Ironman training week 17 - on to the build plan

Starting the build plan makes this all feel a little more real, somehow. Yikes. And this week got really complicated to fit everything in...

Swim: 8200m
Bike: 176 km (76 outside) (6:30)
Run: 51k

Monday: rest

Tuesday: 2500m swim; TR ramp test + South Twin -1

back and forth, back and forth

Really solid swim. After swim, I looked at my mileage summaries and to this day this year that's 116 km swum - 24 km ahead of where I was at this time in Muskoka training. Consistency!

Then the ramp test in the evening, which was tough and a little frustrating - I definitely didn't hold on as long as I could have. But the first time through any testing protocol is always a challenge, so we'll see what happens the next time I do it!

Wednesday: 13k run; weights

Rainy 13k before work and a round of weights after work. Just a standard Wednesday.

Thursday: 2700m swim; TR Phoenix +1

Swim was fine. Trainer ride was fine. I was supposed to do a brick run after, but just wasn't feeling it after the slightly beefed up tempo ride, so I didn't do the run and ate dinner instead. No regrets. Just because something is on the plan doesn't mean it's always the best idea to do it.

Friday: 20k run

long run on a Friday?! What? We had made plans to take the kids to Niagara for Friday/Saturday for some waterpark fun, so I decided to get up early and get my run done before we left. It was a good feeling run but I was also pretty excited for our little trip so that may have made it feel better!

Then there was a whole lot of walking around and then climbing about 70 flights of stairs at the Fallsview waterpark with the kids for lots of sliding fun. It was a much needed little brief family vacation.

Saturday: 10k run; TR Pettit

Not the best night's sleep in the hotel room, and I was feeling pretty tired from all the activity the day before, but I couldn't resist a chance to get out for a little run somewhere new to explore! And there was the promise of a buffet breakfast to earn, of course. I ran along the parkway to the whirlpool and then back almost to the falls, where it started just pouring rain so I didn't quite make it all the way up the falls. Good enough, though!

The fog rolled in during breakfast and kind of made the promised view from the restaurant a bit of a bust! Food was pretty good, so at least we had that.

Then it was back to the waterpark for a few more hours of stair climbing before we headed home. Unfortunately it was pouring rain so we didn't do the walking around/tourist stuff we'd planned for the afternoon, but that did mean I got home early enough to jump on the bike and do the easy hour Pettit workout, which helped my legs feel more recovered too.

Sunday: 75k ride; 7k run

I debated back and forth between the trainer and going outside for this ride, because I was feeling wussy and it wasn't all that warm. And then when I spent about 40k riding straight into a headwind I was actually missing the trainer. It got a bit better heading home but it was one of those weird days where the wind seemed to be coming from every direction so I wouldn't exactly say I loved this ride - but really, it was still better than the trainer!

Then a short recovery run in the afternoon while one of the kids was at her lifeguarding class. There were some little trails in behind the city rec centre that I explored, which made for a really nice way to wrap up the week.

On to week 2 of build training! Interestingly the hours this week are a little lower on the trainerroad plan; although the Tuesday and Thursday workouts look crazy scary, so I have a feeling it's sure not going to get any easier!