Swimming like a cat!

There a lot of things that being cat-like would be a compliment. Cat-like reflexes, spring like a cat, even running like a cat would be good. Swimming like a cat unfortunately, would not be a compliment,but that is how I felt today. For some reason my stroke was very bad and the more corrective action I took, the worse it seemed to get. My head kept coming out of the slip stream to breathe, my pull was weak to say the least, and I felt like my back end was dragging on the bottom. Not a pretty sight!
However, being a stubborn soul, I slugged it out and still managed to put in one hour and over 2,500 metres (I lost count again). Chalk this one up to just a bad day and leave it at that. This is the first poor swim I have had in a long time so I really can’t complain.
Yesterday we went into Edmonton for the day to visit our daughter, Francesca. We hadn’t seen her in awhile, and she had been away in Mexico for a week. It was a great day and she managed to squeeze a little shopping trip out of Mom and Dad while we were there. Roads were nice and clear and we were back home at 7:30 p.m. The schedule called for a 1:15 bike ride focusing on technique so I managed to work that in before we left in the morning. I would really like to get a couple of outdoor rides in before IMAZ, but we’ll have to see if the weather co-operates. It would be nice if the roads were swept to, otherwise you can be sure of some flats. The cycling is generally coming along well and I like doing the technique workouts. The intensity is not that high and it is all about maintaining good form, knees in on your top tube, still upper body, push down and pull up. Sounds simple enough, but most beginner triathletes don’t spend enough time on it. How hard can riding a bike be? That is generally where you start, until you are humbled on the race course watching everyone fly by you. About the time, that you figure it out, and decide to actually start spending some time on it. And cycling takes time, lots of it. It’s all about time in the saddle. I have found since using the Spinerval DVD program my workouts have structure and purpose and that has made a huge difference. Hopefully the real proof will come on race day!

Tonight I did an hour long run, a little over 8 miles and I felt really good. The legs feel much better and the Achilles issue seems to be behind me (thanks to the trigger point Mike). Over the next six weeks I will ramp up the runs a bit, but not so much as to get myself into the injury zone. That will be key over the next little while. Keep the volume up and avoid the injuries.

Have a great day!

Countdown to IMAZ!

Things are moving along for Iron Man AZ. Yesterday I booked my rooms in Tempe, and printed off all the fine details about the race. I am starting to get excited about the event. Only 44 days away! When you say it that way it seems closer than saying it is 6 weeks away.
In terms of work outs it equals 18 more swims, 30 more runs, 24 rides, more or less. Still a fair bit of work left to do, but I feel a lot better than I did at this stage in my training for Iron Man Couer d’Alene. I was starting to get a little tired of the whole thing by this time during that training cycle. I’m not so sure I did anymore in terms of weekly volume, but I know I had started earlier and stayed at a high level longer. This year I started a little later. My workouts have been high quality, and I have definitely increased my cycling volume. The bike has been my nemesis in the past and also my biggest opportunity for improved times. This year my bike training has been done with more purpose and I am hoping to see that it pays off.
I am certainly not nervous about the event, just looking forward to it. I love everything about the actual competition. The expo, the people, exploring the course, it is all exciting to me. This year Angela will be able to come with me which will make the event even more special. Last year due to other commitments she was unable to come to IM CDA and it would have been nice to have someone there when you come across the finish line. I was also very fortunate that I had no ill effects from the race as I was a long ways from home by myself. As it was I felt so good the morning after the race I loaded up and came home even though the plan was to stay another day. Even after a 10 hour drive I still felt great.
Friday’s workouts consisted of a 2,600 metre swim. Nice quiet day at the pool and I was able to settle into a nice steady pace. Unfortunately I didn’t get my normal lane but rather one right up against the wall. Makes the swim a little more like an open water workout as all the activity in the pool makes for some wave action. You have to watch out that you don’t end up with a drink of pool water!
I had great intentions for my run later in the day, but the tank was empty after 27 minutes so I pulled the plug. He who fights and runs away lives to fight another day!
Today’s workout was a bass akwards brick. I ran 18 miles in 2 hours and 10 minutes and then hopped on the bike for 20 miles in just over an hour. The ol’ legs were talking to me after that, but all in all it was a good workout.
I finished up the week with 15 hours on the nose. All in all a pretty good week for having just got back from a week off.
Have a great day!

