SOCIALLY PROFILED
IRONMAN TRAINING 2021
Week beginning Sunday, October 18, 2020
49 weeks until IRONMAN Canada.
WEEKLY GOAL
This training week looks similar to last week. This is a great opportunity to be consistent. My goal is to handle the front half of this week better so that it doesn't negatively effect the back half.
SUMMARY
I feel like was PUSHING THE EDGE and I nailed my consistency goal this +9hour week.
Every planned workout has an entry in my Garmin Connect account and I finished the week with a solid amount of training stimulus in my legs. In contrast to last week, the run on Sunday had a slightly hillier profile, the rollers on Tuesday added a bit of structure and the track workout on Wednesday was high quality without leaving me shattered. Unlike last week, I was able to get on the bike on Thursday and the only speed I had left for Friday (run) and Saturday (brick) was easy pace.
SUNDAY OCT 18 🌦
Sleep 3 | Fatigue 4 | Stress 2 | Soreness 4
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
Mobility 18 minutes.
Run 90 minutes. Hilly route. Maybe some trails?? Remember to bring calories. Keep the effort EASY. Time on feet. Nothing more.
NOTES
Total Time: 94 minutes Distance 15 km
I woke up and had a nice, lazy morning. I did the mobility mid-afternoon and headed out for the run later.
I started off slow, easy and not in a rush. This was a shorter version of last Sunday's hilly route through View Royal. I felt pretty darn good for the first 20 minutes; I was expecting worse. I made a mental note at the 36 minute mark that my legs were starting to fade; not much juice going up and a bit more impact on the way down.
By the time I hit Helmcken Road, things started to perk up and by the time I got half way back to Admirals Road, I was popping off the ground as if I had rested for a week.
Even though I was out there for less time than last Sunday's run, I came within a kilometre in distance and ten metres of elevation gain of last week. The sunny weather window I had today may have helped a bit too.
I finished this run with a great runner's high.
Sunday's View Royal Route
MONDAY OCT 19 🌤
Sleep 2 | Fatigue 3 | Stress 2 | Soreness 3
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
Mobility 18 minutes.
NOTES
Total Time: 0 minutes
A night of sound sleep. Hooray!
Good day in the office. Hooray!
This was a welcomed recovery day.
I did have a moment in the evening where I found myself really missing my dad. I don't know if that was a product of not having a training day or if this is just part of the grieving process.
TUESDAY OCT 20 ☀️
Sleep 3 | Fatigue 3 | Stress 3 | Soreness 4
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
Rollers 60 minutes: 30 minutes easy. 12x :45 high cadence, :45 easy after each. 12 minutes easy riding to finish up.
Run 30 minutes flat and easy.
NOTES
Total Time: 90 minutes
I slept well through 4:15am before I was awake. Fortunately I was able to fall back asleep and then slept in to 8am.
A new heart rate monitor strap came in today so I can start recording that metric more precisely (especially tomorrow).
Busy day at work and a small woodworking task took up most of the daylight today. I was debating whether to go for a spin outside but was happy to put on a YouTube video and ride in the garage.
For the cadence work on the bike, I focused on being smooth rather than hitting a specific RPM. I think this worked out okay as I stayed in control and stayed on the rollers. I drank a full bottle mixed with 36 grams of Gatorade (135 calories) over the course of the hour.
I was in my Altras and out the door without much time wasted. I felt okay; not bad, not great, just okay. 2 things I noticed on the run tonight:
- It is now getting cool enough for a long sleeved shirt on a clear night like tonight.
- I am still missing my dad.
BIKE CADENCE CHART
WEDNESDAY OCT 21 ☀️
Sleep 3 | Fatigue 3 | Stress 3 | Soreness 4
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
Run 10 minutes easy to warm up. 5x 100 meter strides (Controlled, just to warm up) 100 meter EASY jog. Then... 15 minutes @ 1/2 marathon effort. NOT TOO HARD. 5:08-5:15 pace. Walk 3-4 minutes. Then... 8x 400 meters @ 1:42 -1:45. Certainly do not go faster than this. Practicing pacing. Even 200 splits would be ideal. Leaving on 3:00. 10 minute EASY jog to cool down.
NOTES
Total Time: 68 minutes
I had another night of waking up in the middle of the night though I feel surprisingly rested this morning.
I had a productive day at work and a big feed of spaghetti at lunch. By the time I was heading out the door to go to the track, I was getting a bit hungry (or maybe it was nerves).
The warmup was uneventful and everything was working (ankles, soleus'); the strides felt good too. The 15 minutes at marathon pace was comfortable too; it took me about a lap to slow down into the 5:08-5:15 target pace and I finished this effort at 5:07/km.
