Build

I haven’t quite figured out the deal with exactly how Coach Ed puts together the training schedule. I guess I could read the Traithlete’s Training Bible, where I know it is explained. [Yes, I have a copy, and yes, one day, I promise I will return it to you, Joe, along with the two swimming books you loaned me when you first talked me into this. One day I might actually read them.]

Anyhow, it seems that there are generally 2-3 “build” weeks followed by a “recovery” week. During the build you – um – build. You gradually increase your volume. There’s a lot more to it, but that’s the basic idea.

I am in the first build week (the schedule says calls it “Base 1”) of my 140.6 plan. Woo-hoo. And building, I am. Monday morning boot camp kicked my butt. Literally. Dare I call it fun.

Monday afternoon I did a nice zone 2 run around the tidal basin. I took the long way around so I could get in 40 minutes.

This morning was my first “long” swim. Instead of the usual 60 minutes, in the weeks leading up to an Ironman (IM) race, the team rents the pool for longer periods so that the IMers can swim longer. Although my IM is not until November, now is as good a time as any to work on my endurance. Plus, with my first half-IM coming up in less than 5 weeks, I figure I should start actually swimming the distance of the race.

I did it. I swam for 90 minutes. It was great! I felt so good in the water. There was a little bit of clock watching, but not much. Mostly I was just trying to follow the workout (Coach Ed writes a plan for us that includes different length sets with drills, speedwork, etc.) and keep track of my laps.

When all was said and done, I estimate I swam about 2600 yards. Google tells me that is 1.61 miles. Way further than I ever swam before. The distance for the half is 1.2 miles, and the full is – you guessed it – 2.4 miles. I am well on my way, and am full of a lot more confidence going into the half.

A few other notes about the swim. I felt slow. Not unusual. I was comfortably swimming along at an easy pace. At one point I had a couple of teammates on my toes and I decided to speed up and get out of their way. Surprisingly, it didn’t make me feel exhausted. I tried going faster for a few more laps and I was fine. How funny would it be if the reason I am so slow was simply because I am just not trying to go faster? I need to work on this and see if I can truly sustain the faster pace.

The other point I’d like to note is that I felt really good coming out of the water. Maybe I should stick to my slow, leisurely pace. I could have kept swimming. Or, more importantly, I could have gone for a nice bike ride…and, I don’t know, then maybe a little run.

I feel like such a swimmer today. Like all of my work on form, and concentrating on the million different tweaks to my stroke might be paying off. It feels great!

Tonight is the famed Conte’s ride. Last time at the ride I did the crit a record 4 times (versus the 3 times I had done it at most previous rides).

What’s the crit? Well, you might call it hell, pain, or torture. Some really like it. I dread it. It is a .8 loop through a neighborhood in North Arlington. At the end of the loop is a quarter-mile stretch that is straight up hill. Really. UP HILL. 18% grade incline to be exact.

Ouch. The strong guys fly up it. The rest of us grind our way up. I usually get my heart rate near my lactate threshold (max) by the end. It hurts. But I know it makes me a stronger cyclist in the long run.

My friend T inspired me a few weeks ago when she told me that she had done the crit 5 times. So impressed! I decided to work towards that. Perhaps by the end of the season…

The plan is to do 4 loops tonight. By the way, after we do the crit, we head out Military Road for a couple of hilly miles (aka Military Misery). All told, the workout is 11-12 miles and is one of the hardest parts of my training regimen.

Tomorrow morning is a 40-60 minute zone 2 run. I am debating showing up at track practice since I could save a little time by doing this one on my own (since I won’t have to drive to the track) and I don’t really need the track for this. It is fun to be with the group, but then again, if I am on my own I can listen to music and when I go to the track I sometimes wind up running alone anyhow. Choices, choices, choices.