I managed to wake up at 5:30AM today and swim before I started work. Although technically I slept 8.5 hours, I did not feel that rested upon waking. I did get in almost an hour of strength training yesterday evening, and I think that just pushed my muscular fatigue a little further than I would have liked. Even despite the fact that I stretched for about 35' afterwards. Oh well, note to self: not good to lift hard on same day as a hard brick workout (DOH!).
The swim was nothing to write home about. Everything about me physically felt tired and the water was warm, but I did try and swim with good form. I swear it's coming. I can now at least sense that I am not rotating as much as I thought I was, and it will take awhile to get myself doing it more and better. I am patient!
I had a "broken" tempo run to do today as follows:
15' z1, 10' z4, 10' z2, 10' z4, 5' z2, 10' z4
The Z4 stuff is tempo pace. I have to laugh that my coach's shorthand notation for my workouts has become REAL short. I think he knows that I know what he means for me to do, and I also think he's inventing new stuff for me. During the winter, I'm usually running on the treadmill, and I write down the levels in my own shorthand on a Post-It that I take with me to the Y, so this is all fine by me.
I thought today would be a good day to try out my new run paces, sans HRM, and so I did, and I have to say that for me, losing the HRM has the potential to lead to some major running breakthroughs (I've already achieved that on the bike) for me. I'd still recommend that someone who is in their first few years of running as an adult will benefit from seeing the information, but I already know I'm fit, and I already know what paces I can handle, and I just need to make sure I'm recovering.
The new tempo pace appears to be good! Even though my legs (and everything else, for that matter) were tired when I started, it was like a switch went on once I began running and all was fine. This is what happens when I'm running a lot. And stretching. And eating properly. And not doing 5 and 6-hour rides! Once I finished the run, I thought, hmmm....maybe I (or should I say my coach) am setting up a perfect peaking scenario in preparation for the 1/2 IM I have coming up. We shall see.
6 down--4 more to go. Somehow, I think I am getting used to running every day!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
You will be my inspiration at Kona!
A year ago I never really knew what a blog was, much less read or contribute to them. I started to write entries in my blog, but I really just used it as a log/diary with small facts. I somehow stumbled across your blog (and many others). While I explored many blogs, yours was the blog that I went to first. I didn't look everyday, but I would check on you several times a week. Your toughness and training volume is/are incredible.
Last year at this time, I was attempting to finish school and get back to the sport of triathlon. I was pretty much out of shape and just started running till school finished in December where I would pick up where I had left off (triathlon training wise) prior to starting school (5 years earlier).
Anyway, it turned out to be quite a year. I find myself two weeks out from racing in Kona. This may turn out to be a truly memorable experiance and an accomplishment of a lifetime for me. I am nearly in the best shape in my life. I completed a couple of half IM's in May, where one was a personal best. I had a running injury in June which kept me from putting in the miles to be in the best shape in my life.
Shelia, your blog was a wonderful read! It was enlightening, entertaining, and truly motivating. It is easy to see that you put some real effort in your workouts AND your writings. It is obvious that there was a lot of thought in composing most of your posts. Thanks for putting in the EXTRA time.
My first and only IM was 6 years ago. I was hard core back then and did lots of volume. I was passionate about the sport. I was dedicated and focused much like you are. Because of my injury, my training has been more "minimal" rather than "maximal". My two Ironman training histories will be entirely different. For my first IM, I was always feeling that I could never do enough training. It was the end of the world if I ever missed a workout. This time I missed many workouts and was quite happy with the decision. For this race I decide that I would not put ANY pressure on myself and just accept things for what they are. Because of my running injury, I didn't even know if was going to be able to run 13 miles much less compete to the best of my ability. Because of this fact I choose early on to not get too wrapped up in my training. I did have some intensity in some workouts, but overall I had very little intensity. This will be interesting to me when I compare the results of my two Ironman with two entirely different training strategies. One of the drawbacks of not doing intensity/volume does lead to anxiety and guilty feelings for not doing enough.
However, my anxiety is now being replaced with confidence. And my confidence is soring. My foot has allowed me to get in a couple of long runs and some 40+ mile weeks running. My legs feel fresh, not like they were for my last race. I don't have a lot of fatigue and I am not experiancing any burnout. I have had some nice brick workouts lately. I have had some workouts that prove to me that I have the fitness to complete the race. The only thing that I know I am missing and questioning is: mental toughness.
The lack of intensity and the constant long runs that I should have been doing over the past 6 months has not allowed me to excercise my mental toughness. This will be the unknown in my race.
My other Ironman, I knew exactly what my times were going to be in the swim bike and run. This race will truly be an adventure. I do not know how the heat, hills, wind, lack of training and mental toughness will affect my outcome.
Anyway, I want you to know that I will use you as my mentor. I know that you have the mental toughness for this race. I will think of your toughness when I find myself in a tough situation. Most likely in the back half of the bike when the winds pick up and in the back half of the run when the race is the toughest. The thoughts of your toughness will motivate me enough to pull me across and through that finish line.
Post a Comment