Sunday, March 31, 2013

Week Thirteen: 3/25-3/31

Planned a huge week and I almost stuck to the plan completely ...

Monday, March 25: Off: planned; other
- Planned out the workouts for the week and kept today off - partially to recover from last week and partially because I am exhausted. When I smack my head into the garage door inadvertantly, I know I need to not work out.

Tuesday, March 26: Run: 3.48 mi in 33:21.88 - 9:35/mi
- Dayton addition
- didn't warm up, but neither did I eat - hadn't eaten in ~ 4 hrs
- ankles a bit sore - due to heels last night?
- Strangely speedy run for me ... especially after an off-day. Did the lack of nutrition (strangely enough) help? Oh training, just when I think I may have something figured out ... nope! Keeps me on my toes ...

Wednesday, March 27: Bike: 17.24 mi in 1:00:41; avg cad 84; 17.05 mph
- 36.9 mph max
- Spinervals 29.0; Dropping the Hammer
- kind of enjoyed this one ... except for the squats and stand-up sprints
Swim: 1200m in 26:56.71 - 2:15/100m
- 100m, 200m, 300m, 300m, 200m, 100m
- this felt ... not fast, not slow ... just, almost dare i say smooth?
- 171! Woo! Big day and I am now exhausted. But no rest for the weary ... or until next week. Good stuff planned the rest of this week ...

Thursday, March 28: Run: 4.53 mi in 41:16 - 9:06/mi
- MX12 Treadmill set
- totally needed to poop
- may need to move to intermediate
Lift: 15:00
- 3/10/50 low rows; 3/10/70 leg curls; 3/10/10 back extensions; 3/10 bosu squats; 3/10/5 bosu lat db raises; 3/15/10 med ball twists
- quick and dirty; nothing fancy
- Since my plan is to essentially make this a cardio-heavy week, I went light on strength. Have done a lot so far this week and feeling good!

Friday, March 29: Bike: 18.98 mi in 1:15:02; avg cad 77; 15.18 mph
- 28.3 mph max
- CC trail to Cherry and back
- hills, they kill
- cadence-focused
- Ride went fairly well and still can't breathe up sustained climbs - very week on hills - but I now I have something to work on. Had an optional swim schedule as well ... but kept it optional due to being quite tired.

Saturday, March 30: Run: 6 mi in 57:46.70 - 9:37/mi
- RunCO waffle run!
- walked hills; legs writing checks lungs couldn't cash
Lift: 12:00
- 3/10 tricep dips; 3/10/5 front db raises; 3/10/8 bent over rows; 3/10/8 bicep curls; 3/10 squats; 3/40 bicycles
- kinda half-assed
- The run today? Where the f did that come from? MX12 treadmill set for the win. Wanted to scrap the lift but didn't - one thing to remember for later: heavier lifting in lighter cardio weeks. Just get it in.

Sunday, March 31: Bike: 7.56 mi in 35:29; avg cad 83; 13.55 mph
- 27.3 mph max; 162 max cad
- Spinervals 23.0 Time Saver I: workout A: technique
- tried outside, legs (hammys) said no
Swim: 900m in 19:45.15 - 2:11/100m
- 4x50m, 3x100m, 2x200m
- wanted to do more but nothing left in the tank
- I purposefully scheduled a tough week for myself - partly because I knew I needed a kick in the ass and partly because I wanted to see if I could handle it ... and I almost did. I'll consider it a success.

The missed workouts? An optional 800m swim on Friday; I hoped for at least 15 miles today and 2100m in the pool, but 7.56 and 900 work for me. I'm tired, and very much looking forward to my off day tomorrow.

Weekly training time: 6:15:19
Weekly training mileage: 59.10 mi
Yearly training time: 45:18:51
Yearly training mileage: 312.24 mi

Monday, March 25, 2013

Week Twelve: 3/18-3/24

Better week. Didn't quite get the volume I wanted, but I was spent by the end of the week, and I think that's what matters.

Monday, March 18: Bike: 17.10 mi in 1:03:12; avg cad 88; 16.23 mph
- 22.6 mph max
- most of the Spinervals Tempe training ride
- went easier than last time, but hooha made me stop
- I've heard of people reading while on the trainer, so I figured my nook and the Tempe training ride would be a great combination ... and they were, until the discomfort happened. At least it was after the turnaround and a good hour into the workout.

