half ironman training -- week 7

here is the breakdown from week 7 of my half ironman training. 

Week 7 // June 3 - 9

3 Swim 1300 yards w/ main set 6x75 sprints, RI = 20 Run 1 mile easy, 1.5 @ 5k pace, 1 mile recovery, 1 mile easy

4 Bike 50 minutes w/ 6x2 minutes hard efforts scattered

5 Swim 1300 yards w/ main set 2x300 race pace, RI = 30 Run 5 miles moderate w/ 4x10 second hill sprints

6 REST (or) Strength Train

7 Bike 40 minutes moderate w/ 15 minutes comfortably hard

8 Swim 2000 yards moderate Run 12 miles moderate

9 BRICK Bike 50 miles moderate Run 20 minutes moderate

monday breakdown: my swim felt pretty decent, but i wasn't impressed with my time. 1300 yards in 26:27...ehh. my run was a little better: 4.2 miles in 34:45 with amazing sunshine and about 65 degrees!

tuesday breakdown: wow...if only every ride was as good as tuesday's! although i really thought i was averaging over 20 mph, i was happy with my time in the saddle on this 50 minute ride. i had great weather, too!

wednesday breakdown: wednesday was national running day. yay? i apparently didn't look at my training plan right because i went out for a 1400 yard swim that took me 26:50 and then knocked out about 6 miles in gorgeous weather. ran pretty close to 8:00 miles so it felt great. my schedule actually called for a 1300 yard swim and a 5 miler. hmm...

thursday breakdown: rest day. 

friday breakdown: i had a great ride friday afternoon. there was a bit of a north wind, but i was really feeling good. i told myself before i rolled out that i'd try to take it easy due to my weekend of intense training about to happen, but i pushed it hard anyway. 13.42 miles in 39:51 so i finally averaged 20+ mph. 

saturday breakdown: friday night i checked the weather for the weekend and decided to switch my weekend workouts. the weather was supposed to be gorgeous (and wind free) on saturday with a chance of storms on sunday. i asked myself, "do you want to run or ride in the rain?" no brainer. saturday i went out for my 50 miler which was crazy for me. i've never gone that far and of course was nervous. it went well with the obvious heavy legs and absolute craving to be done. i ended up holding an 18.3 mph average so i was really impressed. that wasn't it. i then hopped off my bike and went out for a 20 minute run. i have NEVER felt my body in this state and it was creeeeepy. my legs felt like they weren't there and i actually thought something was wrong. fortunately, i've done a few smaller bricks so i tried to keep composure and just hold onto my form and run through it. by the time my 20 minutes were up i was literally praising God to be done, but was so proud of myself to getting this day of training under my belt. 

sunday breakdown: last night i was trying to figure out (as usual) how i was going to fit in my training before church on sunday morning. my original plan was to walk in the gym right as it opens to get in my 2000 yard swim and run home to get my 12 miler in, but fortunately Emily thought of a better idea. she simply asked, "what if you run to the gym, get your swim in, and then i'll pick you up"? so that's what i did. i got up around 5:30 and ate a good breakfast. drank a couple cups of coffee and was out the door. most of this 12 mile route is in the country between the town i live in and the town my gym is in, so right around mile 6 i came up to a barking/growling dog charging me. i did what any runner in their right mind would do.....i climbed up in a tree in a nearby house. yeah, that happened. i was hoping the dog would run by and i would be able to run off leaving it in the distance. nope. it just sat down on the side of the road continuing to bark at me while i approached the road again. here's where the story gets awesome. a car came toward me after going by the dog and slowed. she waved. i waved. she slowed down. i gave her the old, "i'm in a bit of a pickle," look and so she stopped. she asked if it was my dog and i told her no, but it's definitely not friendly. i explained to her that i'm running from town to town and that i had an odd request. she looked very confused and then i asked her if she would just be able to drive me beyond the dog and let me out. in my head i was telling myself that she better not do it. she has no idea who i am. i could be a crazy murderer, but she agreed. she was super sweet and i ended up sitting in the backseat cause i felt bad. she drove by the dog and i gave it a dirty look. you know...the one that shows you mean business and you just won. anyway, to make a long story longer i hopped out, thanked my new friend, and finished my run in about a 8:15/mile pace. my swim started really terrible. my legs were so fatigued from my run and i just wasn't feeling it. fortunately, like any other hard training session you just muscle through it and it ended well. SO thrilled to get through this tough week of training and looking forward to getting stronger this coming week. 

weekly weigh-in:   175.9   on 6/2/13

previous weekly weigh-in:    174.9  

difference:   + 1   

total weight difference:   - 11.3