One Last Tri - Week 5
The majority of this week I felt as if I was falling behind in my training; spending long hours at work, getting minimal sleep during the week, and all of this ending in a very long weekend of working overtime. As I was recapping, I was excited to see that I was able to get more training done than it felt like I was accomplishing during the week. I am also very excited to share with you a huge success that I had in the pool!
Sunday- Elliptical and Strength Training
Goals:
Going into the week I wasn’t positive that I wanted to workout today. Going into the gym I wanted to just focus on getting about 30-45 minutes of cardio and then possibly work in some weights. Incorporating strength workouts is a great way to break up training and reduce plateauing from only doing cardio work.
Results:
I stayed on the elliptical in a high zone 1, the recovery zone, just enough to get the blood flowing. Once my heart rate was up, my spirits also raised and I began to crave a little more exercise. It’s amazing how much of an endorphin rush you can get from working out. After some cardio, I switched to the weights and worked chest, back, shoulders, and did some simulated swimming strokes on the bench with low weights. I try very hard to maintain good form and slow motion, as this works stabilizing muscles as well as correctly breaking down the muscle fibers so that they may grow back in a more efficient way. I believe that for the majority of my training it is more important to do something with lower weight and correct form than to throw form aside for a few extra pounds of resistance.
Monday- Rest Day
Goals:
Originally I was planning on swimming on Monday. I want to try and force myself into the water at least three times a week, as this will give me the most amount of consistent time in the water to increase my comfort level. I feel like the more time I spend in the water the better I feel about going back, and if I wait to long in-between swim sessions I get more nervous about swimming.
Results:
To be honest, some things in my life were really coming apart, broken phone, broken laptop, and to top it off my car is having some major issues this past week. I decided after work to just take today and attempt to take care of some life issues. After phone shopping and car shopping and finding out how much it was to fix my laptop I was burned out mentally and feeling it physically as well and took the day off from training to research my options.
Tuesday- Swim
Goals:
In my mind I had skipped my swim from Monday and so I really wanted to force myself into the water. I had spent a few hours after work doing a little more car shopping but finally made it to the pool in the evening. Recently I purchased a freestyle snorkel to try and help out with my comfort in the water and was excited to try it out. So my main goal was simply to get in the water and become accustomed with my snorkel.
Results:
The pool was really crowded and for the first time, while swimming, I had to share a lane with someone else. I was feeling tired going into the swim and swimming with that many people around me was more overwhelming than I was prepared for. I know that swimming in close proximity to other people is definitely something that I should get used to, but I was really not feeling ready for that yet. I was able to swim around 500 yards before the swimming team showed up and started doing laps, I was feeling quite insecure about my swimming ability and after a few more laps I got out of the pool. Getting to the pool and swimming was a success, but I felt like I had not gone as far as I originally set out to do.
Wednesday- Rest Day
Goals:
At this point in the week I had realized that I was really falling behind on sleep this week. Throwing more training into the mix would begin to be more harmful than helpful. Afterall, stress plus rest equals growth, and if I want to see any real development to my fitness then I need to make sure I am resting hard as well as training hard.
Results:
It was a long day at work, and I spent more time that evening searching for a new car. I forget how much of an impact outside factors make to my training. Being stressed about getting a car, and broken things in my life, I am feeling the effects of being worn down. I finally got some good sleep on Thursday night and that did wonders for making me able to finish out my week as strongly as possible.
Thursday- Swim
Goals:
Going into this swim I really need to use my new snorkel. The previous swim I never put it on out of insecurity for looking like a fool.
Results:
I started out with a warm up 100 yard swim, and then put my snorkel on and stood in the shallow end with my face in the water just breathing. I have seen many instructors telling kids to blow bubbles in the water and have read about how it is a tactic to become more accustomed to breathing in the water. At first I assumed the snorkel was a terrible idea because it would not teach me how to breathe in the water, but after a very short period of time I was able to start swimming towards the other end.
The first few laps were pretty rough and I kept lifting my face out of the water in a panic. But I continued to swim and have my face in the water and suddenly I started feeling much better. I began controlling my breaking and was able to swim multiple laps without stopping. This was incredible! My motivation boosted so much that I was able to start doing 200 yard efforts and I feel very strongly that I will be able to do longer efforts very soon without stopping. For the first time in the water I was able to swim more than a kilometer. I still felt like I could keep going, it was incredible!
Friday- Stationary Bike Zone Training
Goals:
The goal was 90 minutes of mid zone 2. I was looking to stay consistent in my resistance the entire time. I also had a goal of drinking about 64 ounces of water throughout the ride, this would be two full Nalgene bottles. I wanted to try and consume this much through the ride to simulate riding my bike with a full stomach of water. I need to begin getting used to this feeling so that I can spend my bike ride refueling.
Results:
Right from the very beginning of the ride, I was feeling tired. My legs were very sore and I began sweating immediately. Surprisingly, I did not have an increased heart rate and was actually able to start at a higher resistance than the previous time I was riding. This was both motivating and also very frustrating; my legs were feeling the burn but my heart rate was dropping if I let off the gas at all.
Saturday- Rest Day
Goals:
Going into the weekend I knew that I was going to be struggling through working overtime and not getting enough sleep. My goals were to do the best I could to get through the weekend staying as relaxed as possible.
Results:
I was on my feet all day Saturday, but I was able to get a pretty good night sleep before waking up and going to work the following day. I also maintained a healthy diet for the most part and was able to stretch for a brief period of time.
Conclusion:
Busy weeks happen and fitting training into your schedule can be a challenge at times. But these weeks do pass, and it is important to remember that sometimes all we can do is try our hardest. The whole week I felt as if I was failing at training and completing the type of training load that I wanted to. Looking back has shown me that I was able to make some progress; I am very proud of my 1300 meter swim, the longest that I have done yet, I was also happy to see that my heart is starting to hold out longer than my muscles are as my legs were feeling fried on Friday’s ride but my heart rate was staying steady and strong. Looking forward to the next week I would really like to get on my bike for a long ride. Both for my mental health as well as training, riding my bike remains my favorite training past time. I am also excited to start spending longer training sessions in the pool. Until next time, happy training!
