What a weekend that was!
Last Friday I said that, if all goes well, I will get 63.5k worth of exercise done before the weekend was over.
Well, I got'er done.
I cycled 28k on Friday morning. It went well and I was grateful for the chance to move and get my heart rate up before a long day at the office that involved much more sitting than I would ever want.
After work, Doug and I enjoyed a wonderful evening on the golf course with friends we haven't seen in over a month.
Things have been going well on the golf course lately and every game I have played in the last two weeks has been better than the last.
I logged a 105 which, for someone who has been struggling to break 120 for months, felt pretty wicked.
Saturday morning, we got up early and I headed out for 14k. I was not sure what to expect because a) my shoes are probably 200km too old for long runs but the new ones I ordered weeks ago are in running shoe neverland so I had no other option but to try it b) the humidity was pretty oppressive and c) when I tried 12k the weekend before, I had to quit after 11k due to a pesky plugged ear low blood pressure drop like the ones that plagued me last spring.
All that being said, I headed out with a water belt full of Nuun, back up salt tablets and a goal to run at a pace that kept my heart rate down. I did, my shoes didn't cause too much discomfort, my ears didn't start plugging until 12k and I ran 14k without much of a problem.
A quick shower, coffee and lunch later we were back on the golf course for the afternoon.
The golf gods much have been feeling generous because I had an even better game than the day before. At the end of the game, the golf pro drove by and said "I heard you played a 105 yesterday". "That's nothing" I replied. "I just shot a 102 today".
That got me a big grin and a fist bump.
Sunday morning, we were up before the sun and en route to Toronto. I met up with my sister and we headed to Toronto Island for the Lake Swim event.
The lake looked as flat as a pane of glass and was 20C. I pulled on my wetsuit expecting a fun, easy, fast race. Which it was for the first 100m or so. Until I ran into the rolling waves that were not noticeable from shore but were surprisingly high and rolling when you were face down swimming in them. As someone who trains in very flat and calm open water, this was when things got a little hairy.
I quickly developed some swimming skills I didn't have before. After a few mouthfuls of water, I learned to breath only on one side so that I never turned into the wave to breathe. The were a few times when I turned to breathe and a wave rolled over my open mouth but, for the most part, my trick worked. I also discovered that I get rather nauseated in that kind of environment. Who knew seasickness was a concern in open water swims? I sure didn't. I learned that every time I raised my head to sight, the dizziness got much worse so I cut down on my sighting. I usually sight every six strokes. I was doing it every 9-12 instead, trying to space out the stomach lurching.
At one point I debated turning around to see how my sister was holding up and make sure that she was ok. I figured that, if I was struggling, she certainly was too. In the end, I couldn't stomach the thought and just kept moving with the goal to finish as quickly as possible. I just hoped she was doing ok.
All that being said, I finished 1,500m in 31:25 and, after stumbling over to a log and sitting with my head down for a few minutes, I felt much better. My sister finished a few minutes later and announced with a smile that it was the easiest open water race that she had ever done.
Guess there was no need for me to go back for her eh?
The weekend was over in a flash and roared by at a pace that I couldn't sustain for too long. But it sure was fun!
Monday, in case anyone was wondering, is most definitely a rest day.
Showing posts with label swimming. Show all posts
Showing posts with label swimming. Show all posts
Monday, August 17, 2015
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
July Report Card
It's a few days late but I blame it on the long weekend and a brick workout that seemed more interesting to write about. Here's July's workout report:
Cycling
I have been making more time for cycling and am loving the quite early-morning rides. I cycled 8 times in July and covered 251km
Running
Running has been going well. It's taking a bit of a back seat to cycling at the moment which is fine since I'm not training for any long-distance races at the moment. I ran 9 times in July and covered 68km.
Swimming
I did not set foot in a chlorinated pool in July which was fine by me. I did manage to get five open-water swims in and covered 7k. I'm much happier when I'm swimming with the fishes...so to speak.
Golf
Golf has been wonderful lately. I'm getting several games in each week and it's so nice to be outside and moving so much. I played 10 games in July and walked 77.5km.
I think this month may be the month where I covered the most distance...ever.
Four hundred and three kilometres!
That's crazy.
By the end of June I had covered 1382km in 2015. Add this month to it and I am now at 1785.5km.
So how far am I in my journey to Regina? Well I blew past Thunder Bay and have left it in my dust. I am now about 25km outside of Dryden and am closing in fast on the Manitoba border. Getting there!
Cycling
I have been making more time for cycling and am loving the quite early-morning rides. I cycled 8 times in July and covered 251km
Running
Running has been going well. It's taking a bit of a back seat to cycling at the moment which is fine since I'm not training for any long-distance races at the moment. I ran 9 times in July and covered 68km.
Swimming
I did not set foot in a chlorinated pool in July which was fine by me. I did manage to get five open-water swims in and covered 7k. I'm much happier when I'm swimming with the fishes...so to speak.
Golf
Golf has been wonderful lately. I'm getting several games in each week and it's so nice to be outside and moving so much. I played 10 games in July and walked 77.5km.
I think this month may be the month where I covered the most distance...ever.
Four hundred and three kilometres!
That's crazy.
By the end of June I had covered 1382km in 2015. Add this month to it and I am now at 1785.5km.
So how far am I in my journey to Regina? Well I blew past Thunder Bay and have left it in my dust. I am now about 25km outside of Dryden and am closing in fast on the Manitoba border. Getting there!
Thursday, July 30, 2015
Just Like a Fingerprint
When I first started running, I noticed pretty quickly that every runner seems to have their own particular stride. In fact, most are so distinctive that I can usually spot the runner I'm looking for when they are still a pretty small spot on the horizon. Perhaps it's the way they bounce when they run. Or the fact that they don't bounce at all. Or the way their arms swing, or don't swing. It's most likely a combination of a bunch of tiny things that each runner does but the end result is a running stride as unique as a fingerprint and it has helped me scout for runners in all sorts of races.
Swimming is apparently like that too. I have spent a lot of time swimming but I haven't spent a lot of time watching swimmers. Especially swimmers I know. I've never watched Doug compete in a triathlon from a position where I could see the swim portion. So I have no idea if I could spot his arms among all the other wetsuit-clad arms out there. He has assured me that I was pretty noticeable in races that he has watched so I guess it must be true.
Cycling, well, I haven't noticed too many different kinds of cycling techniques. At least not to the point where I can recognize someone from afar by their spinning legs. Usually I am watching for helmet, bike and shirt colour combinations. White helmet, grey bike and red shirt typically means I've spotted Doug. Long lanky legs usually help confirm this but are the last thing I notice, not the first.
I'm saying all this because yesterday after work I squeezed in a 15-minute golf lesson. During the lesson, I had to hit balls at a Trackman which is basically a large screen with all sorts of funky sensors. When my ball hits the screen, it analyses the angle, the speed, etc etc and it spits out all kinds of data that can help explain why I do things like hit beautiful long drives that always fly way off to the right.
Turns out I have a 'weak grip'. My initial reaction when I heard that was 'what!?! I have a strong grip! You should see when I shake hands'' but I quickly realized that weak had nothing to do with grip strength and everything to do with the angle with which I held the club. A weak grip = balls flying off to the right. A too strong grip, I quickly discovered, sends them careening off to the left. I finally found a sweet spot and the balls starting going where they should.
The trick now will be to remember that feeling and be able to repeat it. Over and over again.
On the way home afterwards, I mentioned to Doug that it must be hard for golf instructors not to burst out laughing sometimes when they see the way some people swing the golf club.
"Go to a driving range and watch people" he replied. "It's crazy how different everyone swings. It's pretty darn funny to watch too."
Sounds like golf is a lot like running. You can spot your favourite golfer a mile away once you figure out how they move.
PS. during my Trackman session, the following two things happened as soon as we switched my grip:
1. I swung the club, whacked the tee cleanly out from under it and the ball plopped down to where the tee had been and just sat there.
2. On the second try, I swung the club and the ball shot straight up in the air, hit the ceiling, dropped back down onto one of the narrow metal beams holding up the Trackman system and had to be pushed back down to earth with a golf club.
Neither feats had ever been seen in that room and, odds are, neither will again.
Swimming is apparently like that too. I have spent a lot of time swimming but I haven't spent a lot of time watching swimmers. Especially swimmers I know. I've never watched Doug compete in a triathlon from a position where I could see the swim portion. So I have no idea if I could spot his arms among all the other wetsuit-clad arms out there. He has assured me that I was pretty noticeable in races that he has watched so I guess it must be true.
Cycling, well, I haven't noticed too many different kinds of cycling techniques. At least not to the point where I can recognize someone from afar by their spinning legs. Usually I am watching for helmet, bike and shirt colour combinations. White helmet, grey bike and red shirt typically means I've spotted Doug. Long lanky legs usually help confirm this but are the last thing I notice, not the first.
I'm saying all this because yesterday after work I squeezed in a 15-minute golf lesson. During the lesson, I had to hit balls at a Trackman which is basically a large screen with all sorts of funky sensors. When my ball hits the screen, it analyses the angle, the speed, etc etc and it spits out all kinds of data that can help explain why I do things like hit beautiful long drives that always fly way off to the right.
Turns out I have a 'weak grip'. My initial reaction when I heard that was 'what!?! I have a strong grip! You should see when I shake hands'' but I quickly realized that weak had nothing to do with grip strength and everything to do with the angle with which I held the club. A weak grip = balls flying off to the right. A too strong grip, I quickly discovered, sends them careening off to the left. I finally found a sweet spot and the balls starting going where they should.
