Week 5 started with an FTP test because I felt I had increased my power enough that my workouts were not at the right effort level – even with the 10% bump I’d been using. It turns out I was right. The FTP test showed that I had increased my functional threshold power by about 18%. So now all of my workouts are a lot more difficult than they have been. But that’s a good thing!
The second and third rides of the week felt like they were at an appropriate level. The fourth ride on Saturday was a 3+ hour trainer ride – my longest trainer ride ever (until two weeks from now at least). It was at a solid power level and by the end it felt like a bit much. I also had serious problems with my sensors dropping out, so I was frustrated the whole ride and the data I got was pretty useless. But the workout was useful!
After that ride was an 11 mile run on Sunday. I only had two runs longer than that during my training for IMBoulder 2015. And those were 2 and 6 weeks before the race, not 6 months before. I’m a bit ahead of my schedule from last time. This run was 40 degrees with a 20 mph wind. I see a lot of long distance treadmill running in my future. No me gusta.
This week was the highest volume week so far and also filled with manual labor for the home remodeling. So I was pretty beat most of the week. My swimming workouts took the hit. I only did one swim. It went well, so I maintained the level I came into the week with, but didn’t really add anything.
After the effort of this week I’m still quite excited about training! And since I don’t have any training pictures yet, here’s a picture of my cat. You know, the way the internet intended.
Week 5: 1500yd/48m swimming; 106.6mi/7h05m cycling; 13.4mi/2h13m running; 5600 calories
Cumulative: 14,400yd/7h27m swimming; 395.5mi/27h33m cycling; 43.1mi/7h19m running; 21,700 calories