Training update Monday

Warning: This one is braggy.

(Yes a running triathlon* blog is sort of inherently braggy, but I had one hell of a training week last week, so this one is even more insufferably naval-gazing and self satisfied than usual).

*since I am in fact doing a triathlon on Saturday I guess I should get used to being more a triathlete than a runner now...

Run: 48k in 4 hours, 38 minutes
Bike: 4 hours on the trainer; brand new FTP
Swim: 2 swims, ~2800m

Total time: 9 hours, 52 minutes

Monday: Resty Mcresterson.

It was also Family Day. I did not win Scrabble Jr.

Tuesday: Usually I swim at lunch on Tuesdays, but I skipped it because I wanted to be totally rested and ready to go for my FTP test in the evening. The cyclists are nodding along. For the non-cyclists, an FTP test involves a long warm up and then riding as hard as you can maintain for a set period of time. Your results then set the difficulty of the future workouts. It's leg-burning, heart pounding, I-might-just-lose-my-dinner fun.

And how did it end?

It was an hour before my legs stopped trembling.

BOOM. 19 point increase. Thank you Trainerroad.

Wednesday: I was on a huge mental high from the successful FTP test and practically floated through a 10k run at lunch, with 8k at Around the Bay pace. Then a 30 minute very easy recovery ride on the bike after dinner, before heading out to my coached swim and doing 1400m there. Three sports in one day, why the hell not?

I didn't take many pictures this week. But I did win a free tea, so it was pretty much an awesome day all around.

Thursday: Swam at lunch, first real workout of the new bike training plan in the evening. Riding at the new FTP is certainly harder! Plus now I'm getting into VO2 max and threshold work and all sorts of other super fun stuff. I'm going to need bigger fans in the #paincave.

Friday: Interval time for the run. 2x1600m and 2x800m. It was stupidly cold so I bargained with myself to get through them (just do the first one. OK just do the second one and then we'll quit. Well might as well do the third...and now there's just one left, let's just do it). I made the target paces slightly easier than prescribed which was hugely helpful, mentally (plus did I mention it was cold and I was wearing all the clothes?). I consider those a big win.

Saturday: 90 minutes on the trainer doing threshold intervals. Set new PBs for sweatiness. Spent the rest breaks texting with Nicole to set up a run for Sunday ("OK if I survive the next 10 minutes we'll meet at 7am, ok?") and send her super classy pictures like this:

"I think Trainerroad is trying to kill me"

Sunday: Met up with Nicole, who joined me for 22k. I planned the route so that even though we started at Lasalle Park, we avoided all the Northshore hills, which kind of feels like cheating, but whatevs. Go to her blog and check out her awesome frost lashes - my hair frost game was WEAK compared to hers.

I swear, there's frost on my hair! Really! Oh nevermind. Just go admire Nicole's.

Hamilton obliged with a reasonably clear waterfront trail from Princess Point over to Bayshore. And it sure beat dodging cars on Plains and York. Even with the kind of shitty footing we kept the pace up pretty well, though, so that's a confidence boost.

I tacked on an additional 8k loop after leaving Nicole back at the cars for my first 30k run in I don't even know. Since the marathon, I guess! And I felt pretty good. Tired by the end (obviously), but feeling pretty strong.

And very happy with the week overall! Really couldn't have gone any better.

Next up, my first 'race' of the year, an indoor triathlon on Saturday. Although I'm not truly racing it, doing it more as a fun thing (I'm not tapering or resting at all for it, so I'm not going to be setting any records, that's for sure). Still, I'm looking forward to stringing the three sports together for the first time.

Around the Bay training update

Rest week! Much needed. I was glad for the lower volume this week, and I'm feeling ready to get back to the hard stuff.

Monday: rest

Tuesday: 1300m swim at lunch; 1 hour easy ride on the trainer in the evening

Wednesday: Intervals. Only did four of the prescribed six 800s due to life stuff. They sucked, hard. So I'm kind of glad I didn't have time to do the last two because they probably would have been a disaster and really f'd with my head. I do not like the intervals in this training plan; it's getting kind of demoralizing to miss on them every single week.

1700m swim in the evening with the tri club - new distance record for me in the pool! I feel like my stroke is coming together pretty nicely, even if the coach is constantly telling me to relax my neck.

Swim time!

Thursday: Easy ride on the trainer, again. Boring. But necessary to let the adaptations from the hard training take place.

Friday: Supposed to be a tempo run (and one I was actually looking forward to!), but with the extreme cold and more life stuff, I didn't have clear roads to use. So I settled for an easy 8k.

