July Polar Performance Report – 2017
And just like that, the biggest race of 2017 is behind me.
It has been an AWESOME year of racing and I am content to enter into the next phase of my training but more on that later. Let’s talk training stats.
July Training
Distance Covered: 1194 KM
Training Hours: 63
Swimming – 17.5 KM
Running – 209 KM
Biking – 740 KM
New/Interesting Places I trained and Raced
MUSKOKA
Mark and I headed up to Muskoka to cheer on our friends who were racing the 70.3 and it was an incredible way to get pumped up for the Ironman. We did a long ride and long run over the weekend which was a great simulation for Lake Placid because of all of the hills.
There is NOTHING better than mountains and lakes. It was a perfect first race experience. If it ever hurt, I looked around and took in the beauty of the course. There is a reason this course has been one of the longest running courses in the USA.
Gear and Partnerships
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.
I did my marathon in my New Balance 1400s which was perfect other than the fact that I didn’t size half a size up and my toenails turned back. Seriously. I am still having a hard time with shoes.
I am a Performance Project athlete under the coaching of Dave Galloway.
Thoughts
PHYSICALLY
ZAMMMMN. I have NOTHING but good things to say about how my body performed this month. I tapered well, raced strong and recovered quickly. The little post tib issue I had last month magically cleared up and by magically, I mean I went to a bunch of massages and had it loosened up. Note to self: continue with sports massage on a regular basis instead of pre-race binging. As the race approached, I finally got my running legs back and felt ready.
I never felt the taper crazies which means I welcomed the break but I never felt burnt out. I don’t ever use a scale but when they weighed me for the race, I was bang on where I was told I should race at which shows that the tactic of ice cream and peanut butter by the jar works for me to prepare for a race.
It was just such a pleasure to go into the Ironman feeling trained, rested and ready to lay everything out there.
MENTALLY
I was almost taken aback by how calm I was leading up to the race. I think it was because I knew I had done everything in my power to have the best race possible so all that was left to do was do the race. Through the entire race, I felt positive, motivated and happy. I actually didn’t need to draw once on the mantras that I had ready for the race. There was one moment on the bike where I just was feeling tired of biking at around 150 KM and I just refocused my mind. On the run, there was a spot around 28 KM where my feet felt heavy and I just focused on turning them over as quickly as possible. I was told by some friends spectating that I was focused to a fault – they were yelling my name throughout the day with zero acknowledgements from me. I didn’t hear them yell once. It was just a great day out there and I was grateful to be able to participate in such an important event for me.
FOR AUGUST
My coach and I met to recap the race at the end of July and decided to just call it quits until December 2017. I was 100% focused on this goal since December 2016 and poured double digit weeks of training at it with a structured plan and right now, I am taking a break. I am going to sit and drink caesars on sunny patios with friends and cook some awesome food and read some good books and spend unhurried time with loved ones. Of course I am going to keep training, but I am not following a set plan and until December, there is not a single workout I NEED to do.
I am going to be varied in my work out schedule. I will be going back to Muay Thai for a while to work on my explosive strength and plyometrics. Hand in hand with that, I am going to go back to the track a little more to get some speedy legs back for the ITU Worlds this month. Other than that, I am doing easy trail runs, mountain biking, bike commuting to work, my masters swim group and whatever else I feel like – essentially I will be playing for the rest of the summer and it feels really good right now.
I am too all over the place to say I am focusing on anything this month. Beginning this weekend, I will start doing some adventure racing specific work. I am doing a training day with a heavy pack with some mountain biking and trail/bush running for Nationals in September. I am hoping to do a minimum of one mountain bike ride a week to get my technical skills brushed up on and the dust off that mountain bike!
I will be sharpening my legs leading up to worlds in the first half of August, racing the duathlon in Penticton and then spending a lot of time just exploring BC on bike and by foot.
The final week of August will be solely focused on swim-run training and drills with my team mate for the Amphibious Challenge on September 10.
It’s time to play! Have an awesome Wednesday.
