Friday, March 23, 2012

Thank goodness for Fridays…

… and rest weeks.

I figured a little recap of training over the last week was in order. Mainly because up until today I’ve been feeling a bit worn out (typical at the start of a rest week I suppose), but looking back through the training log, I do think some good strides have been made.

Last Saturday, I ended up having some company for the first half of my 3-hr ride – my Dad! I had planned to ride around Shawnigan, but the snow on the ground had different plans, so I made my way down to Colwood and met up with my Pops. We headed out Metchosin Road to William Head and then looped back from Metchosin along the Goose.

My poor Dad – it seems like every time he decides to join me for a workout I end up taking him on some super hilly loop (ask him about the easy run through Royal Roads next time you see him, haha). He has informed me he doesn’t have life insurance, so I should stop trying to kill him.

Anyway, having him along was great, and even though the first part had some good little hills, the second part was nice and flat and allowed for some good spinning. Once the Old Man and I parted ways, I carried on the Goose out to Interurban/West Saanich for a little out and back. I had a couple 30’ IM race pace efforts and while the first one was a bit quicker than I think I can realistically maintain for 180km, the second 30’ effort was pretty much spot on where I’d like to be for IMC. In the end, it felt like a pretty good ride over a decent variety of terrain.

I had a 15’ run off the bike that the Colonel joined me on and, while the legs were a bit wobbly to start, I actually felt pretty good and my pace was way quicker than it felt, which is always nice.

"The Colonel" aka. Rusty


Sunday was a swim and a run. The swim was fine, nothing spectacular or awesome or wonderful. Just fine, and well, fine is okay I suppose.

As for the run, well, I was dreading it right from the start. My body was pretty tired and mentally I had a really hard time getting into it. The idea of running for an hour and fifty minutes seemed like it was going to take a lifetime. Shane was with me every step of the way though, and at one point when I apologized for my negative outlook, he actually remarked that he kind of liked it as “it made me seem more human.” We did an out and back along the Goose, and thankfully, when we made the turn around my spirits picked up some. It was nice to know that we were on the homestretch.

Monday was a day off. The first of 2 in this lovely little rest week and also the first one in as many weeks (2 that is).

Tuesday started pretty typically with a swim in the morning (where I consistently average 1:41 on 8x 100 I might add - yay!), but had to be shuffled in the evening to accommodate dinner out with Shane’s Dad. My initial thought was to squeeze in my run at lunch, but as the skies opened up and the sleet filled rain poured down on the city, I just couldn’t motivate myself to do it. So Wednesday morning got designated as “Tuesday night” fartlek time. I’m trying to be better about not getting so freaked out when I have to shuffle or skip a workout, and I think I am actually making progress in this department (Shane may disagree on this point however).

Wednesday evening was a pretty killer trainer class with the group, followed by a run off the bike. I always enjoy the trainer sessions as they seem to go quicker and I seem to work harder when Kelly is there coaching, giving cadence counts and just being super encouraging and motivating. During the run portion, we hit a stretch of field that was having some drainage issues. My somewhat clean runners are no longer white, but a lovely shade of brown. The back of my legs also looked like I didn't make it to the bathroom in time.

My shoes may have looked like this...


... but luckily I didn't look like this.


Much like Tuesday, Thursday started at the pool with a pretty solid swim workout. I was definitely feeling a little fatigued at the start but once I got into it I found I was feeling super relaxed and smooth in the water. Definitely a good thing. Thursday evening after work, my Dad once again joined me for my workout. This time it was a run workout, and I actually managed to keep us on a rather flat route!! Proof, I am not trying to kill him, haha.

Post-run I pretty much had to jet right over to VI Fitness to teach a yoga class. One of the ladies that comes to the class fairly often saw me and kinda snarkily asked if Kirsten wasn't teaching anymore (I was subbing for Kirsten, which I have been doing often). It's funny, cause just that one little question kinda threw me off my game - it totally made me feel like she didn't like me. In actuality, I don't know if that is the case or if it was just a weird delivery in the way she asked the question, but it kinda shook my confidence a little. Thankfully, after the class, a girl who had just come for the first time that night told me she really liked the class and that she found all my cues really easy to follow, so that helped boost the confidence back up a bit. I'm coming to realize, that you really just have to be confident and believe in yourself when you are teaching, cause you are always going to come across people with different likes and dislikes and different ways of showing these likes and dislikes.

I came across this little quote the other day to use in my yoga class, and thought it was quite fitting:

"Build your belief in yourself every day. It takes a bit of selective amnesia to do this. Learn from your daily mistakes and then forget them. Never relive mistakes. Once you’ve learned the lesson, throw it away. On the other hand, review your successes every day and save them like trophies. Relive the highlights of your day nightly as you’re lying in bed waiting for sleep to come. Always find the positive things daily. Learn to believe in yourself. Nothing is more important."

Anyway, that brings us to today. Friday. I had a great swim after work and now am ready just to chill. Saturday will be a decent sized day of training, and then Sunday is a FULL DAY OFF!!! I can hardly wait.

Also, because it is Friday, one random tidbit.

I cannot get enough of this song lately. Absolutely love it.




HAPPY FRIDAY!!

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