4 swim sessions this week. Whew, was getting a little tired of the pool. I was feeling very little motivation to go through the full drill set that my instructor had laid out for me. (Catch-Up Drill shown here is NOT one of my favorites!)
Not that I don’t trust the value of drills – I do! Yet, when I get in the pool and I’m cold and I’m not really wanting to swim, the drills without much arm movement stress me out breathing-wise (more than regular swimming does). This stress makes me just want to jump in and start swimming. So…sometimes I did!! (Sorry Kirsten!) And, I got myself re-committed to drills by the end of the week and, after a lesson with my swim instructor, I’ve got a new plan going forward, ensuring I’ve got a plan for warm up/cool down and goals/focus for the main set of the workout.
Let’s look at the full week!
Sunday – Worked out with my daughter. We did a 20-minute run outside. This was supposed to have strides every 5 minutes, but it didn’t. It was an easy run with McKenzie. Shortly after we started out she said to me, “I like running with you Mom.” So…forget those strides, this is much better!! Then we went to the gym and jumped in the pool for a 30-minute swim. Now, no loss of intensity here even though I was with my daughter. She jumps in her own lane and I just go back and forth. And…surprise! From time to time a precious, pretty, goggled face would show up in front of my and dive down to swim underneath me. It was good to practice calm, smooth breathing while she did this! (She’s not worried about being “swam over,” like her mom is…) = 50 minutes
Monday – 30-minute swim session. This is one where I pretty much swam 50, kicked 50, swam 50, kicked 50. Did challenge my strength building or breathing endurance like I should have. Just logged the time. = 30 minutes
Tuesday – Another opportunity to check out Vision Quest. They had me out in the morning to do an FTP assessment. I was a little nervous about going “all out” for 20 minutes. I don’t know my bike pacing well enough to know what that feels like. I did pretty well. I didn’t go too hard at the beginning and was able to “up” my FTP by 7 numbers in the last minutes. So, lesson learned, I could’ve gone a little harder in the first half. Yet, I’m pretty pleased by this effort. My FTP was 148. = 60 minutes
Wednesday – Did a Circuit class at the gym in the morning. First time I ever did that class. Liked it. It would be a good regular addition to triathlon training. Did a 45-minute bike ride at home on the trainer in the afternoon. = 105 minutes
Thursday – Ran 60 minutes outside. Really enjoyed this run. Then returned to the gym, did a tiny bit of work, and then jumped in the pool for 30 minutes. Did a little better with drills and intensity this time. 50= breathed on one side down, on other side back. 50= 3,8,3 side kick. 50= 3,8,3 side kick with fin arms. 50= catch ups. 50= kick. 50= swim bilateral. 50= kick. 50= swim bilateral, 3 down, 5 back. 50= kick. 100= bilateral down, one side back, bilateral down, other side back. = 90 minutes
Friday – Swim lesson, I arrived 25 minutes to get in some work beforehand, In total did about 40 minute of work. I was assigned 2 new drills: swim with fists; kick with fins and with my head out of the water put my arms out and cup my hands and figure 8 them to propel forward. Going to start working on getting my arms to create more propulsion! I also am to include my drills in my warm ups and cool downs. And, I am to have goals for the main part of each swim workout. I like this. This will mix it up more for me, and still ensure I get in drills. = 40 minutes
Saturday – Did 90 minutes on the bike at home. (Multi-tasking central). Followed up by 15 minutes on our treadmill. = 105 minutes
TOTAL = 8 hours
- Swim = 130 minutes
- Bike = 195 minutes
- Run = 95 minutes
- Strength = 60 minutes
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