I'm lovin' it

Week 1 of base training has come and gone. Yipeee! It feels SO good to begin "structured" training again. I'm lovin' it!

I skipped my Thurs night ride because I had to study for a midterm on Fri. Bleh.

I will manage my time better this week to fit in all my rides. Week 2 calls for 5hrs 30 min on the bike!


Week 1 by the numbers:
Swim: 4.5 km
Bike: 90.4 km
Run: 11.13 km
H20 run: 30 min


Base Training: Week 2

Mon:
H20: run 35 min
Weights: 45 min

Tues:
Swim: 1500m
Bike: 1 hr (zone 1-2)

Wed:
Run LSD: 1 hr 15 min
Recovery ride: 1 hr (< zone 1)

Thurs:
Swim: 1500m
Bike: 1 hr (ISL drills)

Friday:
Weights: 45 min
Bike: 1 hr (zone 1-2)

Sat: Recovery Day

Sunday:
Swim: 2.0 km
Bike: 1 hr 30 min
Run: 30 min

23 weeks and a wake up

23 weeks and a wake up until The Great White North Triathlon! My A race.... my 1/2 Ironman.



Come this Monday (Jan 21st) the transition phase of my yearly periodization ends and I "officially" begin my base phase training schedule.

These past few months have been a great "transitional" period. I spent lots of time in the saddle building a solid bike base and focused on strengthening my back, shoulders and legs from weight training. I didn't get to run as much as I wanted so I will be incorporating some H20 running into my structured training program.

After a 3 month break, I got back into the pool this past week and have already found my form. My 100m splits are faster by about 10 sec since last spring.... to about 1:50.... and I'm averaging 12-14 strokes per 25m. The UCTC swimming program should really help me take my stroke to the next level.

I kick things off this week.

Workouts consist of:

Base Phase training: Week 1
Mon:
H20 run (40 min)
Weights: 45 min

Tues:
Bike: 1 hr (zone 1 -2)
Swim: 15oom

Wed:
run: LSD (1 hr)

Thurs:
Bike: 1 hr (zone 1-2) SL drills
Swim: 1500m

Fri:
Bike: 1 hr (zone 1-2)
Weights: 45 min

Sat:
H20 run: 30 min (optional)

Sun: Super Sunday
Swim: 1500m
Bike: 1 hr 30 min (zone 1-2)
Run: 30 min

Things to do in Denver when you're dead....

What to do on a day off from training... hmmm....

Ah, I know.... as every home owner is very familiar with.. painting.

I must confess.. I sort of told a fib.. I don't live in Denver and today wasn't a complete day off... early this morning I did a 30 min H20 run at the Y then later that day I did a 1 hr massage after my "painting chores" were done.

My painting chores consisted of "freshening up" my upstairs doors (which are ~ 33 yrs old.. the original doors that came with the house) with a vibrant "pure white" colour and new stainless steel hardware. Oooo the finished product looks très chic, très très chic!

No pics available of the finished product so you have to take my word for it!

I do have a pic of my friend T who helped me today. Poor girl worked her feet off!!

One more week until I "officially" begin my 1/2 IM training program.

Monthly totals thus far.

H20 Run: 60 min

Swimming:	2450 meters	- 01:30:00
Biking:	193.36 kilometers	- 07:36:41
Running:	11.37 kilometers	- 01:34:00

It is all about the bike.....

The first week of 2007 was a prelude of things to come.

This season I am training smarter and more efficiently (to avoid the pit falls from last season [burn out, overtraining syndrome etc] ) by using a Half Ironman training program from Joe Friel on Trainingpeaks.com .


It's going to be a pretty busy winter but I am really looking forward to beginning my 12 week base training program (13-19 hrs /wk) on January 22nd.

My body is feeling great and the past few months of "training to train" have paid off. I took the time to build a solid bike base this fall and am now logging 5 hrs /125 km a week @ zone 1 effort.

Speaking of riding; this season, in addition to competing in Triathlon, I'll be riding for the Speed Theory Cycling Club , as a Cat 5 rider in some local road races, ITT (Individual Time Trials) and TTT (Team Time Trials).

It should be heaps of fun and I'm excited about meeting some new people who share a mutual passion for the bike.