Week number 6
This morning I woke up at the crack of dawn, 5:00am, in order to cycle for an hour and complete 2800 meters in the pool. It isn’t really the crack of dawn at 5, it is still pitch black, I consider it more to be the middle of the night…
I had to get up at 5 to make a quick pit stop at Tim Horton’s for coffee prior to jumping on the bike. Needed my caffeine fix, the orange juice wasn’t cutting it… Either was the fact I hadn’t eaten anything yet…
The cycle was long, the swim felt even longer… On the subject of swimming, I don’t know whether I need to make my sets longer, or what, to make the lengths/ time to achieve the distance go by faster. 2800 meters seems like a long way to swim in a 25 meter pool… Too bad the distance couldn’t be reached as quickly as running… 😉
It is nice being able to complete workouts early, prior to work. The pool isn’t a circus like it is in the afternoon.
Last week totals;
Swim; 5000 meters
Run; 39.5 miles
Cycle; 5.30 hours
Day 1 of week 6 (I think) is complete… Yes, it is week 6… I am planning on ramping up the mileage and completing more bike/run/bike/run workouts… Maybe adding an extra bike/run…
As the mileage has increased, the tiredness has also… I am flying by the seat of my pants, I have used this method with all my training… I will either fail epically or succeed satisfactorily… (Are either of those words?)
How are you enjoying your Tuesday?? How is your training??
bearrunner 
I feel ya on the 5 am wake up call. It is worth it though when your workout is done before you head to work 🙂
I almost always work out at 5 am- and then am fast asleep on the couch by 8:30 pm… ha! This morning though I went back to bed and plan to run during my lunch hour- it’s going to be high 70’s today and I want to soak in the warmth and the sun!
Yep…5am is the middle of the night! It’s safe to say that you achieved much more in the middle of your night than I did in the middle of mine! I’m not much help on the tri training but in terms of making the swim interesting, I have seen (but never used) iPod type things that can be used in water – would that help?
My Tuesday is getting off to a peaceful start – the kids are taking advantage of spring break and are yet to make an appearance! Interval training on the plan for this evening…I can’t wait! Training – I just had to re-vamp my plan as I was feeling fatigued, over-trained and disillusioned with the one I was following. Now I’m in love with the run again! I think it’s a good idea to plan by feel like you are doing.
Good luck as you continue to build your mileage!
Are you going for the Ironman distance? If so good, for you. I am going to start ramping the training with a view to running one next year.
I am new at this too but am working with a coach so here is what is working for me with swimming–I used to just swim “aimlessly” for whatever distance I had planned out–now I have swim sets–mentally it helps me break down the distance and get throught he workout. For example, start with a warm up set (mine is usually 500 alternating free, pull, kick, drills etc.) then try a pyramid set (if you haven’t already) e.g. 50 (10 sec rest), 100 (10 sec rest), 150 (10 sec. rest) then back down (100-50..), 1 minute rest between sets and repeat how ever many sets needed for your distance, then a cool down set. You could also adjust the pyramid (more steps, longer distance etc). Believe me, I am far from an expert and this is just one example of one of my swim workouts but it works for me! Good luck!
5 am isn’t exactly lunch time, but that’s sleeping in – on a weekend. I was up this morning (before the alarm) and at the office by a quarter after.
The early bird gets the worm brother.
Training is a lot more fun this year than it was last and going very well. Couldn’t be happier.
Keep up the good work.
Great week! Caffeine is a must for me, I also eat yogurt before I workout. 2800 is a good swim – try a warm up with 900 – do a 490 swim, 300 pull and 200 kick. Then try a main set of 17×100 followed by a 200 pull warm down. It breaks it up. Doing 28×100 can be tiring!
5am! I thought my 6am runs were brutal…you truly are a beast. Keep up the good work and with that much activity have you considered taking a gel pack before you transition to the swim to help increase energy?
Well keep it up, your post remind me that what I think is intense is nothing in comparison to what I am capable of…thanks!
Busy week. Im sure you will succeed to satisfaction. My tuesday was for shadowboxing and recovery run.
It sounds like a great early morning! I didn’t quite make it out of bed this morning to work out, but oh well, that’s what afternoons are for! Regarding the swimming, you just need to try some different sets and see what works for you. When I’m training for an open water swim or a tri, I’m a fan of pyramids (200. 300, 400, 500, 400, 200), but I also will throw in some descending sets. I’ll swim an 800, 400, 200, 100. This is how I count down my races and I like to practice that mentality in the workouts.
Just my two cents:)
When is your goal race? Sounds like you’re keeping up motivation, even with the time change. Our half-marathon is in 2 1/2 weeks, and the weather has been great, but also weird, because we’re not used to the warmth. Talk about extra sweat! Phew!
I’m pretty sure anyone training this much will always feel run down and exhausted. BUT I know that you will triumph gloriously!! Gotta visualize yourself crossing the finish with your arms up high, yeah?
Dude your kicking up the bar! Love it! :0)
Have you got rest weeks in your training program? The program I am using allows me 1 easy week every 3 weeks and I’m finding the rest week is the difference between being able to keep training hard and being too tired to balance training and life / work / love.
From the sound of your training you are going to absolutely smash your IM! Well done! I am enjoying reading about your progress and can’t wait to hear about your race.
Many props to you for being able to work out so early in the morning. I am a morning person – so I tried this out – but it made me a zombie for the rest of the day. I give credit to anyone that can manage to drag themselves out of a warm bed to work out, and then function the rest of the day! Congrats and keep up the good work 🙂