Spring Showers

Training with a broken rib!
"Honey Chrissy" is a badass!!

Thanks everyone for the words of encouragement, motivation and a few swift kicks in the but via FB, twitter and blog comments. Those missed workouts were just one of the many symptoms of my situation.

I had every excuse in the world to not make up for my missed run last night. None of those excuses were worthy though. I waited until the last possible moment and then I switched to 'braindead' mode. Mindlessly prodded myself through the motions, one at a time until I was out the door.

An LSD run to make up for Sunday's missed workout. I was dreading it all day long. That was my first mistake. When I think too far ahead I begin to dread my workout and thus conjure up excuses all day long. Part of my problem was that nagging regret I had for missing Sunday's LSD so it was hard to avoid. This made it waaay harder to get out the door.

While out on my cold, rainy, foggy run in the dark I had a loooong time to think about this rut. Why the heck am I so tired lately? How did it come to this? Sure last week I completely identified that I'm at the peak of the hardest traning set to date. I'm running dangerously close to overtrained, but only slightly, if at all. I also came up with another sound theory - energy cycle. I strongly believe that our bodies run on some kind of energy cyle. We have highs and lows which can be measured across a 6-8 week period(maybe longer). It probably looks like some kind of Sine wave from a mathematics class, and I am willing to bet that my 'cycle' is now approaching the grumpy-mood stage. I am sure I could find some allegedly scientific explanation for it, like some kind of research paper proving what I think but anyone can find a paper to back anything nowadays so I dont put much stock in them. For me, it is personal experience. I have never kept track of my cycle for a very good reason - I do not want to know. Ever. This lack of motivation, exhaustion, exceptional fatigue & sleepiness sucks and if I was able to plot it out on a timeline and see that it happens every '7 weeks' then I would dread it coming. Or subconsiously I would make it happen every 7 weeks. I don't want to have to plan for a suck-cycle, just like I dont want to stress about a race that falls at the bottom of that suck-cycle because how the dates line up. I just dont want to know.
So halfway through my run I am coming up on a beautiful country side road, hidden between valleys, draped in mature trees that make a tunnel-like effect. I am getting wet now, the foggy mist make it hard to see very far and I have made progress mentally trying to identify why I'm struggling with motivation levels.
Then the obvious hits me - my blog post clearly show I was doing just fine until the cold weather returned. As soon as the single-digit temperatures returned I took a turn for the worse with my attitude. It all makes sense now. After a taste of spring, FINALLY, I looked forward to not freezing to death on my workouts yet here I am again scraping the 'just above freezing' mark and I am dreading my workouts. I'm tired of the weather. Its killin' me. This is single-handedly the biggest reason I am struggling. 'Sucking it Up' is getting kind of old for this weather that shouldn't be this sucky.
So on this beautiful country road I determine that if it wasn't for this eerie fog, it wouldn't be as beautiful. Its spring, the birds are singing and that makes me appreciate that not too long ago in these same conditions - the birds were nowhere to be found. Just cold dead endless country road. I could also hear the frogs in the ponds and bogs as I passed by. I drew from this energy around me. I appreciate what I have here, it could be worse.

I reached a point where I could cut straight home and remove a few kilometers from my run. Afterall it was getting dangerously dark out on these sparsely travelled roads. Instead I stayed the course and did the extra loop, and of course my GPS died accordingly. Sure, just as I did the extra and am feeling good that I can brag about a 26km weeknight training run - I now have no proof! hah! Initially I was mad, but then I made the best of it and actually enjoyed running naked. No heartrate data, no pace to constantly monitor. I ran. I felt good unplugging and just listening to my heartbeat and turning my legs at whatever felt good.
This was my chance to remind myself why I am out here. I dont know about you guys but I imagined what it will feel like to run down the finisher's chute. How I would feel when I see my wife, friends and family on the sidelines of the course. How I would feel seeing buddies on the course with me among all the turn arounds, behind me of course. ;)  Most of all I thought back to all the workouts over the winter. The real cold, dark wet ones. I can't help but get emotional thinking about how hard all that winter training was, yet still doing it anyways. I did it. I am done it. I am so close to the light at the end of the tunnel. The race is almost here and now is the time to not crumble in the last 15% of the training plan. Its easy to get complacent and say "I have done enough" and relax on the training plan so soon. Afterall I think I could finish no problem today. But I know in my heart that it's not enough to just finish, I want to finish well and do my best. That means, sticking to the plan and making these workouts count until the Training Plan says otherwise. When the low point of my run arrived and legs started getting tired, joints sore, I had plenty of time to think about where I have come from, the sacrifices and hard work made by my wife and kids. That ignites the passion inside me. It's strange to say it but just thinking about all these things makes me well up and emotional, yeh I may be sniffling a little, maybe even a tear, but its that gets me through those low points. Passion.

