It's been a few days since my last entry and I am now in Phoenix. I drove up on Wednesday night to meet up with a crew of guys from D3 Multisport. They are all gearing up for IM AZ and wanted to train on the course in good weather. I am still pretty much training on my own however.
Speaking of training, it has been going really well the last few days. Wednesday the weather in Tucson was great and I put in a ride of just over 6 hours. I did some rolling terrain for 3 hours, then climbed up to the 14 mile point of Mt. Lemmon. It took me 90 minutes to get that far! I love that climb though. It starts out exposed and open and then gets into some trees and the scenery is constantly changing. I must have seen at least 20 other cyclists on the way up. Most of them were passing me, including one guy in all Team USA gear. I don't know who exactly he was, but he was FLYING!! It was a great 6 hour day in the saddle and I backed it up with a 45 minute brick run at just under 7 minute mile pace. I wasn't expecting to feel good, but I did so I ran with it (pun intended). After a shower, stretch and recovery food I headed North to Phoenix.
Thursday was a strong day as well. It started with 4k in the pool, then back to the hotel for some grub. The weather was nice and sunny so it was on to the bike for a good 4 hours with 2 1/2 at tempo and above. It surprised me to feel so good and I was very pleased with my effort for the day. The day wasn't over though. My strength training has been a bit neglected the past week, so I hit the weight room to finish off the day. A nice dinner of salad, Ahi tuna steak and a sweet potato put and end to my day.
Today was more fun starting with a 1:45 run in the morning. I wasn't sure how I would feel after the weights yesterday. It took some time, but I finaly came around after 30 minutes. The run was a 30 minute warm up and then it was supposed to be 2x30min at 7:00 pace with a 15 minute cruise between. Well, I got going so I said to heck with the 15 minute cruise and just went for it for the entire hour. I even managed to negative split it, though I think that was due more to terrain than anything. The run was a great confidence builder. After putting in so many miles and being able to comfortably hold a 7 minute pace I am definitely stronger than ever.
Next on the workout agenda was to hit the pool for a long swim. My thought was to get in near 8k, but I had to settle for 6750. The main set being 1x800, 2x400 pull,4x200 as 1 moderate, 1 hard, and 8x100. Being able to swim outside in the sun really makes a difference! Big training days are only as good as your ability to back it up with another solid day. Two big days are good, but if you have to take off 3 days to recover, you are defeating the purpose. Of course you reach a point where you just can't back it up, and that is when you rest, rest and rest!
I have decided to banish the words tired, exhausted, shattered, whatever adverb you like to describe your personal level of fatigue. These words just reinforce a negative feeling. Instead of something like "Man, I am totally scribbled after that run." I now say, "I am getting stronger every day." It's much more positive and keeps me strong throughout the training.
So, to get even stronger, I ran again today. It was an aerobic paced run for an hour. Nothing stellar, just good form and keeping the mind focused. I find that double run days, and double swim days, really help up the strength factor in that sport. The key is making the second session as quality as you can. This would elude to my earlier post about not just getting yards or miles in, but making them worth the time spent. Sure, I can slog out another 2k in the pool, but what did I accomplish? That should be what you ask yourself during the second session. What am I accomplishing, and is it conducive to achieving my goal?
A quick dinner of a salad, spaghetti with tomato basil tofu, some fruit and tea. Now it's off for a short half hour massage to get ready for tomorrow. It's going to be a nasty day, so I am looking forward to it! Read all about it tomorrow, or the next day if I am too tired to type!

AJ