Tuesday, March 19: Run: 2.39 mi in 24:03.01 - 10:03/mi
- neighborhood loop
- shortened due to ass cold windiness
- happy I wore my SkirtSports vest
- Not much, but we gt it done early and out of the way and ended up enjoying the day together and sometimes, that's equally as important.

Wednesday, March 20: Off: exhaustion
- Was planning on swimming and lifting after I unwound a bit after work ... and I ended up falling asleep. Apparently my body decided that today was a rest day.

Thursday, March 21: Run: 3.95 mi in 41:30.13 - 10:30/mi
- amended out and back
- lead legs and chilly air
- Learning that running after an off day just doesn't work. Not sure why: cycling and swimming are fine. Maybe if we add in a warm-up on runs after off days, and the lead legs can be avoided ...? Things to test out. Love learning things in training!

Friday, March 22: Swim: 900m in 21:16.31 - 2:21/100m
- 100m, 200m, 150m, 150m, 200m, 100m
- watch issues
- Pool was so crowded, but had no choice due to work. Frustration kept us just to a swim and plans for a later lift were scrapped in favor of college hockey. Go BU!

Saturday, March 23: Swim: 1600m in 37:34.54 - 2:21/100m
- 100m, 200m, 300m, 400m, 300m, 200m, 100m
- sore shoulders
Lift: 31:00
- 3/12 captain's chair; 3/10/10 back extensions; 3/12/10 incline db flies; 3/8/120 w.a. dips; 3/10/120 standing calf; 3/15/12 med ball twists; 3/10 bosu squats; 3/10/5 lat db bosu raises; 3/10/8 bosu bicep curls; 3/19/6 bosu med ball tosses
- yay strength!
Decided to lift tonight and not run - will treadmill it tomorrow. Totally okay with this decision.

Sunday, March 24: Run: 4.5 mi in 41:15 - 9:10/mi
- MX12 Treadmill set
- 8:40 seeming ... easy??!?
Bike: 7.25 mi in 34:03; avg cad 87; 12.78 mph
- 21.4 mph max
- aborted Tempe training ride
- fine until big/15 ... then legs revolted
- Great run ... and then a very disappointing bike. My legs wanted no more of what I was trying to give them. Still, good week overall - 3 runs, 2 swims, 1 lift and 2 rides. Just wish ride #2 was better.

I think I summed this week up well in Sunday's notes.

Weekly training time: 4:53:54
Weekly training mileage: 37.74 mi
Yearly training time: 39:03:32
Yearly training mileage: 253.14 mi

Monday, March 18, 2013

Week Eleven: 3/11-3/17

Not the best week ...

Monday, March 11: Off: rest
- Not necessarily scheduled, but it worked out well with work and dinner plans. No guilt.

Tuesday, March 12: Run: 2.9 mi in 28:12.95 - 9:43/mi
- Run CO Irish run
- legs felt leaden - maybe too compressed due to outfit
- Surprised at the speed I saw on my watch because I felt like crap on this run. Haven't felt right since Sunday. Need something to clear out or ... something ...

Wednesday, March 13: Bike: 11.44 mi in 43:24; 0 cad, 15.82 mph
- 20.3 mph max
- Platte trail
- heavy legs, newly tuned bike felt weird, couldn't get cadence to register
Lift: 21:00
- 3/:30 wall sits; 3/10/8 calf raises; 3/:30 butt bridges; 3/10 supermans; 3/10 chair dips; 3/10/5 lat db raises; 3/10/8 bicep curls; 3/10 push-ups; 3/12 crunches; 3/40 bicycles
- room lift instead of gym, but glad I did it
- Ride was not happy. Very big struggle for some reason. Legs do not like me. Lift was a bit forced, but I'm really happy I got it in. I need all the help I can get right now ...

Thursday, March 14: Swim: 1600m in 37:26.53 - 2:20/100m
- 100m, 200m, 300m, 400m, 300m, 200m, 100m
- 1st 100m painful; ickiness went in waves
- Had every intention (wow, I start off like that way too much ...) of doing a treadmill workout too, but we were exhausted.

