A Track Workout & a Hard Ride

Because my first week of 70.3 training wasn't up to my standards I've been putting in extra effort to ensure that this week is much better. Since I am not working with a coach this year I have to be the one to take the time and plan out my workouts each week. I have a shell of a plan that consists of mostly long bike rides and runs and when I will have cutback weeks. But I think adapting each week to how you feel and how your training has been going is really important. I sat down over the weekend and scheduled all my workouts as well as all my meals so I know I'm getting enough fuel to keep me going strong. Between the dietary changes and getting more sleep I already feel so much better.

Tuesday night I went to the track for the third time this year. Both my run speed and endurance are lacking so I'm on a mission to get them back. Since my next triathlon is a sprint I am focusing more on speed now and will spend the later part of the summer working on endurance. One of my problems with the track and doing hard workouts is that I can't seem to get my legs to turn over faster. Once I get going the speed is pretty much there; it just takes awhile to get going.

My workout Tuesday was
15 min warmup
2x [1 min on, 1 min off, 2 min on, 2 min off, 3 min on, 3 min off]
6x [100m sprint, 100m recovery]
10 min warm down

This is a favorite workout of mine that Mike had me do a lot last summer. I like that it can be done anywhere, regardless of terrain or elevation. I have done this workout at the beach in Chincoteague, in the Florida Keys, on the trails near school and at the track. It's also a fun little ladder that makes the workout fly by. I added the 100m sprints at the end to try to encourage my legs to start moving faster.

7:19, 7:30, 7:37
7:09, 7:32, 7:25

I was honestly surprised with how this workout went. It was definitely not the fastest I have done it but it was far from the slowest too. I felt strong and powerful and loved nearly every minute I was out there. I do need to work on embracing the pain a little more.

Then last night I went to my first group ride of the summer. I get nervous biking on certain roads around York by myself and end up doing the same routes over and over again. Going to these group rides shows me new routes and also lets me practice riding with other people. My bike skills are less than perfect so that's definitely something I need to work on.

This ride was hard. Like I was struggling to keep up with three middle aged women. Normally I get a little behind on the flats but catch back up on the hills. Nope. I actually held my own on the flats but was almost completely dropped on every climb. This was certainly a humbling ride but it was exactly what I needed. If I want that sub 2:40 Olympic or sub 6:00 half ironman I need to really work on my biking.

The best part about the ride was the women were so friendly and inviting. I knew my legs were tired from Tuesday's track workout but I was surprised just how tired they really were. I know if I keep coming back each week I'll eventually be able to keep up with them the entire ride.