March 2017: Polar Performance Report
Happy last day of March! I thought I would get a little bit ahead of myself and share a performance report today to wrap up the month nicely. I can hardly believe that we are already into spring, but I am thrilled. I cannot wait for outdoor long rides, firing up the BBQ and starting on my terrible tan lines!
Before I get too far ahead of myself, let’s back up a few, shall we?
March Training
Distance covered: 1181 KM
Training hours: 74.5
SWIMMING: 5 hrs. Again, a lower swim volume month for me but I am making some huge strides with my form, efficiency and speed. I have been working with some swim experts one on one and working towards a huge swimming goal this fall. It has been fun watching the seconds fall off my 100 M time as I refine my technique.
RUNNING:
I am a pretty low mileage runner and normally stabilise at around 55 – 65 KM a week. The big spike in the first of the month was the 72 Hour Adventure Race and the following week was recovery. Volume is building and this weekend, I have a two and a half hour long run and I have done enough of these that it doesn’t feel unreasonable anymore.
CYCLING:
I am holding most of my cycling at about 150 KM/week with the bulk of those being quality work on the trainer to raise my FTP and get those watts high for long rides to come. Over the coming months, I will build some big ride volume on the bike, but my coach is mercifully not subjecting me to obscene length trainer rides – my longest to date is two hours and a half. I will be knocking one of those off tonight due to a work event on Sunday.
Cross Training:
I don’t track it, but something I have added to my rotation every single day is strength training. A lot of it is body weight, resistance or plyometrics, but it has served in making me strong and correcting a few imbalances before I start really loading up with volume.
New/Interesting Places That I Trained
The biggest place for me this month was Florida. It was so interesting to see the side of Florida that I rarely see: the forests, lakes and mountain bike trails that are often not the first thing you think of when you think of training in Florida.
Races
Just this one. I was trying to figure out why my mileage and hours were so much higher than last month’s and then I remembered those 72 hours…
Gear/Training
I used the Polar V800 to track all of my track work, outdoor cycles and runs this month. I have also raised my FTP over 40 watts since December by tracking my power with the Keo Power Bluetooth Smart Pedals. I will be talking more about them soon, but all that hype about power training? It’s true…
Stillllll using my New Balance 860 for almost everything. I love my Vazee for speedwork which I am increasing due to my next race goal.
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. Those power pedals? They are put to use with the training programs in the software.
Thoughts
PHYSICAL
Ok. So can I just give my body a huge shout out? I know everyone is critical of their body but doing a 72-hour adventure race and bouncing back quickly due to conditioning and a healthy body is worth so much more to me than how I look in a pair of tight jeans. This month, I really celebrated the strength, endurance and power that I am able to consistently put out and I am not meaning to come across as arrogant. I have days where I think poorly about my body just like everyone else, but I work really hard to put that aside and I was proud that this month, my body and I were on the same team. I have been doing all of those little things they tell you to do like sleeping enough, eating to replace not just the calories you need to sustain your health but the ones you burn in exercise, drinking enough, strength training, etc and I feel AWESOME. Training is going well. Yes, I occasionally get niggles here and there that I adjust my training to support, but for the most part, it is a consistent and joyful journey forward.
MENTAL
As you can see, pretty damn good. I have been doing some gritty workouts this month and I mentally prepare for them beforehand which has made a difference and I set a goal that I want to achieve with each one. I put less pressure on perfection and just think about it as just trying my best and putting another brick down as I build this house. I don’t feel fast every workout, but I feel happy, motivated and strong.
FOR APRIL
My next goal race is the Mississauga Half Marathon on May 7 so I am spending April focusing on that. I am excited to partner with one of their main sponsors as I train for the event, SierraSil and I am particularly liking their topical spray for minor aches and pains after a workout. I combine that with foam rolling and boom! I feel awesome and ready for the next workout. I will be doing lots of race pace focused run workouts with my eyes on the best race I can run in May!
Biking will continue to grow. I am at a really fun stage where I am improving my leaps and bounds with the addition of formal training software and just plain old consistency.
Swimming, like I said, is my weakest link but I am working relentlessly on that and surrounding myself with experts. I also have put a pretty ambitious goal for this fall on my list and I will be in the pool training consistantly for that. The biggest thing I am working on right now is my rotation as my left side is a little off.
Other than that, just consistant strength training and muscle therapy to stay strong and healthy.
Off to train!
