May Polar Performance Report

We are getting a little deep into June but I wanted to revisit May’s training.

May Training

Distance covered: 1132 KM

Training hours: 59

SWIMMING: 8 hrs.

RUNNING:

May was a fantastic month of running. I felt strong and consistent.

CYCLING

I added some longer cycles into the training in May which will translate into greater success at the Ironman.

New/Interesting Places I Trained

Ottawa/Gatineau area – I absolutely adored the cycling in Gatineau Park. It was so much fun doing a run the following day and cheering on racers doing the Ottawa Marathon.

Races

I don’t want to belabour this race, as I just spoke about it in the last post, but I truly was pleased with my performance in the Mississauga Half Marathon and ran a better time than I was expecting.

Gear/Training

I used the Polar V800 to track all of my track work, outdoor cycles and runs this month.  On my bike, I use the  Keo Power Bluetooth Smart Pedals and the heart rate strap to get accurate feedback for my work on the rides.

Last month, I rotated in my Vazee from New Balance and I am already almost at their life span. I am trying to decide which shoe I am going to race the Ironman in so I can start breaking them in and I am unsure which shoe I will bring in to replace them with. Any suggestions?

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

I have been using TrainerRoad software on the bike. For the longer rides though, I do prefer to be outside. I am planning on using them for my interval work over the summer.

Thoughts

PHYSICALLY

This is the month where things came together. The process is just jiving with my fitness and I am thrilled. I feel fit and strong on the bike, running is feeling easy at higher speeds than I am used to and the swim is about as good as my swim will be. That being said, I know I have some heavy weeks ahead of me, so I am focusing on lots of hydration, lots of sleep and keeping up with the calories. I am practising race day nutrition whenever possible.

MENTALLY

This was a strong month for mental strength. I was a little apprehensive going into the half marathon. I know fitness is fitness but I don’t feel fast training for the Ironman because everything is at a much lower zone than I am used to working. I was so shocked that I ran my best time so far and it provided a much needed mental boost to help propel me through the rest of the month’s training.

FOR JUNE

I had mentioned a mild case of shin splints in a post earlier. It continues to improve but I am taking no chances. Until it feels 100%, I am skipping runs if I think it is necessary. My focus is running a strong and healthy marathon at the end of the ironman and no training today is worth jeopardising that. I have a big training camp this weekend and the focus for that will be a strong run off the bike portion. Sometimes it frusterates me to not be indestructible as an athlete but I know I am not. I listen to my body and the ironman has been really good for helping me keep the big picture in mind.

Cycling is going very well. I am feeling very strong and absolutely loving it. To be very honest, I do look forward to riding my other bikes as well – whenever I see a beautiful gravel back road, I itch to take out my cross bike, but all in good time. Right now, I am focused on specificity and getting as many hours in on my time trial bike as possible. This month, I will be adding the race wheels to get a feel for them as well and practicing rolling dismounts and the like.

No huge break throughs in the pool this month. Just a lot of consistant, hard work with the hopes that it will translate into something big. This month, I am transitioning to outdoor swimming to practice sighting and race specific swimming.

How was your May training?