Week 18

My first week of taper was a success. Mileage ended up staying about the same as the previous week, when I had cut back because of not feeling well. I can't believe another training cycle has almost come to end... guess I'd better start coming up with a plan for this little race I have coming up in 7 days!

Monday - swim

~1400m ~1h (includes breaks/instruction)

Spent a lot of time on breaststroke drills, which I didn't love but had to remind myself that everything will contribute to making me a stronger and more balanced overall swimmer.



Tuesday - run + bike

Early morning run with the girls. J had 8K of marathon pace and her Garmin was dead, so I was assigned as pacer. We chatted away and she was strong throughout - I had to reel her in a few times!

13.1KM (8.1mi) - 1:14:58 - 5:43/KM (9:12/mi)

After my dentist appointment I joined hubs on on my bike for a leisurely ride while he ran. It was nice to get out after not being on my bike in weeks!


hard to smile with a numb face

 6.2KM (3.9mi) - 30:31 - 12.2kph (7.6mph)



Wednesday - run + swim

Decided to sleep in and went for an easy run at lunch. Wasn't feeling the greatest after not being able to eat much after the dentist, but got it done.

10.0KM (6.2mi) - 56:38 - 5:39/KM (9:05/mi)

Masters swim was better Wednesday night with more freestyle. There are a couple of coaches and it's amazing how different their methods are. The variety is good!

1500m ~1h (includes breaks/instruction)
300 free w/u - 200 kick - 3x150 freestyle drills - 10x50 stroke-count drills (28 down to 19) - 50 scull c/d





Thursday - run

I had a 3:45 wake-up to get out the door by 4:30 for my last real workout of this cycle. I had 3 x 4000 to complete at MRP (marathon race pace) - the problem is, I don't really know what my marathon pace is! This has been such a strange cycle and I feel a little "off" not having a concrete goal or any real expectations.

I struggled through most of the run and wasn't really feeling it but managed to gut it out, though I did not come any closer to determining a race plan or goal for next weekend. Oy.

16.1KM (10.0mi) - 1:26:41 - 5:22/KM (8:38/mi)
5:05 - 5:09 - 5:06 - 5:10
5:08 - 5:11 - 5:00 - 5:06
5:08 - 5:10 - 5:05 - 5:02
average MRP: 5:06/KM

Friday - run + swim

Another lunch run for my recovery day. Legs were tired and I felt slow, but took my time and enjoyed the sunny break from my desk.

8.0KM (5.0mi) - 46:32 - 5:49/KM (9:21/mi)

I wanted to put in a longer continuous swim and lucked out with a lane to myself, so I just did my own thing. Longest swim to-date!

2500m  ~1h
5 x 500 free-pull-free-pull-free



Saturday - run

This was my last "long" run and I planned to incorporate some MRP (whatever that is) for the middle miles. After Thursday's run, I decided I would worry less about pace and just run what I thought MRP should feel like. What a difference from Thursday! This pace felt pretty comfortable and I had to reel myself in.

21.0KM (13.0mi) - 1:51:45 - 5:19/KM (8:33/mi)
MRP portion - 5:03, 5:03, 5:01, 5:01, 5:02, 5:02, 4:59
average MRP - 5:02/KM



Sunday - run + bike

Just a short morning recovery run to wrap up my week, thinking about all of my peeps who would have been getting ready to line up at the start in Chicago!

5.0KM (3.1mi) - 28:37 - 5:42/KM (9:10/mi)

Hubs and I decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weather and went out for a nice bike ride to take in the fall colors. My legs were pretty tired and I felt like I was crawling up the hills, but we had fun and it was really nice to put in some distance on the bike.

30.0KM (18.6mi) - 1:06:27 - 27.1kph (16.8mph)



Totals:

Run - 73.2 KM - 6:45:11 - 5:32/KM (8:54/mi)
Bike - 36.2KM (22.5mi) - 1:36:58 - 22.4kph (13.9mph)
Swim - 5400m - ~3:00:00

Total Time: 11:22:09

One week to go!!!