Making Progress

Well, entering the third week of my final base period and things seem to be on track. A little scary to tackle this season self-coaching, but I've created a pretty good plan for myself and I can feel my body responding. Haven't been working the swim too much yet but am just starting to get in twice a week so I can hit about 8,000 yards. In my experience, that's plenty of yardage for me. The numbers on the bike are coming along--I'm in a similar spot as this time last year which is a good thing. Endurance is coming along. Still working on my run but am seeing some progress there too. I seem to have hit a plateau where I settle into running comfortably at sub-9 pace in a low HR zone. The trouble is that if I push a little harder into the next zone (where I really should be), my body and brain conspire to give me signals to slow down. When I make an effort to ignore the signals, I run faster and can hold it for long periods but as soon as I stop focusing on it, I fall back. So I think I just need to push myself though a little discomfort for a while to get myself used to that slightly higher number.

Luckily, I have a stud training partner who is a faster runner than I am and can easily keep me honest. Whitney (aka Pansy) is a serious athlete (women's champ at Vineman last season) who is a great match for me. She's getting ready for a spring marathon so we're a little out of sync on distance but have had success with runs where I stop a bit before she does (I don't need the mileage). I'm seeing myself developing some good habits as a result of this partnership--such as running hard off the bike (like we did yesterday). We have fun and always log every minute--she's type A just like me.

So I'll push though this week and then look forward to taking a cutback to absorb the work. Feeling good about my season--I usually feel behind at this point.

Cheers.