Whew!! It's been SO hot the past week or so and I see on The Weather Network that this week will hit nearly 40 again... yuk! I don't understand people who thrive in heat and humidity at all... I feel like a little wilted daisy, dying for water and shade and too exhausted to help myself...
My training last week was pretty dismal. I skulked around from air-conditioned car/house to shady spot... my runs looked like zig-zags from tree to tree... crossing the street as required. I even considered running on the spot under the shade of one particularly large tree in order to satisfy my coach's 30 minute ROTB requirement a week ago Sunday! LOL!
My weekday workouts were terrible. Lack of breath (asthma) playing a large role in my desire to do nothing but sleep in a cool room. I barely ate enough to fuel myself because I just feel too tired to eat. Goody!
On Thursday night, I swam at Professors' Lake in Brampton and realized that I do not like feeling overheated while swimming any more than I like feeling overheated on the run... I couldn't wait to get out of my wetsuit and cap - my body and head felt like they were broiling... ugh! I also realized that it's hugely important to me that my goggles don't fog up - I NEED to be able to see where I'm going! It messes with my brain when I can't see! Guess I'd better pick up a spare pair of Sable Water Optics goggles before race day!
One good thing came out of it, though... I figured out that if I'm swimming a 'loop' in a lake, I will just keep swimming for 'home'... no matter how long it takes... whereas, if I'm swimming out and backs in the lake, I'm far more likely to cop out and get out early (in other words, it's all MENTAL).
I also realized that I really WANT to become a good enough swimmer so that on hot and humid days like that, I have the ability to swim without a wetsuit!
Finally, the weekend came and I was psyched for some 'real' training with the break in the humidity that was promised.
On Saturday I swam my first 'loop' at Kelso. I was so excited! My sighting really sucks and the more I sight, the more disjointed and horrible my swim stroke becomes... I realize this is a learned skill. Instead of worrying if I was going the right way, I just swam... and it felt great! The water was just perfect: cool but refreshing - it felt wonderful!
Apparently, I have a choice: I sight more often and go the right way but waste precious time regaining my stroke... or I sight less, enjoy the swim and glide along and waste precious time going off-course... hmm...decisions, decisions... right now I'm favouring the 'pleasure' factor.
I'm starting to dream of being able to swim TWO loops at Kelso before they close it down on Labour Day... I wonder if I can... ?
Bike training was good this weekend. On Saturday I rode from Kelso and found some flats and rollers along the way. Very enjoyable! It felt like I had a headwind for the first 45 minutes and my speedometer reflected it... wow - I felt so slow compared to last week! I'm starting to not feel intimidated by the rollers that I encounter along the way... progress :)
On Sunday (yesterday) I decided I'd do my bike and run training in Inglewood. Lovely little spot... plenty of parking, nice little General Store, the rail trail (flat and shady run/bike trail for my LSD run ) and a lovely bike shop to walk around in as a reward after training... somehow, I forgot that it's all HILLS in Inglewood... duh... having a shorter bike session, I figured it would be a fairly easy ride, until I remembered that where I parked is surrounded by hills and it's the only way out - LOL!
I was pleasantly surprised that I managed to get up and down all of those hills I found without needing to stand (my knee won't take it...) and without injuring anything or more importantly - without blowing up. A month ago this would not have been possible...
Every time I see a hill now, I wonder if it will be like that at Timberman. Then I figure it may well be so I'd best figure out how to get my butt up and down it safely ;) I can't get over the difference my new rear cassette has made! I can actually keep my feet pedalling up some of the more steep and short climbs... I also realized that sometimes a hill looks way more scary than it actually is... some of them looked downright menacing until I was zooming up them without super-human effort... (note: your definition of 'zoom' may differ).
The run on the FLAT (ie. EASY) trail could not have felt harder! Holy cow... I know I have to teach my body to run while tired... but ... seriously??? That was UGLY. My pace felt like a shuffle and I was so hot that I ran out of fluids and had to stop to replenish near the end. I wondered when it would be over. UGH. I fear that Timberman will be something like that... although the run is not flat... at least there will be Aid Stations on the course... one cup of water for me, one cup of water for my head... that should help... right??
Ah well... it is what it is... My race is now about 6 weeks away... OMG - MY RACE IS ONLY ABOUT 6 WEEKS AWAY???!!?!?!?!
(Gulp)
HAPPY TRAINING, EVERYONE!
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