half ironman training -- week 2

here is the breakdown from week 2 of my half ironman training. 

Week 2 // April 29-May 5

29 Swim 800 yards w/ main set:3x100 race pace, RI =15 Run 4 miles moderate

30 Bike 40 minutes w/ 6x30 second sprints scattered

1 Swim 800 yards w/ main set: 8x25, RI = 20 Run 4 miles moderate w/ 4x10 second hill sprints

2 Bike 40 minutes moderate w/ 5 minutes comfortably hard

3 REST (or) Strength Train

4 Swim 1000 yards moderate Run 7 miles moderate

5 Bike 30 miles moderate

monday breakdown: what a day! this is what training feels like. the weather was great (sunny and 70!) and i finally got my pass to a local facility where i can get my swim sessions in. monday i did my swim workout after work and it went great. i definitely felt it in my arms since i haven't done much upper body work in the past months, but the workout itself went well. for my run i put together a 4.2 mile route around the town where my gym is and knocked that out in 33:02. i was dehydrated and didn't fuel properly pre-workout and paid for it on the run. i took a mental note and used it as a learning experience. gatorade was AMAZING when i got home!

tuesday breakdown: another good day of training! first thing i noted: sprints are HARD! my quads were burning. it didn't help that i was dealing with about a 20 mph wind out of the south, but it was nice when i did one of my sprints with a tail wind going over 30 mph! 

wednesday breakdown: holy summer, batman! may came in with a boom. over eighty degrees and lots of sun on wednesday. i had a pretty difficult swim session and found out how difficult sprints are when they're added in to a workout. i apparently misread my schedule because i ended up doing 850 yards with my main set being 10 x 25 yard sprints with a rest interval of 20 seconds. i tried to stay hydrated all day and even in between my swim and run, but i still felt dehydrated during my run. the run was tough! i was upset with myself for being dehydrated (again!) and just wanted to be done. i held about a 8:00/mile pace and then went home and mowed my lawn. great finish to a long day. not. (remember when saying not at the end of things was funny?) 

thursday breakdown: wow...i had a pretty great ride on thursday morning. i went out for 40 minutes right at sunrise and it was gorgeous out! i was out just after sunrise and felt great my whole ride. a bit chilly to start, but finished feeling great!

friday breakdown: rest days are amazing! it felt great to not have to worry about any workout. honestly...i ate great all day and felt relaxed.  

saturday breakdown: friday was better. :) i swam just over a 1/2 mile in 1000 yards in a little over a half hour. i ate a normal breakfast before and drank a lot of water. after my swim session i ate a banana and drank more water and went out for my 7 mile run. i took a GU with me and did 7.15 miles in just barely over an hour. i honestly felt pretty decent throughout most of the run. i had really bad stomach cramps during the first 2 miles but thankfully that went away. i had my training done by 9:00am so it was a great way to start a saturday. 

sunday breakdown: sunday's workout was a big one for me personally. i went ahead and completed my 30 mile ride from last week since i had to bail on it last week. it felt great to ride the longest i ever had and i finished in 1:40:11, so i was pleasantly surprised. my legs felt real heavy the rest of today, but i woke up today feeling great!


week 2 weigh-in:  184.0 on 4/29/13
previous weekly weigh-in:    187.2  
difference:   - 3.2