Looking at my schedule this week I have another big week of training ahead of me. This is one of the final big weeks prior to my Bluff Creek Olympic Tri on May 20th. Next week will be a moderate/rest week that I should have had last week, but with my trip to Florida for 4.5 days to compete with my robotic team I knew I would not get in a great week of training and decided to switch my rest week to next week and just keep training hard until then. I don’t know if that is wise or not being so close to the race and my taper week, but it is what it is at this point. I thought I would go ahead and have a quality work week last week instead of two mediocre weeks.
With that being said, my legs are sore. My quads are sore from the race and big bike ride on Saturday. Running on Sunday helped a little bit, but they are still sore today. My right calf/shin area is really sore so I must keep an eye on this and make sure it does not get worse. It seems like people are battling some injuries as of late and I don’t want to be on that list so I will listen to my body and take the needed rest if required.
This morning I had my first of three major swim workouts this week. My schedule calls for a big week of swimming and then it slowly goes down as I get closer to race week. The workout today was a form workout, but a tough one because I had to really focus hard to keep my form throughout.
400 warm up – 100 free, 100 kick with board, 200 pull
8 x 50 (25 RT/LT) w/ 25 Build with 20 RI
:56, :55, :53, :51, :51, :53, :53, :53 – This is a tough set. I really have work hard to make sure I rotate when swimming with one arm. It is a challenge for me because I swim so flat in the water. This drill helps really work on rotating.
500 @ T-Pace :06 – Once again, I did not know my T-Pace so I just tried to push it a little bit without being stupid. I swam in 8:12 and felt really good. I was really reaching and pulling and it just felt smooth for once. I did this workout 3 weeks ago and I swam this first set in 8:00 so I was slower then, but I think I finished today feeling much stronger.
After a 15 sec RI I moved into 2 x 250
Set 1: 3:55
Set 2: 3:56
Last time I hit 3:49 and 3:56 so I was not too far off. I was cranking hard last time and this time I did not feel like I was going all out. Crazy to think the difference is only seconds. It feeds right into that lecture I listened to during my bike ride this weekend.
Next up after a 15 sec rest was another 500. I swam this in 8:10. I told myself to find a decent pace and just hold it. This set felt much more calmer and relaxed than the first 500 and I swam faster. I could not believe it. The last workout I swam this in 8:19. Seeing this makes me realize that I am much more consistent today which is good.
To end I had 5 x 100 at T-Pace + :05. I just wanted to push a little bit and see what I had without being stupid.
1:30, 1:27, 1:26, 1:27, 1:27 were my times with 15 sec RI. I was happy with these. I was tired after that last set for sure.
Compared to last time when I swam
Set 1: 1:35
Set 2: 1:29(I was tired after this one)
Set 3: 1:32
Set 4: 1:31
Set 5: 1:28
I was more improved today. It is good to see the results. It keeps reminding me that my hard work is paying off. Now I just hope I don’t panic in that lake water when I cannot see my hands and am surrounded by others.
My right calf/shin felt good while in the water. It felt sore walking out of the Y so I have my compression socks today to see if that helps. I hope for a good foam roller workout tonight and feeling better tomorrow.
Another great start to the week. 2900 yards done in less than an hour.
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