Only 10 more weeks until Ironman Coeur d’Alene!
Training Peaks Calendar Week 16 iThlete HRV Timeline week 16 – April 13 -19
-
- Training Peaks PMC Chart Week 16
-
- Training Peaks TSS/Volume Chart Week 16
Week 16 was a pretty solid week of training. I ended up with around 15 hours total volume, which also included one day off due to me being stressed out from a screw-up at work. It also inlcluded no strength training whatsoever since I totally blew that off. But, the training was good. The weather also cooperated with some very nice days. The weekend was incredible too.
iThlete HRV Training Guide Week 16
iThlete HRV Timeline Week16
My Heart Rate Variability(HRV) was all over the map. There were some good days and some pretty low days. I managed to eke out a low, but green 68 on Monday morning which was surprising since I did a 4.5 hour bike Saturday and 18 mile run on Sunday. I felt good all weekend though despite a HRV of 55 on Saturday. Fortunately, this is the last build week of 3 and next week is a recovery week. It will be a feel-like-crap week, but hopefully I will be back online for my half-marathon race next Sunday.
The Pool was a little cool this week due to a broken pump. Good practice for Coeur d’ALene though.
My shoulder is back to normal again. I was able to get all my swims in this week. I also got a little “Polar Bear” training in since the heater in the pool was not working. It was quite refreshing actually. I forgot all about it after 200 meters.
Caught a cool sunset on Thursday night at a barn near Bowers, PA. Just happen to turn around and see it.
Since the weather has been nicer, I was able to get in some longer bike rides during the week. On Thursday I managed to get in 32 miles and was fortunate to get the shot above on my way home that night. I just happened to turn around saw this amazing opportunity. Despite some blue artifacts from the extra lens from my LIfeProof phone case, the shot came out pretty well. I had to stabilize the phone on a fencepost to get a sharp image.
Was fully stocked with Amrita bars for my 4.5 hour ride on Satuday.
Saturday was a really nice day! Temps peaked at around 80 degrees and the winds were light in the morning. It got a little breezy in the afternoon, but it was mostly tailwind at that point. I was well stocked with Amrita bars for the ride and felt pretty amazing all day. A definite confidence booster for Ironman Coeur d’ALene. I also bagged a solid 30 minute brick immediately after too.
Barn and some farm equipment off of Huffs Church Road
Amish Horse-and-buggy hitched up near Fleetwood/Kutztown.
On Sunday, I headed over to the Ironton Rail Trail(IRT) for my long run. My goal was a Zone 2 run for 2:50 and ~18 miles. It was another amazing day and a little cooler than Saturday which was perfect for my run. There was a slight wind, but wasn’t a major factor. I ended up completing the 18 miles in just under 2:50 at around 9:20 pace while maintaining median zone 2 heart rate. This was another big confidence booster, since in prior years my HR would have been a bit higher at that same pace(Exhibit A). One of my goals this year is to maintain a 9:30 pace for the Ironman run and to do that I wanted to execute all my LSD runs at no more than that pace. I have mostly acheived that so far and this run is my best example of that. Happy!
Beautiful day for a 18 mile run on the Ironton Rail Trail on Sunday.
Well, next week is a recovery week so I am fully prepared for a HRV nosedive and feeling like crap in the beginning of the week. Hopefully things will rebound a bit by the weekend since I am racing the St. Luke’s Lehigh Valley Half Marathon on Sunday. I would like to shoot for a PR, it is not my main focus right now. I may go out with that initial intention, but my let off the gas if I don’t “feel it.” I have my first triathlon, New Jersey Devilman Half Lite 50, the week after so I don’t want to screw that up. That’s all for now…thanks for reading!
