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On Monday I went for a 5k run.

On Tuesday I went for an 8k run.

I have registered for Vulture Bait 25k on October 16th.

That's all.

I woke up around 6.45, ate a bagel and drank some water.  I got dressed and mixed up some gatorade for later on.  

As soon as I stepped out the door, I knew that it wasn't going to be a normal day.  The wind was strong, there was a cold rain/mist in the air and the sky was a strange mix of black clouds and blue sky.

I got in the car and headed to Guelph Lake.  It's a good thing I left early because I was slowed down due to detours around the campus to make room for the new students at UofG.  I was also surprised at how long it took to get into the park.  I probably waited 20-25 minutes in a line of cars full of triathletes to get into the park.

Once I parked I went through the registration process.  I always enjoy that sort of thing and the race was well organized and everyone was very friendly.  I got my racing number (588, the same as my house number!) and had my arms/legs marked for the swim.

After registration it was time to get my bike.  I had taken the front and rear wheels off so that it would fit in the trunk of my Civic.  I should have paid more attention to how removed the rear wheel because it took me about 10 minutes and some assistance from a stranger to get it back on.  The whole process made me a little nervous that my bike would fall apart mid-race.  Oh, it was still very windy and not very warm.

I made my way with my bike into the transition area.  I had heard the announcer saying that the swim would be shortened due to the high winds.  I started talking with person next to me and he said 'That's too bad, it will take me more time to get out of my wetsuit than it will to do the swim.'  I just laughed like I agreed with him, but inside I was thinking that I didn't mind a shortened swim at all.

I racked my bike and laid out my shoes, water, gatorade and clothes.  I headed down to the beach. 

The water was pretty warm, even if the air wasn't.   The announcer said that things would be delayed for a few minutes due to the wind.  We all stood around the beach for a minute and the wind picked up even more.  Eventually, the announcer said that the swim was cancelled and that we would do a duathlon instead.  I was a little disappointed, but I didn't really want to swim in water with white caps so I was happy to head back up and get ready for a run.

The even was now a 3k run, 30k ride, 7k run.

Due to the change of schedule, we were running very late.  I didn't head out until 9:45.  I decided that I wanted to go as fast as I could, I wanted sub five minute k's (fast for me).  I ran the first 3k well under 15 minutes. I was pleased with this and ran into the transition area to grab my bike. I quickly ate a powergel, drank some water and ran out into the bike racing part.

It was windy.  Windy Windy Windy.  I just peddled as hard as I could and felt pretty good.  When the route was into the wind it was a struggle.  When there was a tail wind it was great.  I've never done a bike race before so I don't have any comparison, but I felt really good.  The course was full of hills, but the steep hills were fairly short.  I did it in about 1hr 10 minutes.  A little slower than I wanted, but not bad.  

I got back into the transition area (smiling for my fans as I went by), racked my bike and then headed out for the final run.  A 2hour race was very possible and I was determined to do it.   As usual when coming off the bike, my legs felt like jelly, and I was amused to be running with a bunch of people who felt the same way, we all had a funny stutter step for the first kilometer.

I really gave this my all, when compared to my other long runs this was definitely my best.  I was in shape to make it in under two hours until I turned a corner at about the 5k mark and just hit a wall of wind.  It really slowed me down.  My final time was 2 hours 3 minutes.  I'm pretty happy with this.   I'm looking forward to the next race.

****

Thoughts on multi-sport vs. long runs.  I liked the multisport.  Switching events makes it more interesting and changing what you do is refreshing.  I would like to keep going with multi-sport, I don't want to quit long runs either (see below)

Hydration/Nutrition: This was great!  I've struggled with this in the past. In previous long distance runs I ran out of energy about 2/3 of the way.  Not this time. I started eating extra bagels on Wednesday evening. I ate a lot of pasta on Friday night.  It really made a difference, I had lots of energy the whole race.  

I put a lot of thought into hydrating for this race.  I didn't drink nearly as much as I thought I would. That is mostly because it was cooler and I didn't sweat as much as I didn't during training.  One strange thing is that I didn't want gatorade.  Usually when I run or play frisbee I CRAVE it and find it very refreshing. Yesterday I found it too sweet and just wanted water.  

***

Next?  I'm running the Vulture Bait 25k on October 16th.  This will be a trail run and I'm looking forward to it.  Last year at this time my fitness was on a downward spiral, this year, I'm staying strong.  I'm looking forward to the next race and hope to keep it rolling into the Race Around the Bay next spring and perhaps and early year triathlon.

Hopefully my training partner will join me.