Incredible Day!

It wasn't really an incredible day, but I wanted to include this picture of the Incredibles so I had to hook you with something. I think this picture is from our day at Disney Hollywood Studios. The place was packed on this day and the waits for any of the attractions was in the one hour range. In the many times I have been to Florida this had to be the worst for crowds and traffic. The fact that it was President's Day while were there was more than likely a major contributor.

It was nice to have our house to go back to at the end of the day and just relax. We rented a house in Kissimmee and it was great. Very reasonable and a great place to unwind and kick back. This is a picture of the pool in the background. Unfortunately the only laps I did in it were across it to get my beer! Oh well, it was still something.

As mentioned Tuesday I had to go to meetings at our sawmill in Whitecourt yesterday, which is about 2 hours away. When we got home, (after heading in the wrong direction for a half hour) I was not feeling much like working out. I did want to try out my new shoes (two of the same!) so I did a quick 3.5 miles on the treadmill just to see if there were going to be any break-in issues. So far so good!

Today started quite early as I found myself tossing and turning at 3:00 a.m. So, once I realized I was not going to sleep I just got up. At 3:30 I was on the bike and ended up doing a 25 mile strength / endurance workout. Logged 1:30.

At lunch time I managed to have a great swim. Everything felt pretty good and I seemed to be getting excellent glide. The workout called for 1 hour focusing on technique, and that is exactly what I ended up with. It was a good mix of different swims from 250 metres up to 850 metres and I alternated using the pull buoy on the shorter ones. There are differing views on the use of a pull buoy, but I like using it for two reasons. It makes my balance more like what it will be when I have my wet suit on, and it also forces you to develop a good pull and rotation. Some people believe you can become dependent on it, but I'm not so sure. At the end of the day when I compete, I will have good buoyancy due to my wet suit and I don't want to kick that much as I need to save my legs for 112 miles of biking and 26.2 miles which will follow.

My night time workout was a quick 6.5 miles in 45 minutes flat. Nothing fancy, just wanted to get it done.

So the day ended up with over 3 hours and 15 minutes of training time and I am on target for 15 hours this week.

Have a great day!

Biscuits 'n Gravy

Ever wonder why a large majority of the population (especially in the U.S.) is overweight. Look no further then your neighbourhood Waffle House! On day one of our vacation, after a brief 5 hour rest, everyone was up and ready to get moving. The sun was shining and it was already 22 C. No use wasting a nice day in bed.

Being the first one up and about, I showered and dressed and headed out the door to scout out the area. The hotel had a little continental breakfast thing going on, but I knew the crew would want something more substantial, so I headed out to check the immediate area. No sooner had I left the front door then there it was "THE WAFFLE HOUSE". No need to go any further that is where we are going!

Back up I go, and by that time everyone else is ready to go. So we are off to the restaurant next door to get a good hearty breakfast.

Once we get in you can see that this is a bustling place. There are two cooks going full speed, another three waitresses are moving the orders out faster than John Daley can chug a beer, and a third lady seems to have the job of yelling the orders in at the top of her lungs. All in all a very busy place.

We find a table and scan the menu. What will it be? Pancakes? Some eggs? Perhaps a Belgian Waffle covered in strawberries? There are lots of good things on the menu for sure. When our waitress arrives to start pouring the first of the several cups of coffee, I ask her what is good on the menu. "The biscuits 'n gravy are real good!" she replies. Biscuits 'n gravy?.....for breakfast?.....what is that about! So out of curiosity you have to wonder what the gravy is made out of. Sausage. A white gravy made with sausage...how do you even do that? Does that mean you could make gravy with bacon? Obviously she thinks I could use the extra calories or that I want to commit suicide by lethal ingestion. I'll pass on that and go for the breakfast sandwich!

