Week 18 and 19 Strength Phase - Fitness Kicks up a Notch

My week 18 last week was quite busy between training and work and other projects on the go so I did not have time to blog my workouts. But just the same, week 18 went very well. The most significant event of last week was my first open water swim of the season. I had watched my friends Tam and Ivan the previous day go for it and could tell that the water was very cold just by watching them. Their breath was hard to get under control and their swimming a bit eratic due to such low temperatures but I admired their courage to go ahead and try it. They came out of the water with cold extremeties and face. At that moment I had the feeling that it would be quite a while before we would be able to swim there on a regular basis. I had intended to swim with them at the beginning, but with a 125K ride and a two hour run the days prior to left me a bit weak and drained and did not want to risk getting hypothermic and sick in the terribly cold water. It had to be around 10 degrees if that.

That night however after thinking about it, I said I could do this! The next day I said to myself I would go out and attempt it on my own. Which is not a very smart thing to do on my own in a lake with hardly anyone around. But a few fisherman were around to see me if I got into trouble. I was hoping for a bit of warm sunshine but the next day came and it was overcast and cool. I did my workouts that morning of weigths and biking and in the early afternoon headed out to the lake. It was a bit of a chore trying to remember all the gear I needed to bring as it had been over 8 monts since my last open water swim. I almost forgot my goggles but remembered them at the last minute. I was phyching myself out before I even left and did not really want to do this but reminded myself if my newbie friends could do it, I as a more seasoned triathlete should be able to do this also. My early days in the navy I had done quite lot of cold water diving and my instructor had often told me that at the beginning in the first few minutes it was very important to control your breathing and relax as much as possible until we had our bearings and were able to concentrate on the task at hand. I decided to dress in my wet suit at home in case I had problem with the zipper as I was on my own with no one to help. After making a mess with baby powder ll over the floors in my home I headed out for the ten minute drive to the lake.

When I got there, and walked out to the beach I felt very lonely. I donned two swim caps to keep my head and ears warmer. I stepped in the water and stepped right back out. Oh God it was so cold! I decided not to linger on this, set my timer on my watch and dove right in! The cold water suddenly surrounding my whole face was a shock! Don't think...I said and started swimming right away. The cold water slowly seeped throughout my suit. Once my body warmed up the thin layer of water between the suit and skin it was much better. I slowed down my breathing right away eshling long and easy and took long slow graceful strokes. In a minute, my breathing was in a rhythm and I increased my stroke a bit. To be honest it did not feel too bad...So I said to myself. As I slowly circumnavigated the lake I got used to it and it seemed like it was not that cold. In truth, my hands and feet were getting so numb that I was not feeling the cold anymore. I had made up my mind to do the whole lake and did so, not stopping once. Sighting was a bit of a chore as I was breathing more on one side tending to make me swim to the right all the time. I sighted more often to get my bearing and my last 150 meters my shoulders were getting a bit sore and could not feel my hands and feet at all anymore. When I got to shore, it was a chore trying to get my suit off as I had no dexterity in my fingers to peel off my suit. But I did get it off and trotted off to the van to get some warm clothes on and my heater going in the van. The trip up from the beach to the van, I felt like I was walking with stumps as I could not feel my feet hit the ground. It took me a solid two hours after to regain feelings in the heels of my feet as they thawed out. Well now I knew I could do the distance of a Half Iron but the speed would take some work as the form was totally different than the pool. I felt proud of myself for accomplishing this and vowed from now on to get 3 swims in a week no matter what. And I did.

That weekend I met up with friends Julie and Bob and had a great ride up the inland highway to Parksville and back. I felt strong the whole way and we managed a pace averaging 28 kph despite the fierce headwinds on the way back. My trapezoid muscles below my neck on the left side was still getting sore but managed to control the pain with a bit of Ibuprofen, the wonder drug and the only drug that I take nowadays.

The following week I was suppose to go on this bike training camp up to Penticton for whole week, but having missed being at home for my wedding anniversary for the two to three years prior to, I decided to stay home instead and devote a bit of time to my wife. Triathlon training is a very selfish sport and one must take time to ensure family is not ignored for too long. Maybe even indulge in some golfing with her as long as it did not interfere in my training of course. Yes I could do this!....I hoped! Another impulsive thing I did the previous week was sign up for the Half Ironman series. I had to do 3 out of 4 to get this cool looking biking jersey so registered myself for the series with the first one coming up in a bit over a week. "Oh my God! What did I do that for", I said to myself. After rationalising it all, I felt I was very fit and these 1/2 Iron distances would be good training ground for me to practice my nutrition, pacing in early race and transitions. I planned not go all out in these races but would control the whole event from beginning to end. I really wanted to see if self control early in the bike and keeping up the nutrition every ten minutes for drinking and 30 minutes for eating a gel would translate in a better run for me. I would find out next week.

