacking

I had a great training week. I was saddened by the doping scandal related to the Tour de France. I was gladdened by signing up for another crazy event for next year (Triple T). I was surprised that I didn't bounce right back after the sprint race last Sunday, but really happy that things came together towards the end of the week. Unfortunately, you will need to read through the gory details of the workout totals to find out more...

Weekly Totals 06/26/2006-07/02/2006
Swim: 9075 yards in 3.18 hours; 19% of weekly workout time; approx. 1115 calories burned
Bike: Approx. 126.3 miles in 7.22 hours; 44% of weekly workout time; approx. 3481 calories burned
Run: Approx. 30.65 miles in 4.65 hours; 28% of weekly workout time; approx. 2392 calories burned
Strength: 1.48 hours; 9% of weekly workout time; approx. 370 calories burned
All Sports: 16.53 hours; approx. 7358 calories burned
Sleep: 8.86 hours avg./night
Stretching: 2.62 hours

Season Totals 09/12/2005-07/02/2006
Swim: 346770 yards in 122.28 hours
Bike: Approx. 3760.23 miles in 216.67 hours
Run: Approx. 1169.23 miles in 184.19 hours
Strength: 60.18 hours
All Sports: 583.32 hours; approx. 259373 calories burned
Stretching: 64.25 hours

Season Weekly Averages 09/12/2005-07/02/2006
Swim: 8256 yards in 2.91 hours
Bike: Approx. 89.53 miles in 5.16 hours
Run: Approx. 27.84 miles in 4.39 hours
Strength: 1.43 hours
All Sports: 13.89 hours
Sleep: 8.48 hours avg./night
Stretching: 2.01 hours avg./week

Goals from Last Week:

• Move up the stretching a little more, especially since I seem to be keeping up fairly high-intensity workouts. DONE, and it is highly appreciated by my body, since I am almost doing Ironman-volume training (except for biking).
• Evaluate my plans for the buildup to Racine 1/2 Ironman and consult my coach if I think it's necessary. DONE. I think I have a good plan for Racine, and have told my coach that I want him to fire up a plan for me after that.
• Begin thinking about the dreaded Ironman training, since if I decide to do Ironman Florida, the time I need to begin training will come quickly! DONE. It's looking like no Ironman Florida. Instead, I want to do a 1/2 Ironman in September and another in November. Training for these events will enable me to retain pretty solid fitness (I can still run a lot and bike HARD AND FAST), and hey, I just want to race, and this way I can do my big cycling month in August. Also, by doing a 1/2 Ironman rather than an Ironman in November, I will be better recovered for Goofy Challenge in January, 2007. I can still run my ass off in December, and plan to do so.
• Keep enjoying the summer, training outdoors, loving life! DONE. I enjoyed every single outdoor workout I did this week, even when I felt fatigued. I ran different routes, I improvised a little here and there, and hey, I have a great tan!

Accomplishments This Week:

• I got more sleep. As much as I enjoy staying up later while it's light so late, I put myself to bed anyway so I'd feel better.
• I worked a little harder at eating more carbs. Believe it or not, when I saw the photos of myself from the sprint race, it finally sunk in that I am on the pointy edge of body composition, that apparently it's easy for me (now--it's been a ton of hard work getting to this point) to be very lean, and that I need to stay even more on top of my nutrition, since apparently my tendency is to not eat so much lately, and I have banished the Cheetos and candy from the house again, and I'm not eating any pasta. I still like a beer every day, but as you can tell, it is not causing me to put on any weight. Maybe I need to buy some Cheetos this week!
• I did a solid 4-hour ride on Saturday, and even though when I rode on Friday I felt sluggish and tired and couldn't bang out any FT intervals, I rode solidly ABOVE my HIM watts for an hour, and 20' where I exceeded my alleged current FTP. Maybe my FT will go up some more while I'm not doing 4 and 5 hour rides back to back on weekends. Ya think??? Now, the run afterwards felt horrible. But even as bad as it felt, I wasn't really running any slower than I usually do during brick runs. Maybe I can put in a solid effort at my next 1/2 Ironman!

Goals for Next Week:

• Get in all key workouts (3-5 hour ride on Tuesday; 1:50 long run Thursday and 1500-yard swim TT on Friday). Everything else is gravy, so that I can perform well at a sprint race on Sunday.
• Maintain stretching at or over 2 hours for the week.
• Maintain sleep at or over 8.5 hours average per night.
• Watch and improve carb intake. Maybe even eat some pasta a few nights this week. My planned training hours will take me over 16 again; 15 hours is my threshold below which no pasta on the table for me.