On My Own

I will be on my own until the end of June. Donna and Madison left for the Okanagan on Thursday and will be there until the end of August. The first thing I noticed was how much busier you are when you are living on your own. I am enjoying the quite but I realize that it will be a bit lonely. Think it is great that Donna is enjoying our place in Kelowna though. We have enjoyed our condo over the last three years but have decided to try and sell it this summer. House prices are very attractive at this time and we would really like to have our own home in the Okanagan. If things work out it will be great to have the space for both family and friends.

Today was a good training day. A half ironman bike run simulation was on the schedule and it went pretty well. The 90K bike took 2:47 and felt I could have gone harder. The heart rate was in the 128 -135 BPM range for most of the ride. The only problem was a little tightness in the top area of the hamstrings but I think that is due to the first long ride in the aero position. The run was broken up into 8K race pace – 2K easy – 8K race pace with a 3K cool down. I was able to run the 8K efforts with a 135BPM heart rate and think I can do the half marathon at the pace. I was please how good I felt off the bike. I still think I have more left on the bike and am wondering how I can get that possible extra effort to the surface.

Some Times I Wonder

Yesterday was another tough day. I am at the point in my training where missing a long session is not a wise thing to do.

After my swim I headed out for my four hour ride. The initial plan was to park on the north side of the city. As I pulled into the parking lot, the skies looked ominous so I decided to head to Birds Hill Park instead of getting caught in the middle of nowhere in bad weather when it was -2. That turned to be a good decision. Thirty minutes into the ride it started to snow and the intensity increased to the point where I could actually see my tire tracks behind me. I ended up getting soaked from head to toe and had water sloshing around in my booties. Thankfully the skies cleared over the next hour. I stopped at the car, dried my feet, jabbed some nutrition and finished the ride under sunny skies. When I finished I almost talked myself out of the run that was on my schedule but guilt forced me to complete the thirty minutes. I am really looking forward to doing a long workout in warm weather

Another Cold One

Usually at this time of the year the phase used in the title would apply to a liquid contained in a brown bottle. But unfortunately this year it applies to the weather were experiencing during the spring of 2009. After a few decent few days this past week where I actually rode in shorts, yesterday's ride was a killer. I was joined by a triathlete who is new to Winnipeg and we started off at 9:00AM. The temp was -1C and only got to +2 when I finished 4 hours latter. The new guy was not impressed and pretty cold. He is from southern Ontario and does not have the clothing to enjoy a spring ride in Manitoba.

The workout went pretty well. It continued with the short hard sprints that Scott started me doing earlier in the week. Then big some big gear workout. The coach loves it, I hate it but know it will pay dividends when I relocate to the Okanagan in July. A three plus hour ride was followed by a 25 minute run which felt great.

I am enjoying Scott’s approach and feel that he is focusing on my specific needs. The program is much more balance compared to what I followed in the past. Instead of the weekends being the focus, the workload is much more balanced over the week. I am doing less long rides but still getting the hours on the bike. He has me doing more running during the week and am doing about 3-4000 more meters in the water per week. Injury wise the body seems to be holding up. The recurring left hip problem has reminded me of the importance that stretching is and I have incorporated a 30 min stretch into my day.

Cold and Brutal Winds

Jim Thomas and I rode the IMC course today minus the out and back. It was a cold day and the wind was brutal and head on once we started up Richter. The legs started to stiffen when I got to Keremeos but seemed to loosen when I started the Yellow Lake climb. There was snow along the side of the road at the top of Yellow Lake and for some strange reason the traffic was summer like. Six hours and 150 KM is a pretty respectable effort for this time of year but I think I am going to pay the price tomorrow. Getting out of bed may be a challenge.

Four Days Down

I am on a week break in Kelowna and it is full of training eating and sleeping. I just completed the 4th day of my first major ironman training block. Coach Scott has scheduled a total of 32 hours this week which should be interesting. I arrive on Friday evening and started the block on Saturday. The last 4 days have broken down as follows:

• Saturday: 4000m swim, 2.5 hour bike, 30 min. run
  
• Sunday: 5 hour bike, 40 min. Run 
  
• Monday: 3600m swim, 3 hour bike
  
• Tuesday: 45 min bike, 1 hour run (recovery day)
  

So far the body is holding up very well. Other than straying slightly last night I have been conscientious about sleep and nutrition. It seems to be paying off as I am recovering very well. No muscle aches or pains either even after doing more than an hour of climbing yesterday. The next three days will be rather huge as long as the weather holds out. The highlight of the week will be riding the Ironman Canada bike course on Thursday.



After a terrible Manitoba winter it is wonderful to be in the Okanagan. The weather is not stellar and is on the cool side but I left 25cm snow drifts behind in Winnipeg. This week will give me a huge jump on my IMC preparation and the only down side is it looks like I will be back on the trainer for a while when I return home on Monday.

The big decision this trip was to put our condo in Kelowna on the market. If it sells then we will buy a home here, sell our place in Winnipeg and rent something until we are done with Manitoba. Another one of life’s interesting journeys.

Now this is crazy..

And I thought coming off of Richter Pass at 80+ KPH was nuts.

Recovery Week and Then...

I am starting my first recovery week since Christmas. I have finished a hard block and now it is time to get ready for training camp. Scott has a 32 hour week planned for me. It will include a 3, 5 and 6 hour ride and a 4500m swim. I will need to make sure that I stretch every day as well as eat a lot of high quality protein and carbs. Should be an interesting week.