Friday, July 15, 2011

Back to the regularly schedule program

This week I have jumped back into the training program at week 9.  Back to figuring out how I will fit it all in and having to make sacrifices to make it all happen.

Monday was a nice easy day after all the biking over the weekend.  I slept in and worked through the day before heading out for some hiking with the husband in the evening.  We went over to Nelson Ledges which is only 3 miles or so from my house.  I have wanted to go there forever now but just never had made it there.  It was gorgeous and a lot of fun to check out.  Nelson Ledges is known for its spectacular rock formations and sandstone cliff formations and the scenery did not disappoint!

Tuesday was back to the grind and my 4 week mark post crash.  I did my interval run speed workout for a total of 6 miles and then I did my first swim since I crashed.  I just swam a nice easy 1000 m outside in the gorgeous lifetime pool.  It was nice to not have any pressure to go fast and just to be thankful I was swimming.  It seemed to go fine and was not aggravating my shoulder.  That evening I went out to ride the with Cleveland Touring Club Tavern Ride.

It was quite enjoyable to be back and many were surprised to see me back so soon.  I did feel rather flat on that ride as though I was working harder than I wanted to stay with the folks I usually rode with.  I am not sure if it was the 149 miles over the weekend, the tough interval run in the morning, that I am not back or if it has to do with my intake (more on that later).  Regardless, I pushed through the 30 miles and was glad when I was done as I was tired.

Wednesday, got up to run my 10-12 mile run and after 7 miles, I decided I was done.  Thursday, I hopped in to pool for a nice swim.  It felt awesome.  I just swam a nice easy 2200 meters, feeling rather refreshed when I was done.  Friday am, I did my focus bike on the computrainer which had me sweating bullets and I am beginning to think the computrainer is a torture tool but they say it makes you stronger.  Planning to get in those 10 miles from the other day at lunch today.

All I know is that I am guessing that this weekend might seem tough as I got two pretty hard days on tap but the plan is to get them done.  No one said coming back was easy.  I am trying to take it in stride and put in the work now and know it will come.  I would be lying to say I did not feel a bit behind where I was before I crashed.  I really had wanted to race Milton Man tri next weekend but I think the smart thing would be to focus on my training for now and hold off racing a little longer until I feel more confident that I can race to my ability better.

The other thing is the husband has become very focused this week on nutrition and we have been eating much healthier.  He has been pretty closely following the Paleo/Primal 'diet' and has been much more active and already results are a bit amazing but I suppose when you get active and clean up your diet, it is bound to have a noticeable effect.  I have been sort of loose with it but have really enjoyed getting in more fruits and vegetables and have not had much in the way of bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, etc which is different.  Thankfully, the many Amish produce stands out by us are really coming into all of the produce so it is really easy to get lots of fresh stuff easy right now.  My husband's mom also is letting us use her Vitamix blender so we have been making up some really good stuff in that like our Peaches and Ice dessert thing last night-YUM!  I have already dropped off weight this week which is likely due in part to this and in part to the increased exercise volume.  Now to make sure the intake is sufficient to keep me fueled on workouts and not leading to me feeling flat during them.  To be continued...

1 comment:

Matty O said...

Vitamix = Bad ASS! Love them.

Curious how the Paleo affects your energy and recovery for IM training? I would assume you need the carbs to keep things healing from tearing things down.

Too cool you are back into training so fast. Purely awesome and motivation for anyone who wrecks on a bike to get back on their feet!

Keep playing it all smart and don't try to keep up with everyone yet, your body will be back to 100% in no time, just make sure you don't push too hard too fast.