It's Been a While

I haven't had time to make many entries on here. I have been training quite a bit for 2 events this summer: Ironman Tremblant 70.3 and the full Ironman in August at the same place. My training is going well. I have cycled about 1400 outdoor k this spring. I haven't raced at all so my intensity hasn't been high but my endurance and strength is good. I have been doing a lot of long runs and I think my running is better than it has been in while. Last year I worked on speed with some success but didn't do much long running and had a hard run in the one half-ironman I did last spring. I have been feeling very lately on my long runs. Yesterday i did a very hilly 16-17 k around New Glasgow and if i had more time, easily could have kept going. I feel that I am further along than I was at this time last year. My swimmingis pretty strong as I do that fairly hard all year. I need to work a bit on distance as I fade a bit at around 3000 metres. I am actually enjoying not racing much. Last year I did something like 13 races and basically wore myself out. This year I am trying to concentrate on just a few.

Otherwise, things are good. Busy at work. I have finished construction of a new pool at my house which is more for leisure than for training.

tucson 2012

i have been slack about writing on this blog. I have been in Tucson for the past 5 days, cycling. the weather has been great; it is cool in the morning and warms up to about 75 degrees in the afternoon. I have cycled everyday for the last five days; i have run a couple of times and swam once. I plan to cycle again tomorrow. I have been doing around 80k per day, a little more or less. I am finding my way around better this year.

I am staying at a very nice hotel called "Lodge on the Desert." I have a suite with a king size bed, fireplace and jucuzzi tub (which i haven't used) There is not much to do here in the evening. Aside from the weather and beautiful scenery, I don't really think one would come here for culture. there are some museums and art galleries but they are not a focal point. The city itself is not that attractive; it suffers from bad urban sprawl for miles. It is not walkable at all. There are strip malls everywhere and the city is very spread out. New York City probably has 10 times as many people and you could walk from one end of Manhattan to another. I went to go to a bar the other night and it was a $25 cab ride each way. It is crazy.

Fitness wise, I am not sure if I am more or less fit than this time last year. My opinion on that varies depending on the day. In some ways, I feel like it takes a bit more out of me to train like I do. On the other hand, I run on the treadmill right now at faster speeds than I did 10 years ago. My swimming and cycling continue to be quite strong. I am planning on doing fewer races this summer and more running races. I find I only have so much competitive spirit to last one season and if I do too many races, I tend to losse it by the end of the summer. By the time I got to the world age group championships last year in September, I was mentally done. This year, my biggest race will be Ironman Tremblant so I am going to try to focus more on that.

Home Renos

This past fall I have had two major renos going at both houses- pool construction in New Glasgow and major renovation at my place in Charlottetown. It just occured to me today that it has had a bit of an effect on my training. It has taken some of my time but also my mental energy a bit. The good news is that the renos are almost over. I have been swimming regularly all fall and running 2 or three times a week. Prior to Christmas, I thought my running endurance was pretty good. I had been running alot around New Glasgow. Since then, it has decreased a bit. I have been doing yoga 2 or 3 times a week which is really a mental break. I have been doing spin class once a week but am having a hard time getting going on my trainor. I am going to Tucson in about a month and should be doing a bit of cycling in preparation. Otherwise, I am looking forward to the spring. My first big race is Mount Tremblant 70.3 in June.

Injured

I went for a long run a week ago around New Glasgow and I have had a very sore hip ever since. I was wearing fairly old sneakers which could be part of the problem. It was also a very hilly route. I am not sure what the exact cause is. I took most of last week off and then ran for about an hour yesterday. My hip is still sore but not as bad. I am going to buy new sneakers this week to see if that helps. I also wonder if I have over stretched things by doing yoga too agressively. I think that is also possible. Otherwise, I am hoping to get back to my routine and also start doing more indoor spinning. I need to get my trainor set up for the winter. I purchased a new cyclo cross bike and i hope to use it a bit outdoors this winter. It is hard to believe that i will be heading to Tucson in about 2 and a half months for cycling. It helps make for a shorter winter.

enthusiasm returning?

I think my enthusiasm for working out is returning a bit after being a bit low through september and october. I am swimming twice a week and feel ready to up that to three times a week. I have been running two or three times a week and feeling pretty good when I run. I ran 15 k this past sunday and that didn't feel too bad. I am back doing yoga about three times a week and I think that is still good for my flexibility and overall health. I am teaching a spin class once a week and feeling like I will try to cycle a bit outdoors if the weather premits it. I am booked to go to Tucson in february for a week of cycling so i would like to keep my cycling fitness up as much as possible. I am also signed up for both a half ironman and full ironman next summer.

Home renos

This has been a busy fall for home renos and it has cut into my training a bit; I have been building a new pool in New Glasgow; had new floors installed in New Glasgow and have ripped out an old bathroom and kitchen in Charlottetown and building a new bathroom. I am also supposed to have some work done at 46 Prince. It seems like alot but I didn't intend to have it all done at once.

In terms of triathlons, I am starting to plan for next year. I am doing Mount Tremblant 70.3 in June next year and an ironman there in August. I am booked to go to Tucson in February to go cycling. I would also like to qualify for the age group world championships in London in 2013 (the qualifying race is next year) Work is busy as usual which is good. I am swimming about 2 days a week but not very intensely. I have run twixe this week so far for about 40 mins each and have done two hot yoga classes.I am taching spinning on Saturdays. I haven't been biking outside for about a month. I would like to go once or twice more before the winter. I have cycled more than 3000 k this summer which I think is quite a bit.

Taking it Easy

Since the ITU Worlds, I have been taking it relatively easy. I have been doing hot yoga; have started teaching spin classes on Saturday mornings. I have been swimming just once a week, doing drills. I haven't run much but will get back at it soon. It seems like a break when I only do one workout per day. This week, I went for a long hike with some friends on Sunday; I did hot yoga three times, swm once etc...

On the home front, my swimming pool in New Glasgow is nearly complete but it is a little too late in the season to use it. It will be ready for use in the spring. There is also a whirlpool that I can use all winter. Otherwise, work is busy but good. I am taking my mother to Maine for Thanksgiving weekend and looking forward to that.