In 2012 I swam 11.7km in total.
In 2013 the total amount was 36km.
In 2014 I have done 66km (as of today).
I'm almost all set.
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Bouncing back
After returning back home from Sunday's disappointing albeit excellent learning experience I lost it. The motivation to do any training. Luckily that lasted only one day. I couldn't handle it, just because of possible boredom and scare of loosing the touch.
Yesterday I sneaked out already at 6AM for shake-out bike ride. I rode in misty morning with no worries whatsoever (well I had to be back home early enough). Legs felt slightly tired and thus it was easy to skip the running workout later that day. Today I ran out and back to swim practice and celebrated this choice by eating entire chocolate bar. No remorse.
Yesterday I sneaked out already at 6AM for shake-out bike ride. I rode in misty morning with no worries whatsoever (well I had to be back home early enough). Legs felt slightly tired and thus it was easy to skip the running workout later that day. Today I ran out and back to swim practice and celebrated this choice by eating entire chocolate bar. No remorse.
Monday, May 19, 2014
Duathlon Nationals
Imagine a nice warm day in Nurmo, in tiny place almost in the middle of nowhere. Smell the regenerated fields waiting for August, carry the sunny heat on your back and feel the headwind following you almost 40K out of 42Ks available on a bike. These are the ingredients of an awesome Sunday.
This Sunday it meant a participation in the Duathlon Nationals. I sort of looked forward to this race since a year ago the experience was pretty awesome and it was awarded with a bronze medal (in my age group). This year the preparations covered some googling which indicated that the competition will be stone hard and that I'm not going to participate in the podium challenge.
During the race this expectation was realized after 10K of bike leg when my rear tire was flat as a pancake and I had to stop for 10 minutes to fix that. Well, I wouldn't have been close to the podium even without being sucker-punched by a puncture. But mentally to loose the touch to a race is pain in the ass.
This Sunday it meant a participation in the Duathlon Nationals. I sort of looked forward to this race since a year ago the experience was pretty awesome and it was awarded with a bronze medal (in my age group). This year the preparations covered some googling which indicated that the competition will be stone hard and that I'm not going to participate in the podium challenge.
During the race this expectation was realized after 10K of bike leg when my rear tire was flat as a pancake and I had to stop for 10 minutes to fix that. Well, I wouldn't have been close to the podium even without being sucker-punched by a puncture. But mentally to loose the touch to a race is pain in the ass.
Luckily I was prepared for a flat and I had carried an extra tire and some CO2. To be honest, I was really close to leave them away - I already detached them from my bike before the start but then out of no reason I reattached them to my stealth engine. While standing on the side of the road this very knowledge eased my pain, but still I hated every single minute that I had to spent there hearing my opponents and many others to pass by. But I did not quit and that's what matters to me the most right now.
Today I felt that running is getting easier and easier, but some work is needed to increase stamina and tempo. The 2 months which I lost due an injury are not coming back without some work. First run was moderated by me, but the latter one was an awful experience. The warm weather and the emotional roller coaster took lot of energy, but nevertheless I was happy and felt really privileged to finish the race together with sweetie who won silver in women's race.
Today was a good day.
Today I felt that running is getting easier and easier, but some work is needed to increase stamina and tempo. The 2 months which I lost due an injury are not coming back without some work. First run was moderated by me, but the latter one was an awful experience. The warm weather and the emotional roller coaster took lot of energy, but nevertheless I was happy and felt really privileged to finish the race together with sweetie who won silver in women's race.
Today was a good day.
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Tempo ride is hard on your lungs
Yesterday
I punished my lungs by riding a 10K tempo.
This meant that I got myself involved with a first bike "race" for the first time in my entire athletic career which started in 1984. This novel experience was fulfilled with lactic acid and a painful feeling in the lungs. To be honest, I haven't punished my aerobic engine this hard for years, and therefore, the feeling following the tempo ride was awesome. When I returned home after one hour cool down bike ride, I did a quick change and ran 3K in 12 minutes just get my legs used to this bike to run transformation. Then I focused on eating.
This meant that I got myself involved with a first bike "race" for the first time in my entire athletic career which started in 1984. This novel experience was fulfilled with lactic acid and a painful feeling in the lungs. To be honest, I haven't punished my aerobic engine this hard for years, and therefore, the feeling following the tempo ride was awesome. When I returned home after one hour cool down bike ride, I did a quick change and ran 3K in 12 minutes just get my legs used to this bike to run transformation. Then I focused on eating.
Had hard time get my shoes in order... missed at least one second. (photo by Holmströms)
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
10K Tempo
Today I will add another new experience in the books: 10K tempo ride. For cyclists this is a normal routine with no weight whatsoever. But I'm super excited. This is going to be a great workout for the forthcoming duathlon...
Today's soundtrack covers these songs.
Today's soundtrack covers these songs.
Sunday, May 4, 2014
This shit is getting heavy on your legs
This was the 5th consecutive week during which I had time and energy to train over 10 hrs per week. Before this period the weekly amount of training was closer to 46 minutes due to a running injury.
Today I finished a week of 15 hrs worth of sweat drained during 6 days. In order to get my running back in touch with real life, I decided to take a short cut: run races. On Tuesday I rode with Ile to Raisio and back to run a first race since September. This one was a 5K XC race which offered empty lungs and fun times. So fun that I spent almost 19 minutes on that course.
Today I repeated that but in different circumstances. Today the local, small race took place on gravel road (7.2K) and I managed to reach the finish line as the first competitor at the pace 3.32/K. Moreover, today the WU and CD bike rides summed up to 72K. Thereafter I felt a bit tired but I was privileged with an opportunity of a nap, and gained back my willingness to hit the pool later in the afternoon. A fun week.
Today I finished a week of 15 hrs worth of sweat drained during 6 days. In order to get my running back in touch with real life, I decided to take a short cut: run races. On Tuesday I rode with Ile to Raisio and back to run a first race since September. This one was a 5K XC race which offered empty lungs and fun times. So fun that I spent almost 19 minutes on that course.
Today I repeated that but in different circumstances. Today the local, small race took place on gravel road (7.2K) and I managed to reach the finish line as the first competitor at the pace 3.32/K. Moreover, today the WU and CD bike rides summed up to 72K. Thereafter I felt a bit tired but I was privileged with an opportunity of a nap, and gained back my willingness to hit the pool later in the afternoon. A fun week.
Friday, May 2, 2014
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)