June 24, 2016

Training update

First off, going to go find a huge chunk of wood to knock on... there we go.

Overall, I've been pleased with how my training's been going so far this season. I feel like I should be doing more, but I do need to work, eat, and sleep... and keep a general balance that doesn't revolve around swimming, biking, and running all the time. Not to mention, I'm pretty keen on staying injury-free this year, and so far so good. I race on a J-24 sailing crew every Monday, which I love. There are dance recitals to prep for and attend, school events to volunteer for, garden veggies to tend, laundry that won't wash itself, delicious meals to cook and eat. Additionally, at the end of a long day I have a comfy sofa and a Netflix subscription that beckons. And it will not be ignored. I've made my peace with that.

Where you can find me on a Monday night

I made a brief attempt earlier this month to swim every day. It's my weakest leg, and I thought it would be a good way to make some gains. Unfortunately, after 5 days in a row, I had a sore throat and sinuses, swollen glands, and general fatigue -- which I attributed to the river water going where it doesn't belong. Also, my shoulders were starting to give me trouble... which I promptly took care of by going to my trusted massage therapist. It was just too steep a ramp-up in volume. So I'm splitting the difference, trying to get in the water a few times a week and working on speed rather than just plodding along like I've done in previous years when it was more about getting the distance done. I was super happy at our final swim class, where I swam a personal best 11:07 500m, 1:55 100m and 49sec 50m. Granted they were all-out single shots at it rather than a typical "average of 5" time trial set (for the 100s), but if you've been following my swim updates you know I've been trying to break a 2:00 100m for... well, since I started.

Our last Monday morning OTC swim at Richcraft

I haven't been putting in as much bike volume as I'd like, but the workouts I do are good quality -- mostly thanks to the OTC High Performance Squad. I work a 90% week, and have been trying to time my every other Friday off to have a good long ride. However, things come up and deliverables need to get done. So I find myself on a day off today, but skipping the long ride since I've got a race tomorrow.

At the Champlain Lookout in Gatineau Park

I'm feeling good about my running, coming off a personal best 5k time from my last race (23:52), almost a full minute faster than my previous best. This is where I'm making the biggest effort to keep up the consistency in training, not just for fitness gains but also injury prevention. Around 30k per week is what I'm going for, provided I feel good.

Brick run with Kelsey and the HPS

I've got 3 races (2 triathlons) under my belt so far this season, and another one on the schedule for tomorrow. I love racing not just for its own sake, but I also find it's a great way to push my speed work and ultimately help prepare me for the Canadian Sprint Championships next month. Eep... not so far away now!

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