Sheryl's Total Training Miles - Updated through August 5
Bike 413 miles
Swim 33,390 yds
Run 93.21 miles
It has been a rough few weeks since vacation. I have trained for 10 days straight without a day off. I am certainly exhausted! Unfortunately, I didn't make it to the Monday night swim and I was very upset. Even though I swam 4 times last week, I still would like to make it to the group swim each week.
Tuesday Night Run
This week the greenies decided to up the game and run 5 miles. Instead of turning right out of Road Runner sports, we went left and headed down Roswell Road briefly. We ran through a few side streets before we got to Chastain Park. I felt ok on this run, but my IT band really started to hurt around mile 2. I pushed through the pain, but had to stop and walk somewhere around the 3 mile mark. The route itself was not overly hilly until the end. Near the beginning, there were 2 long, gradual hills which I was able to push up just fine.
The nice thing about this run is that the weather was perfect. A storm was starting to brew, so the sun was not out and there was a little breeze. It really was a nice change to the hot, humid sun we have been seeing.
I finished the 5.25 mile run with an average pace of 12:23 minute miles. Considering I walked a bit at the end, I'm happy with the outcome.
Wednesday Night Spin
Tonight's spin class was an LT test (Lactic Threshold.) During the test, you ride at a pace that you can sustain for 60 minutes, and only 60 minutes. 5 minutes into the test you hit the lap button on your heartrate monitor and then take the average of the last 55 minutes.
I started off ok, and my heartrate slowly climbed. About 20 minutes in, I was hurting. To make this test effective, you have to give it 110% for the entire 60 minutes. There is no break!
Every 5 minutes, the instructor would come around and ask for our heartrates, so I took the rest of the test in 5 minute sections. I focused only on the current 5 minutes and not the rest of the test. It made it much more bearable.
With 10 minutes to go, my legs were about dead, I wsa breathing heavily, and covered in sweat! When he finally called out stop, I pushed the botton on my watch, and turned the resistance on the bike all the way off. I tried my best to move my legs and get rid of the lactic acid that I had just built up, but it was very hard. I managed to slowly get them moving again.
Once off the bike, I stretched out, but I was still breathing heavily. I was ready for bed! I will used the average heartrate from my LT test, to help me get the right traning in the correct heartrate zones while on the bike.
Thursday Night Track
This workout started out interesting. There was a Braves game just around the same time as the workout. The park that we run at is less than a half mile from Turner Field, so I took a completely different way than normal to get to the track so I didn't have to deal with Braves traffic. It worked! As soon as I pulled it, it started to rain. I sat in my car as the torrential downpour flooded the streets. The thunder and lightning started.
About 15 minutes into the storm, the rain began to let up and one of the ATC members got out of his car and went out to the track to warm up. He did about 2 laps and then came back to the cars and said that we would be starting soon. When I got out of my car, it was still raining, but not like it was before.
We started off the workout with a 3 lap easy warm-up and then a few drills (butt kicks, high knees, and strides.) Today, my schedule said to do six 5 minute intervals, but I only planned on doing 5. Last week was mu first track workout and since it didn't go so well, I didn't really want to push it this week.
Each interval felt pretty good. My goal was to stick to 10 minute miles for all 5 intervals. Since I wasn't able to do this last week, I really was unsure of how I would perform. All in all, I exceeded my expectations and it felt great. I was pushing myself to maintain the speed. I am definately excited to see how my pace measures up at the end of the track season.
Interval 1 - 9:17 pace; 158 heartrate
Interval 2 - 9:40 pace; 163 heartrate
Interval 3 - 9:35 pace; 166 heartrate
Interval 4 - 9:33 pace; 169 heartrate
Interval 5 - 9:20 pace; 172 heartrate
I think my times and my average heartrate show a whole lot about my performance this week. When we finished, I was exhausted, but I felt great. This track workout was a huge confidence booster. I know I can keep this pace up for at least 5 minutes at a time!
