Today was a light day on the training front. But, nonetheless totally productive towards my goals and ambitions!
All that was on the schedule today was some time in the gym. I have been following teh resistance training plan which to date has been light. Today it started to get turned up a notch. It feels good to get a good hurt on in the gym! Also up to this point I have been wimping out and using weight 'machines' for some of my exercises. No, not today. I was at a different gym today so, I had to use what was there. So, my usual leg press instead of real squats, GONE! My usual seated bench press, GONE! What the day did do for me is make me decide that the machines are now a thing of the past. I felt so much more work and so much more opportunity for strength doing the 'real' thing. Hence, moving forward the real thing it is.
Outside of training today, I scheduled my monthly massage. As well as making sure you are building, allowing the muscles to get some new life and untangled in important as well. I was in the visit Laura who is aslo a triathlete. In the past we have talked a bit about tri's and she was quite modest in what she has done. She suggested she did a couple last year and a few in the past but was injured recently. Well, today I found out she is an awesome triathlete with some injuries. She was to teh worlds in Vancouver in 2008 and is on her way back. As we talked and I asked questions I learned that she was once a competitive swimmer and is working on getting her swim back. She is currently working towards getting to a consistent 115 x 100m as well as a sub 20 min 5k. Her sprint goal is to be under 1:10. Hmmm! She is quite the athlete and the swimmer. Guess what I have been looking for in the past while. A good swim coach and someone to provide assesment and development for me! GOT IT!
And check this out! She comes by it naturally. Her dad has is an NCCP level 4 running coach having brought many athletes to world level events in many different run disciplines! I am pumped! I have also looked for a running coach, not a clinic, heck I can lead those! Someone who can make me hurt for the right reasons and make some significant differences in my running. So, I will be contacting him shortly to discuss my current Ironman goal as well as post Ironman ideas that I am looking to get to.
Overall it was an awesome day! Some good gym time, a little treat for my muscles for the work they have given me. And, some awesome resources to keep this momentum moving in a forward and strong direction! WAHOO!
Tomorrow AM I am off to my run clinic to have some fun with the group. The progress has been awesome and I look forward to the run. As soon as my shoes are off, it is off to Boston! No, I am not running it(YET). I am going down to cheer on some great friends who I train with and to support them in their race. I was down there last year and I am going back to remind me how cool a race it is and that I need to get a qualifying spot soon! So, I hope you have friends that are heading there as well and that they have an awesome race! I promise to cheer them on for you! HAve a great weekend!
Cheers!
The new Adventure has Started!!!
Friday, April 16, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Let's call it Lululemon Thursday!
Why? I am very proud to have been invited this evening to be a Lululemon Ambassador. It is an honour to be recognized by a store that places a tremendous value on hte fitness community and chooses leaders and roll models within the community to act as ambassadors to the stores. I am pleased to be a part of this community and able to share my passion for running and triathlon with an organization that is as passionate as me about reaching goals and encouraging and facilitation others to do the same. Over the next year I will enjoy spending time developing the run club as well as other events that promote a healthy and active lifestyle in the community.
I learned of my acceptance as an ambassador at the end of my run club this evening. We had one of the nest crowds ever this evening. We had some new people join us this evening which is great. The word is beginning to spread about what the run club is about and new people are coming out to see what it involves. One of the new runners from last week was out and extended her run after only one week. She shared with me that she was actually looking for someone to run with over the week since our time out last session. Another new runner tonight found herself running better than her normal pace with our group. Overall it was an evening of running success for the club 'members'. At the end of the run, as I approached the store, there were many people gathered out front. There was a sandwhich board out on the sidewalk as well. As the store was closed I could not figure out what was going on. As I got closer, the sign said, JOHN WILL YOU BE OUR NEW AMBASSADOR? The staff of the store was ll there to great me and welcome me to their community! It was so cool to be recognized by them for ding something that I love to do! I look forward to being able to continue to do the same and be involved in the LULULEMON community!
