Monday, February 28, 2011

Training and a Mini Taper

This past week of training was a good one for me (see, going to Vegas really did help me come back more focused and ready to charge life). That said, my "week" didn't get started until last Tuesday because Monday I was a little under the weather/recovering/playing catchup lol. But from Tuesday until today (Monday), here are the numbers:

Swim: 6.08 miles (10,700 yd)
Bike: 155 miles
Run: 25 miles
Strength: x2

Total time: 16.4 hours

That 16.4 is just "the meat" of every workout. I also log a "total time" that includes warmups, cooldowns, "transitions" for brick workouts, stretching/foam-rolling, etc., because I like to know how much time I'm investing into training. Does anyone else do this?? Am I psycho?? This week my time came out to 18 hours.

That, given my heavy work+school load, is a pretty good week for me. In fact, one of my biggest so far this year. I'm glad to see I'm handling the added intensity well and recovering well too! Only several naps were needed.

My plan was to build on the week, and pile a lot on for a big "4-day" weekend combo. Keep in mind, I didn't actually have a four-day work-free weekend--whenever I wasn't training I was eating, sleeping, working or studying. Efficiency is the name of the game baby!

Friday night = swim about 2 miles. For me to stay in the pool for that long mostly solo is quite an accomplishment!

Saturday morning
= An intense 40-mile trainer session with lots of pain-inflicting intervals followed by an even harder & hilly 5.3-mile T-run. Our run splits were: 8:37, 7:48, 7:28, 6:56, 6:43 + 2:27. (Plus, the ol' Garmin said over 900 ft elevation gain on the run, but that seems extreme. Hm.)

Sunday morning
= Trainer session of 3 hr 10 min, increasing intensity/power each hour. Yes, I know SoCal peeps, it was nice outside Sunday, but I chose the trainer because I had to listen to a class lecture I had missed (in mp3 format--sweet!), and I really wanted to watch Avatar. I know I'd never do either otherwise, so some sort of multi-tasking activity had to be done!

Monday
= Run 10.2 miles on a moderately hilly route and swim 1,500 EZ. The run was pretty damn enjoyable and ranks up there as one of my favorites of the year so far... loved it.

--
Whew. Next up is some recovery and a mini taper in anticipation of a triathlon this weekend. Yup, it's time to start racing again! Excitinggggg :) Good timing on the recovery week, too, as I have several major writing deadlines this week and a trip down to San Diego on Thursday to help a friend with his new clothing company.

Hope everyone is happy with their February and ready to hit March HARD!!! :)

12 comments:

  1. I'm glad to see you've kept everything running smoothly; right in stride!

    As a swimmer, I could spend HOURS in the pool! I actually have to specifically limit my pool time because it's so easy for me to focus on it, but it gains the least advantage.

    I'm jealous you get to start racing again already. It might be time for me to start thinking of moving a bit further south. Hmmm...

    Best of luck at the race!

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  2. yayayayayyy for racing! how exciting! 16 hours -that's legit this early in the season :)

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  3. I am sure you will do awesome in your race! Good luck!

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  4. That is some precise data Tawn! I do that too :P It helps to be able to look back and see where you were retroactively. Best of luck on your upcoming race! Not that you need it.

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  5. Progressively faster mile splits after the intervals = impressive!

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  6. Wow, very good numbers.
    You are quite the athlete and having that mileage early season is really good.
    Good luck at the races.

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  7. Great week of training. I hope you have a great race this weekend.

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  8. I am afraid to track the prep and recovery, prefueling, and post fueling time involved with all of my workouts. I KNOW it would have to be about 25%+ more time tacked onto the physical moving the arms and legs in the actual workouts.

    Nice week!

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  9. Hey Girl!! so excited about racing with you this weekend!! I hope you enjoyed Avatar but anything is good when on the trainer for over 3 hours xoxo

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  10. nice training week! i'm ready to hit march hard! good luck this weekend lady!

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  11. Good luck this weekend! Nice to see someone else whose numbers seem normal to me - I wish I could handle 20+ hours of training each week and still maintain balance, but it just doesn't work that way for me. You are going to have a fantastic year chica!!

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