Friday Night Swim
Since I didn't make it to the swim on Monday, I decided to do the workout on Friday. I felt a little rusty on the warm-up, so I made sure to take it slow and easy, really emphasizing my strokes. The main set was 6 100s at 80% and then 6 200s at 90%. It was pretty tough. I was on my own instead of with the group, and I really would rather train with people. You are either trying to catch the person in front of you, or trying not to let the person behind you catch up. After the main set, I cooled down nice and slow.
Covington Century Ride
Saturday morning, I woke up bright and early. I left the house just after 6AM to make the not quite 1 hr drive out to Covington, GA. I pulled up at just about the exact same time as the rest of the participants and ended up parking in the street since the lot was full. I got all my gear out of the car, pumped air in my tires, and I was ready to go. I rode my bike up to check in where I recieved a wrist band that would allow me in all of the rest stops along the way.
I headed out toward the mass start and saw a few other ATCers along the way. It was certainly nice to see familiar faces! The start was quite chaotic. I had to wait for the people in front of me to get going and then I was off. At this point, most people passed me, since I was still getting my riding legs on. It typically takes me a little while before my legs are realyl ready to go. The course itself was absolutely beautiful! It started drizzling a little bit at the beginning, but it was nothing crazy, so I didn't worry about it. The only issue I had then was that my glasses were wet. I didn't have anything to dry them off with. I was having a little trouble seeing out of them with all of the water spots on the lenses.
45 minutes in, by watch buzzed. This meant it was time for nutrition. I grabbed a Mandarin Orange flavored Gu from my bike and took it. It wasn't bad. I may have this nutrition thing figured out after all. About 20 miles in, I came to the first rest stop. I pulled over, grabbed my water bottle, and headed to the food. I topped of my water and grabbed a peach slice. I really wasn't feeling it for food with substance. I didn't need to use the restroom, so I hopped back on my bike and continued on the way. At one point, the slow drizzle we had been experiencing became a heavy downpour. I eventually took of my glasses and put them in the pokcet on my tri top.
Riding in the rain is certainly a new experience. I was careful giving myself plenty of room when stopping and I didn't want to go too fast on a turn. I was afraid of the slippery road and my narrow slick tires. Every inch of me was covered with water! It was dripping in my shoes and socks as well as down my top. My hands were slippery, so I was a little afraid I wouldn't shift gears or brake correctly, but I didn't have any issues. The one bad thing about riding in the rain was that all of the dirt that was in the road kicked up with the water. In addition to being soaked, my legs and arms are now covered with sand. I was gritty!
Overall, there were another 3 rest stops. I got off the bike at each one and topped of my water. I still wasn't interested in eating. We did have a lunch stop, so I took about 3 bites of a turkey sandwich, because I figured my body needed it. Every 45 minutes, my watched beeped, and I took a Gu or a round of Shotblocks. I constantly drank water as well as gatorade.
I felt great on this ride compared to the last few I have done. Towards the end, my legs were certainly getting tired, but I was still able to continue. The last 10 miles were entirely uphill! It was miserable, but still fun. Everyone that was on the ride was friendly, and I was never completely alone. In the end, I completed 66 miles at a moving pace of 16 mph and 4 hrs and 9 minutes. I am absolutely thrilled that I was able to keep up the speed for the entire ride. I am imagining what I can do on a race, when I push myself on all of the hills and straightaways!
Sunday Long Run - Piedmont West
I felt great when I woke up on Sunday morning, but the minute we started to run, it went all downhill. After about a mile, my legs started to warm up and the running wasn't so painful, but then my left IT band started to hurt. I pushed through for a while, but around 3 miles or so I started to run walk. I really wasn't happy with myself, because I know I can do more than this. I proceeded to run walk for the entire run. We were planning on doing 10 miles, but we moved it down to 7.7. I walked up most of the hills because my knee was not happy, and I tried my best to run the flat and downhill parts. I finished the run at a nice slow pace of 13:17.
While disappointed, I know that every workout can't be good or the best. I need to move on to the next thing. I plan on really working out my IT band with my foam roller so hopefully I will be rested and better before the weekend.
