On Sunday, I completed my 4th week of my 13-week triathlon training plan. I had built in 2 “easy” weeks throughout my training plan to give myself a bit of a break, and one of those was originally supposed to be Week 4. Since I missed the first 2 weeks of training because of my bike accident, I didn’t need a rest week yet. So I ended up just repeating week 3.

Training with a cast on my wrist continues to be interesting. I can’t swim or ride a bike outside. Nonetheless, things are going really well and I can feel my endurance and stamina improving as the weeks pass! Here is how things went this week:

Triathlon Training: Week 4

Monday

Rest Day

Tuesday

This is a day scheduled for swim sprints on my tri plan but I have changed that to strength training while I can’t get in the pool. I stayed at home this day and did a bunch of leg exercises that I used to do in PT. I added 2# leg weights for a bit of resistance.

Wednesday

I did a brick workout this day at the Y… 40-minute ride and 15-minute run.

I mentioned this in another post but one bummer about the Y is that their cardio equipment has a 30-minute time limit. The machine actually cuts off so that you are forced to get off. So I actually did a 30-minute ride on the regular stationary bike and then moved to a recumbent bike for the rest of the ride. I made it work but knew the Y is probably not going to be the best option for riding.

Thursday

Originally planned to do an open swim at the Whitewater Center but obviously that was out. They also found a brain-eating amoeba in the water at the whitewater site so I’m kind of okay with not swimming there right now. I decided to stay home instead and did some strength training. I actually found a great set of exercises online and spent about 40-minutes on them. I kind of felt like I should have gone to the gym but I was being too lazy. The Y closest to me also closes at 8 so that kind of limits when I can go after work.

Friday

I did a 20-minute treadmill run. Remember when I mentioned liking the treadmill now? Apparently that is only when I can watch TV. Didn’t love this run but I think it was because there was no TV on the treadmill.

Saturday

My plan was to set my bike up on my new trainer and do my ride at home. But I realized I needed a new skewer to support my bike on the trainer and didn’t have time to go back by the bike shop before it closed. So this day ended up being a rest day.

Sunday

I ended up getting the skewer for my bike on this day and did a 50-minute ride at home.

I really love the convenience of the trainer. Once I learned how to pop my bike in, it only took a few minutes to set up. My specific trainer also folds up nicely so it’s easy to store.

Something I didn’t expect about the trainer is that it is really loud! I wanted to watch TV while riding but I had to turn the volume up so high to hear it over the trainer that I was afraid I was torturing my roommate and neighbors. I’m shopping for a pair of wireless headphones so that I can hear the TV without disturbing anyone

Thought Overall

Runs

I’m really happy that I’m building up some endurance with my runs. I actually think my issues with running have been more mental because I have no physical issue increasing my time and distance. I am running a pretty slow mile right now and I’m wondering if that will increase over the next 9 weeks.

Cycle

I hope I’m not being cocky but I am feeling really good about my rides. The sprint is a 13-mile ride and right now I can cycle for an hour without really feeling much.

Swim

Obviously I’m falling further and further behind with my swims. I hate that I will be the least prepared for this sport and it’s the first one. I have an update on my hand coming tomorrow but I don’t think I’m going to be able to come back from my hand injury in time to really prepare myself for a strong swim.