This Week in Training …Week 15 – Halfway There (Gulp!)…
Halfway there.
That is both encouraging and mildly terrifying.
Overall, it was a decent week. A little unusual because I inverted the schedule. I did the long bike and long run at the beginning of the week and then eased off as the week went on. For Week 16, I’ll go back to a more normal structure.
I have two weeks until the Rockford 70.3. After that, I’m going to try rearranging my training week so that Sunday becomes the rest day, the long bike moves to Friday, and the long run moves to Saturday. I hope that I stop nuking entire weekends with training and can actually do things with the family while everyone else is off work.
Swim 🏊
- Total swims: 3 (FINALLY!)
- Total distance: 7,550 yards
- Total time: 2:24
Nothing spectacular, but solid. A little boring, perhaps, but solid. The biggest victory is simply getting in that third swim. It only took fifteen weeks. I also managed to do one core strength workout. Miracles do happen!
Bike 🚴
- Total rides: 3
- Total distance: 87.5 miles
- Total time: 5:16
The bike week was a little strange.
Monday was the Rockford course ride, which I’ve already written about. Let’s just say I learned some valuable lessons about hydration, sunscreen, and not leaving critical equipment in the car.
I also missed a brick workout during the week, so yesterday I squeezed in a 1:20 ride after the 5K race.
Unfortunately, that ride had to be on the e-bike because my local bike shop seems to have a unique interpretation of the word “appointment.”
I dropped the bike off on Tuesday for my Thursday appointment.
“We’ll call by the end of business Thursday.”
Nope.
Friday?
“We’re backed up.”
Saturday?
Nope.
Sunday?
Nope.
If it’s not done today, I’m picking it up, getting my deposit back, and taking it somewhere else.
Run 🏃
- Total runs: 4
- Total distance: 19.4 miles
- Total time: 3:05
This included:
- A 9-mile-long run
- A 6-mile medium run
- A 5K race
- A 1-mile run off the bike
I felt very strong during the 5K. I wound up finishing 7th in my age group out of 35 runners.
Looking at the results afterward, I realized I probably could have challenged for a podium spot. Unfortunately, I was serving as the designated rabbit for my daughter, who wanted to break 30 minutes. She did.
Mission accomplished.
That meant my first two miles were slower than they otherwise would have been, but I wouldn’t trade that result for a slightly faster finishing time.
Total Training Time 🧮
- Total time: 10:45
A pretty substantial week.
Training Metrics 📈
TrainingPeaks:
- Fitness: 117
- Fatigue: 140
- Form: -5
All good.
Fitness continues to creep upward while fatigue has actually come down significantly from the peak. What really surprised me is how much better I feel physically.
A few weeks ago, I was so sore that rolling over in bed felt like a chore. Now I’m doing nearly twice the training load with maybe half the soreness.
My Garmin metrics reflect that too. Body Battery and Training Readiness have both improved noticeably.
For fun, I went back and looked at Strava Relative Effort. The last time I posted it regularly was around Week 3.
Back then:
- Week 3 RE: 622
This week:
- RE: 1,193
Dayum.
Looking Ahead
Today should be a rest day. It won’t be.
I don’t like starting the week with a rest day because life always seems to intervene later in the week. Last week I missed a brick workout and wound up with a very long Sunday because of it. I’d rather run and swim today so that when the inevitable scheduling disaster arrives later in the week, I’m not scrambling to catch up.
This week I’ll head back to the Rockford course and see whether I’ve fixed some of the issues from the first attempt. As for the 70.3 itself, I’m not planning much of a taper. It’s a training day, not an A-race. The goal is experience, execution, and learning.
All in all, I’m feeling good about the progress.
Halfway there. Only fifteen more weeks to go.