Phil's Weblog - April, 2005

I totally Geeked out

I've been feeling a bit depressed about my training lately. It seems, I've been putting in a lot of time at the pool, but not nearly enough time running or biking. It seems I had better workouts in the Winter on my mag-trainer than I've been having outside lately. That said, I didn't feel up to a Mag-Trainer ride last night - and thought I could only get motivated with a run. Guylaine had dibbs on the treadmill, so I got ready to run outside (cold and dark).

I decided to run my modified 5K route (modified, so as not to be running on the parkway, probably not particularly safe at night) - my route goes as such:

My House to intersection of Eastvale and Tisdale = 1 K.
Continue to intersection of Quincy and Delong = 2 K.
Down Delong, towards the parkway, around the bend to the "line in the road" = 2.5 K
Back home = 5 K.

At about 3 K into it, I was feeling good, and not wanting to head home - "Where can I go", I thought - I still wanted to mark my 1K splits, so I headed home, and then immediately took off on another adventure.

My house, up Bickerton to Eastvale, around Loyola to Shefford and up "the HILL". Ah yes: The Hill. I've always thought about doing it, but never really believed I was good enough to do it. I talked myself into - I said, "worse-case" scenario - I walk it. Well, I just did it. It was very anti-climatic, it didn't feel so bad at all.

... I continued, down Montreal road, to Ogilvie, to Eastvale, down Bickerton, past the first entrance to Stiles, up the second entrance, and home. It felt great.

The whole time I was running the extra part, I kept thinking, I wonder how far this is -

"I'll check it out on my bike someday."

"no, I'm not going to Geek out tonight, and measure it with the van."

"Yes, you are."

"No."

"Yes."

...I did.

My house to the bus stop in front of Camilio's (still on Loyola) = 1K
There to just past the Petro Canada on Ogilvie @ Montreal = 2K
Continue down Eastvale to the bus stop just before Bickerton = 3K
Continue home, doing the extra distance down Bickerton = 4K EXACTLY.

So what started out as an unmotivated 5K, turned into a 9K adventure - and I felt good the whole time. Total Time: 45 minutes and change (approx 5 Min/km or 8 Min/Mile). Average Heartrate: 154, Max Heartrate: 164 (at the top of Beacon Hill).

I'll do my Mag-Trainer tonight, watching the Ironman tape.

Better Butterfly

Last night's masters swim didn't feel stellar, but I finished with 20 minutes to spare. So that must be a good thing. Again a record breaking night for attendance: 10.

Warm Up (1600):
400 Easy
2 x (150 Pull, 50 Kick w/Board, 200 IM Dril, 50 Kick w/o Board, 100 IM Swim)
100 Easy

Main Set:
3 x 200 (100 Minimum number of Armstrokes, 100 Easy-Medium)
400 (concentrate on breathing)
4 x 100 IM
400 (200 Easy-Medium, 200 Medium-Hard)
100 Easy
4 x 50 Sprint

Cool Down:
400 Easy

Total Distance: 4,100 Yds (3850m)

Thankfully, I didn't injure myself with all the butterfly. I did take it easy with the fly kicking ... something Hélène noticed, "you're second fly kick is pretty week, you need to work on it a bit." (I'm just trying not to hurt myself!) "But.. she went on, you're arms look good." (I was trying to maximize power with the arms, and minimize the legs).

A Swimmer's Guide to Proper Nutrition

I've been reading alot lately about proper triathlon nutrition: what to eat when training, pre-race meals and to properly refuel during a race. All to avoid the dreaded bonk.

By accident today, I think I cracked the mystery to the ultimate pre-swim nutrition plan.

I had my best swim ever today at lunch time, using this plan. I swam 1,500 m in 26:15 (1:45 / 100m). I beat my previous best by almost 2 minutes. My first 500 split time was faster than my best 500. I felt strong the entire time.

Without furthrer adieu - I present the Swimmer's guide to pre-race nutrition:

6:45: Breakfast, 2 Large bowls of Lucky Charms

8:00: Extra Large McDonald's Coffee (black, 2 sugars)

Between 8:00 and 11:00: 5-6 mini Snickers bars, 7-8 Twizzlers (red licorice), a handful of gummy bears, $4.00 in chocolate coins.

12:00: Swim like a barracuda.



