Monday, March 24, 2014

IM Boise 70.3 Week 9 - Training Recap





If I titled these weekly training recaps, Week 9 would be...."Let the 2014 Race Season Injuries Commence!".

Just about half way through training for Boise and I feel like I am nowhere neared prepared. Perhaps it has something to do with my nagging hip issue (more on that) or maybe it's just the fact that I have get to get my bike outside and on some real terrain. Not sure but whatever the reason, I don't like it. Let's first get through my recap so we can discuss specifics.

Monday:  Planned - 90 min bike
              Actual - 90 min bike (trainer)

Nothing too exciting, just got the thing done - trainer and all.

Tuesday: Planned - 3400m swim + 11 mile run
              Actual - 2900m swim + 0 run (rest/recover)

The swim was just fine - though it was very, very, very hard for me to get up that morning. I ended up getting in the pool a little later and only got in 2900m. I'm ok with that - just a win that I even got my bum out of bed that morning. Now about that run -  HA! 11 miles?!!! After I just completed my 15k race on Sunday? Um yeah..no way that was going to happen - took a rest day from the run and replaced it with A LOT of stretching

Wednesday: Planned - 90 min bike
                  Actual - 90 min bike (trainer)

Done and done! Hip feels ok on the bike so no issues there.

Oh, and let's not forget my new Garmin Forerunner 910XT that made its way into my grubby little hands this day - Wohoo! It arrived at work around lunch time and I pretty much spent the rest of my day drooling over the darn thing. :) Can't wait to share detailed results during next week's recap.

Thursday: Planned - 3000m swim + 6 mile run
               Actual - 0 swim + 2.5 run

Slept through my alarm and missed my morning swim - I swear, not sure when I 'll ever get used to this waking up at 4:30am thing. This girl is not a morning person - and unfortunately it shows in my training sometimes. As far as the run was concerned, I made it a whole 2.5 miles. Hooked my new heart rate monitor up, synced it with my watch as was ready to start getting some real numbers for once. 1 miles in and "OUCH!" - nagging hip pain. 2 miles in and "HOLY crap no more!!". I managed to  pull out another .5 mile but couldn't go any further. Since Sunday's race I had been dealing with some upper right hip pain and knew this night's run was going to be a challenge. Unfortunately I didn't expect to hurt as bad as I did. As usual, the Shamrock Run tried to kill me again this year. After last year's 8k I ended up with a peroneal tear on my left foot that put me in physical therapy for about 3 weeks. This year? Not being prepped for those 6 miles of hills caused some sort of upper right hip pain. Uggh - not.again.

Friday: Planned - 3 hour bike
           Actual - 3 hour bike

Longest ride this year and I am proud to say I got it done! P was a sweetheart and went to The Kid's swim practice so that I could get going earlier than norm, otherwise I end up starting my pm workouts around 7:30/8pm (M, W & F).Turns out it took me a bit longer to get all the bike gadgets connected for my Forerunner and I wasn't able to get started until 7 anyway. Oh well - 3 hours on the trainer and a massive headache afterwards. - Chalk it up to not enough fuel before/during and then trying to chug down a protein shake immediately after. Mental note for next time.

Saturday: Planned - 2:50 Brick (2 hour bike + 50 min run)
              Actual - 2 hour bike (trainer) + 60 min massage therapy

Ahhhhh...massage........nope! Massage yes but "relaxing", no. Since my hip was still buggin' and the idea of seeing PT was ever looming, I decided to go the route of getting a massage to see if it was just a tight ITB that could get worked out. After Friday's bike I spent at least 45 minutes on the ground pressing/working my hip via foam roller and pressure points. It seemed to help a great deal so I was excited to get in and have a professional work on this hot mess. I can confirm that we found a great deal of knotted up, tightly wound muscles that needed to be released. Over all it was so very much needed and certainly helped but I'm not sure it resolved the issue. Regardless, I made myself a promise to get for an appointment at least once a month while in training.

Sunday: Planned - 4000m swim
            Actual - 4000m swim - BOO-to-the-freakin'-YAH!!!

4000 meters/2.48 miles - longest pool workout in years! Love the sets that my online coach laid out for me too. Definitely helped to break up the monotony and keep my brain busy. If you're looking for a great way to get in your laps/miles while working on some decent speed work,  I would highly suggest this set:

Warm Up
600 swim
400 kick
12x50 on :50 (with paddles and buoy)

Main Set - Repeat 3x
100 on 1:40
2x50 on 1:00 each
100 on 1:50
2x50 on :55 each
100 on 2:00
2x50 on :50 each
100 at 2:30

Cool Down
300 swim


TOTALS:
Swim: 6900 meters
Bike: 11 hours
Run: 2.5 miles


So, overall not the best week consistency wise but I really didn't want to push it with my runs - especially if this does turn out to be something worse. I had a little bout with negative self talk on Sunday morning too - worried about not getting in the miles laid out in my training plan and having yet to get outside for a real bike ride, but after my giant swim session and some very encouraging words from friends, I was able to drown those thoughts of doubt and pick myself up again. Boise is still whole 10 weeks away - ain't nobody got time for that!



One more week of rest on my runs and we'll see how Saturday's planned 3 hour brick work turns out. (2 hour bike + 3 hour run) Hoping the rest/stretch/ice combo will correct the issue but if not I'll get into PT ASAP.


Have you ever gone a full season without injury?
What are some of your secrets for staying pain free?




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