Week 2

Week 2 workouts:

Mon:  Rest

Tue:   Swim 1,200 yards (main set = 8x50 sprints); Bike 40 min (main set = 8x20 sprints)

Wed:  Run 5 miles – easy pace (9:38/mi)

Thu:   Swim 1,200 yards (main set = 5x100 intervals); Bike 45 min (easy pace)

Fri:     Run 40 min with 8x20 intervals (averaged 9:37/mi. including recovery intervals)

Sat:    Run 7.1 miles (long run pace – 10:13/mi); Swim 1,400  yards

Sun:   Ride 33.3 miles

Total for the week = 75.45 miles

Barely made it through dinner Sunday - the end of a long week

Week two is done, which means that I am now 10% through my training schedule.  As I sit here to write on Monday (rest day), I must say that I am feeling much better than I did at this time last week.  I'm getting used to the sleep schedule and I’m acclimating to the rigors of the training calendar.  Physically I feel good despite a few twinges on the bike from my right foot and a sore right shoulder from some of the swim drills I did on Saturday.  I was anticipating some stiffness in my neck, shoulders, and back from getting used to the aero position on my tri bike, but I’ve been adjusting well and feel more comfortable in aero than I do upright.

A few highlights from this week:

My easy run on Wednesday felt effortless.  These runs have been few and far between lately, so I’ll savor it when it happens.  I went out around 6PM on a cool evening with no humidity and ran a route from home to Grant’s Trail and back which features a good mix of hills and flats.  I managed my pace well, relaxing as much as possible.  Hopefully there will be more of these to come.

On Saturday I met up with one of the Honey Badgers for a 4-mile warm-up run and then the Hops 5K at Forest Park to get my 7 miles in.  This was the first year for this race which featured some on-course obstacles, water/craft beer stations, and finished up with breakfast and more craft beer.  The obstacles consisted of jumping over some mini hurdles, hopping between hula hoops, and running around a tree with a few beer cans and tossing them into a bin.  The last few feet of the race were to be done by bouncing on a big ball, however after 7 miles, I’m not bouncing on anything!

The post-race breakfast was good – I had the spinach and egg casserole and a Hoppy Trail IPA from Ridgebrook Brewery in Godfrey, IL.  I would highly recommend this race next year.  Some scenes from Saturday:

 

The tulips in front of the Jewel Box are in full bloom 

On Sunday, five of us headed out for a 33 mile group ride on the MCT trails starting in Collinsville, IL.  It was a beautiful day to ride and we made it through with no mechanical issues, which is always a plus.  I used this ride to continue to get acclimated to the Profile Design aero water bottle, my custom fluid mix from Infinit Nutrition, and my bike in general.  The aero position has become much more comfortable in the last week and things are going well.  Here is some video and data from the ride.

Pushing 30mph on the MCT Nature Trail

This week is another building week on the training calendar which means some longer distances.  I am racing the Try Tri Long Sprint on Sunday (300m pool swim, 20 mile bike, 4 mile run), so I’ll have to figure out what to swap in/out of my weekend training schedule.  It will be good to get some racing in.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate.

124 days to go