Please note the crappy road conditions in the background. Ugh. I had enough of that nonsense last year.

Saturday: Long run. Did the first half with Sam & Nicole and was glad for the company, then went off on my own for the Northshore hills. Decent 20k, felt pretty good overall and the pace was on target with the plan. Can't complain about that.

Cold.

Sunday: Long trainer ride. Easy. Boring.

So glad I had a trainer ride scheduled and didn't have to go out in that stupid temperature.

This week things get a LOT more exciting! Since my bike training plan is done, it's time to start the next one, which begins with an FTP test. In other words, some extreme pain is in store. Plus there's some super 'fun' running intervals and a 30k long run in store.

Back to the hard work!

Around the Bay training update #....something or other

So that was quite the training week. Right up there with some of the hardest weeks I've ever done.

On Monday I rested, although I did have to do about an hour and a half of snow shoveling, so not really that restful.

My small helper mostly took pictures and punched snowbanks. In other words, not that helpful. Why did I have kids again?

Tuesday I had a great swim at lunch, stretching out some sore upper body muscles (sore thanks to that shoveling). Then the usual hour on the trainer Tuesday evening.

Wednesday at lunch I did some ri-damn-diculus intervals. It says in the Run Less Run Faster book that some people have trouble hitting the fast paces, and some people have trouble hitting the long run paces. Well I clearly am one who finds the interval paces kind of batshit insane, while the tempo and long run paces are not really a problem (in cooperative weather, that is).

'thank god those are over' selfie

Wednesday night the usual coached swim, Thursday night the trainer. The swimming is coming along nicely.

Friday 8k at tempo (5:17/km) at lunch, which felt really good. I was thinking about cutting this short because I needed to do 28k on Saturday, and I didn't want the tempo affecting that too much, but my long runs have felt so good lately that I figured it wouldn't be a big deal. I even offered to join Sam and run her pace for her 21k, which is little bit faster than I usually would run a long run.

It was at this point that the running gods got together with Mother Nature to smack me back to reality.

The run started out well enough, but then the snow started falling. And falling. And falling.

Mid run with the other crazy people. Thanks for the pic Patty!

Running on an inch of fresh snow is slippery. Then add in the Northshore hills...

Well it kind of sucked. On the plus side, after Sam and I got pelted by a salt truck (OUCH) the road was clear of the snow, but by that point my mojo was gone and the goal was just to finish the damn run.

I also could have done without the slushy soakers every other block during the last 3k. That was fun.

But we finished. Not as fast as originally planned, but we got it done. A good lesson in maybe not being too overconfident. And a reminder that you can control a lot of things when it comes to training, but you can't control the weather!

Sunday I wasn't sure how my trainer ride was going to go. The workout was Palisade, which is the hardest ride in the sweet spot base I training plan. Given the 28k the day before, I was thinking this had the potential to be the first Trainerroad ride where I'd have to bail.

Those little ups and downs during the intervals can really bring the pain.

It took a while, but I talked myself onto the bike and...it wasn't that bad. I actually felt pretty good through the whole ride. I mean it wasn't easy, but it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Which has me rather excited to re-test my FTP next week and see what kind of gains I've made over the last 6 weeks!

But before that, a nice rest week. Just what I need right now!

Swim: 1:07, ~2500m
Bike: 3:30 on the trainer
Run: 49.1km

Total training time: 9 hours, 27 minutes

Another snowy Monday training update

Well, another Monday, another day at home. I could get used to this! This time it's a snow day, which is WAY more fun than being home with a sick kid. Especially since Monday is usually my rest day so I don't even have to try and figure out how to cram in a workout (other than shoveling the driveway, which is totally cross training). Later we'll bake cookies!

SNOW DAY!

I had to move some of my workouts around last week due to sick kids and pool foulings and such things, but it all got done.

My pictures of the actual pool were all weirdly blurry, so you get this boring one instead.

Swimming: ~2300m over 2 sessions
Cycling: 3 hours 30 minutes on the trainer
Running: 44k; 4 hours, 23 minutes

Total training time: 8 hours, 54 minutes

Some interesting developments this week. First, on the swim, the bilateral breathing is coming together - I no longer swallow half the pool when I breathe to the right, and it's starting to feel natural to switch back and forth. So yay to that.

On the bike, since I've been repeating the workouts I did 6 weeks ago, I've been able to compare my results, and it's very, very good. This training plan really works.

Bow before my epic paint skillz. But seriously, I'm really happy to see this kind of progress!

