My first official training day started on Thursday, April 19th. Just two days after I had slogged through and completed the Boston Marathon. Normally, after a marathon I usually end up taking about 2-3 weeks off and then jump back into training. Not this time...but I didn't care! I was eager to begin training. I was ready to break up the monotony of running 6 days a week with multiple sport training days.
Here's a little break down (by sport) of what's been going on in my athletic life for the past 2 weeks:
SWIM
As per the advice of my coach ( Scott Towle) I have been doing 2-3 swims/wk so far. Being a member of Pure Austin Quarry Lake gives me the option of either doing an open water swim or pool swim if I want. The first week of training, I started out in the pool since I hadn't been in open water since my triathlon last September. I did 30 minutes of laps and realized I was clearly out of swimming shape! I did a few more pool swims after that and then hit the open water with my triathlete friend, Leah. She was testing out her wetsuit before her 1/2 IM that upcoming weekend, so I figured I'd test mine out as well. After about 15 minutes of struggling to get the thing on only to realize it was on backward, I struggled again for another 15 and was then, finally ready to slide into the water.
A few perks to the full-body wetsuit: Not only does it keep you pretty warm, it gives you buoyancy. That will definitely help out on race day!
I only ended up doing one loop around the lake with Leah ( she was a ways ahead of me ) which only came out to a little less than a half a mile. Honestly though, my breathing was SO off and I felt like I was gasping for air the entire time. I just wouldn't have made it around a second loop.
Feeling like I hadn't gotten in a great swim workout, I came back later that night for another round of open water with Scott, this time, sans wetsuit. Again, I only did one loop, but as I started out and settled into the swim, I felt a lot more calm and was actually able to breathe every other stroke.
The next visit to the lake, I did two loops with about 3-5 minutes rest in between. This time went pretty smooth and I felt faster than usual. However, I believe this was due to the fact that every time I glanced around in the water, I was pretty sure there was some sort of scary creature right ahead of me or next to me. At one point I turned a corner past a buoy and looked down...ahhh, a snake. Nope, just the rope anchoring the buoy. This fear propelled me along, but also drained my energy and messed with my air supply, leaving me gasping at the end of each loop. I only hope that the more I do the open water swims, the easier it'll get and maybe I'll be able to at least keep my deep, dark water fears in check.
Scott and I will also be hitting a Master's swim class once a week. First session started today at 5:30am. The one hour workout of drills and speed definitely kicked my butt. I was spent after finishing up this class. I do think this is exactly what both of us needs though, someone to push us and help us correct our stroke/breathing. It was a fairly small group of about 5 (including us) so we'll be getting some one on one coaching which will be nice. I am already looking forward to next week!!
BIKE
This is where I am going to need the most work, on the bike. I am a fairly new cyclist, having only started about a year ago. Since then, I have at least learned how to successfully clip in and out of my pedals ( for the most part!), shift gears, and have gained some racing experience ( olympic tri last September ). I am obviously still lacking in experience and would still consider myself a beginner on the bike. Within these past two weeks though, I have already completed a few long(ish) rides on the bike. My last one was 39 miles, with a brutal headwind on the way back nonetheless. The hardest part of the long ride is adjusting to sitting on the saddle for 2+ hours, which will quickly become over 6 hours when I hit the bulk of my training. Hello, butt pain and saddle sores! Ouch! Thank goodness they invent products similar to body glide for the cycling shorts with numbing properties as an added bonus. I attempt my first actual hill ride tonight and will be heading out for a 50mile ride on Saturday morning.
Even though I'm still a beginner, I'm really enjoying the cycling workouts. I'm absolutely in love with my tri bike ( thanks, Nicole!) and look forward to continual improvement.
RUN
I already have run fitness from my training from Boston. Now it's just a matter of maintaining. It definitely feels strange not to be running as much as I'm normally used to, however, it's a nice break. My run schedule includes 3 runs: 2 during the week ( Tuesday, Thursday ) and 1 long run on the weekends ( usually Sunday mornings). I did 10 miles last Sunday and this coming weekend, I'm slated for 14. Scott's plan has my total mileage during the week equaling up to my long run mileage. So for this week, I should be doing 7 on Tuesday and 7 on Thursday. Since I also ride on Tuesday and Thursdays, most of my runs come after I've already done at least an hour on the bike. It's been difficult adjusting to the jello-like legs during the first mile or so after coming off the bike. But it's good practice for me to be doing these bricks since I'll be running many miles after riding many more during the actual race.
I do miss my Tuesday night speed workouts with Rogue, but Scott and I still manage to squeeze in a little bit of speed during our runs. On Tuesday night, we dropped the hammer a bit in the middle of our 6 mile run, hitting a 6:35/mile pace. This was after we had ridden on Parmer for 1 hour and 5 minutes. So, the leg speed isn't completely gone. :)
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