After the Chasing Chics Triathlon, I took it easy for several days. I did my normal Wednesday morning Pro K swim and on Thursday I got a strength workout in but I did not do any running or biking all week. I was resting up before starting the next phase of my training.
On Saturday, I did 2000 yards in the pool. I have started planning my pool workouts so we can maximize the time in the pool. Instead of a 300 yard warm-up, we have upped the yardage to 600 for our warm-up. Also, having the training session planned out causes us to spend less time on breaks between drills and therefore we get more mileage. I have to admit, I still cannot go too far in the pool without having to take a very quick, 2 to 5 second breather occasionally.
In fact, while I have made great gains in my swimming, I still have a long way to go. I do feel lucky though and I would like to explain why. First of all, here are some snippets from trinewbies.com which is one of the many web sites devoted to triathlon. In response to the question, "Do triathletes really need a swim coach?" Hazen Kent responds with the following:
"A good swimming instructor standing on the pool deck working with a group of adult swimmers is by far the best possible scenario for improving your overall swimming performance. Unfortunately there is a very real shortage of instructors out there and many of us are forced to fend for ourselves on a daily basis."
Hazen goes on to say, "Most will agree that having a swim coach on the pool deck monitoring your strokes and stroke technique is by far the best way to improve your overall swimming performance. Unfortunately, not all of us have access to a swim coach."
Hazen then goes on to outline the things that make a good swim coach.
"So what makes a good swim coach?", Hazen continues,
"Good question…let’s take a look:
A good swim coach should have a good understanding of swimming and the strokes involved. This also includes the knowledge of effective stroke drills to help improve a swimmers stroke technique and overall speed.
A good swim coach should be aware of all his/her swimmers, their level or performance and their needs.
A good swim coach is always moving up and down the pool deck, correcting the swimmer’s strokes.
A good swim coach is vocal, perhaps even loud!
A good swim coach will be seen actively demonstrating drills, perhaps even getting in the water to do so.
But remember, we are not just looking for a good swim coach. We need a swim coach who understands the sport of triathlon and thus understands our needs."
The reason I feel lucky is that I have a really great swim coach who meets just about all of the above criteria for a good triathlon swim coach. Karen Holloway (http://www.karenholloway.com) not only understands swimming but she is an accomplished triathlete. In 2005, she won Ironman Canada with a time of 9:51:31. She has demonstrated her intimate knowledge about triathlon and is quite adept at passing that knowledge on to her athletes.
At our last practice, Karen gave me some corrections that I know will help me become a stronger and faster swimmer. If I can concentrate on implementing the corrections, that is. Sometimes all I can think about is "I need air!" or "Why is my heart beating in my ears?!" But I can take what she tells me and work on it. Karen gives instructions and corrections to all her swimmers. Even the ones that are twice as fast as me and seem to be fish in the water. They also get her watchful eye and feedback that will make them even better swimmers.
It will still take a long time for me to get faster and stronger. Honestly, I am not too worried about becoming super speedy. I just want to be more efficient and a better swimmer. The speed will eventually come. My goal is to eventually be able to do some long distance races so I am more interested in being able to relax and follow the advice of Dory from Finding Nemo, "just keep swimming, just keep swimming."
After our Saturday pool session and lunch, I rode the bike trainer for 55 minutes. That was about all the time I had to workout on Saturday as we then went to the Picasso exhibit which was quite interesting. I don't go to art exhibits much but I could not miss this one. I am glad I went but don't want to talk about it too much as that could be an entire blog entry by itself.
On Sunday, my training partner and I did 1800 yards in the pool. After our swim, we pre-rode the PowerSprint Triathlon bike course which is about a 12 Mile loop. Following our ride, I ran a 5 miler.
Monday turned out to be a rest day of sorts. The lawn needed attention so I did some weeding and ran the lawnmower. I don't necessarily mind doing this kind of work but it is not my favorite thing to do. I would rather be riding my bike or running or lifting weights or doing core work. But it is something that has to be done.
On Tuesday, my training partner and I went to the track to do some speed work. Melissa did a warm-up and then a tempo run followed by a cool down. I did my 1 mile warm-up and then did 4X800 followed by cool down. I had planned to do 5X800 but as you can see from my splits below, I was starting to fade pretty fast. I probably started out too fast as usual.
| 10:25 |
On Wednesday morning I had the usual Pro K swim class with Karen and her team. I was feeling pretty slow and tired during this workout. We did a lot of 100s. Since I am still pretty winded after a 100, I quickly started to fade. However, I still thought it was a great practice and despite the fact that I am most definitely not a morning person, I always feel great after swim class and am energized and ready to go. Of course then I go to work where I sit in front of computer screens all day but that is another story.
On Thursday, Melissa and I did a 30-mile bike ride. It was the longest ride we have done in a very long time. We found a route on the Richmond Area Bicycle Association's website and then tacked on some mileage so we could ride straight from our house. It was a easy-to-moderate ride for us. During the ride, we got passed by loads of bikers. These guys were really cooking and flew past us like we were standing still. I had to fight the urge to stomp on the pedals and get into their slipstream. Honestly, I probably could not have kept up though and we were not up for that kind of workout.
After the ride, Melissa ran a 3 miler and I ran a 5 miler. I was pretty jacked up from the ride. Melissa got out of the house before me so when I started I had a rabbit to catch. I think chasing her for the first part of my run, plus knowing that I was off Friday and going out of town for a holiday weekend with my family, really motivated me. I ran slightly faster than I had intended and ended up with a 7:31 min/mile pace for the 5 miles. I felt pretty darn good considering I was not really racing and did not really feel like I was laboring or anything.
So there you have it. You are now mostly up to date with my first week of training in this next training phase. Next time I will give you the Capon Springs Report which is where we spent the weekend with family. Of course there was some running and biking involved. Also I will update you on my race schedule which has changed.
2 comments:
It sounds like you are elevating your body to a higher level of endurance "one workout at a time".
It's obviously a LOT of work, but your 10K and triathlon times show that it is paying off!
Keep up the good work!
I too, was pretty jacked up after our bike ride, and ran faster than intended.I ran at almost my 10k pace. If you had asked me if I could do that after a 30-mile bike ride, I would have said 'not bloody likely'. I think I am learning to appreciate a good warm up.
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