This and That....

It's Superbowl week and things are super busy as Carley and I are having a party on Sunday night. So this week sort of has a happy ending once the training is done of course.
This week has been pretty similar to the last two weeks with a lot of Swimming/Running. The cycling will pick up at the end of February in Maui.
So the last few days have been okay but the next few will hurt.
Tuesday- Swim, Run, Swim, Weights.
First swim was with Varsity in the am with a few good main sets one was 6x200m on 3mins @Threshold pace, followed by another set that was 10x50hypoxic, 50(200pace) for a 5k session.
The run was an easy base run 7 miles with some strides.
The second swim of the day was a good one with a main set of 16x100 on short rest, I was happy as I was holding under 110 until the last 2. Not fast swimming for swimmers but a good step for me with tired arms. After that was some weights and core.
Wednesday- Swim, Run, Bike, Swim
Swim in the am was a 4700m practice with masters, i was sort of tired and a long kick set made things a bit easier to wake up. After that I met up with Ryan for an easy 8 mile run with some speed pickups, but still a base run.
The cycling workout was some good intervals and high cadence work it was nice to work on some efficiency.
The second swim was 3.5kms of technical swimming with a 400kick for Time. I joined up with Mike Coughlin to make the time go by. Pretty wasted at the end of today.
Thursday(today)- Swim, Weights and Core, Run
This morning was a good 5700m swim with Varsity it wasn't too crazy a bit of speed as they have a big meet next weekend. Then weights and core for one hour. Later in the day a longer base run on horrible footing. A pretty easy to get ready.
The next few days will be fun, knowing there is some Mexican Queso during the party. Carley has been feeding me well and i sure wouldn't be able to do the training i am doing with out her by my side. Thanks babe!

Thanks to Mike for sending this photo to get things fired up for a big day of training.
The weeks over and i am sort of glad. It doesn't really mean much other than a fun trip to Costco.
Today was a good day with a 13mile easy run in the am followed by a long ride with some big gear intervals.
Jan.19-25 Totals
Swim- 31,000m
Bike- 3 trainer workouts
Run- 61.25miles, (98kms)
Weights/core- 2 sessions 1hour each.
22.5 hours of training.

Run Pics

"Running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it what you put into it." -Oprah Winfrey

Here are some pictures of my progression run this afternoon. I put in a hard effort to finish in zone 3 and held a pretty good average over the 11miles. So today I treated myself to a hot chocolate post run and I also used this to bribe myself to get out the door for my run session.

Carley took some wicked pics as she was out playing with her camera while i was running. I put the coolest pic she took today as my top picture because I thought it was super cool that she took a picture of me running in her review mirror. It turned out so neat. She almost got in a couple of head of collisions while trying to be artistic with her camera, luckily I would warn her when I car was coming so she had enough time to move into her own lane. Today was one of those days where everything seemed hard.

This mornings swim was 6k and had a few different mainsets but it was one of those sessions that nothing seemed to go easy. Every athlete knows those days when pace times and sets seem to fly by and hitting times is fine, but today was the opposite. I had to bite my lip a few times and just do the swim and go home. The nice thing about big weeks is they have to finish up eventually. This afternoon went well sort of, mostly because it is now over. My legs were cranky from all of the running and my heart rate was very low on the run forcing me to run very hard for the last 25 minutes to keep it in zone 3. I am excited now because Carley and i are going to see a movie at our favorite theatre that charges 2.00 for movies. The only thing better than that today would be if the snow machine just sitting on the side of the road that i ran by had a key in it to take me home sooner.

TGIF

Quick photo of after the swim session today. This morning i ran 14.5 miles(1:44ish) of pretty good hills. Towards the end of the run i met Ryan where he was doing a TT on the road so i paced him on the second half, he really threw it down in these conditions and ran the 5min/mile pace i was pacing him at. (Nice work Dawgg!)
After the run we met up at the pool for a swim session, both pretty drained we just did it and got it done. This weekend i am going to try and avoid Carley's desserts as i am looking a bit heavy, its pretty hard to do as she just made a killer Apple Crisp. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Hit by the Fatigue Truck

After last weeks big swim/run week i was feeling pretty cruisey, but the fatigue has started to set in a little bit, and i am not so hyper. Last night Carley made me some yam fries to help fuel me through the rest of the week and i am so tired i think i am standing on an angle, well at least i am still standing.
Monday- was some active recovery training to flush out and get ready for the week.

