The Countdown Is ON....

I've officially started a countdown to my Hawaii training camp after waking up to more snow this morning!! I even looked into bumping my flight up a few days, but the price difference was too much :( I think we may have snow in our backyard until June!
13 days.
LM

Lovin' Winter & Coach L

Not much to report this week, recovery week for training. How come I always feel worse during my 'easy' weeks? I felt like I'd been run over by a truck this week. Fortunately, the week turned around by the weekend. I felt much better by Saturday. As with the last few weeks, I had yet another long trainer ride with a 20' run off it. After cycling I did a quick change into my winter run gear, since I knew it was -10 outside, and headed out West. I forgot to check the wind direction before I left...as soon as I turned back to head home, I found out it was an East wind. It was so fricken' cold I had brain freeze, my eye lashes frosted up and I wanted to run backwards! I made it home by using some reverse psychology, telling myself that "I love winter"! Once home, I went straight to the weather network to check the 'real-feel' temp...-21. It's probably good that I didn't know that before I headed out, I probably wouldn't have gone!!

I also put my new coaching skills to the test this weekend (I took the NCCP Community coaching course a few weekends back). The Kronos Tri Club was hosting a Junior Elite skills camp over the long weekend and Bart (the head coach) asked me to help out with a Transition clinic and and some assistance in with a swim session. It was good, I still need some work on my coaching skills but I had fun and got some great feedback.

We had them set up T1 inside and do a T1/T2 simulation (stationary though!).
The kids...looking tired (it was the end of the day for them!).

After the swim portion of the camp, I jumped in the water for my swim and felt pretty good. I find talking and thinking about the technical aspects of swimming always makes me pay attention to my stroke more and usually I have a great swim after! Watch out Paul, Coach L is fine-tuning her skills!!

Love winter...remember to always start your run into the wind...it will be much more enjoyable!

LM

A week in review

The last 2 weeks have been pretty heavy training. I'm still on a run focus but coach has also decided to increase my time in the saddle too. Being in Calgary for the winter this means more trainer time!! Never my favourite, although, I have to admit I really enjoy the Wednesday night spin classes with the Speed Theory group...perhaps because there are 20+ other people suffering along with me!

Last week was a 3 hour ride that was broken down into hour segments, so I was able to suffer through it while watching 2 movies and focusing on my HR and power. This saturday was a 3.5hour ride for workout with the only descriptor being "include some simulated long climbs" (ie. big gear stuff)....hmmm...was Coach Paul in a bad mood when he wrote this workout? This bike was going to take some mental focus & creativity on my part, especially since my legs were smashed from 2 interval workouts during the week and a 2:15 long run the day before (thanks to Grant for keeping me company on the run!)...3.5hours on the trainer was the last thing I wanted to do! Oh and did I mention, there was 20' building run off the bike attached to this ride!

I set up in the basement and went to work. Surprisingly the ride went by fairly quickly! I broke into 1hr-1.5hr-1hr sets, so it was mentally challenging (different gearing, HR's, watts) and the time went by faster. It also helped that I had a Grey's Anatomy and No Country For Old Men on the PVR. Not sure if I loved or hated NCFOM...jury is still out on that one, but it was great way to kill 122 minutes! After that, I did a quick change (there was a strong west wind, so running in my sweat soaked cycling clothes was not an option), and ran my usual loop of the neighbourhood feeling surprisingly good!

The aftermath of the ride and a clothing change before my run:

The total time on my watch...yes, that is my pasty white skin reflecting back in the photo...I really need some sun....I still had an hour of strength and core work to do after this! I can't wait for dry, gravel/ice free pavement and warm temperatures...soon Lisa, soon!! These lonely trainer rides will make me love every second of every ride outside.
The next day my legs were feeling surprisingly snappy, I even had a really strong tempo run and great swim. I was also able to schedule in some 'normal life' stuff; a brunch with the family to celebrate my big sis' b-day (don't worry Jenni, I won't post your age!!) , watch my niece's soccer game, and practise some Dutch with Nicole.

Some other news of note: I made the decision to resign from my job at NuVista to focus solely on Triathlon again--I'd been working part time post-Beijing. It was a tough decision since the gang at NuVista has been nothing but supportive of my triathlon endeavours and very understanding of my career decisions. Thanks to Alex, Steve, Pat and everyone at NuVista for all the support and experience over the past few years, I couldn't have made it to the Olympics without your support!

Cheers,

LM