1200 meters and counting...

I hit the pool yesterday after another 3-4 day hiatus from training and I did it! I pushed through and over the 1km mark all the way to 1200 meters...and I felt like I could have kept going! :)

I did a really basic set:

4 x 100 meters warm-up
3 x 200 meters main set
2 x 100 meters cool-down

What was great was the feeling of ease. I am really loving swimming. I am also day-dreaming about pushing to 1400, 1600, 1800 and all the way back to 2km within the next week.

Of course, about a couple of hours later, it hit me! Boom...and I was tired...but good tired. I forget, probably because it is so low impact, how much effort/work swimming is. But I so thrilled that I am now doing 200 meter sets and want to up it to 300 meter and 400 meter and 500 metere UNTIL I am swimming non-stop for 2km....then I will know I am ready for a race!

Today's training set is all cardio:

running
eliptical
rowing
more running

OY!!!!

Slow and steady...

Well my training continues with slow improvements. And therein lies the challenge!

After my personal rushed ramp-up to "serious" tri-athlete training in the fall/early winter, the pace I'm on now feels like I am treading water/not moving at all...and this is a mental challenge. I am feeling like I should be pushing harder/further/faster...but I am heeding all the advise I'm getting from my coach and my support team (chiropractor, massage therapist and naturopath) who are all encouraging me to take it slowly. The last thing I want to do is re-injure myself and miss the whole summer tri-season here! Argh...

BUT I just wished I was further ahead!

:(

That said, my swim is now up to/over 1,000 meters and my biking is up to 30-minutes (a long way from the 3+ hours I was at before) and the same with running -- a measly 20-minutes! But the difference is, I am not burning out, I can fit it into my life without dramatic or drastic changes to schedule or lifestyle...and I am not in PAIN!

So slow and steady is definitely going to win me the race...and next year I can ramp up to 1/2 IronMan status...and by 2013...FULL IRONMAN.

Triumphant day of training...

OK...I slacked off for two days in a row and finally made it into the gym today and WOW...for me at this low point in my recommencement of training, it was TRIUMPHANT!

Now by triumphant, I mean...I made it in! And I worked out!

35-minutes of walk/run on the treadmill (omg...I am so out of condition for running)
20 minutes of core workout (see coach...I actually did it)
10 minutes of stretchying (omg...I know it is important, but I just never want to do it)
40 minutes and 1,000 meters in the pooooooool!

YES...consecutively...and I felt thinner, fitter, better, awesome afterward!

SO...I know that tomorrow I can going to feel like SHIT. Stiff and in pain...but who cares, because today I am TRIUMPHANT!

(Tomorrow I have to get my ass on my $6,000 tri bike that's been sitting at my TriGym for 3+months gathering dust.....argh!!!)

Patience patience patience...

Day Two of my grand return to training and I am happy to report:

- I made it to 900 meters with my swim yesterday
- I did 40 minutes on the bike today

WOOOOHOOO!

Of course these #s are much decreased from 3-months ago when I was up to nearly 3-hours on the bike and 2km swims! Oh well!!!!

I will get there again...but until then...I am practicing patience!

Starting over is hard to do....

Okay...it's been nearly 3-months since I crashed and burned...first with a case of "burn-out" and then with a extremely painful lower back! OMG...I thought I'd become a very old man. But now I seem to have emerged on the other side and I am slowly returning to training. SLOWLY.

To-date I have seen my chiropractor, massage therapist and naturopath a million times and they've all given my the go-ahead to START OVER slowly. This past week I've seen/spoken with my coach, and she too has said, I can start again. BUT we are revising downward all of my goals. SO...today was the big 1/2 IronMan in Florida and I am NOT there! :(

However, this past week I have also gone back to the gym and Friday I did almost an hour of mixed cardio (eliptical @ 10mins, stationary bike @ 15mins and walking/running on a treadmill for 20mins) and yesterday I did 800 meters in the pool (8 sets of 4 x 25m's w/ 1-1.5min rests).

AND I FEEL GOOD! I FEEL ALIVE! I FEEL LIKE GETTING GOING!!!!

Next steps: To follow my "new" Training Peaks schedule. To stretch lots. To include a bit of yoga. To have massage/chiro sessions often and as needed. To see my naturpath for some treatments to deal with toxins and rebuilding. And to register for Sprints and Olympic Triathlons locally (ie southern Ontario) throughout "our" season AND maybe look at another 1/2 IronMan in the late Fall or early next year!

I am back and I am going to make it!