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GOALS FOR NOVEMBER (5)

Feb8

Why Fitness Isn’t Linear

I am using this workout Wednesday to chat about the workouts that I have completed over the past month. January was the second month of my Ironman training plan and I continued to work on base. Right now, the focus is really on bike and swim fitness while keeping my running mileage around 50 KM a week. My body doesn’t really love the high mileage running and I find that a weekly volume of 50-70 KM is perfect for my goals.

Distance covered: 796 KM

Training hours: 50

SWIMMING: 9 hrs. I average about 6-8,000 m a week right now.

RUNNING

Capture

I had wisdom tooth surgery the week of Jan 23. Jan 16 week was my peak volume week in my plan.

RIDING

All rides were indoors on the trainer. Keeping mileage low and intensity high until I get get on those beautiful outdoor rides.

All rides were indoors on the trainer. Keeping mileage low and intensity high until I can get on those beautiful outdoor rides.

New/Interesting Places that I Trained

Nothing crazy this month. I trained in Waterloo, Toronto and Markham in January.

Gear/Training

I used the Polar V800 to track all of my track work, outdoor cycles and runs this month.  Can I just talk about Polar’s customer service for a second? I had an issue with my watch and they went over and above to get me a new one so I had a seamless training week. I was so so impressed with them.

The New Balance 860 continues to be my favourite shoe as I build mileage. It is my current favourite in my rotation.

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

I have been using TrainerRoad software on the bike and noticing some big fitness gains as a result.

Thoughts

Physical

This is the first month that I have started feeling “fit”. Winter is not the time to be in top shape but I felt like a lumbering bear for the first month of my training which was a combination of time off, holiday festivities and just re-adjusting to the workload. Right now, I am slipping back into a nice rhythm of things and feeling really strong and healthy. I am nailing my paces in running and my power zones in cycling but not exceeding them. Right now, it is about that slow, consistent build to get in wicked shape for my races. 

I have also been really good with the preventative stuff. Lots of strength, stretching and yoga!

Capture

Mental

I had a few hard workouts this month and they were my own doing. My worst one on the bike was under fuelling for a set of over-unders. I struggled to hit the power zones and ended up adjusting the overall intensity because it just wasn’t my day. That is so hard mentally to do, but less than a week later, I tried again and was way OVER my power zones. It just shows that fitness is not linear. There are so many different elements that affect individual workouts, especially when you are balancing a full-time career alongside a training plan.

My second hard workout was a completely boneheaded move on my part. The week that I had surgery, a crazy week work-wise AND my grandmother’s funeral, I backloaded my week with workouts. Let’s get one thing straight. If you miss a workout, it’s gone. DO NOT make it up or try to cram it in. Continue on with your plan and stay consistent. I made an emotional decision and decided to proceed with running intervals, even though I wasn’t physically feeling up to it. This was the result:

Capture

The paces I should have been easily hitting felt hard and that is really mentally discouraging. Honestly, I knew better and knowing when to pull back and when to go is a constantly evolving learning experience for me. Less than a week later, I was meeting a hard tempo workout pace with wind in my face without a problem. Same girl, different rest levels and mental outlook.

For February

I am bookending the month with races. This coming weekend, I will be doing the Refridgeeighter 8 KM as one of my tempo workouts. The rest of the month will be a slow build for the ironman and putting in the hours towards my first big adventure race of the year at the beginning of March. I cannot believe I am less than a month out from the Sea to Sea 72 HR. My teammate and I have been studying maps from last year and it looks to be fast and flat. (Well, as fast as you can be when you are going hard for 72 hours.) Quite frankly, I am just getting excited to go back to Florida for some vitamin D!

This month, I am also planning a USA training weekend to prime my mountain bike handling skills leading into the adventure race and get some trail running miles under my feet.

Also – the winner of my Merrithew Pilates giftpack is:

Capture

Ok – time to go train!

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Filed Under: TrainingTagged With: FLX Adventures, Jessica Kuepfer, New Balance Canada, performance project, polar global, RunWaterloo, Trainer RoadFebruary 8, 2017

Comments

  1. Elizabeth says

    February 8, 2017 at 12:46 pm

    I love that you are 1. Doing yoga! Yay! And 2: really aware of the connection between the mental and physical in your training. Good luck in February!

    Reply
    • lacesandlattes says

      February 10, 2017 at 12:52 pm

      Ha – I figured you would like the yoga thing. Mental is so connected.

      Reply
  2. Brittany says

    February 8, 2017 at 2:32 pm

    ” I felt like a lumbering bear” – probably the best analogy I’ve heard all month. I completely knew the feeling you were trying to describe! My fitness has been ALL over the board the last while, but I’ve been rolling with it and trying my best to listen to my body. The days that my stamina is on my side make me feel like I can do anything.

    Reply
    • lacesandlattes says

      February 10, 2017 at 12:51 pm

      I read your post. I am SO GLAD you are feeling better.

      Reply
  3. Kirsten says

    February 8, 2017 at 3:03 pm

    Great post. I always beat myself up when I miss a workout and that is not productive. Life happens and we can’t blame ourselves for it.

    I’ve been all over the board this month too, getting sick twice hasn’t helped.

    Reply
    • lacesandlattes says

      February 10, 2017 at 12:51 pm

      Everyone seems to be getting sick twice this month! Feel good soon!!!

      Reply
  4. Rachel @ Better LIVIN says

    February 9, 2017 at 9:35 am

    “If you miss a workout, it’s gone. DO NOT make it up or try to cram it in.” That is SUCH great advice! I know I always want to cram in a run if I miss it by doing it on a scheduled rest day.

    Reply
    • lacesandlattes says

      February 10, 2017 at 12:51 pm

      I know. I used to be bad for it to but I find that it causes me to get injured.

      Reply
  5. Olivia says

    February 9, 2017 at 12:34 pm

    That’s a really cool fitness tracker! I didn’t even know that existed, how cool!

    Reply
    • lacesandlattes says

      February 10, 2017 at 12:49 pm

      It is pretty great! I love it! It is the Polar V800.

      Reply
  6. Erica says

    February 10, 2017 at 8:12 am

    Amazing advice! I’ve got sick twice this month, my fitness has been all over the board!
    This Saturday I will start to training again!
    http://www.ericavoyage.com

    Reply
    • lacesandlattes says

      February 10, 2017 at 12:50 pm

      Getting sick is the worst! Fingers crossed you feel better soon!

      Reply
  7. Amanda says

    February 10, 2017 at 6:06 pm

    Totally agree with you -cramming missed workouts into the remainder of the week has never made for a good training session. Best of luck at your 8 km race!

    Reply
  8. Jennifer says

    February 13, 2017 at 10:14 pm

    This is so so true! I have been working on getting my body figured out and finally finally got a diagnosis of hypothyroidism. Now I am working hard to be patient and let the meds do their thing while I get to feeling like myself again!

    Reply
    • lacesandlattes says

      February 14, 2017 at 10:24 am

      Oh no, Jennifer! I am so sorry to hear that. I hope that you can get this sorted soon.

      Reply
  9. Angela @ Eat Spin Run Repeat says

    February 14, 2017 at 10:32 pm

    Oh girl, that bit about not trying to cram in a workout when life is handing you a case of the crazies – SO true. I’ve learned that lesson the hard way, although not as hard as you recently had it. I’m so happy for you that you’re starting to see those new fitness improvements and have no doubt that you’ve got a super strong season ahead. Enjoy that mountain biking!!

    Reply
  10. deborah says

    February 26, 2017 at 4:08 pm

    your fitness journey is so inspiring! i love how you are so forthcoming and open with your goals

    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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