I also raised the seat on my bike.  The extra hight made it much easier to peddle, hopefully it will shave off a few extra minutes tomorrow.  

I'm ready to go. I'm going to just give it all I've got and hope for the best.

Time: very long, but I had to stop several times.

It was a busy weekend, so I just had time to squeeze in a quick 9k.  It was quite an adventure. I had Gord in the running stroller and about 5 minutes into the run the front wheel fell off. I was going fairly fast at the time, so I was sent head first over the top of the stroller and managed to turn it into a graceful somersault.  The stroller proceeded to roll over forwards and do a complete flip before coming to rest right side up.  I found myself sitting on the ground next to the stroller with toys and shreddies strewn around me.  Gord seemed completely fine.  He wasn't crying, he just sat there.  It must have looked amazing, I wish someone caught it on camera.  Someone driving by stopped to see if we were OK.

I put the wheel back on and kept going, I went slowly and stopped to check the wheel several times.

At about the 6k mark we stopped at the park so Gord could play in the splash pad, then we finished the run.

It was a slow run, but a good one in the end.

Nothing left to do now but try to eat well this week.  I'm going to start carbo loading on Wednesday night and really be aware of my hydration and nutrition plan for race day.

I'll blog again before the big day.

I was going to go on Thursday, but now a work related thing has come up and I won't get into the pool.

I did manage to get in a 9k run yesterday after work.  My time was mediocre.

I have ultimate tonight, nothing tomorrow and then  the weekend to do any final major training.  I"m hoping for a short run on Friday and then a couple of longer runs/bike rides on the weekend.  I'd like to rest more next week but it is playoffs in my ultimate league and I can't really skip the games.

Now that I know I won't be able to swim, I feel a bit more nervous.  I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed and hope that people are right and that I can just draft my way through the first 400m and then suffer through the last 350m.

Run 13k

Total time, 1hr 45min

The time wasn't great, but I felt really good through the whole run. If I was in a race and needed to go faster then I could have done it.

Less than 2 weeks until the race.  I'm feeling OK.  I'm looking forward to it.

Time: 40min (pushing a stroller)

Good run.  I felt great the whole way.  Not much more to say.  I need to get into the pool soon.  I'm very worried about the swim. I've learned that if I can't swim the 750m in under 30 minutes I'm not allowed to do the rest of the race.

Most other people do the swim in under 23min.  So I feel like I should be OK.  I can't be 30% worse than the slowest swimmer last year....I hope. 

A few random training notes:

I haven't posted in a while because I haven't done any tri specific training.  Yesterday I went out for a 10k ride and a 4k run.  I felt OK.  The run was interesting because I used my running stroller for the first time.  Pushing an extra 35lbs made for a more challenging run.

I played an ultimate tournament last weekend. I can't say I was noticeably faster on the field, but I did feel that I was able to play at my top energy level/speed for longer periods of time.

I haven't been as good about my diet in the last few weeks, but I'm into the final weeks before the race and am prepared to buckle down again.

Overall I'm feeling about 75% confident about my preparation.  Sure I could do more, but I think I'm more prepared than I was for my other big runs.  I think a few weeks of good eating coupled with a strong (but not over-the-top) push on my training in the next little while I should be prepared for a good performance in Guelph.

I haven't been keeping up with my abtastic. I have a pretty good excuse.  My should has been hurting, a lot, and it is really hard to do pushups.  I'm saving it for ultimate.  After the final tournament of the year I'm going to get some physio.

There is a contest on for a Garmin Forerunner!  sweet.

Run: 4k

Time: not sure

Not much to report. It is a hot night and a busy week.  I just went out for a ride/run to keep my legs moving.  

I felt OK.

Time: about 40 min

July was an incredible success from a fitness standpoint.  Less booze, more activity.  Last Thursday that all came crashing down.  My stomach had been hurting for a few days and I gradually convinced myself that it was because I hadn't eaten enough grease lately.  Instead of doing my abtastic work, or going for a run, I went out and got a meal from Wendy's.  It was delicious.  

Friday was a write off.  I didn't work out, instead friends came over for BBQ Ribs dinner.  I had some beer.  Again, both were delicous.

Saturday, Sunday and Monday weren't so hot either.  It was a long weekend and I was at a friend's cottage.  I think I ate reasonably well given the circumstances, and I kept my beer consumption to a reasonable level (for a cottage).  I only had one work out, a swim on Saturday.

