Well, this is my first post of the new year. It's going to be hard to top 2009 because it was such a great year - what with the good races I had and the places I traveled to.
I have been starting to train for my 2010 triathlon season, namely the Oliver Half Ironman in Oliver, BC on June 6 and Ironman Canada in Penticton on August 29. There will be many other races, and my training will prepare me for those as well. I started training in December after returning from Las Vegas, and it was just meant to stay fit. January is when the real training started. Right now I am training about seven hours a week, slowly progressing throughout the year, tapering in early August.
Training has been going well, except for the swimming. I haven't been able to get my butt out of my warm, cozy bed to go swimming, which is kind of odd because I have been able to get myself out of bed to go running or to lift weights. Must be the cold weather and getting wet that subconsciously disallows my brain to think SWIM! My intentions were good though earlier this week, when I put all my swimming paraphernalia at the front door ready to go the next morning. I awoke at 6:34 am. What the *&#! happened to my wake-up call - my alarm, that is! Was it broken? No! I forgot to set it the night before. Was that subconscious??? I'll never know. If I was to go swimming, I would have had to get up an hour and a half earlier - at 5 am. Ahhh, the life of an athlete! Good thing I'm not one of those people that needs a ton of sleep.
I have hardly swam for two years since my shoulder surgery, but I still managed to perform well in my triathlons in 2009. 2010 will be a different story though with Ironman looming in the distance. The swim portion of that race is 3.8 km. I have a background in swimming so I am sure I can get through the swim, but if I don't start swimming on a regular basis, my swim time will be slow and my heart rate will be high going onto the bike - something that I don't want because that will be followed by a 180 km bike ride and then a full marathon). My shoulders will also likely be sore if I don't build up the endurance.
I am not much into making New Year's resolutions because I think that if you want to improve your life, why not start NOW, so there it is - now that I have put it into words, I will start swimming next week. I'm sure all of you will keep me accountable to my words, won't you?
Running has been easy. I only have 30 or 40 minute runs in heart rate (HR) 1 - so low I almost have to walk. It is easier to run fast. After my runs I have drills. Enter bum kicks, skipping and high knees. Bum kicks are where I, well, kick my bum with every step. The skipping is where I bring my knees up while I'm double-stepping with the other foot. The high knees are the same as skipping except that I don't skip. All of these drills are done fast so my leg turn-over gets faster.
On Wednesdays and Saturdays I ride my bike. Getting on a bike after three or four months is not an enjoyable experience. My butt was sore. I was no longer a hard ass, but I am getting there! Whoa! Hold your horses. Before you get excited and think I am crazy enough to be riding outside in -30 degree weather, think again. I actually ride in circles in the basement. Just kidding. I ride with 30 other over-achievers - that's what we as triathletes are known as - over-achievers. We hook our bikes up to wind trainers, which simulates riding on the road, as we follow our leader's lead through drills, endurance and strength sets. This is all done to music, which helps with the motivation. We have been doing 60 second wall sits for strength and maaan, those aren't fun. My legs are usually shaking by the fourth set.
I'll keep you posted with my progress throughout the year, so stay tuned.
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