Wk 4 - Sprint Triathlon Training

Monday - Endurance Swim &  Group Ride

Lunch Swim (35 min): Warm Up: 4 x 50 w/ 15" rest; 6 x 100 on 2:20 pace, 200 (alternating 50 kick / 50 pull), 2 x fast 50 w/ 60" rest; Cool Down: 200. This was a solid swim and the 100s were pretty even with just a 3 second difference between all of them (2:01, 2:01, 2:02, 1:59, 2:00).

Evening Group Ride (90 min): What a difference a week makes! Last week was a struggle and I averaged 13.1 mph and 142 average heart rate. This week felt so much easier and yet I averaged 13.8 mph and 134 average heart rate. The only thing I did different was really focus on keeping a high cadence throughout the ride and well, it paid off! I just hope it isn't a fluke.



Tuesday - Hill Repeats (30 min)

Started off with a 10 minute warm up jog the did 6 x 45 strides up a 3% grade hill then jogged down as recovery. The hill repeats were at 8:12, 8:20, 8:21, 7:47, 7:24, and 7:22 pace but they only lasted 30 seconds and my recoveries were between 1½ to 2 minutes long. At the half way point, I did stop and grabbed some water which is probably why the last 3 were much faster. The last one I gave it everything I had. Then did a 10 minute warm down jog.

 

Wednesday - Rest Day

Left for Myrtle Beach right after work.

 

Thursday - Easy Run (15 mins)

I don't know what it is but I simply do not run well while I'm on vacation. My legs felt heavy and after 15 minutes, I already had enough!

 

Friday - Easy Bike (30 mins)

About 30 minutes on the very cheap Walmart bike but at least there are no hills!

 

Saturday - Bike/Run Brick. Par 3 Golf (2 hours)

My husband and I played 18 rounds on a par 3 golf course. I'm not much of a golfer as I only play on vacation so that is maybe twice a year so I do good just to hit the ball straight...if at all!

 

Sunday - Rest Day - Interval Run (36 mins)

A strong cold front came through Friday night and temps dropped 15-20 degrees so I woke up to low 50s...great weather for a HIIT (high intensity interval training) run! 10 minute warm up then 4 x 90 sec "fast" intervals at 8:28, 7:48, 7:53, and 7:34 pace with full recovery (3-4 mins). 10 minute cool down.

Wk 3 - Sprint Triathlon Training

Monday - Endurance Swim & Group Ride
Lunch Swim (35 min) - Warm Up: 4 x 50 with 15 second rest. Main Set #1: 4 x 100 on 2:15 pace. Main Set #2: 400 steady. Cool Down: 4 x 50. The 100s were tough and the last two I barely had 5 seconds to rest. By the time I got to the second main set, I was tired and hungry and didn't have much energy left.

Group Ride (1 hr, 45 min) - This ride was really hard. My quads fatigued early on just 6 miles in and I can only guess it had to do something with walking up 500+ steps at Chimney Rock on Saturday. Still, I somehow managed to push through the remaining 17 miles but every hill took every ounce of energy I had.



Tuesday - Interval Run (45 min)
10 min warm up then 6 x 2 minutes at moderate effort with 3 minute recovery plus cool down. I had two things going against me. One, it was in the low 80s and while I'm not complaining about the warmer temps, I simply forgot how much more energy it takes to run when it's warmer, and two, my legs were fatigued from yesterday's group ride so they felt heavy the entire run. I ended the run completely exhausted and will more than likely end up taking a rest day tomorrow.

Wednesday - Lunch Bike. Rest Day
My body is telling me I need a rest so rest it is!

Thursday - Easy Run
What a difference a rest day makes! Legs felt great and kept the pace nice and easy.

Friday - Lunch Swim Rest Day
Well technically I didn't really rest. Ended up cleaning the house instead which can be a workout!

Saturday - SDS Cross Country 5K
This was my "birthday" race and since I needed to get in an easy 3-4 mile run, I decided, why not try a cross country 5K for charity. No time goal, no expectations, just have fun and absolutely under no circumstance treat this as a race. I've done so many 5Ks that I no longer have race day adrenaline for these low-key charity runs and they often feel more like group runs to me now. I can start off at any easy pace for the first half of the race then turn it up slightly for the second half. Still I had no idea how tough running on grass would be or where the hills were so the last mile was a bit of a struggle. I definitely need to start adding hill repeats to my training schedule! But at least now I know the course for future races there.

Sunday - Rest Day

Ride for Silence

Today was the international Ride of Silence and for the first time I decided to participate this year. If you don't know the Ride of Silence is, it's a short, slow-pace ride to honor and remember those who have been killed or injured while cycling. It's also to raise awareness that we are here and sharing the same roads that you drive on.

Read the article in the Spartanburg Herald Journal.

PHOTOS: JOHN BYRUM / Spartanburg Herald Journal

Today's Trifecta

I'm not sure how this happened, but it did. I guess I was just feeling good today.

Lunch time swim - Warmed up with 4 x 50s which were slow going because the water was cold today, I'm guessing it was 78° or colder than that. I got cold shock when I jumped in so the first 25 yards, I swam without putting my face in the water. Then my 400 TT which was 8:30, not bad and already significant improvement since January when it was above 10 minutes. Then 4 x 75 on TT pace with 20" rest. 200 steady and 100 cool down. Overall it was a great swim but with the water really cold, I felt a little sluggish at times.

Evening brick - 10 miles on the indoor bike at the YMCA which is way harder than riding outdoors. First you're always pedaling and there is no downhills to coast/recover on. I did set it on level 5 and on random mode to simulate hills. I was soaked with sweat by the time I finished in 43:50.

Then I decided to try out the 1/16th mile indoor track in the gym. OMG, it was so hot in there, it had to be close to 90°. It felt like a sauna but I still ran anyways. I could only manage a mile with it being so hot in there and finished in 10:40. I walked lap 4, 8 and 12 and ran the rest.

Horseshoe Loop

Monday's group ride and only 3 of us in the C group so for the most part we were able to ride our own pace. But boy was it windy! And why does it always feel like you either have a headwind or a cross wind but never a tailwind? Still even with the wind, it was a great ride!

Heart Rate Zone Distribution

Z1 - Endurance	0-105	0:41	1%
Z2 - Moderate	105-138	53:53	55%
Z3 - Tempo	138-155	40:42	41%
Z4 - Threshold	155-172	3:34	4%
Z5 - Anaerobic	172+	0:00	0%

Total = 20.81 miles / 1:38:23 / 12.7 mph avg