Taking the girls on a post-race tour of the Brockvillle Railway Tunnel
Wednesday, August 23, 2017
Final Multisport Race of 2017
My race report for the Thousand Islands Duathlon is up. I think it was a successful end to the season for me. I'm happy moving forward as a duathlete for the next few years. Training two sports still gives enough variety to keep things interesting, and biking/running keeps things nice and flexible (unlike swimming). I think ultimately spending some time focusing on biking and running will make me a better triathlete when I return in a few years. And duathlon is a new challenge for me so despite just finishing this season I'm already excited about the next.
Now it's time to plan my running races for the fall and set some goals for those.
Wednesday, August 2, 2017
More lessons learned
This has been a bit of a different year for me, training-wise, as outlined in various blog posts. "Different" mostly in a bad way, but "different" still gives one the opportunity to compare the experience with previous years and perhaps gain some insight into what the different effects are of the various approaches.
Here's a few lessons learned so far:
When I gave up on my structured training plan in the spring, it was liberating. No longer a slave to banging out intervals in my basement, suffering away on the bike trainer, I was free to enjoy biking outside. And I did. I was having more fun and logging more time in the saddle than I had been. So you might think more time in the saddle = more bike fitness, but that's not the way it worked. I still have deliberate workout goals, using heart rate to guide my efforts (no power meter on my road bike), like "2 hours in Zone 2" or "2x20 minute efforts at threshold". But my bike fitness didn't really improve and may have actually declined a little - as much as anything I think it was the lack of the dreaded VO2Max interval sessions that was doing it.
I got some nice rides in though, getting some good ones in beyond my usual environs. Here's a typical ride around where I live:
This one yielded a total of 91m elevation gain over 60km. So pretty flat, and on straight roads through farmers fields. Not very interesting. So I've made more efforts to get in opportunities to ride other places - twisty, up-and-down roads through woods and lakes between Perth and Westport, for example. Or this ride around Mont Rigaud:
Pretty much the same distance as the above ride, but 378m of elevation gain over the 60km. That's a more interesting ride.
A combination of life circumstances and a desire to put in a good build leading up to the Thousand Islands Duathlon have meant that over the last few weeks I've been back on the trainer rather than outside. And I've noticed a real difference in my bike fitness levels (they're actually improving!).
So quality trumps quantity, and you can't beat the quality you get from a good trainer session.
Last year I wrote a pretty extensive blog post weighing the merits of stretching. Being really inflexible and having a history of injuries, I wanted to do whatever I could to help the cause. There's real debate on whether stretching helps, hinders, or does nothing at all. Ultimately I concluded that I wanted to keep up the regime.
This year, however, I haven't really stretched - a result of my lack of deliberate structure in my training. Coincidentally or not, I've been completely injury free this year. To be sure, there are other factors at play (general fitness accumulated over the years; holding off on speedwork until after months of outdoor mileage), but in retrospect I feel like stretching didn't really benefit me, and the fact that I'm by far the most injury free I've been when omitting stretching completely has me sold. I'm done with stretching. You were right, Paulo.
Another part of my routine that's fallen by the wayside has been core strength exercises. I know this is important for all 3 sports, but I was particularly conscious of it as it related to swimming, since engaging the core is such a big part of a solid swim stroke. I had a good routine going in the winter and abandoned it in the spring, and my core strength is certainly not what it once was as a result. Obviously with no swimming I haven't noticed an impact there, but surprisingly enough to me, I have noticed an impact on my cycling. As part of my renewed efforts to get some solid training in leading up to Brockville, I'm back on the core routine and I feel like I'm able to transfer power to my pedals better (and sustain it) as a result of my returning core strength.
So there it is: 3 lessons to take into next year.
Here's a few lessons learned so far:
1) Miles on the trainer are more valuable than miles on the road
When I gave up on my structured training plan in the spring, it was liberating. No longer a slave to banging out intervals in my basement, suffering away on the bike trainer, I was free to enjoy biking outside. And I did. I was having more fun and logging more time in the saddle than I had been. So you might think more time in the saddle = more bike fitness, but that's not the way it worked. I still have deliberate workout goals, using heart rate to guide my efforts (no power meter on my road bike), like "2 hours in Zone 2" or "2x20 minute efforts at threshold". But my bike fitness didn't really improve and may have actually declined a little - as much as anything I think it was the lack of the dreaded VO2Max interval sessions that was doing it.
