week in workouts + ironman vr6 recap
Triathlons, I learned on Saturday, are a beast unlike even the marathon. Leg fatigue characterizes both, but the heaviness in a run after cycling for a long duration is more jarring than late-race tiredness in a running-only event. I wasn’t ignorant of this necessarily, but after completing Ironman VR3 with a bit less trouble than expected, I undermined a bit what an even longer ride-and-run duration would load onto my poor lower extremities. Let’s just leave it here: OOF.
Full recap of Ironman VR6 Olympic simulation lies below!
Monday, 5/4: 31.08 miles, 15.5 mph cycling (120 minutes) + 45 minute full-body strength
I got bored pretty quickly on Pittor for some reason, but still kept a stubbornly continuous effort despite wanting to stop. Tempo rides are tricky mentally because they’re a step tougher than an aerobic zone 2 ride but longer than a threshold effort normally is, so you’re forced to hang out in an uncomfortable place for a prolonged period. I warmed up for 23 minutes with some :30 fast cadence drills before settling into a 70 minute tempo ride between 83 and 87 RPM. Cooldown lasted about 27 minutes to hit 2 hours.
Full-body lift: EMOM: 4 rounds with 1 minute rest in between rounds
- 15 Arnold press
- 8 curtsy lunge per side
- 12 renegade rows per side
- 15 yogi squats
- 10 front to lateral raise
- 3 x 20 X toe tap per side
- 5 x 15 weighted hip hikes per side
- 3 x 15 bird dog + 5 pushups per side
- 3 x 20 weighted step ups
Tuesday, 5/7: 4.48 miles, 11:27 pace + 24.12 miles, 15.2 mph cycling (95 minutes)
Oof! Tight, tired legs, though the run didn’t really feel awful in general. I set out just before 5 am so I could get breakfast in before a 7 am shift. Incredibly peaceful early, with a few other runners and several bicyclists occupying the trail so I didn’t feel too lonely.
Late-day Pittor ride felt terrible mentally. My legs were fine, but I got really downtrodden by how low my heart rate sat despite reaching the paces I typically get to for a zone 2 session. I wasn’t in a great mental space after lunch as it was, so I nearly broke down in the middle of the ride! This experience made me consider how to prioritize my training the rest of the week.
Wednesday, 5/6: 8.14 miles, 10:35 pace aerobic run + 70 minute power yoga
I haven’t partaken in a delicious home power yoga session in awhile, and this was wonderfully satisfying. I wanted to get some type of strength or core work in but didn’t fancy utilizing our home gym, so I settled for an unscripted duration on the mat. Boy, did I sweat! I can’t remember exactly what I did, as I didn’t write anything down, but lots of vinyasas, Warrior 3 flow variations, Goddess squats, and varying core burners characterized the flow. Not only did my body feel refreshed after, but also my mind calmer and more balanced. After yesterday’s massive funk, I certainly needed this version of me-time.
Morning run was performed as a progression. I never left my easy zone (10+ minute per mile) but I cut down the pace each mile from 11:12 to 10:12 in order to build pace awareness and get my body used to preserving energy early. Speed wasn’t a concern here, just pattern. Felt great and the sunrise was glorious to view on the way back.
Thursday, 5/7: 6.31 miles, 10:22 pace + 27.28 miles, 15.6 mph cycling (105 minutes)
My positive relationship with Pittor rekindled during today’s ride, after Tuesday’s massive clunker. Still, I haven’t quite engaged with my rides as much as prior, which might mean I need to slow up and enjoy shorter workouts for a bit until the burnout resolves. Running, anyhow, is my larger focus at present.
- 20 minute easy warmup
- 5 x 5 minutes zone 4/5 minutes easy recovery
- 10 min zone 3 spin
- 5 x 1 minute hard/1 minute easy
- 15 minute easy cooldown
Run was nice and relaxed on a BEAUTIFUL midmorning. I performed 6 strides in the parking lot after I finished.
