A TAD, but no swim

SWIM none
RUN COMMUTE: 6.2 miles 60-ish mins

The pool is closed this week :( Sure I have options for other pools but I'm not taking advantage of them :(
I'm just too tired to make the effort. I trying to sleep in a little more so I run late in the mornings. I tell myself I 'll go over lunch, but HAHAHAHA yea right.

So get this--I'm tired, struggling, not sleeping well at night--so what do I decide to do today? Run to work and back. Yup, I'm tired so I go for a run.

Well there's more to it than that. Tropical Storm Isaac is set to roll through tonight so I can't ride in with confidence that I'll have a dry ride. And I don't want to pay $6 to park. And DH's schedule doesn't fit mine.

So I ran to work. Really, does that make sense?

I secretly hoped to run in the rain, I had a little on the way in but otherwise the only "rain" was my sweat in the humidty.

Thurday run +8 minutes

RUN: 6.6 miles in 62 mins
BIKE: 20.6 miles in 75 mins, 3x12 mins at 80-85%
BIKE COMMUTE: 6.4 miles

I knew within a mile that the run wasn't going to be like the previous weeks. I told LC  that I might cut short or slow down, and by the time we reached Skinker I was already falling off the back.

As much as I hate to, I didn't keep up today. But I'm OK with it. There's no benefit to pushing it right now with all this fatigue. I won't be faster at Redman by running faster today. Besides, this even isn't my main workout of the day.

The bike is! Problem is, I didn't have it in me to hit the effort level. I did what I could. This is really a sign--I need to start watching my energy levels, injury, and rest.

Took another day off

SWIM none
RUN non
COMMUTE BIKE 6.4 miles

Just didn't have the energy today...

Getting burned out?

RUN: 7.25mi in 60 mins 16x400m @ 85% with 100m rest

BIKE: 19.8 mi in 70 mins 3x18min @ 75@ with short rest

I slept awful last night, which is ironic because it was my day off. I should be very well rested and ready to rumble today! Nope. I went to bed before 9pm, woke up around 10:45, then 12:45, then I think slept through until the alarm at 4:45. The first times I woke up were bad—it took a long time to fall back asleep again, I had crazy dreams, and upon awakening I thought it was time to get up! Imagine the disappointment when I realized I had hours to go.

I woke up ok with the alarm but wasn’t exactly in a zippy frame of mind. I took some time to get moving. My back is sore (probably from the long run Sunday) and the bottoms of my feet hurt. Especially the 4^th toe on my left foot, which has had a numb-feeling spot where I think a very deep blister formed about a week ago. Not only does the blister hurt, but also the top of the toe I think in the toenail. So ouch-ouch-ouch this morning.

When it came time to leave at 6am, it was still dark out! First time for that happening on Tuesdays and a sign that fall is coming up fast. I had a few moments at the front door that signaled the first signs of burn-out this year, that feeling of “oh am I really doing to do this again?”.  I really gotta keep an eye on that—it’s also a sign of fatigue.

I arrived at the track a few mins later than normal, DC and BE were already in the intervals. I jumped in after them and struggled to find solid legs right away. No need for a couple laps to pass by before the soggy-leg feeling started. It was there at the beginning! The doubts of doing all 16 intervals started to set in, maybe I’ll only do 12, but I told myself that I didn’t need to decide that until the 12^th interval. So run until then.

In an email BE had broken down the run into something like “run the numbers, then the straights, then the numbers…4 times” and it sounded so much easier that way! I called it a Jedi mind trick, he said “these are not the droids you are looking for” and for some reason that had me smiling the rest of the workout. Still smiling at it, in fact. Such a simple thing, so enjoyable.

I was hitting the 400m intervals at low 7’s pace, sometimes sub 7 (again it depended on which direction we ran!), I stayed consistent but wasn’t able to do the last 4 intervals faster as suggested by the training plan. It was all I could do to just keep my form together, especially since IT and I were the only ones still running at this point. So tempting to stop with DC and BE…but mental power won out today and I did all 16!! OCD trumps this time!

The bike workout was sloggy but done. I aimed for 115-120bpm in the intervals, is that my 75%? I dunno. But I’ve been thinking about my bike pace and how I could probably go faster in a race than I think I can. The bike seems to be my wildcard in my planned 12:30 Redman goal. Swim 1:30, Run 4:30—those seem to be on track as do-able. That leaves me 6.5 hours for everything else—bike, T1, and T2. Can I bike in 6-6.25hrs, which is 18+ mph? That’s the question. I don’t do it much in practice!