Friday, March 15: Off: exhausted/time
- Had something written down, but I remembered - got off work, fixed cadence meter and then really didn't have a lot of time before we had to go to DU/CC. That, coupled with work tiredness made me skip the day, unfortunately.

Saturday, March 16: Run: 4mi in 40:03.27 - 10:00/mi
- Run CO Saturday AM run
- with mrrmrr!
- Hadn't done this route in a while. Hoped to do a second workout too, but no dice. Plus, my haircut and then lunch and suddenly half the day was gone. Made me thankful I got in the run.

Sunday, March 17: Off: drunk
- Bad day at work, but still hoped to go to the gym - and maybe between shifts if it was going to come down to that. However, needed to talk to manager in person to get things sorted ... and I/we ended up drinking and celebrating the day to the point that after we sobered up and ate dinner, it was essentially bedtime.

I don't even know with this week. I didn't have it in the beginning of the week and then I feel I have too many excuses written down. Hopefully it was just an anomaly ...

Weekly training time: 2:40:07
Weekly training mileage: 19.34 mi
Yearly training time: 34:09:38
Yearly training mileage: 215.40 mi

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Last week's recap

Good morning TBD readers!

Last week was another good week.  Despite being slightly beat up from a challenging previous week, I was able to have a strong week.  I only swam once which didn't thrill me, and I will correct that this week.

Here's the numbers:

- 800 meters of swimming (16:51)
- 20.3 miles of cycling (1:25:36)
- 7.82 miles of running (1:24:10)
- 1 hour of strength training

So overall, not too shabby for base building.  Along the way, a switch has been flipped in my brain too.  Suddenly I'm craving working out.  It's no longer a chore.  It's something I am enjoying.  I am also starting to see gains which is highly rewarding.

Look for a good week from me this week too. :-)

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Week Ten: 3/4-3/10

Not as big as last week and a bit more of a struggle to get in the hours.

Monday, March 4: Off: tired
- Exhausted - it just wasn't going to happen. Am okay with it so I can hopefully do something tomorrow on open numero tres.

Tuesday, March 5: Lift: 40:00
- 3/10/120 w.a. dips; 3/10, 8, 5/45, 55, 65 bench press; 3/10/12 incline db flies; 3/10/10 back extensions; 3/10/5 front db raises; 3/10/6 med ball bosu tosses; 3/10 bosu squats; 2/10 bosu lunges
- screw you, Mark Allen!
- enjoyed this, but the bench press is gonna huuurrt
- Ideally wanted to swim, too, but I really should know better on open #3 ... which means I shouldn't take my off days on #2. Live and learn ... Also said peace out to the M.A. lifting plan because quite frankly, we were bored with it and would like to avoid burnout of any type this year.

Wednesday, March 6: Run: 3.95 mi in 39:16.71 - 9:56/mi
- partial 3.48 amended to out-and-back
- cold to start; warmed up nicely
- downhill bomb made legs springy ... first in a while!
Bike: 5.71 mi in 25:38; avg cad 74; 13.37 mph
- 32.9 mph max
- CCSP and back
- horrible, horrible headwinds
- ouch I'm sore
- Run was kind of nice - actually enjoyed it for the most part and that type of speed right now? Nice. The ride though ... I almost feel as if it would have been better if we hadn't gone - it went that shitty. Oh well ... got out there, right?

Thursday, March 7: Off: mental fail
- For whatever reason, the brain could not convince he body to move. Really wanted to swim/lift, but nope. Not happening.

Friday, March 8: Swim: 1600m in 36:47.86 - 2:17/100m
- 100m, 200m, 300m, 400m, 300m, 200m, 100m
- partially to see if I could right now, and what it was like in regards to a time
- lent another swimmer goggles
Lift: 26:00
- 3/10 captain's chair; 3/10/20 low rows; 3/10/10 back extensions; 3/10/12 incline db flies; 3/10/10 bicep curls; 3/10/5 lat db raises; 3/10/120 w.a. dips; 1, 2/10/135, 120 standing calf; 3/12/12 med ball twists; 3/10 bosu squats
- not as much legs as I would have liked
- Well, this made up for not doing this yesterday I guess. Back to 175 - either it's muscle or I need to tweak the diet again. Or both. Or it's still cold and my body wants to naturally hang on to the fluff. Maybe I need to not weigh myself until May ...

