SOCIALLY PROFILED
CHALLENGE ROTH TRAINING - 2023 Week beginning Sunday, April 16, 2023
10 weeks out from race day.
WEEKLY GOAL
Same as last week, swim, bike, heal.
SUMMARY
Total Time: 14 Hours
I feel like I was RIDING BIKES
Without the added stress of running, I am feeling like the bike fitness is starting to develop.
Despite still only using one leg at the wall, this might have been the first week that I started to feel a little more connected in the pool too.
Velofix delivered my new TT Bike on Monday. There are still a few things to sort on it, saddle, handlebar tape and aerobar tweaks. About an hour on the road and I am feeling consciously competent with the full-synchro Di2 shifting on this bike.
SUNDAY APR 16 🌦
Sleep 3 | Fatigue 5 | Stress 2 | Soreness 4
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
Swim 3200: 3x 100 easy swimming to warm up. Rest as needed. 6x 50 as 25 fist drill/25 build easy to strong w/ focus on catch. R :20. 6x 100 Descend 1-3, 4-6 as 1-IM effort, 2-1/2 IM effort, 3-1k effort. R :20 after each. 2x 50 super easy. 9x 200 aerobic/steady/smooth w/ 3-4 sightings per 50. R :30 after each. 2x 50 super easy to cool down.
Trainer ~ 60 minutes. EASY spinning. One of the TT bikes would be great, up to you.
NOTES
Total Time: 71 Minutes Swim: 3200m
Quads very much affected by the fun I had yesterday. Dead bugs before the pool let me know that my right hip flexor and my left QL are annoyed with me today as well.
The pool was a chaotic this afternoon. Mercury Rinsing took over a couple lanes and my next best fit was in a lane that was moving faster than is typical for me. I'd do okay hanging off feet for a length but with a single leg push off the wall, I was left behind.
To slot in, I would stop/start the activity on the watch so my rest times were off too. This felt like a race.
Heartrate data accounted for the missing 200m. 
Not much energy left for the trainer.
MONDAY APR 17 🌧
Sleep 4 | Fatigue 4 | Stress 3 | Soreness 5
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
Ride 70 minutes EASY. On the trainer, or outside, on any bike you like.
NOTES
Total Time: 76 Mins Normalized Power: 128W
New TT Bike was delivered today. I futzed with adjusting the seat and aerobars, getting measurements close to my original bike. I didn't take it outside; the weather was dry but very windy and very cold.
After dinner, I jumped on the trainer and started riding Rouvy where I last left off on the Roth bike course. The app crashed about 15 minutes in but I did have the activity being recorded simultaneously on my head unit. It was 15 minutes of simulated terrain then an hour of steady, easy effort pedalling.
TUESDAY APR 18 🌦
Sleep 3 | Fatigue 4 | Stress 4 | Soreness 4
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
Swim 2900: 300 easy swim. 200 swim w/ buoy. 100 kick (assuming the foot allows, otherwise, skip this) 4 rounds (50 Shark-fin drill. R :15, 100 swim w/ focus on rotation. R :20) 2x 50 gradual build easy to strong. Rest as needed. 5 rounds (4x 50 Strong/Fast @ 750+ race effort. R :10 after each. 100 EASY! R :40) 100 extra easy to cool down.
Mobility 22 minutes
NOTES
Total Time: 61 Minutes Swim: 2700m
Weight over the past 5 days has trended in the wrong direction. It has incremented a little bit each day, from 76.0 Kg late last week, to 77.6 this morning.
This no running injury is messing with my mood.
Or maybe its just the cold, wet weather. Snow on the Malahat this morning.
Jumping into a 50m lane to start the workout, I found out how hard the swim on Sunday was. Shoulders, triceps and lats were less than comfortable with movement. I did attempt the 100m kick; no pain during but I was about 45 seconds slower for the 100m; glad I tried it, glad to only to have to do one.
Despite today's stiff upper body, I did my best with the 50m fast reps. The effort was there, the times were anything but fast.
I got 3 of 5 of the main set in before the lane change over. Straight to the restroom, straight back into the pool (25m). I was not up for more hard efforts so I swam an easy 300 then an easy 200 and called it a day.
I saw Batu on the way out; he confirmed that his workout last Sunday (I shared the lane with) was fast for him and his swim partner.
