Week 4: March 4-10, 2013

This week was a step-back week in terms of workout times and distances, but I added in some intensity on Thursday with a bike and swim time trial.  The bike time trial yielded a functional threshold power reading of 201 watts.  I'm disappointed in this number--I would like to be up in the mid-200s at least--but Mark assured me that the numbers would go up over the spring and summer as my time in the saddle increases.  During Thursday's swim practice we did a 100 yd. specialty-stroke time trial and another 200 IM time trial (broken down into 50s).  I was happy with my splits on these, especially given that I swam immediately after my bike ride.  My 100 breastroke time was 3 seconds under the US Master's Nationals qualifying standard and my 200 IM split was 5 seconds faster than last week.  My times are still a far cry from where they were back in my competitive days, but I'm seeing improvements every week.  Practicing with a "team" and racing the clock, something I haven't done in 17 years, is giving me an itch to swim competitively again!

The weather this week was wacky in typical midwest style, with 6.5 inches of snow and a day off of school on Wednesday and running in shorts and a t-shirt by Sunday.  I'll run outdoors in just about any weather, but the bike trainer--despite giving me time to catch up on my favorite Netflix shows--is getting old.  The taste of spring this weekend makes me look forward even more to the sunshine, warm temperatures, and outdoor riding that I'll be able to take advantage of soon.

Wednesday's snowfall...all melted by Sunday.

This week's stats:

Monday: off

Tuesday: 30 min. trainer ride; didn't wear the HRM. Legs felt tired.

Swim 3000 yds: 

500 sw, 4x50s DR/SW

3x100s on 1:20 w/ paddles

50 ez

4 x (125 IM--50 fly, 25 back, 25 br / 75 free) 125 s on 1:50, 75s on 1:10

100 ez

3x100s on 1:20 w/ paddles

50 ez

8x75s alt 75 IM no free and 75 free all on 1:10

Wednesday: treadmill run, 4 mi @ 1% incline, avg pace 9:13, avg HR 147

45 min. strength training

Thursday: 60 min trainer ride: 10 min warm up, 20 min threshold test (avg 201 watts, avg HR 178), 30 min cooldown.

Swim 2200 yds:

500 warm up, 5x50s dr/sw

3x100s on 1:20 w/ paddles

100 ez

4x75s: 50 free (3 breaths/length)/25 sprint, one of each stroke

100 ez

100 time trial, specialty stroke. I did 100 breastroke in 1:20 (under US Master's Nationals qualifying standard!) 

100 ez

4x50s sprint, one of each stroke, on 3:00. Splits this week were: fly-:34, back-:36, breast-:37, free-:30 for total of 2:17 (5 sec faster than last week!).

100 ez

6x25s sprint from halfwa to wall and back, working on turns; treadwater w/ arms up in between.

Friday: Recovery run low Z2, 5 mi, 9:36 avg pace

Saturday: 1:30 on the bike trainer, Z2

60 min. bootcamp

Sunday: 8.1 mi run, Z2, avg pace 9:19

Weekly totals:

Swim: 5200 yards

Bike: 3 hours

Run: 17.1 miles

Strength: 1:45 hours

Total hours: 9:15

Training cycle totals:

Swim: 21,600 yards

Bike: 14:15 hours

Run: 76 miles

Total hours: 39:43