race prep workouts

Bike - 60 min - warm up, sprint ladder: 3-3/4-4/5-5/4-4/3-3 (min on-min off), cool down
Swim - 43 min, 2100m - main set: 2 x 400@ 7:22, 7:16, 2x[100@1:30 on 2min, 2 x 50@45 on 1min, 100easy]
Massage

I rarely get up early and go for a bike ride before work but I always enjoy it when I do. It is fun to see the sun rise. Getting in a workout before work always feels so satisfying.

Both of today's workouts were very strong. I wanted to get in some hard effort intervals in preparation for the Lake Mills sprint triathlon on Sunday. My legs are still sore from the half marathon so I am easing up on running this week. The bike ladder workout gave me 19 minutes of race pace effort. I made myself stay above 20mph for the entire length of each interval regardless of terrain. The race itself will be about 40 minutes... it is going to be challenging to hold that pace for twice as long as I did today but I always go faster on the bike in races than in training. The swim ladder gave me three times the race distance at just above or at race pace. I was able to draft off a fast swimmer in my lane for one of the laps and noticed a big difference in the feel of the water. Besides the workout race prep, I also cleaned my bike today and removed all extraneous accessories that aren't needed for a short race. I went to a bike tech clinic on deraillieurs and cables, and am hoping I can do all my own drivetrain maintenance from now on... in other words, when something is clicking or rattling, I will be able to fix it without going to the bike shop.

I am eager to have this first set of races be done so I can get back to my real Ironman training. I haven't done much long slow distance in a while since I have replaced much of it with speedwork and structured workouts. I guess this has been a good mental and physical recovery. Coming out of it, I don't feel that lingering fatigue in my body, and I am excited to start something new. Perfect.