5 Weeks to go: Blue Mountains

Training Summary: Aug 7 - 13

Swim: 2X 3.5K/1h01m
Bike: 3X 81K/3h02
Run: 4X 25K/2h13
Weights: 3X (1X recovery) 1h17
Other: 1X 51m
Total: 8h30

Spent the week in Collingwood for a rural elective. Overall training volume was slightly down (swimming mostly, and had to cut down the bike time) but I did do some extra hikes so I was still active. Did a 50K ride in the Blue Mountains before work which was pretty good, and had a ~14K run on the weekend that was my longest run since Muskoka.

Swimming:
Tuesday PM: 35m 1.9K (ish) Q8 I8
YMCA in Collingwood, short pool. Not sure of the exact distance but guessing around 25y (23m) or possibly even 22m. Still felt strong and did a few sprints. Hard to compare relative times without knowing the distance.
Thursday PM: 25m/1.5K Q7.5 I8.5
Second swim, this one was even shorter. Pretty much just did sprints (biked earlier in the day, and had a long day in the ER). Times were a little faster than Tuesday, hitting about 32s for 1 lap (44-46m?) and 1:12-1:13 for 2 laps.

Cycling:
Tuesday PM: 30m/15K Q7I6.5
Easy ride in Collingwood. First half was very slow (into a head wind) and ddn't realize it was mostly uphill (about 55m of elevation over 6.5K) until I turned around and had an excellent tailwind down the hill. Legs were stiff.
Thursday AM:1h42/51K Q8I8
Tough ride i the Blue Mountains. Like the Tuesday ride, it was uphill with a headwind most of the first half of the ride. Climbed from around 195m to 500m over some fairly steep sections and about 24K before it flattened out a bit. Next section was a nice 8K on good hghways with a tailwind and some downhill. Next 5-6K was the climb back up the mountain (although it was only another 50-75m) and not too steep. The 5K decent was a bit of a challenge as there was a strong cross and tail-wind, making it difficult to control the bike once I hit 70kph. Overall I was happy wth my power output for the 50K. Nutrition: Drank 0.55/0.65L of water with 1x salt tab, 0.6/0.7L of 2x eload, 1x granola bar (30m) and 1X gel (1h10)
Sunday AM: 50m/16K Q5I4
Family ride towing the girls on my tribike. Mostly easy riding (Z1), some Z2 efforts.


Running:
Monday AM: 32m/4.1K Q6.5 I2
Did an easy run with Crystal, legs felt pretty good overall.
Wednesday AM: 25m/5.2K Q7I6
Easy run in Collingwood. Mostly flat, was running in the 4:50s.
Friday PM: 10m/2KQ5I6
Treadmill warm-up for some steps.
Saturday AM: 1h05/13.7K Q8 I7.5
Long run in Hamilton around midday. Temp was probably 22-24C. There was a bit of a headwind on the first few K (headed south on Wellington) but got down to the 4:50s. Once I turned down Rymal and Sherman I was running around 4:40, getting my average around 4:45 for the first 9Kish. The last 4 K was mostly uphill and the heat was increasing. Slowed down to 4:50s again. Drank 1x eload in 10 oz and 10oz with a salt tab. Had half a gel with about 1K to go, probably could have used another 4 oz of water or so as I felt myself start to slow down as the 1h mark passed.

Weights:
Monday AM: 31m Q7 I8
Quick weight session after the run. Slight increase. Sq 120, 140, 150 x 5, DL 120, 140, BP 120, 140, 160x6, 170x5, 160x6, OHP 30-35 x 5, some core work and stability.
Wednesday PM: 32m Q7.5 I7
Weights at the YMCA in Collingwood. Did some glute stuff (SDLs, SLSq) but nothing heavy. Did some inclinE CP, pull-ups, and OHP to work the upperbody. Some core stuff throughout and at the end as well.

Other:
Was an active week, did 3 "hikes" on Wed, Thurs, and Fri. The hardest one was about an hour up and down Blue Mountain (tracked). Thurs was a long walk through town (probably almost an hour, maybe 5K?) which I mistakenly wore flip flops for. Friday was much shorter through the scenic caves. These definitely contributed to overall fatigue though.

Next week
With the race getting closer I need to increase the lengths of my swims (haven't done 2+K in a while) and start t think about open water swimming again. I also need to build up my bike distance to around 75K to get used to the long distances in aero. Finally need to increase my run to about 16K as I get close to my peak. The added challenge will be whether there is a family camping trip on the weekend or not!