The arrival of the Heritage Day long weekend was accompanied by the countdown to IMC reaching the "twenties" (27 days away today). Which of course meant three things...training, training and training. Dezz is still working out of town, which makes a dedicated training weekend easier on the relationship. I did, however, have to sacrifice Ava's first birthday picnic. (Sorry Ava, tito David still loves you).
Mentally, Friday felt like it should have been a holiday too, so I'll start of with Thursday evening. In place of our Swim-Run at Talisman, Grant arranged for us to get in an open water swim at Lake Bonavista (thanks Tushar). After slipping (ok, struggling) into my wetsuit and swim cap, I jumped into the water and was amazed at how warm the water was. I suddenly recalled my first ever open water swim (not a hey, look at me doggie paddling and splashing around in the water with my family before I go eat some sandwiches and chips kind of an open water swim, but a real hey look at me exhaling in this cold, dark liquid and moving myself forward in a semi-straight line kind of an open water swim) at Arbour Lake 4 years ago. The water temp was approximately 4 degrees Celsius above freezing and I vividly remember Irene and I both sticking our faces in the water for approximately 0.007 seconds before lifting our heads out simultaneously and stating our intent to withdraw from the upcoming triathlon. Compared to that day, Bonavista was paradise. Being my first OWS since Chinook, this really helped to put my mind at ease. I felt quite confident and Grant passed on a few tips about siting which made for a very positive experience.
On Friday night, I met Rick and his friend out at Telephone Loop in Bragg Creek for a trail run. Telephone Loop is about 16km of ups, downs, mud, water, and beautiful forests... go do it if you ever get the chance. Starting with a moderate uphill climb, I ran much of the route at my own pace (Rick stuck back with Treena to fight off any cougars, bears, or ornery raccoons) and really pushed on the uphills. I enjoy trail running as it provides interval training and a great core workout without even thinking about it. At the 11km mark I hurdled a big puddle, landed on a rock and rolled my left ankle. Oh oh. I guess this is the downside of trail running when you're as clumsy as I am. The ankle held up for the last 5km of the run. I was happy with my run effort, but it wasn't a true reflection of my fitness as I did have 3 rest stops while waiting for Treena. (From now until after IMC, I'm only running with people faster than me). I carried a bottle of water with me, but didn't take in any nutrition. As for the ankle, ice and elevation on Friday night meant that I was good to go again Saturday (as I type this now, the ankle is back to 100%).
Saturday was a great training day. Rick and I headed out to Highway 1A and rode return Banff to Lake Louise ski resort. Our set was 55 min E1/E2, 3 x 30 mins E3 with 5 min recovery, 55 mins E1/E2. Over the 102km and 3h 25mins, the temperature probably averaged about 25C. I took in 2 bottles of water and a bottle of Powerbar Perform along with 3 gels and an energy bar. Immediately after the bike, we hit a trail for a 35 minute run. The trail was a steep uphill, so although the legs kept moving, a high cadence and driving the knees forward seemed almost impossible. I held back a bit on the fast descent due to my ankle injury the previous night. Overall though, I was happy with the way the legs felt once I returned to the van. About 30 minutes later, we were pulling on the wetsuit and jumping into the Quarry for a quick 1000m swim. Once again, it may not have been fast but the open water swim felt comfortable. I only hope this feeling keeps up come race day. Paninis, soup and ice cream were well deserved for lunch.
The Common concert kept me up late Saturday night, but waking up for another day in the saddle on Sunday was much easier than waking up for work any other day of the week. After meeting at Glenmore Reservoir to watch a couple (literally) of runners at Calgary 70.3, Rick and I headed out to Highwood Pass. We parked at the south gate and started up the less steep but longer climb to the summit. The 38km climb took 2 hours. The 17km descent took 23 minutes. As the descent offers an active recovery, we just turned around and headed back up the pass. We managed the 17km ascent just shy of the hour mark, and then the 38km descent back to the car took 1h 2mins. We had planned for a 5 hour day in the saddle, so we were quite happy to do the 108km effort in under 4.5 hours. Temperatures were 30C at the base (and a balmy 20C even at the summit), so I was glad to have my 4 bottles of hydration to wash down 3 gels, a PB-Jam wrap and an energy bar.
I was looking forward to my recovery ride come Monday morning. Jenn couldn't make it out with us today, so once again my partner in crime and I set off. A 95km route west on Hwy 22 to Millarville and back along Road to Nepal offered a challenging recovery ride. Through the first 1 hour, I was struggling to get the legs firing on all cylinders. My legs slowly started to wake up as the ride went on. And after picking up a roadie who continually sucked our back wheels without wanting to take a turn pulling at the front, I suddenly found the energy to put the hammer down and pick up the pace. Rick is riding phenomenally right now, so he had no problems pushing the pace with me. Yes, it should have been an E2 ride today, but sometimes the conditions just force you to ride harder. And I know my coach would approve! By the time we hit the hills of Road to Nepal, my legs were spinning the way they should be. A few more intensity rides and a big distance ride next weekend, but this weekend did a lot for my confidence in the saddle. I am however, looking forward to a swim tomorrow. I may not even kick!
