This summer has being going great, and I hope to write a more comprehensive overview of all that I've done/accomplished this year, but here's a little snapshot:
2nd Place AG/5th Overall at Midland Sprint
4th Place AG at Bala Sprint
first sub 4:00 KM (I know it's no 4:00 mile, but it's a big deal for me!)
set a new 1/2 marathon PB by 7:00 @ 1:38, and still feel like I could go faster
broke 32:00 on the line 1 TT course (if it were a wind-less night, I could probably break 31:00 on Golf Course Rd right now)
My recovery from my injury has gone really well, although I do have a lot of pain from time to time, especially the day after a race or long run. I just make sure I ice it and listen to my body. One of the best quotes I've heard states: "Bravery is not the man that trains through pain, bravery is the man that knows when not to train". I'm still stubborn from time to time, but I know the difference between an ache and a pain. When my achilles starts feeling the way it did last February, I shut it down for a few days then slowly rebuild, and that's made all the difference. I used to always run fast and try to hold it, inevitably burning out and slowing down. Now I start fast, but not full out, and I always finish way faster than my opening pace. It's how I've been able to put down the fastest times of my life.
I've also gotten a lot smarter about my nutrition and eating habits. Before I trained to lose weight, but this summer I've been training to build strength and I think that's been the big difference. I feel I'm at the perfect weight for my size and the muscle I have/want to build. I currently bounce from 151 - 156 depending on the day/how much beer I drank the day before (lol). Summer 2009 I trained to drop weight from low 170s to low 160s, and 2010 I trained to drop weight from low 160s to low 150s. I don't really gain winter weight as I'm a pretty good cook, and I make sure that everything that I cook is fresh and homemade (rarely do I order out/go through drive thrus). When I found my weight dipping into the high 140s in late May/early June, I decided to make sure that I eat a full and healthy diet. Knowing my dietary restrictions has helped too. I'm pretty much gluten free now (not because it's the "in" thing to do, but because I can't eat regular bread/pasta without severe stomach pains) which has allowed me to eat before training/races, and I have properly fueled post-workout with a protein shake and berries with vanilla soy.
I've been working on my Ironman build, swimming a lot of long distances slowly to get a feel for spending that much time swimming. Last week I swam a total of 6KM (2700m and 3300m) and felt fine. My running has been coming along as well. My long run next will be 28km, and then after that I'll break 30km which will be the longest I've ever ran. I've been slowly building my marathon to run the Hamilton Marathon as my first 26.2. This slow progress has helped me stay healthy and recover quickly so that I can continue training for my Sprints.
My racing this season has been above and beyond what I expected. I thought I would still be a M.O.P. racer, but the times/speeds/results I've been pulling off has me believing that on any given Sunday, I can put myself on the podium, which I have 2 of the last 5 races, narrowly missing a 3rd place in Bala by seconds. My goal was to AG podium in Wasaga, but I'm gunning for the win now. I know it depends on who registers, but I have the confidence in myself that regardless of who is there, that if I can see them on either the bike or the run, I will catch them. I'm biking faster than I ever have before believing that if the elevation is flat, I expect to be 40km/h, and I know what it feels like to run a 3:54 pace over 2KM. Now if only I could swim faster!! That's actually improving, and it's more mental than anything else. My technique is okay, but I don't push myself in the water like I do on the bike and am learning to do on the run. I tend to save too much energy in the swim when I should be pulling as hard as I can with my arms. I get lazy and that's when I lose the front of the pack. But it'll come, I feel it. One of these races it'll just click and I'll be exiting with the leaders.