The trick now will be to remember that feeling and be able to repeat it. Over and over again.
On the way home afterwards, I mentioned to Doug that it must be hard for golf instructors not to burst out laughing sometimes when they see the way some people swing the golf club.
"Go to a driving range and watch people" he replied. "It's crazy how different everyone swings. It's pretty darn funny to watch too."
Sounds like golf is a lot like running. You can spot your favourite golfer a mile away once you figure out how they move.
PS. during my Trackman session, the following two things happened as soon as we switched my grip:
1. I swung the club, whacked the tee cleanly out from under it and the ball plopped down to where the tee had been and just sat there.
2. On the second try, I swung the club and the ball shot straight up in the air, hit the ceiling, dropped back down onto one of the narrow metal beams holding up the Trackman system and had to be pushed back down to earth with a golf club.
Neither feats had ever been seen in that room and, odds are, neither will again.
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
Swimming and Cycling Adventures with an Errant Golf Ball Thrown in for Fun.
We are down to a handful of days before the Gravenhurst Olympic distance triathlon.
Which means that:
In the past few weeks, I've made an effort to cycle more and to get more open water swimming in. I'm happy to report that I did both of those things and had a few adventures in the process.
While open water swimming:
Which means that:
- it's taper time,
- there is nothing I can do at this point to improve in any of the three activities I'll be doing. I am as prepared as I can b, physically anyway, and
- there is a lot I can do to screw things up before race day like not getting enough sleep, not eating well, not keeping an eye on my sodium intake, twisting my ankle, catching a cold, dislocating my shoulder or getting arrested.
In the past few weeks, I've made an effort to cycle more and to get more open water swimming in. I'm happy to report that I did both of those things and had a few adventures in the process.
While open water swimming:
- I have had aquatic plants wrapped around my goggles as I swam through what felt like a kelp forest but what was probably just a few aquatic plants growing madly in the warm, sunny, shallow waters.
- I have had a complete stranger ask if I was wearing a heart rate monitor to which I replied 'that's an insulin pump' to which she replied "that's a heart rate monitor" and pointed to my heart rate monitor that she could see through my bathing suit. Yep, you're right, it is a heart rate monitor.
- I have had aquatic plants wrap around my arms and even whip across my face as I swam through another kelp forest (and yes I know it's not really kelp but I like that word better than 'aquatic plant')
- I have finished a swim, removed my wetsuit and goggles, and then walked around for the next two hours with goggle marks on my face and fruit chew package outlines on my ankles where they were tucked in my wetsuit.
- My goal (which I can't yet do) is to maintain an average cycling speed of 25 km/hour. I can do about 23 km/hour at the moment.
- Twenty-five kilometres per hour = a pace of 2 minutes and 30 seconds per kilometre.
- My Garmin watch beeps every kilometre and tells me how long it took me to cycle said kilometre.
- So, at 5:30am, I am cycling up and down the back roads racing against my watch.
- If my first kilometre is 2:33, I am now at +3 seconds. Next kilometre is 2:25, well I am now at -2 seconds. When I have a few kilometres of tailwind, I can usually bank 45-60 seconds that quickly evaporate when I get to the rolling hills or turn into a headwind.
- It's surprising how quickly the kilometres go by as well as how much harder I'll push in a headwind knowing that I'm gaining or losing seconds.
- I stood at the tee of a par three hole, hit the ball far right of the green, watched it hit a tree, bounce left and land 5 feet from the hole. And no, I didn't sink the putt for a birdie. Nor did I sink the second putt for a par. But it still pretty entertaining!
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Swim Buoys
Doug and I have been hanging out at our favourite open water swimming spot quite a lot lately. We have less than two weeks until the Gravenhurst triathlon and we both are feeling the need to get a little more comfortable swimming in water where you can't see the bottom, where aquatic plants sometimes wrap themselves around our wrists or our goggles and where we can't put our feet down and touch bottom every time we might want to.
So we keep heading back there and swimming our respective race distances. I've been doing 1.5k every time I go. The first time was tough. I felt my wetsuit constricting my neck. I had to stop several times and focus on controlling my panicky breathing. My arms felt incredibly heavy and everything just felt harder.
Until it started getting easier.
In fact, last night, I was about 500m into my swim when I realized that I was wearing a wetsuit. I mean of course I knew I was wearing it because I had struggled to get the damn thing on but I had forgotten that I was wearing it once I started swimming. No feelings of constriction around my neck, no panicked breathing, nothing. Just swimming.
Nice!
Oh, and can you spot my latest swimming purchase in the photo below?
So we keep heading back there and swimming our respective race distances. I've been doing 1.5k every time I go. The first time was tough. I felt my wetsuit constricting my neck. I had to stop several times and focus on controlling my panicky breathing. My arms felt incredibly heavy and everything just felt harder.
Until it started getting easier.
In fact, last night, I was about 500m into my swim when I realized that I was wearing a wetsuit. I mean of course I knew I was wearing it because I had struggled to get the damn thing on but I had forgotten that I was wearing it once I started swimming. No feelings of constriction around my neck, no panicked breathing, nothing. Just swimming.
Nice!
Oh, and can you spot my latest swimming purchase in the photo below?
Being a stickler for safety, I got pretty excited when I heard about this gadget. It's a swim buoy that a) you can store things like car keys in, b) is inflatable, c) makes me much more visible in the water and d) I could technically hang on to in a moment of open-water panic.
It straps around your waist and floats behind while you swim. I thought I might notice it during a swim but I've actually stopped a few times to make sure it's still attached. And when I head out to swim the last 600m on my own, Doug can watch my orange buoy bobbing along and know exactly were I am.
Safety first!
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Mid-Term Report
June is behind us, Canada has celebrated its 148th birthday and we are now closer to the end of 2015 than we are to the beginning.
The end of another month means it's time for another fitness report as well as a mid-term report on how my goal to virtually swim, walk, run and bike my way from our front door to Regina, Saskatchewan is going.
Race Report
It feels like months ago already but I managed to cross the finish line of the Niagara Falls Women's Half Marathon as well as the Welland Triathlon. Woot!
Running
Running went well this month. My mileage is down but that's because I'm no longer training for a half marathon. Now I'm training for triathlons so weekend runs are 12k or so rather than the high teens and low twenties. In June I ran 11 times, covering 86.7km in a little over 10 hours.
Cycling
In the past two weeks I've really increased my cycling in an effort to build some endurance on the bike. I've been getting up early and squeezing in 2 to 3 weekday bike rides in preparation for my Olympic triathlon in July. In June, I cycled 174km in 7 hours.
Swimming
Swimming was hit and miss in June. The pool was closed for three weeks so most of my swimming was in open water which was also hit and miss. I only swam four times and covered 5450m in 2 hours. Gotta get those numbers up in July!
Golf
Golf was also a little lacklustre in June. That I blame entirely on rainy days. I only managed to golf four times, walking a total of 30k in 12 hours.
Total number of workouts: 26
Distance covered: 296km
Wow! Adding some extra cycling to my routine has gotten me a lot closer to Regina. By the end of May I had covered 1086km. Add June to it and I am now 1,382km into my 2356km journey.
1,382km brings me smack dab in the middle of Northern Ontario. There is nothing on the map near that location so the best I can say is that I am exactly 100km from Thunder Bay.
Getting there!
Monday, June 29, 2015
Rained Out
Yesterday was supposed to be a pretty crazy day.
Up before 4am.
Pick up my sister and arrive at Turkey Point before 7am.
Swim 1500m in Lake Erie.
Home before 11:30am for a shower and a quick lunch.
On the golf course by 1pm for a golf tournament.
Dinner around 6:30pm and collapse into bed by 8pm.
And then it rained...
Rained the way I'm guessing it rained when Noah was putting the finishing touches on the ark.
It started on Saturday morning about 30 minutes after I came in from my run and it ended on Sunday morning around 11am.
My sister, whose job gives her some extra insight into such things, insisted that we could not swim. After that much rain, the water quality would be very very poor. It's not worth our health to swim this race she said. I had no problem agreeing with her.
I'm ok with swimming in cold water. I'm ok with currents and waves. I'm not ok with swimming in water that had a 'red alert' on its water quality status.
So the race was off.
Twenty-four hours of steady rain on a clay-based golf course meant that the bunkers and the fairways had turned into water hazards so the golf tournament was cancelled as well.
I got up early anyway and headed to the pool, figuring I could at least get a good swim workout in. And since the pool had just re-opened after three weeks of closure, I was really looking forward to a good swim.
I drove through the rain and made my way to the main doors hidden under my rain coat. A sign on the front door made my heart drop.
"Lane pool closed."
Apparently all the rain had caused a power outage which had messed up the electrical system which meant that we couldn't swim until the electrician showed up and fixed the problem. I was home again by 8:15am and switched my swim workout to a weight/core workout in my living room.
So Sunday became a quiet day. We watched Sunday Morning. We completed some of the final touches in our 'paint the entire house' project. We put on a pot of homemade bolognese sauce to simmer. We watched golf.
Not the day I had planned but quite nice nonetheless.
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Sunday Madness
I'm all signed up for the 1500m (1.5k) open water swim this coming Sunday.
I checked and the race starts at 8am.
Which means that we need to be parked and unloading our stuff from the car by 7am at the latest.
I'll be picking up my sister at my parent's house.