* Individual results may vary.

It may be all the sugar - or it may be that I happened to jump onto a fast paceline in the pool (2 others were pulling me for the first 30 of 66 laps). We may never know...

Post Script -
How the heck did I have access to all of that junk?
Lucky Charms - they're my own doing.
Coffee - office happens to be 20 seconds from McDonald's.
Candy - left overs from the weekly Thursday afternoon office party.

08:27

Today, at lunch, I beat my 500m PB and Goal for the year - a 500m pool swim in under 8:30! Not bad considering, the lane was crowded, and I couldn't do 10% of the flip turns because of all the congestion.

I did it with traditional free-style using bilateral breathing (1-2-3). At about the half-way mark, It felt, like I was in a good rythm, and was reaching for the stroke, rather than pulling it.

21 Year Old American Sensation Lance Armstrong Wins his First Tour Stage

...that was the call last night as I was watching an awesome video I picked up from the Library: 1993 Big Mig's Tour Triple, from Famous Cycling Videos, narrated by Phil Ligget.


Big Mig: Miguel Indurain

I was watching it while on the treadmill last night. 6.21 Miles at a very easy pace 6MPH, which according to my Treadmill Cheat Sheet is 10km, at a 6:13 min/km pace (10 minute miles). Last night's objective was long slow distance (LSD). Avg. Heart Rate = 143. Get your geek on.

...and I shared for 4,100 Yds

Something odd happened at last night's masters swim - a lot of people showed up. Well, no, not a lot, 8 actually; but that's approximately double the normal attendance. And it meant that for the first time, ever, I had to share my lane. ...but it didn't cause any problems.

Warm Up:
400 Easy
2 x (150 Pull, 50 Kick, 100 Drill, 50 Kick, 150 {50 each Back/Breast/Free} )
100 Easy

Main Set:
2 x 200 Medium
800 Start easy, end strong, concentrate on breathing
4 x 100 (25 Easy, 50 Med, 25 Hard)
400 Strong smooth stokes
8 x 50 Sprint on 1,3,5,7; Easy on 2,4,6,8

Warm Down:
200 Easy

Total Distance 4,100 Yds (3750 m)

(No injuries last night!!!)

Objective Met: I swam 1,000 meters naked today

... let me explain ...

I usually swim between 1000 and 1500 meters, 3 times a week Mon - Friday at lunch time. I find it relaxing, therapeutic, and it keeps my overall fitness up. I use it as an opportunity to improve my personal bests, and to meet my racing goals.

Today, I didn't feel like swimming fast - I'm just coming off a cold - but I did want to swim - and I didn't want to crank out 44 mindless laps - I want to start training with a purpose, an objective which will contribute to my overall goal.

Today's objective: Bilateral breathing; concentrate on smooth strong strokes, alternating breathing every three strokes. To force myself to focus on this task - I needed to swim naked - that's right naked - as in with no watch. And so, for the first time in over 5 months, I swam without my watch! I wasn't a slave to the clock - I didn't need to stop at 500m for a split time, I just kept going. I didn't need to beat my PB, or swim 500 sub 9 minutes - I just concentrated on one thing - bilateral breathing. And, I did it. 1,000m - 44 laps of 1-2-3; 1-2-3; 1-2-3; 1-2-3.

Last Saturday’s run was similar – no I didn’t run naked, but I had objectives other than time-based results: 1) I wanted to run far, 2) I wanted to listen to my body and hear what it was telling me 3) I wanted to practice hydrating along the run; 4) I wanted to reassure myself that I didn’t need to run 5min kilometers all the time. – Again all of my objectives were met.

Congratulations Andrew!

Andrew Barnes took his first Tae Kwon Do examination on Saturday, and earned his "Green Stripe" belt. Andrew, and 6 other "white-belts" were tested for flexibility, fitness, kicks, punches, blocks and patterns -- and an oral test on Korean words and terminology. It was one of the most nerve-wracking experiences of my life, just watching, but Andrew just went about it all-matter-of-factly, and did what he was told. Good going buddy!

***

Training

I did a 12K run on Saturday - along the Parkway 1:05:58, avg. Pace: 5:30/km.