I got some nice rides in though, getting some good ones in beyond my usual environs. Here's a typical ride around where I live:
This one yielded a total of 91m elevation gain over 60km. So pretty flat, and on straight roads through farmers fields. Not very interesting. So I've made more efforts to get in opportunities to ride other places - twisty, up-and-down roads through woods and lakes between Perth and Westport, for example. Or this ride around Mont Rigaud:
Pretty much the same distance as the above ride, but 378m of elevation gain over the 60km. That's a more interesting ride.
A combination of life circumstances and a desire to put in a good build leading up to the Thousand Islands Duathlon have meant that over the last few weeks I've been back on the trainer rather than outside. And I've noticed a real difference in my bike fitness levels (they're actually improving!).
So quality trumps quantity, and you can't beat the quality you get from a good trainer session.
2) Stretching is overrated
Last year I wrote a pretty extensive blog post weighing the merits of stretching. Being really inflexible and having a history of injuries, I wanted to do whatever I could to help the cause. There's real debate on whether stretching helps, hinders, or does nothing at all. Ultimately I concluded that I wanted to keep up the regime.
This year, however, I haven't really stretched - a result of my lack of deliberate structure in my training. Coincidentally or not, I've been completely injury free this year. To be sure, there are other factors at play (general fitness accumulated over the years; holding off on speedwork until after months of outdoor mileage), but in retrospect I feel like stretching didn't really benefit me, and the fact that I'm by far the most injury free I've been when omitting stretching completely has me sold. I'm done with stretching. You were right, Paulo.
3) Core strength matters
Another part of my routine that's fallen by the wayside has been core strength exercises. I know this is important for all 3 sports, but I was particularly conscious of it as it related to swimming, since engaging the core is such a big part of a solid swim stroke. I had a good routine going in the winter and abandoned it in the spring, and my core strength is certainly not what it once was as a result. Obviously with no swimming I haven't noticed an impact there, but surprisingly enough to me, I have noticed an impact on my cycling. As part of my renewed efforts to get some solid training in leading up to Brockville, I'm back on the core routine and I feel like I'm able to transfer power to my pedals better (and sustain it) as a result of my returning core strength.
So there it is: 3 lessons to take into next year.
- If the goal is to maximize results, prioritize quality sessions on the bike trainer over outdoor rides.
- Don't worry about post-exercise stretching (I still see value in pre-exercise dynamic stretching).
- Have a good core strengthening routine and be consistent with it.
Friday, June 30, 2017
My last triathlon for a while
My race report for the Smiths Falls Classic is up. It was a fun race, albeit one with some execution errors, but nice to get the AG win after a bit of a drought. However, I'm pulling the plug on triathlon for a while.
Maintaining a consistent training schedule after the birth of our third child has been difficult, and swimming has been the biggest challenge. I can run and bike whenever - I've got a bike trainer and treadmill in my basement. What I don't have is my own pool, and the ones available to me are a) a fair distance away and b) only available for lane swimming at very specific times. Simply put, it's just not flexible enough for me at this point in my life. Many weeks I'd either have to skip swimming entirely, or I'd slink out of the house leaving my wife to deal with 3 screaming kids. I haven't been able to make any real swim progress as a result, and while I enjoy swimming, trying to fit it into my life is, at this point anyways, a source of aggravation. More significantly, trying to be a good swimmer is making me worse of a husband and father.
My pool membership expired at the end of June, and I'm not renewing it. I'm still running and biking, and will likely switch to duathlon for the foreseeable future. I'll come back to triathlon in a few years when the kids are older. So goodbye triathlon, you've done a lot for me over these past few years. You've gotten me fitter than I've ever been in my life. You've provided the motivation for me to maintain a healthy diet and lifestyle. You've provided a platform for me to challenge myself, and to set and achieve new goals. I've met some cool people, and had a lot of fun.
So I'm not done with multisport - I've got my eye on a duathlon in August. And there are more triathlons in my future. Just not for a while.
Maintaining a consistent training schedule after the birth of our third child has been difficult, and swimming has been the biggest challenge. I can run and bike whenever - I've got a bike trainer and treadmill in my basement. What I don't have is my own pool, and the ones available to me are a) a fair distance away and b) only available for lane swimming at very specific times. Simply put, it's just not flexible enough for me at this point in my life. Many weeks I'd either have to skip swimming entirely, or I'd slink out of the house leaving my wife to deal with 3 screaming kids. I haven't been able to make any real swim progress as a result, and while I enjoy swimming, trying to fit it into my life is, at this point anyways, a source of aggravation. More significantly, trying to be a good swimmer is making me worse of a husband and father.
