IRONMAN TRAINING 2021
Week beginning Sunday, December 20, 2020
40 weeks until IRONMAN Canada.
WEEKLY GOAL
Christmas week and my goal is to get through it.
SUMMARY
I feel I like was LAGGING A BIT.
The hardest day emotionally was actually Wednesday with more than a few moments of sadness. It didn't take much either; maybe a song on the radio or a simple memory to find myself welled up.
Christmas Eve was better and Christmas Day was a bit better than I expected. Regardless, I did feel like I needed to take Saturday off to decompress.
Even with an extra day off, I was able to exercise for +7 hours this week.
SUNDAY DEC 20 ☁️
Sleep 2 | Fatigue 4 | Stress 4 | Soreness 3
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
Mobility: 21 Minutes.
Bike 2:00: Another day on the MTB. You can do trails around Thetis (anywhere really) or head out to a gravel road or one of the trails. Overall an easy to steady day of pedaling.
NOTES
Total Moving Time: 110 minutes
There was a hint of rain and I almost bailed on an outside ride but the shower passed and I headed out on the XC bike toward Thetis. I followed a couple of UVic students out on an easy gravel ride. It was interesting to see the kit they were wearing; my guess, they take their riding seriously. They veered right at the fork on Panhandle Trail and I headed up a hill that kicked my ass the last time I rode here.
Panhandle Hill 2, Mario 0. I wonder if a modern XC bike would help me on that climb; grrrr...
At Munn Road, I decided to head up and find the better entrance to Regional South Trail. I found it with a right turn at Eagles Lake.
Coming out of the park, I took the Executive West Trail and would have ridden it end to end except I there was a deep stream to cross.
This ride was fun and checked off today's box.
SUNDAY'S ROUTE
MONDAY DEC 21 ❄️
Sleep 3 | Fatigue 4 | Stress 4 | Soreness 3
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
Snowfall Warning for Coastal British Columbia
Posted 8am — A deepening Pacific low will make its way across Washington state today. Abundant moisture associated with the low will result in very heavy wet snow over East Vancouver Island.
For Greater Victoria, there is the potential for local snowfall accumulations of 5 cm near sea level. Rainfall amounts of up to 40 mm are also expected. The heavy precipitation will end early this evening as the low moves east.
PLANNED WORKOUT
Mobility: 27 minutes.
3:30pm: Swim 2050: 2 rounds (100 easy free, 100 swim w/ buoy/easy, 2x 50 building kick from easy to strong, rest as needed after every rep) 12x 50 1st: 25 fist drill/25 free, 2nd: 25 strong/25 EASY, 3rd: strong/but controlled. R :20 after each. 5x 150 steady swim, odds: Swim, evens: w/ buoy r :45. 2x 50 easy to cool down.
NOTES
Total Time: 53 minutes Distance: 2050m
I had an okay sleep last night. I was aware of a heavy rain forecasted for today but I was more than surprised to see some white falling too. 4x4 and an indoor workout scheduled so, no problem.
This swim flowed well, but during the last few lengths, I felt a twinge in my hip flexor and after dinner, my right ankle was sore too. Weird.
TODAY'S ACCUMULATION
TUESDAY DEC 22 ☀️
Sleep 3 | Fatigue 3 | Stress 4 | Soreness 3
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
Ride 70 minutes: 12 minutes easy spinning to warm up. 5x :12 moderate standing, :48 easy/seated after each. 1:00 easy. 6x 1:00 high cadence/very stable hips, 1:30 easy after each. 2:00 easy. 4x 4:00 @ moderately strong effort (30-45 minute effort) 4:00 easy/normal spin between each. 3 extra minutes easy to cool down.
Run 30 minutes. Flat and EASY.
NOTES
Total Time: 102 minutes
A nice sunny day to get most of the ice from yesterday, melted off the bike paths.
With my Escalantes on, I headed out for 32 minutes of comfortable base running in the sunshine. Zero emphasis on pace; this was just an easy jog with a focus on form and posture. It was a great afternoon break from work.