Dist (km)	Split	Time
1	4:41	4:41
2	5:04	9:46
3	5:06	14:52
4	5:14	20:06
5 *	5:55	26:01
6 *	5:42	31:44
7	5:07	36:51
8	5:36	42:27
9	5:30	47:57
10 *	6:08	54:05
11 *	6:16	1:00:22
12	5:36	1:05:58

* I think stretches 5,6,10 and 11 are a little longer than a kilometer- I'll have to re-measure with my bike.

***

Sunday Bike Ride

We took a leisurely bike ride along the bike path with the kids on Suday. Guylaine pulled Laura in the trailer, and Andrew took the "Trail-a-Bike" attached to me. Andrew is pretty cute on that thing - he's really proud of it. He kept me smiling along the way with quotes like, "We're a good team, right Daddy!" and "Maybe we can do your race together!" -- that's a neat idea!

The funniest was, at one point, I just took a breather, and let Andrew do all the work, he got us up to about 30km/hr, before I had to slow him down for the oncoming stop sign.

***

Guylaine's Homework

Guylaine's final cooking class in next Saturday, when she has her final exam. So in order to study for her exam, she had to make Chicken Parmasean last night for us - yes, it's pretty tough being married to an aspiring chef! It must be odd taking a class, where it's acceptible to have the excuse: My family ate my homework!

An Evening with Lisa Bentley

Last night, myself and about 40 other Triathlon-types crammed into CycleLogik for a one hour presentation from Lisa Bentley. -- What a treat!

Who is Lisa Bentley? She only happens to be the Wayne Gretzky of Triathlon! 8 TIMES Ironman Winner... pause for effect... Winner of 8 Ironman races, including Ironman Australia 2 weeks ago. AND, she is Canadian too!

The evening was from 6:30 to 7:30, I arrived later than I wanted to at about 6:20 - But oddly enough, most people only arrived around 6:29. Anyhow, I walked in, and bang! there she was, chatting with Marissa and Jen Simpson from CycleLogik. My first impression, was no - that's not her (I had only ever seen pictures of her in racing attire - hat and sunglassess) - but there was no mistaking that HUGE COLGATE smile - and, I kind of pannicked - and got all star-struck, so I just kind of quietly loitered around, waiting for the presentation to start.

It started and right away, she captivated everyone - she wasn't at all nervous, she was bubbly, funny, energetic, interesting, and engaging. To top it all of, she was sincere and down to earth.


Orca Rep Dave, Lisa Bentley, Ian Fraser from CycleLogik

What follows, is my recollection of how the presentation went down... (my apologies in advance for any inaccuracies)

- Lisa got started with Triathlon while at university (University of Waterloo - Computer Science).

- She had always been a runner, but during university, she was getting injured often; whenever she couldn't run, she would bike. She said, she had always been swimming.

- One of her friends, introduced her to Triathlon - and she got hooked.

- When she graduated University, she took a job as a teacher, and kept up her training and triathlons

- She went to the doctor one day, because she was feeling low-in-energy, so the doctor asked what her daily routine was - when the doctor learned of her daily routine (Get up: train for hours, work, Get Home: train for hours and Repeat); she said, there's nothing wrong with you other than you're exhausted.

- That same year, she was losing interest in traditional distance triathlon, because they were made to be draft-legal - and she wasn't as strong a swimmer, as the others, so she had a big disadvantage when it got to the bike leg - however, she discovered longer-distance triathlons, and competed in a long distance triathlon in Japan.

- She apparently loved it - but didn't do too well, so she decided she would make a change in her life - and quit work!

- And basically, since that point on, the rest is history.

Some other things that she discussed were the way that she plans her racing schedule, and how she always wants to do Ironman Canada - but made a decision this year not to do it - because, she's felt the timing of it was too close to Hawaii, and that she keeps playing the "what-if" in her head. This was a tough decision for her to make. (In my mind Lisa - you don't need to make any excuses for not doing Canada - we're all proud of you).

She also discussed her mantra, "Everything happens for a reason." For example in IM Australia, this year - she got kicked in the face within the first 100m of the swim, and her goggles filled with water - instead of getting mad, she just kept going, because "Everything happens for a reason" (she actually almost the entire distance with water in her goggles!). Also, on the bike, she was explaining how she mixes her own electrolyte drinks (on the go), from a bottle of concentrate mounted on her bike - well, this year - it got bumped off her bike, early in the race - she didn't panic, because, she knew she could restock with her special needs bag - but at the special needs hand-off point, she missed her bag --so she just compensated with what she had (gels, salt pills and power bars).

