week in training | 8.31 – 9.6

I’m tired of summer, but what else is new? High load this week, mostly in the saddle, and a new trainer milestone! J and I are getting into the habit of weekend open water swims, and this one proved particularly interesting – as you’ll read below.

Monday, 8/31: 45.05 miles, 16.4 mph cycling (2:45:01) + 3.11 miles, 9:49 pace

Did not feel great this ride: legs proved sluggish and uncooperative, but I still am happy with my average. I think hydration had something to do with the higher RPE and I made sure to refuel really well afterwards before work. My shift was very stressful and tiring, so the treadmill 5k once I got home was a welcome respite from the mental drain and I felt much better afterwards.

Tuesday, 9/1: 7.8 miles, 9:37 pace + 1,700 yard swim (33:46) + 16.55 miles, 16.5 mph cycling (1:00:00)

Pleasantly surprising speedwork! I repeated the following set 8 times: 300m @ 7:08-7:21, :45 walking recovery, 200m smooth sprints (6:30-6:54 paces), 2 minute jog recovery. The short bursts of speed and gentle recoveries seemed to keep my chest from tightening and my throat from gunking up.

The swim felt pretty weird and difficult, but J informed me that this might be because of my recent open water swim. The pool lacks the buoyancy of the saltwater and I had to become aware of my kick again! Main set was 3 x 300 @ 5:57, 5:55, and 5:56.

Wednesday, 9/2: 20.01 miles, 16.9 mph cycling (1:11:11) + 6.2 miles, 10:31 pace brick run + 1 hour strength

I skimped out on a brick the previous week so I opted to skip a swim in favor of fitting in a good sweaty morning duo. I performed a strong workout on the bike to start: 20 minute warmup, 5 min @ tempo (17.2), 5 min steady, 6 x :30 sprint (17.9-18.4 mph)/2:30 threshold (17.4-7.6)/2:00 recovery, cooldown to 20 miles. Immediately transitioned into a 65 minute outdoor run at a relaxed clip, and polished off the day with an hour of strength training before lunch once I picked up my new 15# dumbbells!

Strength: each exercise 3x through

• 15 one arm dumbbell swings/15 balanced around the body passes
• 12 single arm press/10 single leg dumbbell pass
• 16 dumbbell plank drags
• 15 skullcrushers/15 triceps pulse
• 12 single leg deadlift
• 12 side plank pass through (top leg lifted)
• 20 banded step-outs/15 goblet squats
• 15 single leg row
• 15 bridge chest press
• 6 biceps curls
• 20 plank rotating knee taps
• 50 clamshells per side (one set)
• Flutter kick burnout

Thursday, 9/3: 7.5 miles, 10:43 pace + 1,800 yard swim (36.17) + 3.94 miles, 10:10 pace

Morning run and evening run to continue with my once-per-week doubles. I like this format for my weird midshift workdays and today I experimented with how fast I can go on the treadmill at the same heartrate as my average outside. I hit a 9:41 pace before my HR matched – a whole minute per mile difference! Gives me hope for cool-weather running and where my fitness will land come better weather. The gym is 74 degrees, probably 30-40% humidity, and lacks airflow aside from the AC when it kicks on. Still not technically ideal running conditions so I might be even more efficient in lower temperatures.

Swim averaged 2:01/100 yards and contained two pull sets: a 400 (8:01) and a 250 (5:11). Definitely felt out of whack and lacked rhythm, but nonetheless a respectable workout in its own rite.

Friday, 9/4: 45 minute strength + 21.22 miles, 17 mph cycling (1:15:00)

First time breaking the 17mph average barrier on the trainer! I have done so outside but never on the mount, which is always harder than riding on a trail. Beyond excited to see splits that nearly matched what I did several months ago during Ironman VR6. J oiled the chains a few days ago and when riding in my lowest typical gear I spin much more easily during my warmups. I rode 40 minutes at tempo effort (17:28, 17:27), recovered for a mile, then performed 6 x :30 relaxed sprints, which landed somewhere between 18-20 mph throughout, with 1 minute recoveries.

Fun HIIT-style strength workout to get my blood flowing and my heart pumping before work! Details follow.

Strength: 4 rounds, 16 reps each, minimal rest

• Jump squats/band face pulls
• Marching glute bridge/band leg drops
• Reverse lunge to upright row (two sets I rowed every second lunge, and two sets every lunge)/bicep curl (8 per arm)
• Plank shoot-through/glute press-ups
• Alternating knee-ins/alternating single-leg jumps
• Weighted back extensions/alternating single-knee pushup

Saturday, 9/5: 14.01 miles, 10:23 pace + ~1,850 yard open water swim (37:48)

I struggled through the still, swampy, fiery air all 145 minutes but felt a bit of optimism knowing we were to head to the beach for our second open water swim together once I finished. This week the water proved flat and pleasant, except by one random area, and thankfully I swam against the current in the first half so I could relax a bit more in the second. Sometime on the way out I got nailed by a jellyfish right on the left buttcheek! The wound is pretty vivid and unmistakable but I didn’t have much of a reaction outside the expected redness and burn. Risk you take stroking through the open water. I stepped onto the beach refreshed and pleasantly tired, and we ate zucchini bread as a snack on the drive home down the causeway.

Sunday, 9/6: 45 minute strength + 3.37 miles, 10:24 pace

Even though the sun drilled holes in my back at 11 am, I thoroughly enjoyed this run. All the treadmills in the gym were occupied so I headed outside for my easy miles after work: I carried water and kept a positive mindset, and the breeze felt great when it blew. Though hot, it was less oppressive than usual, more like an early summer climate rather than the awful, extreme conditions with which we familiarized in August. I might try to organize more midmorning miles outside if I find days with similar weather.

I’d write out my strength workout but I honestly don’t remember what I did – I deleted the segment of my iPhone note by accident and couldn’t get it back! I know it involved some band word, supersets, TRX, and core. Not very helpful, but regardless, a good session!

Total running mileage: 46

Total cycling mileage: 102.8

Total swimming yardage: 5,350