Does anyone even make it through 6 paragraphs of my rambling? I really need to do these earlier in the evening so I'm functional enough to edit.
Mentally, Friday felt like it should have been a holiday too, so I'll start of with Thursday evening. In place of our Swim-Run at Talisman, Grant arranged for us to get in an open water swim at Lake Bonavista (thanks Tushar). After slipping (ok, struggling) into my wetsuit and swim cap, I jumped into the water and was amazed at how warm the water was. I suddenly recalled my first ever open water swim (not a hey, look at me doggie paddling and splashing around in the water with my family before I go eat some sandwiches and chips kind of an open water swim, but a real hey look at me exhaling in this cold, dark liquid and moving myself forward in a semi-straight line kind of an open water swim) at Arbour Lake 4 years ago. The water temp was approximately 4 degrees Celsius above freezing and I vividly remember Irene and I both sticking our faces in the water for approximately 0.007 seconds before lifting our heads out simultaneously and stating our intent to withdraw from the upcoming triathlon. Compared to that day, Bonavista was paradise. Being my first OWS since Chinook, this really helped to put my mind at ease. I felt quite confident and Grant passed on a few tips about siting which made for a very positive experience.
On Friday night, I met Rick and his friend out at Telephone Loop in Bragg Creek for a trail run. Telephone Loop is about 16km of ups, downs, mud, water, and beautiful forests... go do it if you ever get the chance. Starting with a moderate uphill climb, I ran much of the route at my own pace (Rick stuck back with Treena to fight off any cougars, bears, or ornery raccoons) and really pushed on the uphills. I enjoy trail running as it provides interval training and a great core workout without even thinking about it. At the 11km mark I hurdled a big puddle, landed on a rock and rolled my left ankle. Oh oh. I guess this is the downside of trail running when you're as clumsy as I am. The ankle held up for the last 5km of the run. I was happy with my run effort, but it wasn't a true reflection of my fitness as I did have 3 rest stops while waiting for Treena. (From now until after IMC, I'm only running with people faster than me). I carried a bottle of water with me, but didn't take in any nutrition. As for the ankle, ice and elevation on Friday night meant that I was good to go again Saturday (as I type this now, the ankle is back to 100%).
Saturday was a great training day. Rick and I headed out to Highway 1A and rode return Banff to Lake Louise ski resort. Our set was 55 min E1/E2, 3 x 30 mins E3 with 5 min recovery, 55 mins E1/E2. Over the 102km and 3h 25mins, the temperature probably averaged about 25C. I took in 2 bottles of water and a bottle of Powerbar Perform along with 3 gels and an energy bar. Immediately after the bike, we hit a trail for a 35 minute run. The trail was a steep uphill, so although the legs kept moving, a high cadence and driving the knees forward seemed almost impossible. I held back a bit on the fast descent due to my ankle injury the previous night. Overall though, I was happy with the way the legs felt once I returned to the van. About 30 minutes later, we were pulling on the wetsuit and jumping into the Quarry for a quick 1000m swim. Once again, it may not have been fast but the open water swim felt comfortable. I only hope this feeling keeps up come race day. Paninis, soup and ice cream were well deserved for lunch.
The Common concert kept me up late Saturday night, but waking up for another day in the saddle on Sunday was much easier than waking up for work any other day of the week. After meeting at Glenmore Reservoir to watch a couple (literally) of runners at Calgary 70.3, Rick and I headed out to Highwood Pass. We parked at the south gate and started up the less steep but longer climb to the summit. The 38km climb took 2 hours. The 17km descent took 23 minutes. As the descent offers an active recovery, we just turned around and headed back up the pass. We managed the 17km ascent just shy of the hour mark, and then the 38km descent back to the car took 1h 2mins. We had planned for a 5 hour day in the saddle, so we were quite happy to do the 108km effort in under 4.5 hours. Temperatures were 30C at the base (and a balmy 20C even at the summit), so I was glad to have my 4 bottles of hydration to wash down 3 gels, a PB-Jam wrap and an energy bar.
I was looking forward to my recovery ride come Monday morning. Jenn couldn't make it out with us today, so once again my partner in crime and I set off. A 95km route west on Hwy 22 to Millarville and back along Road to Nepal offered a challenging recovery ride. Through the first 1 hour, I was struggling to get the legs firing on all cylinders. My legs slowly started to wake up as the ride went on. And after picking up a roadie who continually sucked our back wheels without wanting to take a turn pulling at the front, I suddenly found the energy to put the hammer down and pick up the pace. Rick is riding phenomenally right now, so he had no problems pushing the pace with me. Yes, it should have been an E2 ride today, but sometimes the conditions just force you to ride harder. And I know my coach would approve! By the time we hit the hills of Road to Nepal, my legs were spinning the way they should be. A few more intensity rides and a big distance ride next weekend, but this weekend did a lot for my confidence in the saddle. I am however, looking forward to a swim tomorrow. I may not even kick!
Does anyone even make it through 6 paragraphs of my rambling? I really need to do these earlier in the evening so I'm functional enough to edit.
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