IRONMAN TRAINING 2021

Week beginning Sunday, September 6, 2020

55 weeks until IRONMAN Canada.

WEEKLY GOAL

To build on the good feeling that I had after getting back at it late last week.

SUMMARY

I feel like I was BUILDING CONSISTENCY during the first half of the week but unfortunately STRUGGLED with the same on the back half of the week.

With Sunday’s run and Wednesday’s brick workout, I am feeling a lot better about the direction I am heading in. The back half of this week (Saturday and Friday) serve as a big reminder for me to get the work in when I can; mother nature decided to blanket this area with wildfire smoke from Oregon, derailling a run and a bike ride.

My coach expressed that skipping mobility, like I did these past two weeks, is not the best plan of action long term.

SUNDAY SEP 06

Sleep 2 | Fatigue 4 | Stress 2 | Soreness 5
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PLANNED WORKOUT

Run 50 minutes, rolling route, easy effort.

NOTES

Total Time: 55 minutes

I thought I'd do my old Vanalman route but the city has a connecting trail closed so I was left to improvise a route. I made my way towards Christmas Hill and did a half lap of Swan Lake. Pace was easy and this was the right length of time for me to have been on my feet. I was feeling it on the uphills but finished feeling strong on the last km.

Run Distance: 9.5 km

MONDAY SEP 07

Sleep 2 | Fatigue 4 | Stress 2 | Soreness 4
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PLANNED WORKOUT

Mobility 22 minutes.

NOTES

Total Time: 0 minutes

Good sleep last night but I do have a touch of fatigue in my legs (feels good).

Today may have been a break from a scheduled workout but I was active finishing the siding project that I had on the go. That is one thing off the plate and will allow me a bit more free time to get some training in.

TUESDAY SEP 08

Sleep 3 | Fatigue 3 | Stress 3 | Soreness 3
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PLANNED WORKOUT

Mobility 25 minutes.
Run 30 minutes, flatter route, easy effort.

NOTES

Total Time: 30 minutes

I didn’t sleep as well as I would have liked; I am guessing that it was the sawdust from yesterday’s work on the shed. I did have my run kit ready to go for a pre-coffee easy run but I put it off until later; the skys are thick with wildfire smoke from Eastern WA.

The smoke cleared a bit after work so I did a lap of Swan Lake. The first 7 minutes sucked with heavy legs (calves, soleus in particular) but I did find a groove after that and finished feeling strong. I mostly breathed through my nose to limit the effort with the lingering smoke in the air.

WEDNESDAY SEP 09

Sleep 2 | Fatigue 4 | Stress 3 | Soreness 3
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PLANNED WORKOUT

Ride 60 minutes, easy and keep it fun.
Run 30 minutes OTB, easy pace.

NOTES

Total Time: 90 minutes

I feel like I slept better last night and I had a good day at work. In fact, I wish I could have a day like today every day. Yesterday's smoke cleared and the weather couldn't have been better. 25℃ and sunny and it felt like Maui in December.

The stipulation for the ride was "fun"; which rhymes with "Munn" except Prospect Lake Road was the much better option. The first few pedal strokes on the bike felt laboured but I soon found a groove and the ride ended up feeling good to great overall. Coming down Hampton Road, I got out of my shoes and nailed a dismount in the driveway.

Off the bike, I went right into my Nikes, stuffed the bike in the garage and headed off to Lochside Trail toward Quadra Street. I didn't feel much of the typical jelly legs coming off the bike but I certainly did feel yesterday's run. That feeling of fatigue was greatest at the top of the Switch Bridge and didn't subside until the last 5 minutes; things went from sucking pretty bad to actually feeling strong.

I suprised myself with a 5:30/km average pace.

I had a good vegetarian dinner and it is now time for bed.

Ride Distance: 24.90 km   Elevation: 284 m

THURSDAY SEP 10

Sleep 4 | Fatigue 4 | Stress 3 | Soreness 4
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PLANNED WORKOUT

Mobility 25 minutes

NOTES

Total Time: 0 minutes

I did not sleep that well (should have gone to bed earlier). The legs felt stiff (not sore) in the morning but after working mostly from the standing desk today, I feel pretty good.

FRIDAY SEP 11

Sleep 6 | Fatigue 4 | Stress 4 | Soreness 3
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PLANNED WORKOUT

Run 40 minutes: 20 minutes easy, 8x :30 strides, :45 jog after each, 10 minutes easy to cool down.

NOTES

Total Time: 0 minutes

Very late night doing a system update for work had me going to bed after 1am and I was awaken with a bout of sadness (missing my dad sucks, even in the middle of the night). This is the second night of not much sleep.

The forest fire smoke is back and as thick as it was on Tuesday morning. Hoping that the typical afternoon winds of the Juan de Fuca would clear the air out, didn’t happen; it is even noticibly cooler as less sunlight is getting through.

I know the strides are important but I am feeling exhausted and going to bed early tonight.

SATURDAY SEP 12

Sleep 2 | Fatigue 2 | Stress 2 | Soreness 4
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PLANNED WORKOUT

Ride 2:00. Road bike. Hilly route. Heading out west is great.
Have fun. Remember to eat and drink.

NOTES

Total Time: 0 minutes

I am starting this day after having a restful sleep (finally). The wildfire smoke may be worse than yesterday. I haven’t put the engery into a mobility routine since my reset and although one isn’t on the schedule today, it is Saturday and I have the time to stretch out.