Last week flew by and the weekend was NOT long enough (really though, are they ever?).  This weekend wasn’t as busy as the weekend before, but training volume was a bit more plus it was HOT (we were under a heat advisory all weekend) so I think that just sucked the last bit of energy out of me by Sunday night, wishing I had another day to recover before the work week and weekly training cycle starts all over again.  This week is another large volume/intensity week, however next week is a recovery week, so knowing that is right around the corner is helping keeping me motivated this week!  Ok on to last week:

Week 24: 6/11-6/17

Monday: 3925y swim in the morning followed by yoga after work.  I also fit in a massage appointment at lunch as I’ve been having some IT Band pain since my tempo run last Thursday.  I was hoping loosening my glutes and quads would help nip the nagging pain before it became something worse.  I left feeling a little better, but not convinced that did the trick.

Tuesday: Speedwork with 14×400’s… IT Band (hip area) was feeling a little off but nothing terrible (maybe better?) and was able to stick to the planned times and get in the entire workout.  That evening I rode an easy hour on the trainer.

Wednesday: 3000y swim in the am followed by the usual intense mid-week ride.  We are gearing my legs up for Louisville and are doing ‘hill repeats’ and adding to the total number each week, which makes for a tough workout every week 🙂  12 intervals this week.

Thursday: I just wasn’t feeling the tempo run when I woke up, I felt sluggish and decided to sleep in for 30 more minutes and instead swap the run with my 20 min easy ride before work and run after work.  Of course had I checked the weather I might have stuck with doing the run… later that afternoon huge storms rolled in, forcing me to do my tempo on the treadmill. Bummer.  I did nail the workout (well, except for 2 emergency bathroom breaks, maybe it was good I was inside and close to a bathroom) hitting the paces for the 3×1 mi and the 2 mile tempo, now if I can only replicate it outside!  I’m guessing the lack on hills on the treadmill and air conditioning might be to two major factors as to why it’s a success there and not outside. 🙂

Friday: 2500y swim in the am, followed by an hour of yoga (youtube) at lunch.

This was from Friday afternoon, a taste of what the weekend was going to feel like. Ugh.

Saturday: I got up early to get in my 85 mile ride (this week my coach had me doing a set mileage rather than time) since we were under a heat advisory until Monday.  I knew I would be riding in the heat at some point during my ride, but figured it was better to start as early as possible and reduce the number of hours when I would be riding at hotter times of the morning.  I started at 6:40 (40 minutes later than planned) and pulled back into the parking lot a little after noon… and it was HOT.  I changed into my running shirt and shoes and off I went to just get the 20 min run done.  I wasn’t caring about pace, just running for time, I told myself.  However after a few minutes my legs came around and physically, despite the tough ride and heat, I actually felt ok.  I finished the run strong but once done, I was DONE.  I staggered (I know, dramatic… but I felt a little like death) into the grocery store to get my chocolate milk and water, and as soon as I checked out, I chugged 2/3 of the bottle of water before even leaving the store.

I walked circles around my car while I waited for the AC work and the car to cooldown and then finally headed back home.  That afternoon JMR and I were playing golf with my parents for Father’s Day (celebrating Saturday instead of Sunday) and I was less than excited to be in the heat again that day.  Fortunately I was just meeting the three of them for the back half , and I was planning on picking up my ball when needed, so no pressure to play the entire 9.  I survived and even managed to have a few good shots/puts (note the key word ‘few’), and it was fun riding along in the cart (plus I forgot how good JMR is at golf, pretty impressive to watch).

Sunday: I was up early but not quite as early on Saturday (which I regretted during my run), and headed out to run 14 miles, with 12 at marathon pace.  However, since we were under a heat advisory still and it was pretty toasty at 8:30a when I started, I dialed back the pace a bit and was running about 20-30 seconds slower than marathon pace.  my legs didn’t feel as terrible as I thought they would feel after the big ride the day before, and after the halfway point, I decided to bring the pace closer to the planned marathon pace and ran the remaining five miles at that pace.  However during the cooldown mile I could really feel the heat and was 100% ready to be done.  Other than running a few errands, I spent the rest of the day on the couch being lazy.

Total Training Hours: 17:04 (woah! that’s up there with my past peak IM training weeks!)

Happy Wednesday! 🙂