The drive from my house to theirs is 20 minutes. The drive from their house to the start line is predicted to be 1 hour and 50 minutes.
Which means that I will be leaving my house before 4:30am on Sunday morning.
So that I can swim 1.5k in freezing cold lake water that may or may not have really big waves.
There are no medals at the end of this event, although I will have a new brightly coloured swim cap to add to my collection.
There are no t-shirts. There may or may not be food.
There will only be that addictive, compelling sense of accomplishment of having done something that most people would never do. For whatever that's worth.
And we have to be back in the car before 10am so that I can be home by noon in order to play in a golf tournament that Doug and I have signed up for.
Anyone want to guess what time I will be in bed on Sunday evening?
I checked and the race starts at 8am.
Which means that we need to be parked and unloading our stuff from the car by 7am at the latest.
I'll be picking up my sister at my parent's house.
The drive from my house to theirs is 20 minutes. The drive from their house to the start line is predicted to be 1 hour and 50 minutes.
Which means that I will be leaving my house before 4:30am on Sunday morning.
So that I can swim 1.5k in freezing cold lake water that may or may not have really big waves.
There are no medals at the end of this event, although I will have a new brightly coloured swim cap to add to my collection.
There are no t-shirts. There may or may not be food.
There will only be that addictive, compelling sense of accomplishment of having done something that most people would never do. For whatever that's worth.
And we have to be back in the car before 10am so that I can be home by noon in order to play in a golf tournament that Doug and I have signed up for.
Anyone want to guess what time I will be in bed on Sunday evening?
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Wetsuit Adventures
This coming weekend I will be swimming a 1.5K race with my sister. It’s along the north shore of Lake Erie and, based on the current water temps, I’m guessing I’ll be pulling on my new wetsuit for a second time in two weeks.
This past Saturday, Doug and I decided to head to our local open water swimming hole. I wanted to make sure that I could a) swim 1.5k in open water and b) do it in a wetsuit. A wetsuit, I discovered adds buoyancy but also adds a considerable amount of weight on the arms. I was surprised how quickly my arms got tired during the 750m triathlon swim. So I wanted to see if I actually had the strength to do 1500m.
Getting the damn thing on, I am happy to report, is much less of an ordeal than it was in the change room the day that I bought it. In no time were suited up and doing the wetsuit walk to the canal bank. He jumped and I slipped into the water without even a gasp as the water temperature.
We swam about 300m and then stopped to see how far we had swum.
Stopping mid swim was a bit of a mistake. Something shifted when I went from a swimming position to a bobbing upright in the water position and the neck of the wetsuit was suddenly very tight around my throat. Not tight enough to cut off my airway but tight enough to make me feel like it did which, of course, leads to an immediate feeling of panic.
I flipped onto my back and said “you’re FINE!” to myself. It worked like a charm because a) I tend to listen to the stern voice in my head and b) flipping onto my back took the pressure off my throat. I resumed the upright bobbing in the water position and my throat felt constricted again. I flipped onto my back a second time and made a plan. “You will flip directly over to your stomach and start swimming, that way you won’t feel constricted. Oh, and you’re FINE!!”
I was perfectly fine but I quickly realized that, just because swimming in a wetsuit went well during the triathlon doesn’t mean that I was given a free pass. Apparently the race gods were kind to me but I will still need to have a few panicky moments in the open water in a wetsuit before the adjustment period is over.
Bleh.
We swam some more and I managed to get 1500m in. But, instead of my usual post-swim desire to go just a few more hundred metres, I was more than happy to heave myself on to the dock and yank that wetsuit zipper down. In fact, I wanted nothing more than to pull the thing off, hop back in and swim the distance again in my bathing suit.
As you might imagine, I am now feeling a pretty major desire to get a few more wetsuit swims in before this Sunday’s race.
I’ll let you picture the look on my face when my sister said “I heard that they are going to cancel the race if the waves are more than 1 metre high”.
Waves?!?!? Who said anything about waves?!?!
This past Saturday, Doug and I decided to head to our local open water swimming hole. I wanted to make sure that I could a) swim 1.5k in open water and b) do it in a wetsuit. A wetsuit, I discovered adds buoyancy but also adds a considerable amount of weight on the arms. I was surprised how quickly my arms got tired during the 750m triathlon swim. So I wanted to see if I actually had the strength to do 1500m.
Getting the damn thing on, I am happy to report, is much less of an ordeal than it was in the change room the day that I bought it. In no time were suited up and doing the wetsuit walk to the canal bank. He jumped and I slipped into the water without even a gasp as the water temperature.
We swam about 300m and then stopped to see how far we had swum.
Stopping mid swim was a bit of a mistake. Something shifted when I went from a swimming position to a bobbing upright in the water position and the neck of the wetsuit was suddenly very tight around my throat. Not tight enough to cut off my airway but tight enough to make me feel like it did which, of course, leads to an immediate feeling of panic.
I flipped onto my back and said “you’re FINE!” to myself. It worked like a charm because a) I tend to listen to the stern voice in my head and b) flipping onto my back took the pressure off my throat. I resumed the upright bobbing in the water position and my throat felt constricted again. I flipped onto my back a second time and made a plan. “You will flip directly over to your stomach and start swimming, that way you won’t feel constricted. Oh, and you’re FINE!!”
I was perfectly fine but I quickly realized that, just because swimming in a wetsuit went well during the triathlon doesn’t mean that I was given a free pass. Apparently the race gods were kind to me but I will still need to have a few panicky moments in the open water in a wetsuit before the adjustment period is over.
Bleh.
We swam some more and I managed to get 1500m in. But, instead of my usual post-swim desire to go just a few more hundred metres, I was more than happy to heave myself on to the dock and yank that wetsuit zipper down. In fact, I wanted nothing more than to pull the thing off, hop back in and swim the distance again in my bathing suit.
As you might imagine, I am now feeling a pretty major desire to get a few more wetsuit swims in before this Sunday’s race.
I’ll let you picture the look on my face when my sister said “I heard that they are going to cancel the race if the waves are more than 1 metre high”.
Waves?!?!? Who said anything about waves?!?!
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Planning My Next Race
I have 5 weeks until my next triathlon.
I want to get comfortable swimming 1.5k and do several open water practice swims between now and race day.
I want to get a bunch of longer bike rides under my belt so that I'm ready for the 40k distance. I also want to get a bunch of hilly bike rides under my belt because that route is a lot hillier than the Welland one.
I want to keep my running fitness up since I've fought so hard to get it here. I want to do some hill training to prepare for the hills and I want to do some speed work to see if I can run a little faster than I ran last weekend.
I have 5 weeks until my next triathlon.
Not enough time to transform myself but enough time that I can probably make some gains in terms of running and cycling fitness.
Any tips for how to get the most out of the next 5 weeks my triathlon friends?
My thinking?
Run three times per week. Stick to 10-15k long runs, do one speed or hill workout per week and one regular run per week (7k or so).
Cycle twice a week. One long ride on weekends and a shorter one during the week. Perhaps ride up and down the escarpment a few times?
Swim twice a week, at least once in open water. Working on endurance so that 1.5k doesn't feel like a big deal.
Taper in the last week. Watch my salt intake. Sleep well. Eat well.
Any other suggestions?
I want to get comfortable swimming 1.5k and do several open water practice swims between now and race day.
I want to get a bunch of longer bike rides under my belt so that I'm ready for the 40k distance. I also want to get a bunch of hilly bike rides under my belt because that route is a lot hillier than the Welland one.
I want to keep my running fitness up since I've fought so hard to get it here. I want to do some hill training to prepare for the hills and I want to do some speed work to see if I can run a little faster than I ran last weekend.
I have 5 weeks until my next triathlon.
Not enough time to transform myself but enough time that I can probably make some gains in terms of running and cycling fitness.
Any tips for how to get the most out of the next 5 weeks my triathlon friends?
My thinking?
Run three times per week. Stick to 10-15k long runs, do one speed or hill workout per week and one regular run per week (7k or so).
Cycle twice a week. One long ride on weekends and a shorter one during the week. Perhaps ride up and down the escarpment a few times?
Swim twice a week, at least once in open water. Working on endurance so that 1.5k doesn't feel like a big deal.
Taper in the last week. Watch my salt intake. Sleep well. Eat well.
Any other suggestions?
Monday, June 15, 2015
Welland Triathlon Report
The first triathlon of 2015 is officially in the books.
The short version of the story goes something like this
Start swimming. Think "Omigod I forgot how much I loved open water swimming!!". Enjoy a strong swim where I am passed by two people but I pass at least 15 others. Turn at the last buoy and head for shore. Think "The swim is almost over. That's sad. Now I have to hop on the bike for 30k. Bloody hell". Cycle the first 15k thinking "wow, I'm faster than I thought I was. All the half marathon training and winter cycling on the trainer must have paid off". Turn around at 15k and think "nope, that was just a nice tailwind". Cycle 15k into a pretty strong headwind and think "my shoulders and my a$$ are killing me". Finish the bike ride, pull on my running shoes and think "it's only 7.5k. That's like 1/3 of a half marathon and you rocked a half marathon last weekend. You got this!". Run 7.5k without stopping at a strong and steady pace and think "this is the easiest triathlon run I've ever had. I feel great. I love triathlons!" Cross the finish line with a smile on my face and think "when's the next one!"
The longer version is, well, a little bit longer.