Tuesday- 3 sessions.

1. swim am (6600m)

1000swim, 500kick,800pull,400kick,600paddles,300kick,400 negative split, 200kick, 200fast, 100kick fast. (all was warmup on short rest to make me work.) then 2x (10x50m @ LT pace on 1minute) then a big cooldown.

2. Long Base Run

3. Swim #2 (3.5km) including 20x100m and a 4x100kick timed.

Wednesday- 4sessions

1. Swim am (4600m) hard masters swim that included 2x400m swim Time Trials throughout.

2. 1hour Base run (9miles on a rolling hilly loop)

3. Cycling workout 1hour with 12x:55seconds max cadence 125-130rpm, High Power, with 1:05 rest. Pretty hard holding the cadence with good form.

4. Swim 3.0km swim with core and flexibility

Thursday- Am- Woke up feeling a tad fatigued for the first time in the new year but not too bad.

Swim with Varsity and i was struggling but not dead.

2000m wu

400kick, 400pull @ pace plus 5sec

300kick, 300pull @ pace plus 2

200kick, 200pull @ pace

100kick, 100pull @ pace -1

Then the next set was

2x (200Im (80,85%) 2x50m to a flip (200pace) 2x25m drill)

then a long cd. 4800m

I have some more training later on but other wise not too crazy for the rest of the day. I am having a fun time logging the miles.

The above picture is of Carley and her new modeling job. I wish i was that pretty.

Great Quote from Mcmanic; to get things fired up today!

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."

-Theodore Roosevelt

Jan 12-18/09

Week's Totals
Swim: 35,000m
Bike: 3 Trainer sessions (5hours)
Run: 56.26miles (90.0kms)
Total Hours: 22.5hrs. not including core/strength and flexibility
Not a bad week for the weather we had.
Next week will be another big swim/run focus, in this winter wonderland!

Mexican Night to get me through the cold!

Mexican Food Makes me happy. I am still alive so all of the swimming/running has not killed me but the cold weather has taken its toll so we prepared some spicy queso and tacos for dinner Friday night after a long day. The past few days since Wednesday have gone well and the temperature is rising and i am hoping for an above freezing temp by the end of the week.

Thursday- Swim with Varsity in the morning. Coach Phil put up a solid set for Ryan and I to do as the team was heading to a meet so they had a light workout. It was a 2 hour practice with 16x100m mainset that was tough. Later in the day was another base run and some core to recover from Wednesday.

Friday- Wasn't a very fun day. Swam in the morning with Masters and Coach Mike put up a threshold stinger to work on start speed with 50's and 100's at 200pace. After the swim session I cleaned, vacuumed and washed Carley's hardwood floors (that was a workout in its self.) Mid-day I did a 14mile hilly run outside with some repeats of a few hilly loops i have near the University.

After the run their was enough time for a quick nap and some more cleaning before heading back to the pool for another swim session with a mainset of 10x250m pull/strength and then it was a Mexican Fiesta at Carley's house which ended with me falling asleep pretty early.

Saturday- a 2hour swim in the am with the squad nearly 7kms, and I just finished up a 80minute progression run on some rollers with the last 25minutes at zone 3 running 550-6minute pace for the most part so it was a good day today. Carley and I are going to see some Benjamin Button movie so I am hoping I can squeeze in a nap at the flick with the movie being nearly 3hours.

Tomorrow i have a solid bike and run with Ryan, thankfully the swimming is done for the week as this morning put me over 35,000m.
Chow Down!

Getting it done in the Cold

The training motto for the next little while is "get it done", and gratefully my training partners are going to hold me to it. Well Jack Bauer will too, after watching 4hours of 24 this week.
The weather here has taken a gigantic shift and it is very cold, -22F cold. You can tell by my Yellow Knitted socks, while i was caught by Car not stretching in the living room but rather sleeping. The past couple of days have been good but tough. The next couple weeks of training will feature a good swim/run focus.
Monday- was a recovery ride
Tuesday- Swim am with University Swim team (6.5kms). It featured a bunch of fast 400's and Ryan Smith and a mate named Micheal Murray were keeping it real and making me work, i thought some low 440s would be good but Murray would fight back and took it to us.
After the swim mid morning was a tempo run with some tempo 10minute efforts on the tready @11.0mph, not too fast but eventually it hurt.
Later in the day Ryan took one for the team and joined me for another swim session of 3.5kms.
So after 10k of swimming and a hard tready run it was early to bed.
Today was another 3 workouts starting with a 5km IM focus swim with the Masters Squad in Sudbury. After some breakfast i did a 90minute Cycling workout with 4x10mins @TT power and hrt. Here is the power from that session: 318watts,332watts,329watts,332watts.
And i just finished up a 90minute Run session @ 7min mile pace pretty chillaxed. So a pretty solid day but i am a little smoked which is when the picture took place of me sleeping on the floor.
I hope everyone is staying warm.

