Got in the pool tonight and had a great swim! I don't know what is was, but for some reason a very enjoyable workout. Don't worry, I was still working hard, just liked it more than most swims. Felt good to do something again after a few days off.
I also had a great swim last night! I was trying to keep up with the guy wearing his Ironman swim cap in the lane next to me, which made the laps fly by!
Monday swim done yesterday- the 3X3X100's descend is a short tough workout. I have to fight the tendancy to get sloppy trying to go faster. Don't really gain much speed, just burn alot of energy.
Tues. bike done this morning. I use the 25' warmup, works better for me. 2X15' Zn 4 @ 245w & 243w, current FTP 244, so they're 1.0's 2nd set was tough today.
...I have to fight the tendancy to get sloppy trying to go faster. Don't really gain much speed, just burn alot of energy...
Coach R's admonition for IM swim pacing - "Swim only as hard as you are able to maintain excellent form" - really applies to any distance when you are trying to go as fast as possible, for that distance. Speed during a 100 interval will be faster than a 4200 interval, but it should *feel* the same, kinesthetically.
@ Al T. Thanks, and of course, you're right and I know better. In fact, my best swim test was the most recent where I didn't try to go hard/fast, just execute good form.
I've not been good about posting workouts, which is bad, since it helps in holding me accountable and gives me a feeling of satisfaction to complete each and every one.
I did not do last weekend's run - skied and snowshoed instead, which wasn't really a substitute, but was fun. I did a very tough bike on Sunday consisting of 2x20' @ ftp + 5 x 2' @ z5 + some extra z3 work - 2 hours on the bike followed by shoveling of yet more snow...tough day! Monday was 2200 meters in the pool of mostly 100's and 50's. Today I did 1 x 20', 1 x 15' @ ftp on the bike and bricked a z1-z2 run of 35'.
I'm feeling more fatigue in the GF plan than I had in the NOV OS. My bike and run just aren't there. Very frustrating, but will keep at it and adjust as necessary.
@ Brad, the skiing, snowshoeing and shoveling may have been harder than you think. It all adds up.
I did yesterday's swim in the morning and descended all the sets as prescribed. I think I started out the first one of each set a little conservative but I was able to descend them throughout and keep good form while doing it. Of course my fastest fast interval was when I had more rest but you'd expect that.
I did today's run this morning since there's a good hill down by the state capitol that I can bound up and hit the top for the sprint. It gets busy there during the day so I can't do it there in the afternoon especially now when the legislative session is going on. Too many lobbyists and leg staffers in suits around. It was exciting for le dog. He kept grabbing my hand during the recovery and wanting me to run not walk. He started to vocalize and encourage me for the last couple of intervals to bound higher.
I did the bike this after work and hit 0.99 on both coming in at 230 and 231 NP for the 2X15'. I did all of the intervals in the aero position (except for the last 90 seconds of the first interval). They were hard but I didn't feel trashed after they were over so that's good. I have to note that when I tested last week after swim camp that my FTP came in at 227 but at the middle of the NOS it was 233 so this is right in the middle. I feel good with keeping my FTP at 233 given the last two workouts.
I got the bike in over lunch yesterday - although I cut it a bit short. I ended up doing just a WU of 5' + 3x1' (1') and then 2x10' (4') Z4. Last night's hills were done on the treadmill - this is such a n00bie realization, but it feels good to be able to run at an easy pace - up until about a year or so ago all running was considered hard. So now it's fun to tell myself that If I go really hard for 50 seconds on an up hill, then I can run "easy" for two minutes and that two minutes actually does feel relatively easy.
@Mark - FTP intervals in aero = AMBITIOUS! Don't think I could do that for more than a couple of minutes.
This morning I swam 1700 meters - 400wu, 12x 100's, 100cd - felt decent I followed with a 60' run outside (1st outdoor run in a week!). I did 2 x 1mi, .5mi @ z4 and some z1-z2 work. Total 7.7 miles.
In order for my run to come back, I need to get outside more. The TM isn't cutting it for me and I fear I'm losing fitness.
@Lindsay, I too am learning to make myself really slow down. I was kinda disappointed by how slow my run was yesterday, but was like that is what it is suppose to be! Save the work for the work!
Shuffling workouts around to fit my crazy schedule. Did the bike tonight, decided to break the 2x15 into 3x10 to make it more manageable after missing some workouts the past two weeks and being sick and stuff. .98 for all three. Legs are tired!
