Week 41: Review

Weather this week was pretty unpredictable, so I didn't manage to get any of my cycling sessions in as planned. Nearly every day was composed of isolated showers, so while it didn't amount to a whole lot it was enough to make me think twice about getting too far out. I'm likely going to have to take a few more risks in heading out in these circumstances in the future, as the forecasts are showing more of the same for the next week. Tomorrow doesn't look too bad, luckily, so I'm going to try and fit in a long ride (~100km) to make up for the lost mileage this week.

What I should ideally do is grab another rear wheel for my fluid trainer so I can just bring the bike inside on weeks like this. As it stands, however, I need to change out the tire and skewer to switch over and that pretty much means that I only change over when the winter begins in earnest (ie riding outside is largely impossible). Being able to switch between riding on the road and trainer at a whim would help a lot during these transition seasons, as it would allow me to maintain the consistancy of training I'm used to regardless of the weather. Fortunately, there is a bike show in a couple of weeks so I'll keep an eye out for any decent deals.


Fortunately, this type of weather isn't really a problem for running so I managed to get most of those sessions in. I did loose one run on Tuesday, but that was due to scheduling conflicts (a MVP get together surrounding TechDays Toronto) and not so much the weather. To make up for the lost speedwork session, I pushed a little harder than planned on Thursday and added another mile to my long run this morning.

While it has been cool, the humidity has stayed extremely high (usually in the 90% range) despite the rain so it's been difficult to figure out what to wear. I've added a technical t-shirt over my singlet for most of this week, but when it isn't raining that starts to get uncomfortably hot. Unfortunately, the rain is quite cold as well so if it does decide to come down and I don't wear it, I end up freezing. Either way, not a whole lot that can be done about it and fortunately most of my runs are still pretty short due to my recovery so it hasn't been a huge problem. With that said, most people out there likely think I'm insane either way as the general public appears to be getting into the winter mode already (big puffy down coats, toques, etc.) ;)


On the swimming front, I had my first clinic with the Tri swimming group on Monday and it looks like it will be quite helpful. My training until this point was pretty much just a matter of accumulating miles, but as swimming is a lot more dependant on technique than running or cycling, having some properly guided drills should help a lot. I've improved a lot over the last few months, however I've been stuck at the 2:00-2:15/100m pace for a while now so hopefully these clinics will help me accelerate a bit more. Either way, my second session is tomorrow and I'm looking forward to it. One thing I forgot to ask about last week was to get some post swim stretches from the instructor, so I'll have to remember this time around.

Week 41 Totals:
Running: 43.7km (27.2mi)
Walking: 3.2km (2.0mi)
Cycling: 0.0km (0.0mi)
Swimming: 7.5km (4.7mi)
Total: 54.4km (33.8mi)

Year to Date:
Running: 1,992.6km (1,238.1mi)
Walking: 205.6km (127.8mi)
Cycling: 3,172.2km (1,971.1mi)
Swimming: 67.4km (41.9mi)
Total: 5,437.8km (3,378.9mi)

As mentioned above, the weather report for this week is looking just as sketchy as it was last week so fitting in the cycling sessions is going to be tricky. Tomorrow looks pretty good, but the rest of the week is still up in the air and I'm going to have to be flexible about where I fit in the miles.

On the upside, my heart rate is finally starting to fall back into the range it was at before the injury, so I can start pushing the running mileage back up once again. With the Goodlife Marathon in a couple of weeks, I'm still debating whether or not I should bother with the half. My fitness is coming back at this point, but it's still not 100% so I'm not sure that I can beat my previous time. I'm flirting with the idea of just focusing on my base training at this point and worry about racing next season. Either way, I'll try pushing a bit harder this week and make a decision based on how things work out. With that said, this close to the race my decision may be made for me if it sells out ;)

Mon 100K Ride, Swim Clinic
Tue 2mi Swim, 6mi Recovery w/6x100m
Wed 30K Ride (if weather permits), 10K Recovery
Thurs 2.5mi Swim, 8mi GA
Fri 50K Ride
Sat 4mi Recovery, 80K Ride
Sun 14mi (22.5K) LSD