Monday, January 16, 2017

Building Plan: Week 10 Complete

And another one bites the dust! I completed Week 10 and feel awesome. I took 2 rest days, but I am really excited that the second rest day didn't really feel necessary, and in hindsight, I should have at least tried doing some stretching or yoga. I had an amazing running week, and I continue to make strides in my strength training.

Week 10

Swimming

I was able to get a longer swim in after my Sunday run. As usual, I felt amazing afterwards. To my surprise, my shoulders and legs were not as fatigued as they usually are after my run. I was therefore able to double my normal swim distance. Granted, it was only 800 yards, but I am a fan of improvement. Although my arms felt better, my rotation was much slower than usual, which made my pace a bit slow. It's always interesting how perceived progress and how one feels can be very different than the truth. This is one reason I really like technology. It helps keep me in check.

Cycling

Not much to say here. I got in no rides this week. My rest days fell on the cycling days. I am hoping to get at least one of my cycling sessions in this upcoming week.

Running

I not only got all three of my runs in, but I have dramatically lowered my overall effort during the runs. I felt good during and after each run, and recovery was amazingly fast. I definitely attribute my stretching and strength training to this, in addition to my new running form. If you don't remember what I am referring to, you can see my Running Recovery Plan - Cadence. I will be moving onto Week 7/8 of the plan. I am going to try the optional plan to see if I can handle it or not. If I can't, I'll revert to the normal Week 7/8 plan. My cadence has dropped slightly from 180 to upper 170's, so this is something I will need to focus on this upcoming week.

Strength

Again I got two of my three sessions in. My third session fell on a rest day, although I probably could have done this workout. This is actually exciting, since most weeks I need that second rest day. This is the first week I have not. As a note, my strength training is still focused mainly on functional strength. Once my recovery plan is completed, I will be starting to focus on muscle strength.

Nutrition

I missed some meal logging over the weekend, but for the most part I got everything logged. I did have a pretty bad binge weekend though due to some severe stress. I know stress eating is not an excuse, but until I can fully alter that habit, it's what I am stuck with. Sadly, it's usually an unconscious thing that I only realize after I have already started or done it.

Final Thoughts

I am looking forward to an awesome week. With any luck, my recovery plan has 4 weeks or less left. I am so excited to be back running and I can't wait to get back into triathlon training. Hope everyone is doing well with their goals!

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