Week 12…9 To Go
OK, according to Coach P's podcast this week, now we're Really Training for an Ironman. And just in time, the weather has turned in the Pac NW - promising to be sunny and WARM all week, maybe a record 80 on Thursday. I'll be doing a 5K on Sunday for my run test, and the swim TT on Friday, so today I plugged in last week's bike intervals (which I missed while in Boston), as I just can;t get up for three tests in a week. I'll do the weekend rides on Wed and Thurs.
Yesterday, I did Monday's swim (Sun AM is when I earn SAUs swimming with my wife). You'd think I'd know what "descend" means in the wkos. In the past, I did each of the three sets of 3 x 100 faster than the previous set; this time, I did the descend within each set. It seemed to make a little more sense then going the slowest with the longest rest interval, and trying to do all three of the 10" RIs at my sprint pace. Looking back at previous year's efforts, I'm basically the same speed no matter which way I do it: 1:45, 1:39, 1:34.
I also did my first real brick of the year after the bid trainer intervals: 4.7 mi in 40 minutes. Whenever I feel like not swimming or bricking, I remind myself, "This is what makes us triathletes." Meaning, the swimming and the bricks are what separate us from single sport cyclists and runners.
Comments
OK, 9! I didn't bother to count on the calendar or check my training plan page (were it clearly says 9 weeks to go), just subtracted 12 (the week we're in?) from 20, and wrote down 8. I was never very good at arithmetic, anyway. Math, algebra, calculus I could handle just fine. Adding and subtracting, not so much. That's why Ive worn a calculator watch since 1976!
Ah ha! Thanks Al for pointing me to these threads and for creating them.
I'm not really "testing" this week but am taking the spirit of recovery. I felt really good about the outdoor tests I did 4x weeks ago and don't have the flexibility to pull off another round outdoors again this week. I AM dnjoying a little breather after being full steam ahead for so long. Even did some yoga yesterday - shocker!
Doing the "camp" weekend on the course Memorial Day weekend. Exciting!
Awesome - bet you could go sub 20 in a race with people!
Peter - better not count on any FTP bump at this stage of training - if anything, the usual pattern is a disappointing test with a lower FTP. I simply don't test in the last 2-3 months before an IM, to avoid that
The accumulating fatigue will override any efforts you might make on the weekly interval work - you just can't get enough rest if you are doing all the training at this point in the plan, to expect a good outcome on an FTP test. But then, you may just be a contrarian and beat the odds?
I got a short mild cold this past week, probably from the combo of running a marathon, high-fiving a lot of kids along the way, and returning on a 6 hour plane ride. So I took Tuesday totally off, and yesterday could only handle 45 minutes of the swim workout plus a 2 hour "recovery ride" (IF of 0.62). Today, I managed the Saturday ride of 4.5 hours, hitting the 6 x 25 intervals @ 0.75-76, and throwing in a couple of 0.90 efforts x 4 minutes on some hills in the last hour. Still didn't have the energy for a run, especially considering we're having a mini-heat wave (2 days @ 83F), but I managed 210 TSS, and got my nutrition plan more dialed in. Tomorrow will be the swim test - hope to better the 16:36 I did in Jan (just five years ago I was over a minute faster - warning to all you youngsters, enjoy your speed while you can), and Sunday a local 5K for the run test - goal there is to sustain my 46 VDOT, and stay at the 21:07 I did last year (VDOT calculator says I need 21:02 for 47). No FTP test (see my comment to Peter previously.)
I'm still not running - trying to get my calf fixed - seeing my ART guy 3x per week. I did 50 minutes of deep water running this morning in lieu of the 5k test. It sucked but I got it done. I'm looking forward to the swim test tomorrow & the long rides this weekend. Getting the volume on the bike has been a confidence booster for me - seems like each week I'm navigating farther and farther into uncharted territory. I just wish I was able to run.
I asked coach P for a "how should I transition back to running" plan & here was his response:
Finally, I'm in the process of trying to get a power meter on my bike which I think will be super helpful for me. I find on these long rides that I'm all over the place in terms of intensity, heart rate & RPE...so I'm hoping a PM can take some of the ambiguity out of the picture.
Keep going!!
@ Peter - I can only dream of getting to a sub 18 minute, 56 vdot!
I got a vdot bump as well on the run test, finished in 21:01 which is a personal best for me! I was shooting for sub 21...close enough though. The swim test this morning was 14:58 so some improvement here down to 1:30/100 vs previous 1:31.
Mediocre swim test - no change from January, still @ T pace of 1:40. I guess the lingering cold and 4.5 hours/215 TSS bike ride yesterday might have something to do with it? Oh well, it's still 2 minutes faster than when I had to reconstruct my swim stroke 3 years ago, but a minute slower than six months before that.
Rain expected Sunday morning - should I still race a $40 5K (haven't paid the fee yet)?
I got my 4 1/2 hours in but it was no fun. Was never really able to get into the groove...the last two hours felt like I was just struggling to hang on. Ended up getting about 73 miles done. Then....following coach P's protocol to get me back running I went 15 minutes (well...okay it was actually 16 minutes) at about 9:30 pace. Besides being tired and mentally whipped from the ride I felt pretty good running. no calf issues at all - which was encouraging to say the least. I'll try another 15 minutes tomorrow after my ride.
I took in about 2150 calories while on the bike which works about to about 477 per hour. I was down 1lb after the workout.