We got there super early because this crazy girl decided a 1pm the afternoon before the race that she needed to buy her very first wetsuit. Why?!? Because at 12:30pm she read the race report online and learned that the water temperature in the canal was 15C/59F. The wetsuit mandatory cutoff is 14C and there was no way I was getting there in the morning and finding out that I couldn't swim. So I sucked it up, drove to our local triathlon store, said "do you have any wetsuits in my size?", spent 15 minutes trying to get the damn thing on, felt ridiculous in it and yet walked out with it anyway, a few hundred dollars poorer.
So we got to the race 90 minutes early so I could a) pee a bunch of times before putting on the wetsuit, b) put on the wetsuit and c) swim in it for as long as it took to feel comfortable. Doug, the smart man that he is, set up his transition zone and headed back to the car for 45 minutes where it was warm.
I racked my bike as several other triathletes were arriving. They were all new to the sport and asked me a bunch of newbie questions that made me smile as I remembered wondering all of the same things not that long ago. One of the newbies noticed my pump and proudly showed me his Animas pump. Spotting another T1 in the wild means instant bonding and we kept cheering each other on every time we saw each other during the race.
The donning of the wetsuit went much better the second time. It helped that I knew what to expect, I came prepared with a plastic bag to wrap around my feet (to help them slide more easily) and I was in and zipped (by myself) in less than five minutes. I made my way down to the water where a bunch of folks were milling around trying to decide whether or not to go into the now 16C water. I greeted them all and walked right in. I forced myself to simply tread water for a few minutes while the cold water seeped into the wetsuit (what a strange feeling that is) and I made sure that I wasn't going to start panic-breathing. The water felt cold but manageable and I had no issues getting used to the tighter feel of a wetsuit. I swam a few hundred metres, made sure I wasn't going to freak out and then happily floated around chatting to all the others who were brave enough to get in.
I had a few diabetes issues to figure out at the last minute. First of all, tucking emergency carbs into the pockets of my triathlon suit was not going to work because there was no way to get to them once the wetsuit was on. I ended up stuffing two packages of fruit chews and a ziplock bag with two dates into the arms of my suit. It felt weird but worked fine.
I had also planned to be able to stalk my continuous glucose monitor (CGM) in the time leading up to the race but, once I put the suit on, I could no longer see Rose. And, even if I could, it would not have mattered anyway as she lost the CGM signal, not to be found again until I was finished the swim and took off the wetsuit. So I went on feel and had one date (with salt) 30 minutes before the start and one (again with salt) a minute or two before going in.
When the race started, I swam hard. I felt like I was swimming really fast and I had been told that I would feel that way but I wasn't sure if I just felt fast or if I really was fast. I passed a bunch of swimmers but that's typical for me. Swimming is definitely my forte in a triathlon.
Getting out of the wetsuit was tricky and awkward but I'm sure, with experience, it will be easier. It added a minute to my transition time but I wasn't too worried about that.
The bike ride was easy and fun for the first half and tough on the way back when I hit the headwind. I obviously have not had enough training on the bike and my body could feel it during the last 10k. I'll have to make a point of riding more and riding farther in the next month so that the 40k olympic distance ride doesn't feel quite so never-ending. I did have two dates (with salt) on the bike ride and drank a lot of NUUN in an effort to keep my electrolytes up and prevent a blood pressure crash on the run.
The run felt great. I approached it the same way I approached the half marathon last weekend. Run at a strong and steady pace, watch my heart rate and don't stop running. It worked well and, as I picked off the kilometres one by one, I enjoyed the moment rather than waiting for it to end.
I crossed the finish line with a blood sugar of 12. Not bad considering that I hadn't checked it before or during the race and had just done it all by feel. I had set a race day basal profile that was supposed to allow me to eat before the swim and during the ride which is exactly what I did. A glance at my CGM when I got home showed me that I had climbed pretty high (16+) during the bike ride but had dropped back down again by the end. So lows were not a problem but I hate being that high during a race. I'll have to tweak those basal numbers before the next race.
Here are the results for this year's race:
Swim 14:38.9 1:57min/100m (Overall 89/240 Gender 27/90 Category 4/18)
Bike 1:13:05 24:62km/hour (Overall 210/240 Gender 74/90 Category 13/18)
Run 51:43.7 6:53min/km (Overall 221/241 Gender 79/90 Category 15/18)
T1 3:23
T2 2:31
Total 2:27:50 (Overall 220/240 Gender 79/90 Category 15/18)
Compare it to the one I did two years ago:
Swim 14:30.00 1:55/100m (Overall 120/296 Gender 43/128 Category 7/20)
Bike 1:03:17 28.44km/hr (overall 224/296 Gender 81/128 Category 14/20)
Run 55:33:00 7:24min/km (Overall 262/296 Gender 105/128 Category 17/20)
T1 2:30
T2 2:39
Total 2:20:45 (Overall 243/296 Gender 99/120 Category 16/20)
The swim times are almost identical. Two years ago I was at my swimming peak, doing master's three times a week and super hardcore. This time I was nowhere near that level of swimming fitness but I did have a wetsuit. So perhaps it did make me faster.
The bike was a lot slower this year - no surprise there considering my lack of practice.
My run was 4 minutes faster which is great. It felt much better too. I remember really struggling in 2013 during that run.
No personal best and I obviously have some work to do if I want to place high on the bike and in the run but it sure was fun.
After a few days of trepidation last week I'm happy to announce that triathlon girl is back!!
Here are a few photos taken from Multisports' Facebook page, the fine folks who organize these great races.
The short version of the story goes something like this
Start swimming. Think "Omigod I forgot how much I loved open water swimming!!". Enjoy a strong swim where I am passed by two people but I pass at least 15 others. Turn at the last buoy and head for shore. Think "The swim is almost over. That's sad. Now I have to hop on the bike for 30k. Bloody hell". Cycle the first 15k thinking "wow, I'm faster than I thought I was. All the half marathon training and winter cycling on the trainer must have paid off". Turn around at 15k and think "nope, that was just a nice tailwind". Cycle 15k into a pretty strong headwind and think "my shoulders and my a$$ are killing me". Finish the bike ride, pull on my running shoes and think "it's only 7.5k. That's like 1/3 of a half marathon and you rocked a half marathon last weekend. You got this!". Run 7.5k without stopping at a strong and steady pace and think "this is the easiest triathlon run I've ever had. I feel great. I love triathlons!" Cross the finish line with a smile on my face and think "when's the next one!"
The longer version is, well, a little bit longer.
We got there super early because this crazy girl decided a 1pm the afternoon before the race that she needed to buy her very first wetsuit. Why?!? Because at 12:30pm she read the race report online and learned that the water temperature in the canal was 15C/59F. The wetsuit mandatory cutoff is 14C and there was no way I was getting there in the morning and finding out that I couldn't swim. So I sucked it up, drove to our local triathlon store, said "do you have any wetsuits in my size?", spent 15 minutes trying to get the damn thing on, felt ridiculous in it and yet walked out with it anyway, a few hundred dollars poorer.
So we got to the race 90 minutes early so I could a) pee a bunch of times before putting on the wetsuit, b) put on the wetsuit and c) swim in it for as long as it took to feel comfortable. Doug, the smart man that he is, set up his transition zone and headed back to the car for 45 minutes where it was warm.
I racked my bike as several other triathletes were arriving. They were all new to the sport and asked me a bunch of newbie questions that made me smile as I remembered wondering all of the same things not that long ago. One of the newbies noticed my pump and proudly showed me his Animas pump. Spotting another T1 in the wild means instant bonding and we kept cheering each other on every time we saw each other during the race.
The donning of the wetsuit went much better the second time. It helped that I knew what to expect, I came prepared with a plastic bag to wrap around my feet (to help them slide more easily) and I was in and zipped (by myself) in less than five minutes. I made my way down to the water where a bunch of folks were milling around trying to decide whether or not to go into the now 16C water. I greeted them all and walked right in. I forced myself to simply tread water for a few minutes while the cold water seeped into the wetsuit (what a strange feeling that is) and I made sure that I wasn't going to start panic-breathing. The water felt cold but manageable and I had no issues getting used to the tighter feel of a wetsuit. I swam a few hundred metres, made sure I wasn't going to freak out and then happily floated around chatting to all the others who were brave enough to get in.
I had a few diabetes issues to figure out at the last minute. First of all, tucking emergency carbs into the pockets of my triathlon suit was not going to work because there was no way to get to them once the wetsuit was on. I ended up stuffing two packages of fruit chews and a ziplock bag with two dates into the arms of my suit. It felt weird but worked fine.
I had also planned to be able to stalk my continuous glucose monitor (CGM) in the time leading up to the race but, once I put the suit on, I could no longer see Rose. And, even if I could, it would not have mattered anyway as she lost the CGM signal, not to be found again until I was finished the swim and took off the wetsuit. So I went on feel and had one date (with salt) 30 minutes before the start and one (again with salt) a minute or two before going in.
When the race started, I swam hard. I felt like I was swimming really fast and I had been told that I would feel that way but I wasn't sure if I just felt fast or if I really was fast. I passed a bunch of swimmers but that's typical for me. Swimming is definitely my forte in a triathlon.
Getting out of the wetsuit was tricky and awkward but I'm sure, with experience, it will be easier. It added a minute to my transition time but I wasn't too worried about that.
The bike ride was easy and fun for the first half and tough on the way back when I hit the headwind. I obviously have not had enough training on the bike and my body could feel it during the last 10k. I'll have to make a point of riding more and riding farther in the next month so that the 40k olympic distance ride doesn't feel quite so never-ending. I did have two dates (with salt) on the bike ride and drank a lot of NUUN in an effort to keep my electrolytes up and prevent a blood pressure crash on the run.
