Training Week in Review

As the previous post pointed out, I did not have a great swim last Monday. I decided to get back into the pool a couple times a week and to incorporate some resistance training that targeted muscles specific to swimming.  Probably not a good idea to work out your upper body and then swim afterwards. It was slow and tiring, but I got a good workout in. On Friday I showed up for our endurance swim. Turnout was low and 4 of us got one on one time with our coach. He viewed my form and technique and was able to correct it. It took me about 100 meters to get comfortable with the change, but I could immediately feel the difference. By the end of the swim, I had muscles tired that I had never worked out before (may have been a combination of the upper body workout 2 days before since I was still a bit sore). I could tell that I was swimming more efficiently and slightly faster. It hard to explain, but my reach was too long. My arms were going into the water too far in front. I needed to shorten my reach and then use my delts & lats to pull my arm through the water. It feels awkward at first. It also helped with my hip rotation and allowed me to breath easier on my left side.

I ran a pretty good pace on Saturday. I didn't concentrate on pace, just HR and rate of perceived exertion (RPE).  I was happy to see my pace just under 8:25 /mile over 12 miles. Sunday's ride started out really well, but the second loop really messed with me mentally. I started feeling sluggish and I was uncomfortable. First of all, I rode in my Pearl Izumi bike shorts. They are more padded than my tri shorts, but they were uncomfortable in the aero position. I also had a bit of pain behind my right knee. It's probably a result of raising my saddle 2 weeks ago. Although I didn't have a problem when I rode right after I made the adjustment. I also rode the 2nd loop by myself. 32 miles by yourself when you've already ridden 32, can be difficult. I had no one to pace off of, in front or behind. I also didn't want to blow up. I knew I could do the distance, so I just slowed my pace down a bit and pushed through. My average speed dropped, but I'm okay with that. Sunday was just a day to do the distance and not so much about speed. I needed to save my legs for Monday morning's Peachtree Road Race.

Date	Day	Activity
06/27/11	Monday	Swim - 2600 Meters
06/28/11	Tuesday	Run - 7 Miles
06/29/11	Wednesday	Resistance Training Swim - 1800 Meters
06/30/11	Thursday	Run - 7 Miles
07/01/11	Friday	Swim - 2200 Meters
07/02/11	Saturday	Run - 12 Miles
07/03/11	Sunday	Bike - 63 Miles