My pool membership expired at the end of June, and I'm not renewing it. I'm still running and biking, and will likely switch to duathlon for the foreseeable future. I'll come back to triathlon in a few years when the kids are older. So goodbye triathlon, you've done a lot for me over these past few years. You've gotten me fitter than I've ever been in my life. You've provided the motivation for me to maintain a healthy diet and lifestyle. You've provided a platform for me to challenge myself, and to set and achieve new goals. I've met some cool people, and had a lot of fun.
So I'm not done with multisport - I've got my eye on a duathlon in August. And there are more triathlons in my future. Just not for a while.
Monday, June 12, 2017
First race of the season and turning weaknesses into strengths
The race report for the Perth Triathlon is up. I had a good time and did okay. I didn't execute the race I wanted but the result was still good. Perth was my first actual triathlon back in 2015, and I've come a long way since then in terms of my fitness. Having not done the race last year (it was cancelled), comparing the two performances reveals some significant variations.
Here's my first ever triathlon.
A performance I was pretty happy with, especially my bike time, finishing in the top 10%, and getting the AG win. I had about 6 months of swimming in me, and was just starting to develop my running ability amidst constant knee problems. The ranking of each discipline reflect this and I was far from a balanced athlete.
And here's me two years later.
The real standout is my running ability - from top 37th percentile to top 4th percentile is a huge jump. I'm not reading too much into time, since the run course was different this year and my Garmin has the new one as long by a few hundred meters. Also of note I actually did worse, percentile-wise, on the bike, though I was slightly faster in terms of time. Details on that in the race report. The swim rankings are always a little off in Perth, since it's a Stingrays fundraiser, they get a lot of "real" swimmers. If I average out the top 3 finishing times for 2015, I lost 2:26 to those guys on the swim, whereas in 2017 (when I was actually in the top 3) I only lost 2 seconds, since 1st swam a minute slower than me and second swam a minute faster than me.
So not only have I developed into a much more complete triathlete (something I noticed over the course of last season), but I've turned my biggest weakness into, at least in this race, my biggest strength. It's hard not to be disappointed with my lack of progress on the bike this year, but it's more important to work on your weaknesses than your strengths, and this result clearly shows that payoff.
When there's a discipline that's a point of pride for you, it becomes part of your self-image:"I am a strong cyclist." You don't want to let go of that. Being good at something builds confidence. I used to look forward to getting on the bike and chasing people down (just as I'd then run in fear since I knew many of those same people would pass me back). I knew I wasn't contending for an overall podium spot, but I was at the pointy end in terms of bike splits. That was my victory.
But triathlon is about who gets to the finish line first, and time invested into biking was not going to yield the same ROI as time invested in my dismal run. There was simply a lot more low-hanging fruit there. This result proves, to me anyways, that training to your weaknesses pays real dividends.
Here's my first ever triathlon.
| 2015 | Time | Rank | Percentile |
| Swim + T1 | 0:10:33 | 25 | 26.88% |
| Bike | 0:27:07 | 4 | 4.30% |
| T2 + Run | 0:15:14 | 34 | 36.56% |
| 0:52:52 | 9 | 9.68% | |
| Participants | 93 | ||
| % of winning time | 117% |
A performance I was pretty happy with, especially my bike time, finishing in the top 10%, and getting the AG win. I had about 6 months of swimming in me, and was just starting to develop my running ability amidst constant knee problems. The ranking of each discipline reflect this and I was far from a balanced athlete.
And here's me two years later.
| 2017 | Time | Rank | Percentile |
| Swim | 0:08:30 | 9 | 17.31% |
| T1 + Bike | 0:27:10 | 3 | 5.77% |
| T2 + Run | 0:14:03 | 2 | 3.85% |
| Total | 0:49:43 | 3 | 5.77% |
| Participants | 52 | ||
| % of winning time | 105% |
The real standout is my running ability - from top 37th percentile to top 4th percentile is a huge jump. I'm not reading too much into time, since the run course was different this year and my Garmin has the new one as long by a few hundred meters. Also of note I actually did worse, percentile-wise, on the bike, though I was slightly faster in terms of time. Details on that in the race report. The swim rankings are always a little off in Perth, since it's a Stingrays fundraiser, they get a lot of "real" swimmers. If I average out the top 3 finishing times for 2015, I lost 2:26 to those guys on the swim, whereas in 2017 (when I was actually in the top 3) I only lost 2 seconds, since 1st swam a minute slower than me and second swam a minute faster than me.
