Today was a little more relaxing on the training front. With it being a rest week, I have moved a couple of workouts around so today was a little more relaxing than usual. I shifter my weight workout until tomorrow afternoon in order to give myself some time at the office to get some work out of the way.
My workout today was actually quite relaxed. The LULULEMON run club 5k run was the extent of it! WOW it has been a few days since I did such a light workout, and likely quite a few since I will see another one. But, it was great. Another night with some new runners out and we did a great run for them at an better pace than they have done to date. The runners are all enjoying it as they are seeing progress that they did not anticipate. For me it was a great night turning my legs over beating out a little lactic from the past couple of days. They are not sore, but I can feel some junk that needs to be moved out. So after a short run and a relaxing day, I am getting my tri bike of the trainer for my first decent tri ride tomorrow. I am looking forward to it as the weather looks to be good and it is a good opportunity to see what the base training period has given me.
This weekend marks the end of the base part of my training, from here on it gets a little more intense. When I review the training I look at it on a daily and weekly basis. If I look beyond that time frame it becomes daunting, in small pieces i only looks like a lot of fun over the next few days.
As this journey continues all I can say is 'BRING IT ON!' I am looking forward to the ride!
Happy training! Make sure it hurts once in a while!
Cheers
The new Adventure has Started!!!
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
A good hump day!
As I pile on workouts this week, I must say that I am looking forward to rest day this Saturday. But, until then the progress keeps moving forward and I am digging the feeling!
Today was an improvised swim workout. I have been putting all my workouts in my crackberry so that I have them at a moments notice. Today, no it was not. I came home to pick up my gear and got half way to the pool before I realized I forget the book with my practice in it. So, I decided to pick one of the previous practices that I had done. Th first one I picked out was a short one at 1500m, I decided that it wanst going to cut it. A few months back, that would have been a crazy distance for me, today it was going to meet the bill any longer. SO I ended up choosing a 3100m practice as it seems more appropriate for this point in the season. It was primarily 100 and 200m repeats with little rest in between. The swim today was great as I seemed to get better as time went on. I was watching my repeats and by the end I had take 5-10 seconds off my 100m. I was happy with that as I should have been tiring out rather than speeding up. Overall the practice was quite fun and satisfying! Feeling continued progress on the swim and looking forward to continuing to push the water!
Following the swim was my ROGA clinic(running/yoga). Tonight speed work was on the schedule. It was a blast to see the look on the face of the runners when I told them what we are doing. As I have mentioned these are all new runners who have not followed any structure in teh past. SO hills was a great treat for them for the past while, they looked even more excited for the speed work to be done tonight. These workouts for me are all bonus workouts as I have my speed work tomorrow afternoon. So, we headed out to the track via a 2.5k warm up run.. The workout was a small intro to speed work with a 4 x 200m session. I must say it has been a while since I did real speed work, the kind that makes you feel like being sick when you are done the sprint. WOW! it was great! I found that I was able to maintain form throughout and not lose speed at the end. As my legs got heavier I was able to suck it up and get to the end with a smile on my face and my legs yelling at me! Overall the runners were ecstatic with the run and I was proud of how well they did! Another great workout for me as well as awesome progress towards the start line for the runners training with me!
I hope your day was full of fun and that you did something wonderful for yourself and for someone else! Cheers!
Today was an improvised swim workout. I have been putting all my workouts in my crackberry so that I have them at a moments notice. Today, no it was not. I came home to pick up my gear and got half way to the pool before I realized I forget the book with my practice in it. So, I decided to pick one of the previous practices that I had done. Th first one I picked out was a short one at 1500m, I decided that it wanst going to cut it. A few months back, that would have been a crazy distance for me, today it was going to meet the bill any longer. SO I ended up choosing a 3100m practice as it seems more appropriate for this point in the season. It was primarily 100 and 200m repeats with little rest in between. The swim today was great as I seemed to get better as time went on. I was watching my repeats and by the end I had take 5-10 seconds off my 100m. I was happy with that as I should have been tiring out rather than speeding up. Overall the practice was quite fun and satisfying! Feeling continued progress on the swim and looking forward to continuing to push the water!