The Saturday swim was not exactly a success. I was looking forward to the opportunity to swim in open water.  I had some friends follow me in a canoe and I swam across the lake and back. It took me about 16 min. I'll be generous to myself and say that it was about 650m total.  I was a little disappointed with my performance.  The last time I was in the pool I had really done well by working my arms, keeping my body level and only kicking occasionally.  When I got to the lake I guess I got excited, I kicked too much, and was soon out of breath. My form was terrible for most of the swim. It was only towards the end when I was tired that I calmed down, focused on technique and actually swam well.  I only managed the one swim, I was distracted by friends, child minding, beer and Double Rainbows.

By the time I was driving home on Sunday (and polishing off a late lunch from McDonald's) I had decided to skip my scheduled bike ride and run.  Exhausted from early mornings on the weekend I just wanted to get home, take a shower and get to bed ASAP.

I don't really know what changed my mind, part of it was an encouraging email from this blogs co-author (he just hasn't posted in a while).  Part of it was a realization that I have an ultimate tournament in 5 days.  Part of it was the realization that the triathlon is just a month away.  Part of it was a determination to not let my great July go to waste.  I didn't want to let a few days of slack turn into a month of slack.

Whatever the reason, I decided to go for an 8k run after dinner.  Despite my laziness in the last few days, I felt really great, and the time on my run was pretty good too.  Now, I'm sitting here enjoying my last beer of the weekend (beer tastes better after a run) and satisfied that I'll be continuing my good work into August.

I did the swim with a friend tonight and we did it in 250m sets.  I learned a lot.

In my previous swims, I was taking a breath every couple of arm strokes, and still feeling really out of breath.  Tonight, I slowed it right down.  On the first set I was breathing every two, I tried to slow down, kick less and focus on keeping my body level.  By the end of the night I was breathing every six arm strokes.   What's even better is that I didn't feel out of breath at all.  I'm really happy about this.  My time was the same, but I was expending less energy.  I think this will be essential on race day.   Just as important as using less energy overall is the fact that I was getting the same time using my legs 1/4 as much.  This will be very, very important for the race.

I'm always thinking about race strategy and training.  I think the swim is the least important part.  My best time will be 17min.  My worst will be 25 min.  I'm most likely to come in around 20min.  With that small a window, I can easily make that much time up in the run or bike, assuming I have been efficient in my swim and not wasted energy.

Run: 11k

TIme 1hr 35 min

A mediocre ride and a great run.  I'm disappointed that I can't get my bike time down, but I think it has a lot to do with the traffic.  I had to stop several times at lights.  This costs me not only the time I spend stopped, but the lost momentum.  I figure each stop light costs be at least a minute or two.

In between the ride and the run, I had some water and a powerbar gel.  I need to start trying these out. I'm slowly realizing that the challenge of the triathlon is to keep your body fresh for the whole 2hours.  Each time I switch events I need to feel like I'm starting new.  Pre-race nutrition, hydration and in-race nutrition will be an essential part of this.  I liked the powerbar gels and I think they contributed to the fact that I felt great through the run (I had another one at the 6k mark).  I like the powerbar gels better than the ones I was using last year. They tast better and are more liquidy so they go down better.

The run was great.  The final time is a bit slow, 1hr 5min for 11k, but when I went back and checked, I was close to 35min through 7k so I really just slowed down on the last part.  I felt really good for the whole run.   Except for a water break I ran the whole time.

This will be my last brick session for a while.  I will be at a cottage next weekend, so there will be no jogging or biking.  I will, however get to practice my open water swimming.  This week I have the usual slate of ultimate and swimming planned.  I'm also hoping to sneak in a lunch time run at some point and a longer bike ride.

Bike 3k to floor hockey

1hr floor hockey

Bike 4k to pool

Swim 750m

Bike 1k home.

A great finish to a successful fitness week.  I exercised everyday (except my rest day) and even better I DIDN'T HAVE ANY BEER.  Not one, not a single drop.  Triathlon training has really motivated me to eat better and this included not drinking beer (I did have a glass of wine one evening).

Tonight's swim was a good one.  I was tired after floor hockey and I forgot my goggles (again!), so I just did 750m.  However, I did it continuously and managed to do it in 20 minutes.  If I could have the same time at Guelph Lake I would be very pleased.

Tomorrow I'm going to try to sneak in a short run during my lunch hour.  I think that will be a suitable ending to the week and make me feel even better when I break my beer fast after work tomorrow.

As an aside, I just wanted to congratulate Chris and Nancy on the arrival of Emilia Violet.  http://snarkycatandthebaby.ca/

Triathlons are fun.  I never spent a night tuning up my sneakers when I was training for half marathons.