Into Build Phase

Now that spring break is over, I'm moving into my build phases. For me, that means I increase the intensity for some of the same workouts I've been doing while adding specific training, such as outside hills on the bike, race pace runs, and open water swims. Because of the weather, my schedule will be a mix of the winter schedule and the expected summer schedule for much of April. In May, the weather stabilizes for the most part, and the full-on summer schedule is in place.

At this point, my weekly goals are
- swim 8,000 yards
- bike 120 miles
- run 20 miles (will probably increase to 24 or 25).

Open water swims are out of the picture in Idaho til May. I might get one in at Camp Pendleton in April, and I hope to make that one a one-mile swim. I'm increasing my yardage now in the swim because that leg of the tri is still kind of in the base phase, as I didn't start swimming til mid-February. My current workouts are M: 20x100 on 1:40, T: 1x800, 1x400, 2x200, 4x100, W: 2x800, R: 1x2000, F: mix of whatever I feel like or off or makeup. The Mon-Thurs schedule gives me my 8,000 yards for the week, with an equal mix of short and long. This yardage is significantly higher than last year's average of about 5,000, and that's because I want to be able push the swim and still get out of the water not feeling tired; the increased distance should facilitate that. The goal for the race split in an olympic race is 20 minutes.

The bike is still kind of inconsistent for me, but I'm getting better. In February and March I had a couple of weeks that I got in all the workouts but not the mileage I was hoping for. In any case, I was increasing the resistance throughout the winter, so the mileage isn't such as great measurment. The month of April will be pretty much like the winter training, but I'll get in as many outside bikes as I can when the weather is nice. The early mornings are still in the picture, and will remain in the schedule during the summer. The goal for the race split is variable given the course, but in general I'm looking for 1:06 or less on a really good day with few hills and little wind.

My run is probably in the worst shape at this point. I've done nothing but easy runs for the past months, but my mileage is higher than it ever was last year. When I can add in the intensity, it should come along nicely fairly quickly. My race goal for the run is a 43:00 10k.

Notice that the race goals don't get me to the 20-60-40....yet. I think that is going to happen further down the road as my open water swim and bike improve. The run may never get to a 40:00 unless I'm under 170 pounds, which isn't somewhere I really want to be.

I think the winter training was good for me. I certainly have a good base for the bike and some decent easy mileage for the run. My swim will get where it needs to be eventually.

I signed up for the Cache Valley Tri on June 12 and the Janet's Tri (West Yellowstone) on June 19 this evening. That will help me get out of bed in the morning and give me something to focus on when the training gets difficult. The Cache Valley Tri bike course is half uphill and the other half downhill.