Wow hard to believe my last post was Canada Day Weekend. As the main event comes closer the training schedule gets more intense. July schedule has 711K of biking, 22K of swimming, 4 hours of swim class, 119K of running, 4 sessions of weights and 4 sessions of yoga. That teeter totter of balancing everything is weighting a bit more on one side versus the other and the blog writing seems to have suffered. As part of the July training schedule I decided another Ironmotivation training camp was beneficial which took me past my home town and into my ancestors' backyard of Mont Tremblant.
Mont Tremblant has wicked hills for the bike but the run was relatively flat and as we joke often so was the water. Lets start with the swim as I wanted to share the success of this swim and July 4th swims. The swim class is Wednesday morning so I was up and out the door before 5am to ensure I was at the Whitby rec in plenty of time for Coach Paul's 5:30am swim class on the 4th. Afterwards Coach Paul and I had a swim lesson. During this lesson it was pointed out that my pull on the left side was only half what it should be. My arm was not taking a full stroke rather I was finishing the pull around my hip instead of extending the arm completely before bringing it out of the water. The key to making yourself faster is technique not more effort. In my case just ensuring my shoulders and hands were relaxed, taking a full pull and having my hands in the right position reduced by 2000M swim down by 5 minutes. A huge improvement with little physical effort but lots of mental effort. Two swims completed and one more to go on the 4th. Wednesday nights the DRTC swims out of either Holmes Point or Jackson Points and this week we were at Holmes Point. The water was very choppy and I don't recall swimming in anything this choppy before. As I swam up a wave it would come down and I would crash against the water. I did my distance Paul asked for this night but more important I did not have that panic attack and did not head to shore. Last year I might not have even ventured out into the lake. This brings me back to yesterday (July 15th). Coach Paul rented a party boat to drive the nine of us out to the middle of the lake and swim a bit of the practice course for the Ironman and Ironman 70.3 swim. I put on the wet suit, climbed down the ladder, calmed myself down and off I went to swim. My focus was to stay calm, fell comfortable, work on my stroke and just enjoy myself. I even floated on my back, to test drive this, and felt very comfortable looking at the sky. I think 2012 will be the year that I remember the most success in swimming not for speed but for overcoming the fear of it.
The swim happened in Tremblant on Sunday which leads nicely into the run which happened before the swim. Due to the heat we started at 6am both days to keep ourselves out of the worst heat. Everyone at the camp was scheduled for a 21K run except me. Last week I completed a 14K and the week after I need to complete a 16K thus my intent was to run around 15K as long as the body held up. I think I have written before about the nagging calf issues. Dr. Jason started Active Release Therapy about three weeks ago and I have had two successful runs with limited pain. Although not pain free it sure is better. Coach Paul and I agreed on the 16K distance and off I went. As always the pain was there when I started but after 10 minutes or so everything loosened up. I don't have a GPS watch thus was going on time and kept running. Before I knew it I was told I was only 400m from the first turn around. OOPS I went to far. I turned around retraced my steps but went up the dog leg (a section to add a Klm onto the run to reach the 21.1K loop distance) and yet again I was told you are almost done so I turned around early and headed back to the parking lot. I estimate the distance was between 18 to 20K. A fellow triathlete told me I would have done the 21K but I still question it as the time just seemed too good but the calves were feeling good and I was running so it is possible. A run with limited pain is success. I dread running due to the pain but thinking 2012 might be the year of less painful running.
Lastly the bike was the Saturday. The route had constant hills but I made it up everyone of them and of course down everyone :-) I'm currently riding a road bike versus a triathlon bike. One of the differences is I have drop bars (the curvy ones like the old 10 speeds) versus triathlon bars (two bars in front and you lean on these in an aero position). Last year I started to use the drop bars and now I use them for most of my rides. This year I am comfortable enough to come out of the saddle and ride up the hills in the drop position. Its like running on the peddles and provides more power. When I hit Coach Paul's spin classes in the winter I know what he means now. The next step is to figure out what the best position to climb the hills in. I'm over the handlebars and sometimes I'm just barely out of the saddle. Most important is to work on keeping that momentum I have created coming up the hill into the next flat section which happens on and off. I was very pleased with my average km/hr at 25, average cadence at 80 and my max speed at 64.5K for the hills of Tremblant.
Overall Mount Tremblant was the best camp yet. I had successes in each discipline which will help mentally when I do have a bad day. I just need to remember these successes. Thanks to Paul, Patty and Christine at Ironmotivan for putting on such a great event. Clint we missed you and hope your ankle is better for Ironman Tremblant.
Lastly a little update on the fundraising. I'm a long way off from my goal of $5000 with $1435 raised between the web site, personal cheques and cash. If you can help my campaign to help others in Oshawa or may know someone who might be able to the link to Canada helps donation page is on the right hand side. No matter how small the contribution everything will help the low income families and the homeless Gate 3:16 Outreach helps.
Hopefully I'll be back this weekend with another adventures (maybe the ride to Pontypool with Jeff on the 7th). Until then get out and enjoy the summer with a walk, a bike, a swim or even a skate on your skateboard or inline skates. Yes its hot but in a couple of short months we will be complaining about the cold. Just remember to stay hydrated that is the key.
-Liz
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