It's Freezin' out!

This was the temperature at 5:30 a.m. and it is not expected to get much warmer today. In fact, the next few days pretty much look like this as well. I've already started the truck, but I know the whole ride to town will feel like it has square wheels. It's brutal out!! The radio is saying it is -39 C.

There is not even a remote chance that I will brave the outdoors in these temperatures for my runs. Once there was a time when I would don the layers and head out, but not now. It just doesn't make sense when I can do a quality workout inside on the treadmill. No slipping and sliding, eye lashes freezing together, or frozen extremities. However, I have done all that, sometimes out of necessity, and other times just to prove I could.

This week the hours will increase again to about 12. I kind of follow a plan, but I really adjust it to my particular needs and recognizing the fact that life happens along the way. My plan is more of a guideline and I don't get too stressed if I miss a workout. One of my big principles around training is not to turn it into a job. I already have one! This is supposed to be fun and when it stops being fun then I need to re-think what I am doing. Also a lot of these the plans that people buy into are not practical for people with lives. Once you have a base level of fitness, the training up to an event is to ready yourself for the particular stresses of that race. My main objective is to get to the starting line on race day feeling healthy and ready to enjoy the day.

The training for IM AZ so far has been exactly as I hoped. Fun, and a bit challenging.

Today I did a 1,900 metre swim at lunch. It was not one of my best swim workouts as I really kind of just did what I felt like. No particular structure other than I warmed up and cooled down and sandwiched some random sets in between. However, it was fun! I remember reading an article by Dr. George Sheehan one time that talked about how, as we get older and we start taking ourselves too seriously, we forget how to have fun. One of the principles he espoused was to find your "inner child" and learn how to play again. He used this in an article discussing ways to do speed work. Dr.Sheehan proposed that you could get a lot more from a speed work out by just letting yourself play and experience the joy of running fast. Me thinks Dr.Sheehan was a very wise man!

Tonight I did a 7.3 mile run on the treadmill as the temperature managed to nudge up to -32 C. No way this cat was hitting the roads. Anyway the run was quick 50 minutes and was on fresh legs. I had really good form tonight and experienced that nice feeling when you seem to settle right down in your hips and just go. No effort or wasted effort, just relaxed and flowing. Unfortunately those days are not as common as one would like.

Tomorrow we are in for another cold one so I expect to be inside again. But that is okay and I am just happy that I have the equipment to be able to do that.

Have a great day!