The Focus is On Speed

Right now the workouts are short I am only doing between 7-10 hours a week. A nice break from the in season training. But the focus now is speed. I have really pushed this in my running and cycling. I think last year I was to conservitave in my training focusing mainly on hr, and that was it. HR training is effective and it got me up to the distance I need to cover. But now its time to work on speed or intensity. I have found the proper rest times I need to get the most out of a workout and I am really maxing those out. I think part of the increased intensity is just from feeling fresh. By the end of the season I was pretty burnt out. I now think that it was from the pure volume I was doing.

It was really a great day today +2C so I had to run out side. I did a 3 mile tempo run and was aiming to hold 6:45 pace. I blew that away and was able to hold 6:38. At the beginning when I was just laying into the speed I passed another guy running with headphones in and he was like " oh shit" totally scared at the pace that I passed him. It made me feel really good and was a good motive to continue a strong pace. It also reminded me why I dont wear headphones. The guy was totally not present in the moment. If he didnt have the headphones on he would have heard me coming. Running clenses the mind and the body and I am grateful I can appreciate that.

Sport: Run

Duration: 20 min + wu and cd

Distance: 4.8 km

Avg. speed: 14.4 km/h

Avg. pace: 4:10 / km

Intensity: 10

Taking a Toll

Well so far its been a cold snowy winter. I usually dont mind winter. I was riding my bike regularly it was shaping up to be ok. But now its been a consistant -25C (at mid day colder mornings and nights) + windchill (-30 -40) for about a month and I am really getting sick of it. I embraced it at the beginning but I am over it now I would just like it to go away. I see the people outside as I walk into school they dont even look cold. They look like there in pain. People who are cold kind of move a bit to stay warm they breathe heavily. The people I see there face muscles are contracted so tightly its as if they have there head out the window of a car moving 120 km/h. And there not moving, its as if they are frozen still.

On top of that I have developed a soreness in my shoulder. It feels joint related and the weather could be effecting it. It is in my left shoulder, the one that I have broken in the past. I know there is scar tissue in there and it may be causing the soreness. I am scheduled for physio on friday and I remain opptimistic about a quick road to recovery. I think I noticed it early enough that I can tackle the problem get some decent rest and be back to full strength.

In more positive news we have moved into Feburary, moving us closer to spring running season. I plan on initiating a 12 week running plan to break 1:30 in the police service half marathon on May 1. I am sick of being a slow runner and its time to really step it up.

Actully Feel A Bit Better

Well after concluding the 2 week detox, I have to say I feel better. I jut feel fresh. Its still cold as shit and I sleep a lot but not as tired. The workouts have been decent, still sitting at exactly the same weight. But there is now a feeling of freshness.

I was listening to an endurance nation podcast today about off season training. It also touched about how ironman training can be incredibly taxing on the average age groupers life in terms of time. They really stressed the point about only devoting your mental focus for 12 weeks. This way you do not get burnt out. Thats one thing I have done to myself over the last 2 years is mentally beat the shit out of myself. I spent a year thinking about Muskoka. Then I got sick and did shitty. So I spent another year grinding myself to make up for it. I did make it to Clearwater, but by the time I got there I was so mentally and physically burnt I wasn't really able to fully appreciate it. Looking back on it now I appreciate it more then when I was actually there.

Over the last little while my race season has started to come together a bit. I am registered in one half marathon and contemplating a second, and registered for Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island. There are plenty of oppurtunity for tune up races in between but I am happy with these choices for now physically, mentally, and financially.

The last 2 years my training has mainly been based on volume. The first year I had never done the distance and was purely focused on finishing. The second year I ramped up the volume and saw some gains but nothing extra ordinary. This year I am going to take a different approach and really focus on intensity. I am going to train faster. Before it was longer which allowed me to go faster at shorter distances keep a lower heart rate. But this year I am going to train faster and then race faster then that. This is going to be completed by shortening the time spend training but working at a higher intensity throughout the winter to develop a good base of speed. I will then slowly increase the volume to where it needs to be but instead of it being the main focus tempo will be the main focus. We will see how that translates on race day.

