Week Five

Some weeks are better than others.

In addition to resting on Monday, I didn't workout on Tuesday either. (I had a date; that's life, I guess!) On Wednesday, we had our usual track practice. Track has been hard, not so much for the running, but for all of the strength training we do in between our running. I have no idea how many total squats, pushups, crunches, planks, and burpies I did over the course of that workout, but I do know that I'm still sore today from it, several days later!

On Thursday, the calendar called for a 30 minute run, which was good for two reasons. One, it was all I had time for, and two, I was really tired from track the night before. On Friday, I was supposed to swim, but after conference week and feeling depleted, I didn't have it in me to get to the pool. Saturday was supposed to be a 90 minute bike ride, but I did a 10.5 mile run instead to help me prepare for the CIM Marathon in a few weeks. I ran with my friend Mimi, who helped to push me, despite how sore I still was. There were great hills on this run.

Sunday was our coached workout. We swam at the Aptos HS pool. It was my best swim yet. Coach Dan is really good at giving specific suggestions to help me refine my stroke. I'm finally getting better at gliding, and at bringing my recovering around faster while my other arm is still in front. I haven't done a new time trial yet, but I believe I'm already faster. Not quite FAST yet, but faster than I started out. After the swim, we ran for 45 minutes, mostly on a trail. I noticed that it took me a good mile or so to pick up any speed and feel strong, but then I felt like I could go for awhile.

Having "only" worked out 4 days this week, I feel sort of badly. I know this is silly. That is, outside of ironman training, 4 days a week of training is great! But, I don't like that I'm letting myself occasionally skip things on the calendar. But, it's easier said than done. This upcoming week, I will have my last set of cortisone injections, which will mean no training from Thursday through Sunday. Then, it will be Thanksgiving week, then the marathon. All of these things make it tricky. I'm just going to have to do what I can when I can, and be okay with it.