So not only have I developed into a much more complete triathlete (something I noticed over the course of last season), but I've turned my biggest weakness into, at least in this race, my biggest strength. It's hard not to be disappointed with my lack of progress on the bike this year, but it's more important to work on your weaknesses than your strengths, and this result clearly shows that payoff.
When there's a discipline that's a point of pride for you, it becomes part of your self-image:"I am a strong cyclist." You don't want to let go of that. Being good at something builds confidence. I used to look forward to getting on the bike and chasing people down (just as I'd then run in fear since I knew many of those same people would pass me back). I knew I wasn't contending for an overall podium spot, but I was at the pointy end in terms of bike splits. That was my victory.
But triathlon is about who gets to the finish line first, and time invested into biking was not going to yield the same ROI as time invested in my dismal run. There was simply a lot more low-hanging fruit there. This result proves, to me anyways, that training to your weaknesses pays real dividends.
Friday, May 19, 2017
The Night Runner
It seems like most triathletes get their workouts done early in the morning. I've made a few attempts at this over the years, but it just doesn't work. You never really know when the kids are going to get up, but once they're in bed, there's a pretty reliable few hours in which to fit in some training.
So I'm a night trainer. This means that I can be found running around Metcalfe in the dark. It's nice and peaceful, I have the roads to myself, and I don't have to worry about sunscreen. And my running had been going pretty well. Swimming and biking seem to have stagnated, but running is really just a mileage game. Nice easy Zone 2 running so far, no speedwork, and no injuries.
I think I finally know what I need in a shoe. Last year my Solefit gait analysis recommended some mild stability control in my shoes, and that they should be pretty lightweight. I ended up on Saucony Fastwitches, but the 4mm drop proved to be too much for my achilles (the New Balances I was on prior were 10mm drop).
So the conclusion was that while some stability is good, it's got to be with sufficient drop. In theory, a shoe with those properties should keep my knee and achilles issues at bay. A few shoes fit this criteria - the ever-popular Asics DS Trainer being one, but I've ended up on a pair of Brooks Ravennas. If I had one complaint it's that the forefoot is a little narrow, but they seem to be stretching out a little over time. And that fact that I'm running niggle-free for the first time ever is the key takeaway.
Another milestone: for the first time I'm running 5Ks under 25 minutes while staying in Zone 2. Not sure how this will translate into improvements in race speed, but it's a good sign of improved aerobic conditioning. The bad news is of course I've been sick again (a chest thing that isn't going away), but it's interesting that despite the constant illnesses and inconsistent training that I'm making gains in my run. Swim and bike are terrible right now, but both of those depend on being able to hit quality sessions, whereas the slow-and-steady approach to running seems sufficient.
So I'm a night trainer. This means that I can be found running around Metcalfe in the dark. It's nice and peaceful, I have the roads to myself, and I don't have to worry about sunscreen. And my running had been going pretty well. Swimming and biking seem to have stagnated, but running is really just a mileage game. Nice easy Zone 2 running so far, no speedwork, and no injuries.
Magic Shoes!
So the conclusion was that while some stability is good, it's got to be with sufficient drop. In theory, a shoe with those properties should keep my knee and achilles issues at bay. A few shoes fit this criteria - the ever-popular Asics DS Trainer being one, but I've ended up on a pair of Brooks Ravennas. If I had one complaint it's that the forefoot is a little narrow, but they seem to be stretching out a little over time. And that fact that I'm running niggle-free for the first time ever is the key takeaway.
Another milestone: for the first time I'm running 5Ks under 25 minutes while staying in Zone 2. Not sure how this will translate into improvements in race speed, but it's a good sign of improved aerobic conditioning. The bad news is of course I've been sick again (a chest thing that isn't going away), but it's interesting that despite the constant illnesses and inconsistent training that I'm making gains in my run. Swim and bike are terrible right now, but both of those depend on being able to hit quality sessions, whereas the slow-and-steady approach to running seems sufficient.
Tuesday, April 25, 2017
Biking outside and abandoning the training plan
I finally made it outside for a ride this past weekend. It was overcast and windy but it felt so good to get out on the bike. Since my training hasn't really been adhering to a structured plan very well, it doesn't really matter that there's no power meter on my road bike. I just rode by heart ride and did 40km as tempo ride (so around 160 bpm).
It's still incredible to me how many workouts I've been failing to complete, either because I never start them or I can't finish them. I haven't experienced anything like this before. But given that I don't have any serious performance goals this year and have already established that I'm just going to try to have fun at races, I've decided to ditch the training plan. I haven't been able to stick to a structured plan since february, so I'm just going to wing it from here on out and do what I can/what feels right.