Following the swim was my ROGA clinic(running/yoga). Tonight speed work was on the schedule. It was a blast to see the look on the face of the runners when I told them what we are doing. As I have mentioned these are all new runners who have not followed any structure in teh past. SO hills was a great treat for them for the past while, they looked even more excited for the speed work to be done tonight. These workouts for me are all bonus workouts as I have my speed work tomorrow afternoon. So, we headed out to the track via a 2.5k warm up run.. The workout was a small intro to speed work with a 4 x 200m session. I must say it has been a while since I did real speed work, the kind that makes you feel like being sick when you are done the sprint. WOW! it was great! I found that I was able to maintain form throughout and not lose speed at the end. As my legs got heavier I was able to suck it up and get to the end with a smile on my face and my legs yelling at me! Overall the runners were ecstatic with the run and I was proud of how well they did! Another great workout for me as well as awesome progress towards the start line for the runners training with me!
I hope your day was full of fun and that you did something wonderful for yourself and for someone else! Cheers!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
WOW! that was a tough workout!
Yep, I think that might be one of the first times I have used those words since I started my training!? TOUGH! Ah, suck it up butter cup! And that is what I did. Today was a 'turbo' workout on the bike and involved some good variety of high heart rate drills. I have 6 x 5 minutes big gear grinds some of them above 90 cadence. It felt great, I was busting my hump to get to the end of some of them, but it was good. My legs at some point were screaming to stop, that is my key to push a little harder. So I did! At the end it was the hardest trainer workout I have done. I don't know if it is related to 8 hours on a trainer on the weekend? All I can do is control the outcome today, so I pushed and got through it.
My workouts might also be getting a little tougher as have not had a rest day since last Tuesday which was the travel day coming home and the day after the marathon. Otherwise I have been going since April 17 without a break, and I have to keep going until this Friday for my rest day. I am not complaining, just realizing why I might have a little burn on during a workout.
Following my bike grind today was a visit to the run club to do my weekly outing. It is a beautiful sunny day, but damn it is cold out. Running into the north it felt like a winter/fall night. I luckily wore some gloves to fight it off, but could still feel it. It was a great run though~! Had a couple of new people out again, and we did a 6 1/2k loop! They all felt great and I was right along with them. Each week the club gets a little better and we keep getting stronger in numbers and in running strength. It is a lot of fun leading/helping out and getting people motivated to be out doing something good for themsleves!
On a more entertaining front today, I was at my first photo shoot in my life! No my wedding doesn't count, because I did not hire a photographer because I don't like getting my photo taken! We did end up with hundreds of awesome photos thanks to all of our friends. My photo shoot today was for my Lululemon Ambassador shot. It was truly a fun day to be a part of. I had some great running clothes, a great support team with me, my dog who also smiles for the camera. We were down on a trail by the lake that I run at a lot, it al made for a perfect event. In my most 'relaxed' manner possible the photographer took all sorts of shots to choose from. I am looking forward to the final product to see what it is like. I hope he feels free to retouch as necessary!! As a person who is not a camera guy, I did find it to be a lot of fun! I will post some photos as I am able to get them!
Overall an great day, hope you had a ton of fun and remembered to smile along the way! Cheers!
My workouts might also be getting a little tougher as have not had a rest day since last Tuesday which was the travel day coming home and the day after the marathon. Otherwise I have been going since April 17 without a break, and I have to keep going until this Friday for my rest day. I am not complaining, just realizing why I might have a little burn on during a workout.
Following my bike grind today was a visit to the run club to do my weekly outing. It is a beautiful sunny day, but damn it is cold out. Running into the north it felt like a winter/fall night. I luckily wore some gloves to fight it off, but could still feel it. It was a great run though~! Had a couple of new people out again, and we did a 6 1/2k loop! They all felt great and I was right along with them. Each week the club gets a little better and we keep getting stronger in numbers and in running strength. It is a lot of fun leading/helping out and getting people motivated to be out doing something good for themsleves!
On a more entertaining front today, I was at my first photo shoot in my life! No my wedding doesn't count, because I did not hire a photographer because I don't like getting my photo taken! We did end up with hundreds of awesome photos thanks to all of our friends. My photo shoot today was for my Lululemon Ambassador shot. It was truly a fun day to be a part of. I had some great running clothes, a great support team with me, my dog who also smiles for the camera. We were down on a trail by the lake that I run at a lot, it al made for a perfect event. In my most 'relaxed' manner possible the photographer took all sorts of shots to choose from. I am looking forward to the final product to see what it is like. I hope he feels free to retouch as necessary!! As a person who is not a camera guy, I did find it to be a lot of fun! I will post some photos as I am able to get them!
Overall an great day, hope you had a ton of fun and remembered to smile along the way! Cheers!
Monday, April 26, 2010
Training and reflection day!