Anyway we had a good laugh about that and it certainly explained the girth of a large number of the customers.

Today I probably could have used some biscuits and gravy as it was a tough couple of workouts.

At lunch I did the Robb Road hill and continued on to the Cold Creek Road which is 3.5 miles pretty much all uphill. It is a good steady grade and you really have to "lean in to it", to climb it. In total I ended up with 8.14 miles in 58:00 flat. Coming downhill I must have looked like a cartoon character as I am sure my legs were ahead of the rest of me on a few occasions. Several times when I would look at my pace I was below 6:00 minute pace.

Tonight I did a 2 hour ride to a new Spinerval DVD I just got, 15.0 Have Mercy, "The Sequel". It is a real tough interval workout and it took all I had to finish the whole thing. Ended up with 2:10 and just a shade under 40 miles. My butt is a little sore right now!

Tomorrow will be an easy day as I have to head over to our sawmill in Whitecourt for the day. Hopefully I will be able to slot in a run if I don't get home too late.

Have a great day!

Ramping back up again!

Since I am neither old enough, nor wealthy enough to retire to a warm climate, I guess it was time to get back to the grind. My week of vacation was great, but to be quite honest, I am actually glad to be back. The crowds and the traffic in Orlando were almost too much for this good ol’ country boy. It was nice to be back in the slow pace and in my familiar setting.
Sunday was an aerobic effort on the bike. The workout was 1:10 minutes at cadences between 95 – 100 RPM in both the big and small chain rings. For the most part the legs felt okay, although this Achilles on my left leg is still causing me some grief. I thought the rest would have cleared it up, but it actually bothered me while I was just walking during my holidays. I iced it after today’s workout and I have been using the Trigger Point Massager twice a day to keep working on the scar tissue.
After the bike ride I did a quick 25 minutes on the treadmill to complete a mini brick workout.
Today the Achilles felt a little better and I continued with the massaging to keep working on busting up the knots. It definitely is painful when you start using the roller on it, but it is one of those “hurts so good” kind of pain that you know is going to help you in the long run. As soon as I am done with the massager it instantly feels better.
Lunchtime was a 2,600 metre swim in about 56 minutes. I think it was longer as I lost lap count a number of times. When I lose count I usually go back and add 50 to 100 metres to the workout to make sure I have covered the required distance. Anyway I got a good swim in and felt reasonably comfortable in the water. The first swim after a bit of a layoff is always kind of weird as it is the one discipline that you seem to lose the most in the shortest amount of time. Because it is so technical, you really have to concentrate to get everything flowing again and regain your composure in the water. Today was not that bad as I felt well balanced and had good body rotation. A couple of times I could feel I was lifting my head a little too much when I was breathing, but other than that I was moving through the water quite well.

After work I decided perhaps it was time for a new pair of shoes. So I stopped off at the local Athlete's World and looked around. With my recent Achilles trouble I thought that I would go for a more stable ride so I tried on a few different pairs of New Balance shoes. After a couple of different models I decided on the NB 1024. Good solid shoe, with a good heel counter and felt very supportive. The fact that they were on sale also made them even more attractive! (I am a bean counter after all) So off I head home with my new purchase, set to take them on a nice test run as the weather was beautiful, +10 C and sunny. Once I got home I quickly changed and went to get my orthodics out of my old shoes to put in the new ones. As I am taking the original insoles out I notice that one is a different colour than the other. Then on closer inspection I realize I have two different shoes. one NB 1024 and one NB 661. So much for the test run! Back in the box and I will return them tomorrow.

The evening run netted a distance of 8.25 miles in 55:22. The Achilles didn't bother me too much and I iced it as soon as I got back. I will also use the massager again tonight to keep things loose.