Last year I saw good gains in my FTP through TrainerRoad's 12-week Sweet Spot Base plan. After completing the 6-week Olympic Build plan, I was dismayed to see that my FTP had actually dropped. I chalked this up to a bad day, but didn't test again. I continued my training and adjusted my FTP based on feel... the session continued to feel as hard as they should have, and my FTP only really creeped up once I was through the race-specific phase and was doing most of my rides out on the road, either as endurance rides or as threshold intervals.
This year, once again, I saw nice gains from the Base phase, and things really seem to have stagnated since. Granted, my training has been totally inconsistent, and I haven't been able to string together 2 weeks without getting sick. This is surely contributing to my feeling of being knackered on the bike, but it is interesting to see that once again, the Build phase seems to be a step backwards for me.
David Epstein's The Sport Gene is an interesting read, and one of the key takeaways is that everyone's physiology is different. Not everyone responds to training in the same way - what works for some may not work for others. Thus, it's essential to track what you're doing and the effect it's having on your fitness, and adjust your training in order to do what will yield the best results for you. There is zero chance that one rigid plan is going to be equally effective for every single person, so it's likely that following a Trainerroad plan religiously is not actually the most effective thing to do.
Thus, I've been looking at what's different about the Base and Build phases I've been following in order to get a sense of what's been most beneficial for me.
TR's Sweet Spot Base program typically consists of one 60 minute VO2Max session, one 60 minute Sweet Spot/Threshold session (95-99% of FTP), and one 90 minute criss/cross session (intervals that go back and forth over/under threshold).
The Build plans keep the VO2Max session, but swaps in a Suprathreshold (typically 108% of FTP) session midweek and then a longer Sweet Spot session on the weekend.
It appears as though the culprit may be the Suprathreshold sessions, since that's the key difference between the two plans. Basically I seem to respond best when my riding is mostly just below (or right at) threshold, or well above (like 120%). Those longer intervals at just above (108%) threshold seem to be taking too much out of me or just not yielding the results they should.
So, since I've more or less abandoned the training plan, I figure now's a good time to experiment and see what happens. The plan is to keep a VO2Max session, do either a Sweet Spot of Threshold session, and then get outside for a Tempo ride or maybe some Threshold intervals.
It won't make sense to judge the success of this plan based on my performance this year, but hopefully if I listen to my body I can get a sense if this approach is a better one for me. Regardless, I'm going to do my best not to feel guilty about doing a recovery ride instead of a hard session on the bike if that's what I feel I've got in me.
Last year I saw good gains in my FTP through TrainerRoad's 12-week Sweet Spot Base plan. After completing the 6-week Olympic Build plan, I was dismayed to see that my FTP had actually dropped. I chalked this up to a bad day, but didn't test again. I continued my training and adjusted my FTP based on feel... the session continued to feel as hard as they should have, and my FTP only really creeped up once I was through the race-specific phase and was doing most of my rides out on the road, either as endurance rides or as threshold intervals.
This year, once again, I saw nice gains from the Base phase, and things really seem to have stagnated since. Granted, my training has been totally inconsistent, and I haven't been able to string together 2 weeks without getting sick. This is surely contributing to my feeling of being knackered on the bike, but it is interesting to see that once again, the Build phase seems to be a step backwards for me.
David Epstein's The Sport Gene is an interesting read, and one of the key takeaways is that everyone's physiology is different. Not everyone responds to training in the same way - what works for some may not work for others. Thus, it's essential to track what you're doing and the effect it's having on your fitness, and adjust your training in order to do what will yield the best results for you. There is zero chance that one rigid plan is going to be equally effective for every single person, so it's likely that following a Trainerroad plan religiously is not actually the most effective thing to do.
Thus, I've been looking at what's different about the Base and Build phases I've been following in order to get a sense of what's been most beneficial for me.
TR's Sweet Spot Base program typically consists of one 60 minute VO2Max session, one 60 minute Sweet Spot/Threshold session (95-99% of FTP), and one 90 minute criss/cross session (intervals that go back and forth over/under threshold).
The Build plans keep the VO2Max session, but swaps in a Suprathreshold (typically 108% of FTP) session midweek and then a longer Sweet Spot session on the weekend.
It appears as though the culprit may be the Suprathreshold sessions, since that's the key difference between the two plans. Basically I seem to respond best when my riding is mostly just below (or right at) threshold, or well above (like 120%). Those longer intervals at just above (108%) threshold seem to be taking too much out of me or just not yielding the results they should.
