weekend of aug 28/29 2010

I had a pretty active weekend with hot yoga saturday morning followed by an 80 k bike ride from Charlottetown to Lakeside and back at a pretty brisk pace. We averaged over 31 k per hour with some side winds. I felt pretty strong and as i have been saying on her, my cycling is getting stronger near the end of the season (which makes sense i guess) I have vowed to start using the trainor this winter so that when i start in the spring again it won't take as long to get back to a fairly good level. I was going to do a roadrunners race on sunday but got a bit lazy and i just went for an easy 11 k run in Charlottetown. This time last year, i was recovering from ironman canada and was somewhat sick afterwards. Its funny, my friend Corena and I both admitted that we are ready to sign up for another one if we can decide which one to do. I checked today and there are still community foundation spots available for lake placid 2011 which is the most convenient one to get to. I am going on vacation this week to Cape Cod and plan on doing lots of running. i am also taaking my mountain bike as there are some good rolling trails through the sand dunes.

Sackville Sprint

I did the Sackville sprint this past weekend; again, had a pretty good race. Its funny how in triathlon, (for me) my ability in one sport versus others comes and goes. I started the year working on my running and in May/June when I did a lot of races (red island relay, mooseman, duathonlons) my running was really strong and my biking a bit weak. I let me running go a bit and now my biking is quite strong and my running is a bit weaker again. Its hard to keep everything sharp. This week I did a lot of wining and dining and didn't exactly take it easy before the Sackville race. Still, I managed a 14th place oout of about 100 people. I plan to do Schubie in a couple of weeks and will try to train a bit for it. I also hope to do a few roadrunner races over the next couple of weeks. I am going to Cape cod for vacation over Labour Day and will do some running and biking.

Parlee Beach triathlon

I did the Parlee Beach triathlon this past weekend again. I was happy with my performance although, as with other triathlons this year, I have been noticing my placing is lower (ie 17th as opposed to 14th last year and 6 or 7th the year before). I was thinking initially that i am getting older and my friends are teasing me a bit about this. I looked at my stats from previous years and I honestly think its because the competition is getting tougher. My bike time was about the same as it was in 2007 when i came 6th overall. My bike time this past weekend which was 18th would have been the 4th or 5th fastest bike time in 2007 or 2008. My run time this year was a minute faster than last year. The swim was very short this year so its hard to compare that time. I am going to do the Sackville sprint triathlon this comming saturday. Between now and then, I may swim once or twice and run once or twice and that will be it. I am still doing hot yoga about 3 times a week and enjoying that. I am gaining flexibility all around and have fewer aches and pains. (my right foot and knee were paining in the past). I will do the Schubie triathlon in Sept and after that i am not sure what my goals will be for the fall. I might do the Terry Fox run across the fixed link.

More of the same

i am still feeling like I am not training much although I do something almost everyday. Maybe its because I am not training very intensely. Since Last week, I did the mini-tri with the gang on saturday in Brackley. We tried to swim in the waves and then we did the usual 36 k loop. I didn't do the run as I was running late for something else. On Sunday, i did 90 minutes of hot yoga. On monday, i ran 7 k out in New Glasgow and then dropped my car off in Milton at the autobody place and biked home. I did hot yoga in the evening. I didn't do anything tuesday and on wednesday, I swam 2200 m. Today, (thursday) i plan to do the rec ride tonight and swim in the morning. I will try to run tomorrow at lunch and then I am doing Parlee Beach triathlon on sunday. I do think my cycling is a bit stronger than earlier in the year which is good. My running is still pretty good as i have done a lot of races this summer. My swimming is a bit weaker than it has been but it is not too bad. we will see how it goes on Sunday.

summer in PEI

Summer for me in PEI in always a mixture of trying to train, being busy at work and busy socially. It is a game of trying to fit everything in. I am especially feeling that way this week. Last night i went out to dinner with some friends and to a play. tomorrow night, i am having my family to a BBQ. I am busy with work. I have managed to go for a run on monday; (easy 7 k) hot yoga on tuesday; swam on wednesday (again easy workout) I am trying to juggle things so i can do the cycle pei rec ride tonight (and buy gorceries and get ready for the BBQ tomorrow night) Tomorrow a.m., i plan to swim and saturday morning, I am planning to do a mini-tri with the triathlon group in Brackley. If all that happens, I will have managed some form of exercise everyday this week, which, i suppose, is more than most people but it still feels kind of "half assed" in terms of training. I have generally been feeling a bit run down since doing the triathlon on the weekend. I was geared up to try and do well in it and it did go well but since then I have been tired. Since may, I have done 3 duathlons on weekends; one half -ironman triathlon, 2 multi-sport relays solo, 2 olympic triathlons, a half marathon and some 10 k and 5 k roadraces. It might be cathcing up with me a bit. My attitude is to try and do as many races as I am able to do because it is a long winter of training. I feel like "what's the point of training if you don't do races?"

PEI triathlon

Yesterday I did the stanhope triathlon and was reasonably pleased with my performance. Afterwards, i always think i could have done a bit better. i could have biked a little harder, maybe, or run a little faster. All in all, it went pretty well. There were alot of good triathletes in the race. i was 15th out of 42. both my bike time and my run time were faster than when i did it three years ago when i came third (which suggests the competition is getting tougher) I am looking forward to just doing a few bike rides over the next couple of weeks for enjoyment rather than training. I plan to do Parlee Beach triathlon and Sackville and that may be it. I might do Schubie triathlon in Halifax but i am not sure about that.

Weekend in Vancouver

I am on my way back to PEI after a fun weekend in Vancouver. Prior to leaving last thursday, i had a good open water swim followed by a 5 k run with the tri group. My endurance for multiple legs (ie a swim followed by a run) seems good. I haven't been biking much and a bit nervous about how I will fair in the up coming PEI triathlon. It is a pretty flat course at least. I didn't do any training per se in Vancouver; i did do some water skiing and a vigorous hike up the "grouse grind" which is a 3 k hike up a mountain. I was completely soaked with sweat and my heat was pounding. It is an intense workout. I did a bit of swimming and playing around in my friend, Mark's pool. On wednesday this week, i plan to do a short bike run in stanhope to see how i feel.