I spent a little time last night and this morning looking back at my past few weeks, winter and few years of training. It brought a great smile to my face. I have not set any world records, but I did get it done. Over the past while I have made some choices, and once I did not not let anything deter me from reaching the victory of accomplishment. It is very satisfying to be in that place, having helped myself from 'at guy' to somewhat fit guy. Helped some others along the way accomplish physical goals, helped out by contributing to the community and charitable causes. I guess I must be hormonal or something, spending time thinking about all this kind of stuff! Whatever has prompted me to think it, I am happy with where I am, it is a good place right now!
As well, I am happy at this point with where I am physically. I have done a some things the past few weeks and months that I was once convinced I could not. Best thing is, in many cases they seemed easy to do. The changes I have made in eating and training seem to be having an affect, so, I think I will continue to throw coal into the engine and see where it brings me. I am enjoying the structure of the workouts, the increasing intensity and the way far away goal that it is for. Best thing is, without even having experienced the victory of the attempt to the start line, I am looking forward to doing it again. I want to be out there and see what I can do. One of my goals is to also bring along a few others for the adventure. This stuff is way to much fun to enjoy all alone! Wether it is a friend participating or someone laughing at me for putting myself through it, everyone needs ot check out this game!
Today was a good training day in the tri game. A 3500m swim with a ton of kicking. I can feel myself improving on the kick front, actually choosing to do kick drills where I have choice. I am going to line up the coaching session before to long and bring some new stuff into my practice.
Well, starting week 6 which is a recovery week, then onto the fun stuff. Aerobic training starts with another little kick in the right direction. In my next phase I have a couple of races to keep it interesting. All the races I do are training events. I may see what I can do on a sprint to see what this training has given me since the bad swim tri's of the past!
Off to have some dinner and enjoy a drink with some friends! Have a fantastic night! Cheers!
Sunday, April 25, 2010
A fantastic weekend!
This weekend is one that I have marked down in the mental book as one to remember, now I have to capture it here as I can't usually remember what I had for breakfast! It was AWESOME!
The fun started bright and early on Saturday morning with my Running clinic out for our weekly Saturday run. The entire group was there although a couple still reeling from Friday evening wine. It was great to see that they are committed to getting to the goal that we set together as we get close to the race date of May 15. The group is falling together well and many of them are asking if a summer session will be held. Many of them want to grow the goals they are currently working on and go to the next level. It will be a very fun summer working with them and a new group of athletes as well!
After a great Saturday morning run, it was off to help make a difference. As some of you may have seen, there is a banner for the Ride to Conquer Cancer on the top of my page. This is a double century ride that I am doing in June to help raise many for one the worlds leading cancer research centers. It is a ride I am very passionate about, knowing to many people who have died of cancer or are currently in treatment. I ask you to help by clicking on the link and making a small contribution to my efforts. Remember the statistics, 1 out of 4 will get cancer, that could be you, me, our kids or best friends! Make what difference you can!
On Saturday, in effort to raise awareness and my fund raising efforts, I rode my trainer for 7 1/2 hours. I was lucky enough to be in the LULULEMON store front and able to ride from 10AM until 2pm, went out for a 20 minute transition run, got back on my bike to eat lunch and continued to 5:40PM when I went for another run. People could not believe what I was doing, sitting on a bike all day. When I told them why, they quickly understood what it was all about and the importance of it. It was a tremendously satisfying thing to do! Hundreds of people came up to me and shared stories and thanked me for doing it. For me it is a pleasure and a way that I am hopefully making a difference. A big bonus to the day?? I got the longest time in the saddle that I have ever recorded on a single day and 3 great runs to go along with it. I felt great off the bike onto the street, better than I thought I would after a 'long' ride at this time in the season. I did sleep like a rock, I dont think my whole body had hit the bed before I was asleep. Sunday AM was an impending mystery to me. I felt good Saturday, did that mean Sunday would be nasty??
Sunday AM I volunteered for a community 10k race with the LULULEMON store. A simple task, give out finishers medals! I woke up early to get to the 7:30 set up time. When I awoke, without thinking I popped out of bed and went about my morning. It wasn't for a couple of minutes that I relaized that I did that totally pain free. I had a little residual, but not 7:30 hours worth. I was very pleased at how I felt and how I managed food and hydration the previous day. It is very early, but a sign that I might be on the right track.
I headed out to the event start. It was a blast. It is fun to watch people coming in, the hundreds of expressions! Joy, anger, frustration, elation, pain..... You name it I saw it. The only downfall, it was pouring rain. I met all sorts of great people, first timers, elite athletes, walkers, friends.... It is quite different being on the that side of the line. I aslo saw Bryan from http://trainingpayne.blogspot.com/ . He was out to do a lost tune up race before he heads out to IMSG this week! He looked good, spirits were high and had a good run! I think IMSG will be a great race for him! GOOD LUCK BRYAN!
