Week four had me back on track, but feeling oh so tired. While I managed to hit every workout as scheduled, the combination of them all was the one thing that I wasn’t able to practice and by Saturday’s 10km Tribe run was giving me the reality checked of missed work. Each piece on it’s own was totally doable, but the work on tired legs (plus the heat) gave me a wake up call to what I had missed – and the need to get on track with fueling and hydrating and really just planning ahead.
Here’s how week four went down…
Monday: With the long weekend coming to an end my sister and I took full advantage of the beach and sun and did our own strength training workout at the cottage. It was interval based (45 seconds of work followed by 15 seconds recovery) and consisted of 4 moves for lower body, 4 for upper body, and four for the core, which we did twice. It was a lot of fun to workout together in the sun and sand.
Tuesday: A little change up and my plan was a 1.5km swim and 6km run. The ankle wasn’t to bad during the swim. I did all of it without the buoy, although it was still sore. I followed it up with a bricked run. The pace was pushed, but with my brace everything felt fine. Ice and rolling was a must. I’ve also been doing stretches for the soles of my feet – very painful (especially for my sprained ankle).
Wednesday: After yesterdays success I was very excited to be out with Tribe. We had a great turn out and did a 5km out and back along the water front. There are always s many paces, so it’s very easy to get the workout you need. Which for my second run back was taking it easy.
Thursday: Up and early at 6am on my day off to get in a swim/cycle brick. This was an important combination as I had been yet to ride outside and as motivation had previously signed up for a 52km charity ride on Sunday. We managed a 2km swim which had the ankle feeling almost perfect and quickly transitions to a 45min ride on the bike. A simple out and back along the waterfront. About 10 minutes in it started to rain – I’m always so nervous of sliding out while riding in the rain that our pace slowed, but the ankle felt fine (still wrapped) and we made the best of it. It also felt pretty awesome to have the workout done by 8:30am.
In the afternoon I had a visit with a chiropractor I have started to see again. She did a little work noting inflammation in my neck and spine – not unusual for me as my neck is often sore from swimming, biking, and occasionally sleeping weird. I also had an xray done after what seems to be chronic hamstring and lower back pain – similar to what I had done in 2012 – so will be interesting to see the results – nothing I am worried about at all. I suspect added strength training will become part of my care plan as a result.
Friday: A busy day for Tribe business. Exciting things that you will hear about soon enough and I can’t wait to share. Because I didn’t have much day time to train and with my evening class, I switched my schedule again and did my ride indoors at Barreworks. I always say the hardest part of training is committing to it and fitting it in with your life. Sometimes that means your workouts aren’t ideal – but getting them in is what’s important.
Saturday: Today was the real test for my ankle. A morning 10km with Tribe (which actually became 8.5km because I didn’t want to push my ankle, and it was just sooo hot), then an evening in heels for my cousins wedding made the day a potential for disaster. The run was great although my legs were just fried after getting in all of the weeks workouts. This was certainly the one thing I hadn’t considered. I know individually I had no problem jumping back into my plan – but the culmination of this weeks work was paying it’s toll, however being out with the crew I had missed felt so good. The wedding was a blast and the shoes I wore were great – no ankle pain day or night.
Sunday: A 6am after the wedding was certainly the hardest part of the ride. Previously training for my 70.3 in 2014 we did the Brian Smith Charity Ride as a great opportunity to get out on the bike in a controlled and supported environment, and this year it was just as great. The sun was hot but we were prepared with hydration and fuel. the route is flat, although many potholes make it jarring on the arms. Nanc and I kept a sold 28kmph pace on the way out, and on the way back pushed ourselves leading and dropping the group as we rode up between 31-33 kmph. That felt great and just getting the workout in felt awesome too.
It feels so great to be running with Tribe again and to be moving my body and having lots of fun. Foam rolling and stretching my feet have become a huge part of main nightly routine. These little things I might have overlooked before, I’m trying to make them a part of my every day in order to be proactive along this road. So looking forward to this coming week!
Missed a week of my training?
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