Week Three: Mean Green Triathlon Machine

One option for next season's Fitbird Tri-Suit?

This weeks summary:

It started off normal enough...training consistent with the previous two weeks ~ runs almost every day, bike twice a week, weights twice a week, two swim workouts. And then it happened. The gavel came down. New workouts appeared on my program. An extra swim got thrown in. There was even talk of an open water practice. Coach is starting to sneak things in on me. Apparently 11 hours of training a week isn't enough.



As tough as this week has been, I've learned a lot. My swim is getting stronger than it has ever been. For the first time ever I actually felt like I could call myself a "swimmer" after keeping a good consistent pace on one really long set of 10 x 200 yds earlier in the week. Coach, keep your thoughts to yourself on this one and just let me have my moment, k? You have to admit my swim improvement is like night to day from 2009 to 2011. I don't even flinch when thinking about swimming a few thousand yards anymore. I can remember panicking if I had to swim 2 laps without being allowed to stop on the wall to breath just a season or two ago. Maybe there is something to the adage, "practice makes perfect". That and an excellent swim Coach... (stroke, stroke)

Challenges of the Week:

• Making the mistake of assuming I could move a workout without repercussions...and ending up competing against myself in what I now refer to as the first "Cougathalon," ~ a very long Friday of swimming, running, and cycling. I shall avoid that mistake in the future.

• Being literally "pushed" by my Coach on the last lap of a brick workout to take me up to, and beyond, my physical threshold, and then getting to experience the joy that comes with that (ie the intense desire to hurl while at the same time having the beginnings of an asthma attack... and trying to decide which one to go with).

Lessons Learned:

1) I can push harder than I think I can. My body can handle more than I think it can. Heavy breathing in the pool does not always mean I am about to have an asthma attack. Learning that my physical abilities are greater than the limits I had imposed on myself helps to quell my fear of impending panic attacks when I near what I think is my threshold for redlining my engine.

2) I must rely on myself to get my training done. Having training partners is awesome, but ultimately it is up to me to be accountable to myself. I am becoming more self-reliant. I am only competing with myself and only have to answer to myself. Solo workouts are lonely but have a purpose I suppose.

3) It helps to think like a metronome on a long paced/timed swim. Count the beats. One one thousand, two one thousand...tick, tick, tick.

4) Amazingly I am becoming not only more comfortable in the water, but am becoming more confident in the water. Like 1000% more of both. I'm not sure how to handle that.

5) I am starting to become a bit obsessive-compulsive about turning those little squares in Training Peaks green.

6) Assuming I can move a workout to another day that has time available is not a good assumption. I need to just do it as it is written when I first see it posted because when the program changes mid week it becomes a mini-triathlon to get it all completed in one day.

7) I think it is time to research a new saddle for my bike or I am going to end up with an unforgiving injury from hours of abuse. This week I switched to an Adamo Road saddle. Initial thoughts: It has taken the pressure off of the nether-regions that were bothering me, but my SITS bones are so sore I'm not sure it's the saddle for me. Gonna give it a few more long rides and then try the next one on the list.

Planned Time: 13:30
Actual Time: 13:35