First "Build" Mesocycle - Time to Get Serious! March 1-March 28

The first "Build" 4 week mesocycle is here. The theme is to get to handle the increased volume of all 3 disciplines. If successful, the second build mesocycle in April will bring the run volume up seriously while scaling back the swim and bike portions. This should allow the proper time to rest while getting the necessary mileage needed in the run. Remember that I am focusing on the Vermont 100 mile ultra this July. The move from general training to specific training needs to be done here. Any triathlons that I do during this 3 month build will be secondary to this goal.

But first, lets increase the volume on all 3 disciplines:



The first week is the peak swim. 10k of swimming next week. Here is the bike:



Bike peak is the second week of the mesocycle with 100 miles:



Run peak is 60 miles on the third week of the mesocycle. The 4th week is a relatively easy recovery before moving on to the second "Build" mesocycle. I can never say this enough, but rest needs to be built in to each cycle, no matter what to allow for balance and recovery.

On to next week!

February 24-28 - A Weak Week

Yeah, literally. A week weak, or a weak week...or something like it. You understand, right?

Well, instead of going through the trials and tribulations of each day, it's best to group all the low points into one easy to see package (so I can take it out and put it into the trash).

Well, after my "delightful" 6 mile run, things started to go downhill. I developed a runny nose and a burning throat. I decided on Wednesday to go to the swim, the toughest swim workout of the week in 3600 meters.

The featured set was the 3x800 meter swim with a 1 minute rest in between reps. The first one was not bad, 12:07. The second was even better at 11:59. But things tend to go wrong at bizarre times, and when I completed the third 800, my watch registered a blank. I guess it decided to quit on me as I was doing the most important rep of the most important workout of the week. So what can I do but to register, "did well, watch died" in my training log instead of a time.

Coming home from swimming, I got extremely tired. "The workout was tough but it shouldn't have knocked me out like that." was resonating through my head. I decided to take a small nap before I started doing some work for the day. That "small" nap lasted 3 hours and I woke up to a world of hurt with a full blown cold. Everything was sore, my energy was drained, and my nose was running a marathon.

I don't take over-the-counter medication for my colds. I think it impedes my body to fight colds. Yes, the symptoms might knock me out, but most of the time, the majority of the symptoms blow over after 2 days, with complete recovery in a week.

Thursday I took completely off and relaxed as the cold raged on. It was tough to even focus and concentrate; my head felt as swollen as an overstuffed sausage.

Friday I felt a little better as the cold abated a bit, but I didn't do any training. I wanted to make sure the cold was still on the run.

Saturday I felt still better, but still had a runny nose and a wicked cough. I decided I was well enough to do 26 miles of cycling on the Computrainer. Total Time for the workout was 1:23:44, went pretty hard at 210 watts. It was a key workout on my original schedule, and I did it. I wanted to run, but nature decided to dump about 20 inches at my doorstep and did about 2 hours of shovelling before all is said and done. And I'm listing that as a workout!!! :-)

Today I decided to finish with another key workout, 2400 meters of swimming total. All specialized strokes. Featuring 5x100 IMs (Individual Medleys are in this order: fly, back, breast, free) on 2:30. Did them in 1:31, 1:33, 1:33, 1:33, 1:31. Then did 5x100 Reverse IMs, which are much tougher as the butterfly is at the end of each rep. Did them better, at 1:29, 1:31, 1:31, 1:30, 1:29. Finished up with a 100 meter sprint at 1:09, which is 3 seconds faster than the sprint I did 3-4 weeks ago. Nice.

This was not the week I expected, but I did manage to get 3 of the 4 key workouts done under the circumstances. This 4 week base mesocycle is over. Overall, base is done, now the "build" period starts. This is where the volume increases to serious levels. I have 3 build mesocycle periods planned in the season that should take me to the end of May. After that, let the season begin!