Saturday, March 9: Dance: ~25:00 of Irish step dancing
- watching YouTube videos
- prepping for RunCO's Tuesday party
- Had grand schemes of doing a workout before and after work, but obviously that didn't happen. So, since I knew I wanted to prep for the Irish run party (and try to win my weight in beer) AND wanted to do a few non-tri workouts this month, I figured this would suffice.

Sunday, March 10: Bike: 7.17 mi in 32:49; avg cad 82; 13.11 mph
- 27.2 mph max; 157 max cad
- Spinervals 23.0 Time Saver I; workout A: technique
- self-explanatory today
Run: 4.29 mi in 40:15; 9:22/mi
- MX12 treadmill set
- totally burping up my burger from lunch still
- treadmill fail in the middle of the set
- TOTALLY did not want to run today, but I did and I'm kinda glad. That being said, I may not want to eat a burger (or one that big) for quite some time. Urp.

That burger (eaten at 1:45p-ish; ran at 5:30p) as well as the whole weight thing really solidified to me that I need to get back on the cleaner-eating train. I've slipped up as I've been working out more (hungry a lot; horrible, horrible food choices at my job) and that can't happen. I also know I need to wait until summer and fresh fruit and it'll make my life easier, too.

Weekly training time: 4:15:49
Weekly training mileage: 22.12 mi
Yearly training time: 31:29:31
Yearly training mileage: 196.06 mi

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Week Nine: 2/25-3/3

Nice big week after week eight's down numbers.

Monday, February 25: Bike: 20.49 mi in 1:25:03; 85 avg cad; 14.46 mph
- 25.5 mph max
- Spinervals 16.0 - Aero Base Builder
- this broke me. broke down crying.
- ladybits hurt badly.
- high cadence work? killer over sustained periods
- This workout broke me and broke me down. While the saddle tweak I made last week helped, it helps for about 50 min - then the pain sets in. I have a few other theories I'm going to test out, but this might make cycling a struggle until we get new bikes. Also, any sustained efforts of a +100rpm are extremely difficult for me and I don't know why.

Tuesday, February 26: Swim: 1200m in 27:53.69 - 2:19/100m
- 100m, 1000m, 100m
- hot damn long swim
- not much icky feeling which is good. also no side stitches (well, not really)
Lift: 42:00; Mark Allen phase two
- 2/12/50 lat pulldowns; 2/12/60 leg extensions; 2/12/65 leg curls; 2/12/45 bench press; 2/12 squats; 2/12/5 lat db raises; 2/12/15 calf raises; 2/12/5 db pullovers; 2/12 backward lunges; 2/12/20 bicep curls; 2/12/8 tricep extensions 2/12/130 leg press
- ugh, a little sore doing this
- little bored with this ...
- 172 on the weigh-in - stagnated a little. Possibly a plateau there. Swim went really well, considering. Still 2 min slower than the hubster though. Grr. Kind of wish we weren't doing Mark Allen - liiiiittle bored with it ...

Wednesday, February 27: Run: 2.39 mi in 26:43.56 - 11:11/mi
- neighborhood loop
- chilly!
- enjoyable, but the legs never felt spry ...
- My peanut butter bread did not sit well in my belly. Ugh. This run, while in the surface appears crappy, was actually enjoyable. Would have been more so if the legs ever got going ... ACHY today.

Thursday, February 28: Off: prudence
- Today was open #2 of 3 and I didn't want to be completely useless tomorrow, so I chose today as my rest day.

Friday, March 1: Swim: 800m in 18:25.50 - 2:17/100m
- 100m, 300m, 300m, 100m
- unremarkable
- did "tri practice" for 25m
- Was hoping to do the MX12 treadmill set today, but that wasn't going to happen. Still 172, and I think it's due to hormones. Damn being a female and doodle week.

