Finishing the first two weeks of training

I've got the first two weeks of official training under my belt and so far so good with progress in all three areas. 

Swimming - this is the most rewarding area at the moment because it is the most challenging for me. I have very little experience swimming freestyle, or laps, and although I built up some endurance last summer, this year I have had this sense of not being able to get enough oxygen. It's as if I panic a bit and obsess about it  But we've been working on technique and a series of drills, and darned if things aren't feeling much better.  The stroke feels more purposeful, I get more of a glide, and I am settling into a grove that I think I can sustain.  I will know soon enough as the scheduled swims are getting longer!

Running - I haven't been back at it too long but am doing 3 miles with walk breaks between. Today I ran my third mile in 6:54 - VERY fast for me.  I've lost endurance, but I still feel like I have the mental toolkit and a sense of pace. 

Cycling - I am enjoying this tremendously and can feel myself getting smoother, faster, stronger, smarter.  The bike now fits me well and comfortably.  It's a thrill to have that mechanical extension of my legs, manipulated by shifting weight, body, fingertips.  My confidence is growing!  There is a real community amongst cyclists whereas running is a bit more solitary overall.

What I love is the mix of all three endurance sports coupled with weightlifting.  Each offers something unique - the technique of swimming, speed and mechanics of cycling, the mental game of running, and the focus and pure effort for a lift.

It's not easy to juggle it all, particularly coming off this darn injury. Trying to balance effort with rest, family with sport. It's a short term experiment from which I hope to clarify my future directions.

Training starts Monday

Well, I got my first set of training plans from Jim (www.oneononeendurance.com).  WOW.  I appreciate the detailed and I think fairly aggressive approach.  The bike rides are of a good duration (1-1.5 hrs) and the swims ramp up nicely. 

The good thing is all the past training plans from Jake have prepared me well for that inevitable feeling of "oh crap, how in the world am I going to do all that?" I recognize that if I looked at the plans and went "oh yeah, that's easy" there'd be no point. There's an incredible sense of accomplishment simply meeting the training schedule and that confidence inevitably carries over to the race. 

In fact, yesterday Grant and I had an interesting conversation. He wanted to know what the easiest job was thinking he might like to do whatever that is.  I had to explain how easy and fun/rewarding are mutually exclusive and fun comes from the challenges we face.

One compromise, we are cutting back my gym time to 3x/week for the next 9 weeks.  I had to let go of our sacred Sunday morning sessions which have been the one constant all year.  It's just temporary.

Lots of new adventures ahead.  I want to push hard but train smart for the next nine weeks and just see what I can do.  I'm picturing myself at the finish of that triathlon - smiling and triumphant!

First swim meet

One of my goals this year was to support the Blacksburg Country Club Barracudas swim team by swimming in the meets.  Both adults and kids swim in the summer league.  On the one hand, I think it's great for kids to see adults engaging in physical activity rather than just sitting on the sidelines.  On the other hand, I don't think adult placings should be equally weighted with kids.  It's something like 20 points for first on down.  So Grant comes in 12/17 and earns just a few points for the team.  I come in 3rd/3 and earn 17 points for the team.

I decided the morning of that I'd do the meet and fortunately had a chance to practice diving in with goggles.  I swam my 50 free in 33.87 (give or take!).  It was a total rush and I had more left in the engine for next time.  Need to commit to the flip turn next time too.

It was a great meet and nice opportunity to catch up with old friends that I only seem to see at these events. The kids are always so inspirational, especially the ones who work so hard just to make it to the other end of the pool.  They are brave children, every one of them!

Time to start logging again

I pretty much stopped recording my workouts with my injury, but now that a new chapter is about to start, it's time to resume so here is the fresh new Workout Log.

Still loving the bike. Logged 33 miles yesterday starting with the 8 am Weight Club ride that was just me, Robert, and Andy. We rode a conservative loop out Glade to Mt Zion to McCoy and back, then I rode it again, pushing harder. I had to make a detour at mile 26 for a haircut appointment and thankfully Robert brought my wallet to me to pay!

Still having saddle issues but I'll give it a little more time and see what happens before I look at options.

Feeling good about the cycling and even the running, swimming is another story. Fortunately I have time to gain confidence there.

Balancing act

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It'll be an interesting summer trying to juggle and balance but I will just do the best I can do and try like heck to listen to my body to prevent overuse injuries. My shoulders have been tweaky and I am wondering now if it's because my handlebars are, I think, a bit off where they should be. I had a great almost 20 miler yesterday on the bike but bagged the swim. I have minor shoulder issues from lifting in the past and they can be problematic.

Jake put together my new workout split -- as I told him, my goals are a moving target. It's not easy keeping up with me. The above table is the guideline; if I can get two bike rides and two good swims in a week, I will be happy. Of course the running doesn't kick in immediately, nor does tennis.