Week of April 7-13

I started commuting to work on my road bike this week, which I guess kicks off my official training schedule that I hope will get me ready for some fast duathlons or an Ironman later in the summer. The commute isn't too long — about eight miles one way — but it's a good chance to get on the bike twice a day for about 30 minutes each time, it wakes me up in the morning and after a long day in the office, and it saves some money in gas. I plan on commuting to work the four days I'm in the office (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday), work on my turnover and one-legged riding on my indoor trainer on Wednesday and get in a longer ride on the weekend. After I feel comfortable on the bike, I'll add swimming into the mix, then work in running.

Here was the week of April 7-13:

Monday: Off
Tuesday: (20 miles biking) 8 to work, 6 to the Eminence baseball field, 6 home.
Wednesday: (12 miles biking) warmup on indoor trainer, 10x 1-minute hard, 1 easy, one-legged drills, cooldown.
Thursday: (16 miles biking, 3 miles running) 8 miles biking to work, 8 miles biking home, followed by 3 miles running right off the bike.
Friday: Played basketball for 3 hours.
Saturday: Off
Sunday: Off

My plan for the next few weeks is to commute to work 3-4 times per week, get in one run per week, work in the water on technique one time per week, and get in two tough rides each weekend. After I feel more comfortable on the bike, I'll add in a few more days in the pool each week to work on conditioning, then add in running a few more times per week as well, mainly right off the bike.

Concentrating on the bike

Well, after taking more weeks away from running that I originally planned, I've decided to train on my bike for a while. I've done triathlons, including a half-ironman-distance triathlon a few years back, and duathlons, but I've never really trained on the bike.

So, my plan is to get a lot better on the bike with commuting to work and riding long on the weekends, and then either focus on duathlons or triathlons. If I can get in the water enough, I might attempt an Ironman this year, too. That's always been a goal of mine.

I've been riding more than normal the last few weeks. I bought an indoor trainer, and I've been working on that when I can't get outside due to the weather or because I'm watching my baby. Plus, I've done a few rides through Bagdad — man, those rides are tough. And I went on a long ride of around 50 miles a few Sundays ago with a new cycling group in Shelbyville. I feel like my cycling is really improving, but I have a long way to go.

Whenever I feel more comfortable on the bike, I'll add swimming to my training. Then, after I feel comfortable with both of those, I'll add running into the mix as well. Then, depending on my training, I'll decide which races to attempt.