So what's new?

Well, it's been a while now since Clearwater.   I certainly haven't sat around and done nothing, but for the most part, I've just been winging it.   Just before Christmas I got into a routine that I think I will get going again in January (starting next week when the new swim group I'm going to be in starts up).

I see the next few months going something like this in terms of weekly training:

Mondays:
Trainer ride at home starting around 5:30-5:45am for about an hour.   This gets me done, cleaned up and out the door to the gym by around 7:00-7:15.   I can usually be at Northfield Racquet Club (NRC) by 7:45.   This gives me a half hour or more to do some strength training and to get to work by 9am.   At noon, I'll swim for an hour or so at Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU) with a group of triathlete buddies from the Waterloo area.

Tuesdays:
Starting next week, I'm going to be joining a coached masters swim workout 2x week (Tues & Thurs) at 5:30am at the University of Waterloo (UofW).   Yes, that is awfully early, but something has to give when you are training for an Ironman.   The swim is coached by UofW swim coach Jeff Slater.   I did a couple of sessions with him in December, and he is a great guy.   At only $60/month for coached sessions with feedback, it's a great deal!   By 6:30am, the swim is done and I can still get to NRC for a 30-40 minute run (either tempo or some intervals on the treadmill) and 30 minutes of strength training.  To work again by 9am and feeling like I accomplished something that morning!

Wednesdays:
Another trainer ride at home for 60-90 minutes and then to NRC by 7:45 for more strength training...around 30 minutes.   At lunch, I'll head down to WLU for another hour of swimming (hopefully with the guys).

Thursdays:
Back to UofW for another 60 minute swim session with Jeff Slater and a few local triathletes.   Again, after that, over to NRC for a 30-40 tempo or hill run on the treadmill.   I'll get outside for these runs when the weather gets better, but in January and February, I feel I get alot more bang for my buck doing treadmill running.   I used to find it totally boring, but I have found quite an improvement in my speed and form doing more treadmill work.   Plus, you just don't have to put all that "gear" on.   That saves 10 minutes for sure (5 minutes on and 5 minutes off).  I'll get in around a 20-30 minute strength training session as well before work.

For two months starting January 6th, I'm going to do a 60-90 minute Computrainer ride at Dearborn Health (http://www.dearbornhealth.com/) with Zach Weston's group at 5:15pm
http://www.ironheartfitness.ca/main6.cfm?id=FF2335F5-09EF-5E02-9193E5256CBAA490
(Take note of the cool picture at the bottom of this link!!....yah, that's me!!)

Fridays:
Likely just head to NRC to do a light strength training workout, stretching and sit in the hot tub!!   An easy morning for sure!!    The reason for that is because I usually schedule my long outdoor run for Saturdays, so going hard Friday's isn't very smart.   At lunch, I'll try to get to WLU again at lunch for an hour swim with the guys again.

Saturdays:
Weather permitting (generally), I'll try to get a long run in with my running buddy from New Hamburg, Darryl Huras.   We're both doing the Around the Bay 30K in March and then heading to Boston for the marathon on April 18th.   It's definitely good to have someone to do these types of runs with during the winter when the weather....well....sucks!!   Knowing someone is expecting you to show up at a certain spot definitely helps you get your butt out the door!   Darryl is likely a slightly better runner than I am, so I don't have to worry about going to hard and dropping him.   We can run together and be equally challenged at the same time.   We have a plan to do various distance training runs up to around 35-38K pre Boston, and so far things have been going well.   Yesterday we did 25K and in a couple weeks, we'll likely be doing 28K.

That's about it for Saturday's, and when you run that far, that's all you really feel like doing.   I'll defintely do some stretching at the end of the day in which we do these long runs!

Sundays:
This is sort of my day off from triathlon training.   I do play hockey at 9am up until April or so, and I enjoy this.   It's different, and certainly works different muscles.   It's my version of "cross training" from triathlon training.   It's not very intense, so I hope my chances of getting injured are minimal, as that would really suck!!

So that is basically what I'll be up to for the next 2-3 months.   Come March, I'll likely try to start doing some longer rides 2-3 hours on the trainer maybe, if the weather outside stays nasty.    As soon as those warm spring days kick in, I'll definitely be switching over to longer bike rides on the weekends.   By then, I'll also be starting to ride to work, so more frequent bike rides will hopefully get the bike fitness up quickly.

It's hard to believe it's January, and before we know it, the winter will be gone and the spring will be here...I hope anyway!!