The run felt great. I approached it the same way I approached the half marathon last weekend. Run at a strong and steady pace, watch my heart rate and don't stop running. It worked well and, as I picked off the kilometres one by one, I enjoyed the moment rather than waiting for it to end.
I crossed the finish line with a blood sugar of 12. Not bad considering that I hadn't checked it before or during the race and had just done it all by feel. I had set a race day basal profile that was supposed to allow me to eat before the swim and during the ride which is exactly what I did. A glance at my CGM when I got home showed me that I had climbed pretty high (16+) during the bike ride but had dropped back down again by the end. So lows were not a problem but I hate being that high during a race. I'll have to tweak those basal numbers before the next race.
Here are the results for this year's race:
Swim 14:38.9 1:57min/100m (Overall 89/240 Gender 27/90 Category 4/18)
Bike 1:13:05 24:62km/hour (Overall 210/240 Gender 74/90 Category 13/18)
Run 51:43.7 6:53min/km (Overall 221/241 Gender 79/90 Category 15/18)
T1 3:23
T2 2:31
Total 2:27:50 (Overall 220/240 Gender 79/90 Category 15/18)
Compare it to the one I did two years ago:
Swim 14:30.00 1:55/100m (Overall 120/296 Gender 43/128 Category 7/20)
Bike 1:03:17 28.44km/hr (overall 224/296 Gender 81/128 Category 14/20)
Run 55:33:00 7:24min/km (Overall 262/296 Gender 105/128 Category 17/20)
T1 2:30
T2 2:39
Total 2:20:45 (Overall 243/296 Gender 99/120 Category 16/20)
The swim times are almost identical. Two years ago I was at my swimming peak, doing master's three times a week and super hardcore. This time I was nowhere near that level of swimming fitness but I did have a wetsuit. So perhaps it did make me faster.
The bike was a lot slower this year - no surprise there considering my lack of practice.
My run was 4 minutes faster which is great. It felt much better too. I remember really struggling in 2013 during that run.
No personal best and I obviously have some work to do if I want to place high on the bike and in the run but it sure was fun.
After a few days of trepidation last week I'm happy to announce that triathlon girl is back!!
Here are a few photos taken from Multisports' Facebook page, the fine folks who organize these great races.
Monday, June 1, 2015
May Report Card
I started off my April report talking about April showers bringing May flowers. Well it certainly did and the month of May in southern Ontario was sunny and glorious and heavy with the scent of lilacs and magnolias.
In fact, the only rainy day I can remember in May happens to be yesterday, the last day of the month. The temperature dropped from 30 degrees and humid on Saturday to non-stop rain and 8 windy degrees on Sunday. Bit of a shocker and a surefire way to ruin our cycling and golf plans.
You won't hear any complaints from me though. It was a wonderful month and one day out of 31 of miserable weather simply means a lazy Sunday and lots of time for colouring and watching golf.
So May. Thanks for the golf games, the bike rides (outdoors finally!), the return to the pool and the long runs.
Golf
I was able to play 12 games of golf in May. Most were 9 holes. A few were 18. In fact Doug and I played in a golf tournament as well as a mixed match play. We had fun and make a pretty good team. I walked, carrying my clubs, a total of 79.5km and it took about 34.5 hours to do it.
Running
Twelve seems to be a favourite number because, not only did I golf 12 times but I also ran 12 times. I covered a total of 119km in 14 hours - all thanks to half marathon/triathlon training.
Cycling
Doug and I have resumed outdoor bike rides again. Sunday mornings are our time to ride and we got four of them in last month. Would have been five had it not poured rain all day yesterday. Anyway, we covered 74.5k in 3 1/2 hours.
Swimming
I'm back in the pool again!! I went back two weeks ago and my tendonitis survived just fine. I am now swimming twice a week, 2k per visit. The goal is not to regain my strength and speed I had when I was in full Masters training, I just want to be able to confidently hold my own during triathlon swims. And after two weeks back in the pool, I already feel so much stronger. Four swims in = 8000m in 3.25 hours.
So the grand total for May?
20 workouts plus 12 golf games (are they an official workout?)
281km covered in 82.25 hours.
And my goal to run, walk, cycle and swim my way from my front door to Regina, Saskatchewan.
By the end of last month I had covered 805km of my 2356km 'journey. Add another 281km and I'm now 1086km away from home. I'd love to say that I have now made it to some sexy destination but no such luck. It's been two months since I made it past Sault Ste Marie and I'm still another two months away from Thunder Bay. So I'm somewhere in beautiful northern Ontario but there are no Starbucks in sight. The closest thing on a map is White Lake Provincial Park, less than 100km away where I am.
June will be a busy month. A half marathon and my first tri of the season. A whole bunch of golf games as well as an increase in swimming and cycling to prepare for my Olympic distance tri in July.
See you next month!
In fact, the only rainy day I can remember in May happens to be yesterday, the last day of the month. The temperature dropped from 30 degrees and humid on Saturday to non-stop rain and 8 windy degrees on Sunday. Bit of a shocker and a surefire way to ruin our cycling and golf plans.
You won't hear any complaints from me though. It was a wonderful month and one day out of 31 of miserable weather simply means a lazy Sunday and lots of time for colouring and watching golf.
So May. Thanks for the golf games, the bike rides (outdoors finally!), the return to the pool and the long runs.
Golf
I was able to play 12 games of golf in May. Most were 9 holes. A few were 18. In fact Doug and I played in a golf tournament as well as a mixed match play. We had fun and make a pretty good team. I walked, carrying my clubs, a total of 79.5km and it took about 34.5 hours to do it.
Running
Twelve seems to be a favourite number because, not only did I golf 12 times but I also ran 12 times. I covered a total of 119km in 14 hours - all thanks to half marathon/triathlon training.
Cycling
Doug and I have resumed outdoor bike rides again. Sunday mornings are our time to ride and we got four of them in last month. Would have been five had it not poured rain all day yesterday. Anyway, we covered 74.5k in 3 1/2 hours.
Swimming
I'm back in the pool again!! I went back two weeks ago and my tendonitis survived just fine. I am now swimming twice a week, 2k per visit. The goal is not to regain my strength and speed I had when I was in full Masters training, I just want to be able to confidently hold my own during triathlon swims. And after two weeks back in the pool, I already feel so much stronger. Four swims in = 8000m in 3.25 hours.
So the grand total for May?
20 workouts plus 12 golf games (are they an official workout?)
281km covered in 82.25 hours.
And my goal to run, walk, cycle and swim my way from my front door to Regina, Saskatchewan.
By the end of last month I had covered 805km of my 2356km 'journey. Add another 281km and I'm now 1086km away from home. I'd love to say that I have now made it to some sexy destination but no such luck. It's been two months since I made it past Sault Ste Marie and I'm still another two months away from Thunder Bay. So I'm somewhere in beautiful northern Ontario but there are no Starbucks in sight. The closest thing on a map is White Lake Provincial Park, less than 100km away where I am.
June will be a busy month. A half marathon and my first tri of the season. A whole bunch of golf games as well as an increase in swimming and cycling to prepare for my Olympic distance tri in July.
See you next month!
Monday, May 25, 2015
Back in the Saddle Again
Last week I took an unplanned blogging holiday.
I was still working my regular job. I was still doing my regular stuff. But, for some reason, I wasn't into blogging. So I didn't blog.
Perhaps it's because the week before had been D-Blog week and, as much as I love it, I'm usually pretty tired of writing by the end of it.
Perhaps it's because Doug and I are busily repainting all of the rooms in our house so evenings and weekends revolve around when we can squeeze in another wall, another handful of doors or some baseboards.
Whatever the reason, it was nice to have a break and just as nice to be back.
Since we last spent time together, I've managed to play in a Mixed Doubles golf tournament (my first golf tournament ever) as well as a Mixed Match Play game. Doug and I did not win the golf tournament (no shocker there) but we did end up with a respectable final score. We also managed to win our first Mixed Match Play game so we are off to play a second round...yet to be booked.
I took a deep breath and signed up to play Thursday golf with some of the more experienced ladies at my golf club. I played my first game with them, followed by wine and dinner, and loved it. I'm all signed up for this coming week and look forward to some very supportive yet challenging golf.
I also ran my last two long runs before my half marathon. A 20k run that turned into a 13.5k disaster thanks to a blood pressure/ear plugging nightmare and a 16k that was the perfect redemption run. I sailed through that one without a hitch.
I got back in the pool again and managed two 2k swims last week. My tendonitis flared a little bit afterwards but not enough to hinder my Sunday golf so I'm hopeful that my poor elbow has turned a corner and is on the path to a full recovery.
I was knocked down for a day with the stomach flu but the diabetes gods didn't seem to notice or perhaps they felt too bad for me to cause any mischief. Twenty-four hours after the first stomach twinge I was back to feeling great with hardly a high or low blood sugar to show for the ordeal. It felt almost too easy.
Other than that, I signed up on a whim for a local Spanish conversation group and will be attending my first meeting next week. I had been looking for a local French group to practice with but couldn't find one. Spanish works just as well since I'm just as rusty in that language as I am in my French.
Well that's my big news.
See y'all tomorrow
I was still working my regular job. I was still doing my regular stuff. But, for some reason, I wasn't into blogging. So I didn't blog.
