Last week was actually an amazing week of training. It was tough and it was at times frustrating, but I'm pretty proud of myself for getting in pretty much all of the workouts that I had planned for myself. This self-coaching business is taking a lot of getting used to and I definitely had many periods over the last week of doubt and worry about my fitness level and about whether I will be "ready" to race in a few weeks. But consistent workouts and following the plan are helping to boost my confidence. Add in a few workouts with some good friends and the fun factor was covered off as well!
Monday: Run - 8k. I tricked myself into a longer run by purposely heading in the opposite direction of my house after work (I'm still run commuting for now, though revisiting whether I will continue much longer). Normally, I pass by our house about 3.5k in if I head toward home, and it can be very tempting to just go into the house. So, I ran over to the Quebec side of the river first, which forced me to extend the run by quite a bit. The run was not great - heart rate way too high, some gastro discomfort, etc. But I did it! And then I got to go pick up my bike from FedEx.
Tuesday: Swim - 2200m. I made it back to ROCS! This was a big win for the week. Now, mind you, I actually cried on deck when I realized that it was long course. It was never long course on Tuesdays last year. But I forced myself to get into the pool, and it wasn't so bad. (Swim demons obviously still linger.)
Thursday: I turned my Thursday into my rest day, as I wasn't feeling a 6 am (long course again) swim. Plus in the evening, I had to be home to meet Adam from Velofix Ottawa for my new bike!
Friday: Swim - 2650m completed. I pulled myself out of bed for my morning swim with ROCS and was glad that I did. While I am definitely far off the times that I need to be hitting, they seemed a little bit closer at this workout.
Saturday: Trail run - 8k. Jenn and I took to the Wolf Trail for a "hard effort" run. We had contemplated signing up for a local 10k trail race, but in the end decided to do it on our own. Man, trail running is hard. Running hard is also hard. My body was in utter shock after the lack of hard effort training lately. I also ate it and ended up with a bruised and bloody left knee after a fall (on a flat section, of course). The second half of the trail slowed us down quite a bit, as it was steeper, muddier, and rockier on the descent. We finished off with a little dip (toes only for me) in Meech Lake, which is definitely not warm enough yet for swimming! It was like an ice bath, though it felt amazing after a hard run in (finally) warm temperatures.
Sunday: Bike - 64k. Jenn, Dave and I braved some crazy wind on our ride out to Carp. At times it felt like we might be blown sideways off our bikes, and then at other times it felt like we weren't actually moving forward. We stopped for a nice snack at Alice's Cafe (a great reward for the windy ride), then turned around to head home. It was mostly smooth sailing on the way back and we completed the distance in about half the time! Always nice to have good company when the riding is tough!
A few things that resonated with me this week:
On resilience: "Emotion into Execution: My Path to Resilience" by Loren Rowney
On running: "Why I Run" by Nick Triolo
On owning your strengths: "Stop Using Qualifiers" by Carrie Cheadle
I read EVERY ONE of your posts, so I'll help keep you accountable ;) You are off to a great start with the self coaching! I find that the motivation factor is what I am sometimes missing and craving by coaching myself. I hope you are loving your new bike! Have you taken it for a spin yet?! Carrie Cheadle's post really resonated with me this week as well! I know she is a busy woman, but I really wish she would write posts more frequently...I really enjoy her work ;) If you haven't read her book yet, you should...it is great!!