Overall, the rain did not put any damper on the day, seeing people cross a finish line is awesome satisfaction!
After my race post, it was time for me to head out and support some runners. A couple of people in my group that have set 1/2 marathon as an upcoming goal are having a tough time with the long runs. So, earlier this week, I suggested I would organize the long run and do it with them. It was great! Ran the whole thing with the clouds spitting on us, but got it done! They were happy to put in the miles, I was happy to put in the miles! It was a fitting way to end a weekend of training, helping and having fun!
I am tired now, so, GOOD NIGHT!
I hope your weekend was as fulfilling as mine was!
Happy MOnday!
The fun started bright and early on Saturday morning with my Running clinic out for our weekly Saturday run. The entire group was there although a couple still reeling from Friday evening wine. It was great to see that they are committed to getting to the goal that we set together as we get close to the race date of May 15. The group is falling together well and many of them are asking if a summer session will be held. Many of them want to grow the goals they are currently working on and go to the next level. It will be a very fun summer working with them and a new group of athletes as well!
After a great Saturday morning run, it was off to help make a difference. As some of you may have seen, there is a banner for the Ride to Conquer Cancer on the top of my page. This is a double century ride that I am doing in June to help raise many for one the worlds leading cancer research centers. It is a ride I am very passionate about, knowing to many people who have died of cancer or are currently in treatment. I ask you to help by clicking on the link and making a small contribution to my efforts. Remember the statistics, 1 out of 4 will get cancer, that could be you, me, our kids or best friends! Make what difference you can!
On Saturday, in effort to raise awareness and my fund raising efforts, I rode my trainer for 7 1/2 hours. I was lucky enough to be in the LULULEMON store front and able to ride from 10AM until 2pm, went out for a 20 minute transition run, got back on my bike to eat lunch and continued to 5:40PM when I went for another run. People could not believe what I was doing, sitting on a bike all day. When I told them why, they quickly understood what it was all about and the importance of it. It was a tremendously satisfying thing to do! Hundreds of people came up to me and shared stories and thanked me for doing it. For me it is a pleasure and a way that I am hopefully making a difference. A big bonus to the day?? I got the longest time in the saddle that I have ever recorded on a single day and 3 great runs to go along with it. I felt great off the bike onto the street, better than I thought I would after a 'long' ride at this time in the season. I did sleep like a rock, I dont think my whole body had hit the bed before I was asleep. Sunday AM was an impending mystery to me. I felt good Saturday, did that mean Sunday would be nasty??
Sunday AM I volunteered for a community 10k race with the LULULEMON store. A simple task, give out finishers medals! I woke up early to get to the 7:30 set up time. When I awoke, without thinking I popped out of bed and went about my morning. It wasn't for a couple of minutes that I relaized that I did that totally pain free. I had a little residual, but not 7:30 hours worth. I was very pleased at how I felt and how I managed food and hydration the previous day. It is very early, but a sign that I might be on the right track.
I headed out to the event start. It was a blast. It is fun to watch people coming in, the hundreds of expressions! Joy, anger, frustration, elation, pain..... You name it I saw it. The only downfall, it was pouring rain. I met all sorts of great people, first timers, elite athletes, walkers, friends.... It is quite different being on the that side of the line. I aslo saw Bryan from http://trainingpayne.blogspot.com/ . He was out to do a lost tune up race before he heads out to IMSG this week! He looked good, spirits were high and had a good run! I think IMSG will be a great race for him! GOOD LUCK BRYAN!
Overall, the rain did not put any damper on the day, seeing people cross a finish line is awesome satisfaction!
After my race post, it was time for me to head out and support some runners. A couple of people in my group that have set 1/2 marathon as an upcoming goal are having a tough time with the long runs. So, earlier this week, I suggested I would organize the long run and do it with them. It was great! Ran the whole thing with the clouds spitting on us, but got it done! They were happy to put in the miles, I was happy to put in the miles! It was a fitting way to end a weekend of training, helping and having fun!
I am tired now, so, GOOD NIGHT!
I hope your weekend was as fulfilling as mine was!
Happy MOnday!
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Mid day update
Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network
Friday, April 23, 2010
I love this stuff!
Another great 'recovery' day after Boston!
So, my recovery has been great from the run this Monday. All I have is a little pain in my quads and two big toes the size of grapefruit. I no I can handle the quad pain, isn't the first and certainly won't be the last workout feeling it. However, I was a little worried about the super size toes and running. Stay tuned for more on that one!
