I thought about calling in sick today. Instead, as soon as I got to work, I got a call from my Mum’s tenant about problems at the house. I ended up having to take the day off to get things fixed. On the way over, I managed to fit in a swim at Watermania. It’s sure a nice change to swim in the 50m pool.
warmup of 200f, 50breast, 100p, 2 x 50k, 50f
1 x 20min – 1km
4 x 50, 1 x 100 with 30sR
cooldown 100 choice
Torbin and I went to the Canucks game tonight. Thanks, Benny, we had a great time!
stupid early
10-15min ride to Thompson Community Centre
20 min run
35 min gym workout
10 min stretchstill early, but not so stupid
bike commute – 45 min
With the early morning and the late night out on the town, I feel the tingle of a cold coming…
Steveston Ice Breaker 8km Results
Using this pace calculator, I figured out that a 37:05 8km result is equivalent to a 46:21 10km. This would put me on pace for my 10k best. If I recall correctly, I ran the race with an even split of 18:30 at 4km. Before the race, I spent more time thinking about the post-race brunch at my place, then the actual race itself. During the race, I just ran brisk and comfortable. Andrew Louie ran a great catch up race and let me win by one step at the line. The other thing I did right, was to run from my place to the race start – a brisk 15 min run.
In the evening, I did a 40 min swim with Bronwyn at Watermania. She took us through a workout of mainly drills and some short quicker pieces.
On the downside, I totally got dropped on the bike. On the upside, I had my bike fit by Larry and the changes are AWESOME.
Actually, it was beyond awesome. I can’t rave about the experience enough. It’s true what all the magazines say, “Make sure you get your bike fit by a professional.” This is the third time I’ve had my bike fit by a professional. But my God, I actually found the right one here. On top of making major changes with my saddle and handlebar positions, Larry actually explained every detail to me so that I can be a control freak with those bike store mechanics.
I never really understood how magazines could say, “Your bike should feel good.” I didn’t realize they actually meant really REALLY comfortable. I thought they meant, “Comfortable – for a bike.” Larry spent 2.5hrs with me, threw in some sound advice and extra coaching tips for free, and I left feeling like it was time well spent!
bike workout
1.5hr – 1hr around UBC with Leah and Martina. I was on the Jake and got dropped a couple of times, but they waited for me. I added extra 1/2hr on my own.short run after the bike
20 min
Serena Williams is awesome. I love her raw strength, her mental focus, and her athleticism. I watched her cream the #1 seed in the world today 6-1, 6-2. She played her best tennis, even though she’s not at her best physically. What a competitor! I love to watch athletes when they’re in that competitive zone, and it was a bonus to be watching a powerful woman. Serena, you inspire.
core exercises – home gym workout
20 min
10 min stretching
I’ve become addicted to tennis in the last week or so, with the coverage of the Australian Open on TV. I was checking on the results of a match that I just couldn’t stay awake any longer to watch and found this:
Australian Open Audio Slideshow
The “Top 10 fashion statements”, and the “Top 10 Tennis Hunks” are entertaining radio pieces.
Crazy old guys with snorkels made navigating the fast lane at Watermania interesting. The 50m pool was a nice change – I can’t wait til summer hits and we get to swim outdoors.
swim workout
warmup of 100f, 100p, 50k, 50f
4 x 50dr, 2 x vertical k
4 x 50 @ tempo
1 x 15min endurance – 750m @ 2:00min/100 pace
cooldown 100 mix
Tuesdays are tough. Two workouts, with the intense spin workouts in the evening, make Tuesdays a day for toughing it out. My head was spinning for a while after this one.
run & gym workout
treadmill run 34 min, HR 145-150 (seems a little high for the effort)
gym workout 30 min, squats now approaching 1/2 my own body weight – a muscle bound gym freak, I am NOT!
*note I still have sore muscles on Thursday from this effortspin workout
55 min spin workout with 3 x 90s crazy hard killer aerobic power pieces
more stats to come…
I found myself sharing the front of the swim lane with Stacy and Janet at swim workout today. I’m used to being the slowest in the lane, not at the front. As a consequence, I went much faster than I should have. It’s not that people were tickling my toes and pushing me faster. It was all my own fault. I realize it’s in my head, but a mental shift to knowing that “Yes indeed, isn’t that amazing, this is where I belong!” will help me to complete these workouts feeling relaxed, not stressed and fatigued from racing (with myself) the whole time.
I came to the workout with some extra fatigue from the big week, and added more from pushing myself in the swim workout. At one point, we did a 100m piece counting strokes. My strokes per length ranged between 18-20 and the relatively relaxed 100m was 1:30/5-ish. The run afterwards was a bitch. I struggled mentally, barely fought off a dizzy bonking brain for the last 45min or so, but made it over the 2hr mark (Many thanks for your company, Owen!). What a contrast from the crisp, light, easy run the week before. I did try and heed my own advice and focus on the positive mental game, but this only worked in fits and spurts. It was more stubborn determination that got me through this one.
swim workout (focus distance per stroke = DPS)
5 min warmup
2 x [100, 200 {as 25 added sculls / 25 free}, 200 {as single arm sculling 6-6-12}, 100, 100]
2 x [25f fast, 60s vertical kick, 25f]run workout
2h:07:13
150 HR avg, Max 172, 1275 Kcal
With another canceled group ride because of winter conditions, Torbin, Penney, and I headed out for a 2hr snowshoe hike to Dog Mountain.
