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Jun8

Polar Performance Report: May

Well, May was certainly an interesting training month. I did not log the run mileage I normally do simply because I took almost three weeks completely off to heal up my shin. It is certainly much better and I am cautiously putting a load back on it. I am pleased that I didn’t run it into the ground like I would have in the past. Believe it or not, I am actually getting wiser in my old age.

So what did May look like for training?

mq051khv

SPORTS TRACKED: Cycling, Running, Swimming, Strength, Mountain biking

RUN STATS: 158.8 KM

Run Elevation: 612 M

Run Hours: 21

Rest Days: 2

Longest Run: 40 KM leg in Happy Mutant

Shortest Run: 3.0 KM brick run

Most enjoyable training run: None really stick out in my mind – which is why it is probably best that I took a break! Best training in general was the May long weekend trip to Muskoka where I sampled the race course.

muskoka

New/interesting places I trained: Ottumwa, Iowa, USA; Muskoka, ON

Swim: 20,620 m

Cycling KM: 474.9
muskoka2

Mountain Biking KM: 445.3

Strength workouts: 4. Solid once a week average. Could improve but still 4 x better than last month!

Cross Training: 2 hours. One hour of hot yoga and one hour of bouldering.

RACES

Sporting Life 10 KM – New PR – 38:08

sportinglife10km2

 

Happy Mutant – 500+ KM, 72 HR. Race report coming as soon as I have all the video footage.

raid

TOTALS

may

Thoughts:

I dialled back on the training a bit this month to heal up my shin and I was grateful to see results. It is hard not to run. But sometimes, an extended break is necessary and it certainly was the case here. I really focused hard on cycling and almost doubled my mileage on the bike. To be honest, without running, I was in a bad head space right after the Sporting Life 10 KM and had a week of bad workouts where everything seemed to go wrong. There was rain, I hated that I was biking and not running and to be honest, I think I was just plain old tired. I just kept going, knowing that workout funks happen and tried my best to increase with a little extra TLC in sports recovery and sleep.

My biggest breakthrough was in the pool. My coach took some time to work on my stroke and I am now swimming slightly faster with 1/4 of the effort. Things seem to be coming together which is great considering the IRONMAN is next month…

My second biggest breakthrough was in mountain biking. I did almost 500 KM on the bike with about 100 KM of it on technical terrain and about 300 of it on hills. I am getting stronger and more confident on the mountain bike and although I have a long way to go, I wouldn’t consider myself a novice anymore.

mountain bike

I used the Polar V800 to track all of my track work, outdoor cycles and runs this month. I used the Polar cadence sensor to help with my indoor training ride. I used the Polar A360 to track all my strength workouts.

I am a Performance Project athlete under the coaching of Dave Galloway.

For June:

It is the final push to the 70.3. From conversations with my coach and a glimpse at my training schedule, it is going to be a high volume push to the finish line. I am headed to a training camp this weekend in Lake Placid, doing a long course triathlon as a race simulation and doing multiple 4 hour rides and 1/2 marathon distance training runs. I will be perfecting my transition times, grabbing food while on the bike and getting comfortable in my wetsuit in open water. In other words, I am going MIA socially and jumping head long into a month long dress rehearsal for Muskoka. I never do anything half way and this is my first real triathlon so I want to do it WELL.

I am bringing back running, but cautiously. I am feeling good and even won an impromptu race last weekend so the tempo speed is there. I just need to focus on not doing too much too soon.

June will be mostly triathlon training sprinkled with some strength, paddling and mountain bike work outs as a nod to a big fall adventure race and an exciting expedition I am doing in November.

Let’s DO this!

You can follow my training sessions on strava.

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Filed Under: TrainingTagged With: adventure race, Half IRONMAN, Jessica Kuepfer, Muskoka, performance report, Polar, trainingJune 8, 2016

Comments

  1. Morgan @ Wildly Fit says

    June 8, 2016 at 9:12 am

    Have a great time in Lake Placid! Sounds like it will be hard work but lots of fun 🙂

    Reply
    • lacesandlattes says

      June 8, 2016 at 9:13 am

      I am excited! I hear there are LOTS of hill climbs…

      Reply
  2. Stephanie says

    June 8, 2016 at 4:11 pm

    Thank you so much for writing so candidly about the time you had to take off from running. I’m struggling right now as I’m currently in my second week of ZERO activity as I work with my chiropractor to heal an aggravated disc. I’m a cyclist first and a runner second, but regardless of your sport of choice, when it gets taken away you realize how it’s a crucial part of your sanity. I don’t know if your shin issue caused you a lot of stress, but my back injury is something I’m really struggling with right now as a back injury is something I’ve always feared and being sidelined from activity is only giving me more time to think about it.

    I’m glad to hear your shin is responding well to running again – thanks for not only acknowledging that time off to heal is hard, but for setting a positive example by taking the time you need!

    Reply
    • lacesandlattes says

      June 9, 2016 at 8:28 am

      GIRL! I get it. I am still not out of the woods with the shin and it is a frustrating back and forth of coming back too strong, resting, trying again, repeat. I just told my massage therapist that I feel like I will never be better – so I totally get where you are coming from.

      Hang in there. I think every athlete who loves their sport struggles when they can’t participate in it. Be diligent with that rest and you will be back before you know it!

      Reply
  3. Angela @ Eat Spin Run Repeat says

    June 9, 2016 at 11:01 pm

    Girl you are gonna kill it in your 70.3, I know it!! I hear ya on the run break -I’ve actually taken some time off running this week due to suspected iron issues that are making all the things feel harder, but I’m starting to feel like I’m bouncing back (thank goodness, because my next race is in 2 weeks!) Have an amazing time in Lake Placid this weekend, and I’ll be sending you all the strong speedy vibes I can during your final month of training before Muskoka. I can’t wait to see how you do!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Polar Performance Report: June 2016 - Laces and Lattes says:
    July 6, 2016 at 5:33 am

    […] intensity and this week, I am just doing some light activations to prime my body before the race. As I mentioned last month, I went MIA socially to prepare so I am climbing back out of that and focusing on some quality time […]

    Reply

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MY NEXT RACE:

Seattle Half Marathon | Burlington, ON | November 2018

Hi, I'm Jessica and this is my endurance sport blog where I share my training, races and sports nutrition. New here? Feel free to learn more about me here and if you are looking for a place to start, check out my popular posts.

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