So today is Thursday, October 7, and I haven't posted for last week yet! With lots going on in all facets of my life, I honestly am running out of time in the day to get everything done. Unfortunately, the blog suffers as it doesn't pay the bills, count as time with my family, as training, as eating, and as sleeping. Those things are the necessities of life! Last week I saw a cutback in my workout load, most notably on the run...totals were: 11,400 yds swimming, 213.4 miles cycling, and 25 miles running. I would say the slight drop was necessary due to the new intensity I am pushing in all the disciplines! Rather than over bore you with the specifics of every workout, I thought going through a few of the key ones would be "cooler."
After a true rest day on monday, tuesdays workout was one I have been looking forward to ever since the Coast Ride, and the testing that preceded it. To review for a second, my testing showed that I was "fried/fatigued/overtrained a bit" So off I went on the 380 mile, 3 day ride! The goal after the ride was to actively recover so my heart rate would become more reactive to my exertion level---tuesdays workout was to see how I was doing with my recovery. The focus of the workout was a 20 minute all out effort on an incline on the bike. I headed to the bottom of nine mile and gave it my best effort! The conclusion of the workout was that my highest HR during the 20 minutes was 144...and I was panting the entire time! You are probably saying that is low---it is....too low!! But, that is me (I must have a very powerful blood pump!). The conclusions from this workout were going to determine not only my recovery, but my zones for future workouts. Chris had my zones set low since the Coast Ride to keep me from higher intensity workouts, but that was also what the blood lactate testing showed. My zones changed as follows: zone 2 (aerobic riding) went from a high of 108 to a high of 122; zone 3 went from 115 to 133...these were huge changes, as once I had recovered somewhat, I couldn't ride more than 14 mph at a HR under 110---and I can't ride at 14 mph for a 5+ hour ride and feel like I was accomplishing anything. So this was great!!!!
So aside from this testing, my other key workouts were a 10 x 400 swim set that felt great, and a 120 mile 6 hour ride in zone 2 mostly that included the IM AZ course...I realized that the bike course is the easiest riding around town---FAST!!
The rest of the week was normal, and my overall impression right now is that I just need to stay with it....the days are getting shorter, the weather is getting cooler, and I am realizing that as we get into the final weeks, that I will be doing a lot of workouts in the dark; swimming is not a big deal, biking will end up on the trainer (I love the trainer anyways), and running will be fine as well...the psychology of losing daylight is going to be a battle, but the ability to work at higher intensity because of the cooler temps will be welcomed too!
By the way, Tempe Town Lake is being filled!
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