Summer, though... it's when I get to sleep in until 5:00, or 5:30, or even 6:00, and still get a great workout in! This schedule is perfect for triathlon training, as I'm able to get long bike rides or bricks finished before I have to be home by 7:45 to get my daughter up for swim team practice. Here are how my weeks have been shaping up:
Mondays: long walk (4 miles), which now has morphed into run/walk intervals
Tuesdays: was a sunrise yoga class... now is bike (or swim/bike brick this week)
Wednesdays: short walk, which now has morphed into run/walk intervals (this week with a short bike beforehand)
Thursdays: shorter swim/bike brick with Heather (and anyone else who joins us that week) at Alum (.75 mile swim/12 mile bike)
Fridays: was a rest day, now is run/walk intervals
Saturdays: longer swim/bike brick (more like 1.5 mile swim/30-40 mile bike)
Sundays: rest day
Obviously there is flexibility. This week, for example, Saturday is my rest day. That's because Sunday is a race. Yep, a triathlon. I'll get back to that in a bit, though.
The question my followers are probably asking is, HOW IS RUNNING? So I started on June 23 using the plan that I mentioned previously. I had already finished Phase 1, which involved being able to walk fast pain-free. I attempted Phase 2, the plyometric (jumping/hopping) phase on June 20 and was able to complete it, so after being released from Dr. Dick on June 22, I began Phase 3. This phase has five stages to it:
Stage 1: 5 min walk/1 min jog x 6 for 30 minutes
Stage 2: 4 min walk/2 min jog x 6 for 30 minutes
Stage 3: 3 min walk/3 min jog x 6 for 30 minutes
Stage 4: 2 min walk/4 min jog x 6 for 30 minutes
Stage 5: jog every other day with a goal of reaching 30 minutes (starting each run with a 5 min walk, gradually increasing the pace)
Over the past 2 weeks I have progressed through the first 4 stages. I did stage 1 twice, stage 2 once, stage 3 twice, and I've done stage 4 once so far. I will do it again on Friday. The program really doesn't say much about repeating stages. My friend Tamara said that she'd repeat each one as needed, based on how I felt. So if I had any discomfort at all either during the run itself or later on in the day (or even the next day), I would repeat the phase. By "discomfort", I am not talking about pain. Rather, just the feeling of muscles being used again, enough that I could feel "something". Dr. Dick said to expect this, so I am working on listening to my body, not freaking out over minor discomfort, and taking things nice and slow. I've found that if I keep my jog at around a 9:30-9:45 min/mile, I feel better than if I push it to 9:00-9:15 min/mile, so that is something else I've been working on.
I'm not sure how long stage 5 will take me. I plan on starting it next week, barring any unforeseen circumstances. I think I will throw in walking periodically, continuing to work on building my muscles back up again. Phase 4 is an actual running schedule (running every other day), with the first two weeks being 30-35 minute runs, moving up by week 12 to 45 minute runs. I love the very gradual progression of this plan. It's pointedly, almost painfully slow, and that's exactly what I think I need right now.
So... now you're all probably wondering exactly why I'm racing in a few days, if I'm taking this whole recovery thing so sloooowly. I actually transferred my bib for this race (Mingoman) a month ago, as I'd registered for it back in November during a sale. Then, a few days later, I learned that there was a sprint distance (not just the Olympic distance I'd registered for). A sprint tri finishes with a 5K run (3.1 miles). Last month, I knew that I could walk 3.1 miles; I was doing it a few times a week at that point. I was feeling great on the swim and bike. I spoke to my doctor and she had no problem with me signing up, under the condition that I would be either walking or walk/running the 5K at the end. Not a problem! So I had another friend's bib transferred to me and signed up for the sprint. A typical sprint is around a half-mile swim, around 12-14 miles bike, and a 5K run. This race is longer on the bike (22 miles), but the swim (0.45 miles) and run (5K) are normal. I don't mind the longer bike ride since I rode 47 miles last weekend, and I know I can handle 22!
I have zip, zero, zilch goals for this race. Yeah, right... I can't NOT have any goals. I should be able to do the swim in about 14 minutes. I should be able to do the bike in about 1 hour 20-25 minutes. I did a 5K walk/run at stage 4 today in 35 minutes. So, adding those times together gives me 2 hours 9-14 minutes, plus transitions. So.... C goal is to finish uninjured and happy. B goal is 2 hours 20 minutes. A goal is under 2 hours 15 minutes.
My friends are concerned that I will push the run... that I won't do my intervals. Oh they know me so well! Yes, I am competitive. Yes, it will be hard for me to watch people pass me on the run, which will definitely happen. But my goals are bigger than this triathlon. I am super excited to compete in it, and I will give it my best shot. But I won't be doing anything more than my 4 min jog/2 min walk intervals. Because that's where I am at right now, and it's a good place. A very, very good place.