My evening was the culmination of another good training day. My run before run club was a speed workout. I did a warm up of about 15 minutes, then 7 minutes in HR3+, the a 3 minute cool, then 6 minute in HR3+ then 3 minute cool down......and so on! I must say it felt great! Pushing my limits is something I like to do and this was one of those workouts! I thought i would struggle a little more with the sprints, but I quite enjoyed it. for a great deal of the time i was pushing a 4 min pace. ON hte last set I cant lie, I did slow down, but still kept it at a 445 pace. Overall a great feeling of progress!
So overall it was an awesome day! I am feeling in a good place right now! My training is on track and seemingly working! I am helping others reach gaols that they have set! And most of all I am having fun along the way!
I hope your day was great! Happy Friday eve! Cheers!
I learned of my acceptance as an ambassador at the end of my run club this evening. We had one of the nest crowds ever this evening. We had some new people join us this evening which is great. The word is beginning to spread about what the run club is about and new people are coming out to see what it involves. One of the new runners from last week was out and extended her run after only one week. She shared with me that she was actually looking for someone to run with over the week since our time out last session. Another new runner tonight found herself running better than her normal pace with our group. Overall it was an evening of running success for the club 'members'. At the end of the run, as I approached the store, there were many people gathered out front. There was a sandwhich board out on the sidewalk as well. As the store was closed I could not figure out what was going on. As I got closer, the sign said, JOHN WILL YOU BE OUR NEW AMBASSADOR? The staff of the store was ll there to great me and welcome me to their community! It was so cool to be recognized by them for ding something that I love to do! I look forward to being able to continue to do the same and be involved in the LULULEMON community!
My evening was the culmination of another good training day. My run before run club was a speed workout. I did a warm up of about 15 minutes, then 7 minutes in HR3+, the a 3 minute cool, then 6 minute in HR3+ then 3 minute cool down......and so on! I must say it felt great! Pushing my limits is something I like to do and this was one of those workouts! I thought i would struggle a little more with the sprints, but I quite enjoyed it. for a great deal of the time i was pushing a 4 min pace. ON hte last set I cant lie, I did slow down, but still kept it at a 445 pace. Overall a great feeling of progress!
So overall it was an awesome day! I am feeling in a good place right now! My training is on track and seemingly working! I am helping others reach gaols that they have set! And most of all I am having fun along the way!
I hope your day was great! Happy Friday eve! Cheers!
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
SWIM,RUN, BIKE
That was a good day of training! Yeah, I got the order wrong but it all worked out at the end!
Today's swim workout was awesome! the distances are climbing and the intensity of the workout is growing. Today was 8 x 100 on 15 second rest, then 1500, 150 easy then 50 fast repeat, then 6 x 150, 50 easy 50 fast, 50 easy, then 12 x 25 1 fast 3 easy with 15 seconds(I skipped some of the 15's). My total time in the pool was 1:17 including the required rest! It was an awesome swim. My swim recovery during the 1500 was great, i did not find myself gasping at all and was able to keep form throughout the entire time. As I got into the latter part of the workout the swim form actually improved and I found myself improving my time. It is the first swim in a while that I do distance and I found it quite satisfying. All the practices seem to have some sort of benefit coming through. Only 149 more days of practice to the start, hopefully ti only gets better moving forward.
The next part of my tri training day was the run! With my run clinic it was hill night, so I had to join them to show the example! It was not part of my training today, but figured it could not hurt me to join. So I did 6k of hill repeats and loved it! I dread the warm up knowing it is going to be gruelling, but once I start I am a sucker for punishment, I push hard and harder each repeat. Although the hill is not super steep, many of my repeats were at sub 4 min k pace! loved it, feeling like I was going to b sick at the top of each hill but looking forward to the next! It was another great part of the workout day!
Part 3, I guess it is not a mystery! Well, on the way to part 3, that little guy from last night jumped on my shoulder and tried me out for size! NO WAY! didn't even let him get close, even tough it was the dreaded trainer he was not getting near me! So on the bike I got and started my journey, the little guy tried me on again! this time I sent him flying across the room. The ride was as good as a trainer ride gets. Please tell me that the speed and power ratings transfer to my benefit on the road. Riding indoors sucks and if it was not for the benefit I would rather weigh 400 lbs and walk than ride a bike! DONT like it! I did catch a good movie while I was riding, and the data that my trainer collects and shows me is awesome to show that I am progressing. If you are a skier, find the movie SWIFT, SILENT, DEEP! It is an awesome story about the birth of extreme skiing, probably one of the top movies on my ski porn list! Back to the ride, once again I averaged 35kmh and 215W for the hour. I added in a few hills today so staying at the same speed and watts was good!