She also referenced some of her losses, and how one time when she finished 3rd in a race, she was initially dissapointed, but again, "everything happens for a reason", and she used the loss, to show others that it's ok not to win all the time. (Lance Armstrong-ish).

She also made another reference to Lance Armstrong, in how, when she's preparing for a race, she usually does about an hour of visualization, playing the race over in her head, the swim, the transition, she breaks down the bike ride into segments and the same with the run - so while she's climbing on the bike, she imagines she's Lance Armstrong, out of the saddle, dancing up the hill - I thought this was pretty neat.

Perhaps one of the best things I got out of it, was her tips on mental preparation - the visualization helps, but also - she insisted on not being negative, and not worrying about things, and planning for the worst - my biggest fears are getting hit on the swim, and getting a flat on the bike - she actually mentioned those.

Be prepared, she said, if you get hit in the face on the swim, you can cry about it - or you can plan for it - if you plan properly for it, you say to yourself, "ok, I got hit in the face, what am I going to do -- well, I'm going to continue swimming." The same with a flat - "ok, I got a flat, I know how to fix it, so I'm going to fix it."

She fielded a lot of questions about nutrition (pre-race and during) she admits to topping up with a snack before bed the day before, and only having a small breakfast the morning of, and consuming about 300-500 calories per hour during the race.

Sugar, Salt and Water - apparently is all you really need to keep going through an Ironman. Something she learned the hard way a couple of years ago in Hawaii, where she became fatigued and cramped because of low-sodium levels.

Overall a great evening, a great presentation, a great person, and a great Canadian.

Swim Goal #2 Accomplished!

I swam 1,000 m (44 laps) in 18:03 today, beating my Goal of 18:10, and my previous best of 18:16. When I set my swimming goals for the year - I honestly thought I was shooting for the moon. I really think Master's swimming has paid off - as well, as the Total Immersion Freestyle technique. I will say this though, I'm experiencing some mild discomfort in my chest area right now - and I wouldn't feel like hopping on my bike for 40K - so, I'll have to tone it down for racing.

Yesterday - I had a meeting at the RCMP in the afternoon, and afterwards, I managed to get in 2 loops of the OBC Time Trial circuit along Rockcliffe parkway. It was great to be out on my real bike again. The temperature was still very cold though (around 8 degrees), and the wind is still brutal : it seems like it's in your face in both directions! I managed the first loop in 28 minutes (32k/hr avg speed). I added a second loop at "Leisure" pace - 30k/hr.

Again, I thought 32km/hr was pretty slow, but I double-checked my best duathlon time from last year and it was only 30km/hr. So - the new bike is faster (thank god).

TriGeek Dreams

This site is one of my daily starting spots on the Internet - you've got to check it out - very funny - and oddly enough - inspirational.

POP!

That was the sound, the muscle behind my left knee cap, above my calf made, as I was 10 yds from the wall, finishing a 50 yd Butterfly segment of a 200 I.M.

AHHHHHHHHHH F%#@!

Was the sound of screaming in my head at the pain. Whoever said swimming was low-impact????

Let's start from the start - Tuesday night Master's Swim at the Champagne Pool. (Best deal in town $4.65 drop-in, 90 minute coached session - average attendance: 4).

Posted workout:

Warm Up (2000 Yds)
400 Easy
2 x (200 Pull, 200 I.M. Drill, 200 Kick (100 w/ board, 100w/0), 200 I.M. Swim)

Main Set (2000 Yds) "Pyramid"
4 x 100 (50 Easy, 50 Medium)
2 x 200 I.M.
1 x 400 (Eady/Medium - not breathing every 2 strokes)
2 x 200 (100 Easy, 50 Medium, 50 Hard)
4 x 100 (50 Medium, 50 Hard)

Cool Down: 200 Yds Easy.

Total Distance: 4,200 Yds (3840 m) ~ Ironman swim distance.

*** The injury happened on the 2nd and final 200 IM swim on the warmup section. I had had this same injury a couple of weeks earlier - and again, during the butterfly. I managed to swim/hobble to the wall; and after about 5 minutes of internal swearing/panting, I got it under control.

