Well, today was pretty much the biggest day of training of the year for me.  It all went well.  I biked hard and hit my goal efforts and then ran well off the bike and nailed my goal average paces.  It was daunting waking up to today’s planned workouts . . . . but, like I said in my last post – “it will get done”, and it did.  I was mentally ready for the days training and I stayed focused for the entire workout.  Life is short, might as well give 100%.

Good night (8:30pm),

Adam

Well well well, after what seems like an endless summer the forecast says we are going to get rain on my biggest training day of the year (this Saturday).  What say I to that? Oh well.  The training will still get done, it might be 5+hours on the trainer and a mucky run around Elk Lake, but the training will still get done.

I was/am never an athlete to get deterred by poor weather, I don’t really care what it is like outside. . . . . OK, wait, back it up, I do prefer 30 degrees and sunshine but I enjoy swimming and biking and running and other forms of exercise so much that you will find me out (or inside if I have to) getting my workouts done on any given day no matter what the weather.

But there is still hope, we live on the outer West Coast and the weather can change in a heartbeat.  So perhaps it will rain tomorrow night and be sunny for me on Saturday . . .  But I have no control over the weather, so I am not going to worry about it and the workouts will get done.

Adam

I finished off the second week of this last big block of training on a really positive note this weekend.  I nailed all my goal efforts/paces, and felt strong throughout each workout.  I couldn’t be happier with how this build up is going.

My big brick workout yesterday started out at 7:30am and ended at 1:30pm.  The heat out there added another bit of difficulty to the workout, but it didn’t affect me negatively during the actual workout.  Sure I was downing cold water, homemade lemonade, and iced rooibos chai like a fiend for pretty much the rest of the day but I didn’t feel dehydrated during the workout.

The race course in Sandusky, OH is quite flat in general.  My homestay doesn’t think I will get out of the big chain ring much at all on the bike and the run is very flat.  So this means the workouts are now focused on race specific terrain.  So pretty much flat stuff, not the most entertaining but you don’t have too much time for looking around at scenery with the paces/efforts I am pushing.

Can’t wait to eat my T-Bone steak tonight and relax with the feet up with my wife!

Happy Training to all, and I hope no one is melting today out there!

Cheers,

Adam

As I was grinding out my trainer ride yesterday morning (yep I did a trainer ride today, I just felt like it okay?!haha) I found myself being quite comfortable with the degree of physical discomfort I was in.  I was working at, or slightly above, the goal effort levels for the workout – I was right into the nice burn / bordering on the early lactic type stage of physical exertion, but I was feeling very strong mentally – I knew I was going to nail the entire workout.

My mental strength in the workout made the “pain” feel much more bearable than in past workouts at the same effort level.  So why was I in a such a good mental state yesterday?  Well there are many reasons, some of which are as follows:

1)   I am only 4.5 weeks out from my big race so there is absolutely no room for weak mental performances in any workouts or prep races.

2) I am more focused on this race than I have ever been before. . .. and this is largely because I am learning how to focus (which is different for everyone I’m sure).

3) Motivation is high since I had another solid race this past Sunday.  I am also confident I got a solid fitness boost in my cycling from hammering out 46km in the Sooke hills. . . or should I say “hill” (that hill is a good grind).

4) My recovery, diet, sleep patterns, and workout progressions have all been on spot on over the summer (and most of the year really).

5) I have many personal reasons that encourage me to strive to be successful at what I am doing.

All of these things give me confidence in my fitness, and that is what you need when you are facing hard training days, and even more so come race day. . . . .  When you are in the water and it is less than 5min to race start you want to be able to say to yourself “There isn’t really anything more I could have done to make me more ready for what I am about to do”.

Back to the physical pain  . . . . . . Pain really is all in the mind.  Of course sometimes your body is just fatigued and it can’t go any harder but you still feel pain and you can continue with it in you  even if your pace/speed is not great.  When I think about my short race history and reflect on some of the more physically (and therefore mentally) tough races I often think back to my Hawaii Ironman experience in 2008.  The last 10km of that race (starting at about the turn around point in the Energy Lab) put me in a brand new realm of discomfort.  But I had come a long way and I wasn’t about to give anything but 100%.  I guess this is where the expression “it doesn’t get any easier, you just get faster” comes in . . . . .

So, I continue to look forward to the physical and mental challenges that come with sport, especially the ones that come with our sport – Triathlon.

Cheers,

Adam