Sportybrains

I type this with a smile on my face for numerous reasons: it's been a great week in the sports psychology world (at least in my tiny slice of it), today brought an absolutely gorgeous day here in The Woodlands, and I'm closing out my first structured week of triathlon training. Yup.

Of course pretty days lead to great running weather, and perhaps the highlight of it all was that I got to partake in it this morning with my usual group. Not that running on a hotel treadmill in Auburn, AL at 5:30 AM is a bad thing (trust me I could have hugged the dang machine the moment I saw 'one hour' turn on the clock), but one of my fave rituals is getting together at one of my favorite cafe's and cruising long on the roads.

I'll begin with a recap of what will likely be a light week. I'll cycle 30-40 miles tomorrow morning bringing my initial total time training to somewhere around 10 to 11 hours for the week. Sleep, eat, work, and train-disciplined and driven (aka boring!)  folks like me actually love this!

Monday: AM: 20 mile bike ride/PM 7 mile treadmill run
Tuesday: AM: 2400m swim (freestyle, backstroke, pull and kicking drills); 25 min weights
Wednesday: AM: 45 minute spin on the trainer/PM 6-mile run on track and Millbend Loop (typical neighborhood route)
Thursday: AM: 4 mile treadmill run/2400m swim
Friday: AM: Mini brick-20 mile bike ride/20 min run off the bike
Saturday: AM: 8.5 mile run
Sunday: 30-40 mile bike ride

Much busier than I'm used to, but I'm enjoying it nonetheless. I'd like to see more run miles, but baby steps are necessary. :) Some initial observations:

1. The swim can pretty tiring. Tuesday night especially I felt nice and heavy-limbed, but in a different way. Nothing really sore, just enough to make me not want to get off the couch that evening. The upper body and core muscles apparently still need more time in the water.

2. My PowerBar consumption is steadily increasing. Yum!

2. Muscle memory is a weird thing. I ran my morning run at an almost identical pace to what I usually do on the Hubbell route. I was able to talk the whole time and actually hit some sub-7 paces at some junctures (I opted for no Garmin). For the record, I worked to correct the pace ASAP, coach! Right or wrong, it did wonders for my confidence knowing that I can still cruise. Perhaps it is an association thing as well; running a route I'm familiar with and like could also have an effect on pacing. Hmmm....that would make for an interesting research study....

3. Speaking of confidence and mental things: at no point was I not relaxed or negative during the run-being able to run rather briskly without really knowing it is an indicator that I need to work on relaxation and focus on running like a "buttered noodle"(thanks Camille H. for the analogy!;)) as opposed to forcing pace. If I stay calm and relax into it, the pace should come to me instead of me trying to find it.

4. Running 1/3 to 1/2 my weekly miles on a treadmill looks like a promising option. I don't mind belt-surfing one bit if it allows me to comfortably put in miles. My mileage record is 15 miles on the 'mill, but I have not intention of doing that any time soon!

5. The Brooks Ravenna 3's are awesome. I ran in them this morning and the updates are nice: a tighter lacing  system creating a saddlelike wrap around the forefoot and a meshier upper perfect for summer runs- I like to run sockless (gross, but that's how I roll) so that's definitely a plus! They also are softer and more flexible than their predecessors. Great long run shoe that rides really nice.

It looks like next week is identical in volume-and hopefully some more awesome weather to train in.

Stay the course.