Polar Performance Report – October 2016

October was a weird month, training-wise. I know I have lost top end fitness because I have not done speed work since August. This is always frustrating to me to let go of hard earned fitness, but the good news is, if you keep a solid fitness base, you can snap it right back up when you need to dial it in.

To sum up this month: I have done a little bit of a work and a lot of what you should do in an off-season: tons of strength training that focuses on my imbalances, regular appointments with my physio to make sure everything is primed and good to go for when I start up training again and a whole lot of playing.

Some stats from this month:

Distance covered: 356.5 KM

Running KM: 198.5 (a crazy month where I ran further than I cycled!)

Cycling KM: 158 (most of this was on my mountain bike. The trails are awesome this time of year)

Training hours: 26

This is a huge difference in distance and hours when compared to my on-season.

New/interesting places that I trained and raced: 

Breakthrough workout: 

Mountain biking the hydrocut this month. This is a scary trail for me as it has tight corners and lots of technical bits. I went riding with some friends and not only did I do everything on the path, I sought out harder lines to challenge myself. I am thrilled with how my technical skill is progressing and how much I am relaxing on the bike. I did a few huge descents that I have always ran my bike on before so I was a happy camper. I just need to work on my speed over this now and I will be a force.

Races:

The RunWaterloo 5 KM Classic – 19:07

I did this one somewhat reluctantly but it was a last hurrah with my running team and I wanted to be a part of the fun. I knew it was a fast course but I have not done speed work in two months and my hamstring was a little touch and go. I decided to do it as a tempo run to get in some quality run work for a change and see where my fitness was at. I felt my hamstring almost immediately at 1 KM so I shortened my stride and mentally adjusted for my day. This would probably have been a good 30 s slower on a flat course, but overall, I had a fun, safe race on a gorgeous and speedy course. RunWaterloo just released their 2017 schedule so if you are local and interested in joining me for a few races next year, check it out. It is my all time favourite series with some fun routes in my own backyard.

Gear:

I used the Polar V800 to track all of my track work, outdoor cycles and runs this month.  I have been wearing my Polar M200 which is the new watch from Polar. I will be announcing a giveaway for a unit next week.

I did the 5 KM Classic in New Balance 1400s. These are my favourite shoes for shorter races.

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

Thoughts

Physical

I have been able to maintain a solid fitness base. All of my runs are at a conversational and “forever” pace and often with friends. I have had a harder time getting out on long rides on the bike as it is getting colder so most of my cycling is either spin classes or mountain biking so it is lower mileage. I have really increased my strength training – not to build muscle but to strengthen my weak areas. I am doing lots of bridges, kettlebell swings, squats and push ups to make sure I have a strong structure to work with. I want to be unbreakable next year! I also have been cleaning up my act nutrition wise. To be honest, I am not following it perfectly, but strive for at least 80% adherence and I am feeling much better even with that!

Mental

I am reading Roar by Stacy Sims. This is so good for my mental health right now as I frame my focus for next year. Focusing on my own performance and why I will never be as strong or as fast as the awesome males I train with is so healthy for me as I am too competitive for my own good. I will do a deeper dive into what I have learned with a book review later.

Otherwise, being in an off season sucks. It’s not fun any more. I am starting to miss the regular workouts and being able to log on and see what I need to do that day. It is fun to engage in some riskier behaviour like doing a random 60 KM hike in the middle of nowhere and not worry on what it will do to next week’s workouts or to skip a day of activity or two but I am ready to get back to the grind.

For November

This is my last month off and I am going to make the most of it. I hate November – I find it the most blah month of the year. I am going to continue with strength training and easy running. I have an adventure racing training day with some mountain biking and trail running slotted and I have put in an awesome team for the 25 km Raid the Hammer event. (If you haven’t signed up, get on it – they are almost sold out!)

I have set up my training room and will be starting to do a bike workout once or twice a week. Another BIG thing I am doing this month is getting back to the pool. I have started training with a local triathlon swim club and I am hoping to sharpen up my form.