IM Canada: Week 18 – Chen’s version (i.e., business as usual)

Posted by Chen

I don’t have anything particularly noteworthy to say about this week, except that after weeks of travel and other random life hurdles, I finally got through an entire 7-day span without taking an unplanned rest day. Thank the good lord. Hoping the next 6 weeks go just as smoothly.

And with that, onto my weekly recap!

IM Canada Week 18 Recap:

Monday: 

• PM: Easy recovery trainer ride: 15 miles 1:04:58 (13.9mph). I was so tired after work that I ended up falling asleep and didn’t wake up until 9:30pm when Brandon got home from a dinner. Not wanting to start the week off with a rest day, I forced myself to get on the trainer at 10pm for an easy recovery ride. Crazytown, USA.

Tuesday: 

• PM: Running Bay Trail tempo ladder: 9.2 miles (~7:46 pace): Goal: warm-up mile, 8:00, 7:45, 7:30, 7:15, 7:30, 7:45, 8:00, cool-down mile; Actual: 8:21, 8:03, 7:44, 7:32, 7:07, 7:27, 7:35, 7:54, 8:05, 8:13 (0.2). During work that day, Rachel told me that this was her plan for her evening run, and I decided to copy her. In case you’ve been following and have been wondering, you’re correct – I have no original training ideas and only know how to imitate others
• Immediately followed by swimming 2200 yards, including 10x100 on 2:00: 1:43, 1:44, 1:43, 1:44, 1:45, 1:44, 1:44, 1:45, 1:44, 1:44 (overall average pace of 1:48/100yd)

Wednesday: 

• PM: Stationary ride moderate effort: 30.3 miles 1:37:59 (18.6mph). I’ve recently taken to watching Hulu on my iPhone at the gym to catch up on shows, which usually results in me staying on the bike longer than I otherwise would. Winning all around.

Thursday: 

• PM: Running Bay Trail easy: 6.5 miles (no Garmin) – this was my first watch-less run in a couple months, and it was pretty nice to not worry about pace and just… run
• Immediately followed by swimming 3000 yards – swim/pull ladder (average pace of 1:49/100yd)

Friday: 

• PM: Swimming 3250 yards, including random swim and pull intervals (average pace of 1:47/100yd). Paige and I went to the Koret Center at USF, which has an amazing pool, but unless you’re a student/member, it’s a $20 drop-in fee, so we don’t go often. But look how pretty!

Massive, gorgeous pool

Saturday: 

• PM: Biking East Bay hills with Rachel and Travers: 63.5 miles, ~5600ft of climbing, 13.8mph. Then I ate a lot of delicious food.

Cucumber salad, gyoza, and seafood/vegetable udon noodle soup. I.e., all of the noms

Sunday:

• AM: 20-mile long run along the SF Embarcadero: 2:57:30 (~8:53 average pace): My legs felt pretty heavy after the previous day’s ride, but I ran 8 of these miles with my old coworkers, who luckily like to take their time and chat, so overall, I felt pretty decent on this run
• PM: Biking in Healdsburg: 19.4 miles 1:08:08 (17.1 mph): Paige had to pick up his Kokomo wine shipment, so we headed up north to Healdsburg and did a quick ride before picking up and tasting. After the weekend’s adventures, my legs were a little bit angry at me at first, but they eventually loosened up and cooperated. We also tasted across the way at Papapietro Perry, and I somehow became a member today. Funny how that happened.

Wine tasting on a sunny afternoon is kind of the best