Overall it was a great training day! I am squeezing in the odd extra because of the run clinics, but they can only help me out! Once I get to the heavy part of my training I may need to bow out of the odd run in order to avoid burnout, but until then I will do the miles! When the time comes, I will still be there with bells on to help people and continue to motivate people to get it done! I really like working with people to move them forward, it is great to see the smile when they are done the day!
So, tomorrow is suoer Thursday, so it is time to get some rest to make it a good one!
Hope you had a great day and tomorrow is even better! Cheers
Today's swim workout was awesome! the distances are climbing and the intensity of the workout is growing. Today was 8 x 100 on 15 second rest, then 1500, 150 easy then 50 fast repeat, then 6 x 150, 50 easy 50 fast, 50 easy, then 12 x 25 1 fast 3 easy with 15 seconds(I skipped some of the 15's). My total time in the pool was 1:17 including the required rest! It was an awesome swim. My swim recovery during the 1500 was great, i did not find myself gasping at all and was able to keep form throughout the entire time. As I got into the latter part of the workout the swim form actually improved and I found myself improving my time. It is the first swim in a while that I do distance and I found it quite satisfying. All the practices seem to have some sort of benefit coming through. Only 149 more days of practice to the start, hopefully ti only gets better moving forward.
The next part of my tri training day was the run! With my run clinic it was hill night, so I had to join them to show the example! It was not part of my training today, but figured it could not hurt me to join. So I did 6k of hill repeats and loved it! I dread the warm up knowing it is going to be gruelling, but once I start I am a sucker for punishment, I push hard and harder each repeat. Although the hill is not super steep, many of my repeats were at sub 4 min k pace! loved it, feeling like I was going to b sick at the top of each hill but looking forward to the next! It was another great part of the workout day!
Part 3, I guess it is not a mystery! Well, on the way to part 3, that little guy from last night jumped on my shoulder and tried me out for size! NO WAY! didn't even let him get close, even tough it was the dreaded trainer he was not getting near me! So on the bike I got and started my journey, the little guy tried me on again! this time I sent him flying across the room. The ride was as good as a trainer ride gets. Please tell me that the speed and power ratings transfer to my benefit on the road. Riding indoors sucks and if it was not for the benefit I would rather weigh 400 lbs and walk than ride a bike! DONT like it! I did catch a good movie while I was riding, and the data that my trainer collects and shows me is awesome to show that I am progressing. If you are a skier, find the movie SWIFT, SILENT, DEEP! It is an awesome story about the birth of extreme skiing, probably one of the top movies on my ski porn list! Back to the ride, once again I averaged 35kmh and 215W for the hour. I added in a few hills today so staying at the same speed and watts was good!
Overall it was a great training day! I am squeezing in the odd extra because of the run clinics, but they can only help me out! Once I get to the heavy part of my training I may need to bow out of the odd run in order to avoid burnout, but until then I will do the miles! When the time comes, I will still be there with bells on to help people and continue to motivate people to get it done! I really like working with people to move them forward, it is great to see the smile when they are done the day!
So, tomorrow is suoer Thursday, so it is time to get some rest to make it a good one!
Hope you had a great day and tomorrow is even better! Cheers
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Got it done!
What a busy day! With work I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off! Somehow I managed to get to all the places I needed to be without crashing! And, all the visits were productive. Enough of the bring stuff! I luckily enjoy my work, but it certainly is not the first passion of any of my days!
Now to the thing that I am passionate about, you know, that swim, bike, run thing. Well, I went through a little exercise relating to that this afternoon. As I drove around like a mad man, I knew I had a crazy bike workout ahead. I was wondering if I had the time to get everything done, get on the trainer, get a T run in, do my drills and still be on time for my run club. So, as the afternoon wore on and I sat in traffic I started to figure out I could skip one ride and catch up tomorrow. As the thought came into my head, I used my ninja skills and let it slide right by. Oh, but, it came right back! Damn it! Well, after a lot more rushing, I decided that there was no way the little guy on my shoulder was going to get anything close to the satisfaction of me missing a workout. So, when I finally got to it, I had to put 70 minutes into 45. So, I got on the bike and started rolling. A little slope and a little more power output, then a good sprint. A little more slope a fast spin and some one leg drills. I worked at doing the whole thing without letting my HR get out of hand. What a workout! I was sweating like I had been on the bike for 70 minutes and the satisfaction of having it done was amazing.