Perhaps it's because the week before had been D-Blog week and, as much as I love it, I'm usually pretty tired of writing by the end of it.
Perhaps it's because Doug and I are busily repainting all of the rooms in our house so evenings and weekends revolve around when we can squeeze in another wall, another handful of doors or some baseboards.
Whatever the reason, it was nice to have a break and just as nice to be back.
Since we last spent time together, I've managed to play in a Mixed Doubles golf tournament (my first golf tournament ever) as well as a Mixed Match Play game. Doug and I did not win the golf tournament (no shocker there) but we did end up with a respectable final score. We also managed to win our first Mixed Match Play game so we are off to play a second round...yet to be booked.
I took a deep breath and signed up to play Thursday golf with some of the more experienced ladies at my golf club. I played my first game with them, followed by wine and dinner, and loved it. I'm all signed up for this coming week and look forward to some very supportive yet challenging golf.
I also ran my last two long runs before my half marathon. A 20k run that turned into a 13.5k disaster thanks to a blood pressure/ear plugging nightmare and a 16k that was the perfect redemption run. I sailed through that one without a hitch.
I got back in the pool again and managed two 2k swims last week. My tendonitis flared a little bit afterwards but not enough to hinder my Sunday golf so I'm hopeful that my poor elbow has turned a corner and is on the path to a full recovery.
I was knocked down for a day with the stomach flu but the diabetes gods didn't seem to notice or perhaps they felt too bad for me to cause any mischief. Twenty-four hours after the first stomach twinge I was back to feeling great with hardly a high or low blood sugar to show for the ordeal. It felt almost too easy.
Other than that, I signed up on a whim for a local Spanish conversation group and will be attending my first meeting next week. I had been looking for a local French group to practice with but couldn't find one. Spanish works just as well since I'm just as rusty in that language as I am in my French.
Well that's my big news.
See y'all tomorrow
Friday, May 1, 2015
En Route To Thunder Bay
It's May!
All those April showers, both the rain and the snow variety, are now supposed to translate into Mayflowers.
Total number of workouts = 25
Total time spent working out = 29 hours
Total distance covered = 258km
By the end of March I had covered 547km and had made it to Sudbury Ontario and a bit beyond.
Add 258km to that and I am now 805km into my 2396km 'journey'.
Which brings me...to the middle of Northern Ontario.
Sault Ste Marie is 781km away so I've made it there and beyond. Thunder Bay is the next stop but it's over 1400km from my front door so that will be another few months I'm guessing.
So let's just say that I'm en route to Thunder Bay.
All those April showers, both the rain and the snow variety, are now supposed to translate into Mayflowers.
Or is that May flowers?
It's all very unclear.
Before we say goodbye to April, it's time to see how the month went in terms of physical activity and how much closer I am to my January goal of running, walking, swimming and cycling my way to Regina, Saskatchewan.
Running
I ran exactly 100km in April. Not on purpose, it just worked out that way. I ran 10 times, some runs as short as 4k and some as long as 20. In total I ran for 11.5 hours.
Swimming and Rowing
I swam only once in April for a total of 2000m (2k). It took me 40 minutes. It hurt so I stopped going. Until my elbow is better, I'm out of the pool again. No rowing machine at all because that was hurting even more than swimming was.
Cycling
The fact that I have not been swimming (sigh) for a few weeks to let my elbow heal means that I've had plenty of opportunity for cycling workouts. In fact I managed to fit 9 of them into the month of April. One of them was even outside on real roads!
I covered a total of 137km in 7 hours and 45 minutes. Doesn't seem like a lot considering I cycled 9 times but several of those workouts were Bending Crank Arms where I spent more time doing off the bike squats than I did increasing my mileage.
Golf
I don't count every step I take every day but I do track how far I walk when I'm golfing. Golf season in back in full swing so I've managed 5 games (all 9 holes so far) and walked 19k in just over 9 hours.
Total number of workouts = 25
Total time spent working out = 29 hours
Total distance covered = 258km
By the end of March I had covered 547km and had made it to Sudbury Ontario and a bit beyond.
Add 258km to that and I am now 805km into my 2396km 'journey'.
Which brings me...to the middle of Northern Ontario.
Sault Ste Marie is 781km away so I've made it there and beyond. Thunder Bay is the next stop but it's over 1400km from my front door so that will be another few months I'm guessing.
So let's just say that I'm en route to Thunder Bay.
Friday, April 24, 2015
Triathlon Training or the Lack Thereof
Why is it that I am extremely regimented when it comes to half marathon training...
...and yet extremely lackadaisical when it comes to triathlon training?
I have had my long run distances written out for two months now. They are posted on a sticky note in my office. Every Saturday I dutifully run the distance I am supposed to run. Every Monday when I get to work I cross another run off my sticky note.
I have a triathlon the weekend after this half marathon I am training for and I won't be doing anything specific for it other than swimming at the pool and cycling either on the trainer or outside if it ever warms up enough to do so. I don't build up. I don't taper. When I swim I swim for 45-60 minutes and when I cycle I cycle for about an hour. C'est tout.
Maybe it's because a triathlon is three different activities, and none of them too long. I never worry much about finishing because I know that I can fairly easily complete each of those distances on their own. And if I slow down a bit, I have enough energy to complete them in a row.
I could never just go out and wing a half marathon. Run a few 10k runs and then somehow pull off twice that on race day. I've been running this distance for years and have never once thought it was remotely easy to do. Even the training knocks me out.
And yet every triathlon I have done has been done without following any kind of triathlon training plan. I just swim, cycle and run and then, on race day, do them one after the other wearing a special outfit.
Is that weird? Do other people religiously follow triathlon training plans the way I follow half-marathon ones?
I have an Olympic distance triathlon coming up in July. The first and only other time I have done that distance I did not follow a training plan. I just took it one activity at a time and tried not to burn out before the finish. I didn't burn out and it went fairly well.
Should I try following an actual training plan this time? If so, why? I'm open to it of course but if my triathlon goals are to a) finish and finish strong and b) have fun doing it, then do I need to do any more than what I'm doing?
I do all three sports because I like them and they help keep me healthy. I string them all together on race days and call myself a triathlete because it's fun and I really enjoy it.
Why make it any more complicated than that?
...and yet extremely lackadaisical when it comes to triathlon training?
I have had my long run distances written out for two months now. They are posted on a sticky note in my office. Every Saturday I dutifully run the distance I am supposed to run. Every Monday when I get to work I cross another run off my sticky note.
I have a triathlon the weekend after this half marathon I am training for and I won't be doing anything specific for it other than swimming at the pool and cycling either on the trainer or outside if it ever warms up enough to do so. I don't build up. I don't taper. When I swim I swim for 45-60 minutes and when I cycle I cycle for about an hour. C'est tout.
Maybe it's because a triathlon is three different activities, and none of them too long. I never worry much about finishing because I know that I can fairly easily complete each of those distances on their own. And if I slow down a bit, I have enough energy to complete them in a row.
I could never just go out and wing a half marathon. Run a few 10k runs and then somehow pull off twice that on race day. I've been running this distance for years and have never once thought it was remotely easy to do. Even the training knocks me out.
And yet every triathlon I have done has been done without following any kind of triathlon training plan. I just swim, cycle and run and then, on race day, do them one after the other wearing a special outfit.
Is that weird? Do other people religiously follow triathlon training plans the way I follow half-marathon ones?
I have an Olympic distance triathlon coming up in July. The first and only other time I have done that distance I did not follow a training plan. I just took it one activity at a time and tried not to burn out before the finish. I didn't burn out and it went fairly well.
Should I try following an actual training plan this time? If so, why? I'm open to it of course but if my triathlon goals are to a) finish and finish strong and b) have fun doing it, then do I need to do any more than what I'm doing?
I do all three sports because I like them and they help keep me healthy. I string them all together on race days and call myself a triathlete because it's fun and I really enjoy it.
Why make it any more complicated than that?
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
Sudbury and Beyond!
February, which feels like a long time ago now, was not a stellar month when it came to physical activity.
March, on the other hand, has been pretty darn good.
Wanna see what happened?
Running
Training is ramping up for the Niagara Falls Women's half so I've been adding a few extra kilometres every week. Plus I tossed in some speed and hill training to get my legs and my heart pumping. Things are feeling good and my running is going well.
Distance covered: 118km
Number of workouts: 14
Time spent: 14.5 hours
Cycling
My cycling went down a bit this month but for a good reason. I've added swimming back into the mix and, let's be honest, there really are only so many hours in a day.
Distance covered: 38k
Number of workouts: 2
Time spent: 1 hour and 48 minutes
Swimming
Yes my friends, I am back in the pool again. I hopped back in two weeks ago and have been trying to go twice per week. No Master's class. Just me and my little workout tucked into a waterproof baggie. I'm enjoying it much more than I did last fall and look forward to the workouts again.
Distance covered: 10,000m
Number of workouts: 4
Time spent: 4 hours
Erg'ing (aka rowing machine)
I've been going to my new fitness centre on Sunday mornings and doing a nice little workout. Thirty minutes on the erg followed by weight training. The distance is adding up and I'm getting a bit faster and a bit stronger with each session.
Distance covered: 31,822m
Number of workouts: 5
Time spent: 2.5 hours
Corefit and Weight Training
I'm tossing any weight training I've been doing into one big pot. Whether it's an hour CoreFit class or an hour lifting weights, it's going here. Sadly I haven't figured out how to convert ten minutes on the bench press into distance so I'm only going to report on the number of workouts and time spent doing them.