Saturday, March 2: Run: 4 mi in 40:48.54 - 10:11/mi
- BRC-DTC run
- first 2 in 18:05; 3 in 30: ... stupid hills
- in new shoes - Saucony Triumphs
Lift: 8:00; core only
- 3/10 supermans; 3/15 crunches; 3/45 bicycles; 1/6/5 turkish get-ups
- stopped during that last set due to pukey - dinner too fresh
- Legs felt super heavy on last half of run - aaall uphill. No walking on 1st half, though! Running needs a breakthrough ... which will hopefully come with more mileage.

Sunday, March 3: Cycle: 10.69 mi in 42:12; avg cad 79; 15.2 mph
- 30.5 mph max
- CCSP and back
- definitely starting to feel stronger
- Was hoping to lift too, but totally ran out of gas. Still, glorious to get outside on the bike. Fell over like a rookie, though. Ouchy bruises.

Back at it like a pro this week. Well, kinda. About back to where I was two weeks ago in terms of time, so yay for that.

Weekly training time: 4:51:06
Weekly training mileage: 38.81 mi
Yearly training time: 27:13:42
Yearly training mileage: 173.94 mi

Saturday, March 2, 2013

February Round-Up

This February might be my biggest February ever ... which isn't that surprising due to base-building, but it's kind of awesome.

Numbers!

Running: 23.68 mi
Swimming: 6400m (4 mi)
Cycling: 80.15 mi
Lifting: 6 sessions
Other: nada

Running picked up quite nicely from January, but I know I still need to run more. I also need to start running longer (didn't run longer than 4 miles in Feb). The issue with running right now is I just don't feel spry. I feel like my legs are heavy half the time. Part of it may be due to the volume, but I'm almost tempted to go back into my hockey training and start doing some plyometrics ... even though endurance athletes tend not to do such things.

Swimming is coming along. I'm not getting all that much faster, but for right now, if I can stay under a 2:20/100m (YES I'M SLOW), I'll be happy. Obviously I'd like that to shrink and shrink quite a bit, but I think it will once I start putting in more mileage.

Cycling ... oh, cycling. The miles are getting in slowly despite the speed being nowhere near it needs to be (something again I'm hoping will come with mileage ... and horrible workouts). More mileage in March is going to be tricky because, as you've noticed in my weekly recaps, the bike just isn't comfortable right now. That being said, I know I'm getting a new bike this Spring - the question is just when - and all I need to do is hold out until then.

Lifting was a disappointment this month. Didn't lift nearly as much as I should have. That ended up being the thing that got cut some weeks ... which I don't necessarily think is smart during base-building. Part of this may be because I'm getting very bored with the Mark Allen lifting plan, but eh. We'll continue to slog on through.

There were no "other" workouts this month and that, I think, actually sucks. I think we need to add in a bit of variety now and then so we don't get burned out too early ... if there is nothing in the "other" category in the March round-up, please feel free to chastise us.

All in all, a pretty good month for being a short one. Here's to March (and hopefully some rides outside)!

EDITED: Playing with numbers and calendars on BeginnerTriathlete, I found the following:
- I had higher running numbers this month than I did in six of the months last year;
- I had higher cycling totals this month than I did in nine of the months last year and;
- I had higher swimming totals this month than I did in nine of the months last year.
Holy. Eff.

Friday, March 1, 2013

February Recap

February was a pretty good month, all things considered.

I took a few more off days then I would have liked, but when you take a look at the reasons, they actually make good sense.  What I am trying to build right now is not only consistency, but a gradual build of 3 weeks on and 1 week easy.  It's not easy and sometimes my body rebels at what I'm doing, but I think I'm really starting to get used to this.

So anyway, here's the numbers:

Swim - 5750 meters or 3.57 miles
Bike - 83.42 miles
Run - 21.26 miles
Strength training - 3:10

What is good to note here is that I am seeing more consistency in most avenues of training right now.  Especially on the bike.  Each time I hop on I feel like the DVD's are a bit easier.  I'm also noticing muscles popping in interesting places, such as the shoulders.  My running is the one thing I'd like to get more consistent.  I'm hoping that with warmer weather in March I'll want to get outside and run more.  Or fly more, which forces me to run. :-)