Right off the bike into my shoes and out the door. MY T-run was a little shorter than usual, but I turned it up a notch to see how it felt to get off the bike and light it up! It was great, I felt strong and the transition was very good. I finished off the run with some ABC's! OUch, those things are tough! I think my HR was higher doing that than any other part of my workout!
Tonight LULULEMON was a good change of pace! Rather than the slower run that I have done for a couple of weeks. Tonight I had a few faster runners, so we went out a little quick than we usually would. It felt great! A short run, but none the less a great one to get the legs moving and the group working out of the comfort zone. Lululemon is a great training group and it gives me a lot to help out in my own development. I am planning a couple of cool events with them this summer to make sure that we are always challenging ourselves. Stay tuned for the fun and exciting details!
Well, off to bed as I have a couple of crazy days ahead! I am cramming a bit this week, fitting in extra workouts as I am out for the weekend, so I dont want to miss any workouts due to travel! Rest time before another awesome day of living the dream!
Cheers to you all!
Now to the thing that I am passionate about, you know, that swim, bike, run thing. Well, I went through a little exercise relating to that this afternoon. As I drove around like a mad man, I knew I had a crazy bike workout ahead. I was wondering if I had the time to get everything done, get on the trainer, get a T run in, do my drills and still be on time for my run club. So, as the afternoon wore on and I sat in traffic I started to figure out I could skip one ride and catch up tomorrow. As the thought came into my head, I used my ninja skills and let it slide right by. Oh, but, it came right back! Damn it! Well, after a lot more rushing, I decided that there was no way the little guy on my shoulder was going to get anything close to the satisfaction of me missing a workout. So, when I finally got to it, I had to put 70 minutes into 45. So, I got on the bike and started rolling. A little slope and a little more power output, then a good sprint. A little more slope a fast spin and some one leg drills. I worked at doing the whole thing without letting my HR get out of hand. What a workout! I was sweating like I had been on the bike for 70 minutes and the satisfaction of having it done was amazing.
Right off the bike into my shoes and out the door. MY T-run was a little shorter than usual, but I turned it up a notch to see how it felt to get off the bike and light it up! It was great, I felt strong and the transition was very good. I finished off the run with some ABC's! OUch, those things are tough! I think my HR was higher doing that than any other part of my workout!
Tonight LULULEMON was a good change of pace! Rather than the slower run that I have done for a couple of weeks. Tonight I had a few faster runners, so we went out a little quick than we usually would. It felt great! A short run, but none the less a great one to get the legs moving and the group working out of the comfort zone. Lululemon is a great training group and it gives me a lot to help out in my own development. I am planning a couple of cool events with them this summer to make sure that we are always challenging ourselves. Stay tuned for the fun and exciting details!
Well, off to bed as I have a couple of crazy days ahead! I am cramming a bit this week, fitting in extra workouts as I am out for the weekend, so I dont want to miss any workouts due to travel! Rest time before another awesome day of living the dream!
Cheers to you all!
Monday, April 12, 2010
Let's get it started!
This week is the start of Week 4 of my program. A few of the days this week are 'testing' days to see where I am at as a start point. I have done some of these tests earlier via my lactate threshold test, but the bike workout will be one that I look forward to. I have not collected a good baseline for biking as yet, so as biking is what got me into this IM adventure, I look forward to the baseline test and subsequent tests as the summer unfolds and my training builds up! As I may have said a couple times in the past, WAHOO! bring it on, I really want to improve so having a baseline point is great as I can see how much has changed and what I may need to adjust to keep going in the right direction. I know that my cycling has changed a lot from last season, but I know there is a ton more in these legs to move me forward! So this week should be fun!
