Last Ironman, Isaac created weekly workout boards so that we could plan for the week and send them to my sister, who seemed to have a really hard time figuring out what training week we were on... I love these boards. He makes it on Sunday, and then I'm able to plan out my week. If I have any girls dinners, work happy hours, things that I don't want to miss, I know I have to have a super early morning or shift a day or two around and can plan that out in advance. Highly recommend doing something like this each week - laying all your workouts out on paper/whiteboard/calendar and taking in what you need to accomplish that week helps you to actually fit it into your life. Also - note the orange stars. Each week, there are highlighted "key" workouts. Those should be your hardest pushed, most intensive and focused workouts.
Well, this was what week 1 looked like for training. In reality, the first 3 months of training for Ironman is just building a base for the ACTUAL training - the last three months. The lengths of these workouts could fit any normal distance triathlon, in my opinion - these aren't Ironman distances yet, not even close. I've been working out about 8 hours a week the last couple months, so this week is upping my volume by about 5 hours.
This week, I reflected after each workout by writing a little paragraph - below:
Breakdown - Week 1:
Monday: Swim. I had not been in the water since we raced Ironman Canada. I dreaded my swim alllllllll day, because I knew it would hurt. I gave myself 20 different excuses as to why I could skip the swim. I didn't feel that well, I'm already a great swimmer, if I missed a swim it wouldn't matter, I'm already better than most people at the swim... but in reality I just had some anxiety about getting back to the pool, doing something different from the running and yoga that had become my routine the past 6 months. However, I was pleasantly surprised at how high my fitness still is. I just hopped in for lap swim and the first 35 minutes of the swim I killed it. I was swimming almost the speed I did when I was mid training last season. I was keeping up in the fast lane and realized that I had missed swimming. I love the silence of swimming - you can't hear anything, it's kind of meditative if you can let go and feel the rhythm of your breathing and movements. However, I had decided it would be easy waaay too soon and the second half of the swim my arms felt like they were heavy, heavy noodles that I had to fling around over and over. It has been a long time since I've felt that weak. Regardless, I pushed through, slower but steady. I just have to build back up, I know I need to go easy on myself as I build up my base for the season.
Tuesday: Turbo trainer ride (70 minutes - fast intervals) and 20 minute t-run. So glad I got on the bike a few weeks ago. It was strange how natural it felt to jump off my bike, change into some warm clothes and running shoes and run right off the bike. Last year this was a PAINFUL experience, the burning my legs felt transitioning from bike to run was crazy. This time around, just felt a little fatigue because I was hungry, nothing hard about it. I have a hard time believing that I didn't lose those muscles since Ironman, but who knows. I felt great. Within 12 hours, I swam almost 2 miles, rode about 19 miles, and t-ran 2.5 miles. As I was running back to my building that morning, the sun shining on my face, crisp air in my lungs, I could not stop smiling. It feels so good to feel like a triathlete again, to be training for an Ironman while already being an Ironman.
I know I will not always be this positive about training. The fatigue I'm going to feel in the future doesn't even compare to how sore my arms feel from swimming right now. But right now, I'm going to savor in the satisfaction of hitting my structured workouts, knowing I'm building back up to a fitness peak.
Wednesday: Bike and Swim: Morning 90 minute trainer ride. Not bad! A little sore from my trainer ride on Tuesday on the seat but overall, decent ride. Pool session - already increasing my speed (just had to get into the groove) and no weighted noodle arms. Accomplished! 3 hours, check.
Thursday: 60 minute run with sprint intervals, 45 minutes of weights. I haven't done tri-focused lifting in a while and the soreness was crazy! Standing is hard, my arms are exhausted. The run was so easy, if I kept up with all three sports all year, this week would have been SO easy. But, it's also nice to enjoy connecting with biking and swimming again. I'm sure I'll feel less burnt out at the end of the season than I would if I swam and biked all year.
Friday: REST day. So sore from lifting weights.
Saturday: 3 hour trainer ride (50 miles) and 20 minute (2.5 mile) t-run. Spending hours on the trainer takes adjustment. It was not easy to sit on my bike for 3 hours, but this is only the beginning of long weekend rides! Averaged 8:16 second miles off the bike, so still felt strong there.
Sunday: 1 hour run and 45 minute weights. Easy Sunday, for now. The rain poured almost my whole run, can't wait for nicer weather this summer!
Summary: GREAT first week! It's taking some mental adjustment to push through specific workouts scheduled on each day and not just do whatever workout I feel like doing. Looking forward to this becoming routine!
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