Sunday, August 24, 2008

Travel, Taper, Race weeks

Uploading the photos and blogging about vacation has been keeping me busy so I am long overdue for a training and race update. First and foremost, training and traveling, whether for work or vacation, is tough work. You are at the mercy of the equipment available wherever you are (bikes, pools) and of course, the weather!

The week of August 4 I traveled the Chicago the evening before Houston was supposed to be hit by a tropical storm and the same evening that Chicago WAS hit with major storms. I got diverted to Indy and ended up spending the night there before catching an early morning flight to Chicago (which was also delayed) so I ended up losing a day of workouts. I missed 2 workouts on vacation too, one was a swim that I skipped because of jelly fish and the other was my long bike ride. Missing the swim was probably worse because after nearly 24 hours on my feet (with Tyler on my back) at Disney, I got some endurance work in!

Running on the beach in Destin was a neat experience. I love the beauty of the beach and the people watching is awesome. Unfortunately, my feet were not as impressed with the surroundings and I got the blisters to prove it. Thankfully, I am no worse for the wear and I still got the benefits of the beach workout (see Runner's World article at the bottom of the post on beach workouts). I googled beach runs on our drive home from Destin because I surprised at how difficult the run was and it turns out that I was not imagining it. Beach runs are tough work outs. No wonder why people who live by the beach have such great bodies!

Since this last week was a race week, my training schedule was reduced to get me ready for the race. I am still waiting for the official results to be posted so I will blog about the race itself and the results in a separate post.

Also, as a side note, my swim coach has been on vacation for 2 weeks, so I have been following the workouts she left for me ... when I have been able to make it to the pool! I am glad that she will be back this week!

Also, after the last 2 lower volume weeks (taper and race prep weeks) this coming week will be beginning the peak training in preparation for Longhorn in 6 weeks!

Training week of Aug 18

Monday – a.m. - 45 min run (5 miles)
Tuesday – a.m. - 1 hour pool swim; Lunch - Brick Workout: 45/15 bike/run (est. 15 / 1.75 miles)
Wednesday – a.m. - 60 min spin (est. 18 miles)
Thursday – a.m. - missed pool swim because of weather Lunch - 45 min run (5 miles)
Friday – Easy Brick to prep for race (15 min bike / 15 min run)
Saturday – RACE (1000 meter swim (.6 miles) / 18 mile bike / 6.2 mile run)
Sunday – Rest Day / 4 mile walk

Total workout time: 7 hours, 30 minutes (not including rest day)

Total distances: Run: 17.9 miles Bike: 37.5 miles

Favorite workout this week -- RACE Day ... minus the swim :)

Training Week of Aug 11 (vacation and taper* week):

Monday – a.m. - 35 min pool swim
Tuesday – a.m. - 60 mins bike followed by 12 long hours walking at Disney
Wednesday – Off (no time to workout after a late night and early morning)
Thursday – a.m.- Brick (45 bike / 15 run)
Friday – a.m. - 45 min beach run
Saturday – Off - Driving home from vacation
Sunday – a.m. - 1.5 hour run (10+ miles) -- this felt easy after the beach runs!

Total workout time: 4 hours, 45 minutes (not including 24 hours (literally!) at Disney)

* Taper week means that I purposely cut back on training after the previous weeks of tough training to give my body a break

Total distances: Run: 16 miles Bike: 30 miles (both estimates)

Favorite workout this week -- Sunday long run because it felt great after a low volume workout week

Training Week of Aug 4

Monday – a.m. - Masters Swim Class: 1:15 hours lunch - 50 mins running (6.0 miles)
Tuesday – Lost Day to Travel Snafu
Wednesday – a.m. - 60 min spin (overlooking Lake Michigan at Sunrise on the gym balcony)
Thursday – a.m. 45 min run; Lunch - Brick (45 bike / 15 run)
Friday – 2:15 bike (38 miles) followed by 1:00 run (6.6 miles)
Saturday – OFF - Drive to Destin
Sunday – 45 min run on the beach

Total workout time: 8 hours, 50 minutes

Total distances: Run: 23.25 miles Bike: 69 miles

Favorite workout this week -- Despite the blisters, the beach run was a great change of pace

Link to Runner's World Article:
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-263-266-8164-0,00.html

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