Monday, October 5, 2009

Recovering from the last race before Arizona

I am very surprised at how fast I recovered from the race. After Lake Stevens, I felt like it took almost a week and a half to get back to the grind. This time around, I felt great after a day or so.

On Monday I started swimming with my new stroke. It is definitely much faster. The hard part is gauging effort. I knew how to stretch out the workout by feel. I almost feel like I am starting over. The good thing, there is plenty of time to adjust. I got in an easy hour ride. There was a nice head wind out and a tail wind back. After the ride, I dropped my bike off again for repairs.

I had a good one hour run on Tuesday. Kona is picking up things very quickly. I just wish she wouldn't get so startled at night when she is outside.

I had a strong swim Wednesday morning. I adapting to the new stroke very quickly. 20x100 on 1:30 in short course meters averaging 1:23. That is the first time I have done that, so I was happy. Later that day I ran for an hour and half. I was surprised that I was already running at full speed. Now I know how the pros get so much racing in. When you have a solid base and lots of training, recovery is quick.

I picked up my bike Thursday morning. Being a heavy sweater is not good for the bike. I have to do a better job of cleaning my bike immediately after rides. The salt is destroying the components. I went out for a ride at 1:45. Even though I ride a lot of the same roads, the conditions are never the same. You never know what kind of winds you'll get for the day. Nothing but a head wind to the Texaco. I avg 20.4mph. On the way back it was smooth sailing. I avg 23.4mph. I got a little wet toward the end. I don't mind the rain when I am out there. Especially at the end of the ride. I would prefer to stay dry, but I'll take what i get.

Friday morning I swam 5000. The main set was 8x(3x50 on 35 + 150 on 3:15). I think my legs were a little tired from the 75 mile bike ride yesterday. I made the first three sets. I missed the fourth. I made the last 4 sets on the dot. I am glad nothing for the rest of the day. I went and saw the doc for my knee. The X-rays looked good. He said to be smart about my training. If you need an orthopedic sport doc, who is board certified, he is great.

It was raining Saturday morning, so we decided to sit on the trainer for 5 hours. We watched a 3 hour Spinerval then some college football. The bad part of the ride was Kona only had 2 potty problems in the house. One was on the hard wood. I kept getting off the bike every 30 minutes or so and letting her out with great success. I decided to give her a treat every time, to reinforce outside not inside. There was a couple times Kona went to the car first for the treat. I told her to go potty and she would. Potty training is hard work. I felt very wiped after the ride. I always feel hungrier when I ride the trainer versus outside.

I ran at 6am Sunday because I had to be at work. It is the first time I have put a shirt on since May. I even wore long sleeve. I thought about getting gloves. I had to get gloves half way into the run. I could not feel my hands at all. I had to use both hands to squeeze the water bottle for a drink. It was a solid 2 hour run. I did a lot of mental training for Arizona. It was my fastest 2 hour run. It felt really good. I was just shy of 17.5 miles. Not bad for a guy trying to be an athlete. I am not sure what I ate, but my stomach has been weird all day.

It was in the upper 30's this morning. I had a pretty good swim. My calves were a little sore. The main set was 8x500 with short rest. I got in 5500. My stomach is still not feeling right. I have physical therapy later today and a moderate run.

Less than 7 weeks to go. A few more weeks of hard training, then taper time.

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