Tuesday, September 17, 2013

On the Road Again


Work travel has been busy of late and it doesn't seem like it will be any different til mid-December. Ottawa, Timmins, Sault, St. John, Orlando are on deck with personal family trips upcoming to Orlando, Panama City Beach and the Mayan Riviera - all before December 15th.

It can be a challenge prepping for IM Florida with all the travel but I'm doing what I can. Before leaving for Vancouver last week I did my long run on the South Rail Trail which heads towards Caledonia. I like this trail - it's always quiet and the surface is kind.

Off to Vancouver for the International Society of Urology conference.

Big ship parked just outside the conference center.

Once the first day was done it was to the Kitsilano Outdoor pool. I was looking forward to this and it did not disappoint. The pool is a whopping 137m long!! Not sure why it's 137 but this day I did 24 lengths for 3300m total - awesome!

Post swim called for a 14k run around the seawall in Stanley Park - always beautiful.

Next day, another ship! This was a Disney ship and it was big.

The Olympic Winter Games cauldron.

After the end of the next day's conference activities my coworker Cory (who's doing his first IM in Lake Tahoe this weekend) and I rented road bikes for $34 for the day and road around Stanley Park and towards North Vancouver. The bikes weren't bad and we managed to get 50k in.

The view of North Van from the bridge.

At the peak of the bridge.

View of the bridge from the seawall in Stanley.

If you ever get to Vancouver make sure you check the park out and, if there in the summer, the Kitsilano pool is a must. The rest of the week included another hour bike, a 2200m swim and a 18.5k run. As far as conferences go it was a success and this was the most training I've ever completed around a busy work schedule. Not bad!
 
Cheers!

Saturday, September 7, 2013

Training Update: Getting Back in the Groove

So I spent pretty much the month of August recovering from IM Lake Placid. Did pretty much nothing for 10 days post race then started some light activity. Surprisingly I found my heart rate to be normal with no elevation indicating fatigue. I haven't done a lot of long stuff at this point: the longest since Placid being a 2000m swim, 80k bike and 16k run.


Today I'm catching a flight to Vancouver for a conference. While there I will be heading to the Kitsilano outdoor pool which is a whopping 137m long!!That's crazy. Down and back = 274m. Should be fun. I will also rent a road bike and get 100-120k in with hopefully a climb up Cypress Mountain. Finally a couple laps around Stanley Park with a little extra at the end to make a 25k run. Weather looks good for the week so it should make for a great training block.


Once back I will build in earnest with Hell Week scheduled around the week of Thanksgiving. I'm hopeful the weather will cooperate for the long bike rides. After that it's Florida bound for IM Florida. I've never done a flat Ironman and I'm interested to see how my body reacts to it.


For now it's just training business as usual - Cheers!