School's (almost) Out!

....and it can't happen a moment too soon.  The last few weeks have been exhausting and it all finally caught up with me Sunday night and Monday - headache and fatigue to the point of nausea.  I actually ended up missing the 2nd to last day of work, and our year end beach party.  I spent most of the day sleeping and then later in the day, I started to feel a little more alive.  With any luck, I'll feel my old self again tomorrow, my last day with kids.

So what's been going on with me?  Well with the usual June school craziness, endless Canucks games ending with a crushing defeat, helping my daughter find an apartment for her move to Vancouver, and Erik's race this past weekend, it's been too hectic to do much training.  I have not been swimming or biking at all this month but I have attempted to get a few runs in.  It's been a long haul since June 6th though, and it's taking awhile for my legs to feel back to normal. For a couple of weeks, I found I needed to take walk breaks during my run and then I did manage a steady 10km run last weekend that felt good.  I only had time to run once during the week though and then I ran 13km this past Sunday.  I knew my legs were still feeling heavy and tire easily so I decided right at the start to run 9/1 so I could be sure to get the entire distance in. The first hour felt good, the last 30 minutes were more difficult but I was happy to have done a decent 13 km. 

I am also finding that my HR is quickly moving into Zone 3 whenever I run right now, despite the fact that all my runs were in low Zone 2 in the last 6 weeks of my half iron training.  I suspect that over the next few weeks, my fitness will increase and I'll be able to stay in Zone 2 again.  Of course, the other problem is that I've been running in warmer weather - that seems to increase my HR as well.  Now that summer holidays are beginning, I'm planning to do most of my runs in the early morning, before it gets hot.

CORE

I started doing Gordon's (from This Running Life) Around the World core workout, which he got from Beginner Triathlete.  I started slow and only did it twice as week as recommended, but my plan is to increase the frequency once school is out. I will also do some of the other core exercises I was doing in the winter to mix it up a bit.

UPPER BODY STRENGTH

This summer, I've also decided to focus on upper body strength, in particular swim-specific dryland exercises to complement my lack of swim training. My thinking is that the main reason I lost a couple of minutes in my swim time was the loss of strength in the pull phase of my swim.  My theory is that if I focus on building upper body strength, I can continue with my minimal swim training and maintain my swim fitness.  I really don't feel it's worth it for me to spend hours and hours in the pool/lake and only gain a minute or two in swim time. That time is much better spent biking, running, and drinking wine.


LOWER BODY STRENGTH

My summer goal for the lower body is to continue to strengthen the gluteus medius to help stabilize my hip.  Overall, so long as I am careful with my movements, my groin/hip has not been bothering me much. The only time it has hurt is when I've spent a lot of time walking (ie 10km round Vancouver a couple week ago).  I am optimistic that strengthening my core and the surrounding muscles will help keep any further damage in check until I can get my MRI.

UPCOMING RACES

July 9 - Desert Half Iron in Osoyoos.  Erik and his brother want me to do join their relay team and do the swim.  I find this amusing since my swim is so sucky but as long as Erik's legs are capable of running a half marathon, I will do the swim for them. Yogi will do the bike. 

July 31 - San Francisco First Half Marathon.  Erik and I are signed up and we plan to do this race for fun, and run together!

August 21 - Apple Triathlon - I'll do either the sprint or the olympic - haven't decided yet.

October 9 - Okanagan Marathon.  Yes, you read that right.  I have 15 weeks to train for my first marathon. I am optimistic that this is the year. I hope. Only time will tell. :)