Week 15
I'm still trying to recovery emotionally from last week's testing results
. To help I had a great day Saturday during the bike run brick. I was able to get out for 2:30 hours on the bike and then run :30 (Outside temp 25 degrees 
). Strange thing is I was sustaining higher watts and run splits than my new recommended zones. Go figure! So, in a good way I'm feeling better about last week as it must have been some fluke thing or at least some other factor that I'm not aware of that contributed to some fairly significant drops on my VDOT and FTP.
By the way, those of you racing IMSG: When do we transition to the IS and begin swimming? Do we need to notify the coaches so they can tweak our plans on a miroc level?
I'm planning on another consistent week. How are you all doing so far?
Comments
Steve, that's great that you were able to hammer out those intervals on Saturday even stronger than you needed to! That was a long workout, too - you're going to crush IMSG, along with all you other SG peeps.
I floundered a little at the beginning of last week, but was able to hold my intervals for Saturday's bike and rocked the run intervals on Sunday. I have a C-race on Sunday, a half mary, but don't plan on tweaking my plan too much this week.
How is everyone else doing?
I'm glad to hear you snapped back too. You need to know it was nice to self-comisserate with others who had a tough week. I didn't expect that one coming at all.
Sweet!!! the run on Sunday went well for you
. Isn't it nice to see your average pace per mile drop. I think you'll have a great run Sunday with actual warm bodies as competitors to bring out your best. Yea, I'm hoping IMSG will go well. I've got to stay more consistent each week and also figure out the nutrition element of IM. I've done 3 and haven't nailed the nutrition element yet.
Saturday I met up with another member of EN (Vince Hoffart) and went on a ride. I was a little worried at being able to keep up with his group. Most the time it was all I could do to hang on to a back tire, but it was a good ride. I know I am a lot stronger on the bike then when I started the out season. Before the out season I mountain biked a lot. The trail I ride has some monster, puke at the top, climbs. I did go for a mountain bike ride the weekend before the test and had one of those strange experiences. I don’t know if any of you have been back to your elementary school as adults. It all seems small. When I was climbing the hills on the mountain bike it was almost like that, the climbs seemed small. Normally I would struggle but I made it right up with no problems.
Although I did not test that well last week, I know I am a lot stronger.
Steve: I plan to hit the water tomorrow. My plan is short sessions for now working on some TI swim drills. As far as exiting the out season, I am not sure. I think a couple more weeks for me in the OS (beginners start the IS a few weeks before advanced).
Feb 26-27 I might be in Saint George. I am not sure if that fits in with anyone’s schedule or not. Being that my expectation for Saint George is to finish (my first ironman), a pre-ride is probably not all that important but would be fun. I have a brother going to school in DC that will be in SL for a wedding. He plans to drive down to ride the course. I might go meet him for a run and ride.
Christine: good luck on the half mary. I hope everyone has a good week.
Looks like everyone is snapping back nicely. I too had a good ride on Saturday. Outside for the first time in a month or so and I felt really strong and the NP post ride confirmed that. Screw what the test said last week, I know I'm stronger.
As for IMSG.... I think we are supposed to transition to the IM training plan 12 weeks out which would be 2/8. I was going to post in the Macro adivce thread to get it square in my head. Will hopefully get to that in the next few days. I started swimming last week. Just 2 sessions a week of 1,000 meters each. Basically just doing drills and getting used to being in the water again. I will SLOWLY start to add a bit of time over the next few weeks. Again, just to get a feel for the water again.
Tom: I would love to be Mtn Biking currently but there is at least 1 ft of snow everywhere here. Moab is even covered in a blanket of white. That's awesome that you are hammering up the hills with no problem and even hanging with the big boys on the ride with your friend. I've been keeping track of your numbers and have noticed the great progress, especially with your FTP.
I'll keep those February dates of the 26th & 27th in mind. That would likely work for me. I would very much like to meet up with you and anyone else in our group.
Mark: Dude, I love your statement where you said something like, "I don't care about the test resutls last week I know I'm faster
!" I needed to hear that because of my own results. It's always nice to have someone in the saddle with you when things don't pan out the way you think they will. Sounds like your Saturday ride contradicted your test results too. NICE!!!
Thanks for letting me know about your swim plans. I won't start swimming for 3 weeks due to pool access. I'll have to commute one way 80 miles. Fun
!!!
Whoever gets the skinny from RnP about when we transition to IS please post us here in the incredible OCT OS forum.
Tom - I love your MTB story! What a great analogy with the elementary school size perspective! Very cool! OS does do amazing things for MTB fitness. Kind of a nice side bennie!
Had a good ride this morning. Was within my 95-100% range for both intervals, and felt pretty good. I think my extra rest day on Sunday was the ticket! We're having good weather in Denver this week, so I'm hoping to do my run workout outdoors tomorrow! What a treat?!
Way to go, Tom and Mark! It's great to KNOW that you are getting faster and stronger, despite what the test said. We don't need no stinkin' tests!
I'm going to miss all of you IMSG peeps when you depart the OS for IM prep. It's going to be lonely in here!
This was a great week, workout-wise and otherwise, until today. I woke up late, groggy, and hungry. Ate a snack, drank a cup of coffee, and jumped on the bike, but I wasn't mentally able to complete 2X15 - just one of those days. My legs felt strong but my mojo was weak.
I did some shorter intervals instead and am looking forward to the rest day tomorrow.
Have a great rest of the day, group!
Confession time. I bonked on both tests and didn't finish them. Should I try again next week or just continue with what I have? Quite frankly I don't think I could do any more than what I'm currently at for FTP and Vdot. I'm wondering if the time at the health club made me go backwards but I couldn't do more than 20 minutes on the bike and same for the run.
This week I seem to have the mojo back.....
Kristin and Sheryl: Have you figured out the rest & recovery you personally need with EN traning. Honestly, I haven't but our coaches remind us that if we can't give the workout 100% then maybe we should just complete part of what the listed work is or skip it all together. There's always another workout on the table tomorrow, so it's best to toss in the towel sometimes and save it for another day. All of us handle the workload differently. Last week, even though I was thinking I was going to smash my numbers, my tests didn't produce the numbers I wanted and there were other's in our group that made great gains. So, we're all different and have different needs for recovery. Figureing out how to pesonalize our own plans is the key.
I've had a better week this week thus far. Next week will be a huge training week for me due to Martin Luthur King Day (big ride) and a trip to St. George. I will ride the IMSG bike course and then run a half marathon the following day. I think I'll need a few recovery days after next week but I'm looking forward to warmer weather and some reconainssance of my A race.