For lack of a better way to combine the concurrent training threads, I’m now officially lumping them both together in the headline. The last few weeks have been insanely bizarre. Not only is my sleeping schedule all over the map, but so is my schoolwork and work-work (because when you say it twice, it’s legit).
So my swimming activities are pretty much nil. Same goes with my biking. I’ve finally switched out all the batteries on my speed/cadence sensors and my heart-rate monitor so things should be paired and working well with the Bluetooth dongle and TrainerRoad. I tried riding to work and making it a habit but I find my messenger bag to be quite infuriating. It’s not really worth riding the few miles to and from at this stage. I think when I was still learning to ride it made more sense. I suppose it would make sense now so that I could get comfortable clipping in and out at stops and stuff, but for most of my races I will be riding long distances between clipping in and out anyways. (Maybe I’m just rationalizing myself out of riding to work?)
Week 6 Seafair Sprint Tri/Week 1 Portland Marathon Training:
Monday, June 16: 4.08 mile run, 0.5 mile swim
Tuesday, June 17: Rest day
Wednesday, June 18: 4.06 mile run
Thursday, June 19: Rest day
Friday, June 20: 4.02 mile run
Saturday, June 21: 8 mile run
Sunday, June 22: Rest day
Week 7 Seafair Sprint Tri/Week 2 Portland Marathon Training:
Monday, June 23: Rest day
Tuesday, June 24: 4.68 mile run
Wednesday, June 25: 2.05+1.54 mile bike commute, 5.22 mile run
Thursday, June 26: 1.41 mile bike commute, 4.02 run
Friday, June 27: 10.09 mile run…before work
Saturday, June 28: Five Mile Lake Tri, which served as a season dress rehearsal – 0.25 mile swim, 14 mile ride, 3.1 mile run
Sunday, June 29: Rest day
Week 8 Seafair Sprint Tri/Week 3 Portland Marathon Training:
Monday, June 30: Rest day
Tuesday, July 1: Rest day
Wednesday, July 2: 4.88 mile run
Thursday, July 3: 5.01 mile run
Friday, July 4: 6.84 mile hike up Mt. Si, probably one of the most challenging hikes I’ve completed this season
Saturday, July 5: Rest day
Sunday, July 6: 5.67 mile run around Green Lake during one of the hottest days of the year
Week 9-10 training resolutions:
-I resolve to use my vacation as a partial jumpstart to my tri training. I would actually argue that it is way too late, but I’m going to aim for it anyways. I’ll continue my marathon training and try to add swimming during my leisure downtime and maybe wake up early to run and jump on a spin bike at the Waikiki 24 Hour Fitness. (I don’t think I’ll be renting a bike this time so this is my next best and free alternative, since I already have a membership.)
-I resolve to do as much swimming in Hawaii 5 out of 7 days, with a half-mile minimum. The clear and shallow water will be good for me. I can practice dodging humans and form while working on my tan. And since I’ll have to swim in open water without a wetsuit, it’ll help me regain some of that alignment I may have lost in all of the time I’ve spent out of the water.
-I resolve to ride on my trainer while doing my reading (as much as it is possible for me to still comprehend my reading and still focus on the workout). I would like to get at least 2 rides in while I am still in town, and to ride 4 times in the early mornings while in Hawaii.
-I resolve to continue with my marathon training plan, but giving myself permission to drop one of the easy/short runs, or to break up the weekly long run with half-run sandwiches (splitting a 12 miler between 2 consecutive 6 milers)
What’s really important is that Seafair will be the weekend I return from Hawaii, so it is really important that I at least get *half* of my resolved sessions in. AT. LEAST. I’m sure I’ll survive. I think I will. I think I can!
Lessons learned from the last three weeks:
-Respect the distance: Just because you’ve done the distance before, it doesn’t mean you can attempt the distance (comfortably) without the training. During my last race/open water swim I seriously thought I was down for the count. I’ve never flagged down a safety kayak but I did that morning. I ended up making it out of the water just fine but seriously…I can’t let that happen again. It’s a safety hazard at that point. I need to get in the training if I expect to be able to finish these races comfortably.
-Train before your brain knows what’s going on: Making things dead simple and automatic is the name of the game. You perform what you practice, so take the brainpower out of practice by scheduling everything in advance (as much as possible) so that you can focus on execution. This became apparent to me on race morning when I got my gear ready at the last minute (instead of laying everything out the night before) and then being at a loss of how to fuel before the race (since I’ve made it a habit to train in the morning on an empty stomach). It’s one thing to be self-aware…it’s a completely different story to self-correct.
-If you can’t get the little things right, you can’t achieve the bigger things: Seriously…fueling issues? Can’t get my swim training in? How do I expect to ever finish a 140.6 if I can’t nail the little simple things? 140.6 miles is no joke, and it’s a dream I’ve been chasing for years at this point. If I want to go for it, I’ll need to prove that I can stick to something consistently and get the training in. The more I fumble on these little things, the more the bigger goals are out of reach.
Humble brags from the last three weeks:
-Nailing an A-average across both of my grad school classes, despite my insane schedule
-Getting most of my marathon training in, on point and on schedule
-Still cognizant and self-correcting on my triathlon training mishaps
-Actively trying to make better eating choices, going to begin logging my food intake again
-Still managed to finish a triathlon, even though I had some pretty severe highs and lows during the race
-Raised $215 for my Stand Up To Cancer fundraiser in the first week
Amara in Training 