This is a picture of Nicholas and Nicole at New Smyrna Beach during our vacation. It was a little cool that day as it was only around 21 C. However we still had a great day and enjoyed a wonderful seafood lunch before we headed back to Orlando. Usually when we go to Florida this is where we stay as it is a beautiful little community with great beaches and some really awesome seafood restaurants.

Have a great day!

I'm back!!!

One blissful week away from the snow and cold, and now I am back and raring to go!

It was a wonderful week spent in sunny Orlando, Florida with my wife, son and his fiance. Although I really need a rest now after a week of being on the go at high speed from morning until night. We crammed just about everything possible into one week and my body is feeling it now. It is nice to have the weekend to recover before starting back to work on Monday.

We left for Florida on Friday, February 15th. The trip from our hotel in Edmonton to the airport in the morning was phase one of a long day. The QE2 was littered with about 15 vehicles which failed to realize the black, shiny coating on the road was ice and decided to continue to drive at 140 km / hour. It was a mess to say the least! But knowing that time is your best friend on any journey we left for the airport 4 hours prior to our 12:45 departure so we took our time and arrived safely. Our flights took us from Edmonton, Alberta to Chicago, Charlotte, and Orlando. Planned arrival time in Orlando was 10:45 p.m., but our flight out of Charlotte was late and we never arrived until around 12:30 a.m. By the time we collected our bags and got to the rental car counter it was after 1:00 a.m. Everyone was still in good humour and thinking that we would pick up the car and be to our hotel in 30 minutes or so. Unfortunately that was not going to be the case! The car rental desk moved at the pace of a snail, and this was with everyone in the line having reserved cars on line. It was incredibly frustrating, but finally by 2:30 we had the car and were off to our hotel which was only 9 kms away. A very exhausting day but we were glad to finally be there.

So that was day one of the holiday. I will fill you in with a little bit more of the week in future posts.

On the workout front, not much to say other than I had a good rest. A few easy runs and played in the pool but nothing of any consequence. However, I was back at it today.

I did an easy run of 5.6 miles at a 7:20 pace and then I did 11.5 miles on the bike. Just easing back into it as I am still a little tired from the day of travel yesterday. But I will need to get back to my pre-vacation levels quickly as time is marching on to April 13th and a date with the Iron Man. I am very comfortable with where I am right now and in the end I know this rest will pay dividends.

Have a great day!

Sweet Chinooks!

The winds of change are blowing and with it comes some nice warm temperatures. Today we had a chinook and the temperatures went up to +7 C. So no excuses at all, I have to run outside! It has been at least a week or so since I ran outdoors so I was looking forward to this.
Didn't require too much clothes, a tee shirt, tights, and my light running jacket and that was pretty much it (and shoes of course!). As I was dressing I was thinking of what I was going to do, and it was not until I hit the road that I decided on a tempo run.
The roads were a little sloppy but there was minimal traffic and I could easily get to the good patches. I decided I would run the road towards the hamlet of Brule. There was a slight breeze from the northwest and it was partly sunny. The weather report says it is partly cloudy, but the other part must be sun, so I go with the partly sunny perspective. Similar to the half full, half empty glass discussion. But I digress, bottom line is it was a great day for a run.
I felt pretty light without all the winter layers and I breezed through the first mile in 6:48. It is one of those days when I have pretty good focus. My stride is smooth and breathing quiet. Mile 2 has a fairly good climb but I run it well, 7:11. Once you reach the top of the hill there is a great view of Brule Mountain and a relatively long straight stretch that passes a couple of horse pastures. There are a few rolling hills, but nothing of any consequence and I settle back into my previous pace of 6:45. This is almost too easy! Miles 4 through 7 continue along at a similar pace, 6:41, 6:44, 6:38, and going up a bit of a hill 6:58. Mile 8 is the downhill counterpart to mile 2 and I slide down that in 6:29. One mile to go and I still feel pretty good, however this route finishes with an uphill. Still manage to keep sub-7 and get through it in 6:55.
All in all a pretty solid tempo effort, 9.03 miles in 1:01:28. A good one to finish off with before holidays!
Have a great day!