Iron Training Week 4 & 5 - Mike D.

So, things got a bit hectic and then I got sick and the blog suffered. Here's a condensed 2 week brief of how things went. Enjoy.

Week for was the first recovery week of the cycle. Much needed and much appreciated. I was feeling strong coming into the off week and felt like I could of put out some greater intensity during almost all the work outs, but I held back and followed the plan. I even included a massage and got some adhesions worked out of my legs where my self massage tools could not reach. At the end of the rest weeks, I get to do a brick of 2 hours bike and 1 hours run to see where my endurance stands. I averaged about 20mph on the bike and 8 minute miles on the run, so I was pretty stoked on where I was at.

Training totals for week 4:

Swim: 2.5 miles

Bike: 65 miles

Run: 13 miles

After a weekend full of debauchery and fun times with friends and family, I wasn't sure how this build week would go. I started off the week with run intervals on Tuesday and got through that fairly easy. I knew that if I could muscle through that, it would be a good week. How wrong was I? I started feeling ill on Wednesday night and ended up not training on Thursday or Friday. Saw the doctor on Friday and got some Amoxicillin to treat my sinus infection. Sinuses clogged, head throbbing and feeling like crap, I still rolled out and tried to get my long workouts done Saturday and Sunday. Saturday, I knocked out my swim and tested out the run. I completed one 8.5 mile lap of my 2 lap run and decided to stop because my head felt like it was going to explode from sinus pressure. Once I got back home, I went straight to resting and preparing for the 4.5 hours on the bike I had waiting for me on Sunday. Sleep was intermittent and didn't come easy, but I managed to get about 9 hours total which I was good with. The bike ride went as good as I could of hoped and I got somewhere around 75 miles in. Although the ride went pretty slow because of the cold, I gained a ton of confidence at the end knowing that I could manage even with adversity. And that my friends is turning a frown upside down.

Training totals for week 5:

Swim: 4 miles

Bike: 90 miles

Run: 16 miles

  

Drugs are good.

Iron Training Week 3 - Mike D.

Reality is starting to set in. I've known for a while that this was not going to be easy but I am now realizing that this is going to be the hardest thing I have worked for in my life.

The weekdays are becoming routine and the intervals I am presented with toward the beginning of the week are a welcome site now. The second set of work outs, which I am now realizing are meant for maintenance and recovery, are making more sense and I am learning to enjoy those days and not push during them.

As for the weekends, that's a whole different ball game. I'm tackling the long runs pretty well, but I am only averaging about 9:00 a mile. Not bad, but I would like to be closer to 8:30. The long swims are a bit more brutal than I thought and I find myself having stomach issues during them. Probably going to switch to a sandwich in between the workouts instead of the pasta I have been eating. Sunday's long bike ride has been a crap shoot. Sometimes they go great and others not so much. This Sunday was a not so much day. I hit a low point about 3 hours into the ride and didn't think I had much more to give. After about 5 miles of being bitter, I turned things around and gritted out the last 15 miles of the ride. Though I was ecstatic I recovered, bonking during an 80 mile ride made me question how I'll be feeling when i finish the full 113 and then have to run a marathon. I guess that's why you train hard and stay disciplined to stay on track.

Training totals for week 3:

Swim: 6 miles

Bike: 111 miles

Run: 27 miles

I snagged these wheels for this Tri as well as future triathlons. Once I get some gears on these wheels, I'm done spending money on this bike unless it's for maintenance.

Iron Training Week 2 - Mike D.

This week went fantastic. No issues with a single work out and recovery is going great. I made sure to get up extra early and start my longer runs by 6:00 AM on Tuesday and Saturday and that definitley seemed to help. On Sunday I started my spin early and was able to avoid the heat for the most part although it did creep up to 90 by the end of my ride.

Nutrition was the only real question mark for me in the rampl up. In shorter distance triathlons, I've only needed to take in about 200 calories and hour, but for the full 140.6, I'll need to take in around 400 calories per hour. I'm able to take in around 300 calories now, but I think the jump to 400 calories might be hard to adjust to. I'll work on that this coming weekend.

For recovery, I have been spending some painful hours on my personal massage tools and foam/pvc roller. I also have some compression pants to help increase blood flow in my legs. Throw that in with stretching after every work out, and I have another 5 hours of recovery I do each week aside from the actuall work outs. I'm probably going to add ice baths to the regular rotation as long as bi-weekly sports massages.

I got myself some new goodies ordered up that should be in next week that I am stoked on. New S-Works shoes from Specialized to hopefully help with some circulation and swelling issues I'm having in my right foot. Also, a new Prevail helmet that is super light and should help me with staying cool.

Training totals for week 2:

Swim: 5miles

Bike: 105miles

Run: 26 miles