I managed the whole workout - within the 90 minutes - with some modifications..
1. In the main set I.M.'s I subbed Freestyle for Butterfly.
2. I did touch and go turns instead of flip-turns.

*****

Other news

I have been known to obsess over pace times, and split times and "what-if" scenarios. So I created an online Triathlon Time Managment / Pace Calculator.

http://s121386995.onlinehome.us/phil/tri/tritime.php

Enter the race distances, enter in your estimated pace per 100m of swim, enter your estimated time for T1, your estimated average speed for the bike, your time for T2 and your running pace - and it will calculate the split times and overall finish time for your race.

Give it a Tri!

Today marks the 25th anniversary of Terry Fox's Marathon of Hope.


www.terryfoxrun.org

About Terry Fox (source: http://www.terryfoxrun.org/english/terry%20fox/default.asp?s=1)

Terry Fox was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and raised in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, a community near Vancouver on Canada's west coast. An active teenager involved in many sports, Terry was only 18 years old when he was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma (bone cancer) and forced to have his right leg amputated 15 centimetres (six inches) above the knee in 1977.

While in hospital, Terry was so overcome by the suffering of other cancer patients, many of them young children, that he decided to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research.

He would call his journey the Marathon of Hope.

After 18 months and running over 5,000 kilometres (3,107 miles) to prepare, Terry started his run in St. John’s, Newfoundland on April 12, 1980 with little fanfare. Although it was difficult to garner attention in the beginning, enthusiasm soon grew, and the money collected along his route began to mount. He ran 42 kilometres (26 miles) a day through Canada's Atlantic provinces, Quebec and Ontario.

It was a journey that Canadians never forgot.

However, on September 1st, after 143 days and 5,373 kilometres (3,339 miles), Terry was forced to stop running outside of Thunder Bay, Ontario because cancer had appeared in his lungs. An entire nation was stunned and saddened. Terry passed away on June 28, 1981 at age 22.

The heroic Canadian was gone, but his legacy was just beginning.

To date, more than $360 million has been raised worldwide for cancer research in Terry's name through the annual Terry Fox Run, held across Canada and around the world.

---

Other news:

Lisa Bentley is coming to town!

Talk about celebrity hotspots!

Last week: DAVE SCOTT leads an indoor cycling class.

This week: an impromptu visit from LISA BENTLEY, one of Canada's most decorated and accomplished triathletes!

Fresh off of her fourth Ironman Australia win, Lisa will be gracing Cycle Logik this Thursday to chat and inspire us with some words of wisdom and experience.

We are asking for a donation of $5/a head at the door to go towards Cystic Fibrosis research (a cause close to Lisa's heart).

Come and share this amazing opportunity with us:
Thursday, April 14th, 2005
630pm to 730pm
Cycle Logik (358 Richmond Road, parking on Danforth Lane)
$5 Per Person at the Door
Standing Room Only

Marisa Gallemit
www.cyclelogik.com

Great weekend of training: 72 km bike, 5 km fast run.

I almost beat my 5K PB, without really trying. On Sunday, Guylaine and I went for a leisurly 20K bike ride along some of the bike paths in town (the ones that weren't under 3 feet of water anyways). We had a great ride. It was chilly but sunny. Afterwards, I couldn't resist, I needed to get a run in, so I went out for a 5K.

I took my old 5K route from our house down Shefford to the Parkway, out and back. I've got 1 Km markers set up along the way. I ran hard, but didn't push it. Here were my splits:

Distance (KM)	Lap Time
1	4:26
2	4:36
3	4:36
4	4:42
5	4:28
Total Time	22:48.42

Only this morning, did I realize that I was only 9 seconds off last year's PB. I promised myself, I wouldn't burn it up on the way home, and I didn't so I was proud of myself for holding back --- but geez, if only...

So what does this run tell me?
1) Training on the treadmill has paid off.
2) It is easier to run fast outside, than on the treadmill.
3) If I try hard, I can beat last year's time, and this year's PB.

Whoo-Hoo

do people still say that?

I had my first *REAL* bike ride of the year.

The sun was out, the snow has melted, the roads have been cleared. Temp 5 degrees, wind mid-moderate, a little bit of wind-chill; but Rockcliffe Parkway was mine.

