I update my coach every four weeks or so, mostly to keep myself honest about staying on track with work, effort, and plans.
Fitness: I got my CTL up to 120 by the end of Bad Ass Camp with what might be all time lows/highs for TSB (-72) and Ramp (+16). While recuperating and trying to regain some weight/water, the CTL drifted back down to 108, now back to 110, with the TSB heading back towards negative. By Sunday, after a 5.5 hour ride in the mountains, running every day, swimming x 3, I ought to be moving in the right direction, at the right pace, on my PMC.
Training: I had three weeks to fill before starting the 20-week IM plan for Arizona in Nov. So I looked around and landed on weeks 7/8/9 of the Get Faster plan as fitting my needs best. Swimming as per plan. Running more frequently with less distance/day, and no Z4/5 days. Biking, I’m doing one day Zwifting on an hour hilly race (e.g., today went 50′ @ 0.985), one day with a 2 hour ABP (per plan), and instead of a second day of FTP/VO2 work @ 2:30, a longer ride in the mountains, trying to get 4+ hours, with at least 2-2.5 hours of steady 0.82.3 work.
Season Plan: I’ve pretty much decided not to travel (out of state) to any races until September, just do local sprints and Olys. I did my first one Sunday. I started out in triathlon 20 years ago being a swimmer first, then biker, with no run experience. That evolved into run being my super power. After my bike crash in 2010, I lost my swimming edge, and now over the past 4 years with repeated injuries and the wear-and-tear in my right knee, I’ve lost the running edge. Thank goodness I bought a road bike a few years back, and started re-building my cycling strength. I probably biked faster on Sunday (22.2 mph/12 miles; 0.985 IF) than I did when I started out in 1999. Part of it is the new bike I bought last year, but part of it is the multiple 4-week Zwift-fests I did this winter, and the incessant bike camps and mountain rides I;ve been doing the past two years. While I did hang on in the run, finishing strong and passing folks, I did so at a snail’s pace – 8 min miles for 5K. It felt faster, and maybe it will get faster, but for now, I’m glad I’ve got the bike strength and speed.
Injury Report: I’m pain-free between and during workouts for one of the rare times in my life. “It’s always something.” is my normal mode. But I’ve gotten rid of the shoulder tweak which I carried for over a year; the left and right hamstring and hip issues which have been around since the summer of 2014; and the right knee agony which I self-inflicted in Jan and March of this year. This is, of course, a bad sign, as always in the past when I felt good, I took that as a sign to up the training, either volume, frequency, or intensity. I think I can handle a bit over plan with cycling, but not swimming, and certainly not running. My knee is still swollen and stiff, to remind me daily to continue taking baby steps. So here’s hoping when I check in next month, I can report steady progress, and being pain/injury free.
Race Report: It felt sooooo good to race. I was the oldest by 5 years; both of the young women next to me on the bike rack were first-timers. It was that kind of race, so I finished 36/175 OA, 1/4 in the AG. No one passed me on the bike, I was reeling people in right up to the end. Then on the run, two guys passed me out of transition, including a 60 y/o. He couldn’t run very well uphill, and apparently I could, so I nailed him after about a km or so. My first mile was 8:30, the last two were 7:5X. Quite depressing from a time prespective, but since I’d only run about 25 miles in the previous 3 weeks, I was OK with that. The main thing: I was able to motor up and down hills with good effort and NO PAIN. Bottom line, I’m feeling more and more positive about being able to handle an Ironman by November, as long as I don’t do anything stupid.