Road to Ironman Lake Placid Week 5

This week was all about getting back into the swing of training after being sick. I was only dealing with a head cold but the sneeze attacks continues well into this week. Luckily, I was able to get in most of my training with little side effects. Here's how the week played out:

Monday. I started the week off with 3000 yards of mostly pulling. After being out of the pool for a few days I needed to regain my feel for the water. Nothing exciting but a good first workout post sickness.

Tuesday. 60 minute Gung Ho spin class.

Wednesday. 3,300 yards filled with 36 x 50 @ :45. This was the kind of workout where every single repeat fatigues you little by little until you finish the workout sufficiently trashed. This workout was also a big wakeup call that I need to start pushing myself a lot harder in the pool.

Thursday. Strength + 60 minute Gung Ho spin class.

Friday. This was my first run in more than a week. I waited the longest to run after being sick because of how cold it has been here and I didn't want to risk getting sick again. I ran for thirty minutes grinning ear to ear the entire time.

Saturday we got the biggest snowstorm of the year. I think we ended up with around five inches of snow. I debated all day whether to try to run in it or not but the 20+ mph winds were enough to make me retreat to the trainer. 70 minutes of intervals as one song hard, one song recovery.

Sunday. This run was even better than Friday's run. After almost two months of rough runs I finally had a really solid run that was completely pain free. I took advantage of the warmer weather and ran 45 hilly, happy minutes. A perfect way to end the week.

Road to Ironman Lake Placid Week 4

The universe is funny sometimes. Week 3 was a really solid week that I was happy with. It wasn't perfect but it was a building block upon which I can develop into a stronger and faster athlete. Not only was it physically a good week but mentally I felt ready to do the work and challenge myself. Just when I'm starting to feel in the swing of things I wake up sick. Nothing too bad, yet it still resulted in three unplanned rest days. The good news is that I am finally feeling better and training is coming along swimmingly. Pun intended.

Monday was a really good day for training. I swam 2800 yards and loved it. I also spent some quality time in the gym getting my ass handed to me by the introduction of circuits to my strength routine. Ouch.

Tuesday we finally saw the sun. Normally, I don't mind winter. Actually I am usually one of those people who loves winter. This year it seems like we haven't gotten any snow storms but rather about an inch of snow, rain and ice 1-2 times a week. Needless to say, it has been cloudy more days than not this year and I was starting to forget how nice the sun feels. I ran an easy 4 miles in 35 degree temps and could have sworn it was 65 with the sun out. Seriously, when is spring?

I rounded out the day with 65 minutes of intervals on the trainer at the Gung Ho spin class. I can't even begin to say how helpful these classes have been.

Wednesday was a planned swim but when it was just as sunny as Tuesday I swapped for a run instead. Thirty minutes later and I felt like a whole new person. Cheesy as it may sound, the sun has a real effect on my mood.

Thursday marked the first full day of being sick. I wasn't sure how I would feel over the weekend and couldn't really turn down riding on the trainer with 20+ other people in favor of riding by myself. Class was Valentine's inspired and hands down the most fun I've had while riding the trainer.

Friday, Saturday, Sunday. I really debated taking the weekend off as all I was sick with was a head cold. I know the rule that you can train easy as long as it isn't in your chest. I made the decision to rest because of a) how tired I was, b) I have trained through colds before and they seemed to take longer to clear up, and c) it is still really early in the season and it is much easier to take a few days off now to recover quicker than it is in June.

Swim Set of the Week: Feb. 16-22

This week's swim set of the week builds upon one from a few weeks ago. I like workouts like this because they give me a chance to measure progress while also building strength and endurance. I did this workout yesterday and loved it. It was hard but doable. By the end I was certainly tired and thanking the swim gods I didn't have to complete any more rounds.

Because it's cold and I miss this pool

Warm-Up
200 swim, 200 kick, 200 drill, 200 pull
This is continuous and all easy. 

Pre-Main Set
150 @ 2:30
100 @ 1:40
50 @ :50
50 kick, 100 drill, 50 kick
This set isn't intended to be hard or easy. I think of this as a medium type of set, intending to bring your heart rate up a little and get you ready to work.

