Well, this was Week 16 of the Matt Fitgerald Level 10 Half Ironman training program which means that it was a scheduled lower volume recovery week. This was also the week that I picked up my new TT Bike so it was the perfect time to be on a recovery week.
As for training here are my numbers:
Swim: 4 Trainings - 5h 40m - 10,750 Yds
Bike: 3 Trainings - 3h 29m - 65.39 Mi
Run: 2 Trainings - 2h 58m - 21.23 Mi
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Totals: 9 Trainings - 12h 07m
Long Ride - 22.50 Mi
Long Run - 13.11 Mi
You are probably thinking the volume was way down for me this week and you'd be right. I am embarrassed by the bike volume. It is actually 6.5hrs less than last week. The plan called for right around 14hrs so I missed the volume goals by a little less then 2hrs.
The reason? I needed an extra rest day. I wish it was something more elaborate or compelling but the bottom line is that I was exhausted. On Saturday Annie got up at 5am to go meet her running club and she reset the alarm for 6am so I could eat a quick bagel and jump on the bike. The alarm went off and I rolled out of bed but my legs did not want to work. I mean they were just dead? And they actually hurt a little too. I decided to check my work numbers from Friday and drink some coffee and start a half hour later. This didn't work either because by this point my legs actually were sore.
By the time 8am came I decided that the scheduled brick for the day was not going to happen. I spent the rest of the day sitting on my ass watching Kona on the live feed. Best decision I have made in a long time!
The reason it was a good decision is because I woke up this morning and felt like a million bucks. I drove to the center of town for my weekly long run and had a great training run. The plan wanted me to run for 1h 10m in HR Zone 2. I felt so good I ended up running for 1h 42m and did 13.1 miles - that is a 7:47/mi pace.
The take away for all this is that when your body is REALLY hurting that you need to listen. I am not talking about the days you just do not want to go for a s/b/r - I am referring to the days that your body cannot handle a s/b/r. These are distinctly different occurrences. Write that down.
The other take away is that I cannot wait to taper! If my legs responded this way to just one day off imagine how they will respond to an entire week of taper?
- This afternoon Annie and I went to Lake 288 with our friends Suzie, Todd, and Eric for an Open Water Swim. This is a SCUBA practice lake that they allow us triathletes to practice swimming. I have not been in my wetsuit since early May and wanted to get at least one OWS in before Ironstar next month. I forgot just how much help a wetsuit really is -- feels like cheating. Annie tried on Suzie's wetsuit and did a few hundred yards. This was her first time in a wetsuit and she was amazed at how it lifted up her legs! It is very cool to have a wife that will just go and jump in a lake with you. The lake water temperature was 82 degrees and the air temperature was 85 degress - just a perfect day for an OWS!
- I had such an awesome time watching the Kona broadcast on my computer yesterday. Most people would probably think it is pretty darn boring to watch but you endurance peeps can appreciate how incredible it is to watch. Can't wait to see the NBC coverage in a couple of months. Congrats to all the finishers!
- We saw "The Social Network" last night. It was a pretty good flick. IMO, the story itself was just okay. Interesting but not compelling. But the directing and screenplay were excellent and so was most of the acting. It is worth seeing in the movie theater.
- The upcoming Week 17 is the largest volume week in my training program. It calls for 22 hours of training this week. Tomorrow (Monday) is my scheduled rest day and then Tuesday begins the carnage. I am actually really looking forward to getting started and seeing how my body responds!
I hope everyone has a great week!
Thanks for Reading,
Jeff
