SOCIALLY PROFILED
IRONMAN TRAINING 2021
Week beginning Sunday, January 3, 2021
38 weeks until IRONMAN Canada.
WEEKLY GOAL
If last week showed me anything, it is that I really need to do a better job of recognizing and paying heed to the different stressors that may come up. It is time to start putting more raw veggies on the plate too.
SUMMARY
I feel I like was GETTING IT DONE.
With extra time off work, I was able to get:
- my first 13.5 hour training week of 2021,
- hit really nice weather for outdoor workouts,
- saw the first small drop in weight and
- got more sleep.
SUNDAY JAN 03 🌦
Sleep 2 | Fatigue 4 | Stress 2 | Soreness 3
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
Run 90 minutes. Hilly route. Maybe on some trails?? Easy effort. Bring some calories.
Mobility 25 minutes
NOTES
Approximate Moving Time: 85 minutes
I had a good sleep last night and woke feeling refreshed.
The Seahawks were up 6 - 3 over the 49ers midway through the 2nd quarter when I headed out the door for the run. I thought I'd change up the route and make my way to the Maplewood/Blenkinsop Road area and then figure out a way to incorporate Christmas Hill.
It didn't take too long to figure out that there wasn't much juice in the legs this afternoon which encouraged me to settle into a conservative pace early.
Around the 42 minute mark, I had a really nice surprise. My cousin Tania and her husband David noticed me jogging on Cedar Hill X-Road. I stopped my watch and we had a wonderful twenty minute visit.
Getting going again meant another warm up and reinforced that conservative pace that I was chugging along with during the fist part of this workout. I made it to the base of Christmas Hill but after leaving the road, the trail was muddy and wet. I walked most of the trail to the top. Once at the top, I stopped to snap a picture for this week before walking down the west side of the hill until I was back on a dry trail.
Regardless of stopping twice on today run, the last 10 minutes felt more like the end of a 2 hour run versus the 80th minute.
MONDAY JAN 04 🌦
Sleep 3 | Fatigue 4 | Stress 2 | Soreness 3
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
If showers: (Most likely) Ride 2:00 on MTB. On Goose or Great trail. Easy to steady effort. If dry: Ride 2:00 on road bike. Rolling route. Easy to steady effort. If there is standing water: Trainer 90 minutes: 15 minutes easy spinning to warm up. 3 rounds (:10, :20, :30, :40, :50 high cadence on 1:00) 5 minutes easy. 6x 5:00 @ moderately strong effort (35-45 minute all out effort pace) 4 minutes easy spinning after each. 1 extra minute easy to cool down. Mobility 25 minutes
NOTES
Total Time: 110 minutes Distance: 45 km
Sleep was ok last night. I slept in too but in moving around this morning, I am feeling the yesterday's run (stiff).
With intermittent showers in the vicinity, I picked the road bike and did a counterclockwise loop of the waterfront with a short run west to start.
Not much to write about as I felt pretty good for the most part. I had a gel at an hour and ten minutes in (Salted Watermelon Gu). The rain started near the UVic Campus, so I made a beeline for home on McKenzie Avenue. That put me in back at the Switch Bridge with 9 minutes still on the clock. I could have done a bit (a lot) more but I called it a ride.
WATERFRONT LOOP
I spend some time with the foam roller before dinner and was surprised at how sore my hamstrings (both) were.
TUESDAY JAN 05 🌧
Sleep 2 | Fatigue 3 | Stress 3 | Soreness 4
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
11:30am: Swim 1900: 3x (100 easy free, 50 swim w/ buoy, 50 steady kick. R :10-:20 after each) 6x (50 building easy to strong r :20, 150 aerobic/steady r :30) 100 easy to cool down. Run 40 minutes. Flat route. Easy effort.
Mobility 27 minutes
WIND WARNING FOR GREATER VICTORIA
Strong southeasterly winds of 70 to 90 km/h winds are occurring over Inner South Coast today.
NOTES
Total Time: 85 minutes
Another pretty restful sleep last night.
I checked in with work and completed a quick task before starting today's workouts.
At 10am, there was a calm before the storm and that was more than enough reason to get out the door for an easy 6km.
I felt pretty good on the run too with just a hint of soreness in the left piriformis and hamstring junction. I thought it was an easy effort out to Quadra and back along Lochside Trail but my HR monitor said I was working a bit harder.
Once home, I had just enough time for some toast and honey, to mix a bottle of Gatorade and get out the door for the pool session.
The swim was as I was expecting it would be after a bit of running. There was a heaviness to my arms but other than that, the swim went ok. I miss counted a 150m rep, going longer (200m) but cut the cool down by 50m to make up the difference.
SWIM HR CHART
Pretty solid morning! Now that afternoon storm can blow through.
