So, rewind to a few months ago when I was putting together my training schedule. For some reason, I chose to do level 5 out of Matt Fitzgerald’s book. I thought it was a good idea. I did level 4 last year and I wanted to step it up a bit. However, level 5 is kicking my butt. This week, I am already at 9 and a half hours with 3 more hours scheduled for the weekend. I suppose this is good practice for Ironman training when weekly training hits 20+ hours.
Here is a glimpse at what I have been up to.
Tuesday: Easy 6 mile run around Reeds Lake. I got a late start which meant that Jennie was able to bike along with me because she was home from work by the time I was able to run.
Wednesday: I started at the pool for 2300 yards with the main set being 4×300 yards. I had some of my fastest 300’s ever hitting 4:45 and 4:47 for the 2nd and 3rd interval. The other two were around 4:55 which is closer to the norm. It was a busy day at the pool and the guy next to me was pretty fast which I think encouraged me to push it on the intervals. After the pool, I did a ride out to Millennium Park. The trails out there are incredible and they are still adding to them. I did 31.63 miles in 1:41:51 and felt pretty good.
Thursday: Time for a brick workout. The bike portion was 27.81 miles in 1:28:36. I did a lap out to Cascade and then around Reeds Lake and Calvin a few times. Riding out to Cascade includes a big downhill followed by a gradual 4 mile climb. By the end of 4 miles, my legs always feel like rubber. When I got done with bike ride, Jennie was just getting home from work. So, while she got changed, I grabbed a granola bar and some water. Then we were off for 5.5 miles in just under 45 minutes. Despite just getting off the bike, I still averaged 7:52 min/mile on the run.
Friday (today): Back at the pool again. This time was 2400 yards straight up. I ended up doing 2500 yards because why stop at 96 lengths when you can do an even 100. I finished in 44:06 which averages out 1:45 /100 yards. I will be very happy if I can keep that pace in open water. After the the pool, I had to do a 55 minute run. I decided to do my favorite out and back 8 mile run. I finished in almost exactly a 8:00 min/mile pace. I felt great for the first 6 miles, but started to fall apart on the last 2 miles.
This weekend: I have a 2 hour bike ride and 1 hour run scheduled for Saturday with an off day on Sunday. We are supposed to have crappy, rainy, cold, weather, so I may end up breaking up the workouts and doing one on Saturday and one on Sunday. That way, I don’t have to go out twice in the same day and I stand a better chance of the weather improving on Sunday. I was thinking of doing a duathlon on Sunday, but with the crappy weather forecasted, I don’t want to chance losing out on $60 if the race gets cancelled. Instead, I might go out to Cannonsburg for my first trail run.





