Week 17 Recap

Since I felt like I had been in a perpetual taper for the last month it was time to get back to serious business. I've decided to skip the two VTS circuit races I had planned to focus on building my cycling base. I mapped out a plan that increases mileage approximately 10% a week for the next 10 weeks. The goal is to be fit enough to comfortably ride Mountains of Misery with my tri club during the Memorial Day weekend. To give you an idea of the pain that awaits me; the course traverses 125 miles and contains 13,000 feet of climbing. Sounds fun doesn't it?

I knew this week would be a bit short on volume due to a mini-vacation I took on Friday to Connecticut. But I went ahead and worked out as planned and hoped to get at least a long run in while I was gone.

From Monday to Saturday I felt like a million bucks. Everything I threw at my body was well received. I had the minor aches and pains of a triathlete but nothing worth mentioning. On Wednesday I substituted my Yasso 800 workout for 4x1200s. I read that I should be looking for longer intervals given the distance and pace I'm aiming for. I'll probably continue with this line of thought for a few months and see how things go. On Saturday I got the opportunity to take a leisurely 10-mile run along the Thames River and through Gales Ferry Village. It was a peaceful, sunny morning. Sunday afternoon I had planned a 20-30 mile ride with my old high school buddy who's gotten the extreme road biking bug but we had to postpone it to Tuesday.

Instead of riding on Sunday I decided to relax and get a deep tissue massage from a serious Sports Massage Therapist that works with the WNBA's Connecticut Sun. She's a friend/coworker with a member of my family so I got a sweet deal. All I can say is, "Ouch!" I got worked in places I didn't even know were sore. She attacked my IT Band for a solid five minutes of excruciating pain. I hobbled around for the remainder of the day. But the next morning I wasn't sore anywhere. And for that reason, I would recommend getting a good massage anytime you get that deep fatigue in your muscles. It's magic.

Even with two days off this week I logged a shade under 7 hours. I cranked out 4800 yards swimming, 28 miles biking, and 24 miles running.