Friday, 5/8: 4.07 miles, 10:25 pace + 30 minute full body strength
Aside from the continually glorious weather, nothing exciting to report on the run. Straight after I did a quick circuit workout and a touch of core work.
EMOM: 4 rounds, 1 minute of rest between rounds.
- 10 single-arm row with pulse
- 12 Superman rows (first two rounds)/15 Superman rows (second two rounds)
- 10 windmills per side
- 18 curl to press
- 25 swings
- 4 x 30 hip swivels
- 3 x 18 plank hip lifts per side
Saturday, 5/9: Ironman VR6 Olympic Duathlon! 3km run/40 km bike/ 10k run (2:34:42 total)
One moment, I struggled to stand upright at J’s truck upon completion of the final 10km running stretch, and maybe a couple hours later I happily chatted about my next crazy challenge. The physical toil of the Olympic distance feels about five times worse than the sprint (which I tried a few weeks ago). Sweat-laden and gasping, I can’t think of a more satisfying end to over two and a half hours of full-out work.
We headed over to a loop about 30 minutes away from home at around 6:30 – the park opens at 7 and I figured it safer to get the bike done as early as possible to avoid an overpopulation of careless families on the asphalt. I am not comfortable cycling outside AT ALL, much less around people even less experienced and unpracticed in etiquette (I at least know the rules of the road on the saddle) and particularly around mindless children.
While J prepared the bikes – he was to follow me from a distance to ensure I was safe and to get his own independent workout in the books – I took off for the 3k run, which totals about 1.86 miles. I was shocked to look down and see sub-8 paces on my watch! I don’t believe I’ve ever strung two miles in the 7:xx range before, though this wasn’t technically two miles I’d imagine I could’ve kept going at a 7:3x for another .14. Final time: 14:14, 7:39 average.
I thoroughly enjoyed the wind in my face and the rush of cycling down the trail. I began fairly comfortable, with an initial 5 mile split at a 17.3 mph before letting my legs ramp up the pace. A lot of people walked or biked but I flew by most of them and no one proved obnoxious once I yelled a warning whilst approaching. I began, though, to struggle around mile 15 due to dehydration. I have a very hard time riding with one hand and simultaneously catching a bottle from the cage, even harder to put the bottle back, so I admittedly stopped the bike for a moment to get a few glugs down. I held a steady 17.8 mph pace for 10 miles until the final 7-mile loop, where I threw the hammer down and sped up to an average 18.3 mph. Eased up somewhat for the last 2 miles at a 17.5 mph average and had to loop the parking lot twice to reach 40km. Totals: 1:24:17, 17.7 mph.
By the time the 10km began, the sun fully overlooked the trail and the thermometer jumped up at least 5-7 degrees. I sipped a good amount of Skratch from my bike bottle and chugged down a Maurten Gel100 (which is actually decent texture-wise compared to most goos) before grabbing my running bottle and heading out. Transitioning from pedaling to striding is beyond difficult. I did not catch a decent rhythm at least for the first mile, and afterwards my legs felt so leaden that it was all I could do to just drop my head and counted every step until completion, trying consciously not to veer off the pavement onto the gravel from fatigue. I initially programmed some pace goals into my Garmin but very quickly abandoned those and focused on maintaining a reasonably comfortable effort. While ‘comfortable’ is a stretch of an adjective to describe the 10k, I surprisingly held a steady pace at most points and had enough left in my tank to pick up my legs and get some turnover for the final half mile or so. When my watch stopped to mark the end, I stood at the truck bent double and in disbelief that I ran the 6.21 miles in less than an hour! 56:11, 9:03 pace, faster than a solitary 10k – sans the bike and the 1.86 miles prior – that I ran last year under similar injury and weather circumstances.
Sunday, 5/11: 4.38 miles, 10:36 pace
Easy post-work recovery miles to close out the training week. Kept it light with a 159 bpm average heart rate. The legs didn’t feel too beat up but I was okay with keeping the run in the 4 mile range due to some fatigue. Rounded off an awesome week of running, however!
Total running mileage: 35.46
Total cycling mileage: 107.33