Well, that and the face I am just a big baby. lol!

I made good time. 26km in 2:30hrs bang on, thats with some decent hills too! For a training run, a little much but it felt right. I was tired the whole time but just went through the motions and had alot of time to think and clear the mind.

The weather will suck for the entire next week. I can't believe it has continued to rain non-stop like this for so many days in a row. I could tolerate the rain if it wasn't for the cold. A warm rain is something I can wrestle with. A cold rain just makes me want to quit. We'll see how the next few days go.

I originally caught this video from "Honey Brian" over at Training Payne.
HONEY CHRISSY

Slippery Slopes

I've been dreading writing this blog post. It would require me to acknowledge the fact I slipped a bit off the training routine. Nothing surprising there - you miss one workout which turns into two which well, it's a slippery slope....

All in all it could have been worse. I skipped Thursday's planned swim for no good reason other than I didn't feel like it. I did get my Thursday 12km run in so not bad I guess. Friday scheduled rest day, in time for a big non-bike Saturday. Well I did get out and ride, but the training plan called for 6hrs and I only put in 3hrs or so. It was a very wet rainy day and I went for my first cyclocross group ride. The ride kicked off late and the pace was less than adequate but it was a good group of guys so I can't complain. We turned back early due to time contraints and after literally 8 flats later we made it back. The whole time was a misty fog but it was a warm mist! I put in a few extra km's but not enough to make it a good workout. I had to stop at home to fill up the water bottle and sure enough I never made it back out the door as I was chilled to the bone when I cooled off.

Sunday was a whole lot of nothing. It rained hard all day and was cold. I simply didn't not workout at all. I skipped a long run. I'm such a wuss, this is the same day that the Marathons in Toronto were happening so to think all those people braved the weather while I curled up on the couch. Even Brian in Florida and Rodney in Knoxville did a half-Iron in similar conditions. Instead of training we went shopping!

I have had enough of wearing fatman clothes. I am swimming in my pants, you could fit two of me in them. My suits look like parachutes on me. Last week I got fed up and decided that I would go find proper fitting clothes. After 4hrs of shopping I pretty much picked up an entirely new wardrobe for the office. It was tough finding shirts my size, I'm a freak. I specifically needed tall sizes and wanted modern/european/fit cut shirts. Hard to find when the majority of consumers are phatties. It was possible to find a TAll size but I would be swimming in the regular cut. I need something that cut in and fit closer to my waste. I'm sick and tired of wearing parachutes.
I didn't get to wear my new threads to the office today, I still need to get all the pants hemmed. We found some great deals but it still cost many many many hundreds of dollars that I tired to avoid spending all this time but finally had to give in.

This is a recovery week but given I missed yesterday's long run - I intened to go get it done tonight. I have no motivation to do it but I have to get this one done. It is important. This week's schedule will be messed up anyways since we're going up north. I'll be back on a proper training routine next week.

Oh and I guess I should fess up bout the whole bad eating thing too - Harveys, Pizza, Arbys, More Pizza, Candy, Chocolate blah blah blah. I was tired of being hungry and just indulged.

Quick! Someone needs to slap me on the wrist.... I've been a bad boy.

Misquote

Week3 BONK

Well, that has not happened for quite some time now.

In one swift decisive action, ALL the voices in my head had unilaterally agreed with what my body was saying - "Phuck This!".

And that was the end of my workout.

Somewhere around the windy 60Km mark of last night's planned 90Km ride, everything stopped. I turned towards home and barely made it back. My legs were jello, my upper arms were more tired and sore than they have ever been, my mental strength non-existent. I just wanted to get home.

I was hungry.

