In any case, this month's training has gone fairly well so far. I'm getting in about two swims a week, one or two spins on the stationary bike (need to drag the real bikes in for a tune-up here shortly) and am averaging a little over four miles a week in running (which isn't anything spectacular for most of you, but it's a good start for me).
The main thing I need to improve upon is lifting. Lifting, lifting, lifting. I love lifting. I really do. I loved taking a weight training class in college. But, if you look at my workout logs from, really, the last four or five months, you will find an extreme lack of lifting.
I don't know why I've slacked off with it. I seem to only put in good iron sessions at the gym if Brandon and I are finally like, "SCREW IT WE'RE LIFTING" and we go. Otherwise, I "lift" using low weights/body weight utilizing quick workouts at home just so I can squeeze SOMETHING in some days. Needless to say, I need to stop with that and get to the gym more. I go there to swim/bike anyway right now; I might as well lift while I'm there.
Re: swimming: though my times have been good lately and remarkable compared to last year (and last year was amazing compared to the year before), I know I can't let myself get complacent. Last Monday, I had an 800m swim in 17:15. This is what I wrote in the comments part of my workout log:
"cruising! can't let myself get complacent with the increasingly faster times. all they mean is i'm going to have to put in a lot of open water swims come june."
And I mean that. Because I'm weird and am only breaststroking right now, I need to put in double the work because I'm not as efficient in the water.
Regarding running, I've been trying to avoid the old standby 1.36 loop and forcing myself to go for runs of AT LEAST two miles. There's a few reasons for this ...
1. I don't really start feeling good about the run until at least a mile in.
2. That short of a run really isn't doing me any good unless I sprint it.
3. I need to get into the longer distances. NEED TO.
So, the last three runs I've done have been: 2.12 mi, 2.72 mi, 4.12 mi. Sure, they've been slow (probably somewhere around an 11:00/mi average). But, I know if I keep putting in the miles, the times will go down. They always do. I just need to keep running.
And hills like this one (Timberline; last main hill of the middle distance above; gave up and had to walk part of it) and similar ones I encounter during EVERY RUN I DO will certainly help when during race season when very few races will match what I run in training in terms of hilly crappiness.
This hill is actually worse than it looks here. If anyone has tips for showing the true perspective of a hill with a point-and-shoot digital, please let me know.
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