IRONMAN TRAINING 2021
Week beginning Sunday, March 14, 2021
28 weeks until IRONMAN Canada.
WEEKLY GOAL
Status Quo: Manage the stress from work and do things that will benefit my back.
SUMMARY
I feel I like was CLOSER TO "GO TIME"
So many lessons delivered with this back spasm, injury, setback...
Coming out of this past month, I am a bit better at recognizing pressures from work and how to make better choices when reacting to them. The injury introduced me to Michelle from The Athlete Centre and I am proprioceptively, a bit more in tune with my posture after working with her.
I really wish I didn't loose 4 weeks of of consistancy; I was in a nice training groove to kick off the first 6 weeks of 2021.
SUNDAY MAR 14 ☁️
Sleep 3 | Fatigue 1 | Stress 4 | Soreness 4
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
Day 2 TAC Routine. Run/Walk 60 minutes: 10 minutes walking to warm up/start/ 40 minutes easy/flat running. 10 minutes walking to finish up.
NOTES
Total Time: 60 minutes
I spent time with both TAC routines before heading out for the walk/run. My QL is sore this morning but in good enough shape to put on socks and good enough shape for me to get out the door. I walked to Pearkes Arena before pressing start on the run. I spent 90% of my time on the dirt trails of Cuthbert Homes, Colquitz River and Swan Creek Parks. My back felt good; zero issues with the activity of running. I did feel soreness in my left piriformis but for the most part, this was easily breathing, marathon pace for the prescribed 50 minutes.
RUN THROUGH THE PARK(s)
I spent some massage time with the QL late in the afternoon; it is sore to the touch at its top (ribs).
MONDAY MAR 15 🌤
Sleep 4 | Fatigue 2 | Stress 4 | Soreness 4
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
Day 1 TAC Routine.
5:30am: Swim 2100: 2 rounds (6x 50 Steady swim w/ strong finish to stroke r :20. 2x 50 kick w/ tight kick. r :15) 4 rounds (100 steady swim w/ tighter kick r :30, 50 steady/tight kick r :20) 4x 150 steady/aerobic w/ buoy and strong finish to stroke. r :45. 2x 50 super easy to cool down. Noon/Pm: Ride 30 minutes EASY on the trainer. Road bike (more upright than the TT) Keep this effort very easy.
NOTES
Total Time: 80 minutes Swim: 2100m
I was awake a couple times in anticipation of an early 5am start; not the best sleep.
Once there, the fast lane had the least congestion but as more people arrived, that lane became busy and I felt pressure to put out more effort than was appropriate for me.
Recognizing that, I did my 2nd round of kick work over in the slow lane before slotting into some space in the continuous lane. Overall, this felt like a good workout and again, I was able to comfortably swim the last 100m in 1:49.
I rode my mountain bike to and from the pool this morning (30 minutes of moving time). I swung through downtown before riding home and I was able to catch the sunrise; nice start to the work week.
My back is a bit better again this morning. The lumbar is just tight; not sore or pinchy. The top of my QL is still tender but less so than yesterday. Today's swimming and riding did not aggrevate it further.
TUESDAY MAR 16 🌤
Sleep 3 | Fatigue 1 | Stress 5 | Soreness 4
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
Day 2 TAC Routine. Run/Walk 60 minutes: 10 minutes walking to warm up. 45 minutes easy running. Fairly flat route. 5 minutes walk to finish up.
NOTES
Total Time: 53 minutes
Somewhat of an okay sleep despite the switch to Daylight Savings Time. My lumbar is tight and the tender spot high on my QL is a lot less sore today. I did not expect this to have cost me a month of training and that is super frustrating.
Perfect evening for a pre-supper jog around Swan Lake. Unfortunately, both soleus' were pretty lit up so I stuck to the dirt for the better part of the first 30 minutes. Ironically, I really didn't feel good until I was back on asphalt and heading towards home. Apart from nice weather and a spectacular sunset, physically this wasn't a the most fun 43 minutes (I got back early).
I felt heavy (I am heavy) and the piriformis on the right is aggravated now too.
Outside of the activity, I hit an important milestone with a project at work. Hopefully this will turn the wick down on the overall stress to a level more conducive for getting back to January's training volume.