Cant Shake It

I dont know if its from starting school, the weather, or the past Christmas season but I can not shake off this feeling of tiredness. I am like a bear in hibernation all I want to do is sleep. Starting back at school isn't a great motivator either. This is hopefully the last semester that I will have to attend school. At this point I am so close I do not want to push it off for another year. I have never taken a full course load in my post secondary career. But knowing that if I can complete it, I will be done with school is a huge driving force. Right now all I am doing is trying to stay positive and hoping that my energy level will soon return to normal.

That being said I did have a solid run today. I shortened it up to 8 miles but I was really surprised at the pace I was able to sustain. It took exactly 1 hour which made the mile times 7:30/mile average. Taking into consideration I was slipping around most of the time, and I cant for the life of me lose one pound. I was very happy with the end result.

This weeks focus is to continue to get good sleeps, continue to follow my detox outlines and try and regain some energy.

Sport: Run

Duration: 1 hr

Distance: 8 miles

Avg. pace: 7:30 / mile

The 2 Week Detox

Even though I kept the Christmas season mostly under control I still packed on a little weight and family took priority over exercise. I figure it will be good to commence in a 2 week detox. From what I have read 2 weeks should be enough for me to really feel back on track. I am not following a perscribed plan, instead I am working the creative juices and creating my own.

Davis Sohor's unofficial unproven detox:

things eat home cooked natural foods

avoid sugars

no alcohol

and drink lots of water

use body as transport ( ride bike places)

get full sleeps

Lets be honest theres no way I going to do one of those lemon water detoxes.

So far my unofficial detox has gone well I have my winter bike totally set up ready for winter riding. I found a cereal where sugar is not even in the top 5 ingredients never mind top 3, and I have already turned down 3 opportunities to drink.

But there are still 2 weekends I need to make it through so I will keep updating on my progress.

Banff

Well I have survived another year in Banff. I was able to keep drinking to a minimum and sustain injury for another year. I also managed to squeeze in two amazing runs while I was there.

We will first review the bad, so we can then end up on a positive note. On the first day there were two fairly serious injuries. The first one one of the passengers broke their wrist in 2 places. As if that was not bad enough one of the people I was riding with compressed a vertebrae. Both of these injuries were enough to keep these people out for the rest of the trip.

On the third day there was one more injury. An exchange student managed to do some serious damage to the cartilage in her knee. She was also out for the rest of the week and may have to fly back to her home country.

It is too bad that these injuries occurred but snowboarding is a risky sport and sometimes you pay the price.

That being said there was also lots of positive on the trip. I have been thanked numerous times from many people saying how much fun they had and how they would have never been able to organize it them selves. New years was an absolute blast there is nothing better then being surrounded by mountains and celebrating new years with people form all over the world. I was also able to find Kelcie a nice piece of jewellery made from a rare fossil called Amorolite.

Overall I was able to keep drinking to a minimum, get a few runs in, and not get hurt. Now its time for a 2 week detox and really bare down this semester at school.

Loving The Off Season

I am coming to the end of the recovery program I have laid out for myself, and I have to say I am feeling (as Bryan would say) pretty, pretty pretty good. I have put focus on 3 major things. Diet rest and just really enjoying training. Before I was treating it like a job it was serious business I had a serious goal. I accomplished that goal now its time to really get my love of training back. It is definitely coming along.

Also I have challenged my self to dramatically cut back my sugar intake and one week in I am down about a pound or two giver or take we will see how consistent the loss is throughout the week but as of today I am lighter then I was my whole racing season weighing in at 178.

Now that the Christmas season has pasted I was able to keep drinking to a minimum and I think the only day I really over ate was Christmas eve. I was also able to shut that voice up in my head that tells me to do more and I really just enjoyed time with my brother who was in from out of town.

If I look back at last years posts I really gaver around Christmas, I feel a lot better this year and was happy with the amount of self discipline I was able to apply.

The next challenge on the board is the trip to Banff, which is also a bender if you choose it to be. But over the past year I have accumulated a couple little tools which will allow me to keep in shape even though I will be away from home.

First is the Garmin watch a must have for any athlete. It allows me to perfectly measure my runs anywhere I go.

Second is an ab wheel. This allows me to do many ab exercises in a small area.

Thirdly is a set of elastic tubes. These are definitely one of the most versatile training tools. I can pretty much do a full body workout using objects found in most given hotel rooms.

Between daily runs, some strength training and 8hrs a day of riding I am confident I will be able to maintain fitness.