RECOVERY WEEK! Mixed in throughout the training cycle will be recovery weeks, which will consists of a lighter volume of training to help gain fitness from the prior weeks and let the body rest for a bit. While I would normally welcome this, training has been pretty manageable lately and the thought of decreasing training wasn’t that appealing. Nevertheless, I heeded my coach’s schedule and soaked it in.
Monday, 1/23: Swim
Much like regularly scheduled recovery weeks, there will also me benchmarks set in each of the sports and I will continually revisit these benchmarks to gauge growth/improvement. Today’s 1500 yard swim was used to create my first 800 marker. After the warm-up, I swam an 800 and noted my results. Start slightly slower than you think you should, then finishing strong, pushing the pace to go as hard as you can during that 800.
I suppose the only place to go from here is up, right?
Tuesday, 1/24: Run
Oh heeeeey there shiny, new kicks.
Now that heart rate/zone training is in full effect, Tuesday’s hill run was swapped out with a 5.2 mile tempo run:
10′ Warm Up @ HR Zone 1-2
20′ Run @ HR Zone 3 (Tempo)
10′ Easy @ HR Zone 2
It’s a little bit more difficult to do tempo runs in zones as my zone three using my heart rate is slower than I would have normally run without monitoring my heart rate. But just like everything else, I’m learning and will get used to it.
On top of freaking out about running a tempo run via my heart rate, I started to get concerned at how much running fitness/speed I was losing. Enter a long, emotional email to my coach and we have now switched up my training plan to ensure that I stay sane.
Wednesday, 1/25: Swim (a.m.) / Cycle (p.m.)
A standard 1500 yards with the main set being 200 repeats. And as always, the bike was completed while watching trashy reality TV. I love Wednesdays.
Thursday, 1/26: Rest
Wait, I take back what I said about Wednesdays. I really love Thursdays.
Friday, 1/27: Run
7.6 miles on the treadmill – pretty standard. But one important thing to note is that whenever I am on the treadmill now, I have to set the incline at 1 percent to simulate road running.
Saturday, 1/28: Cycle & Transition Run
Blinding new jacket = safety first.
With my coach out of town this weekend and some afternoon priorities, I had to scramble and find another group to ride with. I ended up riding with CyclePros, a local cycle shop and we rode a different version of the same route that was my very first ride. I eventually ended up just riding alone to ensure I got in my zones, but inevitably I got a tab bit lost. Fear not – my handy iPhone saved the day and I was home in two and a half hours.
One thing that I keep forgetting to mention is that after each long ride, we do a mini-transition run. It’s only 10 minutes but is a good reminder of, “Whoooooa, my legs feel like Jell-O.”
Sunday, 1/29: Rest
Sundays are meant for sleeping in, making Chicken Face breakfast in bed, and watching far too much Food Network. Perfection.
Oh, and Costco. Sundays are made for Costco.
I closed out the week eight with:
6 hours and 40 minutes of training:
3,000 yards swimming
49 miles cycling
14.2 miles running
How did your training week go? Do you take recovery weeks?
Happy Running!
It appears that week 8 = recovery week for both of us 🙂 I am happy to see your new shoes are Brooks again! TEAM ADRENALINE <3
I love your jacket ~ safety green is my favorite color!
If I’ve learned anything while training, it’s that there are down-days, and up-days.
Great job on the training. Hard Core.
Something tells me you will be enjoying these recovery weeks more and more as the months go on. Good for you letting go of control and listening to your coach… this is a lot of the reason I am afraid to hire one just yet. CONTROL FREAK!
this sounds like what i have planned this week! a bit of a cutback with some benchmark tests. part of me feels like i should be doing a lot more, but then i know i should embrace the rest now since it will be a rarity in the coming months!
Nice week! I agree that Sunday’s are for Costco! :-). How long does it take you to do an 800 and what does your coach say? It’s not like I could really do much about it but I always wonder what is average or fast for swimming.
I love Costco!
And your training seems to be going along awesomely. So I think I must have missed this post. How did you get a coach for the training?
My training went well in that I “Soulcycled” twice and ran 3 times, today up to 20 min. Hardcore over here. True story – I’ve never been to a Costco.
Sounds like a great week of training…well done.I am on a journey to IMAZ this year too. Looking forward to following all your training 🙂