This was a BIG week in the pool!! And…on the bike!
Sunday – Swim session. 36 minutes, all bilateral. Wore my new swim cap. That helps a little! There’s just a little less going on around your goggles and face. = half hour
Monday – Didn’t run in the morning like I’d planned. Ugh! A pattern is emerging. I haven’t felt like doing my planned Monday workouts for 2 weeks.
How can I feel more rejuvenated? Feel refueled? Currently, I think it’s more of a work-related energy issue. When I have a full work calendar, I do a good job of setting my expectations appropriately, knowing that non-priority items such as email will build up throughout the busy week. However, then I assume the next week that I’ll have ALL this time to catch up. This doesn’t set me up with a useful mentality. The next set of priorities are bubbling up and I’ve still got the non-priority stuff from the previous week to do. I see the new lengthy To Do list and I get discouraged.
To address this, I don’t think there’s much to “do” differently. Sure, going to bed a little earlier always helps. Yet, I think this is more of a perspective shift. There is downtime and rejuvenating activities on the weekends. I can shift more to fully see them as such. I can also change how I relate to that long Action Item list on Sunday night or Monday morning. Instead of thinking, “Oh Geez! This list still way too long!,” I could tell myself something more along the lines of, “Look at how lucky you are to have a thriving business and plenty to do!”
I’m excited to play with this and change my perspective on my workload from week to week. Seems like this will be an excellent time to shift this before training volume gets heavier and heavier!
Monday night I did the Athlete Zone class at the gym = 1 hour
Tuesday – Did a swim session in the morning. 37 minutes (it’s all bilateral from here on out – I won’t write it anymore!) Then, I did a 2.5 hour bike ride. I forgot to wear my watch. I mapped out the ride afterwards, looks to have been about 33 miles. It was windy on the way back! I was struggling at times to keep my cadence going. Felt some aches in my right knee. = 3 hours
Wednesday – In the afternoon I had a swim lesson. I showed up about 5 minutes early and swam for about 20 minutes afterwards. Given that we talk quite a bit during the lesson, I’ll say this was about a half hour of work.
We had a breakthrough on the kick!! My swim instructor, Kirsten, was seeing my hips rock too much when I kicked. We figured out that I needed to arch my back a little, which shifted me in the water to be able to engage my core more and move my hips/butt less. Kirsten got so excited when I showed her. “Your kick is actually powering you! You sped up! You are no longer just dragging your legs along!,” she exclaimed. Awesome. This sounds really good.
My next things to focus on in the pool are:
- Arching back and focusing on kick
- Doing a little more “catch up” with my arms, keep that lead arm out there straight a little longer on each stroke
- Not resting at all on one end of the pool, going down and back before taking a rest, then Kirsten wants this rest to be no more than 15 seconds… whew, that sounds hard 🙂
= half hour
Thursday – Happy Thanksgiving!! And, Happy Birthday to my daughter, McKenzie! Did a Cardio Kickboxing class. = 1 hour
Friday – Went off with McKenzie in the morning for a 3 to 4 mile run. She wasn’t feeling it. We ran most of a first mile, then we walked most of the rest, logging 2.4 miles. We walked along holding hands and talking. It was also cold and wet out, but we were appropriately dressed and enjoyed our time together. I think she and I shouldn’t keep thinking that we’ll top out her mileage. I’m going to suggest that our next runs be 1.5 to 2 miles. Then, if she’s feeling it some day we can just spontaneously go longer.
Then, I went back out on my own to run 5 miles. = 1 hour
Saturday – Cycling class. Lots of sprinting in the first half. Mostly hills in the second half. Wore my tri suit and then immediately went down to the pool in the tri suit to swim. With my new kick position, better “catch ups,” and no – to very little (no more than 5 seconds) – rest on one end of the pool, I did this workout in 33.5 minutes!! I’ve never gotten it under 36 minutes before!! Hoorah! This feels terrific. I was NO where near keeping my rest on the one side of the pool to 15 seconds, but obviously I sped this whole thing up. I’m thinking a little faster swimming and a little less overall rest. SO jazzed!! Notable progress in the pool. Right now, nothing makes me happier!
Didn’t feel my right knee today. I feel like a sore or tight shin muscle might have been a contributor. I’ve massaged it in recent days. I think this has made a difference. Figuring out my swim kick position might’ve helped too.
Also went to “Play it Again Sports,” bit the bullet, and bought myself a bike trainer. This used sports goods store had a fluid trainer for $80. I’m jazzed about that deal. (If you don’t think it’s a good deal – don’t tell me!) Now I gotta find a place to get it set up downstairs and get it set up. Seems like each completed action item generates more!! 🙂 = 1. 5 hours
TOTAL = 8.5 hours, great week for swimming and cycling!
- Swim = 2 hours
- Bike = 3.5 hours
- Run = 1 hour
- Strength = 2 hours