WEDNESDAY APR 19 🌦
Sleep 3 | Fatigue 4 | Stress 4 | Soreness 4
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
Long Ride on a week day. Ride 2:15. Ideally on the road bike or the MTB. Why??? Because the next goal is to seek out around 500 meters of total climbing. So you don't have to only climb, but it would be nice if you headed to a smaller hill and made a few trips up. And then cruised the flats when you're done. Effort is just 'Steady uphill chugging" Aka: Stronger than a flat road spin, but we are NOT sprinting up the hill. Just a good solid effort.
Eat lots. Drink lots. Have fun.
NOTES
Total Time: 135 Minutes Accent: 676m
I headed up to the fire roads of Thetis Park paying attention to the total ascent metric on the head unit. I stayed off the single track initially, sticking with the goal of getting metres.
Pacing the climb up Scafe Hill Trail got me a PR on the Strava Segement "Twin Peaks". Just a few months ago, getting up this hill in one go was beyond my fitness.
Back down to Bellamy Trail then to the gate at Davies Road in just under an hour with 420m of gain in the bank. I looped back to the park via Frank's Trail. I took a short venture off the fire road via "Better Than The Road" and looked at "Mostly Open" before the voice in my head reminded me that injuries are not my friend.
Although I was dry, I certainly needed to put on the gilet for the trip off the hill; it is still cooler than it should be.
Solid ride and I am feeling far more refreshed afterwards, unlike last Saturday.
THURSDAY APR 20 🌧
Sleep 3 | Fatigue 3 | Stress 4 | Soreness 4
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
Swim 3100: 2x 100 easy swim. Rest as needed. 2x 100 swim w/ buoy. rest as needed. 6x 50 Paddle-fist drill. R :20. 4x 50 gradual build easy to strong. R :20. 7x 300 as 75 smooth/relaxed/25 w/ higher turnover/higher focus. R 1:00 between each. 2x 50 easy swimming to cool down.
Mobility 16 minutes
NOTES
Total Time: 70 Minutes Swim: 3100m
I felt better in the pool today with a touch (slightly) more effort going into the kick. I forgot the paddles and replaced with the fist drill.
Lane change fell just before the half way point of the workout and the lifeguards were not as quick as the last few weeks. Regardless, I got the full distance in ending right as the lane reservations kicked in (4pm).
Every 300m lane became progressively easier, feeling more connected with the act of swimming. I was pretty happy with this time in the water.
Weather was blustery; I drove to the pool.
FRIDAY APR 21 🌧
Sleep 3 | Fatigue 3 | Stress 4 | Soreness 4
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
Ride 90 minutes. Flat to rolling route. Ideally on the TT bike. Keep the effort EASY!
NOTES
Total Saddle Time: ~90 Minutes
First venture out of the neighbourhood with the new TT Bike. I brought a torque wrench with me and I did need to adjust the saddle once. I am going to replace it with the Selle Italia Watt saddle on the old bike before the next outdoor ride.
Jumped on the trainer for 30 minutes because I was home early.
SATURDAY APR 22 🌧
Sleep 4 | Fatigue 3 | Stress 3 | Soreness 4
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
Long Ride on MTB. Goal: 4 hours. Easy to steady pedaling. Allowed: Making it to the Redgate. This may be over five hours of pedaling. That is ok, as long as you're having a good time, and the body is holding up. Fuel early. Fuel often. Hydrate as much as needed. Dress to stay warm and dry.
NOTES
Total Time: 325 Minutes Ride: 102 km
I watched IM Texas through to the 30km mark of the women's race. Finally a bit more texture to the rain clouds out west; time to pedal the bike.
I focused on being strict with the effort for the ride out toward Matheson Lake. An odd slight tailwind pushed me west and I felt like I was making better time compared to last week because of it.
Pee breaks were as plentiful as last week too, urges coming in pretty much the same points on the trail too. Hooray for consistency.
Bottles had my Lemonade Recipe mixed to a 100g ratio and I packed a bag of Maynards Fuzzy Peach with me. I thought I noticed the extra sugar in the first hour but no gut issues.
2 Hours to the first (smaller) trestle heading up to The Red Gate. From this point on the way back home, it took me 2 hours and 7 minutes.
I had the same dull ache in my quads as last week except it came on a little later and a little less intense (to start). By the time I crossed Rocky Point Road, I was getting wet, a little cold and the false flat effort coming up from Roche Cove really was the end game for the quads today. According to Stava, there was a PR on that segment so maybe I misjudged my fitness.
Another solid ride (for me) to close off the calendar week.