So, since I've more or less abandoned the training plan, I figure now's a good time to experiment and see what happens. The plan is to keep a VO2Max session, do either a Sweet Spot of Threshold session, and then get outside for a Tempo ride or maybe some Threshold intervals.
Friday, April 14, 2017
Struggling for Consistency
It's been a while since my last post, and based on the subject of said post, it should be fairly apparent why. And it shouldn't come as a surprise that training hasn't exactly been going well.
I managed to finish my Base training feeling pretty strong - I was running consistently, my swim fitness was approaching the form of last season, and I managed to set a new high FTP on the bike. But that was back in February. I began my Build in mid-February and everything fell apart in short order. It's now mid-April, and two months later I'm re-starting my Build - definitely the latest I've ever commenced this phase of my training. So what happened? The short answer is: life.
For a longer answer, here's my TrainingPeaks calendar for the past two months:
I got the first week of TrainerRoad's Olympic Triathlon Build done, but couldn't complete the weekend's long ride - life got a little crazy and I was wiped out for a few days (there's a recurring theme of 2 hours of sleep/night throughout this period). I elected to do some maintenance and attempt the culminating workout the following Saturday... which ended up being Sunday, and I still included my sunday "long" run on top of that. Everything seemed to be going according to plan for Week 2 but by the end of the week I was sick. I recovered from that with just a few days before some minor surgery that would necessitate a week off from training, and I still was not 100% so just some general maintenance work in the short time I had before the surgery.
Unfortunately yet again (due to no sleep at night and the dual germ-exchange programs that are Grade 1 and Daycare) I got sick less than a week into my reintroduction to training. Another few days off due to that, and here we are, the middle of April and I'm back where I was in mid-Frebruary.
The biggest hit has been to my swim fitness - it's amazing how quickly it declines. I've knocked a few watts off my FTP on the bike but it's held together relatively well, and the run is somewhere in between - I'm definitely running at a slower pace in order to hold Zone 2. On the plus side, I'm back running outside again which is awesome after the drudgery of the treadmill. More on that later.
As a byproduct of all of this, it looks as though I may end up with an "A" race this year despite my initial plan - it's unlikely I'll be in good race shape for the first few events of the season. It's kind of depressing that I was in better race shape in February than I am now, but this can't really come as a surprise given my life circumstances. So maybe I'll be able to plan for a peak in Brockville and make another attempt at going under 2:20. We'll see how the intervening months go.
I managed to finish my Base training feeling pretty strong - I was running consistently, my swim fitness was approaching the form of last season, and I managed to set a new high FTP on the bike. But that was back in February. I began my Build in mid-February and everything fell apart in short order. It's now mid-April, and two months later I'm re-starting my Build - definitely the latest I've ever commenced this phase of my training. So what happened? The short answer is: life.
For a longer answer, here's my TrainingPeaks calendar for the past two months:
I got the first week of TrainerRoad's Olympic Triathlon Build done, but couldn't complete the weekend's long ride - life got a little crazy and I was wiped out for a few days (there's a recurring theme of 2 hours of sleep/night throughout this period). I elected to do some maintenance and attempt the culminating workout the following Saturday... which ended up being Sunday, and I still included my sunday "long" run on top of that. Everything seemed to be going according to plan for Week 2 but by the end of the week I was sick. I recovered from that with just a few days before some minor surgery that would necessitate a week off from training, and I still was not 100% so just some general maintenance work in the short time I had before the surgery.
Unfortunately yet again (due to no sleep at night and the dual germ-exchange programs that are Grade 1 and Daycare) I got sick less than a week into my reintroduction to training. Another few days off due to that, and here we are, the middle of April and I'm back where I was in mid-Frebruary.
The biggest hit has been to my swim fitness - it's amazing how quickly it declines. I've knocked a few watts off my FTP on the bike but it's held together relatively well, and the run is somewhere in between - I'm definitely running at a slower pace in order to hold Zone 2. On the plus side, I'm back running outside again which is awesome after the drudgery of the treadmill. More on that later.
As a byproduct of all of this, it looks as though I may end up with an "A" race this year despite my initial plan - it's unlikely I'll be in good race shape for the first few events of the season. It's kind of depressing that I was in better race shape in February than I am now, but this can't really come as a surprise given my life circumstances. So maybe I'll be able to plan for a peak in Brockville and make another attempt at going under 2:20. We'll see how the intervening months go.
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