Launching Triathlon Season

Well, lots has happened since the Houston Marathon.  I spent the first 3 weeks after the marathon mainly focused on avoiding injury (since I've managed to injure myself in the weeks after the Houston Marathon twice in the last several years).  At this point in the year, I typically have been in a running-only mode, and after the marathon start to shift into triathlon training mode.  I'm usually filled to the brim with both excitement and motivation, and it's pretty easy to write checks my body isn't yet ready to cash (three years ago I went out the weekend after the marathon, and rode 42 miles in hills on Saturday, another 30 miles on Sunday morning, and then ran 10 miles on Sunday afternoon.  That was my last run that year until April.  I did all of my run training for Ironman Arizona that year in a pool, which distinctly resembles a form of torture, particularly if you find yourself doing 2+ hour runs in an enclosed dungeon of a natatorium while your friends are all running outside in the sun on a beautiful spring morning.  Being injured did take a lot of the pressure off for IM Arizona, though, since I didn't really know if I would finish until I crossed the finish line.  Anyway...).

So this year, I resolved to be careful in the weeks following the marathon, and, even though it was very tough, I succeeded.  It is nearly a month after the marathon, and I am healthy, and have even established a routine of sorts, combining my cycling and run training (I did sneak a couple of swims in there, but it would be a gross exaggeration to imply that I've established any sort of routine on that front).  My main goals for the next couple of months are:
a) to improve my cycling threshold power by 20% (my starting point is pretty low)
b) to break 40 min in a 10K

My planned weekly routine looks like this:
Monday: swim, recovery run (optional)
Tuesday: bike trainer workout (am), run track workout (pm)
Wednesday: bike trainer workout
Thursday: run tempo workout, masters swim workout (pm)
Friday: off
Saturday: long run, swim
Sunday: long bike ride

So far I've been doing all of that for the last couple of weeks, except the swimming.

I'm excited about triathlon season!  I'm especially excited to be starting this triathlon season healthy!  (my first time since 2006).  I hope to improve significantly on the bike this season (narrowing the performance gap with my competitors), and to maintain some of my new-found running speed throughout the season.