I get asked a lot of questions about my training. At the pool this week one of the lifeguards asked me how far I swim, another person asked me if I bike during the winter, and someone else asked me if I run outside during the winter. Other questions are around how often do I swim, bike and run each week, do I do anything else besides swim, bike and run, and do I get days off.
I always find myself hesitating when asked these questions because there isn’t really an easy answer. Yes, I do swim, bike and run during the winter. I also do strength and core work, and also some yoga/stretching/mobilization but, the distances, durations and frequencies vary every week.
For example, some weeks I swim 3x/week, bike 2x/week and run when I feel like it. Other weeks it may be more bike heavy – where I bike 3x/week and then cut down on the distance or frequency of the swims and runs. And there are always strength and/or core work sessions.
So, let me try and answer by breaking down each activity.
Strength/Core Work – There are always 3-4 days of strength training and/or core work. Each of these sessions lasts 30-40 minutes. I usually do these sessions after I am done with any other workouts for the day. So if I have bike, run and strength workouts for the day, then the strength workout is the last one I do. Usually my coach doesn’t dictate the order for the workouts (unless it’s a brick) so I like to do the strength/core workouts last so that my best energy goes into the swim, bike or run workout. (NOTE: now that I have admitted doing this, I can just see Matt start telling me to do the strength workouts first. Probably he will say something like do your bike on tired legs. :) )
Yoga/Stretching/Mobilization – I spend 20-60 minutes on this every day. There are some rare occasions when I just don't feel like stretching but, I usually stretch every night and add the mobilization which is foam rolling about 2-3 times/week. Occasionally, I throw in a 30 minute yoga session which really helps when I start feeling really tight.
Swim – For the past couple months I have been swimming about 2-3x/week. (When IM training starts ramping up, the number of swims/week increases). The swims vary by distance and type. Some swim workouts are really drill-centric meaning that I spend a lot of time just doing different drills to help my swim technique. Other workouts are focused on speed, where I do shorter intervals at a hard/fast effort. And other swim workouts focus on distance meaning I am in the pool for a long time.
Matt always makes the swim workouts interesting with a variety of things to do in each session. Here is an example of one of my workouts this past week:
WU: 4x50, fingertip drag, one finger entry, bull horn entry, fingertip drag
MS:
200 + 4x50 (200 is easy, 50's are fast)
200 + 4x50 (200 is easy, build effort on the 50's
200 + 2x100 (200 is easy, 100's are rollover drill
200 + 2x100 (200 is easy, build effort on the 100's)
200 + 4x50 (200 is easy, 50's are moderate, sprint the last 10 meters)
200 + 4x50 (200 is easy, 50's are 25 easy/25 sprint)
Rest 2 minutes
Swim 200 fast
Get out of the pool and go home
Bike – During the winter I bike inside on a trainer. Currently my bike workouts last about 1.5-2 hours, usually 3x/week. The frequency and duration of the bike workouts will increase as we start building up for Coeur d’Alene IM. Matt creates the workouts for me. The focus the past couple months has been to get stronger! (Isn’t that always the focus?) :) Workouts include intervals using big gear combos, and also workouts focusing on high power with high cadence over a set time period (like 2 minutes). Other workouts are gear ladders or ramps where I spend x-amount of time in each gear for the duration of the ride.
Run – I have been battling a sore hip flexor since last October so my running has been a little off the past few months. Runs are 2-3x/week for 30-60 minutes (my choice of time and route). I don’t run back-to-back days because the hip flexor flares up when I do that. I usually run outside in the winter. The exceptions to running outside are when the temperature is less than 15 degrees and/or the roads are icy, in those cases I run inside on the treadmill.
Days Off – I don’t take a specific day off each week. Actually looking back at my plan, I have not had a ‘day off’ since last October. I like it that way! I want to do something every day and Matt knows that so when he creates my plan he rarely puts in a ‘day off’. That said, I do have “easy” days and recovery weeks every 3-4 weeks. On the easy days, I usually have something short like a 30-minute core or strength workout and if I feel like it I can go for a walk or hike – just no swimming, biking or running. During the recovery week, the intensity, number of workouts and duration of workouts is decreased.
So, there you have it . Now when you ask me about my training and I hesitate with an answer, this is why – it’s usually not a very straight-forward answer. :)
What other questions do you have?
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| Chilly run day |