Main Set
4 rounds of
1 x 50 @ 1:00
8 x 50 @ :45
Essentially you are doing 36 50's. The first 50 of each round is your recovery and chance to rest. I swam the harder 50's in :36 seconds each, giving me around 10 seconds rest. Choose an interval that you can maintain for all four rounds and gives you 10 seconds rest. These should be at a good clip but not all out.

Cool Down
200 easy

Total yards: 3,300

Happy swimming!

Swim Set of the Week: Feb. 9-15

Follow my blog with Bloglovin Another week, another swim set. I did this on Monday with absolutely no expectations. My swimming has been so up and down this year and thankfully this was one of the good ones. My goal moving forward is to get out of my comfort zone. My crutch in the pool is my pull buoy so I'm trying to get away from using it so much. The only way to make progress is to really push myself and stop acting so scared. At this point in the season I am measuring my swims based on how I feel rather than my times but fortunately I swam fast and felt strong and in control. Double win for Shannon!

So here's the workout. As always, modify intervals accordingly.

Warm Up
200 swim, 200 kick, 200 drill, 200 pull

Pre-Main Set
6 x 50 pull @ :50

Main Set
8 x 150 @ 2:30
Swum as 25 easy, 50 hard, 25 easy, 50 hard
I averaged 1:50-1:54 on these

Post-Main Set
6 x 50 easy @ :50

Cool Down
200 easy, mix of swim and kick

Happy swimming!

Road to Ironman Lake Placid Week 3

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I'm going to call week three a big success, mostly because I finally got my butt to the pool and put my swimming demons to sleep. Well maybe not to sleep completely, but hopefully for a little while. So swimming went well this week. Unfortunately running did not, in the sense that I only ran once. That one run actually went pretty well but running once a week is not enough to train for an ironman. The reason for only running once, though, was that it was nice enough to bike outside. I will trade running for biking outside in February any day of the week!

So here's how the week played out:

Monday was day 1 of my attempt to get back into swim shape. This swim featured lots of mid-distance pull intervals to make up 3200 yards. Overall it wasn't too exciting but to be honest it takes a lot for me to find a swim workout exciting. I closed out the day with a quick functional strength session.

Tuesday marked a mini-breakthrough in the pool for me. This swim was the inspiration for my new weekly series "Swim Set of the Week." The thought of 30 x 50 sounded anything but fun but quite frankly I loved this swim from start to finish. I haven't had one of those swims where you push yourself the entire time, where you're pushing yourself so much you can't comprehend how hard you are working because there isn't enough time before the next interval. This is the type of swim I have craving and man it felt so good.

Tuesday evening was 60 minutes of intervals at the Gung Ho weekly trainer ride.

Wednesday was the one and only swim I did this week but it was a solid run with a lot of work. While these weekly hill interval runs are about building strength while maintaining good running form, it was really nice to see considerably progress over the last time I did this workout. Three cheers for getting faster. Also, it's amazing how tired your legs can get over a four mile run.

Thursday was swim #3 for the week. With 2800 yards, my weekly total was brought up to 9100. A number I haven't seen in quite some time. This wasn't such a great swim but it wasn't as bad as some of my other swims have been this year so I'm calling it a win.

And of course, my evening was spent at the Gung Ho weekly trainer ride.

Friday. After four days of quality workouts my body and my mind were craving some R&R. A gentle yoga class couldn't have been more perfect as it also gave me a chance to stretch out my incredibly tight hips. Seriously, I could barely get into pigeon.

Saturday was day one of two that I was able to ride outside. It was around 40 degrees and while that isn't warm by any means, it was warm enough to tolerate heading outside. I only rode around 12 miles Saturday because my toes went numb during the ride. This was my first time riding in colder weather so I wasn't entirely too sure how many layers I needed. The answer turned out to be two. Two of everything.

Sunday was supposed to in the 50's but instead the temperature barely cracked 40. I was determined to get in more miles than Saturday so I did my best to bundle up. And my toes still went numb. You can't win them all. I made it a little over twenty miles before heading back to my warm car.