Today was a good swim day at the pool. I must say I am looking forward to an open water swim soon, but, I am still loving pool practice and getting better at this game. The session today seems to be starting to add more distance drills. Rather than all 50-100, a lot of it was 200, with cool down being 500. I like the added distance as I feel it will get me stronger and help me develop my form in the long run. Overall it was a 3000m practice and it felt awesome. At no point in 80-90% intensity swims did I start to 'choke' or want to slow down. I am please with post race swim from a nutrition perspective as well. Having done a decent workout a lot of potential for dehydration exists, I tend to be able to dig that up quick when swimming, today was a charm with no issues!
Ahhh! The dreaded first run! I did a Lululemon run club, they are a great way to get running again. The pace is not super fast and the distance is only around 6k. It is a perfect way to test out my super toes and see how aerodynamic they are. When we started the run, I did find a couple of small spots in my quads that needed to be hammered out. Within a quick 1k that seemed to work well. As I ran my toes seemed to give me no issues either. I was happy about that and I hope that is stays that way. One of the good parts of the run is the impromptu speed work. As I run with a mixed group I want to work with all of them to see that they are enjoying the run. So, I run forward and return to the slower group to see how they are doing. When I head back to the faster group it is always a decent sprint session. Last night I managed to put in a couple that were close to 700m at a pace that was around 4:10 min/k. I felt great and my sprint recovery was very strong. I was surprised as I thought it would slow me a bit with post race muscle repair! So overall it was a great run with 2 more new runners joining us. The momentum keeps going forward which is great.
Tomorrow is a good training day for me. As you may have seen form the banner on the top left of the page, I am doing the Ride to Conquer Cancer. It is a cause that is very important to me with so many people affected by this, some of us will be one day as well, it is a brutal reality to have to face. Tomorrow I am doing an 8 hour trainer ride in a store front to bring attention to the cause and to raise funds In support. If you are in Oakville, please stop by the Lululemon store and say hi, I will be the guy on the bike! If you are not, please click the link above and support this important cause. It is a charitable donations and you can print a tax receipt from the site. Thank you to all of you who have generously supported me to date.
Happy Friday and a great training weekend! Cheers
Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network
So, my recovery has been great from the run this Monday. All I have is a little pain in my quads and two big toes the size of grapefruit. I no I can handle the quad pain, isn't the first and certainly won't be the last workout feeling it. However, I was a little worried about the super size toes and running. Stay tuned for more on that one!
Today was a good swim day at the pool. I must say I am looking forward to an open water swim soon, but, I am still loving pool practice and getting better at this game. The session today seems to be starting to add more distance drills. Rather than all 50-100, a lot of it was 200, with cool down being 500. I like the added distance as I feel it will get me stronger and help me develop my form in the long run. Overall it was a 3000m practice and it felt awesome. At no point in 80-90% intensity swims did I start to 'choke' or want to slow down. I am please with post race swim from a nutrition perspective as well. Having done a decent workout a lot of potential for dehydration exists, I tend to be able to dig that up quick when swimming, today was a charm with no issues!
Ahhh! The dreaded first run! I did a Lululemon run club, they are a great way to get running again. The pace is not super fast and the distance is only around 6k. It is a perfect way to test out my super toes and see how aerodynamic they are. When we started the run, I did find a couple of small spots in my quads that needed to be hammered out. Within a quick 1k that seemed to work well. As I ran my toes seemed to give me no issues either. I was happy about that and I hope that is stays that way. One of the good parts of the run is the impromptu speed work. As I run with a mixed group I want to work with all of them to see that they are enjoying the run. So, I run forward and return to the slower group to see how they are doing. When I head back to the faster group it is always a decent sprint session. Last night I managed to put in a couple that were close to 700m at a pace that was around 4:10 min/k. I felt great and my sprint recovery was very strong. I was surprised as I thought it would slow me a bit with post race muscle repair! So overall it was a great run with 2 more new runners joining us. The momentum keeps going forward which is great.
Tomorrow is a good training day for me. As you may have seen form the banner on the top left of the page, I am doing the Ride to Conquer Cancer. It is a cause that is very important to me with so many people affected by this, some of us will be one day as well, it is a brutal reality to have to face. Tomorrow I am doing an 8 hour trainer ride in a store front to bring attention to the cause and to raise funds In support. If you are in Oakville, please stop by the Lululemon store and say hi, I will be the guy on the bike! If you are not, please click the link above and support this important cause. It is a charitable donations and you can print a tax receipt from the site. Thank you to all of you who have generously supported me to date.
Happy Friday and a great training weekend! Cheers
Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network
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