Week Deux!

Hello fellow triathletes and readers! I am done with week one. It went well, I have 3 take aways:

1. I am out of form 
2. I am out of shape
3. I feel like a whale...but not in the fast swimming way. More like a whale trying to run. 

No big deal though, that is what the training is for.

We had graduation and finals this week at the university. It is always a hectic and stressful week, but fun to see my great students move on to bigger and better things. Here is a picture of me in my robe. 

I was actually ninja kicking a fellow faculty in this picture- Graduation gets heated

This week Elaine and I will go to her Mom's for the holidays (we have a student at the house watching the dogs and my new bike). So, training will be a bit hectic. Luckily she has some great friends who have an endless swimming pool that I can use! The joys of living in a warm climate where you can have an outdoor swimming pool. In addition they live at altitude, so I can get some good running in. The downside is that I do not get to bring my bike. Elaine's mom has a stationary bike, so I will get riding done on that. All and all, I think it will go nice. 

So, that is it for now. One last thing to do, the week's training plan:

WEEK #2 - 2nd Week of Orientation Cycle 
Swim 2:30 - Bike 3:20 - Run 2:15 -- Total: 8:05 

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Monday 
A shorter, easy swim with some additional stroke work to build overall strength and provide some variety.

SWIM 0:30

WARM UP

500 Swim -- Kick every 4th 25

MAIN SET

3 x 400 w/20 sec rest between repeats -- hold your HR at or below 75%

- each 400 should be done as follows: 100 Kick, 200 Swim, 100 IM

COOL DOWN

100 easy, holding perfect technique

DAILY TOTAL: 0:30

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Tuesday 
The bike ride should be done first today; the run can follow either immediately after or later in the day, depending on your schedule.

BIKE 0:50

WARM UP

10:00 easy "gearing pyramid":

Begin in a very easy gear for 4:00, then switch to one gear harder

for 3:00, then 2:00, then 1:00 (10:00 total)

MAIN SET

3 x 8:00 @75% intensity w/2:00 @60% intensity after each

COOL DOWN completely, allowing your HR to get back under 60% by the end

RUN 0:35

Keep HR below 65%, and SPM (Strides Per Minute) at 80-90. Work on perfect posture and a relaxed upper body.

DAILY TOTAL: 1:25

WEEK-TO-DATE: 1:55

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Wednesday

SWIM 0:45

WARM UP

200 Swim - 200 Kick - 200 Pull - 200 Swim

-- the second 200 Swim should be done slightly faster than the first

MAIN SET

4 x 300 w/20 sec rest between each

#1 & 3 - @60% intensity; #2 & 4 - @75% intensity

-- Keep your stroke count even throughout the set. The idea is to use as few strokes as possible no matter what speed you are going. This will lead to more efficient and faster swimming.

BIKE 0:40

WARM UP

10:00 easy spinning, gradually bringing your HR up to 65%

DRILLS

3 x 3:00 ILT w/30 sec rest after each set -- do each repeat as

-- 6 x (20 sec one leg, 10 sec transition)

15:00 straight time trial effort @75% intensity

COOL DOWN

spin easy through the end of the session

DAILY TOTAL: 1:25

WEEK-TO-DATE: 3:20

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Thursday

SWIM 0:45

WARM UP

800 Swim -- every 4th length choice, rotate through in IM order

-- i.e. 2 x (75 free, 25 fly, 75 free, 25 back, 75 free, 25 breast, 100 free)

MAIN SET

8 x 150 w/15 sec rest after each

Hold HR constant at 65%, and try to keep your times even throughout the set. The goal here is to begin to learn a sense of pacing at a particular intensity level.

COOL DOWN

400 Pull, concentrating on rotating your hips and minimizing the number of strokes per length.

RUN 0:45

15:00 easy jogging, allowing your HR to get up to 60% gradually

20:00 "tempo pyramid" -- (4:00 @70% / 1:00 @60%);

(3:00 @75% / 2:00 @60%); (2:00 @80% / 3:00 @60%);

(1:00 @85% / 4:00 @60%)

Continue cooling down @60% through the end of the run

DAILY TOTAL: 1:30

WEEK-TO-DATE: 4:50

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Friday 
As with last week, this is an optional additional swim to help you get used to getting back in the water. If you feel like taking a day completely off (especially after working out each of the previous 11!), then fine.

SWIM 0:30

10:00 easy warm up, gradually bringing your HR up to 70%

15:00 continuous swim -- record the total number of lengths that you

are able to complete, for future reference

6 x 50 cool down, w/10 sec rest after each

DAILY TOTAL: 0:30

WEEK-TO-DATE: 5:20

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Saturday 
Saturday's ride will always be the longest effort of the week. For those who can ride outdoors year-round, it is important to perform the warm up and drills on a regular basis during the pre-season period -- you can finish the ride outdoors if this option is available. In addition, there will be times when the main set will guide you to a more efficient, more effective workout. Use your judgment to ensure that you're getting the desired workout without unnecessary risk of injury or burnout.

BIKE 1:20

WARM UP

15:00 easy spin -- use a gearing pyramid to gradually build to 75%

DRILLS

2 x 3:00 ILT w/30 sec rest after each;

2 x 4:30 VG Sets w/30 sec rest after each

MAIN SET

3 sets of (6:00 @70% - 1:00 @60% - 3:00 @75-80%)

w/3:00 recovery @60% intensity after each set

COOL DOWN, gradually bringing your HR back under 60% by the end

DAILY TOTAL: 1:20

WEEK-TO-DATE: 6:40

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Sunday 
These two sessions should be done back-to-back, in either order. If you live in a warmer climate and can ride/run outside (or can do both workouts indoors), then put the bike workout first and follow immediately afterward with the run. In colder climates, if you don't have a treadmill available, then go ahead and run first before finishing off with a cool down spin indoors.

BIKE 0:30

Continuous spinning in your small chain ring,

holding your HR between 60-70% throughout

RUN 0:55

This long steady distance (LSD) run will increase in duration over the course of the season. After 5-10:00 of easy jogging to warm up, hold your HR constant at 70-75% throughout this effort.

Cool down completely after these two workouts with some light stretching.

DAILY TOTAL: 1:25

WEEK-TO-DATE: 8:05