Half Ironman Training: Week #8
I am constantly amazed by how empowered and strong we can feel when we simply do what we say we are going to do. Discipline is an amazing thing. Although it sounds simple, “Follow the plan” isn’t always as easy to execute as it sounds. Life loves to try to derail us. But during my eighth week of training for the Beach2Battleship Half Ironman last week, I reminded myself why discipline, focus, commitment, consistency and following the plan are so important. Finishing your mission without making any excuses or giving yourself an out creates this inner strength that is hard for me to even put into words. It simply makes me feel fierce. In control. Happy.
It makes me better.
Last week was a recovery week for me. Every fourth week, my plan calls for a slight reduction in overall mileage to allow me to recover from the previous 3 weeks of hard work (although my recovery week is anything but easy!) I was incredibly pleased to execute all my workouts and finish the week off with a bang at the Acworth Women’s Sprint Triathlon. (And, clearly I was so focused on training I hardly have any photos to show for it this week!)
Here is what the week looked like.
Monday
REST
Tuesday
Biked 1 hour and 10 minutes on the trainer, including 9 x 1-minute hill repeats on a high gear at a fast speed with 2 minutes of active recovery between each (total = 16.26 miles).
After my bike, I hit the pool for a short but productive swim. I love swimming as the sun is setting. It gives me such a sense of calm.
Swam 1,400:
300-meter warm up
8 x 25-meter drills with 10 seconds rest between each
6 x 100 at moderate intensity with 5 seconds rest between each
300-meter cool down
Wednesday
Ran 5.5 miles on the treadmill: I ran a slow warm-up mile followed by 11 x 30-second sprints at a 6:15 pace with 2 minutes of recovery at a 9:13 pace during the middle part of this run. I spent the remaining time at a progressive pace, going from 8:13 to 7:35. I did this run before work right after waking up, so I didn’t have time to eat breakfast and allow time for proper digestion. So, I ate 200 calories of Clif Shot Bloks right before the run and had a high energy level throughout the workout.
Thursday
Thursday was my superhero day. I finished 3 workouts and proved to myself that once again, I am capable of more than I think I am.
AM: Ran an easy 3.55 miles at an 8:45 pace
AM: Immediately following my run, I went to strength train with my FitWit group, where we did an INTENSE workout called the Summit. We had to complete all 3 rounds for time. Below is what it looked like. I’m proud to have finished it in less than 30 minutes!
Round 1:
- 200-meter run
- 20 pull-up rows
- 20 push-ups (All on my toes)
- 20 squats
- 20 sit-ups
Round 2:
- Complete round 1 again.
- 30 squat high pulls (I used a 25-pound kettle bell)
- 30 slam balls (I used a 15-pound medicine ball)
- 30-meter out and back bear crawl
Round 3:
- Complete round 1 and round 2 again. (Seriously?!? Yes.)
- 40 burpees
- 200 jump ropes
PM: I rode 1 hour and 45 minutes around Georgia’s Stone Mountain Park. There is a hilly 5-mile loop that I circled until I reached my scheduled time. (Total mileage = 29.12 miles)
Friday
I did both my Friday workouts in the evening after work. Thankfully, my long run was only 45 minutes this week. Thank you recovery week!
Ran 5.48 hilly miles (47 minutes) at an 8:41 pace
After my run, I did a 30-minute recovery bike on my trainer at an easy pace maintaining a cadence of 90 for a total of 7.18 miles.
Saturday
Since I was doing a sprint triathlon the next day, I did an easy, straight 1,600-meter swim on Saturday morning.
Sunday
Acworth Women’s Sprint Triathlon (Read my race recap!)
- Swam 400 yards: 00:07:20 (includes run time to transition)
- T1: 00:01:32
- Biked 13 miles: 00:42:17 (18.5 mph)
- T2: 00:00:52
- Ran a 5K: 24:29 (7:53/mile)
I placed third in my age group and 15th overall. It was a great way to close out a successful week of training during my recovery week.
Week #8 mileage total: 85 miles, 12 workouts, 8 hours and 13 minutes
- Swim: 2.09 miles
- Bike: 65.56 miles
- Run: 17.63 miles
- Strength training (1 hour)
This week (week #9) begins the build phase of my plan, where I’ll be focusing on more speed and intensity in all 3 sports, with several workouts at my lactate threshold (aka All out). My body is hurting just thinking about this week’s training, but I’m excited to see what continued improvements my disciplined training will bring, especially on the bike. This weekend I also have a friend coming into town, which means I have to get all my long workouts in before Saturday. It will take some shuffling and flexibility, but I’m determined to make it happen.
Are you a morning or an evening exerciser? When you have 2 workouts in one day, do you do them both in the morning or evening, or do you split them up across the day?
Comments
Awesome training week!! It is coming along nicely!! Isn’t recovery weeks the best!!! 😉
I like to exercise in the morning….because it is cooler but when I do doubles I try and separate them. At least long enough to get some fuel and recover for a bit before starting the second work out! I guess it all depends on the day and what I am training for!! 🙂
Such an impressive week!! I move around when my workouts are based on my schedule. Mostly though, I prefer biking or running in the morning. Swimming or gym time I am OK with either morning or afternoon. I haven’t done very many double workouts!
I’m primarily a morning exerciser, but I do find it tough to fit in two workouts before work. If I do work out in the evening, it’s usually something like yoga that doesn’t get my heart rate up too much. If I do anything too intense, I won’t be able to sleep later.
consistency is so important and it helps when you finally reap the benefits of all your hard work! keep going strong!
You are definitely ready to move onto harder stuff. Your training has been really solid and the harder work will make it so much more worth it on race day. Keep up the work girl!
Congrats on your AG 3rd! That must have felt great! I work out whenever I can fit it in. This summer it’s been hard to fit anything in at all…too many kids all up in my face 😛
LOL! Thanks so much MILF Runner!
That Summit workout looks like a good one! I’m definitely a morning exerciser. The last thing I want to do after a long day at work is workout, I would much rather lay on the couch 🙂 I rarely workout twice in 1 day, but usually I’ll do one in the morning and one before bed.
Congrats on your third place finish!
Nice week! I have to workout in the mornings to get it all in. If not, my eveing workouts tend to be lackluster. Keep on keepin on sister! I see an awesome race in your future.
Amazing work Jes. I’m so impressed! I feel like finding time and motivation to train for three different events must be so difficult! But it is true, you always amaze yourself when you start something and are able to finish it.