Week 6 & 7: Stepping Up the Intensity

Week 6 Totals

Swim - 5 km (3 miles)

Bike - 48 miles

Run - 15 miles

Total Miles - 66

Total Training Hours - 8 hours

Week 7 Totals

Swim - 5 km (3 miles)

Bike - 93 miles

Run - 18 miles

Total Miles - 114

Total Training Hours - 10 hours

I apologize for not updating sooner, but getting back into a regimented schedule of training has been taking up a lot of my time which is a good excuse I guess.  Over the past two weeks, while the volume of mileage isn't as high as I'd like it to be yet, it has definitely been a lot more intense.  During these past 2 weeks, I raced 2 NYRR races in my quest to qualify for the 2010 NYC Marathon and finished with times that seem to get better everytime (not counting the port a potty breaks that plague me every race).  Unfortunately, my body is fighting back a little and telling me, "Whoa, not so fast," because I am now nursing a case of what is probably Runner's Knee.  So with my bum knee, this week, I'll primarily be swimming and cycling with hopes of recovering and getting 100% healthy for my first multisport race of the season on Sunday, the March Madness Biathlon in Central Park (2 mile run, 12 mile bike, 2 mile run).  I'm extremely excited about getting back into multisport racing and I've done this race every year since I started this crazy hobby so it'll be a great benchmark of how far I've come.

One thing I've learned first hand over the past few weeks as I've ramped up my training is just how delicate and resilient the human body can be at the same time.  Since I've come back from Puerto Rico a few weeks ago, I've been sick with the flu, jammed my toe, developed runner's knee...all setbacks of course; however, during the same few weeks, my swimming stroke has become much more efficient, my cycling power has increased by close to 10%-12% over a 40KM distance, and my running fitness is the best it has ever been.  I see training as a destroy and rebuild process and for the first time I'm battling with the balance of how much I should actually be destroying vs. rebuilding.  I'm not a invincible kid anymore.