Week 18 summary + Day 1 and 2 of Tour of Sufferlandria

915 TSS on 9.83 hours of training

I took the running a little easier this week, partly because it was was really really cold outside in the mornings (close to -20C with wind chill) and partly because the Tour of Sufferlandria (ToS) was starting up (the most prestigious virtual tour of an imaginary country EVER!).

The first two stages of the tour have gone pretty well, I'm using my Computrainer in erg mode, which means that the trainer sets my resistance according to the whims of the video's author. They tend to be in the range of 50-140% of my FTP. I'm scaling the first few days to 90%, then the middle to 95%, and going the last two stages at 100%.

Swimming is coming along well, I'm pleased (which probably means I need to raise my standards). After this week of the bike volume bump, I need to start getting some more race pace sets into my long runs. There's two weeks until the Fridge, that'll be, er, "instructive", as to how things actually are.

Week 17 Summary

692.5 TSS on 9 hours ...

Felt like a "light" week, though I got the frequency of runs, if not the volume I was hoping. My knee started bugging me slightly on Tuesday evening, though minor, so I've been careful about it. An injury now would be bad...

I've started the strength program again, not so much for any triathlon benefit, but I was getting strains in my back, and was just feeling unbalanced, I guess.

Targeted the upcoming Refridgee-eighter 8mile, at < 55 minutes. Hopefully I can carry that into the Chilly Half to hit my sub 1:30 goal.

Did a CSS swim test, threshold speed is faster at 1:38min/100m.

The end of next week is the start of the Tour of Sufferlandria, so that'll be a nice bike volume bump.

Week 16 Summary

A whopping 963TSS on 11.5h training!

This was a big week, and the first that I've gotten all of my scheduled run training in. Yay me :) I had a good long swim on Friday, but have been tip toeing around my back this week (cramping feeling in lower right back when straightening up, it's been getting better the last day or two).

I was starting to feel concerned about my goal for the season, to run < 1:30 in the Chilly. It doesn't seem attainable right now. I should talk to Steve this week. I have 7 weeks, what do I need to hit in advance to have a chance?

Week 13/14 summary

Everyone's been sick -- boy ended up in the hospital with pneumonia from RSV.

I managed to keep my CTL level, minimal work, just stripping back to the critical runs (that is the focus, after all).

I raised my FTP to 259 though, so that's something. It bodes well for my 280 target.

Week 12 Summary

582 TSS on 6.7 hours of training.

Everyone was sick last week, it's my turn this week. Swimming got totally dropped, biking was pretty token. Seeing as this is supposed to be a running focus winter, I just tried to keep that going by repeating the block I was on (30/60/90) last week.

Boy is almost back to sleeping regularly, he's going to school next week for sure. Almost two weeks and it feels like forever.

Week 11 Summary

795 TSS on 8:45 of training.

Boy has been sick since Tuesday morning, so morning swims have been pretty much out of the question, I'm trying to avoid getting sick with what both DW and he have, and as much sleep as possible seems to be the answer.

5 hours of running (50k) this week which is right on track for the 30/60/90 phase of the BP plan. I'll hold it here for another week to let durability catch up to fitness. The Wed night runs are going well at Runner's Choice, there's one dude there who is very fast over short distances, no idea how he does at longer runs.

Did a brick at UW on Thursday lunch, Sufferfest on the phone, then 20min on the treadmill. That hurt. Left a huge puddle.

5kTT on Monday, see how things are going in the last 3 weeks.

Week 10 Summary

868 TSS on 9.25 hr of training.

Finished reading "RUN: The Mind-Body Method of Running by Feel" by Matt Fitzgerald, which, at its core, is about developing mindfulness in your running practice. Also watched an older video from "the Science of Triathlon" about focus and refocus practice, esp. on bike -- start at feet, release tension, check arms, release tension, check neck, release tension, check head, release tension. Repeat.