I did another track workout today and it was almost as bad as last week.
The workout was 14min w/up, 14min tempo at 6:53 pace, 3min rest, 3x1200m w/3min rest.
Those 1200s were supposed to be at 5k pace but that did not happen:( I went 4:48, 4:59, 5:06. Definitely not a 5k pace. First 400m was ok but then it went downhill (unfortunately not literaly) and I stopped looking at my watch and just run uptempo keeping a good running form. I am glad I managed three of them, which is better than last week when I managed only two 1k.
Basically I felt 100x better than last week but still 100x worse than just two weeks ago. I have no idea what's going on.
I do not feel tired or lacking energy (because I did 3x1000 w/1min rest in a pool right afterwards in 18, 16:26, 16. Nothing amazing but decent and I am sure that I would not be able to do it if it was energy problem.)
It seems that it is my legs that are just trashed. Warm up was ok, not great but ok but then I started a first stride and holy s***, my legs hurt! I did the sub-tempo and it was harder than it should have been and it seems that it sucked all the remaining power from my legs and I was useless for the intervals. Useless.
I do not know what this is all about. I should be able to hit a 5k pace for this workout no problem, I used to do it before, like a month ago!
Can it be I am so out of biking shape that even a mountain biking weekend, a 90min ride yesterday and biking to and from work leaves my legs so trashed that I cannot execute my runs properly? I was able to do it last year no problem but I was biking a lot last year.
I did a 65min run on Tuesday on a decent clip (it felt decent, I do not know what pace I was running) and felt fine. Could that taken so much out of me that I was not able to run properly two days after? I do not think so because that just does not make any sense. I know that I have not been the best/consistent runner in the last month but it still does not make any sense.
Can it be mental? I was not freaking out about this workout although I was definitely little anxious after last week's disastrous workout.
Really no idea what's going on. I am not freaking out about it, because I felt much better today than last week and it is not like I had a world championship looming over my head. I think that I will be allright in a week or two.
But something is definitely wrong and I still would like to know what the hell is going on!!!This is the first time anything like this is happening to me.
Any suggestions?
Oceanside 70.3 #14
2 weeks ago
Totally could be the biking. One thing I've learned over he years though is that it's best not to micromanage every workout and stress about the numbers every time. Sometimes, especially when you're trying to build back fitness that has been lost, it's best to just do the work the best you can on any given day then let it go. Look for overall trends showing you're moving in the right direction. The same way we don't get excited about one great workout (we're looking for a trend of good to great workouts) we don't get stressed about a bad w/o. The fact that you felt better than last week even though you're bringing the biking back in is a sign that your fitness is moving in the right direction. And hate to say this, but no matter how fit you are swim/bike, you won't be *as fast as you could be* running if you're splitting your training time with swim/bike. That's the game of triathlon... balancing it all! It's a fun game! :)
ReplyDeleteI was able to do bike/run combo last year no problem, running intervals as fast as I could have been when just running. But ok, it was on a bike every day so had bike fitness. So I know I should not compare last year and this year.
ReplyDeleteBut I was able to do bike/run combo similar to this and last week just 2 weeks ago no problem. And suddenly I cannot do it?!? Except, mountain biking and occasional commute to work are new now. Might be that but I am not convinced. Since I cannot even do one interval at the prescribed pace, and I really should be able to do five of them... Something is not right.
Basically my trend since the last triathlon has been week 1 ok, week 2 great, week 3 horrible, week 4 horrible but better than week 3. And that does not make any sense, what kind of a trend is that?!? I bike more than week 1 and 2 but it is only a very marginal increase (it seems to me at least) and even if it was bigger than it feels, I should still be able to do at least one 1000m in under 4min! And I am not even able to do that!
ReplyDeletedidn't you have a trans-atlantic move in there and the inevitable un-ideal training surrounding that? didn't you say you had been skipping runs lately recently in a post? i think you need to stop worrying about your interval times. do the work-outs. don't analyze trends over a micro-scale (to borrow a term from Michelle). Just do the work-outs, do the easy runs, you'll see better times soon (ish). I don't think something isn't right, I think you are just feeling the effects of less tha ideal training over the past few weeks. Also, remember, the intervals are meant to be at 5 km pace... it could be that you are in 20 minute 5 km shape right now which would make your 1200 m intervals about right (considering you did the sub-tempo first).
DeleteIt just seems like a way fast jump from being able to execute a workout to not being able to execute a workout. One week was great and then 7 days later bang! I am not able to run one 4min kilometer.
DeleteThat's what perplexes me. It went all downhill too suddenly.
Or maybe that good workout was just a "magic day" and my running went downhill already before.
I mean, I am not worried because it will get better, I just have not experienced anything like this before.
And yes, I might be in a 20+min shape now, I have no problem with that, but 16sec difference between the first and the third interval????