I took an easy 15K lap to warm up my legs, assess and survey the conditions, and get used to the bike.

At the first hash mark, I reset my odomoter and off I went!

About half way through, I checked my average speed, and was dissapointed to see only around 30 K/hr (what!!!! this is the same speed as my hybrid). I pushed on. When I got back to the finish line, sure enough, my average speed was only 30 k/hr - but then I realized that I hadn't in fact reset the odometer, and that the average included my leisurely 15K warm up. I'm guessing my average for the loop was 33 or so - which on a cold, windy day like today, is pretty good.

The conditions were pretty good. The road is really starting to get bumpy though.

I got passed by a paceline on my warm up, and saw a few others along the way. It was cool to see everyone out.

Thursday night duathlons will be starting soon. I can hardly wait.

Swam 1000m at lunch today - almost didn't happen though, I waffled back and forth from about 11:20 to noon, as to whether or not, I was going to drag my lazy butt to the pool. Managed to psyche myself up for it, with a promise for a 500m PB attempt.

So, I got to the pool - virtually empty, no one in my lane. And off I went.

Smooth and Easy I told myself for the first few laps, but my technique quickly deteriorated into frantic flailing. By lap 15 of 22, I was feeling completely knackered. So I let myself introduce a lap of Total Immersion style to calm me down, 16 TI, 17 Traditional, 18 TI, 19 traditional, 20 TI, 21 Traditional, 22 put the heat on... felt the piano hit me about 2/3 of the way home. Scraped the wall with my nails, stopped my watch and.... 8:36. Not a bad time, admittedly, but I thought for sure I would beat my PB (8:34), and even my goal for the year (8:30).

Oh well. Today it wasn't meant to be. But an important lesson was learned.

I can swim my ass off, and do 500m in 8:3x, arrive at the wall exhausted, or, I can take my time with long, smooth strokes, and do 500m in under 9:00, arriving at the wall not so out of breath. The 20 odd seconds will easily be made up for in T1, as I'll be less frantic. If I can remember that in May for the Early Bird Triathlon (500/22.2/5), I should do ok.

...on a side note... I've been tinkering with the idea of trying the half-ironman at the end of August. The swim (1932m) is fairly calm, the Bike (90k) is 6 loops of a fairly flat and straight out-and-back, and the run... ah there's the rub... 21.1K ... I just remembered, I can't run that far ....yet. Maybe next year... or...

Nothing spectacular in the pool today. 1000 meters total.

First 500m 8:49, Second 500m 9:09. I can't use them for a 1000m PB, as there was about a minute rest between them while I figured out what lane to move to. My lane was being used by someone doing 2 lap sprints on 60 seconds - which caused some congestion on more than one occasion -- I just moved over to a slower lane, where there was only one other person.

The inside of my thighs are still sore from Tuesday night's big swim. A quick Google search, reveals that it's my Adductor Longus muscle.

THE INJURY
The adductor muscles of the thigh connect the lower rim of the pelvic bone (pubis) to the thigh-bone (femur). These muscles draw the thigh inwards and exert high forces during activities such as soccer, hockey and football when powerful and explosive movements take place. High stresses are concentrated especially at the tendon of the adductor longus tendon where it attaches to the bone. This tendon can become irritated and inflamed and be the source of unrelenting pain in the groin area. Pain can also be felt in the lower abdomen.

Source: Massachusetts General Hospital, Sports Medicine Service.

I like the part about ...when powerful and explosive movements take place.. Oddly enough, it didn't bother me during my swim.

I didn't bike in to work today, on account of the rain. So far, commuting has been pretty good - Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The roads are all clean and clear. I've started running into the same people I would meet along the way last year - for instance, there's this guy - a Jan Ulrich look-alike (not sure if that's a compliment), he rides a big-ass heavy full suspension mountain bike, with a 2-1/2 inch back tire. He's mashing away in his biggest gear which is probably 44x13, going his top speed of about 20 km/hr. On top of it, he's wearing a massive back-pack that sways back and forth. As I passed by him, he must have recognized me, as he yelled out, "Hey!!", and started ringing his bell like mad.


I'm getting used to my shoes as well, I only almost fell over once - and clipping in and out, is easier than I thought it would be.

