Jackie D - Week 16

Week 16 - starting Monday 1 January 2007

Yeh! Back in proper training. Another beautiful, unseasonably warm week here which means no snow. Boo hoo. I love the snow and I love walking in the snow, especially at night when it lights up the surroundings.

I rode my bike outside again this week. I swapped my long bike from Friday to Wednesday (bike drills went to Friday with a shorter bike) when I saw the blue skies and sunshine. I rode from home around the Pittsford tri route and it was glorious, albeit a little windy - seems to be always windy on this route. It was only one and a half hours but goes up little by little from here.
I also did a new set of bike drills this week. I read the first line and it said 10 sec high rpm - that’s OK I thought. Then it said 10 sec higher rpm. OK I thought. Then it said 10 sec max rpm. OK. Well I have learnt that drills can be as beneficial as you make them yourself. Wholeheartedly I launched into them and was bouncing around on the last 10 secs each time. Funny how time warps - the first 10 seconds went very quickly but the last 10 seconds stretched out for nearly forever.

Swimming was good this week, if a little disorganised on my half. I hadn’t noted the reduced open swim hours and turned up to one of my sessions with an hour til closing time but knowing the workout would take about 90minutes. Still, my training schedule only actually called for 60minutes so I just got in and swam as far through it as possible. AND I am feeling very pleased with myself as it had 2 x200m IM in it and I did the butterfly BOTH times. It certainly wasn’t pretty at the end of each 50m fly and the lifeguard was probably preparing to jump in and rescue me but I did it! Yippee. I am getting stronger.
My other session was a masters session but I didn’t have anyone to swim the schedule I do with - hopefully now the holidays are over people will turn up more regularly.

I had a new set of strength stuff to do this week x2. Functional strength. I have heard a lot about it and I know Mary is very keen so I got my hubby’s weights back from a friend who was borrowing them, found a band, read it all up on the internet and went it with the right attitude I like to think. However, 10 minutes in I knew I was hating it and would resent it. The main problem is I just don’t like doing strength work at home. I like the gym and the controlled environment of the machines. With the functional stuff I had no idea if I was doing it right or not and I just wasn’t enjoying it like I do the gym. So, after talking to coach she agreed I could do my gym routine for now. I hopped over to the gym that day and doing 2 sets rather than 3 of my original gym routine fitted the 40min allotted time perfectly. Much happier bunny now! I haven’t done much strength stuff regularly so just a general all over body workout like my gym routine is sure to be good for me.

And finally to running. The long run of the week was with the group back in Mendon Ponds Park. I had to go to a managers works do of my hubby’s on Saturday night and I knew it would be a late night so was pretty concerned whether I could get up on the Sunday morning. However, I didn’t drink much and just hoped I could get to bed as soon as I could. Strange how this training makes me prefer early nights and minimal alcohol instead of late night partying - that or I am showing my age!
Anyway I set the alarm and made it down there for a 9.5+ (just) miles in a lovely setting. I am finally experimenting with my new Garmin this week and it lost the satellite at 7miles and didn’t recover it. Got to look that one up. Think it was partly my fault as I wore the monitor on the inside of my wrist so the thingy that picks up signal (technical girl aren’t I?) was pointing downwards.

This week ended with a swim clinic done by coach and 2 other great swimmers from the Train-This team! I was very excited to have someone watch my stroke from under the water and it was SO USEFUL. Apparently I was pulling with too straight an arm after the initial catch so not getting maximum pull of the water through my body. Concentrated on this and was told it was much improved. Here I come speedier swim times…

28 WEEKS TO GO