Back to Normal - Cycle 4

This past cycle was the first cycle since I began training were I had no outside distractions. The past 3 cycles before this one, included Christmas, New Years Eve, Holiday Parties, Weddings, and other various get together's with family and out of town friends. I don't want to sounds negative when I use the word "distraction" to describe these events, because I am extremely fortunate to have the family and friends that I have and truly cherish all time spent with them. But, looking at them from strictly a training standpoint, they become a distraction. They require a significant time commitment and often come with unhealthy, detrimental food choices on top of a high consumption of alcohol. I had a great holiday season and enjoyed seeing all my family and friends, but I'll be fully honest, I am rather glad that they are over and am able to get back to a regular routine.

I am the type of person who likes stability, routines, and schedules (imagine that!). I also have a very addictive personality. I get uncomfortable when my routine gets thrown off, especially when the changes come unknown to me. I can tolerate change when I am able to plan ahead to make adjustments. The previous 3 cycles were full of changes, majority of which I was able to make necessary changes ahead of time to work in the commitments I had. This past cycle had no commitments. It was truly "back to the grind." I worked a full week of work, along with a full day of training on my off days. I was personally looking forward to putting the holidays behind me and start really focusing in on my training and start taking it serious. I want to make the most of this racing season. I want to end the year and think, "I gave it everything I had." I would be completely frustrated with myself if at the end of the race season I have regrets.

Brief Recap

This cycle was the first in the Base phase of my training. So I had a new breakdown of each sport along with an increase in training volume. Along with having a successful training week, I was also successful in following my newly implemented diet. I did not have one dessert or sugar filled foods, nor did I have a single beer. I did have a few glasses of wine when our friends came over for dinner on Tuesday night. I was happy with myself with my decision to turn down Cold Stone Ice Cream, cake, cookies, and caramel corn this past cycle. My focus has been and remains to be high. My motivation has been high considering this time of year. My goals are driving me train hard and smart. My motivation level is also aiding in my decisions and commitment to my diet.

The weather this past cycle was unseasonably warm with temperatures in the 40's. The weather has made outdoor running even easier. I really was hoping to get out and bike this past cycle but just didn't workout because the sun set around 4:30pm and I wasn't able to get out and ride during day light. Don't get me wrong, as a guy who hates cold weather and winters in Wisconsin, I love the unseasonable weather we had this past week. But the fact of the matter is - it's still January and the daylight only lasts until about 4:30pm.

My right ankle and foot have began to bother me this cycle. My arch has been feeling as though it tightening up and my ankle on the inner side feels similar to a stress fracture. I really doubt it's a stress fracture, but more of just general soreness that comes with a general increase in training volume. I have been putting an extra effort in my recovery with heavier use of a massage stick and stretching. I have also been rolling a massage stick on the bottom of my foot to workout an potential issues with my tendons. I have not had to make any adjustments in my training, just a more concerted effort in my recovery strategies.

Favorite Workout

Of all my training sessions this past cycle, I would say my favorite workout was my Critical Swim Speed workout. I did the workout at the Appleton YMCA which has a designated lap swim pool. It's a cooler 50 meter pool, with lane lines and is solely used for lap swimming. After doing a brief warm up and build set, my main set consisted of 14x100m starting each rep on 2:04. My 100 yard CSS is 1:36 and I added an additional 20 seconds to come up with an interval time. However, since this is a meter pool I had to adjust my CSS time to reflect the added distance. My 100 meter CSS time is 1:44. This workout really forced me to focus on my pacing. The further I got into the 14 reps the more tired I got and really focused on maintaining good technique to maintain the scheduled pace. After the main set I did a brief cool down and then headed into the weight room for a 30 minute strength workout. This was my first workout at the Appleton Y in their lap swimming pool. There is something cool about swimming in a true lap swimming pool. The water is colder than a normal pool to prevent from getting too hot while swimming. It makes you feel like your a better swimmer, almost like your an Olympic swimmer. Maybe this is just because I have gotten used to swimming in a dirty 3 lane yard pool at X-perience Fitness or a warm 3 lane yard pool at the Heart of the Valley YMCA. But the pool at the Appleton YMCA is nice and makes swimming just a bit more enjoyable.

Moving Forward

My training schedule for this cycle follows the same training template as the previous. The durations increase this cycle, especially with during my off days. Instead of doing 800m repeats this week, I have mile repeat workout scheduled. I have 2 mile repeats (sprints) scheduled within a 5 mile total distance workout. I will run a 2 mile warm up followed by 2, 1 mile sprints at a 5:30-5:45 pace with 3 minutes rest between the two reps, and finish up the workout with a 1 mile cool down to total 5 miles. Mile repeats are a challenging workout, but very rewarding and motivating. Depending on the weather I will try to do these outside and will just have to take the temperatures into account with the slower run times.

My goals this week are to continue making smart choices with my nutrition. I also want to continue to stay motivated and focused throughout this cycle. As long as I can continue to place high importance on my recovery and self massaging I know I'll be able to make it through this cycle with no injury worries.

Be fast, be strong, and carry on!