Professional Triathlete Training Log - Weekly Swim, Bike and Run Miles For April 16th- April 22nd

The Heat is on in the Dirty-T

A long time ago I made a commitment to myself that I could continue to self-coach as long as I continued to see improvement.  I never like change just for the sake of change and why change something that is not broken.  Year-after-year I have gotten stronger in the sport and lately it seems like my pace of growth is actually accelerating despite reaching the very pointy end of the triathlon field.  2012 will be a new year of racing and I'm excited to chase my next near-term of goal of finishing on an Ironman Pro podium.  I know that one of my strengths in this sport is patience and I have been patient in putting forth the effort and not expecting too much from it too soon.

Lately I have embarked on a new project I call Swim 3.0.  Although I knew "how to swim", I never actually swam until I was 25 years old.  In the winter of 2008-2009 I went back to the drawing board and revamped my swim.  I was patient at the time and was willing to see a decrease in speed before making a breakthrough.  It was tough but I knew that's what it took. With Swim 3.0 I know that I am in for a similar road but I know it something that has to be done.

The key to swimming faster for me is to swim more efficiently by working on maximizing the amount of water I can catch/pull while minimizing drag.  It has been a tough road the past few weeks but I am starting to see some huge gains.  I remain skeptical partly because of the fact that despite how awful I am as a pool swimmer, I seem to hold my own in open-water, and tend to do even better relative to my peers as the conditions get tougher.  As a result it remains to be seen how I will fare in open water with Swim 3.0, but I'm certainly excited to test it out at Ironman St George.

As for this week, all I can say is that I felt invincible.  My weight has been creeping up ever so slowly but I'm feeling so fast and strong running that I'm hesitant to implement my typical Ironman weight reduction plan.  Part of the increase I know is simply increased hydration.  It has gotten Hot Hot Hot in the Dirty-T and you simply can't get enough water.  That combined with the copious amount of all-you-can-eat sushi and sodium has caused a lot of water retention.  This week was my biggest and most challenging block of training but I felt great throughout the entire week.
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Here are my weekly swim, bike, and run totals:

Total: 330 Miles / 31 hours 30 minutes

Swim: 21,800 yards / ~12 miles / 6 hours 51 minutes
Bike:  278 miles / 15 hours 15 minutes
Run:  40 miles /  4 hours 53 minutes
Core:  3 sessions / 4 hours 30 minutes

Weight: 157.5 lbs (average over the 7 days)
Body Fat: 7.0%

Calories Consumed: 36,946 / ~5,278 (as of 9:42 Sunday night)
Calories Burned: 36,862, / ~5,266 per day