Year in Review

I just completed my first week back into training and it went fairly well.  I am working on quite a bit of intensity stuff in hopes of getting stronger.  I did four trainer rides working on cadence and power which left me leaving a puddle of sweat each time.  My runs were not as successful as I got caught in a blizzard one night and had to really watch my footing.  It sure was beautiful to run on the empty streets in the middle of a mini snow storm but it was a bit surreal too as no one was around.  I also now have access to a treadmill now that I am working at the new hospital which is great!  I have another option from running in minus something weather with the windchill and ice and snow.  Not only are there treadmills at this gym, there are also ellipticals, a universal weight machine, free weights, and exercise balls so I can get a full workout in!

I thought about writing a recap for 2010 and have decided to get around to it now.  2010 was quite the year for me in the triathlon world!  I sure made huge gains which I hope I can continue through in 2011.  You can check back on my blog for specific race reports if you wish. 

I started my race season with the Chilly Half marathon with disappointing results.  I knew I wasn't ready to run a good half and I wasn't.  I ran about a 2:05 but it was my longest run of the year at this point and so I just took it as a training day.  Then I headed down to Florida in April with my friend Terri and we had a great week of riding.  I stayed a few more days after Terri left and really had a great time with the masters swim club in Clermont and added in some runs.  It was a good training week.  Soon enough my triathlon season began with my first tri being the Rev3 half ironman in Knoxville.  It was a tough race, tougher than I expected but I put in a solid effort.  It was my first tri of the season anyway.  A month later I headed off to Hawaii for the 70.3 in June and had a blast!  Another tough race but loads of fun...and it was just beautiful there!  It was soon after this race that I had to make a quick decision to switch coaches.  My previous coach just wasn't cutting it at this point and I needed a change because the Ironman was coming up!  I had a couple of options for coaching and opted to go with Ming since he had previously mentioned that he would like to coach me and he lives in TO so I can easily communicate and even train with him.  So began our new coaching relationship.  During this time I also did the Welland half ironman and the Peterborough half swim/bike on back to back weekends.  Welland did not go as planned but I still barely managed to PB! Haha!  Peterborough just hurt!  I came off a heavy training week as I went to train with Terri leading up to this race.  Now the training really started.  And at the beginning of August I went to Benton Harbor Michigan to race the Steelhead 70.3 and got a new half IM PB!!!  Yay!!!  I then put in some good training days up in Parry Sound which really helped me.  I even did the Parry Sound sprint tri and won my age group!  woohoo!  That was a first for me! ;)  This all led to my A race - Ironman Canada!  And boy, did I ever surpass all of my expectations at that race.  I honestly could not have asked for a better race.  Everything went well (besides some rain, wind, and hail) and I had the race of my life! (hopefully not the last one too!)  And clocked in another new PB!!!  It was after IMC I decided to join the Nachos and do Ironman Cozumel in November!  So after a little break I started training again and this was when I also started getting sick.  I wasn't ever sick enough to stop anything, but it did slow me down and put a little dent in my training.  I did the Toronto International half marathon with not so stellar results.  Ah well!  And then I found myself off to Taiwan after Ming and Leanna convinced me to go at the very last minute and race the 70.3 there.  I even got into the race after it was sold out thanks to Ming's mom...hahaha!  Taiwan was an awesome experience and it was a tougher race than I expected.  But I somehow managed to hold off the women in my age group and placed third!!! Woohoo x 2!!!!  My first ironman branded podium finish and at an international event!!!  That was sooo cool!!!!  And amazing!!!!  I will never forget being called to the podium at the awards ceremony: "And from Canada, in third place, Wendy Lopez!"  A few weeks later I was in Cozumel for my second Ironman of the season.  IMCoz was a battle and no new PB this time but I learned that I can mentally battle through anything!  And again, I just had a blast there!!!  Soooo much fun!!!!

                                

I was just looking at my training log and this is what I put in from July-December (not including races):

approx 120.8km, 44.6hrs of Swimming
approx 1966.3km, 96.3hrs of Cycling (hrs incl trainer time as well)
approx 540.4km, 60.8hrs of Running (some runs were not measured in distance)
approx 14.8hrs of other stuff (skiing, yoga, core, etc)

For a grand total of about 216.5 hrs of training for the six months, July being the heaviest followed by October.  Wow...that's nuts! LOL!

Wonder what I will log for 2011!?