Run error today, on the 2nd z4 mile I must have hit the pause/stop button instead of the lap button. I am sure it would have been a pr, maybe a wr!!! Well, I'll get another chance on Sunday. Cheers!
Somehow I managed to strain my neck while swimming last night. I finished the descends but then was feeling a bit too sore/uncomfortable to run right after. I'll try to make up the run today. Off to buy a heat pack now.
@ Lindsey you should be icing it for the first 24-48 hours. If you use heat it should be ice-heat-ice. Ice reduces inflammation while heat increases it.
Another good swim this morning. I use to dread swimming but have really been enjoying it lately! Doing the Wed run tonight. Good work all, sorry to hear about your neck Lindsay, hope it resolves quickly!
I'm having fun comparing my swim times this GF go round to the one I did two months ago, I'm in week two now, and today;s wko was 100/200/300/400/300/200/100 first @ T pace, then @ T pace minus 2-3 sec. In December, my times were:
1:37, 3:21, 5:05, 6:59, 5:12, 3:26, 1:39. Today, they were
1:39, 3:23, 5;06, 6:54, 5:04, 3:20, 1:36. My 2.5 s/100 slower T pace enabled me to be more realistic about my pacing from interval to interval. And for some reason, taking 3-4 weeks off of swimming seems to have done nothing to slow me down,unlike what it did to liking and running.
I must still be feeling the effects of the combination of lack of training for three weeks followed by a hard 15 K race on Saturday. Wed, I tried to do the TP interval workout, but after running the first 400 m of the first of 3 x 1 mi, and finding I was going at 20s/mi slower than TP, I pulled the plug, and slogged around the track for a total of 5 miles @ LRP. During and after, my adductors started feeling really crampy and sore, which was a switch from the knee pain and quad thrashing I had been feeling previously. I guess I'm trying to ramp up too fast. As well as seeing the recovery issues associated with being 65 y/o.
So, I'll limit my next two runs to 5 miles @ Z1, and try a few strides after each, and see where that goes.
Wednesday's run tonight on the treadmill- good workout except I now have giant blister under the ball of my big toe. No fun. I just started using a HR monitor recently and I'm shocked at how high my HR gets running. Seems to top out at 170ish biking but I hit 188 on the run today. I'm on fairly high dose of prednisone right now for a crohn's flare, and I know that can elevate HR, so it'll be interesting to see that data as I start tapering off, hopefully tomorrow.
It seems like I can only get to posting every other day but I am doing the workouts (mostly).
I did the swim yesterday morning and was able to descend all the sets as prescribed. I'm not sure which is harder having the 100's first or the 50's. I think I paced it better with the 100's first but it could also be mental.
I did the 2X1 mile run yesterday afternoon after work and I hit the miles at a bit faster than Z4 pace which for me is 7:25. I did the first one at 7:11 and the second at 7:10. I didn't feel like I was pushing it too hard so perhaps I'll see a bump in Vdot at the next test. The rest of the run was easy Z1 stuff. I'm trying to really reign myself in during the easy stuff and not do a lot of junk miles. I'm trying to focus more on recovery and that means taking the time to cool down and then make sure I get some calories in as soon as I get home. So far it seems to be working.
But having said that, this evening I had to work late and I woke up a little tired this morning. I got on the bike after work and while I was doing my FTP spin ups during the warm up I could feel that 2X15 at FTP was not in my legs today. So I changed the workout to a HIIT workout consisting of 15X10"(30") all out sprints. Most of the intervals were in the 6.75 to 7.50 w/kg range and I was sweating profusely and really feeling it by the 11th interval. It was a nice, compact but intense workout.
I'll swim tomorrow and bag the run because of after work obligations and to rest my legs a little. Saturday and Sunday are supposed to be dry and sunny here so it will be nice to get out on the bike again.
I'm have to hack the workouts a little this week between weather closing the pool and a trip this weekend. Did a bike this morning, and plan to run tomorrow, no wko Sun. Next week I should get ALL the wko's done.
Today, I put in 1 hr, 40 minutes of a Saturday bike wko. I'm trying to get in the spirit of the session, without worsening how my legs feel. So, 24' of FTP intervals as 3x8 @ 0.95 IF; 10' @ 0.65-0.73, 7x1' (1'), each progressing by 2% from 110 to 120%, ending with 12' @ 0.8-0.85. Total of 100' I am watching House of Cards this go round, so I quit after 2 episodes. Its a pretty dull show, despite the quality of the acting. I like more movement in my movies.