Yup, somewhere in my non-existent calorie counting mathematical equation I must have forgot to carry a 1 or something and ran out of fuel. Literally. I bonked on a frickin' training ride. Now it wasn't an absolute wall-hitter but definitely a fully certifiable Bonk. The ride was game-over and it took every last ounce of concentration to keep myself moving toward home.

By the time I got home I was too tired to eat. I had a quick peice of lasagna but that didn't do it. I knew it wasn't enough but I was too hungry to be hungry. We made a trip to the grocery store to find something rich in calories to rebuild the energy reserves but nothing could be found. Looking at all that food made me sick to my stomach, I knew I had to eat but I didn't want to. But I did. Ya know what I mean? I guess you had to be there....

Time to bring out the big guns. Pizza. Forget the grocery store and went straight to Domino's. I almost ate the whole Medium pepperoni pizza to myself. The last 3 peices were calling my name but I figured I may have already over-indulged so I let them be.

I suspected I haven't been eating enough with the increased hours of this phase of the training plan. Last night just confirmed it. I'm eating healthy and balanced but simply not enough raw calories. Its hard finding healthy stuff rich in calories that will just get burned off in 24hrs. It also gets really frickin' expensive.

Maybe Pizza and Dairy Queen Blizzards ain't such a bad idea afterall?  :)

Anyhow, I still slipped in about 70km of riding and most of it quality until I blew up. Not a bad night overall but I'm a little worried about recovering from such a thing. How long will it take to replenish my reserves? Do I constantly eat or do I have to top them up over the next couple of days? What should I eat to make it happen? Should I just indulge on something less healthy to just get me jump-started? What about tonights workouts? I have a 13km run and a 3000m swim scheduled. Take it easy? Skip them? Do you think drinking chlorinated pool water has a calorie value? Just incase...

Lucky for me, next week is a recovery week. I'm willing to bet that the last time I felt like this, without an obvious bonk during a workout, was during week 3 of the last set - just before a recovery week. Here I am again, 3 weeks of tough training and I'm reaching my limits. Well, at least I know I haven't been pussy-footin' about on my workouts. I've had another great Set of training weeks!

Need to survive tonights run and swim. Friday recovery day. Then a 6hr bike Saturday and 3hr run on Sunday. Then it is recovery week. Ok, maybe I'm not so close to recovery week after all....

TRAINING

Bike - 2:30hrs

Schedule Finale

Nothing like dropping the axe on the race schedule. Actually, I'm relieved. As June approaches I was worried about how I am going to maintain a proper training program around a bunch of little sprint tri's without getting hurt. For instance - do you do the scheduled 100 Mile bike ride on the Saturday, then RACE the sprint tri on Sunday morning but then still get your long run in Sunday afternoon? Or do you go the other way and use the Saturday for taper to do the race? Now you have essentially skipped a big workout or two.


I don't like messing with routine. Routine is what makes the training program tolerable. A well planned routine removes alot of 'thinking' from the process which makes it 'easier' to execute those workouts even when you don't really want to.

Anyhow, that brings me back to the Axe. Everything has been chopped with the exception of the 'fun' race and a newly placed distance race. I'll be doing the Woodstock Sprint Triathlon since some friends are doing it, and the following weekend is an Olympic distance triathlon which will be my 'tuner' for IMLP. I regret not doing a half-iron earlier in the year. Namely the one that is held this weekend by Rev3. Regardless, I am glad to save the treavelling money as this sport has cost a pretty penney already. We are registered and fully commited to Woodstock and Guelph so no more shuffling of the schedule!
I am a bit worried that doing two races in a row might not be a good idea, but it can't be avoided. I'll make the best of it, beside I dont think I'll be racing all-out at the Olympic since I want to dial-in my pace for an Ironman distance. This will take alot of self discipline since the arch nemesis Rodney will be there, and I have a score to settle after he handed me my a$$ on a silver platter back at IM Muskoka last year. I'll worry about my race gamplan later....
August is still dotted with events but nothing in stone. I dont know if I'll come off IMLP injured so I wont register for anything ahead of time. One of the common mistake people make after their first Ironman is suffer from the 'Ironman Blues'. A form of depression from lack of direction/challenge when you do not have an objective to train for. I have a post-race plan of excitement! I look forward to applying my hard-earned fitness to other sports I am passionate about! I can't wait!