Today was a good drill day in the pool! Yep, it was one of those dreadful kick days, more than 50% of 3000m. It started with 300m kick and other 300 m repeats. Then all the rest involved kicking in one form or another! It hurts like hell, but I find that after 3 weeks of focused kick drills that my legs are starting to work a bit! So, as much as it makes me anxious knowing I have them coming up, it does the truck for me! I discovered that of it hurts and if I try and figure out how I could avoid it, DO IT! those are the ones that are giving me the greatest gains! Never mind the sissy stuff that everyone does all the time, give me the hard drills and lots of them! I will say that the practices with kick in them do take a lot longer to complete. But I am not going to get to the start or the finish without putting in my time!
Today I took a minute to review one of the great products that I use . Over the winter, both skiing and training my skin takes a beating if I dont take care of it. In hte summer the wind, the water and the sun makes me dry up like mad! BUT, I found DERMATONE a while back, it is awesome. I wrote a testimonial a while back, and tonight I found it on the website. It is great to be there with many other athletes and outdoor enthusiasts when it is for using such a good product. The photo on the link is a ski trip in South America I was on a couple of summers ago, the sun there was wickedly damaging without something to protect. The skiing was also over the moon awesome! If you need good stuff while you are outside running, riding, swimming, try it out! DERMATONE IS SOUTH AMERICA
Well, tomorrow is a nice day and I have a bike test to pedal out, so, I hope you all had an awesome day and tomorrow is all the better!
Sunday, April 11, 2010
A wonderful weekend!
Another weekend in the books! This chapter in the book will read quite well! Why? Just because, what was wrong it? It was sunny, spent it with family and friends, weather was cooperative, got some good training in, and whatever bad may have happened, a little perspective puts it all back into place! My Life is good!
So Friday was a rest day and I took full advantage! Did nothing, caught up on work and spent some quality time with my wife. Friday evening we headed out for dinner to a great local fish restaurant that we like. We know the owners of the place so we like to support them. as well as that the food is great, the staff is friendly and it is a comfy place to unwind and enjoy. Fridays' also has great music which makes it all the better to hang out. We shared some wine, ate awesome food all while listening to some great live blues/jazz in the background! can't think of a better way to spend and evening. As i get into my training and obsessed with races and associated stuff, these evenings will become a great way to catch up and spend time with my most awesome support woman!
Saturday AM was no longer rest day, so up and at it early. My schedules workout for the day was my bike ride. But, I started my day out with my Running/Yoga - ROGA clinic. It was a beautiful morning with the entire group out for a run. This week marked 1 month to the race that they have set as a goal. Over the past weeks we have worked at building miles and experience for those who are new to running. Yesterday's run marker a benchmark for them. As they are building towards a 10k run, yesterday was a pivotal kind of run for them. We did a 7.5k run at an increased pace(for the group) and finished it feeling good. I let the group know that this was the day that they should know they can do the 10k race. From here forward it is a matter of building up strength, increasing speed, and most of all learning how to stay healthy as a runner. It is a great feeling knowing that all the participants in the group I have lead are able to meet the goal they set out to do. It brings me back to my first 10k race and the feeling of accomplishment getting to the line! hope that they all continue in the next session and push on to a half marathon goal!
After a very satisfying morning session I went home and got bundled up for a bike ride! It was still damn cold out. As I was getting dressed it was only 5 celcius. Although it was cool, the sun was shining bright so it was a good day to be out on a ride. Mentally I was in a good space to go out. I wanted to do a route that had some hills but nothing to crazy. The ride is to be a HR1-2 ride so relax was the theme for the day. As I got out on the bike, the wind was blowing strong, straight in a direction that would be in my face for the first half of the ride. As I said last week, I have myself in a good mental space when it comes to wind! I am going to suck it up and not be bothered as it is going to be that way and it is not worth wasting energy. SO I rode out to meet a friend to do the day ride. Once we got out, the first half was a bitch, under 30kmh with the wind howling in my face, not only windy but the first 30km was uphill. But the sun was awesome and I was happy to be out. When I turned with the wind to my side the ride changed. My speed went up over 40 kmh and my heart rate was consistently under 140, I was flying. I actually left my buddy a little behind as I got into an awesome groove and wanted to ride it out. I rode about 25-30k over 40 kmh with a rate of perceived effort of 3 out of 10 and a HR of 135. It was an awesome feeling of a few weeks of hard work and good base training. It was one of those days that makes me want to sweat and work hard and intense through my workouts! 21 more weeks or work here I come. The total ride was a little over 70k and a pleasure. ddi some hills, flew the speed of traffic and felt like I am an athlete! Love it!