My goal for the 8x400m was 1:42 per 400m. This proved harder than I thought. On the first rep, I hit the 200m about 3 seconds ahead of schedule and to get my timing right, I slowed down too much on the back half. That rep ended a touch slow at 1:43.6 (4:22/km) but point being, I'd like to be closer to 51 seconds at the 200m mark.
Then I sort of got into a bit of a pickle.
The local Harriors Youth Team had rented the track tonight. Their coach asked other people to clear the track for their group workout but he didn't approach me and seemed very much ok with what I was doing; maybe I _"look" like a runner. I mean, it was 15 months ago at this very track that someone asked if I was a _"triathlete" and look what I am doing now.
Back to the pickle... For the remaining 7 reps, I was now sharing the track with a group of fast kids and that didn't do me any favours in trying to trying to hit 51 seconds per 200 or my goal of 1:42 per 400m. Every remaining effort was either a touch too fast or just plain too fast. Running fast is FUN and tonight was a lot of fun but in re-reading the workout description after the fact, I see that there was an explicit instruction to "not to go faster than 1:42".
Physically I feel really good after the workout but if there is a workout I'd want a do over...
HEART RATE GRAPH
THURSDAY OCT 22 🌤
Sleep 4 | Fatigue 3 | Stress 2 | Soreness 4
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
Mobility 25 minutes.
Ride 90 minutes on MTB or road bike. A few hills. Pick the bike and route that sounds the most fun. Go have fun!
NOTES
Total Moving Time (Bike): 105 minutes
I was awake by 0400 this morning and I don't know exactly why. It might be a bit of anticipation regarding with a task at work, it might be because I am simply hungry.
I picked the road bike because I don't know how many nice days like today I'll get the closer we get to winter. I also had to drop off a package to a fellow co-worker who lives in Saanichton so this ride had double duty. I headed out to Brentwood Bay via Wallace Drive. Given the track workout yesterday, I felt surprisingly good on the bike this afternoon .
On my way south from Saanichton, I rode up on a couple on near Mitchell Farm. I notice that the guy was riding a beautiful steel Colnago. Before I had a chance to ask him about his bike, I noticed the smallest of decals on the inside of a seat stay; it was an Ironman decal. The guy's name was JJ and we had an awesome talk about Ironman and triathlon all the way through to Maddock Farm. I could have talked to him for hours and we never got to talk about his "bici italiana".
FRIDAY OCT 23 🌧
Sleep 4 | Fatigue 4 | Stress 2 | Soreness 4
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
Mobility 17 minutes.
Run 60 minutes. Hilly route. EASY effort. Really easy effort.
NOTES
Total Time: 67 minutes
I slept for roughly 6 hours; I watched the last US Presidential Debate last night and I don't know why I wasted that time.
This felt like the first winter run. The weather was raining with a cold wind from the north. I ran my Craigflower/Gorge Hills route with a really easy effort. While I was out there, I felt like I could go at that speed forever and in fact, I got lost in the moment and was late in getting back home (the extra seven minutes).
Walking up and down the stairs tonight, I can feel the last 4 days in my legs.
SATURDAY OCT 24 ☀️
Sleep 3 | Fatigue 4 | Stress 3 | Soreness 4
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
Ride 90 minutes on road or TT bike. Flatter route. Nice easy cruise.
Run 30 minutes easy
NOTES
Total Time: 105 minutes
Holy cold Batman! The thermometer said 8°C but a stiff, northerly wind made this afternoon feel much colder. I broke out the tights, gloves and jacket purchased for last winter's riding season and I was thankful for it.
Flatter route for 90 minutes meant taking McKenzie east to the university and riding the waterfront route clockwise with the wind mostly at my back. Every incline was felt in my quads. Every incline, I reminded myself that I need to record thousands more inclines if I want to achieve this Ironman goal. Every incline ridden gets me a little bit closer.
Earlier this morning, Carina and I had friends over for a pancake breakfast. We hadn't visited with them in some time and they wanted to toast our engagement. All it took was about 3oz of sparkling wine mixed with some orange juice for my head to pound all afternoon.
So with tired legs, a throbbing headache and a cold wind, everything had lined up for a miserable ride. That was the opposite of how I felt; my mood was good and I was thankful to be able to get outside and ride my bike.
All ride long, my legs reminded me about the upcoming run. My mind couldn't fathom jogging 1 minute let alone 30. I started to break the task of the run down into smaller parts. If I can't do 30 minutes, could I do 20? I talked myself into 10 minutes.
The house was warm, the couch looked comfy but I promised myself to at least try 10 minutes of jogging. On went the Altras and out the door I went. I stayed out for 16 minutes. Plodding up the hill on Regina Street, told me that I was done. This has been a great training week.