66 Days Remaining - My Training So Far This Week(Playing Catch-Up)

Today is Thursday. It has been one week since I made a post about my workouts. This is a sign that
a.)I have lost focus
b.)I have been super busy
c.)life has gotten in the way of my routine

I am home with a sick child. Poor Ava is just a mess. Amanda stayed home the last two days to give me time to get caught up at school after being gone in Florida. Ava has not been happy which means sleep has been terrible and life in the Maurer household has not been all smiles.

I have been dragging this week. I came home Monday after waking up at 3 am on a short 3 hours of sleep to get back on track. Over the time in Florida I did not get in any workouts. I was hoping for two days of rest and one day of running if not two days. That did not happen. Instead I ate terrible, slept even worse, and the result is my body gaining 10 lbs and feeling horrible. I feel like I have lost so much ground.

This week is huge for me on many levels. One is that I need to get my motivation and drive back. With being so busy in life and school my training motivation is at an all time low. This is the worse time to have this happen with a race a week and a half away. Also, this week is important to knock off the rust and get my body back on track in terms of feeling good and efficient.

So, here is where I am as of Thursday morning.

Monday I jumped on the bike. This ride was a struggle. Little sleep and feeling out of shape this ride was difficult. I had to really muster up some motivation to even get on the bike. After about 45 minutes I started to feel much better on the bike, but the ride felt labored. This was my wake up call that I need to get focused.

Tuesday I ran with the 6B46 group. We ran at a much easier relaxed pace than what we have done in the last few weeks. It was perfect because I  needed to just get out and run. I could feel the extra weight while running. I did not feel fluid and smooth at all. My legs were tired from the bike ride(they should not be at this point in my training). It felt great to be back with the crew and getting focused. Being with these amazing people helped me to move back to my proper mindset.

Wednesday I jumped in the pool. I had a big swim workout to get done. I had a 3400 yard swim scheduled for my training. This week I have two big workouts to get done. Ava being sick and no internet at home meant that Amanda had to get out to school. I went to the Y extra early and go figure the one day I show up early they decided to not open the pool until after 5 am. This hurt my swim time. I had to get after it with shorter rests. I was not able to complete the entire workout due to running out of time and getting a killer cramp in my right calf that cost me about 5 minutes. I still got a good workout in and slowly got the feel of being in the water figured out.

I did the following

300 Free 5:09
300 Kick  7:28
300 Pull 5:02
200 Free 3:23
200 Kick 5:31
200 Pull 3:23

4 x 50 RT/LT arm
300 Free 5:17
4 x 50 Fingertip Drag(these kill me)
300 Free 4:24(I think I only swam 250 cause I was not swimming that fast)

At this point I was running short on time so I decided to just swim straight until my time ended. I had to call it after 18 lengths when I caught a huge cramp and had to stop in the middle of the pool. I completed 18 laps in 8:18

Total Swim 2950 yards
Total Time 56 minutes

Today(Thursday Morning) I was back at the Y ready to run. I was super tired with Ava up screaming and crying from 12:00 - 1:30 and being up about every 45 minutes.

The group was small this morning and a few dropped off after a few miles due to tapering for the half marathon this weekend and injuries. We took it easy in the beginning which was fine, but I was ready to push a little bit and I was able to do so towards the end. I needed to find out how my body would feel being pushed at the level it was being pushed prior to Florida.  The last few miles we were moving back at a good pace and it felt good. It did not feel difficult or labored. I feel like I am getting back on par.

I hope to get in a good bike ride in sometime today or tonight. This will leave me with a swim for tomorrow and another bike ride to get in. I am pondering running the QCDC Sunday because I feel like I need to test my mental toughness prior to my first tri next weekend. Also, everyone I typically run with will be running the race and I don't want to risk not getting out for a long run on my own. I will see how the day goes today and make a decision.

Alright, it feels good to reflect on my week. These reflections are important to keeping my mind on the right path. I still need to reflect on last week and more importantly the trip to Florida. One step at a time. Right now it is time to entertain this  little one of mine and pray she takes a good nap so I can get some housework and training done.