Bike 413 miles
Swim 33,390 yds
Run 93.21 miles
It has been a rough few weeks since vacation. I have trained for 10 days straight without a day off. I am certainly exhausted! Unfortunately, I didn't make it to the Monday night swim and I was very upset. Even though I swam 4 times last week, I still would like to make it to the group swim each week.
Tuesday Night Run
This week the greenies decided to up the game and run 5 miles. Instead of turning right out of Road Runner sports, we went left and headed down Roswell Road briefly. We ran through a few side streets before we got to Chastain Park. I felt ok on this run, but my IT band really started to hurt around mile 2. I pushed through the pain, but had to stop and walk somewhere around the 3 mile mark. The route itself was not overly hilly until the end. Near the beginning, there were 2 long, gradual hills which I was able to push up just fine.
The nice thing about this run is that the weather was perfect. A storm was starting to brew, so the sun was not out and there was a little breeze. It really was a nice change to the hot, humid sun we have been seeing.
I finished the 5.25 mile run with an average pace of 12:23 minute miles. Considering I walked a bit at the end, I'm happy with the outcome.
Wednesday Night Spin
Tonight's spin class was an LT test (Lactic Threshold.) During the test, you ride at a pace that you can sustain for 60 minutes, and only 60 minutes. 5 minutes into the test you hit the lap button on your heartrate monitor and then take the average of the last 55 minutes.
I started off ok, and my heartrate slowly climbed. About 20 minutes in, I was hurting. To make this test effective, you have to give it 110% for the entire 60 minutes. There is no break!
Every 5 minutes, the instructor would come around and ask for our heartrates, so I took the rest of the test in 5 minute sections. I focused only on the current 5 minutes and not the rest of the test. It made it much more bearable.
With 10 minutes to go, my legs were about dead, I wsa breathing heavily, and covered in sweat! When he finally called out stop, I pushed the botton on my watch, and turned the resistance on the bike all the way off. I tried my best to move my legs and get rid of the lactic acid that I had just built up, but it was very hard. I managed to slowly get them moving again.
Once off the bike, I stretched out, but I was still breathing heavily. I was ready for bed! I will used the average heartrate from my LT test, to help me get the right traning in the correct heartrate zones while on the bike.
Thursday Night Track
This workout started out interesting. There was a Braves game just around the same time as the workout. The park that we run at is less than a half mile from Turner Field, so I took a completely different way than normal to get to the track so I didn't have to deal with Braves traffic. It worked! As soon as I pulled it, it started to rain. I sat in my car as the torrential downpour flooded the streets. The thunder and lightning started.
About 15 minutes into the storm, the rain began to let up and one of the ATC members got out of his car and went out to the track to warm up. He did about 2 laps and then came back to the cars and said that we would be starting soon. When I got out of my car, it was still raining, but not like it was before.
We started off the workout with a 3 lap easy warm-up and then a few drills (butt kicks, high knees, and strides.) Today, my schedule said to do six 5 minute intervals, but I only planned on doing 5. Last week was mu first track workout and since it didn't go so well, I didn't really want to push it this week.
Each interval felt pretty good. My goal was to stick to 10 minute miles for all 5 intervals. Since I wasn't able to do this last week, I really was unsure of how I would perform. All in all, I exceeded my expectations and it felt great. I was pushing myself to maintain the speed. I am definately excited to see how my pace measures up at the end of the track season.
Interval 1 - 9:17 pace; 158 heartrate
Interval 2 - 9:40 pace; 163 heartrate
Interval 3 - 9:35 pace; 166 heartrate
Interval 4 - 9:33 pace; 169 heartrate
Interval 5 - 9:20 pace; 172 heartrate
I think my times and my average heartrate show a whole lot about my performance this week. When we finished, I was exhausted, but I felt great. This track workout was a huge confidence booster. I know I can keep this pace up for at least 5 minutes at a time!
