Week in review Feb. 10-16: Just the basics

Swim, bike, run, and a rest day.

It was A Week. I spent the workdays trying to get a last-minute project out the door, and the evenings squeezing in some training and family time. I really had to juggle my time and carefully consider what was essential and non-essential. As stressful as it was, the week culminated in a super fun indoor triathlon, something I haven’t done in almost 8 years! It’s been so long, I had to look it up.

The previous Sunday had been an unexpected rest day with family in town, so I was able to rally for a medium treadmill run Monday evening in place of a long run. Not great, but good enough, at this point. Tuesday was a a late start to a typical bike trainer ride, but it got done.

Wednesday I wanted to squeeze in an easy run and an easy swim, so imagine my surprise when I walked by the pool and saw a giant empty pit where the pool used to be. Apparently some glass had broken on the pool deck and the entire thing needed to be drained. I had my run clothes with me, so it wasn’t a total loss, but I was pretty annoyed I would miss a planned swim. I would have gone to a different pool had I known ahead of time.

I wanted to swim at least once before my race so I did swim Thursday, but I had to miss barre class with a promised Galentine’s Day playlist to do so, which was a bummer. I was so happy to see Friday come around, and my husband and I celebrated Valentine’s Day with another trip to the gym. Woo hoo! I did a short stationary bike/treadmill brick (30-ish minutes each) to make sure I could handle it on race day. Everything felt fine.

I was pretty exhausted by Saturday and embraced it as a rest day, sleeping in a little, snoozing later in the day, and doing no exercise. It was nice. My “race” (really not a race since no awards or anything were given) was super fun and went well, and I left proud of how I did. Race recap to come when I have a few minutes.

I didn’t do any weights, yoga, or PT this week. It was just so busy and stressful, and I had to be smart about my time. But what I did accomplish was:

Run: Four times, three on the treadmill and one race doing laps around a gym, for approximately 18 miles in about 3:02.

Bike: Three times – once on my trainer, once on a stationary bike at the gym, and once on a spin bike for the race – for about 31.5 fake miles (best guess) in about 1:51. Not a great week for biking compared to other weeks.

Swim: Twice, both in the pool, for about 3000 yards in about 1:18. This was one swim of drills and 200s to make sure I was race ready, and then the warmup and actual swim.

Total: Nine sessions in about 6:11. Eh, considering everything going on, that I took a full day off, and that I had shortened workouts on race day, I’ll take it. It doesn’t hurt to do a stepback week once in a while.

I haven’t signed up for any more races yet, but I’m hoping to do a few more fun 5Ks this winter/spring, and I haven’t taken a spring half off the table quite yet. I’d like to keep swimming and biking in the schedule, but I might try to do some shifting around to make sure running stays consistent.

I am hoping to the running gods that the worst of winter is behind us and that I can start to get outside in the evenings after Daylight Savings begins. I know, I know – it’s optimistic, knowing that Michigan winters can drag on and on. But I am ready for sun and the fun of running outdoors without freezing!