Rough couple of days

I did not get much training done this week as I've been battling a flu-like thing for a few days. Whatever it was had me in bed every night this week before my daughter. I'm on the mend now though, feeling much better today. Wondering how my three lost days of training will affect my race though.

Thanks Keith for your offer to ride with me. Next season for sure!

Only two more weeks!

Leaha

Ode to my knee

Well, I swam last night as per Greg's program and felt pretty good. I allowed a few minutes afterward for steam room/hot tub time. :) I'm finding the heat/cold application combined with lots of stretching seems to help the knee. In addition to my weekly physio appointment, I'm also going to see my chiropractor tonight for some ART. The knee in question feels much better today so I think I'm on the right track. I'm biking & running tonight so we'll see how it holds up.

I'm planning to take another shot at the 100KM ride this Saturday. I might try to find someone to do at least part of the ride with me. I think it's harder to do those long rides alone, or at least to start them! :)

Leaha

Not quite 70.3 - a bit short at 67.6 miles :)

Big weekend for me!

Saturday: I biked 88 KM, not quite the 100 I was hoping for but my knee got a bit sore, so I cut it short. It took me 3:36 to complete it. I then ran off the bike for 20 minutes and felt okay. The bike leg for my race is 94KM, so at that pace, it should take me 3:56. I ate quite a bit but was still hungry at the end. I consumed:

2 bananas
2 gels
2x 2 hour bottles of Hammer Perpetuem
1 Stinger bar (apple - tasted like soap! YUCK)
Water

I think I'll add some date cookies or something cause I seem to have a bottomless black pit where my stomach used to be. lol

Sunday: I swam 1800 metres in the pool and ran 2 hours. I ran pretty slow as I was concerned about my knee. It really didn't hurt during the run though, but after I was cursing all the stairs in my house. :) Lots of icing/stretching last night.

After this weekend and the feedback I received on the Muskoka course, I'm not sure that breaking 7 hours will be possible. Hey, as long as I finish under the cutoffs! It's all good!

Congratulations to everyone that completed IM Canada yesterday. Greg broke 10 hours! Mark got in under 13 hours and Leslie got 14:40! I didn't see Darryl's time yet. I tried to find Keith's time for the Alberta Challenge but the results have not been posted yet.

More later....

Leaha

100KM Ride

Well my knee was a bit sore yesterday and it was raining. Delayed reaction after the race, perhaps? So I rode on my trainer but did not really do any drills. I know I should have done hills but thought spinning might be better for my knee. I have physio today. Rob and his needles will fix me up. :) Oh the joys of being biomechanically deficient. lol

I'm planning on 100KM tomorrow, so hopefully my knee holds out. I might do half on my trainer and the other half on the road, just to be safe. I do not want to have an injury for this race.

I'll be swimming/running on Sunday. After that, of course, I'll be tracking the athletes at IM Canada and Keith at the Alberta Challenge.

Happy training!

Leaha

3.5 weeks to go!

My body seems to have recovered well from Sunday. No aches or pains. :) I rode my bike on the trainer last night then went to the pool this morning before work. I was pretty surprised as the pool was full! It's good for my confidence though as it's one of the few places I go where I pass people in the water. lol It's interesting, I found this new stroke while swimming last Sunday. It's not perfect and not much faster but it feels better. I've tried bending my arm more (as Greg suggested) and it seems to take a lot of pressure off of my shoulder. I've also started pulling all the way down with my hands and rotating my body more. I did that this morning too and it feels more powerful. Although I think I have lots of work to do in the pool, it's nice to feel a change for the better.

I've also been thinking about the races I'd like to do next year. I'm thinking about another half but I figure I should wait until after my September race to figure that out. I keep wondering if I can also fit in a marathon?? Calgary full is in May for 2009. :) I wonder if I might be stronger now because of the cross training?? However, I still remember the pain of the last one... lol One disaster at a time!

I'm off to run tonight.

Happy training. :)

Leaha the tadpole...

Simon Whitfield, 10.5KM and the Muskoka 70.3

Wow, what a race last night! I thought it was all over for Simon. By the last lap, he was pretty far behind the lead three runners. Just as my heart sank for him, he picked up his speed! In 30 + degree heat! He caught up to the group. My heart leapt and I hoped he might earn a bronze. Then in the last 600-700 m, he started to sprint! He took the lead and I was on my feet yelling at the television. The German athlete had more left and sprinted past Simon. And there he was, our pride and joy of triathlon with the silver medal. What an inspiration he is. Coming back from injury and worse, he had lost faith and desire; he had lost his love of the sport. But he won it back, he won us back. Love that guy! :)

Complete subject change: It's interesting, I've read some race reports of Lake Chaparral where people mentioned that the run was longer than the advertised 9K. One guy measured it and found the distance to be 10.5KM. If so, this makes me quite happy as that means I was 6:55 per K rather than 8+! Still slow but that makes much more sense to me, so I'm sticking with that!! lol

I've also heard some interesting reports of the bike course on the upcoming Muskoka 70.3 from Ontario friends. Apparently several people have ridden the course and have decided not to do the race. One woman went to Lisa Bentley and asked her how she could design such a tough bike course and claimed that neither she nor her bike were capable of doing those climbs. Another stated that the course is much harder than Lake Placid. Hmmm... I also found out that the course is 94K rather than 90. So, all of that in mind, I am going out this Saturday on Lockend and 567. I'm going to ride back and forth until I've completed 100KM. :) Then Sunday I'm going to swim 2.5KM and run for two hours. Hey, I may be slower than I'd hoped but I still think I can complete this race.

Onward and upward. :)

Leaha

Slowest Run I've Ever Had!?

Wow, I checked my results for Lake Chaparral and my run time was the absolute slowest I've ever had by about 2 minutes per KM! In past triathlons, I've usually maintained a sub 6 minute KM time. Even my long Sprint (750/33/7) I did 5:47 per KM. Yesterday showed 8+!! I'm thinking I need some running drills. :) Or maybe it was the heat/lack of food? It's scary when your "best" sport declines. :(

Anyway, still happy with my swim. However, now I need to work more on my bike/transition/run!

Four weeks to go!

Leaha