Friday Night Swim
Since I didn't make it to the swim on Monday, I decided to do the workout on Friday. I felt a little rusty on the warm-up, so I made sure to take it slow and easy, really emphasizing my strokes. The main set was 6 100s at 80% and then 6 200s at 90%. It was pretty tough. I was on my own instead of with the group, and I really would rather train with people. You are either trying to catch the person in front of you, or trying not to let the person behind you catch up. After the main set, I cooled down nice and slow.
Covington Century Ride
Saturday morning, I woke up bright and early. I left the house just after 6AM to make the not quite 1 hr drive out to Covington, GA. I pulled up at just about the exact same time as the rest of the participants and ended up parking in the street since the lot was full. I got all my gear out of the car, pumped air in my tires, and I was ready to go. I rode my bike up to check in where I recieved a wrist band that would allow me in all of the rest stops along the way.
I headed out toward the mass start and saw a few other ATCers along the way. It was certainly nice to see familiar faces! The start was quite chaotic. I had to wait for the people in front of me to get going and then I was off. At this point, most people passed me, since I was still getting my riding legs on. It typically takes me a little while before my legs are realyl ready to go. The course itself was absolutely beautiful! It started drizzling a little bit at the beginning, but it was nothing crazy, so I didn't worry about it. The only issue I had then was that my glasses were wet. I didn't have anything to dry them off with. I was having a little trouble seeing out of them with all of the water spots on the lenses.
45 minutes in, by watch buzzed. This meant it was time for nutrition. I grabbed a Mandarin Orange flavored Gu from my bike and took it. It wasn't bad. I may have this nutrition thing figured out after all. About 20 miles in, I came to the first rest stop. I pulled over, grabbed my water bottle, and headed to the food. I topped of my water and grabbed a peach slice. I really wasn't feeling it for food with substance. I didn't need to use the restroom, so I hopped back on my bike and continued on the way. At one point, the slow drizzle we had been experiencing became a heavy downpour. I eventually took of my glasses and put them in the pokcet on my tri top.
Riding in the rain is certainly a new experience. I was careful giving myself plenty of room when stopping and I didn't want to go too fast on a turn. I was afraid of the slippery road and my narrow slick tires. Every inch of me was covered with water! It was dripping in my shoes and socks as well as down my top. My hands were slippery, so I was a little afraid I wouldn't shift gears or brake correctly, but I didn't have any issues. The one bad thing about riding in the rain was that all of the dirt that was in the road kicked up with the water. In addition to being soaked, my legs and arms are now covered with sand. I was gritty!
Overall, there were another 3 rest stops. I got off the bike at each one and topped of my water. I still wasn't interested in eating. We did have a lunch stop, so I took about 3 bites of a turkey sandwich, because I figured my body needed it. Every 45 minutes, my watched beeped, and I took a Gu or a round of Shotblocks. I constantly drank water as well as gatorade.
I felt great on this ride compared to the last few I have done. Towards the end, my legs were certainly getting tired, but I was still able to continue. The last 10 miles were entirely uphill! It was miserable, but still fun. Everyone that was on the ride was friendly, and I was never completely alone. In the end, I completed 66 miles at a moving pace of 16 mph and 4 hrs and 9 minutes. I am absolutely thrilled that I was able to keep up the speed for the entire ride. I am imagining what I can do on a race, when I push myself on all of the hills and straightaways!
Sunday Long Run - Piedmont West
I felt great when I woke up on Sunday morning, but the minute we started to run, it went all downhill. After about a mile, my legs started to warm up and the running wasn't so painful, but then my left IT band started to hurt. I pushed through for a while, but around 3 miles or so I started to run walk. I really wasn't happy with myself, because I know I can do more than this. I proceeded to run walk for the entire run. We were planning on doing 10 miles, but we moved it down to 7.7. I walked up most of the hills because my knee was not happy, and I tried my best to run the flat and downhill parts. I finished the run at a nice slow pace of 13:17.
While disappointed, I know that every workout can't be good or the best. I need to move on to the next thing. I plan on really working out my IT band with my foam roller so hopefully I will be rested and better before the weekend.
"Never give up. Never, never give up! We shall go on to the end." Winston Churchill
Keep it up! So proud of you!!!!
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