week in training | 8.16 – 8.22

Down week before my tough 3 week block of race prep beings! This week I struggled a lot more than prior due to the extremes in our weather. We reached 100+ heat indices several days and the mornings were almost unbearable. 90+ humidity, usually no cooler than 78 degrees, and dew points around 77-79. I really hope we return at least to normal levels of crap soon.

Monday, 8.16: 10 miles, 10:49 pace + 48 min strength

The humidity continues to be insane, alongside 78+ degree climes in general, so this run was largely spent trying to breathe! I managed okay with a 157 bpm average heart rate but boy, was it suffocating out. At the very least I was graced with a breeze: if it were perfectly still, I might’ve just collapsed on the pavement at some point.

Strength:

• 4 x 4 row SS 10 pushups
• 4 x 5 weighted squat jumps SS 10 ea. oblique bends
• 4 x 8 reverse fly SS 10 biceps curls
• 4 x 8 curtsy lunges SS 10 lateral hops
• 4 x 10 bent over front raise
• 4 x 10 ea. standing banded clamshells
• 4 x 10 stability ball hamstring curls
• 4 x 10 ea. windmill

Tuesday, 8.17: 21.33 miles, 21.3 mph cycling (1:00:00) + 1,800 yard swim (36:53)

Cadence-focused bike ride averaging at a nondescript 121W. I want to get comfortable hitting 90 RPM consistently so I performed 5 x 5 minute intervals, with 2 minutes at a harder gear/slightly lower cadence, to let my legs spin out without too much added stress. It felt pretty good, though maintaining 90 is actually way harder than I expected!

Swim after work in a nice chilly pool averaged at 1:59/100 yards and a 42 SWOLF. I swam 1,500 in exactly 30 minutes, then performed 4 x 50 – 54, 52, 54, 53, and a 100 cooldown.

Wednesday, 8.18: 10 miles, 9:31 pace + 50 min strength + 1,500 yard swim (31:28)

Successful dip into Yasso 800s! I remember when I attempted them while training for Big Sur a couple years ago that I enjoyed the session a good bit – though I definitely enjoyed it less today with the horrid temperatures. 3 mile warmup, 6 x 800 aiming for 3:45-3:50 – 3:45, 3:48, 3:48, 3:47, 3:46, 3:46, 2 mile cooldown.

Pool swim was pretty slow and sloppy, as is usual for a tough Wednesday workout, so I mostly did what I felt like doing and didn’t care much about splits. I swam a straight 800, then 4 x 25 fast, 150 pull, 50 steady, 300 cooldown. 43 SWOLF and 2:00/100 yards.

Strength:

• 4 x 8 ea. lateral raise
• 4 x 8 ea. bosu ball static lunge
• 3 x 10 Arnold press
• 4 x 10 OH squat
• 4 x 5 ea. lunge matrix
• 4 x 10 underhand row
• 4 x 10 ea. band lateral leg lift
• 4 x 10 deadbug
• 4 x 10 ea. lateral leg lift to leg extension

Thursday, 8.19: 8 miles, 10:29 pace + 1,500 yard swim (30:10)

The extreme stickiness has slapped us once again, and I think I ran this faster than intended in order to escape it sooner. I felt okay but can’t say I loved this run, and am very over summer training.

My legs felt stubborn in the pool so this workout wasn’t as high quality as I wanted, but nice anyway to cool off after a long shift. I warmed up for 400 yards, then performed 6 x 150 – 2:51, 2:51, 2:52, 2:51, 2:51, 2:52, 200 cooldown. 1:57 average and 42 SWOLF.

Friday, 8.20: 6.2 miles, 10:46 pace + 30 min elliptical

80 degrees and a 78 dew point at the start. A slight breeze helped a bit but it was still pretty torturous. I was pretty thankful I had no double run scheduled this day, so I took it to the gym for a light elliptical session to shake off the workday and about 20 minutes of core work. I performed 4 x 10 ea. banded standing clamshells, 4 x 15 leg drops, 4 x 10 ea. airplanes, and 4 x 12 ea. side plank rainbows.

Saturday, 8.21: 15.25 miles, 10:49 pace + 25 min strength

Definitely suffered in the heat despite my electrolytes and fueling. I was more fatigued and beat from this mileage than some of my 18-20 milers! We spent most of the day resting, snacking, and hanging out by the pool since J was also wrecked from his long run in the morning.

Strength:

• 4 x 8 squat to press
• 4 x 20 medicine ball plank taps
• 4 x 12 swings
• 4 x 8 OH triceps extensions
• 4 x 10 ea. side plank pass thrus

Sunday, 8.22: 4.38 miles, 11:26 pace

Very abnormal stats for this run. My heart rate averaged 152, which is VERY high for these paces. I didn’t feel miserable or high effort so I think I can attribute some of this to a heat hangover from Saturday, but I wasn’t too pleased with seeing that number. Heart rate is something I watch for trends more so than individual workouts, so I hope this was a one-off and once the weather normalizes (if it does) I’ll see more typical data.

Total running mileage: 53.8

Total cycling mileage: 21.33

Total swimming yardage: 4,800