For now, I am relieved to see my June open up to maintain a proper training program. I will miss out on a 200 Mile bike trip since they screwed up the registration. I was really looking forward to that event but I think this worked out for the best. My wife and I can do our own trip, besides I have a new bike with rack mounts which means touring is an option now! We have high quality ultra-light camping equipment that will hopefully stow away in a bike bag, opening up the doors to overnight cycling trips/touring! Nothing planned, yet.


Speaking of routine, last night's routine got messed up. It appear Tuesdays are our son's soccer game so that means Mrs. LoTC will go watch him. In order for me to join the running group, I will have to drive to the gym instead of run. This cuts 5km off my run so I do a bit extra while out with the group which only leaves me with a 3km defecit. To me, thats alot to be missing. I'm not sure how to make this work, this may require me not to run with the group Tuesday nights. Not the end of the world as I have nagging thoughts in the back of my mind to go do more hills on my own. I just allowed myself to cut those few km's out of last nights run since I needed a lighter training load. Coming off a big weekend of training I still put in an extremely intense bike ride Monday night. I find myself pushing really hard on the bike, I enjoy it but not every workout should be a hammerfest. I put a solid swim in after my run but allowed myself to cut 10 minutes off the workout to get some sauna time before the pool closed.

I'm looking forwad to next week's recovery week.

TRAINING:

Bike - 2:00hrs (Monday)
Run - 0:45hrs
Swim - 0:50hrs

Mothers Day 2011

My new chainring arrived. Replacing the 46t on the cross bike with a 50t so I can hopefully hold pace with group road rides which I have yet to do. At least now I am ready! I can't wait!!




Mothers day was a beautiful spring trail jog in Dundas Valley. Surprisingly there were not many people on the trail as I had expected! I had a great run which included a ton of steep hills. We finished the run off with a coffee at Domestique Cafe which is becoming a regular stop for us!

After a brief tanning session in the backyard by the closed pool, I finally got around to installing the new HID kit that arrived last week.

The old bulbs are still good, but one of the transformers was flaking out. I'll keep them and put them to good use somewhere. I'm just not too sure where yet.

I was a bit sore from the previous day's 180Km bike ride so sitting on the concrete and rolling around on the ground working in tight spaces was just what I needed. Not.





Someone had the bright idea to go get ice cream in the evening. The line-up was huge and the sun went down long before we got serverd. We all huddled around a table outdoors shivering as we inhaled our cold treats. We would have ate them in the car but things are a bit ummm squishy. When we bought the car we needed something sporty but with a 'backseat' just in case. The backseat in this thing can barely fit a childseat but its extremely rare it gets used so I don't care. I had to test out the new lights so we crammed 5 adults into this thing lol!

... Into THIS.

Fit these....

The kids made breakfast and chored around the house so for there rewards we crushed them into the backseat and went for 'healthy' icecream.

Mothers Day.
Child Labour Approved.

Modeling FAIL.
U'd think after watching so much
America's Next Top Model she
would have learned something by now?

I approve of Candid Modeling.

TRAINING

Bike - 180Km

Hilly Trail Run - 14Km

Week 29 Review

It could be worse...
OK, maybe not.

Is that ALL you got?!

Pssshhhh, I thought this JPO Training Program was going to be hard or something? The biggest week to date and I'm cruisin' along with a smile.

This was the first week of half-decent weather. That made it a bit easier to get the workouts in, with a little extra to take advantage of the good weather incase it disappeared the next day. This left me with alot more extra by the time the week finished. I tacked on an additional 2hrs that were not supposed to be there. I'm not complaining, yet. The next week calls for some big numbers and by going too hard this week, I may pay my disobedience the following week. Just making the best of some nice weather in the short term incase the weather goes bad again.

I love that there is enough sunlight in the evening to put together a couple hours of solid riding. This helps make it easier to hit those training goals. The part that nags me in the back of my mind is that I haven't been getting any mountain biking in. MTB helps me build strength and just the same I dont want my l33t technical skills to go rusty. There's already a bit of cobwebs on them judging by my last ride from the previous week. I'm not sure where I am going to find the time or energy. I can make the time, even with a 17hr training week, but the hard part is the energy. I can't just make energy as this training program leaves me with little extra in reserve.

