Skip to main content

Week 3 - "Recovery"


Week 3: "Recovery" week. Workouts are either shorter, less intense, or some optional workouts aren't even an option this week. No 60-90 minute ride on Wednesday, no optional swim on Thursday, no transition run on Saturday or spin before the run on Sunday. Overall, a few hours less volume.

Tuesday's trainer ride had a lot of fast spin - which is not something I'm great at. I can churn through tough gears all day, but to really increase my cadence takes a lot of effort and attention - if I'm not watching my cadence the entire interval, I always seem to sink below 100 RPM. 
Wednesday's swim felt just as hard as a normal swim but was a lot easier than it usually is with a 90 minute morning ride. 
My run on Thursday morning was in CRAZY wind. I got blown into a cement wall. It was not ideal weather conditions, but rain or shine or storm we run! 
I took my rest day on Monday, so I was supposed to swim Friday, but I skipped the technique swim this week. I hate technique swims. I know it's snobby of me, but I just don't feel the need to work on my form, even though I know I should. During Ironman last year, in the grand scheme of my 15 hour day, the swim took ONE HOUR AND TWELVE MINUTES. 72 minutes out of over 900 minutes. While I know I need to be in great swim shape, and swimming helps continue to build fitness without causing a lot of joint or muscle pain, I am just not as focused on the swim this year. It's not my weakness and while I shouldn't let it become one, I am not going to worry about it as much. Ok, off my soap box for now.
Saturday/Sunday: Saturday's trainer ride wasn't too bad, and Sunday's run was SUPER rainy but I got in 7.6 miles in 64 minutes. 

Training feels really different this year. Last year, fear drove me. I was so afraid of this beast of a race. Could I do it? I knew this was something that I could easily fail if I didn't work hard. That drove me every single day. Got me out of bed, got me to the pool, kept me pushing through 6 hour bike rides. I'm feeling very indifferent to training this week. What is driving me? Why am I doing Ironman again? What is my goal, what do I want to gain or accomplish? What is going to push me? Yes, everyone who knows me knows I'm doing my 2nd Ironman, so it's not a lack of accountability. I'm missing that spark this week. That spark that makes training exciting and not a chore. The spark that proves I'm growing and working towards something. I know I'll find it, but I missed it this week. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2021/2022 - Pregnancy, baby, return to racing

WOW. So much has changed since I last posted in here. About two months after that last post I found out I was pregnant!  I spent 2021 in various phases of life: First trimester I was super sick and actually unable to even get much movement in! I don't think I've ever worked out that little in my life! Every day just felt like a struggle to survive. Second and third trimesters I was able to swim, bike, run and lift. I was able to run up until a couple days before I gave birth! I mostly ran and lifted - I hated biking pregnant and wanted to limit my covid exposure so I didn't go to the pool super consistently until the very end of my pregnancy. I spent the rest of 2021 fumbling my way through learning how to be a mom and take care of a baby! It was months of living in a haze of no sleep, hormones and tears BUT with all of that in the rear view, it was an amazing time of growth and learning so much. I had 4 IM branded deferred races from 2020 that rolled to 2021, then to 2022....
Post a Comment
Read more

2020

Since I usually use this blog for training and race reports, clearly haven't had much to update in 2020! This years' calendar was supposed to include: Victoria 70.3 CDA 70.3 Santa Rosa 140.6 WA 70.3 70.3 WORLDS in Taupo, NZ! Clearly, none of these were a reality this year. It's been a rollercoaster of a year but I think I've done a decent job with coping. I never stopped training, still keeping up an average of 12-15 hours a week. It's kept me sane despite everything going on in our country and our world. In the absence of racing I've picked up some new hobbies, one being gravel riding (thanks to Rosanne Kelley!!)! I am a SUPER newb but have had fun exploring some new places and learning some actual bike handling skills (which is for sure a weakness of mine).  Otherwise, I feel pretty fortunate this year. I'm able to work remotely for my job and have a nice setup in the townhouse now. I miss my work friends SO much but we've found some ways to spend time...
Post a Comment
Read more

Weeks 9, 10, and 11

accidental picture in the woods Officially at that midpoint of training. Three months behind me, a little less than three to go. Actually, the race was three months from last Saturday! Feels good to be getting closer to race day. Gives me more optimism towards training -  light at the end of the tunnel. I haven't missed any workouts, I'm feeling strong in all three sports - still the least strong on the bike but at least I have enjoyed training more with my gorgeous,comfortable and sleek Quintana Roo.  My confidence is high this time around about training and the race which is surprising - this time last year I was so scared. I feel like now I know what I'm doing. I know what I need in terms of nutrition, hydration, and that the training I'm doing will get me where I need to go. I still have a lot of building to do for a run distance - the most I've run in the last 3 months was 2 1/2 hours, we'll hit at least 3 hours by...
Post a Comment
Read more