winter weekly training plan

Trigeek data:
Monday: PM run 30-40 minutes, Kung Fu, swim 1500 yards easy
Tuesday AM run 15-20 minutes with Tassie, PM run track workout
Wednesday AM swim 3,000 masters, PM ride 1 hour easy, Kung Fu
Thursday AM run 40min to 1 hour with tempo
Friday AM swim 1,000 easy, run 15-20 minutes easy with Tassie, PM San Shou (Sparring)
Saturday long run - 8 to 12 miles
Sunday easy ride - 1 to 2 hours, optional easy run

Weekend update

Bri and I had a nice weekend together. She is a fun, happy, uncomplicated woman and I am a lucky guy. But if you're reading this, you already know that!

On Saturday we hosted one of our Powerstroke swim/triathlon clinics. We usually have 8-15 people, but this time we had 20, 8 of whom signed up in the last week. This is a relatively large group for a swimming instruction clinic, but it worked out well. I tried to bring in a third coach to help us out for the day, but no one was available at the last minute. Things went smooth and I spoke for 5 hours straight, which is a bit of a challenge for a natural introvert. After hosting 15 of these clinics though, I have entirely overcome any trepidation of public speaking, at least on subject matters where I am fairly knowledgeable.

After the clinic, we shot home to feed and pet our dog Tassie, and then headed up to watch the Durham Bulls. We were able to gather a group of our friends for this, and it was an absolute blast. The stadium is top notch, the crowd is family friendly, it was a beautiful night, and the beer was not too overpriced. After the game a few of us went to Tyler's Tap Room for a nightcap, then we headed home.

Today we got up late, drank a bunch of coffee, then headed out for a very leisurely bike ride. Watched the movie Twilight after that, which I thought would be overdone with teen angst, but was actually not bad. I might be a total geek and read the books. I can add them to my Harry Potter collection, and put them next to my framed poster of Gandalf the White, while I play Dungeons & Dragons online.

Dork.

Training this week was not bad:
swim 6,500 with a 3,500m workout
ride 3 x for 5 hours total
run: 27 miles which is getting better, 5 days I think
1 kung fu session
100+ pushups and situps
total 12-13 hours

Training, detraining, and retraining

At 37 years young I don't snap back quite as quickly as I did in my late 20s and early 30s from a longer bout of time off and detraining. Last season I toned it down a bunch, which kept me 'fit and healthy' but not competitive at a top age-group level in this nutty triathlon sport. Now we're heading into the spring season, and I'm just beginning to feel like I might be able to nudge the speed and effort up a bit.

The literature on sport and aging has always pointed out these sorts of things, but now I'm living the reality of getting older while still attempting to be somewhat competitive on a regional, if not national (amateur wise) level.

A few issues of note:
>I require more recovery time from intense workouts like track intervals or Kung Fu, which is very anaerobically demanding. If I run hard on Tuesday, riding hard on Wednesday is difficult.

>The weight is not coming off like it used to. Part of that is related to living in a colder climate, but the other part is strictly being older. Fortunately I am down ten pounds from my Christmas peak, but I have another eight to ten to go to ideal race shape.

>Good sleep is required. You twenty-five year olds can burn the candle at both ends for weeks at a go, but these days if I'm not getting near eight hours everything suffers - mental acuity, drive, physical performance, and my face sags like an old hound dog.

>Top end speed disappears much more quickly and takes much longer to regain. It is taking a lot longer than I expected to regain my quickness on the track and top end power on the bike - what little I had to begin with. This is worth noting in particular, in future years I will not forego some year round speed/power work.

>Bri is getting hotter as she gets older, which totally rocks.

Day 3, 4, 5

Busy week.

Day 3:
Swim 1 mile. Run 25 minutes. Ride 45 miles with tempo intervals. Swim 1 mile.

Day 4:
Ride 60 miles. Swim 4,500.

Day 5:
Run 15k race. Swim 1.5 miles open water.

We have had a nice patch of weather and everyone is enjoying the vacation. Bri did great at the Gasparilla 5k this morning, with a 4th in 19:04.

weekend update

swim 10,000 (3 hours 15 minute)
ride 6 hours 40 minutes (who knows how far)
run 3 hours 20 min
30 minute core/strength
total: ~14 hours

The clinic at Inside Out Sports went well today, I helped some new folks with training info and wading through a lot of the gear questions.