With only one week of hard training left before a recovery week - I am going to promise myself some serious off-road fun on my recovery week. In the meantime I need to stick to the plan and finish this set strong. I was absolutely exhausted after my long ride on Saturday, to the point where I felt ill. I've been pushing hard on my workouts when in some cases I should be pacing myself - I think if I incorporate some group rides with 'better paced' riders, it might just do me some good. It can't be hammer time all the time.

Oh and I got one Brick workout in which is m first of the year. What a joke, no problem whatsoever. It only took 10 minutes to bring the HR down but only because I forced myself too. I felt like a rocket blasted off after transition and bolted out too fast. It felt good, but probably not the smartest thing to do during a race. Regardless, I need to practice more.

TRAINING: (Set 8, Week 2 - Performance Phase)

Swim - 1:50hrs
Bike - 10:45hrs (302Km incl/ 43Km Cyclocross Trail)
Run - 4:00hrs (41Km incl/ 14km Hill Trail Run)

TOTAL - 16:30hrs (350Km)

TI Swim

I had a good time at the pool knowing that the next day was a rest day. The workout started out a bit slow but then a new face showed up in the lane beside me and then it was game on! It was clear to me that he has some T.I. swim technique going on, very smooth, very efficient and very fast! We were matched for speed, except he did flip turns so I had to push a little harder between laps. Our pool doesn't have many fast swimmers so it was refreshing to have some fun competition for a change! An added bonus was that he didn't stop every couple laps, he held his speed continuous like I do. I had to commend him on his awesome swimming ability, I was impressed! I'm not the greatest swimmer, but I don't suck at it either. I was humbled by the experience, even though I still out swam him by a mere 2 seconds per lap :) It took me awhile, but eventually I lapped him. What a crazy workout!


The scary part was, I told my wife I think he is an older version of me. His swim stroke looked exactly the same as mine which if you seen it - is unique. He even wore the same dorky tinted swim mask as me! What are the odds? There was a bit of ummm 'thinning out' of the hair on top his head, so I was pretty sure I was swimming beside the futuristic me that came back in time to tell me something important. Like tomorrow's lottery number or something. I sparked up some conversation after the swim to acknowledge the fun in the pool, but he didn't have lottery numbers or betting advice. He said he wasn't a triathlete and he was just trying to self-teach himself T.I. swimming. Damn. He sucks at lieing too, now I am CERTAIN that was an older version of me.

Earlier in the evening was our standard run with the Road Rebel running group. This running group thing is working out well! I've found a few runners who are just outside my comfort-zone pace and are leading me to the next level of running. My goal was just to maintain my run, so I'm still keeping it slow on the longer runs. I dont want to risk injury, I'm still feeling a bit of shin splin returning last night. Just tenderness for now, nothing critical.

TRAINING:

Run - 1:00hrs
Swim - 1:00hrs

Long Days

The days are clearly getting longer. I had just enough time to slip a 2.5hr bike ride in after a day at the office! Followed by my first Brick run this year. I keep meaning to get them in but I keep forgetting. All I can think of is a hot shower and meal after my rides, running completely escaped me.

For you Morons that complain that others
shouldn't bitch if they did NOT vote:
NOT VOTING *IS* VOTING.
Not all parties have reps in all regions. Get over yourselves.

So the bike ride itself was intense. I kept a moderate pace with a decent headwind and threw in some climbing to make sure my legs were spent by the time I got home. I was quick in transition, I didn't even bother taking my bike clothes off, I ran with my cycling bib short which looked quite dorky. Even the wife warned me to be careful since I might get beat up for looking so dorky. Luckily, I can hopefully outrun any bullies that cross my path :)

Anyhow, immediately off the start I felt great! I held a 4:45min/km and it felt natural. My HR was high, obviously because of my quicker pace but also from the excitement of a quick transition. I wanted to slow down to get my HR lower but that fast pace just felt great, so I gave it a few minutes before slowing down. This gave my legs a chance to stretch out after a 'long' bike. In the end my speed never slowed down much, I held a pace that would not be sustainable for any more than an hour but my legs just would not listen. I just went by feeling and checedk my Garmin from time to time. This is the first Brick afterall so I wanted to do what felt good, not what was 'right'. After about 10 minutes I could see my HR starting to come down and I had more control over my legs, I still didn't slow down though since the road was a slight downhill, but regardless I figure a few more of these are needed to dial-in my perceived efforts.