Number of workouts: 8
Time spent: 6 hours and 15 minutes
Grand total for March:
Number of workouts: 33
Time spent: 29 hours
Distance covered: 196.8km
Where does that get me to?
I have covered a total distance of 547km in three months.
In January I had made it from my house to Barrie. By the end of February I was just north of Parry Sound. And now?
Well, I've made it all the way to Sudbury, Ontario with enough left over to turn west and head another 70km towards Sault St. Marie.
Just to remind you, my goal is to run, swim, bike, row and walk (on the golf course) my way to Regina, Saskatchewan by the end of 2015. The total distance is 2396km from my front door. In the first quarter of the year, I've covered just under one quarter of the distance (23% to be precise). Which means I'm well on my way to getting to Regina by New Year's Eve.
The challenge for April?
Where to fit in my Sunday morning erg/weight workout once it warms up enough for our Sunday morning cycling group to hit the roads again? The schedule will once again have to be tweaked.
March, on the other hand, has been pretty darn good.
Wanna see what happened?
Running
Training is ramping up for the Niagara Falls Women's half so I've been adding a few extra kilometres every week. Plus I tossed in some speed and hill training to get my legs and my heart pumping. Things are feeling good and my running is going well.
Distance covered: 118km
Number of workouts: 14
Time spent: 14.5 hours
Cycling
My cycling went down a bit this month but for a good reason. I've added swimming back into the mix and, let's be honest, there really are only so many hours in a day.
Distance covered: 38k
Number of workouts: 2
Time spent: 1 hour and 48 minutes
Swimming
Yes my friends, I am back in the pool again. I hopped back in two weeks ago and have been trying to go twice per week. No Master's class. Just me and my little workout tucked into a waterproof baggie. I'm enjoying it much more than I did last fall and look forward to the workouts again.
Distance covered: 10,000m
Number of workouts: 4
Time spent: 4 hours
Erg'ing (aka rowing machine)
I've been going to my new fitness centre on Sunday mornings and doing a nice little workout. Thirty minutes on the erg followed by weight training. The distance is adding up and I'm getting a bit faster and a bit stronger with each session.
Distance covered: 31,822m
Number of workouts: 5
Time spent: 2.5 hours
Corefit and Weight Training
I'm tossing any weight training I've been doing into one big pot. Whether it's an hour CoreFit class or an hour lifting weights, it's going here. Sadly I haven't figured out how to convert ten minutes on the bench press into distance so I'm only going to report on the number of workouts and time spent doing them.
Number of workouts: 8
Time spent: 6 hours and 15 minutes
Grand total for March:
Number of workouts: 33
Time spent: 29 hours
Distance covered: 196.8km
Where does that get me to?
I have covered a total distance of 547km in three months.
In January I had made it from my house to Barrie. By the end of February I was just north of Parry Sound. And now?
Well, I've made it all the way to Sudbury, Ontario with enough left over to turn west and head another 70km towards Sault St. Marie.
Just to remind you, my goal is to run, swim, bike, row and walk (on the golf course) my way to Regina, Saskatchewan by the end of 2015. The total distance is 2396km from my front door. In the first quarter of the year, I've covered just under one quarter of the distance (23% to be precise). Which means I'm well on my way to getting to Regina by New Year's Eve.
The challenge for April?
Where to fit in my Sunday morning erg/weight workout once it warms up enough for our Sunday morning cycling group to hit the roads again? The schedule will once again have to be tweaked.
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Heart Rate Update
I think it's about time for a heart rate update. Seeing as how I track it pretty religiously these days, I might as well report back in case anyone out there is thinking about training using your heart rate.
Since running is the sport that I do the most (3 times per week rather than just 1 or 2) it's the activity that I am getting the most practice with in terms of figuring out heart rate.
What I've been trying to do is to keep my long runs under 160 beats per minute while keeping my shorter runs under 165. Last week I started doing speed work again and I'm planning to get back into hill workouts this week. For those I just go full speed ahead and then check what my heart rate is at the end. For the speed work I peaked at 174 beats per minute and for hills I'm guessing I'll max out at 180 since that was my max last fall.
Here is an example of how things have been going:
Saturday I ran 14k. I tried very hard to keep my heart rate between 155-160 and it stayed there easily for most of it but kept creeping over 160 during the last few kilometres. That being said, I ran 14k without too much effort and I did not stop once. Not even for 15 seconds at a red light. I just started running at the end of my driveway, ran 7k, turned around and ran back to my driveway. Best part was that I didn't want to stop. It felt easy enough that I knew I could do it so I did.
The tradeoff is that I'm slower than I used to be. Not by a lot but still slower.
That being said, I'll take 15 seconds per kilometre slower if the tradeoff is that I can run for 90 minutes with no great difficulty and feel completely fine for the rest of the day.
I'll be ramping up the mileage over the next few weeks as I train for my spring half marathon. I'm running 16k next week, 18k not long after and then I'm in the 20s for a few weeks in a row. If I can keep my heart rate down and glide through those distances too, I'll be completely sold on this new way of running.
On to other activities!
I have used the erg (aka rowing machine) four times now at my new fitness centre. I've tracked my heart rate each time as well as my distance. During my first two 30-minute workouts it was a struggle to get 6000m done. On the third one I did 6400m and just this past Sunday I was able to do 6650m. So I'm obviously getting the hang of this thing.
My heart rate numbers are pretty similar to my running ones. Once I get going I'm hovering in the high 150s, up to 160, for the rest of the workout. Strangely, that heart rate makes for a pretty easy run but it makes for a pretty intense erg session. At the end of 30 minutes I'm dripping wet, panting and exhausted.
For cycling, I can't seem to get my heart rate up to 150, never mind above it. Even when the dude on the video is yelling at us to climb faster or spin faster or push harder, I tend to hover around 145bpm. I feel like I'm working pretty darn hard but it's not reflected in my heart rate.
Tracking my heart rate during a swim is not an option at this point because I don't have the waterproof watch to do it.
Lessons learned so far?
1. Running using heart rate works very well for me. It might not work for the speed demons out there who like to give it their all during every run but it works for me as I try to find a way to run long distance races feeling strong from start to finish.
2. A given heart rate (say 155bpm) is easy to reach during some activities, hard in others and seeming impossible in others still. Yet the effort I'm putting out is different for each activity.
- 155bpm = pretty easy running
- 155bpm = pretty tough erg'ing
- 155bpm = I've never reached that on the bike so I'm guessing it might kill me if I do
Heart rate training may not be for everyone but it's definitely a tool I'm keeping in my fitness toolbox.
Since running is the sport that I do the most (3 times per week rather than just 1 or 2) it's the activity that I am getting the most practice with in terms of figuring out heart rate.
What I've been trying to do is to keep my long runs under 160 beats per minute while keeping my shorter runs under 165. Last week I started doing speed work again and I'm planning to get back into hill workouts this week. For those I just go full speed ahead and then check what my heart rate is at the end. For the speed work I peaked at 174 beats per minute and for hills I'm guessing I'll max out at 180 since that was my max last fall.
Here is an example of how things have been going:
Saturday I ran 14k. I tried very hard to keep my heart rate between 155-160 and it stayed there easily for most of it but kept creeping over 160 during the last few kilometres. That being said, I ran 14k without too much effort and I did not stop once. Not even for 15 seconds at a red light. I just started running at the end of my driveway, ran 7k, turned around and ran back to my driveway. Best part was that I didn't want to stop. It felt easy enough that I knew I could do it so I did.
The tradeoff is that I'm slower than I used to be. Not by a lot but still slower.
That being said, I'll take 15 seconds per kilometre slower if the tradeoff is that I can run for 90 minutes with no great difficulty and feel completely fine for the rest of the day.
I'll be ramping up the mileage over the next few weeks as I train for my spring half marathon. I'm running 16k next week, 18k not long after and then I'm in the 20s for a few weeks in a row. If I can keep my heart rate down and glide through those distances too, I'll be completely sold on this new way of running.
On to other activities!
I have used the erg (aka rowing machine) four times now at my new fitness centre. I've tracked my heart rate each time as well as my distance. During my first two 30-minute workouts it was a struggle to get 6000m done. On the third one I did 6400m and just this past Sunday I was able to do 6650m. So I'm obviously getting the hang of this thing.
My heart rate numbers are pretty similar to my running ones. Once I get going I'm hovering in the high 150s, up to 160, for the rest of the workout. Strangely, that heart rate makes for a pretty easy run but it makes for a pretty intense erg session. At the end of 30 minutes I'm dripping wet, panting and exhausted.
For cycling, I can't seem to get my heart rate up to 150, never mind above it. Even when the dude on the video is yelling at us to climb faster or spin faster or push harder, I tend to hover around 145bpm. I feel like I'm working pretty darn hard but it's not reflected in my heart rate.
Tracking my heart rate during a swim is not an option at this point because I don't have the waterproof watch to do it.
Lessons learned so far?
1. Running using heart rate works very well for me. It might not work for the speed demons out there who like to give it their all during every run but it works for me as I try to find a way to run long distance races feeling strong from start to finish.
2. A given heart rate (say 155bpm) is easy to reach during some activities, hard in others and seeming impossible in others still. Yet the effort I'm putting out is different for each activity.
- 155bpm = pretty easy running
- 155bpm = pretty tough erg'ing
- 155bpm = I've never reached that on the bike so I'm guessing it might kill me if I do
Heart rate training may not be for everyone but it's definitely a tool I'm keeping in my fitness toolbox.
