Weekly Reflection - 26/08 - 01/09

Favourite session of the week: I was feeling a bit dizzy and sick on Thursday evening so I decided then that I was not going to be heading to the swim session on Friday morning. As I also had a long day in the office, I decided to push the swim session to the Saturday after the ride instead (not something I would often do or recommend). It was a program based on endurance and because I was in a public pool, I didn't want to disturb the other swimmers with my varying speeds (of the program) so I decided to do the following:
Warm Up - 200m free @ T2 - I get pretty impatient and do a pretty short warm up but the rest of my set was not at high speeds/intensity.

Main Set - 8 x 500m (at T3-4) doing the following:
1) Pull Bouy & Band
2) PB, Band & Paddles
3) PB & Band
4) Drills (T2) with Fins- single arms, catch ups, finger tip drags, 8-3-8s.
5) Fins T4-5
6) Fins & Paddles
7) PB, Band & Paddles
8) PB & Band

That was probably the longest swim set I have ever done but I loved it so much. It was a sunny (Spring) day and it was just bliss being in the outdoor pool doing laps at my pace. I think the work I have been doing with my pb, band and paddles have really helped me improve my my high elbows (both in and out of the water).

Don't know if I could count this as a training session but I rode into work on Thursday morning - was a gorgeous morning and the ride was fantastic (didn't ride home as the heavens opened up). Didn't ride on Beach Rd itself (I use the bike paths). Until my new CX bike comes into Australia, I will be riding my old road bike (Squeaky).
Least favourite session of the week: I have mentioned it before, I detest riding on Beach Rd and avoid riding with large groups as much as possible. As it was recovery week, the program was an endurance ride rather than strength work amongst the hills. The group started at 6:50am and I decided to start my session early and ride from my house approx 20km away. Riding from the house early in the morning was bliss (remembering back in the day when I would venture from the house at 4am). No large aggressive groups riding towards the city, hardly any cars, hardly any traffic lights. It was just me, the soothing sounds of my (Wilier) bike.

Due to the large number of people in our group, it was hard to stay as one due to the amount of traffic (both cars and bikes). It was quickly split and I settled in the back pack. We rode all the way to Frankston BP where the turn around point was. By then I had done about 75km and this was exactly where I would turn around to reach my 100km for the morning. Reasons why I disliked the session:

• Someone threw tacks on the road which caused about a third of our group to get flats. I thought something was up when I saw heaps of cyclist on the side of the road changing their tubes. I don't think people (who throw tacks) realise the dangers of their actions - you don't only cause flats, you also cause accidents. I had a tack in my tyres but kept riding as I was about 10km from home.
• There are some people who ride in groups who don't hold their line properly and swerve (majorly). They don't concentrate on the roads, keep looking around and if they were riding in a close group, they would have surely taken someone out.   
• It was a nice day so many people who probably haven't ridden their bikes in months were out on Beach Rd - too many people who don't know common courtesy (as a road user).

All that aside, it was still a training session and good to have it in the training bank.

Advice of the week: As last week was recovery week, we were advised to get massages booked in. Massages are a vital part in triathlon and recovery. It helps to loosen up tight muscles and prepares you better for your following sessions. For me personally, I had my shoulders and back done as they were tight from swimming and cycling (especially being in TT position). If I had the finances for it - I would book in for a massage on a weekly basis! For now, once every 3-4 weeks is all I can afford.

Thing I’m looking forward to next week: I thought I would try my first full week of training (including double session Tuesday and Thursday) but no....I have a family dinner on Tuesday night and I am getting my car serviced on Thursday. I will do the programmed run session on Tuesday AM and will do a run from Richmond to work on Thursday AM (5km). Coaching on Thursday evening so I won't be doing my own program. I bought a new pair of running shoes - Mizunos so I am looking forward to trying them out during these run sessions. I am not using them for my long runs yet as they are very minimalist. I am going to only use them for short < 10km runs and if I am finding them troublesome, then will be just wearing them for non-running/training purposes.  

 My New Shoes - http://mizuno.com.au/