Although riding outside wasn't as enjoyable as I had hoped, it was still nice to spend some time on two wheels that weren't on a trainer. What made both of these rides so rewarding was seeing all of the work I have been doing every week manifest itself. It is so easy to lose sight of the big picture sometimes.

In non-training news, this was my first week coaching Girls On the Run. I was a bundle of nerves the first day, never really spending much time with children before. Fortunately all of my girls are super sweet and really excited to be in the program.

The other exciting thing that happened last week was that I have officially been accepted into grad school. I'm beyond thrilled, proud, honored to say that I will be attending Temple University in the fall to pursue a Master's in Kinesiology. This more than makes up for all of the stress I went through last semester. Now I just need to find somewhere in Philadelphia to live.

Swim Set of the Week: February 2-8

One of the questions I am asked the most from fellow triathletes is about how I train for the swim leg. As a former competitive swimmer I have years of experience, 12 to be exact, in the pool. Because of this experience I know the value of drills and working on technique, as well as getting variety through doing the other three strokes. I thought it would be a fun idea to share a new swim workout each week. I would love for you to comment with your own favorite sets that maybe I'll share with everyone. I also want to put together a Q&A post so hit me with whatever swim questions you may have!

For the first week I am choosing a set that I did earlier this week and really enjoyed. At the beginning of each season I like to spend a lot of time pulling to get my stroke back to where it should be. Once my technique is back on track then I really start putting in the work. You will also notice I do the same warm up each time and finish every swim with a short cool down. Just like you wouldn't start a hard run without warming up first, you shouldn't start intervals in the pool without doing a warm up. Even when I am doing an easy swim, I always do a warm up.

Warm up
200 swim, 200 kick, 200 drill, 200 pull

Pre-main set
150 @ 2:30
100 @ 1:40
50 @ :50
Continuous [50 kick, 100 drill, 50 kick]

Main set
20 x 50 pull @ :50
10 x 50 swim @ :45

Cool down
Easy 200, your choice of stroke (I like to do a mix of freestyle, backstroke and some kicking).

I included the intervals I did this set on but modify to your own speed. I typically do sets on a 1:40 base per 100 unless I am going harder. For the 50s pick an interval that will give you about 10 seconds between each 50.

Total yards- 3,000

Happy swimming!

Road to Ironman Lake Placid Week 2

This week was pretty light before ramping things up next week. I tried to catch up on sleep and rest while also getting in the work that needed to be done. The good news is that despite two rest days I nailed all of my key workouts this week. The bad news is that there were two unplanned rest days. Womp, womp. You can't win them all, right?

Monday- rest day.

Tuesday started with an easy, albeit hilly 3 mile run. The upside to living in a hilly neighborhood is all the hill work but the downside is easy and recovery runs don't exist. Tuesday evening was another round of Gung Ho trainer spin class. Dare I say I'm starting to like riding on the trainer?

Wednesday was one run workout for the week: hill repeats. Big surprise. The prescribed workout was 10 x 1 minute hill sprints with 3 minutes recovery after each interval. The focus of these workouts is running strong and maintaining form while running uphill. I felt much better than last week so I think it's working. I rounded out the day with some at-home strength focusing on glute activation.

Thursday was unfortunately my only swim this week. I have been seriously lacking motivation when it comes to swimming. It's only fueled by how out of shape I feel in the water. Today's 2700 yards wasn't any better. Oof.

Friday- I finally got a speed sensor for my tri bike so put the new setup to the test with an hour of commercial break intervals. The gist- ride easy during the show, ride hard during commercials. I surprised myself by actually enjoying this workout. Maybe there's hope for me after all.

Saturday- More strength, more glute activation.

Sunday- rest day. I may have skipped my planned run in favor of getting a donut. Oops.

What happened to #Juno?

On the non-training front, this week was pretty uneventful. My mom and I are starting to work on putting together the 5K we are hosting again this June so most of the week was filled with meetings and brainstorming. The good news is that we made a lot of progress and are feeling really good about this year's race.

Super Bowl Sunday was also super low-key. In the past my sister and her boyfriend have come over but this year it was just my mom and I, neither of whom know much about football. While we may not have known what was going on the entire time, at least we had good snacks.