REGARDLESS, time for the first training update in some time! As the cookie cutter updates go, I'll break it down individually by sport.
SCHWIMMEN:
Ok, while I would LOVE to write this all in German, I won't for the sake of your eyes and to avoid excessive use of www.freetranslation.com. Regardless, swimming has been going fantastic!! I've been getting lots of stroke help and it's making a huge difference in how my stroke unfolds. I'm swimming at a more even pace with a smoother and longer stroke. Body roll has also been a big focus and I think I'm finally kicking the S-pull habit I've had since I was taught it (back when S-pull was still the standard.. sigh.. ). There have been tons of hard workouts lately and while some of the times may not be what I want, my feel in the water is definitely there. I can't wait to see what I can pull out at Shawnigan this weekend.
ZE BIKE:
Lots of updates with regards to cycling. I've been putting in very consistent hours on the bike the last few months and I'm starting to see it pay off in spades. I've had 3.5 hour rides the past 2 weekends, and managed to squeek in 110-112km in that time. That gives me an average speed that rivals some of my past race times. Stoked!! ... Actually it's a little sad that my past race times were that slow, but whatevs.. IMPROVEMENT!
Something odd though.. It seems that in the last 2ish weeks my right pedal broke off on my bike and I failed to notice it. This resulted in EXCESSIVE float on my right foot, while my left leg did the majority of the work. Noa noticed this at the last Wednesday group ride and both her and I suspect it may have led to a minor injury that I will discuss later in the post. Excitedly, I bought a new Shimano 105 pedal system which is the first set of pedals other than the Time RXS pedals that broke! They have a totally different feel and I don't think I'll ever go back.
But to sum up, I'm pumped on my cycling progress!!! Thanks Noa :)
LAUFEN LAUFEN LAUFEN:
Run Run Run!!! That's what I've been doing! LOTS of running and I've loved every second of it.. Ok well maybe not EVERY second. There have definitely been times where I felt like I wanted to die/kill someone. It's been confirmed that running is definitely my favourite of the 3 sports, so I couldn't be happier with how much I've been running!
Since this is my first season actually training seriously/with a coach I had no idea how I would progress in running. I feel like I've come an extremely long way since last year. I love running. Lately, I've been loving working hard. Now, with all this hard work though, I'm worried about..
INJURY:
In the past 2 weeks I've had some amazing training sessions that I couldn't be happier about, but it seems that a minor nagging injury has come with it. We aren't sure what has caused it, but Noa and I both think we can attribute part of it to my broken pedal. The problem has been with my left leg (which has ALWAYS been my problem leg). Basically, it started out as sharp pain below the medial side of my kneecap, and has since been tightness in the entirety of my hamstring muscles/calf muscles. It took awhile to figure things out, but from some experiments I've done it seems that it's all stemming from extremely tight hamstrings.
For example.. I'll sit down for 5 minutes at my computer then stand up. BAM. Pain all down the back of my leg/knee. Ouch. If I stretch out my hamstring for a minimum of 30 seconds, all pain disappears. If I don't stretch it right away, the pain is pretty terrible, and I limp around like an old OLD man. The kicker is, I have to do this stretch routine EVERY time I stand up from a sitting or prone position. Arghh. The pain is not present when I run at all so I don't think running has contributed to it. It also hasn't affected the speed at which I can run, since I've been nailing all of my goal/race pace workouts. It's just a little frustrating to go nearly 8 months without injury then with less than a week before the season opening race, my leg gives out. Let's hope this doesn't continue. It's gotten better, but it's still not 100%.
MUSIQUE:
One of my new favourite classic rock songs. Can't seem to get enough of it. When combined with anything from the band Ratt, I'm super pumped for ANYTHING.
So with Shawnigan 4 days out, I feel fast, strong, and a little achey.
ZE TIMES:
I saved the best for last... It's like a post-race reward but in a week from now, I'll be flying out to KINGSTON TO VISIT ALLY! I booked the flights a week and a half ago, and I've been ridiculously excited ever since! Long distance isn't easy, but we've managed EXTREMELY well so far, in spite of her very busy schedule at RKY. It's unbelievably exciting that I'm going to get to see her not just once, but twice this summer! Yeehaw!
Another exciting piece of news... I have a new addition to my bike family!! Rider's has provided me with one of their demo bikes to train/race on (unless someone wants to take it out for a test ride). It's a Trek Madone 5.2 and I CAN'T WAIT TO RIDE IT! I won't be able to ride the bike until after Shawnigan, but I'm super excited!
Zat is all for nowwwwwwwwwww!