Saturday night was a little more entertainment! A copy of Friday night although it was not a rest day! Some good friends who travel a ton for work were home so we all gathered for dinner. We started with a hottub before dinner, with the required beers to make it more relaxing. The hottub beer was followed by pre dinner beer, then some dinner wine, then some after dinner beer. Needless to say, it was a lot more beer than I planned on having, but, what the heck! ONce in a while it isn't going to kill me! I plan on abstaining for the most part of my training. I don't recover well from beers, so why bother.
This morning my plan was my run. As yesterday evening moved along my thoughts were of this morning, probably why I was at home in bed by 11:30. It all worked, entertaining night with friends and still home for a good night sleep for my run. I love Sundays after ski season, it is a treat to be at home and not have to be up and at teh hill for teaching at 8AM. So this morning I was in bed until 8:15. WOW! I slept in! I had a great morning! The temperature was great for running, beautiful sun and no wind. My day was a HR1-2 for one hour. So I headed out feeling like a million $$. I ended up doing a 12k run in 63 minutes with a 140 HR at a 5:20 pace. Another one of those workouts that confirm the base I have worked on. A year ago that same pace would have had my HR at 160 and likely a lung on the sidewalk! I probably could have kept going for another 2 hours! Following my run, I took advantage of the optional swim on my workout schedule. I spent 30 minutes in the pool swimming to swim. I did not do any drills, just thought about my form as I slid through the water enjoying the relaxing time in teh pool. I followed my calm swim by some resistance training. I spent 30 minutes with light weights doing the prescribed program I have. I am actually going to change my program a bit based on some studying I have done and training that will provide me far more direct benefit on some of my areas of weakness. I will say that the resistance training i have done is showing results in my training areas. It is incredible how following a little direction provides such quick benefits.
Overall the weekend was full of mental and physical positives. I was able to feel the benefits of the work I have done and spend some time developing some training strategy for the weeks ahead. I am looking forward to the coming weeks and the increase in intensity that it brings. I have a couple of workouts that should prove to fit that bill this week. Looking forward to it!
Hope your weekend was full of fun and entertainment! happy Sunday and a great week ahead to all of you! CHeers
So Friday was a rest day and I took full advantage! Did nothing, caught up on work and spent some quality time with my wife. Friday evening we headed out for dinner to a great local fish restaurant that we like. We know the owners of the place so we like to support them. as well as that the food is great, the staff is friendly and it is a comfy place to unwind and enjoy. Fridays' also has great music which makes it all the better to hang out. We shared some wine, ate awesome food all while listening to some great live blues/jazz in the background! can't think of a better way to spend and evening. As i get into my training and obsessed with races and associated stuff, these evenings will become a great way to catch up and spend time with my most awesome support woman!
Saturday AM was no longer rest day, so up and at it early. My schedules workout for the day was my bike ride. But, I started my day out with my Running/Yoga - ROGA clinic. It was a beautiful morning with the entire group out for a run. This week marked 1 month to the race that they have set as a goal. Over the past weeks we have worked at building miles and experience for those who are new to running. Yesterday's run marker a benchmark for them. As they are building towards a 10k run, yesterday was a pivotal kind of run for them. We did a 7.5k run at an increased pace(for the group) and finished it feeling good. I let the group know that this was the day that they should know they can do the 10k race. From here forward it is a matter of building up strength, increasing speed, and most of all learning how to stay healthy as a runner. It is a great feeling knowing that all the participants in the group I have lead are able to meet the goal they set out to do. It brings me back to my first 10k race and the feeling of accomplishment getting to the line! hope that they all continue in the next session and push on to a half marathon goal!