Got my weekend run done this morning, first run outdoors in a couple weeks. Nice sunrise and 21 degrees!
EN run WU+ 2X1mi Zn 4 @ 8:22, 8:09 paces, 2X1/2mi Zn4 @ 8:05, 8:01 paces + some Zn 2 work for a 70' run. Felt pretty good, I seem to be a little faster on the road than the TM with the same RPE.
Yesterday: swim 2000M 45' with 3 x 500M. Concentrated on drills for form. Followed up with 40' run on the treadmill with strides.
Today: 2hour bike on trainer as 3 x 10', 1 x 5' @ FTP (coach P suggested I break them up to hit my #'s), 4 x 2' @ Z5, and 2 x 15' @ Z3. I have some work to do on being on the bike longer at this point. 2 hours seems looong to me still. Continue to have power meter issues and numbers jumping all over so did my best to keep them constant until I get this fixed.
Yesterday was a forced day off due to getting 3 hrs of sleep Thursday night (end of the quarter grading fun!) and feeling like the walking dead all day yesterday. Back at it today! Switched Sat and Sun due to weather forecast. I did a 1 hr bike with some Z3 to warm up and pseudo make up for the bike WO i missed this week, then I got out into the great outdoors. At first it felt awful. I started thinking maybe I'd only do 5 miles my legs were dragging so badly, and I'd ruled out hitting those Z4 intervals. I kept telling myself "just one more mile" though and when I turned around at 5 miles, suddenly my legs were ready to go. Without any effort, my pace dropped from 8:50ish miles to 8:20, then 8:12, then 7:45, and last 7:41. So lesson learned, don't give up on a run, it might surprise you!
Ran yesterday and biked today due to weather. 2 1/2 hrs on the trainer, yikes. The last 1:15 at z3 was too much for me and I moved down to z2. Made it.
All day conference calls saved me from having to do the full 2.5 hrs today... busy busy time with work but that should die down in a couple weeks. I was able to get on the bike for a little over an hour and hit the 2x15' FTP at .95 and .97. Happy with that considering my legs feel dead walking up stairs.
I did today's run yesterday and yesterday's ride today. The run was as written. No great breakthroughs or trauma (or drama), just a work a day workout. Today's ride was a little different.
It was a 2X15 FTP, 7X1.5 Vo2, and then Z3. The FTP intervals were hard but I slogged it out and hit them at 0.96 and 0.97. Last week the Vo2 intervals were inconsistent and sagged towards the end. I decided to try to change today. I started out conservatively on the first one and built from there. I hit them at 1.21, then 1.22 and finished at 1.23 so it was a solid build across all 7, but it was tough to muster. I did a 4 minute rest after that MS and had some food and drink while recovering then hit the Z3. Last week I did 25 minutes of Z3 and felt pretty toasted. I wanted to beat that this week, in fact I wanted to double it. The first 30 minutes were OK and then the demons started telling me that I'd done more than last week so why not slow down to Z1-2 and cruise home. I kept bargaining with myself, just 5 more minutes or the next land mark. I finally thought that maybe I would shut down the Z3 at 45 minutes, but then I got there and decided that I was so close to 50 minutes that I could make it. The last 5 minutes weren't as bad as the preceding 15 but my legs were barking at me as well as my brain. I finished the 50 minutes 2 watts higher than last week. Overall the ride was 2:23 at IF 0.85 which is great, but it was a mental game the whole time. I shut down the Z3 interval at the edge of town and cruised home mostly at Z1 or lower to start the recovery process.
One thing I changed this week is that I ditched the gatorade G2 and switched over to Skratch Labs Hydration which is what I use during races. I also took 3 rice muffins (200 cal ea) instead of 2 like I did last week. I ate the first muffin after the first FTP interval and then the second after the Vo2 set and the 3rd during the Z3 interval. The momentary lapse in power didn't seem to hurt the overall interval effort.
Fit in the pool this morning and found out that I must have strained a muscle in my back when I was moving a 250 lb toolbox down to the basement this weekend. So I canned the prescribed workout and did some drills instead.
Comments
Monday swim done yesterday- the 3X3X100's descend is a short tough workout. I have to fight the tendancy to get sloppy trying to go faster. Don't really gain much speed, just burn alot of energy.