WEDNESDAY MAR 17 🌤
Sleep 2 | Fatigue 2 | Stress 4 | Soreness 4
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
Day 1 TAC Routine. Ride 75 minutes on MTB. Flat to rolling terrain. Easy effort. Getting outside. Walk 30 minutes. Nice short walk to get outside and on your feet.
NOTES
Total Time: 70 minutes
Decent sleep last night and I am looking forward to riding today (last sunny day in the forecast). I knocked out another productive day at work too.
Wanted to ride my road bike but MTB it was. I pushed with a bit more effort to keep up with a roadie on his commute back to Colwood. It was fun to ride with someone if only for a short bit. At the E&N Junction, I headed back to town. I rode easy for the remainder of the hour before stopping at Carina's office. From there, she and I pedalled home. I felt like I could have ridden Bellamy Trail (XC loop).
THURSDAY MAR 18 🌤
Sleep 3 | Fatigue 2 | Stress 4 | Soreness 4
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
Day 2 TAC Routine.
Run/Walk 60 minutes: 10 minutes walk to start. 50 minutes easy running. Flat terrain works. If you're feeling great, you can hit a local hill or two. Aka: You don't have to avoid all the hills.
NOTES
Total Time: 0 minutes
Good sleep and unless someone told my I have been dealing with a sore back, I would not have known this morning. Things are looking up.
Work however, threw a curveball at my afternoon. I was about to head out the door for today's scheduled jog when I answered a "bing!" from my computer. That was a call that pushed passed 1800 and into dinner. After dinner, I was back on the keyboard and today's training was a miss. My goal this week was to manage this exact thing better; today was unavoidable.
FRIDAY MAR 19 🌤
Sleep 3 | Fatigue 2 | Stress 2 | Soreness 4
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
Day 1 TAC Routine.
Morning/Noon: Walk 30 minutes. Another nice short walk. To get you outside and work on your breathing.
5:30pm: Swim 2000: 4x 50 swim w/ tight/controlled kick r :30. 4x 50 swim w/ buoy/keep the legs tight AND have a strong finish to your stroke. r :30. 12x 50 D 1-4, 5-8, 9-12 using your strong finish to your stroke to go faster from rep to rep. R :20. 100 super easy swimming. 2x 400 continuous/steady. Trying to finish your stroke at the hip for the entire 400. r 2:00 between each. 2x 50 easy to cool down
NOTES
Total Time: 100 minutes
Probably the best day I've had in a month. It started with work and a project that I had been worked on at work has come to an end. That is a weight off my shoulders.
To celebrate, I did yesterday's 50 minute jog mostly on the dirt paths of Cuthbert Homes Park. With the reflection of a storefront window, I did catch a glimpse of my posture at the 49th minute and I did see a hinge in my hips. I had a stretch as soon as I returned home to confirm that my quads and hip flexors were tight. This was a good catch.
In the pool, I had a decent workout too. Officially recorded 2050m because I over-swam the second 400. I recorded (again) with the GoPro and I am still shorting my stoke at the end of the workout. The last 100m was still in the ballpark (1:46 after some rest).
SATURDAY MAR 20 🌦
Sleep 2 | Fatigue 2 | Stress 2 | Soreness 3
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
Day 2 TAC Routine.
Ride 90 minutes on the Goose or Lochside. Read: FLAT. Keep the effort easy. Just going for a spin. Road or MTB.
Walk 60 minutes. Flat to rolling terrain. Ok for a hill or two, but don't go to Gowlland Tod! 🙂 Might be nice to do your routine, then go for the walk.
NOTES
Total Time: 100 minutes Distance: 34 km
It was shorter walk this morning before breakfast (30 minutes).
For the ride, the route that I picked was a little less than FLAT in some places and I spent a little longer in the saddle (10 minutes). I was on the mountain bike but if I wanted to be hip and modern, I'd call today a "gravel" ride (so mountain biking without a mountain).
Basically, today's route was out to Centennial Trail paralleling West Saanich Road, then Old West Saanich to Elk Lake then home. The route kept me out of the wind (and drizzle) for the most part. I felt good; my back was ok, my legs got to spin circles and I was thankful to have MTB gearing up the hill on Old West Saanich Road.