Pretty solid training week. Back on track to building fitness in the last run-up to the big race. 68 days left...that's just 10 weeks as of Sunday morning. It's starting to get real. I have no doubts about the bike. I'm confident I can pull together a solid run. The swim continues to have me a little concerned. Mostly, of how much it might take out of me mentally and physically after swimming 1 hour straight. My swim just isn't where I hoped it would be. But its not bad. Hopefully I'll have a good OWS in one of the next 3 races and that will build some more confidence. I guess it's a good problem to have to only be concerned that I won't swim under 1 hour. There's worse issues, and quite a few of the top AG finishers last year swam 1:02-1:05. Its' not that big of a deal. Lots of opportunity to get that back.
Y-athlon - Sicne it was a "C" race, there's no point in a dedicated race report. It ultimately was a brick workout.... and my times reflect that. I already had mentally checked out pretty early in the swim. The whole race was about pride and getting a solid training day. I swam 4:26 or about 1:11 with the zig zag factored in (375y). I can;t really complain about that. My arms were dead pretty early on. I probably went out a little fast. I must have opened with about a 32, because the next swimmer started about when I touched the wall. I slowed quite a bit after that. Transition was a little sloppy, I had issues getting my sunglasses on. I need to remember to put them on first, then the helmet and fix the straps later. I did get both toes into my shoes and only had to fix the heel a 1/4 mi up the road.
The bike went alright. I never found a good rythem with the road surface quality, stop signs, turns and hills. I probably could have ridden the hills a little more aggressive and suffered just a bit more. I really should have rode like there was no run. But I checked out again, pretty early on and just brought it home. Legs definitely didn't feel like Kansas. I probably run sub 33 if I felt that good. Rode 34:53 or 23.2mph corrected (short 13.5mi course). Not bad with the hills and such. I overcooked on of the fast downhill tunrs and just stayed inside the double yellow.
T2 was OK. I fumbled with my Garmin for the 1st 1/4 mi. I probably would have run faster without it. I might ditch it for Geode and run by feel, but I'd love to have the data. Tough call.
Overall not bad. I was actually slower by I think 20 seconds than last year, but it was hotter and a moderate 10mph wind on the bike.
By the numbers:
Swim: 2h31m, 10875y
Bike: 9h55m, 219mi
Run: 4h28m, 36.1mi
TOTAL: 18h28m
My training plan calls this "base 3, week 1". So I'm back to a base building period after a short transition form my first "A" race. I sort of wish I had rested a little more now, but I have a partial taper and a recovery week coming up after a "Hell week". I really had some trouble with motivation swimming. It was hot and humid and I transitioned to swimming outdoors at a neighbors lap pool. The YMCA is almost unuseable for workouts when the outdoor dewpoint is over even 65F. Fortunately the hot weather broke, so I have a window to get in some good swims.
Not making much progress on weight management like I wanted. I think it's impacting my running. I run a lot better at 160-162 than 164-165. I'll keep working on it, but I won;t let it be too much of a distraction. I just need to make some better nutrition decisions. The challenge is that with a high volume week, even with lower intensity, I need o refuel to keep thing rolling. Hopefully it melts off somewhat on it's own.
I had pretty good runs and bike rides despite the humidty otherwise. I felt pretty strong on my long ride on Sunday even after racing the day before.
Moving forward, I'm putting some long rides back in. A friend and fellow racer that done I think 9 IM's and very successful, mentioned that they really represent a big opportunity for building fitness for the IM distance.... without beating you up. So I'll do a 4-1/2 hour ride on the 4th of July. Then after my on-call week, I'll use my day off for putting in an epic 6 hour ride after a morning swim. I'm tempted to do it right off the swim. Maybe target about 125 miles. Ride very low zone 2 and try to get to 290-300 TSS. I have a long run planned for tomorrow. 18mi, but if my legs are "ON" and I'm OK on time, I might throw in 1 bonus mile possibly. Target bike mileage is 300 for the week. Some zone 1-2 recovery rides in there to make that happen.
Lets see if I survive the week. IF I do, I'll hit my early summer fitness peak. I'll just pass that just before Steelhead before starting a long period of recovery/taper/race.
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