Tues. bike done this morning. I use the 25' warmup, works better for me. 2X15' Zn 4 @ 245w & 243w, current FTP 244, so they're 1.0's 2nd set was tough today.
Coach R's admonition for IM swim pacing - "Swim only as hard as you are able to maintain excellent form" - really applies to any distance when you are trying to go as fast as possible, for that distance. Speed during a 100 interval will be faster than a 4200 interval, but it should *feel* the same, kinesthetically.
I did not do last weekend's run - skied and snowshoed instead, which wasn't really a substitute, but was fun. I did a very tough bike on Sunday consisting of 2x20' @ ftp + 5 x 2' @ z5 + some extra z3 work - 2 hours on the bike followed by shoveling of yet more snow...tough day! Monday was 2200 meters in the pool of mostly 100's and 50's. Today I did 1 x 20', 1 x 15' @ ftp on the bike and bricked a z1-z2 run of 35'.
I'm feeling more fatigue in the GF plan than I had in the NOV OS. My bike and run just aren't there. Very frustrating, but will keep at it and adjust as necessary.
@ Brad, the skiing, snowshoeing and shoveling may have been harder than you think. It all adds up.
I did yesterday's swim in the morning and descended all the sets as prescribed. I think I started out the first one of each set a little conservative but I was able to descend them throughout and keep good form while doing it. Of course my fastest fast interval was when I had more rest but you'd expect that.
I did today's run this morning since there's a good hill down by the state capitol that I can bound up and hit the top for the sprint. It gets busy there during the day so I can't do it there in the afternoon especially now when the legislative session is going on. Too many lobbyists and leg staffers in suits around. It was exciting for le dog. He kept grabbing my hand during the recovery and wanting me to run not walk. He started to vocalize and encourage me for the last couple of intervals to bound higher.
I did the bike this after work and hit 0.99 on both coming in at 230 and 231 NP for the 2X15'. I did all of the intervals in the aero position (except for the last 90 seconds of the first interval). They were hard but I didn't feel trashed after they were over so that's good. I have to note that when I tested last week after swim camp that my FTP came in at 227 but at the middle of the NOS it was 233 so this is right in the middle. I feel good with keeping my FTP at 233 given the last two workouts.
This morning I swam 1700 meters - 400wu, 12x 100's, 100cd - felt decent
I followed with a 60' run outside (1st outdoor run in a week!). I did 2 x 1mi, .5mi @ z4 and some z1-z2 work. Total 7.7 miles.
In order for my run to come back, I need to get outside more. The TM isn't cutting it for me and I fear I'm losing fitness.
Shuffling workouts around to fit my crazy schedule. Did the bike tonight, decided to break the 2x15 into 3x10 to make it more manageable after missing some workouts the past two weeks and being sick and stuff. .98 for all three. Legs are tired!
Wed. run done yesterday morning on TM. 2X1 mi Zn 4 both @ 8:30 pace 2X 1/2 mi Zn 4 both @ 8:13 pace.
Thurs. workout looks like shoveling snow. Second week in a row we've gotten hammered. This is the south, we're not equipped for this.
I'm having fun comparing my swim times this GF go round to the one I did two months ago, I'm in week two now, and today;s wko was 100/200/300/400/300/200/100 first @ T pace, then @ T pace minus 2-3 sec. In December, my times were:
1:37, 3:21, 5:05, 6:59, 5:12, 3:26, 1:39. Today, they were
1:39, 3:23, 5;06, 6:54, 5:04, 3:20, 1:36. My 2.5 s/100 slower T pace enabled me to be more realistic about my pacing from interval to interval. And for some reason, taking 3-4 weeks off of swimming seems to have done nothing to slow me down,unlike what it did to liking and running.
I must still be feeling the effects of the combination of lack of training for three weeks followed by a hard 15 K race on Saturday. Wed, I tried to do the TP interval workout, but after running the first 400 m of the first of 3 x 1 mi, and finding I was going at 20s/mi slower than TP, I pulled the plug, and slogged around the track for a total of 5 miles @ LRP. During and after, my adductors started feeling really crampy and sore, which was a switch from the knee pain and quad thrashing I had been feeling previously. I guess I'm trying to ramp up too fast. As well as seeing the recovery issues associated with being 65 y/o.
So, I'll limit my next two runs to 5 miles @ Z1, and try a few strides after each, and see where that goes.
It seems like I can only get to posting every other day but I am doing the workouts (mostly).