On the run, the speed work during the week was a bit of a mess due to weather and road conditions, but the 26k run I did on Sunday with Mari went extremely well. I can't get over how strong I'm feeling on my long runs lately. I'm becoming a believer in the Run Less Run Faster plan, that's for sure.

Annnnnnnnd I pulled the trigger and registered for Welland. Eep.

Crap, I need to buy a wetsuit.

This week, more of the same. Usual two swims, still working on that bilateral breathing. I may try and push the total distance up a bit on the swim this week. Or maybe not. Biking will be the peak week of the current training plan, so it's going to be tough! The long ride this week is the hardest one in the plan, and I'm simultaneously exciting to try it and a little bit scared. Running will be the usual, although since I went a little longer than planned for my long this week, I can probably shorten things up a touch this weekend if I feel tired. And running is very weather dependent (thank goodness I don't have to run until Wednesday, which gives the city lots of time to get things clear for me, since doing my runs on clear roads is clearly the most important thing they should be worrying about).

This picture has nothing to do with anything except I had a snake around my neck this week at my nieces's birthday party. AUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH. 

And some solid time with the foam roller is in order, I think - my right leg is a little cranky. Nothing major, but some self massage is called for.

Fingers crossed for a good week this week!

Snowy Monday training update

I was going to title this related to how many weeks are left before Around the Bay, but I have no idea. It's in a spreadsheet somewhere and I'm too lazy to look.

But I was so enjoying have ice and snow free sidewalks and roads! Damn it!

At any rate, it's a suddenly snowy Monday morning and I'm home with a sick kid, so I thought I'd write up a brief training update before I jump back into the work from home thing.

Swim: ~2k
Bike: 3:30 on the trainer
Run: 40.7 km
8 hours 30 minute total

Last week was pretty intense. Week 3 of my cycling plan, when things really start to build towards the week 5 peak, plus some tough interval and tempo runs. Since I've never trained like this before I'm keeping an eye on my fatigue levels to make sure all is well. So far so good. I also monitor my resting heart rate as it tends to elevate when I'm getting tired and should maybe think about another rest day - all in line with what I usually see (in fact it's lower than usual by a couple of beats per minute).

Sample workout - 90 minute ride with 20 minute long intervals. Those are no joke.  Excellent mental practice for racing, though.

My right hip (the one that has been bothering ever since the marathon) finally seems to be fully better (KNOCK ON ALL THE WOOD EVERYWHERE). I had an entire week where I felt entirely normal, and then BAM. Early last week, sciatica acting up on the left side. It doesn't bother me at all while standing, walking, running, biking, just while sitting. Which, given that I work an office job, is like 90% of my day.

However, my charming husband brought home this bad boy foam roller, and let me tell you, 5 minutes with that thing and I found a spot in my left glute that was very angry, worked it over, and now the sciatic pain is completely gone. It's always the glutes, I swear. This roller is my new best friend and I'm greatly enjoying having no stupid hip pain. Fingers crossed that lasts.

Also it can double as an emergency pylon. ORANGE!

Now, going into this plan my worry was that I'd lose running fitness running only 3 days a week. I've always been a 5 or 6 day a week type runner, so the thought of cutting back to only 3 was a little scary! However, as I told the girls on Saturday during our long run, this cross training shit really does work. I figured with the much lower weekly run mileage runs north of 20k would be tough - but this week's 22k-er felt great. My legs were strong, and my cardio feels better than ever. I mean, it makes sense in so many ways, but I had to experience it to really believe it.

Love to hate Northshore. All those hills. Thanks to Nicole for the pic!

Oh, and this happened a couple of times. Starting to feel reasonably competent in the pool. Progress!

Almost put my swimsuit on inside out. AGAIN. I am so good at this.

This week, more of the same. Plan is for 2 swims, 3 bike, 3 run. Everything a little more intense. Fun, fun, fun!

Training update! In which I swim! More than once!

So I'm starting to feel like a real triathlete here - last week's workouts included three runs, three bikes, and for the first time ever, two swims in one week. And you know what? I enjoyed the swimming. Like, a lot. As in I was really tempted to go get in another one on Saturday or Sunday (although I didn't - I don't want to rush the swimming too much on top of everything else I'm doing and injure a shoulder or something).

Running (39k)

I'm not going to lie, the runs this week were tough ones. There was a descending ladder interval workout that took every ounce of willpower to not quit after the 3rd round kind of sucked. Then a tempo run that went really well, but tempos are always tough. And a 20k long on a bitterly cold day where I swear my butt froze solid - the heated seats in my car afterwards actually hurt while I thawed out. But the runs all got done, and done pretty much on target. A successful week!