Recovery Week

Some Pics of Ryan Smith and I getting some training done, as well as what we found for dinner on one of our runs. It was already dead so we thought we would bring it home to show the girls.

Training was very relaxed this week as it was a recovery week. These weeks are great and i was Caffeine free so i was able to sleep a lot more than I usually do. I feel rested and ready to go for my next block of training. The workouts were all pretty short and nothing to log about so i will hopefully have some sessions to talk about in the upcoming weeks. I have found a good training mate; that is probably crazier than i am so we will battle it out and bring each other to higher levels. I would like to thank people that have wrote me emails to my GMail account as i read emails from early 2007 still in my account, i feel really bad i didn't get back to people sooner but i now know that my account is active.

Cheers for Now!

This week and the new Rebel XSI

Here are some pics using Carley's new Rebel XSI, the clarity is pretty unreal. She even is becoming a photographer and I am really getting sick of the flashes every 5 seconds, but she is getting very good at using it and is capturing some awesome pictures. Next week will be a pretty easy week to recover before the next block of training starts. I will put in a few key sessions from my week below for those who like that kind of stuff, my last week was roughly 20hours. I'm sure you will see lots more pics from Carley's Rebel.

Monday- recovery day, active swim

Tuesday- hard Fartlek with Mike Hay. We ran 8x3mins with 1.5ez at roughly 5min-5:20pace on a hilly stretch on Lake Ramsey. The footing was tough so we were actually running pretty hard.

After the 90min run session I was off to the gym with Carley for 1hour of weights and core. Followed by a swim session with the squad here who are doing a training camp therefore it was a pretty decent one.

Wednesday- Swim in the am with squad, then later in the afternoon a hard ride workout with 4x8mins hard 2mins easy, I pushed some good power for my weight holding 331watts average.

Thursday- 2hour run with Mike, running 17miles on horrible footing.

later in the day it was some weights and core.

Friday- Swim with the squad for 2.5hours, and something else I just don't remember what.

Saturday- 2hour ride steady at 250watts, followed by a hard swim with the squad, it was a good workout, a lactic acid removal set one of the hardest I have done in a while. One of the sets was 1000m as follows.

4x50m on 1min 200pace

2x100m on 2mins 200pace

200broken (10seconds rest at the 50m) beat 200 best

2x100m on 2mins holding 200pace

4x50m on 1min holding 200pace

good workout for me holding 31s-32low for 50's, and shooting for 1:05s or faster on the 100s.

Sundays- 3.75hour ride with some big gear intervals, and a 1hour run in the afternoon with Ryan for 9miles.

Hemp Pancake Mix

This had to be one of my favorite Christmas presents from my mother. She picked up this cruisey high protein pancake mix from Hempola Farms which is only about 20minutes from my parents house outside of Orillia, Ontario.
Carley and i whipped up a batch after a 2hour ride this am. It was pretty easy to mix with 2cups of the mix, 1cup of water and some hempseed oil(1tbsp). We added a few blueberries in, and it was great. I am hoping this will keep me going till the swim later this afternoon with the squad.
Its a great business that sells this stuff so check out; www.hempola.com. Thank you mom for the great gift!

Happy 2009!

This is a picture of Carley and I playing Wii tennis. She won not only in tennis but in boxing, bowling and all the games in Wii Fit. I think she has started training for the Wii Worldchampionships where she would no doubt kill everyone.

In this pic, as you notice Carley and I are wearing matching pyjamas. This was intentionally done as we attended a Christmas pajama party at a friend of Carley's house Alyson Laking's over the holiday. Carley thought it would be a great idea to buy us matching "jammies", in the end our outfites turned out to be the laugh of the party.

I hope everyone had a great New Years and is looking forward to 2009,

Cheers!