Running slow and comfortable also meant that I was not overextending a tender left piriformis. If I had strides scheduled today, I may have skipped them. After mobility yesterday, I foam-rolled that piriformis until it finally relaxed but it still needs a bit more time.
After the run, it was back to work to get a project completed for presentation to a customer tomorrow. Work went longer than expected so I was late getting into the garage for the ride.
With a standing component to the bike workout, I thought I would ride my road bike on the rollers. Holy man, that was awkward. It has never been more apparent to me how different the road and TT are. The road bike was not comfortable at all; it felt twitchy and it didn't take me long to hang it back on the wall.
The 70 minute workout was done on the TT bike. Not only did it feel better on the rollers, it also had the speed and cadence sensors. I felt a bit sluggish to start but soon found a good rhythm; by the time I was on the 4x4:00 reps, I was in an even better space.
WEDNESDAY DEC 23 ☀️
Sleep 5 | Fatigue 3 | Stress 4 | Soreness 3
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
3:30pm: Swim 1850: 2 rounds (150 easy swim, 100 swim w/ fins, 50 kick w/ fins, rest as needed after each) 6x 100 steady free. R :20 after each. 20x 25 Odds: Strong, evens: Relaxed/smooth r :15 after each. 150 easy free to cool down.
Run 30 minutes. Flat and easy. Again!
NOTES
Total Time: 77 minutes
I am guessing a late bike workout didn't help me get the best sleep last night. I will look to catch up on that tonight.
There was some lane congestion as I was in the Moderate Lane with two older people. I recorded this in Garmin as two workouts but in reality, it was just one. What I thought was a good idea to try an old pair of googles, did not work out so well. Switching them out for my Kayenne googles was the solution.
The water felt thicker today or I more likely I was just tired. I noticed another swimmer packed a water bottle and a gel the last time I swam. I did the same, bringing a small water bottle with a bit of lemonade for flavour. I don't think I consumed a consequential amount of calories but this is probably a good habit regardless.
HEARTRATE WHILE IN THE POOL
The run was slow and uneventful. I simply jogged out on Lochside Trail after dark; the path was slippery parallel to Swan Lake but otherwise clear of yesterday's slushy patches.
1930 in the evening, I laid down on the spare bed downstairs and was out like a light.
THURSDAY DEC 24 🌤
Sleep 3 | Fatigue 4 | Stress 4 | Soreness 3
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
Mobility: 20 minutes. Run 60 minutes easy, and flat. Whatever day you like.
NOTES
Total Time: 62 minutes Distance: 10.3 km
I fell asleep really early but was up for a number of hours in the middle of the night. I did eventually fall back asleep but I was pretty groggy this morning.
In contemplating when to run, I weighed two things. First, I was feeling a bit run down and probably could use a rest day. Second was tomorrow's wet forecast. The weather won and I headed out for an easy jog. There was a hint of heaviest in my legs and a different type of ankle soreness. It was more so in the joints themselves and not where it is typically, in the tendons. On a pain scale of 1 to 10, I am calling this a 2, but it is novel and worth writing down.
FRIDAY DEC 25 🎄
Sleep 3 | Fatigue 4 | Stress 3 | Soreness 4
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
Off training.
NOTES
Total Time: 0 minutes
Today, my job was to cook the turkey.
SATURDAY DEC 26 🌦
Sleep 3 | Fatigue 3 | Stress 3 | Soreness 3
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
Mobility: 27 minutes.
Ride 1:45 on MTB w/ a nice hilly route (read, trails or road/trail) or on the road bike on a hilly route. Easy to moderate effort. Stay well fueled, have fun.
NOTES
Total Time: 0 minutes
Emotionally, I wasn't in a spot where even an easy ride felt appealing. I spent the day off the computer, off the bike and off training. I think I needed it. In its place, I did some chores that lead me into the garage where I puttered most of the afternoon. I did get a good amount of tidying up done and I did some woodworking in too! I build a custom wall mount for Carina's new standup paddle board that Santa gave her.