Rx: Ironman

A Week in the Water

Back to full weeks of training. My program is now at a point where I emphasize one discipline per week for the next several weeks. This week is swimming. I have to swim 6 days this week. Since swimming is not my favorite element of the tri, I think it will actually be good for me. I retaught myself how to swim this past winter, and although my stroke has gotten better, my speed in the water is actually a little slower. I swam 3200 meters yesterday and felt great, like I could have gone a lot farther (I have gone a lot farther already this year), and maybe this is the key. If I don’t kill myself in the water and have wasted little energy by the time I climb out, the bike and the run will be that much better. I’ve got my first open water swim of the year planed for tomorrow.

I start back to the working world tomorrow. I’ve been pretty lucky the last month or so as far as training goes: plenty of sleep, my own schedule, and only the occasional 4 am alarm clock. When I signed up for IMWI, I thought that this would be the perfect time to train – right as I’m finishing school and starting my residency. I guess we’ll see in the next couple of months if I was right. I know that starting my new job will be stressful, and I’m heading right into my most intense weeks of training. I’m not sure if it will be good stress relief or if it will be added stress. Stay tuned!

I’m heading out to Madison in a couple of weeks to train on the bike course. I’ll finally get to see the hills that everybody has been talking about. I’ve been trying to incorporate some good sized hills in my rides lately, but actually seeing what I’ll be up against in September will help me design some rides to prepare me for IM. I actually have a hilly 2 hour ride planned for this afternoon.

Sorry for the random post today – a lot on my mind, and not enough time to formulate coherent thoughts!