WEDNESDAY JAN 06 ⛅️
Sleep 3 | Fatigue 4 | Stress 3 | Soreness 4
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
If Showers/dry: 1:40 on MTB. Trails. Nothing too hard, but a few hills for sure. Easy to "get up that hill" efforts. If Standing water: 90 minutes: 30 minutes easy spinning. 12x 1:00 high cadence/stable hips, 1:30 easy after each. 30 minutes easy spinning to finish up.
Run 45 minutes. Flat route. Easy effort. Ideally this will NOT be off the bike
NOTES
Total Time: 150 minutes
TLDR: Solid afternoon, bike and run.
All morning and into the afternoon, I would look out the window to the west and see sunshine here in town, but dark ominous clouds surrounding Mount Stewart, where if I take the XC Bike, I'd surely be soaked. After watching just too much of the incomprehensible activity going on in Washington, D.C., I had to go.
What a fantastic afternoon! No sooner than I rode to Thetis Lake Park, the skies cleared. The trails near the base of Scafe Hill were soggy wet but the further I went, the better the fire roads became. I pushed on past Mount Stewart and explored further up the road. The fire roads became Kallie's Korner; a single track trail that took me the rest of the way to Munn Road. I coasted downhill, past the trailheads into the Mount Work Regional Park but did go off-road once more before connecting with Prospect Lake Road. There was another connecting trail that would have taken me to Hector Road but it was in mud soup, so it would be on asphalt for the rest of the ride.
ALMOST LIKE ONE BIG HILL
Apart from walking a tricky section and a few creek crossings, the ride went really well.
RIDE MAP
Getting home I still had a capitalized "NOT" off the bike, easy effort run to do. I debated "when to run" for a short bit as I had a bit of daylight left and a belly full of sugar from the ride. Off with the bike kit, on with the run kit and I was back out the door.
I felt good, jogging the Goose toward the water. I turned around at Harbour Road and it was then, I really started to get the hint that my legs had some good stimulus today. Effort was easy, though I found a bit of a kick for the last 800m.
THURSDAY JAN 07 ⛅️
Sleep 2 | Fatigue 5 | Stress 2 | Soreness 4
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
45 minute easy spin on the trainer. Really light. Run 30 minutes. Flat route. Easy effort.
Mobility 20 minutes
NOTES
Total Time: 90 minutes
Another wonderful "sleep-in" morning.
A spot came up at the Esquimalt pool so I repeated Tuesday's workout. Four of us swimming the moderate lane(s) made for some congestion; not a big deal as everything worked out. I did feel a bit more tired while doing the lengths compared to my memory of the same workout just two days ago.
After the swim, I had a choice of easy run or easy bike. The tired feeling during the swim made the decision for me. I sat on the trainer for 45 minutes; effort was super easy.
FRIDAY JAN 08 ☀️
Sleep 3 | Fatigue 4 | Stress 2 | Soreness 4
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
Ride 2:45. Flat to rolling route. Easy to steady effort. Goose, Great trail if on MTB. Around the peninsula if on the road bike.
Stay well fueled!
Mobility 15 minutes
NOTES
Moving Time: 147 minutes Distance: 61 km
What a fantastic afternoon to be on a road bike!
I needed to drop off a laptop at my boss's home so I worked that into the ride. That lead into a longer conversation which did eat into available daylight; it is January but you would never know it with a sunny and windless 11°C afternoon.
I travelled the Lochside Route north to Sidney and once I was there, I stopped briefly to put on a jacket, have a second gel before tracing my path south.
I felt good to great this afternoon. Partly because of a big pasta dinner the night before, partly due the on bike fuelling but I really think the weather had a HUGE part in keeping my spirits high from start to finish.
SUNSET BEFORE FINALLY HEADING IN
I am noticing the quads are feeling worked over now that the bike is washed and put away.
SATURDAY JAN 09 🌤
Sleep 3 | Fatigue 4 | Stress 4 | Soreness 3
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
1st: Run 90 minutes. Flat route. Easy effort. Stay fueled. Keep it easy. 2nd: Spin 40 minutes on the trainer. Finishing up a big week with a short easy spin.
Mobility 18 minutes
NOTES
Total Time: 90 minutes
Bacon, eggs, potatoes and english muffins with jam to start the weekend. Then a new run warm up routine before heading out the door.
On the run, I immediately set a familiar goal of making the last 10 minutes feel as comfortable as the first. There was next to no pop in the legs and this had the potential to be a mentally long run. I stuck to my plan through Downtown, James Bay, Dallas Road and a bit of Beacon Hill Park; easy effort, good posture and keep it comfortable.
I thought I was starting to feel the fade before the Selkirk Trestle but the last 10 minutes was as comfortable enough to call "Goal Accomplished" for this run.
NICE MORNING ALONG DALLAS ROAD
My watch read 5:48/km which I was surprised as I would have thought the pace was much slower. My heart rate, measured from the strap apparently averaged 139 BPM so maybe I was working harder than I thought; who knows?
Although a 40 minute spin would put me at 14 hours of training for the week, I am feeling like an evening off would be just as beneficial.