March Training

Suffering in the basement still...

Training in March was going so well during the first couple weeks, I was getting in some consistent (but short) workouts in all three disciplines. I had a fantastic brick on the 13th riding 40k on the computrainer in about 1:04 and then knocking off 5k on the treadmill in 17:13, doing 10m/hr for the first mile, 11m/hr for the second, and 12m/hr for the final mile. I was feeling so good about my progress and upcoming season that something had to bring me back to reality. The next day I started to feel that my glands were a little swollen after the swim I was struggling with so I decided to take the weekend off so my body could fight this thing. Unfortunately it was a lot worse than I expected, my throat was raw and sore so I went to the doctor on Monday. She didn't confirm that I had strep throat but Amber and I suspect it so I was put on antibiotics immediately. All this week it has been the worse experience I've ever gone through, I haven't eaten much all week because every time I swallow it feels like an electric shock through my body, if food is involved it's worse. After a few days of not eating much I feel extremely weak and tired and I can't even imagine training again. It's extremely frustrating but it's just something I have to wait out. I have a few races I've signed up for but feeling like this it seems that being on the start line ready to go is about a million steps away. I know I'll get better I just have to wait this one out. With any luck I will get in some solid training in April and be ready for the spring running races in May. I've signed up for the Brian Harms 10 miler, Press Run 1/2 Marathon, Fort St. John Sprint tri, and the GP Olympic tri. That should get me motivated leading into Calgary 70.3 where I hope to have my best race.

Bike Baby Bike

I treated myself to a 41st birthday present and finally got a road bike. Found this baby for $2500 on Pink Bike and it's never been ridden, it was a demo bike for a shop outside of Toronto and it's amazing. 15lbs is under UCI regluation weight so I guess I won't be going pro anytime soon. I just wanted something I could ride in the early spring when it's wet and dirty out that I wouldn't mind getting messed up. Now that I have it I'm not sure I want to get it dirty but I'll have to get over that. I cut the seat post, changed the seat, handlebar tape, put speedplays on it and changed the stem and it's ready to go. It's an incredible ride now I just need the weather to change, one more week of this brutal winter and it should get back to normal for this time of year.

Training in February went surprizingly well, I was pretty consistent except for the week went I was sick. My swimming is feeling really good, I'm not quite ready to 'race' 1500m yet but I'll get there. The biking is coming back I've been consistently doing about 8-9 bikes a month but only for an hour. Yesterday was the first 90 minute bike I've done since September and I felt pretty good, I started to get a little bonky at the end but that is to be expected for this time of year. Running has been fairly good, I haven't been doing as much as I'd like to but a couple runs a week seems to maintain my run fitness and I need to be careful because I did a 10 mile run last weekend and my achillies was hurting again. I'll keep it short for the time being and slowly ramp up the distance again as I move outside.

I'm excited for the season to begin I've signed up for the GP Olympic race already and I heard Calgary is pretty much sold out now. If I can have a great start in June with a couple shorter races I'll work on the endurance I need to have a solid race in Calgary and hopefully qualify for Montreal. There are 5 of us Speed Revolution guys racing in Calgary so it'll be fun to watch. For now I'll watch that I don't get injured and keep building a good base, April and May will be a lot of speed work and June- July more endurance work.