Time to Get Down to Business

It's been a stellar weekend of training Amber and I have definitely made some fitness gains over the last couple of days. I was already tired on Friday so I just did an easy 40 minute run to get the blood flowing. It was so nice outside that we really felt like we needed to be out on our bikes, even though we're in the middle of trying to build a deck. I've come to the conclusion that deck building and triathlon training do not go well together.

Saturday we met a group of friends for a planned ride out on a beautiful area of the Peace Country between here and Grande Cache. It's an incredible ride with rolling hills and beautiful forest, partially sheltered by the wind which was a welcome relief. Everything started out okay the first 30kms were fast but I was still riding in zone 2 (Ironman pace). However the guy I was riding with was pushing the pace pretty hard so I was hurting to keep up. It wasn't until much later that I realized that he was only going out for a 60km ride, yikes! I was going to do 140km today! The next hour and a half were a bit difficult but I maintained a good pace and managed to go out further than I'd ever gone out on that road before, 70kms. It was such an incredible ride, a warm sunny day and I was feeling fairly strong. I met up with Dennis (another local triathlete) and we suffered all the way back into town. I was hurting but happy that my legs held up, the final climb and 5kms into town were tough but I still had some juice left in the legs. Dennis didn't feel the same and it was all he could do to just stay in my draft.

After we made it back I changed quickly and went out for a 15 minute T-run, I didn't feel much like running but this is when it helps to have people training with you. Finished the day with a solid 4hrs and 35minutes of training! Although I was way too tired to even think about doing any work on the deck, the rest of the day was spent eating and resting.

Sunday Amber and I went to the pool and put in a tough hour and then immediately went out for a 90 minute run. The swim was okay but by the time I started running my legs were completely done! The run felt exactly like an Ironman run, incredibly rough, but I treated as not only a physical training day but a mental training day. It was one of the most difficult 21kms I've ever experienced but step by step I toughed it out. I wasn't moving very quickly but I was moving, I felt like the guy in this picture.


After a day of rest I know things will feel better, time to let the training soak in.