5 weeks until USAT Nationals & 14 weeks until Chicago Marathon
I had a small build week for running this week, but it was a cutback in volume for swimming and biking. I didn’t necessarily plan this, but it worked out well. There were definitely some running highs and lows, but by Sunday my legs felt great, even at the end of my first 40-mile week of the training cycle.
Monday
- Plan: OFF
- Actual: OFF
I thought about trying to get one last ride done in the hills and open roads in Virginia (vs. flat, city riding back home) but I felt like my body needed rest more than anything. I slept in until 7:30 (heaven after so many dark-o-clock wake-ups in a row!).
Tuesday
- Plan: 1:00 Progression Run + 1925 Swim
- Actual: 7.45M @ 8:05 + 1820 Swim (main set: 6×100 w/5″ RI, 7×80 VO2 Max w/45″ RI)
I flew home from Virginia on Tuesday morning but wanted to get my run in before I left. This would be my last run on hills and unfortunately the heat and humidity showed back up again too. The instructions were to pick it up to a “natural uptempo” during the last 15 – 20 minutes. It ended up being a nearly ideal progression for the whole run: 8:35, 8:29, 8:25, 8:20, 8:14 (.75), 7:39, 7:30, 7:14 (0.70).
I slept from take-off to landing (yes!) then went home, dropped my stuff and went to the 20 yd indoor pool at my gym. I don’t like swimming there, but it’s better than no swim at all, which was my only other option with meetings all afternoon and a hair cut appt. in the evening.
Wednesday
- Plan: Strength Routine + 1:00 Easy Run + 1:15 Easy Ride
- Actual: Strength + 7.15M @ 8:23 + 20.2M @ 16.1 mph
Thanks to my body still thinking I am in Virginia, I was wide awake at 6:15. I putzed around the house a bit, then finally did my strength stuff and ran around 7:20. It was warm and humid but after running on hills for a week, the flat Lakefront felt easy! After the run I stretched and changed then did some work before heading out to ride just before lunch. All was going well until I got to my turnaround point and hit a dip in the path and got a flat. Thankfully it was the front tire (no greasy hands!) and minus struggling with my stupid CO2, it was pretty easy. I got it changed in ~10 min and headed home.
Beautiful day on the path. Ironically I took this pic before the turnaround and this is nearly the exact spot I realized I had a flat on the way back!
Thursday
- Plan: Tempo Run w/2M @ 7:05-7:15 + 2100 Swim
- Actual: 6.9M @ 7:56 + 2100 Swim (main set: 6×200, 2×50 sprint)
I think I went into this run a little dehydrated. I felt fine at the start, but my legs never really woke up and I got really thirsty and sluggish toward the end. I gave myself a few pep talks during the tempo miles and was thankful it was only two: 7:08, 7:06.
Lunch time swim at my favorite outdoor pool.
Friday
- Plan: 1:05 Easy Ride
- Actual: 18M @ 16.8 mph
It is amazing how much better riding on the Lakefront is when I do it at 6:30 a.m. I miss the open (smooth) roads in Virginia, but this really wasn’t that bad.
Saturday
- Plan: Strength Routine + 1:45 Run + 2400 Swim
- Actual: Strength + 13M @ 8:10
The first 4 miles of this run felt terrible. I was light headed and had zero energy (despite getting a ton of sleep, eating a banana and drinking water & juice pre-run). When I brought Walter back to drop him off after those first 4 miles, I ate half a picky bar and drank half a bottle of Nuun before heading back out. That helped tremendously, but as I headed out, the rain started. It had been really humid during the first part of the run and now it was just a complete downpour. But for some reason the harder it rained, the better I felt. It was much cooler and I couldn’t have been more wet if I jumped in the lake. It pretty much poured like that for the remaining 9 miles. I felt great until the last mile or so, when I paid for the 8:00-8:05 pace I was running during the worst of the rain. I struggled hard in the last few minutes and then was completely wiped out when I was done. Two naps and many hours of couch time later I knew a swim wasn’t happening.
Sunday
- Plan: Brick: 1:30 Ride + 30-45 min Easy Run
- Actual: Brick: 27M @ 17.2 mph + 5.5M @ 8:11 + 2600 Swim (main set: 1800 straight swim)
After being totally wiped out Saturday and then staying out well past midnight, I thought this workout would be a complete bust. But I woke up on my own at 6:30 feeling great. ate breakfast and rode out by 7. The ride up Sheridan road was lovely (it always is on Sundays!) and running off the bike felt fantastic. I felt like I could have run forever. Endorphins for days.
After the brick, I ate breakfast, changed and headed to the pool for a swim. On my way to the gym, I was kicking myself for not going to the lake for an open water swim. It was a beautiful day with low wind which would have been perfect, but once I got there, I ended up having the best swim I have had in a long time. I haven’t had that “effortlessly gliding through the water” feeling in the pool in probably 2 years. And it felt AMAZING for it to be back. I hope that means I am having a little breakthrough with swimming for the season.
Totals
- Swim: 6565 yds
- Bike: 65 miles
- Run: 40 miles
- Time: 11 hours 10 min.
