Hmmm, I wasn't sleepy this week?

So this week turned out to be a very proportioned IM training week. I got in a long run and long bike, along with my all of my other runs being outside (regardless of how cold it was). This is the first week that I feel a lot of things coming together (being able to withstand the quantity and volume of workouts). I’m not nearly as tired and I’m not requiring as much sleep at night (8 hrs versus the 9+ I was getting the first 4 weeks or so). Granted, I am only hitting about 14.5 hours a week right now, but I feel really good and not completely wiped out. The weekend endurance workouts were not as difficult as I thought they may be given that I’d completed 9 workouts during the work week prior.

The long run took place Saturday on the Smyrna greenway. This was a nice 14 miler flat run with Mark. We had intended on keeping an 8:30 pace, but I guess the 30 degree weather, sleet and wind hitting us in the face, and Mark’s frozen and swollen fingers caused us to pick up the pace. We ended up running the 14 miles at a 7:51 pace.

The bike ride was a 47 miler at a base building pace on Sunday (16.7mph I believe, with about 2,400 feet of climb per my Garmin – the perfect winter long ride). However, it was 28 degrees with a windchill of 24 when we started. Much like the run, snow and sleet were coming down at times. These were not Louisville conditions in August.

I also got signed up for some more events. So far, the race schedule has the following:
-Tom King Half Marathon – 3/13
-Hell of the South bike race – 3/20
-Oak Barrel Half Marathon – 4/3
-Cheaha Challenge (bike century and training camp weekend) – 4/18
-Country Music Half Marathon – 4/24
-Three States Three Mountains (bike century) – 5/1
-Taylorsville Half Ironman – 5/15

These should help build the base and provide some higher paced workouts for Louisville in August. So far, YTD totals for swim, bike, run, and lifting are: 60 hours and 412 miles in 5 weeks.