“TOUGH TUESDAY.” Tuesdays are just that… long and tough. I have a hard bike trainer session in the morning, followed by strength training, rest in the afternoon and then a long run of mostly
tempo intervals. My legs were pretty tired yesterday and I also didn’t get the best of sleep, so I was a little concerned about how my trainer session would go down. But, the legs rallied behind the mind and I completed a pretty good set that I was happy with. I made sure to get protein within 30 min of the set and then I laid down for about an hour to rest!
Next, for strength conditioning, I did a collection of exercises from my Physical Therapist that focus on my hips, glutes, and hamstrings. These are the problem areas for me; when I do the exercises regularly, the niggles stay away! When I don’t do the exercises regularly, you’d better believe those niggles start showing up. Because I have a race around the corner, this is not a heavily weighted session – that would be something that I did earlier in the season to gain more strength. I followed this with a hearty lunch, recovery boots, down time and light chores, and a snack that will fuel my PM run.
All bike and run sets created by my coach, Jarrod Evans of Triathlon Gold!
DAY 2 of 19
| SWIM | x | x |
| BIKE |
Power Intervals on trainer |
1:45 h |
| RUN |
Tempo Intervals on treadmill |
1:30 h |
|
STRENGTH |
PT based conditioning: Hips / glutes / hamstrings / core |
:30 h |
1 HOUR 45 MIN TRAINER SESSION
Warm up (approx 15 min)
10 min @ Steady State power or less, 53/11 in TT
5 min recovery, BCR zone 2, 53/25
2 x 10 min @ zone 4 power, 53/11 in TT
2.5 min recovery between each, BCR zone 2, 53/25
6 x 5 min Best Effort power, 53/11 in TT
1.5 min recovery between each, BCR zone 2, 53/25
Cool down (approx 15 min)
This set is definitely a tough one! Key notes from my coach are to start mentally engaged during the set, and it is not always easy. But, it is always great to practice these things for race day! I went through almost 2 bottles – one whole bottle of electrolytes and almost a whole bottle of straight water.
STRENGTH CONDITIONING
Lateral monster walk with band
Snatches with 20lb weight
Bosu side crunches + spiderman
Side and front planks with leg lifts
Triple threat with physio ball (hamstrings/glutes)
Dead bugs with physio ball
Clams with band
Donkey Kicks
Side + Curtsy Lunges
Leg Lifts (abs)
This is just one example of some of the common exercises that I do. It took about 30 minutes to complete.
1 HOUR 30 MIN TREADMILL RUN
Warm up
6 x 30 sec hills (incline)
#1-2 @ 4%
#3-4 @5%
#5-6 @ 6%
60 sec rest off treadmill between each, and 2 min recovery flat jog after hills
REPEAT THE FOLLOWING 2x @ 1% incline:
8 min @ tempo / 30 sec walk-30 sec jog
7 min @ tempo / 30 sec walk-30 sec jog
6 min @ tempo / 30 sec walk-30 sec jog
5 min @ tempo / 30 sec walk-30 sec jog
Tempo for me is about 7:30 pace, so all of these tempos were done at 8mph at 1% incline (which translates to 7:30). This run has progressed over a lot of weeks leading up to this particular set today, and it will also progress next week. This was a bit different than what I did last week because the minutes decreased each block, AND it is the first time I am repeating a run block twice in a workout – not going to lie, it was a bit intimidating when I saw it for the first time. Coach Jarrod rarely, if ever, has us do exactly the same workout. I drank almost 2 whole bottles of water. My clothes were so drenched after this run I was dripping onto the treadmill!!
NUTRITION
| MEAL | TIME | DESCRIPTION | WHY? |
| BREAKFAST 1 |
8 am pre ride |
Multigrain sourdough with almond butter
Banana Black coffee |
Bread – complex carbs and protein
Nut Butter – healthy fat and protein Banana – some natural sugar for an extra boost, and I was more hungry this morning |
| BREAKFAST 2 |
11am |
Green Smoothie :
Spinach, broccoli, ½ banana 1 scoop Nuzest vegan protein (10g pro) Ground flax and chia NUGO protein bar (10g pro) |
Smoothie – serving of veggies and protein, also helps rehydrate
Flax and chia – omegas and more protein, good for digestion |
| LUNCH |
12:30pm Post strength |
Spinach & chickpea salad
BBQ organic tofu Quinoa and brown rice Emergen-C
|
Leafy greens – iron, etc
Quinoa and beans – protein Tofu – I don’t eat processed soy everyday, but do use it when I’ve done a lot of hard training for a solid dose of protein |
| SNACK |
3pm |
Roasted red potatoes
Whole grain toast with jam Iced Tea **This actually turned out to be a great snack in terms of fuel for my hard run. I was very energized!
|
Potatoes – will digest well and store for tonight’s run
Toast – more complex carbs for run tonight; Maybe not the best snack and not the norm, but I’m also hungrier than usual today and need more satisfying fuel! |
| DINNER | 7:45pm | Quinoa tacos with corn tortillas tomato, avocado, pepitas salsa and cashew crema chimicurri cabbage slaw |
Long and tough day of training, so this was a big meal. I am always famished at the end of these days, especially because I do the hard run right before dinner time. I make sure to REFUEL!!
This meal includes carbs, protein, veggies, healthy fats, and is higher in calories to replinish the body. |
| SNACK | None |
I was happy with the day’s training, as I felt I made an improvement on the bike and I was able to hold my tempo throughout the whole set and didn’t have to punch the number down. Eat, rest, recover, repeat!!