I also dediced to keep up my whole original training plan and finished off the week with a 160k ride on my own which went just great! I even went for a little run after this to see if my legs were ok and so they were. I was in a high cadence with hardly any adjustment and my legs still felt great with no signs of cramping or muscle spasm. I was so elated with my performance that day. Despite being by myself with no benefit of a draft in the winds I still managed a 27.8 kph for the whole ride. The next day the long run of 20K went just as well but was a bit more tired. But this L-Glutamene that I had been taking two to three times a day was working wonders for me helping me with muscle recovery so much faster. I am glad my shipment of this substance that I bought on line arrived in the mail just in time as my original supply was running out.

I also managed to get three more swims in and yesterday for the first time noticed a dramatic increase in temparature out there. I managed to do the whole lake again but this time it was cold but managable and no more freezing of my hands and feet. Yeahhhh! Things were looking up. My buddied Tam and Ivan arrived as I had just finished my swim and they also experience the same warmer water. At least Tam was able to babble without drooling like she came out of the dentist with a frozen jaw as last week. They talked me into going on a 80k bike ride the next day and I agreed as this would allow us to go over the course for the race next week. That day of my swim, the sun was out in full force and the temperature almost 26 outside. Today during our ride, the temperature again was phenonenal with temperatures rising up in the mid 30's. It was quite a ride. Not more than 15 minutes into it, I was taking the lead and coming up to a light and had to slow down. Tammy who was behind me did the same but her hubby Ivan seemed to have misjudged the distance between his front wheel and her back wheel and TTTRRRRRRRRR.....His spokes entered her derailler and down he went! I heard Tam shriek and looked behind me and Ivan was on the ground with mucho traffic on the highway. However after examining the bike and seeing about 4 spokes bent, he decided to try it out as it did not seem to wobble that much. It was ok and we carried on. And how about Ivan, well a bit of a war wound on the outside of one knee but nothing to worry about. He had a quarter size bruise also on his hip which he insisted on pulling down his shorts once in a while for us to see. Tammy of course was embarassed at his shameless exibition in public. Shameless yes. We think he is shameless exabitionist by nature but harmless. HeHe. Cute bum Ivan! But too much information Dude!

The other thing that happened was Tammy lost the cap off her nut at the end of her skewer. Nothing serious. But she was unerved a bit and decided to stay in the rear for a while until she worked up enough courage to take the lead again. I was nervous following Tam who was riding too close to the white line for my comfort level. With ten feet of area from this line to the edge of the pavement it boggled my mind why some people rode that close to the traffic line risking getting hit by vehicles or turbulence from those big monster trucks. Ivan was a bit more conservative however allowing a bit more room so I decided to draft off him instead. When it was my turn to take the lead, I rode way over to the right allowing as much space between me and the heavy traffic at that moment. In the event me and a vehicle ever touched, statistics showed the biker was always the looser. I had experienced many turbulences in the past when the riding area was too thin and was forced to drive close and at times almost got pushed off the road or sucked into the wheels from the turbulence caused by those big 18 wheelers. Over the years, I had seen enough riders who were put out of action with vehicle encounters and was determined not to be one of those statistics. Some of those people will never ride again because of serious injuries and these incidents have left me somewhat wiser and bit more cautious over the years. Once we got to the lake there was no more lines but now we had to be even more cautious as that particular road was narrow and very rough with lots of pot holes. The lead driver had to keep his eyes out and warn the others of impending hazards. The ride went well but still a bit too much traffic for my liking and not a very nice Tri bike course. Every one was out because it was such a beautiful day. We stopped at the transition area and I familiarized Tam and Ivan with the layout and what was what. We also tested the water in the lake with our feet which was cold but not too bad, then headed back to Duncan. On the way back we took some back roads into town which got us out of the heavy trafficked highway and on to some nice quiet solitude and exhaust free roads. We finished the ride with exhilaration as this was their longest ride and the nicest weather day of the whole year so far. I noticed that my friends had come a long way in their fitness and they were so much fun to ride with, laughing and joking the whole way. I have to rate this ride as one of my most pleasurable ride of the year that I will remember for sure.

Now one more week to go before my half Iron race next weekend. The hardest thing for me to do will be to control speed as I know now how very fit I am and will be enticed to go for it. But I must keep with the plan and just go out and cruise this one with no expectations of placing. Just do it right, start slow, hydrate, eat at proper times and keep it all at a cruising speed......Wellll maybe on the run if I have lots of gusto, I will pour it on a bit but not all out. Let's hope for warm weather and very little traffic. Even a reduction in the swim distance would be a bonus due to the unusual crappy Spring weather and the low temperatures in the lake. We shall see.