February 23 - A Delightful 6 Mile Run in the Rain

AM Workout: 6 Mile Run (Easy Paced)

Course: Travis
Time: 58:06 (9:41 pace)
Weather: 37F, Light Rain, Moderate Wind

Anytime in recent memory I get to run in weather in the upper 30s or above, I get to smile. Why? Because I know I will not be a frozen popsicle on the way back. And today I found it even more delightful in the rain. I'm not sure why, but I feel that I'm starting to sense a bit of Spring in the air. I also did notice the earlier dawn today, and longer daylight = approaching Spring.

Oh yeah, bring Spring on. :-)

February 22 - 2000 Meters of Swimming - Preparation for Rest of Week

AM Workout: 200 Meters of Swimming

500 Meters Warmup
2x500 Easy Swim with Paddles
5X100 Swim with Snorkels Easy

Total: 2000 Meters

My shoulder is about 90% recovered from the fall it sustained last week. Only a little stiffness remains and this workout addresses it before I start swimming hard the rest of the week. The paddles provided a good final test for my shoulder, and I passed with flying colors. Some snorkel work was also done to address some symmetry issues.

I'm confident I'll be ready for the hard swim workouts to come.

Week of February 22 - 28 - Focus on Swimming

This is the last of the current 4 week cycle. The way things are going, the next mesocycle will be much higher in volume.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. This last week will be focused on swimming. Swimming basically was kept on the back burner last week, which was largely by design but also with an injured shoulder mixed in. The shoulder is recovered enough for some good workouts and it's full speed ahead!

The target mileage for the 3 disciplines.

8000 Meters of Swimming
80 Miles of Cycling
35 Miles of Running

Running takes the back seat here, after going 50 miles last week.

The Key Workouts are as follows: 2 Key Workouts for Swimming, 1 Key Workout for Cycling, and 1 Key Workout for Running (4 in all).

The Key Workouts are the following:

1) Swim - 3x800 meters of swimming with 1 minute rest in between.
2) Swim - 10x100 Individual Medleys (Fly, Back, Breast, Free) on 2:30.
3) Bike - 26 Miles on the Computrainer, Columbia Course, Wattage over 210.
4) Run - 8 Miles over Bayonne Bridge, Zone 2 hard aerobic pace.

On paper, this seems to be a slightly easier week than this past week. But, who knows?

Note: I am currently working on some pages that will show on charts the overview of my training. That should make it easier to follow along and see how I design my training plans. I am crossing my fingers and hope to have it up by this week.

February 21 - 10 Mile Run

AM Workout: 10 Mile Run - Easy, untimed
Course: Mall Run
Temps: 31F, light winds

I went for the 10 mile run today, but I didn't want to exhaust much energy because a), it is not a key workout, and b)I need to be set up nicely for next week. A little discipline is required to keep slow, and I aided that discipline by keeping my watch at home. I set out to enjoy the serenity of an early run (started 5:15AM) with no cars on the road. It was beautiful, I kept it probably around 10 minutes per mile pace and soaked up the crisp air as I ran.

This makes 50 miles of running this week. I did 65 miles of cycling and 3000 miles of swimming this week, so this week was about a 98% success!

Time to develop the plan for next week. In focus is swimming!

February 20 - 1500 meter swim and 6 mile run

AM Workout 2: 1600 meter swim

1x500 Meters Warmup
1x1000 Meters Easy Paced Swim
1x100 Warmdown
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1600 meters total

My arm has been recovering remarkably well, and after the hard bike I wandered over to the pool to see if I can handle a longish set. The 1000 meters was untimed, to keep it easy. I was very comfortable in the water, and actually did a few pickups within the long set to test the shoulder further. Everything looks fine. Good. Next week I have to do 8000 meters of swimming with 2 key workouts; I need my arm in good shape to pull it off.

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PM Workout: 6 mile run, easy paced
Time: 52:47 (8:48 min/mile pace)
Course: Travis Run
Temp: 43F, no winds

The third workout of the day, I set out to go easy. I went a little faster than that, probably because there was so much traffic on the roads that I might have picked up the pace to either get across the street, avoid traffic while crossing roads, etc. The result is a little too fast for my liking, but this puts the total run mileage of the week to 40. If I am to make 50 miles tomorrow, then I either have to do a 10 miler or two 5 milers. I'll see how I'll feel tomorrow before making a decision.