So after 4 weeks, I’ve finished the base portion of the training plan. I am supposed to work out every day – but that is honestly crazy. I have just been happy to be motivated to do anything at all some days and my workouts sometimes have felt lackluster – I just feel it’s better than nothing. My training log is below from Excel. All of these workouts are supposed to be at a relatively relaxed pace to get ready to push myself in the next phase. I may not have always done that. Please note: all bike training has been done on a spin bike so far as my road bike is in the shop (and it’s been cold). The long runs have mostly been outside and otherwise have been on the treadmill.
If you look at the workouts missed, there’s a clear pattern. Swimming. It’s my weakest link and I have my excuses. The pool is too far. I had plans. I was sore. I was sick. Lane swim is too crowded. Well, I really don’t want to drown so hopefully I’ll do better in the next phase. I have already skipped Easter Sunday as the pool is closed but after that, I am promising myself to get better!
One thing I found surprising about the workouts are that when I finally stopped using the treadmill and ran outside, my pace had improved dramatically since consistently weight training. A sub-5:00 / km run is feeling pretty comfortable with a few 4:30-4:40 / km runs! It feels like I’m getting great benefits. I may do a trial of Strava Premium to see if it offers any useful information about my training. Next post I’ll go into detail about what kind of weight training I’ve been doing to see these improvements.
-Adam