First ride of the season

Today was a beautiful day so I finally got out for a ride. I went about 50 k. which was enough for the first day on my bike. I went out through Teahill/Pownal which was abit of a mistake because there is still a lot of water on the road. I continued out the Trans Canada to the turnoff to China Point and then came back to town on the Trans Canada highway. Believe it or not I was too warm and had to take off my jacket. I forgot to check out my bike set up before I left. I haven't used my trial-trial bike since doing a race in Monaco last September and forgot that my aerobars had been moved to get them in the bike box. It was ok but felt a little awkward. i didn't run into any other cyclists which is a bit surprising given how nice it was.

I taught a spinning class this morning at the SPA and one yesterday evening. Both were great. Classes have been full and people are enthusiastic. It seems like there is a bit of a push for people to get into shape before the summer. This evening, some friends (John, Mike, Rodney and Lawrence visiting from Vancouver) are coming for dinner. Tomorrow morning, my plan is to do a 17 k. run through Brighton and around Sherwood.

Some days training is like work

Yesterday, I went for another 10 k run after work on the same route that I did the previous day. I didn't feel nearly as good. Running is like that. There are so many factors that can affect how you feel. It can be your mood, what you ate, how you slept etc.... you just have to accept it and keep going. Some days my attitude is simply- "At least I am doing something." This morning I swam for a solid 50 minutes. It was quiet at the pool which is not quite as motivating. I did about 2200 m. with the following routine: warmup= 100 swim, 100 back, 100 pull, 100 breast. drills= 100 alternating 1 arm drill, 100 yellow pages and repeated that. I did 8- 50s on a minute using paddles and 4- 100s using paddles; then 8- 50s without paddles and 200 pull as a warm down.

I am teaching a spinn class today at the Spa at 4:30 filling in for someone else. I have been toying with the idea of going cycling today as it is supposed to be around 12 degrees. But, I don't see how I could fit that into my work day today. I could possibly go for a short ride after spinning. My plan on the weekend is to run my 17 k. route whenever weather and my schedule can fit it in. Possibly a short bike ride if the weather cooperates. I will also do my regular saturday morning spin class. I always enjoy this because it gets me up and going early saturday morning. Its usually followed by an hour or two of hanging out at the Farmer's Market with my firends.

Creature of habit

Yesterday afternoon, I had a great 10 k run. The weather was nice which makes it easier to get going. I felt like I ran a bit faster than I have been running. It may have been excitement about decent weather. My friends tease me about being inflexible about my routine and my running routes. Its true. I like to stick to the same routine and generally do the same routes that I have been doing for a while. It works for me. I like to know exactly how far I am running and how long it will take. (see earlier blog about time management) My house in Charlottetown is on lower Prince Street near the waterfront. I have a few routes that wind around the waterfront; around the park and through Brighton; I can do 7, 8 or 10 k. depending on how I feel and how much time I have. If I want to add on a couple of k. I can continue up Belvedere to the trail and come back downtown via the trail which is about 11 k. For longer runs, I continue into Sherwood where I do a loop that results in a 17 k. run. When I am into marathon training for an ironman, I go out the trail by the university to a dirt road that leads up to Brackley Point Road and then come back dowtown which adds up to about 23 k. If I want a longer run, I go out the trail further. Today's agenda is another 10 k. or so after work. Swimming tomorrow morning (Friday) and teaching a spin class tomorrow afternoon.

Time Management

Yesterday I had to choose between swimming or running as I only had about an hour to devote to exercise. I am lucky to be self-employed so I can be a bit flexible with my work hours. I have been teaching Business Law at UPEI on Tuesday nights from 7pm till 10 pm so Tuesdays are always a bit stretched for time. CARI was closed yesterday morning because of the storm so I went at 5pm for a 45 minute swim. There was only one lane for lane swimmers and the rest of the lanes were in use for a Bluefin Swim practice. When you swim next to a competetive swim team you realize that you are not as good a swimmer as you think.

I have been getting swim programs from a web site called "Swimplan.com" It is very easy to use. You provide some information regarding how long you want to swim (ie 1 hour) and how fast you swim. (your time over 100m) The program spits out a workout with a warm up, some drills, a main workout and warm down. For an hour, it gives me a program of about 2800m. That is a fair bit of swimming and I don't usually get through it all. I try to do a minimum of 2000-2400 in the time I have which is usually around 45 minutes. I am finding that the program is a bit repetitive but you can print off a couple of programs and pick and choose. Yesterday, I did 2000 m: 400 warmup doing 100s alternating between swim and pull. Then I did 8 -50s fairly fast with a 10 second break in between; then 400 pull; 8- 50s again fast with 10 sec. break and then 400 pull. I needed to be out of the pool by about 5:45 to get showered, get home, get something to eat and get to UPEI by 7:00pm. I made it but not with any time to spare.

This morning we had our wednesday morning swim lesson with Dave Campbell which I look forward to every week. The participants are supposed to be me, Corena, Darcy and Ellen. Darcy and Ellen did not show and we may have to give them a hard time about their commitment to the lessons. Scott MacKay, who is on the UPEI swim team joined us as well. It was great to have him for motivation. It was a great class today. We did a drill where 2 of us had our feet tied together and we tried to swim in opposite directions and pull the person. Dave is also trying to teach us the butterfly which I find very difficult. I am not very flexible which seems to be an issue with getting my arms out of the water. In general, I am pretty happy with my swimming. My regular critcism from Dave is that I do not extend or reach far enough to maximize my stroke.

The weather outside is great today. My plan is to run about 10 k after work at 5 pm.

Getting Started

I have been reading blogs of other athletes and triathletes for a while. I thought it might be useful or worthwhile to start my own if, for no other reason, than to record a journal of my training activities. I have been keeping a record of my training and it might be interesting to others to see what I am doing. This year my major race will be Ironman Canada in Penticton, BC at the end of August. I am doing the Mooseman Half Ironman race in New Hampshire in June as race to get me started for the season. I have done this race twice before and enjoy it. It forces you to get on the bike in April and get training. I will do as many other local Olympic distance races as I can.

As a fairly busy lawyer, the constant challenge for me is scheduling my training. Every day I try to balance my schedule so that I can get some training in and put in a reasonable day at my office. Weather is always a factor as well. Throughout this past winter I have been averaging 10-12 hours a week of "maintenance" training. Nothing too intense but consistent. I have been swimming 3-5 times per week which is more than necessary but I enjoy it. One of those times is a lesson on Wednesday mornings with Dave Campbell. I run 3-4 times per week 8-10 k per time and have been teaching spinning twice per week. This month I have started to add the occasional longer run and will try to do one long run per week from now until my ironman training program kicks in. My running endurance is still pretty good. Last weekend, I was in NYC and did three long runs around Central Park of about 20 k each. I am itching to get out on a bike and thinking that the first warmish (above 10) day I will try to get out for a short ride. Today, I was up early despite the weather and made it to Cari for a swim at 7 am but, of course, I failed to check to determine if it was closed because of the weather. (which it was) So, as of now, I am trying to determine when I can get to pool today and/or possibly get out for a run. Will the run be indoors on a track or treadmill or outdoors? not sure. I have to get to work at my law job.