I did the swim yesterday morning and was able to descend all the sets as prescribed. I'm not sure which is harder having the 100's first or the 50's. I think I paced it better with the 100's first but it could also be mental.
I did the 2X1 mile run yesterday afternoon after work and I hit the miles at a bit faster than Z4 pace which for me is 7:25. I did the first one at 7:11 and the second at 7:10. I didn't feel like I was pushing it too hard so perhaps I'll see a bump in Vdot at the next test. The rest of the run was easy Z1 stuff. I'm trying to really reign myself in during the easy stuff and not do a lot of junk miles. I'm trying to focus more on recovery and that means taking the time to cool down and then make sure I get some calories in as soon as I get home. So far it seems to be working.
But having said that, this evening I had to work late and I woke up a little tired this morning. I got on the bike after work and while I was doing my FTP spin ups during the warm up I could feel that 2X15 at FTP was not in my legs today. So I changed the workout to a HIIT workout consisting of 15X10"(30") all out sprints. Most of the intervals were in the 6.75 to 7.50 w/kg range and I was sweating profusely and really feeling it by the 11th interval. It was a nice, compact but intense workout.
I'll swim tomorrow and bag the run because of after work obligations and to rest my legs a little. Saturday and Sunday are supposed to be dry and sunny here so it will be nice to get out on the bike again.
I'm have to hack the workouts a little this week between weather closing the pool and a trip this weekend. Did a bike this morning, and plan to run tomorrow, no wko Sun. Next week I should get ALL the wko's done.
Bike: EN 25' WU, 2X15' Zn 4 both @ 1.0
Got my weekend run done this morning, first run outdoors in a couple weeks. Nice sunrise and 21 degrees!
EN run WU+ 2X1mi Zn 4 @ 8:22, 8:09 paces, 2X1/2mi Zn4 @ 8:05, 8:01 paces + some Zn 2 work for a 70' run. Felt pretty good, I seem to be a little faster on the road than the TM with the same RPE.
Today: 2hour bike on trainer as 3 x 10', 1 x 5' @ FTP (coach P suggested I break them up to hit my #'s), 4 x 2' @ Z5, and 2 x 15' @ Z3. I have some work to do on being on the bike longer at this point. 2 hours seems looong to me still. Continue to have power meter issues and numbers jumping all over so did my best to keep them constant until I get this fixed.
I did today's run yesterday and yesterday's ride today. The run was as written. No great breakthroughs or trauma (or drama), just a work a day workout. Today's ride was a little different.
It was a 2X15 FTP, 7X1.5 Vo2, and then Z3. The FTP intervals were hard but I slogged it out and hit them at 0.96 and 0.97. Last week the Vo2 intervals were inconsistent and sagged towards the end. I decided to try to change today. I started out conservatively on the first one and built from there. I hit them at 1.21, then 1.22 and finished at 1.23 so it was a solid build across all 7, but it was tough to muster. I did a 4 minute rest after that MS and had some food and drink while recovering then hit the Z3. Last week I did 25 minutes of Z3 and felt pretty toasted. I wanted to beat that this week, in fact I wanted to double it. The first 30 minutes were OK and then the demons started telling me that I'd done more than last week so why not slow down to Z1-2 and cruise home. I kept bargaining with myself, just 5 more minutes or the next land mark. I finally thought that maybe I would shut down the Z3 at 45 minutes, but then I got there and decided that I was so close to 50 minutes that I could make it. The last 5 minutes weren't as bad as the preceding 15 but my legs were barking at me as well as my brain. I finished the 50 minutes 2 watts higher than last week. Overall the ride was 2:23 at IF 0.85 which is great, but it was a mental game the whole time. I shut down the Z3 interval at the edge of town and cruised home mostly at Z1 or lower to start the recovery process.
One thing I changed this week is that I ditched the gatorade G2 and switched over to Skratch Labs Hydration which is what I use during races. I also took 3 rice muffins (200 cal ea) instead of 2 like I did last week. I ate the first muffin after the first FTP interval and then the second after the Vo2 set and the 3rd during the Z3 interval. The momentary lapse in power didn't seem to hurt the overall interval effort.
Tues. bike done yesterday, felt pretty good. 2X15' Zn 4 @ 1.0 & 1.01.
Wed. run done this morning outside, swim done after work. All intervals a little slow today-run & swim. 3X1mi @8:29, 8:35, 8:40.