Mondays: long walk (4 miles), which now has morphed into run/walk intervals
Tuesdays: was a sunrise yoga class... now is bike (or swim/bike brick this week)
Wednesdays: short walk, which now has morphed into run/walk intervals (this week with a short bike beforehand)
Thursdays: shorter swim/bike brick with Heather (and anyone else who joins us that week) at Alum (.75 mile swim/12 mile bike)
Fridays: was a rest day, now is run/walk intervals
Saturdays: longer swim/bike brick (more like 1.5 mile swim/30-40 mile bike)
Sundays: rest day
Obviously there is flexibility. This week, for example, Saturday is my rest day. That's because Sunday is a race. Yep, a triathlon. I'll get back to that in a bit, though.
The question my followers are probably asking is, HOW IS RUNNING? So I started on June 23 using the plan that I mentioned previously. I had already finished Phase 1, which involved being able to walk fast pain-free. I attempted Phase 2, the plyometric (jumping/hopping) phase on June 20 and was able to complete it, so after being released from Dr. Dick on June 22, I began Phase 3. This phase has five stages to it:
Stage 1: 5 min walk/1 min jog x 6 for 30 minutes
Stage 2: 4 min walk/2 min jog x 6 for 30 minutes
Stage 3: 3 min walk/3 min jog x 6 for 30 minutes
Stage 4: 2 min walk/4 min jog x 6 for 30 minutes
Stage 5: jog every other day with a goal of reaching 30 minutes (starting each run with a 5 min walk, gradually increasing the pace)
Over the past 2 weeks I have progressed through the first 4 stages. I did stage 1 twice, stage 2 once, stage 3 twice, and I've done stage 4 once so far. I will do it again on Friday. The program really doesn't say much about repeating stages. My friend Tamara said that she'd repeat each one as needed, based on how I felt. So if I had any discomfort at all either during the run itself or later on in the day (or even the next day), I would repeat the phase. By "discomfort", I am not talking about pain. Rather, just the feeling of muscles being used again, enough that I could feel "something". Dr. Dick said to expect this, so I am working on listening to my body, not freaking out over minor discomfort, and taking things nice and slow. I've found that if I keep my jog at around a 9:30-9:45 min/mile, I feel better than if I push it to 9:00-9:15 min/mile, so that is something else I've been working on.
I'm not sure how long stage 5 will take me. I plan on starting it next week, barring any unforeseen circumstances. I think I will throw in walking periodically, continuing to work on building my muscles back up again. Phase 4 is an actual running schedule (running every other day), with the first two weeks being 30-35 minute runs, moving up by week 12 to 45 minute runs. I love the very gradual progression of this plan. It's pointedly, almost painfully slow, and that's exactly what I think I need right now.
So... now you're all probably wondering exactly why I'm racing in a few days, if I'm taking this whole recovery thing so sloooowly. I actually transferred my bib for this race (Mingoman) a month ago, as I'd registered for it back in November during a sale. Then, a few days later, I learned that there was a sprint distance (not just the Olympic distance I'd registered for). A sprint tri finishes with a 5K run (3.1 miles). Last month, I knew that I could walk 3.1 miles; I was doing it a few times a week at that point. I was feeling great on the swim and bike. I spoke to my doctor and she had no problem with me signing up, under the condition that I would be either walking or walk/running the 5K at the end. Not a problem! So I had another friend's bib transferred to me and signed up for the sprint. A typical sprint is around a half-mile swim, around 12-14 miles bike, and a 5K run. This race is longer on the bike (22 miles), but the swim (0.45 miles) and run (5K) are normal. I don't mind the longer bike ride since I rode 47 miles last weekend, and I know I can handle 22!
I have zip, zero, zilch goals for this race. Yeah, right... I can't NOT have any goals. I should be able to do the swim in about 14 minutes. I should be able to do the bike in about 1 hour 20-25 minutes. I did a 5K walk/run at stage 4 today in 35 minutes. So, adding those times together gives me 2 hours 9-14 minutes, plus transitions. So.... C goal is to finish uninjured and happy. B goal is 2 hours 20 minutes. A goal is under 2 hours 15 minutes.
My friends are concerned that I will push the run... that I won't do my intervals. Oh they know me so well! Yes, I am competitive. Yes, it will be hard for me to watch people pass me on the run, which will definitely happen. But my goals are bigger than this triathlon. I am super excited to compete in it, and I will give it my best shot. But I won't be doing anything more than my 4 min jog/2 min walk intervals. Because that's where I am at right now, and it's a good place. A very, very good place.
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