Honestly I don't see what all the fust is about. Brick runs dont bother me much, but thats easy to say after a 80km ride. I'll try again after a century ride and see what happens. Last year I didn't do any Brick runs leading up to Ironman Muskoka and I had no problems with the transition - but that is not a fair example since I was borderline Hypothermic coming off the bike, and my run resembled more of a shuffle than anything back then.

TRAINING:

Bike - 2:30hrs (80km)
Run - 0:15hrs (First Brick)

Bright Moves

DELIVERY!

Its getting even more real!

Last week was booking the hotel for Ironman Lake Placid. Today I registered the wife to join me for the Athlete Banquet Dinner on the Friday night! I guess I could take her with me... :)

The SECRET to weight loss

I'm hoping my new all-time low number is an indication of my training plan being on track - I weighed in at 169.6lbs today. Yay me! I think I'm starting to look skinny too. None of my clothes fit me anymore, my pants wont stay up and I just notched down to the last hole on the new belt I bought in the winter when I ran out of holes on the last one I had! Things are looking good!

Its all coming together for Mrs. LoTC too. Her first Half-Ironman is a couple weeks before my race! We got accomodations finalized thanks to some awesome friends that will have us up for the weekend at their cottage, just down the road from the race! With her race approaching fast - She's scared straight now and putting in some serious training. Her training consists mostly of Making my breakfasts & lunches & dinners, doing my laundry, especially the endless pile of workout clothes, and taking care of the kids and a full-time career. Sometimes she manages to slip a swim/bike/run inbetween that hectic training schedule.

4300K to replace 5000K

The wife put in a 35km ride in last night while I put in a 1.5hrs cyclocross ride on the railtrails. I really like the resistance from the trail, my heartrate stays low but my legs are pushing hard. Good strength building I think! Mrs. LoTC beat me home so she had dinner ready for me by the time I got back. I am the luckiest PFG EVAR! She's an IRONbabe for sure!

Last friday a new toy showed up in the mail. I haven't had time to install it yet. I'm hoping for some warmer weather. Regardless I'm replacing our current HID lights with new ones. Our car was limping along on one light for awhile now, one of the transformers is flakey and it comes and goes. Lately its done more 'going' than 'coming'. So far, we haven't been pulled over - luckily.

TRAINING

Bike - 1:30hrs

Weekend Training
Bike - 4:30hrs
Run - 2:10hrs

April 2011 Totals

April 2011 Monthly Totals
Swim: 5:40hrs
Bike: 36:00hrs (864Km incl. 12hrs Trail Cross/MTB) 
Run: 12:11hrs (133Km)

Total: 54:00hrs

~1014Km 31Activities

Week 28 Review

I'm glad to be back at a full week of training! The week started out with thunderstorms and heavy rain but that did not deter me from getting it done. I had a soggy couple of days, I am so glad I got that Cyclocross bike because now I have no excuse to miss a ride due to weather. I can leave the clean tri bike at home and go beat up the cross bike on wet roads or muddy trails instead, this works out great!

The weather co-operated nicely by mid week and I hit some perfect workouts, including an extended ride on the trails during the best weather this year to date! I cut the first run of the week short to give me a chance to adequately guage the status of my shin splint. By the end of the week I was back running like normal. Small bit of tenderness present but no noticable pain. I'll just keep icing it and doing my alpha-foots (Thanks Anne-Marie!)

My long bike on the weekend was a tad bit weaker than I had in mind. I rode with some local triathletes for the first time and the pace was much slower than what I am used to. I am not complaining though, it was great having company and getting to know fellow tri-dorks. If anything this was a good lesson in how to pace myself properly, which is something I still struggle to learn. I followed the ride up with some bad eating and a late night watching UFC. I paid for it the next day and had a hard time getting out the door. I missed the nice weather in the morning and had to run through the rain in the afternoon as punishment so hopefully that will motivate me for next time I waver from getting up to do workout.

Looking forwad I see a desperate need to get Brick runs done. I still haven't done any, I've been lazy. I still haven't figured a routine to incorporate strength training either. One thing at a time though, those bricks need my full attention first!

TRAINING: (Set 8, Week 1 - Performance Phase)

Swim - 2:00hrs
Bike - 9:00hrs (226Km incl/ 105Km Cyclocross Trail)
Run - 4:00hrs  (40Km)

TOTAL - 15:00hrs (272Km)