Not much to report on the training front for the past couple of weeks. I have been slowly logging in the miles in hopes of getting myself ready for IM France which is quickly coming up! Eek! Last week I logged a total of 21hrs of swimming, biking, and running. The big volume days started on Thursday with an 80km bike ride, followed by 2hrs at the track with the masters team, and then another 2hrs in the pool with the masters club. Friday I did a short run and then headed up to my second family in Parry Sound! Yay! I know I mentioned it before, but I absolutely love going there!!!! Thanks so much!!! :):):)
Saturday was my longest training day to date this year. I went out for a 110km bike ride with some great company. Unfortunately, we started in the rain and it continued raining the whole time. It was also on the cold side and near the end I just wanted to get back to the house. I followed this ride with a rainy 25km run. After St. Anthony's the brick workouts resumed and I can now say that I can run off the bike, lol! The run went pretty well. Last year I did this exact same workout and averaged a 6:35min/km on the run. This time I averaged a 6:25min/km. However, last year I did this workout in the heat of summer and ran a different route whereas this time it was raining and cool...great for running. I was holding a good pace until about 18km and then my pace fell apart. But I still did the whole thing! :)
Sunday the NachoAverage Tri club was hosting a club race where we got to choose our distances on a looped course. Great training day for me! I decided on a two loop swim, a two loop bike (68km), and then a 4 loop run (10km). I actually had quite a lot of fun and had a great time hanging out with the guys again! The swim was a bit ridiculous though. I think the outside temperature was about 8C...it was COLD! I was wearing a jacket and a down vest in the morning. As I was getting into the wetsuit, all I can say was that this was a "stupid" idea! Haha! It was just soooo cold in the morning the thought of open water swimming was plain dumb! But hey....I am a crazy triathlete! Only five of us were silly enough to go swimming. Surprisingly, the water was not that cold though. I have swam in much colder waters before (Alcatraz, Vancouver worlds). Don't get me wrong...it was still cold. But it was bearable. Or my face, hands, and feet just went numb quickly so I couldn't feel anything anyway...lol! I swam about 1.5km, I was in the water for about 23min. I froze once I got out of the water. The cold temps and the wind was just a little cruel. I think I took about 11min in transition to try to dry myself off and try to put some layers on for the bike. I actually stood helpless for a few minutes as I tried to defrost my fingers so I can zip up my vest and jacket. Got on the bike and started the 68km ride. There was a really strong headwind one way which was relentless. I had to dig deep a few times to keep moving forward. It also did not help that I felt like an ice cube for the first loop of the bike. The return trip had an awesome tailwind though so that was fun. Second loop was a bit warmer but the wind was just as strong. Then I went off for the 10km run. I was actually able to run fairly well off the bike and was pleased with that. I held about a 5:47min/km pace. Not bad for me after all the training I had done. No pictures though...I had my camera with me but was just too cold to even remember to take any pics! Next time! Afterwards we headed back to the house for a BBQ!
So not a bad week for me! Better than my attempt at a 25km run the week before where I completely fell apart...both mentally and physically. An early season ironman is proving to be hard to train for. More so after a late season ironman last year. At times I feel demotivated. Although the spring we have been having this year has not helped at all. It really does make it difficult to train outdoors when it is cold and raining. I have a 135km ride under my belt so far. Need to get some more long rides in. Hopefully the sun and warmth comes out in time for my last big week of training before tapering. I just need to stay focused!
Up next: Little Smokies half ironman this weekend in Portsmouth, Ohio!!! Road trip!!!!
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