Skate-skiing
Finally, the holidays are over and we are quickly into the new year. I am off to a bit of a sluggish start in 2012. I was hoping to be down a few lbs. by now, strength training with regularity, and working on my running speedwork. Instead I am up 10 lbs and strength training has stopped, but I have been doing some regular speed work and maintaining my prior endurance.
While I am up 10 lbs. from my race weight from IM Miami 70.3 at 185lbs, I did gain 5 lbs. the day after the race so I was behind the 8-ball very early on. The holidays brought about lots of food and partys, which accounted for the other 5lbs. Cutting calories in December is just not possible without some MAJOR willpower. Obviously willpower I don’t have. Now 2 weeks into January and the scale is not budging. I thought I could decrease my intake without monitoring/logging it, but it is just not changing. I have been integrating a lot more salads into meals which are quite good and filling without many calories. The demon afternoon softpretzel has been decreased, but needs to be eliminated totally. In order to combat these setbacks, there is one sure-fire method that has worked time and time again for me… The Daily Plate! Monitoring your food intake is a bit painful, but it works and the The Daily Plate does make it pretty easy by remembering frequently eaten foods and the “My Meals” meal builder for setting up commonly eaten meals. They also contain most foods so you don’t have make things up. Consistent logging should be the ticket to progressing here.
Strength training had started out fairly well for me in the beginning of the post-race season. Unfortunately some shoulder issues caused that to come to a grinding halt. I have dealt off and on with pain in my left shoulder which I think all stems from a HS football injury. This time I think the planks caused this to flare up on me again. While it did not instantly hurt while doing the planks, but after while running I raised my arm to check my watch and a sharp pain instantly pierced through my shoulder. From then on it was constantly irritating. My swimming was also put on hold for a couple weeks. Anything where my arm is resisting weight on lowering motion. It has now subsided thanks to a couple rounds Advil and I am back on my training, not strength training though. My wife coerced me into seeing a specialist for my shoulder, which I am feeling strange about since it is not currently hurting. Probably have to get a MRI…Yuk!
Endurance training has been progressing fairly well despite the other mentioned setbacks. This week I am up to around 7-7.5 hours and feeling quite good. This week was tougher since the temperature has dropped into the normal range of cold. The last 2 weekends were unseasonably warm, which allowed me to get a couple nice outdoor rides in. Yesterday though was cold and windy, so I had to crack the seal on a 2-hour Spinerval DVD. Fortunately, it had a no music option so I could substitute my own instead of Troy Jacobsons’ usual 70’s elevator music.
Speedwork during the week has been going pretty well too. I have been integrating intervals and steady state runs into my 2 runs sessions during the week. Speeds are pretty good despite being at a heavier weight. Hopefully getting down below 180 will amplify these times even more as race season approaches. I am trying to get at least 2 pool sessions in a week. One speed session and one long slow distance(LSD) swim. I need to schedule a session with my coach to help make a couple improvements in my form as my times aren’t really improving that much. Despite that, I am feeling more comfortable than ever in the pool. The swim has definitely overtaken the run as a stronger discipline. I did a 2300 yd swim on Friday and felt very good. Could have done more if time permitted. On the bike, I am doing the Spinervals Time Trial 2.0 workout each week, which consists of a 1 hour time trial specific workout for triathletes. Good hard workout with technique work too. Should be able to see improvements by consistently comparing the same workout each week.
All in all, things are progressing despite some things to work on. The season is still young, so it is a good time to recongnize the issues and still have good time to correct them. That’s all for now, time to head out for a long run. ‘Til next time.
