IM Canada: Basebuilding Week 4 – Chen’s version (i.e., Maybe I won’t drown after all? And HYRDRATION!)

Posted by Chen

This week was a little bit monumental for a couple of reasons:

1. As mentioned in my earlier post this week, I finally did some longer sets in the pool and convinced myself that I don’t actually NEED to stop every two laps. The day after that magical swim, I did another 500, this time using all flip turns! I legitimately thought that would never happen. And,
2. I FINALLY hydrated WHILE riding on the bike! I’ve always been overly cautious on the bike and really don’t like letting go of my handlebars unless I need to signal or point out debris (which I don’t always do because I’m so cautious – sorry people who are following me). But after riding the trainer several times this month and getting used to the location and feel of where my water bottle was, I found myself instinctively reaching for my water during my outdoor ride yesterday. At first, I realized what I was doing and quickly put my hand right back on my handlebar… but then I thought… well… maybe I can… yes… and… I have my water!  WHAT!

My training volume ended up being pretty high this week (close to 16 hours), resulting in a long run today that left me pretty spent by the end. At the same time, though, being able to get through this week helped convince me that I might just be able to survive this upcoming 24-week training cycle. Like Rachel, I intend to step back again this coming week before the real pain begins ☺.

Basebuilding Week 4 Recap:

Monday: 

• PM: 90-minute trainer ride with fast spin intervals

Tuesday: 

• AM: Swimming 3600 yards – first time crossing the 2-mile mark! Workout included 10x50 in 0:56, 0:54, 0:52, 0:52, 0:52, 0:52, 0:52, 0:52, 0:51, 0:50 and 5x100 in 1:54, 1:52, 1:52, 1:51, 1:51
• PM: Track: 4x800m and 4x400m in 3:12, 3:11, 3:09, 3:11, 1:33, 1:34, 1:34, 1:33. These were my fastest 800s in over a year, thanks to the Impalas being at the track. The Impalas are a super fast women’s running group, and while I tried to time my intervals so as to not interfere with theirs, they had so many groups that they would inevitably come up behind me, motivating me to run for my life :P.

Wednesday: 

• AM: Swimming 3000 yards including 3x500 – the magical swim!
• PM: 70 minute steady state trainer ride

Thursday: 

• AM: Swimming 2800 yards, including that continuous 500 with flip turns in 9:41 and 5x100 in 1:51, 1:47, 1:46, 1:45, 1:44
• PM: Running 6.4 miles easy (no time kept)

Friday: 

• AM: Swimming 2500 yards, including 5x100 in 1:45, 1:44, 1:44, 1:44, 1:43 and 5x50 in 0:48, 0:48, 0:48, 0:47, 0:47

Saturday: 

• AM: Biking 60 miles in the east bay with Rachel and Sandi, including 5400 feet of climbing. My Garmin actually read 5800+ feet of climbing, but whatever it was, it was an f-ing lot. The good news is that this felt considerably easier than our 50 miler 3 weeks earlier, which means my cycling training is helping. Fancy that.

Sunday: 

• 18.4-mile long run, including a 5.15 mile warm-up at ~9:00 pace, followed by the Kaiser Permanente Half Marathon: 13.25 miles in 1:49:24 (~8:15 pace)

It’s been fun to see my swimming times progress over the past few weeks, and while I know I won’t always be seeing these kinds of gains, it’s motivating for the time being. I can also see myself re-gaining strength on the bike, and while I’m sad that I only get to run 3 times per week, I find myself looking forward to every single run, rather than dreading any of them like I used to when I was running twice as much.

Looking forward to being lazy(ier) this week!