23 weeks away

It's that time again. Time to cross another week off the schedule as my A-priority race draws nearer. When I was crossing off weeks preceding the prep phase and then the ones in the prep block, I was feeling good that another week was done and I was that much closer to actually doing this thing.

Now I make sure each and every workout is done exactly as it was designed and I don’t miss a single one, because I only have 23 weeks left! I knew the weeks would fly by, and they are doing that, but I feel so rushed—I get up, work out, prep for work, work all day, drive home and go to bed. Lately I’ve been eating a little something before I hit the sack, but other than that, my day is pretty packed. A part of me is wondering how long this will go on before I need some kind of release; something completely different in me is feeling like I won’t have time to feel like that because in the blink of an eye it’s mid-July and I’m putting together the logistics of my trip to Colorado. Ahhhhhh!!!

Deep breath.

Last week wasn’t anything to brag about, but I did accomplish a major milestone in training—I established a baseline LT for the bike and run and logged an initial 1000-meter timed effort in the pool. I don’t expect the LT numbers to be static through training, especially on the bike, and I do expect the swim time to come down every time I reassess that effort. At least now I won’t have to guess so much where zone two is when I’m training. I now have heart rate ranges to target, and that boosts my confidence working out.

Yesterday I wasn’t able to keep my heart rate in zone two on the bike. I had a two-hour session scheduled on the trainer in the basement, but after a half hour of painful boredom, I decided I’d wait until the temperature outside warmed up and I’d finish up on the roads. I got all bundled up and rode just over 90 minutes outside, and it felt amazing! After a winter pent up indoors and lots of time on the trainer in the basement, it felt refreshing, motivating and liberating to get out and ride on roads. It was cold, sure, but it still felt fantastic.

Base one starts this week. Hours and hours of low intensity work await. Let’s make some progress.