I'm a little thrashed, trashed and cashed.
Today is a nice little break at the end of the third build week. A nice, solid 11:40 effort and only 0:45 short of a perfect week.
(As always, the pool was my downfall -- I went for the ez swim yesterday and found full lanes and lacked the patience to stay. A better triathlete would have stayed and waited. I was not that triathlete. I was too distracted with the house that needed to be cleaned and a huge bike on the horizon of my day. Sigh.)
And for once, I feel totally normal about it. Yeah, I have some serious aches (quads, calves, hammies) and pains (how exactly did I bruise up my ankle so badly on Sat's long run?), but in general, I feel normal.
Which tells me something.
I finally got the formula. I got the right amount of sleep. I got the right amount of food. I stayed healthy and balanced. And came out the other side feeling, well, NORMAL.
Some interesting training experiences to share from the week...
- It's a great feeling when, after being on the bike for 2:30 and managing 4 kind of monster Z2/sometimes Z3 intervals, you don't feel miserable. It's nice to not dread that last 15 minutes of a long bike.
- Dialing in nutrition takes a long freaking time. But it's worth the effort. I'm starting to put the pieces together, in the hopes of never having to throw-up in the water again or take pukey pitstops along the road.
- The irony of proper training nutrition is that you can't justify eating a whole pizza afterwards. For example, I did a pretty killer 2:45 ride yesterday, but I also consumed about 1200 calories along the way. No way a large thin crust will work with that math!
- If you go out mad, you'll blow your zones. Mighty M and I fought on Saturday morning. (Don't worry, all healthy couples do occasionally.) I walked out the front door with a 130 heart rate. Over double my resting rate! It took me over 4 miles to get it even remotely under control, and I still ended up with a run that was farther into Zone 2 than I was comfortable with. Don't go out mad.
And here's the most important point I learned, which is kind of a follow up to last week's thoughts on missed workouts. When you work with a coach, it's really, really, REALLY important that you follow their plans for you.
If you can hit each of the sessions and do the effort they describe...well, you'll end up feeling normal at the end. A little beat up and a little sore, but normal. There's no over-doing it because you're adding on missed sessions, there's a lot less stress, and it makes sense. Knowing this will help me stay "in line" more in the future.
And now...it's time for a rest week. Two whole days off. Itty bitty little sessions that have lots of Z1 and EZ in the description.
Which is good, since my Dad is coming to stay at the house for a whole week. And Saturday is our "meet the family" brunch, when Mighty M's family and mine meet for the first time. LOTS of things to attend to that don't have much to do with training!
13 comments:
No pizza? D'oh! Glad to hear you are feeling good after your big week!
I hear ya about that nutrition - I can't seem to get it down on the bike, and then my runs afterwards always end up being a battle not to puke. I also fall victim to that post workout binge, but my downfall is candy, cookies, and cake. Yum!
i always have the tendency to want the whole pizza..think i deserve it...and the weight goes up...so i need the restraint...
good luck...
great week for you
What a good post (except the pizza bit - are you sure that's true?)
Good luck with the inlaws!
I need to learn your nutrition discipline! Thanks for the suggestions on the sports bra...."Fiona" has now found another home and hopefully will imprison the girls for a long time to come. :)
Great week.
I need to get back on it now that the dust has settled.
Thank you for all the kind comments. I am not sure how I feel about all of it but "it is what it is". Yes, I did take it hard...a lot harder then I expected...but I guess I will just have to move on.
Thank you!
Enjoy your rest days! What do you eat on the bike in that time? I have been doing 2 hours class and only drinking 1 bottle of gatorade and maybe a GU. Maybe I should be injesting more?
Great lessons learned, the last one cracked me up. Hope all goes well with the family meet-up!
Well let me make you laugh. Mistresses parents hated me. Hated me. They still dislike me imminently but since she is the only child they had that isn't on welfare, have illegitimate kids or been divorced and I have never beat her or our son and have a stable job, I have climbed a rung of grudging respect.
The day we went to her grandparents house for me to met them, the whole family had poisoned his opinion. I left for an appointment after a forgettable hour and he died in front of Mistress shortly after.
Whooooo got blamed for killing grandpa?
Yup.
Once I establish the calculus that makes whole pizzas justifiable, I will share it. And you'll share your discipline as I actually eat the whole pizza and regret it.
Jayme - athletes like you are a pleasure to work with - you take the time to really think about your training and not just do the work. You absorb so much more that way. Your maturity and work ethic continue to impress me. Enjoy your hard earned rest week! By the way - I have been known to chase my husband screaming and shouting on the bike while trying to "resolve" an issue :) You are right arguing + training are tough to mix!
I am so impressed with your progress! You seem like such a different person this year.
Wow, I have so far to go to get to your level. Thanks for your posts to me. You make a great coach. Have a great rest week. Good luck with the family - his and yours.
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