FoPa twice, and week summary

RUN: 20.5 miles in 3:20, ave 9:45m/m and 131bpm

This run started out bad. The first 9 miles I felt sick, tired, hot, and just wanted to throw up and get it over with. I couldn’t bring myself to eat or drink. It was probably my breakfast of greek yogurt and fruit? Either way, it was very much like the run at CDA—it seemed as if stomach contents were just seconds from re-appearing and as if something was crawling up the back of my throat. Many times I considered stopping, walking, even quitting until I felt better. But I never did stop, I just kept running. Part of me knew I wouldn’t run later, and part of knew that this is what needs to happen in training so I can handle it in a race!

So I continued, and at 10 miles I made it to the VC (I used Wyd for a few extra miles). I finished off the sport beans and had a caffeinated gel. Some water. A bathroom break. I took my time, maybe 5 minutes? But it was all worth it--I came back “on-line” and had a great next 10 miles!

Lesson learned? I dunno. I showed that I can run aways without needing food or water, but also showed that I can handle a little food and in the end that’s probably what I need.

The run was also a preview of what I see as the Redman Run Boredom Problem. Redman is out-n-back 4 times on the paths along the lake. Four times. Boring! The only salvation I can think of is that I’ll have so much support from friends to look forward to J I can handle the boredom. I’m thinking I’ll have on all or part of the bee outfit after the halfway point, and I can space out while running with ease.

Everything went great for this run, it’s one of the last long ones before Redman!

The week was only supposed to have 15:30 hrs according to the plan, but I came up with just short of 17, and that’s not counting the bike commute times:

SWIM 9000y in 3.5hrs

BIKE 103 miles in 6hrs

RUN 42.6 miles in 6.5hrs

BIKE COMMUTE 28.5 miles time not included in the 16:49hrs

So I gotta be careful next week, I don’t need to be piling miles and hours on the legs unless it’s a beneficial ride, like a cool down or stretch.

Saint to Saint ride

BIKE: 58.5 miles in 3.5hrs Ride of the Saints

RUN: 4 miles just under 36 mins on the Katy

This week was supposed to be a rest week, so I scheduled a shorter bike than usual. Also, I wanted to focus on the long run tomorrow, as I saw that as my major session for this weekend.

This route is pretty flat until the 22 mile point, lots of long, straight, flat sections. It’s also good for practicing in winds, as the headwinds and crosswinds can be brutal, extra so due to the fact that you don’t get to turn out of it much. You just gotta hunker down and aero and stay focused on good form!

The ride out went fast, I either didn’t realize a tailwind or the wind picked up later. Either way, this went pretty slick. My goal was to keep it quick but still easy, no burning out the legs and getting tired. I probably went a little too easy sometimes, but again the long run is the goal for this week!

Turning around, we hit crosswinds out of the south. This broke up the group (we had just 5 riders) and kept us from talking. Once we got to a resting point where B curves towards NT, we marveled at the wind (and the accident we passed a few miles ago!).

While I didn’t push on the bike, I did on the run. I shot for a “pushed” pace that was faster than my expected race pace. I ended up averaging 8:55m/m. No HR data as the HRM died in mid-ride. The run felt great except it really got hot while running and my left shoe orthotic still isn’t in place yet. Add that and the HRM to the to-do list. 

When 3500 is an easy day

SWIM: 3500 in 90 mins
COMMUTE: 10 miles

1000 WU as kicking every 4th 25
MS of 2x 1000 locos: 25easy/25fast; 50, 75, 100, 100, 75, 50, 25. Each of these were done in about 22 mins. I didn't do them for time, but I caught the time as I finished.

I haven't done a 1000y TT yet this year. At least I don't remember doing one...  The last one I remember was just under 20 mins, maybe even a low 19 mins?  I have my sights set on the 2013 Postal Swim in January and I'm wondering how close to 3000y I can get? That's just 3x1000 on 20 mins each. Setting benchmarks in swimming for me is lacking, and I tend to only get the lower distances. This is a reasonable benchmark! I have time to think about it :)

I was tired today and a little sore. And sloppy. Turns out I was sloppiest in the easy segments! And some dude D didn't know was clocking fast laps, even with open turns D couldn't keep up. It was fun to watch.

Gorgeous day, Puppy and I rode to the pool then to work. Yesterday Pup had a soft front tire but it's held ever since. Just what I need before I leave for home--a flat. Bad dog!