After a very satisfying morning session I went home and got bundled up for a bike ride! It was still damn cold out. As I was getting dressed it was only 5 celcius. Although it was cool, the sun was shining bright so it was a good day to be out on a ride. Mentally I was in a good space to go out. I wanted to do a route that had some hills but nothing to crazy. The ride is to be a HR1-2 ride so relax was the theme for the day. As I got out on the bike, the wind was blowing strong, straight in a direction that would be in my face for the first half of the ride. As I said last week, I have myself in a good mental space when it comes to wind! I am going to suck it up and not be bothered as it is going to be that way and it is not worth wasting energy. SO I rode out to meet a friend to do the day ride. Once we got out, the first half was a bitch, under 30kmh with the wind howling in my face, not only windy but the first 30km was uphill. But the sun was awesome and I was happy to be out. When I turned with the wind to my side the ride changed. My speed went up over 40 kmh and my heart rate was consistently under 140, I was flying. I actually left my buddy a little behind as I got into an awesome groove and wanted to ride it out. I rode about 25-30k over 40 kmh with a rate of perceived effort of 3 out of 10 and a HR of 135. It was an awesome feeling of a few weeks of hard work and good base training. It was one of those days that makes me want to sweat and work hard and intense through my workouts! 21 more weeks or work here I come. The total ride was a little over 70k and a pleasure. ddi some hills, flew the speed of traffic and felt like I am an athlete! Love it!
Saturday night was a little more entertainment! A copy of Friday night although it was not a rest day! Some good friends who travel a ton for work were home so we all gathered for dinner. We started with a hottub before dinner, with the required beers to make it more relaxing. The hottub beer was followed by pre dinner beer, then some dinner wine, then some after dinner beer. Needless to say, it was a lot more beer than I planned on having, but, what the heck! ONce in a while it isn't going to kill me! I plan on abstaining for the most part of my training. I don't recover well from beers, so why bother.
This morning my plan was my run. As yesterday evening moved along my thoughts were of this morning, probably why I was at home in bed by 11:30. It all worked, entertaining night with friends and still home for a good night sleep for my run. I love Sundays after ski season, it is a treat to be at home and not have to be up and at teh hill for teaching at 8AM. So this morning I was in bed until 8:15. WOW! I slept in! I had a great morning! The temperature was great for running, beautiful sun and no wind. My day was a HR1-2 for one hour. So I headed out feeling like a million $$. I ended up doing a 12k run in 63 minutes with a 140 HR at a 5:20 pace. Another one of those workouts that confirm the base I have worked on. A year ago that same pace would have had my HR at 160 and likely a lung on the sidewalk! I probably could have kept going for another 2 hours! Following my run, I took advantage of the optional swim on my workout schedule. I spent 30 minutes in the pool swimming to swim. I did not do any drills, just thought about my form as I slid through the water enjoying the relaxing time in teh pool. I followed my calm swim by some resistance training. I spent 30 minutes with light weights doing the prescribed program I have. I am actually going to change my program a bit based on some studying I have done and training that will provide me far more direct benefit on some of my areas of weakness. I will say that the resistance training i have done is showing results in my training areas. It is incredible how following a little direction provides such quick benefits.
Overall the weekend was full of mental and physical positives. I was able to feel the benefits of the work I have done and spend some time developing some training strategy for the weeks ahead. I am looking forward to the coming weeks and the increase in intensity that it brings. I have a couple of workouts that should prove to fit that bill this week. Looking forward to it!
Hope your weekend was full of fun and entertainment! happy Sunday and a great week ahead to all of you! CHeers
Friday, April 9, 2010
Two for 1!
Yep, did not get to my post yesterday, so I thought I would get both today! It has been a good couple of days as they generally are!
Yesterday from a training perspective, it was a 'restier' kind of day. What the heck is 'restier', just like it sounds, not busier, but less busy, 'restier', you get it!
As it is a recovery week, the only thing on my schedule was a fartlek run. But it was Thursday, so I also had to do my morning Yoga practice. On Wednesday night, I did a 2 hour yoga practice that was a bit exhausting. I have attached some photos of the group of near 100 people doing Yoga. It was a very cool session which we did in the center court of a huge regional mall. The looks that we got from the shoppers were quite interesting. Yes, it was a great stretch but some of the poses got me 'real good!' I can still feel them today. So, yesterday morning's practice was a little more restorative than usual. I am at a point with my practice where I actually think of an intention before I begin and make it my focus during the whole time. It makes the class very mentally productive, it takes my mind away from all of the other things that tend to interrupt. Yoga is becoming an integral part of my training both on and off of the studio floor.
