Monday Mileage

The recurring theme of this week is that sleep is pivotal for performance! Between work and school I was at about an 11 on a scale of 1 to 10 for stress this past week. My performance (or lack thereof) definitely suffered!

Monday 8/31: Swim - 2,700 Yards (Masters Swim)
This swim session felt like an eternity, thanks to a group member who decided to go AWOL on a group presentation we made Monday evening. I am glad I didn't skip out on this workout, as I did feel slightly less frazzled by the time I got out of the pool.

Tuesday 9/1: Swim - 2,600 Yards (Masters Swim)
I made the backstroke, my arch-nemesis, a focus during this workout. I have to keep reminding myself to be patient and that my hard work will eventually pay off!

Wednesday 9/2: Arm Circuit + 3.6 Mile "Pace" Run
So I have GERD (basically, heartburn on steroids), which is mostly under control. Well, this week proved to be a little too much for my poor stomach. I actually kept my splits pretty close to 8:23/mi when I was actually moving - I just had to stop whenever the pain got out of control, which quickly escalated to every quarter mile. 

Thursday 9/3: Swim - 2,500 Yards (Masters Swim) + Arm Circuit (PM)
I actually felt pretty good in the pool - sometimes it feels like I'm getting slower rather than faster, and I have to remind myself that negative self-talk gets me nowhere. During the pull set, I noticed that I held my normal "fast" time - the time I could only hold for one or two 100s - for the entire 6x100 set!

Friday 9/4: Bike 27.7 Miles to Work + 11.7 Miles Home
Hooray for the weather cooling off! Also, I didn't realize how much I have missed my longer bike rides. I get a lot of stress out on my bike - working through problems, coming up with strategies, or sometimes just pedaling hard and making that my only focus. My pace runs will be shorter for the next month, so I think I might make them bricks and then ride to work one day a week? I'll figure it out on my next long ride. :)

Saturday 9/5: Arm Circuit + 12.6 Mile Long Run
I was feeling great until about mile 9, when I got a nasty stomach cramp that would not go away. I attribute this to the fact that I normally bring half a pack of Bonk Breaker Chews with me on 10 to 14 mile runs. I snack on two at around the 45 minute mark and the other two at around the 1:15:00 mark. Yes, I have a very sensitive stomach. Well, on this particular day I decided to mix things up and have a Gu Gel at the 1:00:00 mark, and I don't think it settled well with my stomach. My legs felt great from the caffeine, but I pretty much had a side stitch on both both sides. Going forward, I'll keep the Gu Gels for bike rides.

Sunday 9/6: 42 Mile Bike Ride
It was a little breezy out, which always makes for an extra challenge. Scratch what I said yesterday about keeping the Gu Gels for bike rides...I hope my fiancee likes the Caramel Macchiato flavor. =P I had another one at around the halfway point on my ride and then my stomach felt queasy the entire rest of the ride. I checked the package and they are not expired, so I guess they just don't work for me. :(

*Goals from last week*
1. Stretch - aim for 3 or more days next week - Yup!
2. Run to/from swim at least once - Nope, ran myself out of time in the morning. No excuses next week - I'm going to pack my bag the night before.
3. Get a 30+ mile bike ride in - Yup! I actually could have gotten two in had I been more organized Friday morning...

**Goals for next week**
1. Go to Yoga/Keep Stretching
2. Suck it up and run to/from swim
3. Get stress under control/make sure I'm getting enough sleep