Big swim last night: 4,100 Yds = 3,750 meters.

Warm Up (2100):

400 Easy
2 x [
200 Pull
200 Swim (50 Drill, 50 Swim, 50 Drill, 50 Swim)
200 Kick (50 w/ Board, 50 w/o, 50 w/, 50 w/o)
200 IM
]
100 Easy

Main Set:
400 (100 Easy-Medium, 50 Drill, 100 Easy-Med, 50 Drill, 100 Easy-Med)
4 x 100 (25 Easy, 50 Med, 25 Hard) This is my favourite drill!
800 (Mix of stuff: 200 Med, 50 Hard, 200 Easy, 25/50/25 etc.)
4 x 50 Sprints No Gas! My least favourite drill.

Cool Down:
200 Easy

I did ok, for time, finished within the 90 minutes, but boy-oh-boy, a lot of kicking, and I got serious-to-crippling cramps on the inside of both thighs at the end.

I practiced bilateral breathing a lot, and traditional freestyle. I did the last 200 TI style to give my legs a break. I think the cramping was from all the kicking!

Again, only 5 people, I had my own lane! Ottawa's best kept secret.

PB in the pool. 1000m = 18:16; 9:00/9:16 (second split includes 16 seconds rest).

I did traditional freestyle for the first 500, and Total Immersion style for the second 500. Based on Last Friday's results, it's obvious (to me), that TI style is faster for me.

First commute of the year!

Temp: 2°C (Windchill -1°C)
Wind: NW 30km/h (i.e. moderate, and in my face)
Distance: 11.2 km
Door-to-door Time: 32:54
Avg Speed: 21.0 k/hr
Road Condition: Fair; Beechwood was pretty muddy on the side. Some parts of the Parkway were littered with rubble.

Not too speedy, but not too bad. I'm thrilled to be able to ride it. I gambled, and wore my new shoes - I'm actually getting the hang of clipping and unclipping at lights etc.

***

I think I found my new favourite store on the weekend:


http://www.bushtukah.com

We bought a new bike for Guylaine there on the weekend, a Trek 7200 FX
http://www2.trekbikes.com/Bikes/City_Bike_Path/Hybrid/FX/7200_FX/index.php. A very nice ride for a great price $489 (CDN).

Bustukah, have 100's of bikes. For road bikes, they carry the Trek and LeMond lines. Including of course the beautiful Trek Madone 5.9 SL.

***

Equipment Update
So, after buying Guylaine's bike, I dropped by MEC to pick up a computer. Of course, I was going to get her the Filzer db4LW. My eyes popped out of my head, when I found the Filzer db4LW-C (Wireless plus CADENCE) for $25 !!!! Just when you thought bike computers couldn't get any better! Naturally, I picked up this bad-boy for myself. I later installed it on my road bike, and donated my db4LW to Guylaine. The cadence part is actually wired - but wow - how can you complain at only $25?

Having used the db4L on my mag trainer, for nearly 900Km, I've had zero complaints about it. It is absolutely rock-solid. I can only imagine the db4LW-C will follow in it's footsteps.

I PB'd 1,000m again at lunch time: 18:18 (8:49/9:29) second split included 15 second rest.

I did the first 500m using Total Immersion style, and the second using traditional free-style.

...Later in the shower... am I really going to get into this? ...looks like it...

So, later in the shower, this older gentleman (grinning from ear to ear) says to me, "I finished my swim before you, and sat on the pool deck - you were beautiful to watch, so graceful and un-hurried".

"er, thanks..."

But then, he went on and added that I should practice breathing on both sides. This was in fact the second time someone has suggested this to me in the past 2 weeks.

Back track - A long, long, long time ago, when I was in the "Upper Canada Swim Club", I always did bilarteral breathing. When I restarted swimming 18 months ago, I found it too hard to breath on my left side. And I didn't have the lung capacity to go more than 2 strokes. On Tuesday, I made a conscious effort to practice 3 stroke breathing again, but for some reason, it feels too akward breathing on the left side - I can breath now 4 strokes quite comfortably, even 6 strokes (in the early stages of a workout)


I just found an article on TriFuel about Bilateral Breathing for Triathletes
http://www.trifuel.com/triathlon/swim/000114.php

...after reading this article... I guess I'll try it again.