I try my hardest to make sure that my training has the least effect on my family and especially Amanda. Hence the reason why I have yet to sleep in this summer as I continue to rise and shine at 4 - 4:30 am each day to get my workouts done before the family wakes.
Looking ahead to this weekend we have three birthday parties(none of which are close by) as well as the regular things that we try to get done each weekend. The last thing that needs to happen is me being gone to train. My training is something that I feel I have kept in perspective and not tried to allow it to be all encompassing. Amanda probably disagrees with this statement, but I really feel that I have not allowed it affect life much. The exception would be this week and next week as these are my two most crucial weeks of training. I need to get my running miles in this week and finish next week with my biggest training volume to date. I have put in a great amount of time and effort into my training, but I still feel like it has been inadequate. My running is not where it should be. My bike could be stronger if I could just figure out the nutrition side of training.
As you can tell right now in my ramblings my brain is in a swirl. The race is close. The athlete guide arrived yesterday and this made me nervous. My mental side has just been a mess with the ups and downs. I guess the key to this is the unknown factor. I don't know the course. I don't know what to expect. I can't predict what will go well and and what won't go well. What if I get a flat? I can't change a tire for the life of me. What if it is 100 degrees like the last few days? All these questions are things I should not worry about because I have no control over them. Like I tell my own kids, my players, and students we should not worry about things we cannot control because it does us no good. Here I sit pondering over things I cannot control.
I am not sure where this rambling is going so I am going to end it and just move on to this morning.
Last night I decided to switch things up. I had my long endurance swim planned for tomorrow after my 14-15 mile run. Looking at the timing of everything and then thinking about how I might feel awful after this run I decided to move my swim to today. This then bumps my bike workout to later today which Amanda said would be fine. I feared that tomorrow I won't feel like swimming after this long run.
I have only ran 13+ miles twice in the last two months. The last 13 mile run was May 26th! I knew I have not ran long very much, but checking my data this really put a sense of panic in my mind. I was cranking out long runs every Saturday for months and now when it is of most importance I have dropped the ball. Tomorrow I will get it back on track. I need one good long run to reassure my brain that I am capable. If I feel like crap after the run then I know I have my swim workout done. I swam my big workout today so if I can only swim 1000 - 3000 yards it is not a big deal because I have my swim workouts done. As opposed to having two potential bad training sessions in one day I will only have one. Hopefully, I will run good, feel good, and enjoy the swim afterwards. I need a good long run that goes pain free. That has not happened in a looooooonnnng time.
Today I did the following
Warm-Up
200 Free @ 3:37
200 Pull @ 3:37
100 Kick @ 1:56
My training plan called for a 2200 yard swim. This is 88 lengths. There is something to be said when you have hit 28 lengths and realize you still have 60 more to go. What a mental wall! I hit length 80 and decided why not go for 100 since I am so close? What is another 12 lengths. So, I did just that and swam 100 lengths which is 2500 yards.
2500 yards @ 47:11
Since I swam an extra 300 I cut that out of my paddle workout.
800 yard with paddles @ 13:30
200 yard kick cool down @ 4:04
Looking at race day I have to swim 1.2 miles or 2112 yards. I checked my time at 88 lengths which is 2200 yards and I was at 41:45. I don't have huge expectations for my swim except I know that if I swim this slow I will not be happy. I want to be under 40 minutes and preferably in the 35-37 minute range. However, I don't know if I can shave that kind of time off from today to race day. Knocking off 4-5 minutes is not easy. I just better not be over 40! I know the wetsuit helps, but I don't know if it will help that much.
Total Swim Time: 1 hour 13 minutes and 57 seconds ( I believe this is the first time I have swam over one hour. Yes, this swim time only takes into account when I am actually swimming, not rest periods).
Total Distance: 4000 yards
It was a good workout. I feel glad to have this done and marked off. I have a 40 mile ride to get in today and tomorrow we will be up and running at 4:30 am starting at Crow Creek Park for those interested. We will be running 90 minute loops. I think some of us will be swimming after the second loop if you wish to join.
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