I’m into my second week of this modified training plan and I have to say…I’m liking it so much more. The hours are so much more manageable compared to my last plan. I find that my motivation still waxes and wanes during the week, but I am able to rearrange them without much struggle.
This week was spent in a bit of an emotional bubble. I think this coming week should be easier and more relaxed. 42 days until the race! (1 month 11 days)
Monday, July 23: Midday 40-minute swim. 1250 meters. I was feeling really down and fragile. Since I was working from home, I was able to steal an hour of my workday for a lunchtime workout in the late afternoon. It was a fairly good swim given that I had some significant brick workouts in the days leading up to it. I suppose it was all that angst.
Tuesday, July 24: Rest day
Wednesday, July 25: 1 hour trainer ride. I’ve cancelled Zwift to save some cash so now I am using the stock Wahoo trainer app. It’s not bad…I just have to remember to switch up the resistance and grade every once in awhile.
Thursday, July 26: 1 hour indoor bike + 1 hour indoor walk. I had some time that night so I decided on a back-to-back brick session. I was also a bit tired so I didn’t really feel like running. I figured a walk would suffice. Next time I should hit the stair climber instead, to maximize my walking time.
Friday, July 27: Rest day
Saturday, July 28: 42 minute trainer ride. This was just a weird day overall because I had someone coming in to work on the house. The entire week was overrun with hormones driving me to eat all the junk food, and then the cramps had settled in on Saturday. Full blown cramps! I felt like death. My attitude mirrored it.
Sunday, July 29: 1 hour stair climber + 1 hour very-intimidating elliptical/stepper thing. I was supposed to swim but by the time I finished by two hours on the stepper/elliptical, I was completely famished despite all the Honey Stinger gels I was taking in. I grabbed my bags and munched on the cheese sandwich I packed for my victory meal. I will have to swim another day, or just forgo it altogether. (I’ve always been really bad at letting go of missed workouts…)
After doing a little bit of digging, it turns out the open water swims in Boulder weren’t going to work out for me. I’m now looking into the open water swims at Grant Ranch as an alternative. I’m hoping that there’s some group sessions available so that I can re-orient myself back into lake swimming again. The 5-pack is $50, which should give me enough time to feel more comfortable in the water. If not, I can always splurge on another 5-pack and maybe a private lesson or two. The lake is open for swimming on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, and it’s only a 15 minute drive from my place. So much more convenient than driving all the way to Boulder!
It’s too bad that the racing season is…literally seasonal around here. When I lived in California, it was incredibly easy finding races year-round. I suppose I could always travel for another race, but it would need to fit in with my teaching and work schedule (and my other running races).
This week’s mantra:
Amara in Training 