Friday called for a tough swim. However, Stacey and I planned to head over to Plymouth to stay at her bro's house so we could go for an early ride on Saturday. By the time I got my stuff packed and ready to go, it was getting pretty late. Instead of the tough swim, I only got in 1500m. I tried to make that worthwhile by including some hard 100's and Tabata sprints. Oh well.
Saturday included a 4.5 hour ride and a short transition run. We started early, but by 10AM or so it was hot - good prep for Louisville. I drank a lot of fluid, often times drinking until my stomach was full and I could feel the liquid sloshing around. Despite working at IM effort, the high rate of fluid consumption didn't bother me. And, even though I drank a lot, I weighed myself post workout and after having 12 oz. of OJ and another 12 oz. of chocolate milk and found I lost 2 lbs., or nearly 4 pounds if the recovery drinks are not considered.
I averaged about 21.5 mph for 95 miles in 4:25 including a quick warm-up and cool-down and all the slowing required when riding through towns...not too shabby, especially without aero gear. Wattage avg. was 199 W with zeros, with most riding between 210 and 215 W. HR was high - 149 bpm avg. I think maybe my strap needs a new battery, as my HR would occasionally shoot up to 160 bpm or higher and then drop back to 150 or so with no change in effort. What really keys me off is how quickly it drops - sometimes HR went down by 15 bpm in a second or two.
Afters I did a transition run with 5 minutes hard (and mostly uphill!) and then 10 minutes easy. I felt good, all things considered.
Sunday included a 5000m swim and a 1:30 run. The swim was tough. I was tired from Saturday's ride, but I hung in there and completed the swim. About 4000m into the set, my shoulders were exhausted. Still, I told myself to suck it up. I want to be a better swimmer, but wanting is not enough. I've got to put in the work. Every time I slowed down, I'd talk myself into picking the effort back up because that's what it's going to take to improve. Anyhow, I finished the swim with 10 Tabata sprints, although not a blazing speeds.
After a rest, a smoothie, and watching some track & field world championships, I headed out into the 90 degree weather for a run. The plan called for 4 x 15 minutes at 150 bpm or 7:00/mile, and although the two didn't line up as a result of, I suspect, the heat. I paced myself with the former, and ran at about 7:30/mile for the sets. I felt better as the run went on, and the heat didn't really bother me, other than slowing me a bit.
Finally, I did a 30-some minute recovery ride in the evening. All-in-all a solid weekend.
Good stuff as usual Evan. Smart move on Friday's swim. Anytime you miss out on planned duration (and are feeling good) incorporate some higher intensity instead. While they're not one of the same the response is a close second. Plus, it helps to keep the guilt down!
ReplyDeleteAlso, don't expect to keep *all* weight on during those long hot rides, but do your best to keep the losses down enough so that they don't have too negative of an effect. After LP this is especial crucial going into this next one...