My 'track' for the winter - an 800m loop on a quiet residential street.

Cycling (3 hours 30 minutes)

Cycling on the trainer has been amazing. I've made huge progress following the sweet spot base plan on Trainerroad - I'm now running through it a second time, with 30 points added to my FTP since the first go around. But the workouts don't really feel harder, which means I've definitely made a lot of progress. The difference in my cadence and pedalstroke is also huge. I'm getting very excited to get back out on the road this spring and see how all this work translates!

Gotta teach the kid not to cut off the top of my head when taking action shots.

Swimming! Really! (2 swims, ~2km)

I did a solo swim at the pool near work that went well, and a coached swim with my tri club which was extremely encouraging. The coach said my stroke actually looks pretty good, which is comforting, but also gave me some tweaks and drills to work on. My current plan is to continue to swim one day a week at lunch and then the coached swim, for two swims a week. Still getting comfortable with the water, but I'm feeling very good about it so far. I'll probably add a third swim to my schedule in a few weeks.

What's really fun is how much I really LIKE swimming! I've been assuming swimming would prove to be a sort of necessary evil on the road to doing a triathlon, but it just feels so good to stretch out in the water, and the whole lap swimming thing is nice and meditative.

Of course, I did manage to lose my first pair of swim goggles by leaving them in the changeroom at the YMCA. Buy stock in Aqua Sphere, y'all, I'm pretty sure I'm going to do that a lot more.

This upcoming week will be similar. 3 runs, 3 trainer workouts, and 2 swims. Can't wait!

The spring/summer race schedule is starting to come together. First up is an indoor triathlon at the end of February - 15 minutes swim, 15 minutes bike, 15 minutes run, go as far as you can in the time allotted. Then Around the Bay, of course, where I may or may not go for a PB (undecided on that). 10k at Mississauga for funsies.

And then, the outdoor triathlons start. I'm about 99% sure I'll do the sprint at Welland in mid-June as the 'let's try this out and try not to panic in the swim', then the sprint at Guelph Lake I the following week. In July, the Kincardine women's triathlon (super sprint distance), and then sprint at Niagara from the Subaru series.

Now I need to go track down some food. So very very hungry...

Out with the old, in with the new (year)

So, that's a wrap on 2014. Not a bad year, I have to say:

Run: 2176.3 km
Bike: 2563.0 km
Total: 4739.3 km (!!)

The run number is lower than I'd planned for the year due to injury downtime, but the bike number is about 2,000 km higher than I would have predicted back on January 1st. I fell pretty hard for cycling this year, that's for sure.

I should probably not be allowed to use photo editing apps.

Oh, and there have been a grand total of three (3) visits to lane swim. Including one this morning, just to make sure I went once more December than I did in November. There's a number that will be a lot higher in 2015!

Some good things happened (marathon, cycling, duathlon, some new PBs), some not so good things (hip bursitis I just couldn't seem to fully get resolved), but I'm ending the year feeling good and getting really, really excited about 2015.

(My Strava year in review video seems to mostly only include running stats, and I didn't start tracking with Strava until mid-January, so the numbers aren't quite right. But I'm going to share it anyway)

Why am I so excited for 2015? Because 2015 is going to be all about triathlon. I even joined a local tri club, because if I'm going to do this, might as well do it right. I'm starting an 8 week swim stroke clinic with the club in mid-January, as it's probably better to get advice/help with my swimming now before I learn all sorts of bad habits. Plus, it'll get me in the habit of swimming regularly as I try and figure out how to fit the third discipline into an already crammed full of work, kids, running, and cycling schedule. They say the fourth discipline in triathlon is transition - I say it's really scheduling!

Don't read too much into the 'iron' part of the club name. Iron distance tris are NOT in the immediate future!

Before the triathlon fun starts, there is Around the Bay. While my indoor bike training has been going really well, my run training didn't really get off to the start I'd planned, and I've done a grand total of one of the assigned workouts, so that's a bit of a mess. However things are looking up - my hip finally seems to be cooperating with speedwork, so I'm going to add that in and see what happens. I'll back off again if anything aggravates my hip. I'm still hoping to PB at the race, but won't be too upset if I end up just running it for fun.

And I still have to pick my June triathlon(s), of course. One of these days I'll figure that out.

Happy New Year, and here's to what I hope will be a great year of swimming, cycling, and running!