Ironman Training: Week 17

Finally a consistent training week without any major hiccups. I didn't do a long ride this weekend because I'm due for a light week in that department, but other than that it was a normal week.

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3/04: 2400m swimming in the morning (400m warm-up, then 10x200m sets). Since my long bike ride was the day before I didn't do anything in the afternoon.

3/05: 10.51 mile bike ride, followed by three 1-mile intervals: 7:29, 8:10, and 8:46. The last one was on-pace for 8:15 until the last quarter-mile when my right IT band felt a little tight, so I slowed down for the last stretch. I really like doing this kind of brick, where I do 1-mile intervals off the bike. Compared to the easy jogging I normally do this fast pace feels like I'm flying.

3/06: This was my 27th birthday, and I was feeling great so I did my first two-a-day swim workout. Before work I swam 2900m (400m warm-up, then 2500m long).  The long swim was done in 48:38, which is a 1:56/100m pace. I'm VERY pleased with that, as it's the fastest pace I've ever had on a long swim.

In the afternoon I went back to the pool, and was happy to find it not too crowded. I swam 2400m (400m warm-up, then 20x100m sets). The fastest set was the first one in 1:26, which is a new record for me. After that my arms were pretty gassed so I swam at an easy pace, but still most of my times were around 1:45.

3/07: Another bike-to-run brick: 6.74 miles biking followed by 4 miles running. The biking was bad: the wind was strong, and I felt some discomfort in my left knee, so I only did two loops instead of three. The run was great, but I was wearing new shoes and could feel a blister forming on my arch of my foot so I stopped at 4.

3/08: Skipped my swim and took a rest day, since I had already swam more this week than ever before.

3/09: 9.05 mile long run. This was my first long run since the Charleston half marathon in January, and I felt pretty good. The weather was fantastic, and I ran the last 3 miles at a fast pace (8:07 for mile 9).

3/10: Spent an easy 20 miles spinning on the bike. It finally feels like spring, and I can't wait to spend more time on the bike in the next few months. My left knee felt okay until the last lap.

Weekly Totals:

Swim: 7700 meters (3 hours 13 minutes)

Bike: 37.27 miles (2 hours 17 minutes)

Run: 16.05 miles (2 hour 40 minutes)

Strength: 0 minutes

Total: 8 hours 10 minutes

Next weekend is the Shamrock Half Marathon, which I'm just planning on training through (I have a 56 mile bike planned the day before).