My run last night was again fairly restful. As well as my part of the run for training, I also lead my regular LUlulemon run night. It was a great night with a couple more new people out. One of the people who joined us was an absolute noon runner, she had never put a pair of running shoes on to hit the street. She explained to me that she was the girl in school that everyone waited for, not athletically inclined at all. She is in great physical condition practicing yoga several time a week, but nothing like hitting the pavement. Before we went out I told her a little about our run and what we would do. As I want her to be back out, we did 3 and 1's for the run. At 3 minutes she was quite surprised that we had already done 3, but we stopped for 1 and continued along. Before we knew it she had run her first 3k! She was happy and proud as could be that she had accomplished her first run. I was quite pleased as well as she was talking about getting out again. It is great to get someone new to join a sport that they were reluctant to do! So, from 2 perspectives it was a successful night!
Today was a lazy day, a day off! It is not my usual self to sit back and take it! BUT, I am taking advantage of the fact that I can and using the rest! Although I am very early in the process, I am keenly aware that the body needs rest and that periodization is a science not a thought to try out! SO I had a productive full work day, a couple of awesome projects closed and an evening out with wifey on the way. We are heading out to a restaurant by the lake for a some food and some good jazz/blues music. I am quite please about this rest thing today.
Tomorrow is run time again as well as a 2-3 hour HR1 ride. It is supposed to be a sunny day so it is all good. I think I will even throw in my optional swim tomorrow as I did not have 3 pool workouts this week.
Happy weekend to all of you! Cheers!
Yesterday from a training perspective, it was a 'restier' kind of day. What the heck is 'restier', just like it sounds, not busier, but less busy, 'restier', you get it!
As it is a recovery week, the only thing on my schedule was a fartlek run. But it was Thursday, so I also had to do my morning Yoga practice. On Wednesday night, I did a 2 hour yoga practice that was a bit exhausting. I have attached some photos of the group of near 100 people doing Yoga. It was a very cool session which we did in the center court of a huge regional mall. The looks that we got from the shoppers were quite interesting. Yes, it was a great stretch but some of the poses got me 'real good!' I can still feel them today. So, yesterday morning's practice was a little more restorative than usual. I am at a point with my practice where I actually think of an intention before I begin and make it my focus during the whole time. It makes the class very mentally productive, it takes my mind away from all of the other things that tend to interrupt. Yoga is becoming an integral part of my training both on and off of the studio floor.My run last night was again fairly restful. As well as my part of the run for training, I also lead my regular LUlulemon run night. It was a great night with a couple more new people out. One of the people who joined us was an absolute noon runner, she had never put a pair of running shoes on to hit the street. She explained to me that she was the girl in school that everyone waited for, not athletically inclined at all. She is in great physical condition practicing yoga several time a week, but nothing like hitting the pavement. Before we went out I told her a little about our run and what we would do. As I want her to be back out, we did 3 and 1's for the run. At 3 minutes she was quite surprised that we had already done 3, but we stopped for 1 and continued along. Before we knew it she had run her first 3k! She was happy and proud as could be that she had accomplished her first run. I was quite pleased as well as she was talking about getting out again. It is great to get someone new to join a sport that they were reluctant to do! So, from 2 perspectives it was a successful night!
Today was a lazy day, a day off! It is not my usual self to sit back and take it! BUT, I am taking advantage of the fact that I can and using the rest! Although I am very early in the process, I am keenly aware that the body needs rest and that periodization is a science not a thought to try out! SO I had a productive full work day, a couple of awesome projects closed and an evening out with wifey on the way. We are heading out to a restaurant by the lake for a some food and some good jazz/blues music. I am quite please about this rest thing today.
Tomorrow is run time again as well as a 2-3 hour HR1 ride. It is supposed to be a sunny day so it is all good. I think I will even throw in my optional swim tomorrow as I did not have 3 pool workouts this week.
Happy weekend to all of you! Cheers!
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