Monday, March 23, 2015
Getting My Pool MoJo Back
I'm back at the pool now and am getting into the swing of it again.
I swam last Monday and again last Friday.
Those will be my swimming days for the foreseeable future and I say them out loud to Doug the night before so I can't change my mind.
Both times I went last week I swam for an hour rather than the hour and a half I used to do in the master's class. An hour feels much more reasonable and I can get about 2500m done in that time.
When you consider that I'm training to swim 1500m max this summer, it doesn't make much sense for me to do twice that distance and more every time I get into the pool.
In addition to only swimming for an hour, I also decided to buy a three-month lane pass rather than sign up for the next Master's session.
So I'll be swimming with the regular folks and fighting for my spot in a lane rather than swimming with the crazy folks and having a lane almost always to myself. It's a bit of a tradeoff but I'll try it for a few months and decide if I like it.
What kind of workouts am I doing now that I don't have a coach writing them down on a whiteboard for me? Good question.
Luckily, I was a very keen student and I went home after every master's class and wrote down my entire workout in Training Peaks. Complete with goal times, actual times and instructions.
Which means that I can be my own coach.
I pulled out one of my small moleskin notebooks, tore out a few pages and wrote out four workouts in dark black ink. I put them inside a plastic sealable snack bag. Every time I go I just pick the one I want, put it at the front of the baggie and I'm good to go. Some are distance workouts, some are speed. Some are a bit of both.
It's now even easier to figure out what lane I'm in. Just look for the black flip-flops with sparkles, the sports bottle filled with NUUN and two ziplock baggies, one with two tubes of Dex4s in it and the other one stuffed with workouts.
I swam last Monday and again last Friday.
Those will be my swimming days for the foreseeable future and I say them out loud to Doug the night before so I can't change my mind.
Both times I went last week I swam for an hour rather than the hour and a half I used to do in the master's class. An hour feels much more reasonable and I can get about 2500m done in that time.
When you consider that I'm training to swim 1500m max this summer, it doesn't make much sense for me to do twice that distance and more every time I get into the pool.
In addition to only swimming for an hour, I also decided to buy a three-month lane pass rather than sign up for the next Master's session.
So I'll be swimming with the regular folks and fighting for my spot in a lane rather than swimming with the crazy folks and having a lane almost always to myself. It's a bit of a tradeoff but I'll try it for a few months and decide if I like it.
What kind of workouts am I doing now that I don't have a coach writing them down on a whiteboard for me? Good question.
Luckily, I was a very keen student and I went home after every master's class and wrote down my entire workout in Training Peaks. Complete with goal times, actual times and instructions.
Which means that I can be my own coach.
I pulled out one of my small moleskin notebooks, tore out a few pages and wrote out four workouts in dark black ink. I put them inside a plastic sealable snack bag. Every time I go I just pick the one I want, put it at the front of the baggie and I'm good to go. Some are distance workouts, some are speed. Some are a bit of both.
It's now even easier to figure out what lane I'm in. Just look for the black flip-flops with sparkles, the sports bottle filled with NUUN and two ziplock baggies, one with two tubes of Dex4s in it and the other one stuffed with workouts.
Monday, March 16, 2015
All About the Pride
I've tried being patient.
I've tried being understanding.
I've tried guilt and I've tried peer pressure.
And I'm still not finding a way to get myself back into the swimming groove.
Which seems completely bizarre to me because I really do love it when I get there.
I just don't seem to care enough to get there.
So I'm through being patient and understanding and I have dropped the guilt and peer pressure tactics.
I'm moving on to more drastic measures.
I've registered for two triathlons. Entered my information. Chose my shirt size. Gasped at the price once they added taxes, administrative fees and insurance. Entered my credit card number anyway. Clicked confirm. Got the email saying I was in.
I'm committed. I'm doing a sprint triathlon in June and an Olympic triathlon in July.
I'm eyeing two more races as well although I have yet to pull out my credit card again. But they are another sprint and another Olympic which would bring my summer total up to 4 triathlons. (Plus a half marathon just to liven things up a bit.)
This is where the psychological part is going to kick in.
See, I know I could swim the distance if I had to do it tomorrow. When I hopped in the pool back in January, after a few months off, I swam 3k fairly easily. So the thought of having to swim 1500m is not enough to get me back in the pool.
What is enough is the thought of swimming 1500m poorly.
See, swimming is actually my strongest of the three sports. But I've neglected it so my speed and my form are nowhere near where they were two summers ago when I was swimming 3 times a week.
And finishing a triathlon in June with a swim time that is several minutes slower than it was two years ago is enough to get me back in the pool when nothing else was.
Turns out it's not about the guilt.
It's about the pride.
I've tried being understanding.
I've tried guilt and I've tried peer pressure.
And I'm still not finding a way to get myself back into the swimming groove.
Which seems completely bizarre to me because I really do love it when I get there.
I just don't seem to care enough to get there.
So I'm through being patient and understanding and I have dropped the guilt and peer pressure tactics.
I'm moving on to more drastic measures.
I've registered for two triathlons. Entered my information. Chose my shirt size. Gasped at the price once they added taxes, administrative fees and insurance. Entered my credit card number anyway. Clicked confirm. Got the email saying I was in.
I'm committed. I'm doing a sprint triathlon in June and an Olympic triathlon in July.
I'm eyeing two more races as well although I have yet to pull out my credit card again. But they are another sprint and another Olympic which would bring my summer total up to 4 triathlons. (Plus a half marathon just to liven things up a bit.)
This is where the psychological part is going to kick in.
See, I know I could swim the distance if I had to do it tomorrow. When I hopped in the pool back in January, after a few months off, I swam 3k fairly easily. So the thought of having to swim 1500m is not enough to get me back in the pool.
What is enough is the thought of swimming 1500m poorly.
See, swimming is actually my strongest of the three sports. But I've neglected it so my speed and my form are nowhere near where they were two summers ago when I was swimming 3 times a week.
And finishing a triathlon in June with a swim time that is several minutes slower than it was two years ago is enough to get me back in the pool when nothing else was.
Turns out it's not about the guilt.
It's about the pride.
Monday, February 2, 2015
Made it to Barrie!
It's hard to believe that January is already done and over with. It seems like only yesterday that I was setting goals for the year.
Well, we are one month in to 2015 so it's time for my first checkin of the year.
Running
So far, running has been going well. I am not training for anything specific at the moment but I'm keeping my mileage up at a point where I could slip into half marathon training without too much difficulty.
In January I ran 12 times and covered 104k in 12 1/2 hours. I like months where I manage to run 100+k. There is something fun about putting that kind of distance on my shoes. Particularly in the cold dark months of a January in Canada.
Cycling
Cycling has also been going well. I have been much more consistent on the bike in the winter months than I was last summer.
I managed to get 6 rides in and covered a total of 106k in 5 1/4 hours.
Corefit and Tabata
I just finished my fifth straight month of CoreFit and Tabata classes and it's quite clear that these classes are a great addition to my workout schedule. I'm much stronger than I was and I do believe they have made a difference on my runs.
I did 6 classes in January - I missed one due to life and I missed a second one that was cancelled due to snow. I did work out at home that night but didn't count it simply because it was nowhere near as intense as it would have been had I had someone telling me what to do.
Swimming
Swimming has been good in the sense that I actually made it to the pool which is more than I could say in November and December. But I'm still not feeling any desire to get back in there and must force myself. I managed to swim three times for a total distance of 6.7k.
Nothing to brag about to be sure but a goal to try to beat in February I guess.
So how were things overall?
One month in and I have covered 216km.
My goal for this year was to walk, bike, swim and run the distance from our front door to Regina, Saskatchewan which is a grand total of 2747k.
My 216k takes my from our front door to the other side of Barrie, Ontario.
Slow and steady folks, slow and steady.
Well, we are one month in to 2015 so it's time for my first checkin of the year.
Running
So far, running has been going well. I am not training for anything specific at the moment but I'm keeping my mileage up at a point where I could slip into half marathon training without too much difficulty.
In January I ran 12 times and covered 104k in 12 1/2 hours. I like months where I manage to run 100+k. There is something fun about putting that kind of distance on my shoes. Particularly in the cold dark months of a January in Canada.
Cycling
Cycling has also been going well. I have been much more consistent on the bike in the winter months than I was last summer.
I managed to get 6 rides in and covered a total of 106k in 5 1/4 hours.
Corefit and Tabata
I just finished my fifth straight month of CoreFit and Tabata classes and it's quite clear that these classes are a great addition to my workout schedule. I'm much stronger than I was and I do believe they have made a difference on my runs.
I did 6 classes in January - I missed one due to life and I missed a second one that was cancelled due to snow. I did work out at home that night but didn't count it simply because it was nowhere near as intense as it would have been had I had someone telling me what to do.
Swimming
Swimming has been good in the sense that I actually made it to the pool which is more than I could say in November and December. But I'm still not feeling any desire to get back in there and must force myself. I managed to swim three times for a total distance of 6.7k.
Nothing to brag about to be sure but a goal to try to beat in February I guess.
So how were things overall?
One month in and I have covered 216km.
My goal for this year was to walk, bike, swim and run the distance from our front door to Regina, Saskatchewan which is a grand total of 2747k.
My 216k takes my from our front door to the other side of Barrie, Ontario.
Slow and steady folks, slow and steady.
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