Here we go my friends, I’m in, we’re in!!

This past week has been a blast. It was 2-a days- each day, in the water at 6:27 am and running or cycling later on in the day, or riding early and strength training later. It’s all about the rhythm right now, for example, I know if I get out of the pool at 8:00 and on the road by 8:15, I will have time to make something to eat when I get to the office. This means I will be awake and fueled for any 9:00 meeting that comes my way. However, out of the water at 8:05 could mean a quick bar instead and then everyone in the meeting looks like a different food group.

For those who emailed to tell me that you are training for your first big event, don’t worry, the rhythm WILL happen for you too. The first week (s) can seem so hard, you wonder, “I can’t live the next 8 months this tired and scattered”. The truth is that you won’t. Now is the time to figure out how you will eat within 30 minutes of your workouts and before kids and/or work. Whether it is a bar or a peanut butter-Nutella and banana sandwich, (ugh! I meant to say, almond butter and banana sandwich) or a recovery shake, this part of training is so important, it really sets your energy level up for the rest of the day. I suggest always having healthy bars and recovery shake powder on hand because you will forget sometimes and it’s nice to have something to hold you over until you can eat something more substantial. I like the products from Hammer Nutrition but there are many more on the market. (www.hammernutrition.com).

When you spend so much time in the pool, running and riding, you begin to make subtle connections between your training and the world around you. For example, I noticed that the lines in the pool were the same colors as my blog page (notice I changed the colors), I was in a meeting on Friday, I looked at a sketch of a top and while pointing at the pocket, I made a comment about the, “pillow” (where I wanted my head to be). Another good one, after my friend Ralph rode me into the ground during a rollers workout, I was so hungry at a meeting that I said, “Yam” instead of “Ram”. I also noticed on the way to work that not all red lights are timed the same and the one just before the I-5 onramp is about the same amount of time as my 50 free repeats (2 lengths freestyle in the pool).

Now for the recap:
My workouts this past week:
3 swims
3 bikes
3 runs
1 strength training

Swim: Coach D has reined me back a bit in yardage which is great because I actually had the energy to do everything else. Clever guy. My workouts were all under 3,000 yards, and a combination of drills, shorter repeats and a timed 1000.

Bike: One of the great things about living in the NW is outdoor winter riding means mountain biking. Mountain biking is great because it really fine tunes your bike handling skills and makes you a stronger hill climber. Also, we can’t forget about the mental benefits of getting off the road, away from the hustle and bustle and into the woods. The fresh air, animals, soft ground, beautiful trees, its all so great and I look forward to it each week. I did one 3:30 mountain bike ride and 2 rides on the rollers. I’m a big fan of the rollers and pick them over a trainer any day. I have found that riding the rollers forces you to develop a faster cadence, it’s either that or, “hello entertainment center, floor, wall or whatever else is around you”. Some people like trainers better because they feel that they offer better resistance, I say, “that’s what mountain biking is for”.

Run: I ran 3 times this week which was a challenge due to the snow and ice. I love running in those conditions on the trails but along the sidewalks near work is another story. My runs were around an hour each with the exception of the weekend where I was scheduled for 90 minutes on the tails. I ran the trails with Rob and Cadie, our usual weekend group. Cadie (our Border Collie) is a constant reminder to always have fun, no matter what. All along the runs and rides, she is hopping up on stumps, jumping over branches, sniffing stuff and of course rolling in horse poo. Just when I want to get serious about a hill, she’ll make me laugh, “Keep it light she say’s, and you will fly like me”.

I’m feeling great and I’m pumped about the next 8 months! For now though, I will focus on next week. Thanks for reading :) See you next Sunday.