It's been a while since I last checked in, only because things have been pretty busy...including some training. I'm pretty pumped to say that I've been consistent over the last 12 weeks and even accumulating some training stress on my schedule. For those of you who have forgotten, my calendar includes two events for the season: Rev Three Quassy Half in June and Ironman at Mont Tremblant in August.
Normally I like to show up at races ready to crush it, but this year is going to be different. Rather than focusing on peak fitness and race-based performance, I am using these events as a motivation to get myself back into shape.
Baby Steps...
My body continues to hold up. I continue to stress to everyone that nothing is technically wrong. Something just isn't quite right.
I have been running about 12 miles a week and cycling 80 to 100 miles a week for two months. I have found that I continue to need pretty good recovery time and patience with the harder efforts. My bike fit from Todd at TTbikefit.com continues to hold true. I feel great on the bike indoors and out which is a huge improvement. I do feel a little out of sorts at higher intensities, almost as if my left side is a little bit weaker than the right. So I will continue to monitor that.
The run training has been good at what I would consider to be steady-state paces. For comparison I'm running about 20 seconds per mile slower than what I used to run...but hell I am running! :-) My goal is to maintain that run consistency and continue to be super conservative with the run mileage.
With the Blue Ridge Training Camp coming up at the end of this month, I am highly incentivized to get my bike fitness into order. I took the unusual step (for me) upgrading some components on my road bike to a compact crank and electronic shifting with the SRAM Red etap group. I think it's time to stop grinding up 45-minute climbs at 50 RPMs.
Since we last checked in, I have added the VASA Ergometer (ANT+ model) to my training. You will be able hear a podcast interview with the CEO on our channel here as of April 5th. This has been a phenomenal addition to my training regimen. Even though I have simple access to a pool and a very flexible schedule, I have found myself "swimming" every day between 500 and 750 yards. That means I am putting in the equivalent of to two "full" swim sessions per week within the comfort of my own home in very short bursts. I have noticed improvements with my swim stroke when I do hit the pool because it's easier to compare how I felt on the VASA with the water. I am also seeing some increased speed as well. I feel very confident that this will continue to trickle down into the rest of my stroke and I look forward continue using the VASA over the rest of this season.
Many of you have reached out to me about your own injuries and challenges and I want to thank you for sharing your story and wish you the best of luck! Now that I'm over the age of 40 I've learned that taking care of your body whether you're injured or not is simply mandatory if you have expectations around performance. This is new for me but I'm working on it and I hope you are enjoying working on it as well.
I will check back in assuming that I survive our Blue Ridge Training Camp early next month!!
Happy training,
~ Coach P