Big Week Redux

    Choosing to self-coach for my upcoming racing season, I have become a bit of a spaz about searching and researching every bit of information I can get my eager hands on. No, I do not take it all at face value, or try to incorporate everything into my training, if I did I would be even crazier than I already am. Instead I winnow through the bits and bobs, finding what makes sense to me, letting the rest blow away on the wind. One vital piece of information that I have taken to heart is a training schedule. This may sound like a no-brainer, but many people (myself included, in the past) are willing to "just train." It is easy enough to just go along with a standard weekly schedule thinking it will get us where we want to be. Yes, it will, but it won't take us as far as we could get. I do have a weekly schedule that looks something like this: Sunday, cycle and strength train; Monday, run and core conditioning; Tuesday, swim and cycle; Wednesday, minimal workout and firefighter drill night; Thursday, swim and run or cycle; Friday, run and strength train. Saturday, run and/or cycle, and core conditioning. Pretty standard stuff. Yes, I also work in stretching and myofascial release work.
    Now, here is where an actual training schedule steps in. I could do my same old, same old weekly workout program and do decently well in the shorter triathlons. Kind of a Weekend Warrior level participant. But I am bumping up to longer distances this year and know that the same old, same old is not going to cut it. Oh sure, I could manage to finish a half-Ironman by sticking to a standard weekly schedule, but would likely be miserable, and just about have to crawl across the finish line. A training schedule will let me build up each week in an intelligent, set fashion. Each month will be comprised of two weeks of Building, one Big Week, and one Recovery Week.
    I just finished my Big Week. Actually it ended up being 9 days, because I had 2 days when life didn't let me really workout. Life is funny that way, and I have to be flexible enough to adapt. My Big Week meant doubled up workouts on almost every day. And not just my standard workouts, but workouts when I pushed myself that extra mile, those extra minutes, those extra laps. I incorporated speed drills, strength training, lactate threshold cardio, and plain old endurance work. I averaged about 2-1/2 hours of workouts on every day that I did workout. I added stairclimbing with weights, and CrossFit style workouts to bump up the intensity. This is where I am good at self-coaching. I can push myself harder than most people. Granted, a coach would likely push me even harder.
    Now I am a few days into my Recovery Week, dialing it down to one workout a day. I ran an easy 4 miles on Monday, and my legs felt great. I swam 2 miles on Tuesday, and again, I felt great. Tonight I will swim, and maybe do some cycling after.
    This training schedule works well for me, and for my style of training. I am always inclined to push myself hard, sometimes to the point of overexertion with painful implications. Knowing that I have a Big Week, as well as a Recovery Week, lets me ramp it up, but then forces me to let my body recover and adapt. Recover and Adapt, vital keys in a solid training program. Next week I get to start building again, building towards my next Big Week, and it feels good.