What I've Tried: Brubeck Body Guard 3D Pro

As someone who pretty much lives in spandex, I've become quite particular about what I wear when I'm working out.  Gear has to be comfortable, functional and it has to look good.  Look good, feel good, go fast, right?

I recently had the opportunity to test out some products from Brubeck Body Guard.  Brubeck is a Polish company and their production facility is located in a town called Wola, that is historically known in the textile industry.  The production chain is located in the European Union and they control 100% of the process and quality.  Nothing gets outsourced outside the EU.  They also manage to recycle 80% of their waste products.  To top it off, all of their products are REACH and Oeko-Tex 100 certified which means that their products are free of harmful substances.  I think if we took a good look at what most of our workout wear was made with, we'd probably be surprised at what was in there.

Brubeck offers a several different types of active wear, including merino wool base layers, which I hope to test out when the weather gets colder.  This time around,  I tested a running top from the 3D pro line as well as their cycling shorts.  

The first product I tried were the cycling shorts.  When I opened the box to check out the shorts, I was surprised that they weren't constructed the same way as traditional cycling shorts.  They were made out of a knit fabric vs. lycra.  They were also almost totally seamless, including the waistband, which I found interesting.  The chamois seemed thinner than a normal cycling chamois.  It was also grooved.  The legs had a network of silicone grippers along inside of the hem at the front of the shorts, which is a feature that I prefer on my cycling shorts.  I am not a fan of the elastic gripper that makes your legs look like sausages.  

I figured I'd jump right in and test them out on a super hot, 3 hour ride.  I was immediately struck by the fit.  I have to be honest, I prefer bib shorts to regular shorts so I was a bit skeptical that I'd like these.  I don't like things digging into my waist when I'm riding.  The fact that these are made of knitwear and are seamless meant that they didn't have a traditional waistband so they didn't dig into my waist.  They felt like bib shorts but without the hassle of straps.  And they stayed put when I was riding because they are high waisted.  WINNING!  

Despite the humid weather, I didn't feel sweaty and gross by the time we hit the coffee shop post ride.  The seamless knitwear allows the skin to breathe because there are two layers.  The inner layer wicks moisture away from the skin and there are 3D zones on the thighs that form air circulation channels to help keep you cool.  I distinctly remember sitting on my bike and feeling the sun on my legs but not feeling hot, even though I was wearing black shorts.  

Where these shorts really shine is the chamois.  The high density open cell foam does a great job at offering good padding, but it's the grooves in the chamois that help keep it from bunching and allow for some good airflow as well.  I found these to be exceptionally comfortable.  I could have easily ridden more than 3 hours in them and I'm pretty sure there wouldn't have been any shifting around on the saddle.  After I'm done with all my structured training, I'm looking forward to taking them out on a really long ride to see how they fare.

The second piece I tried out was the 3D Pro running top.  The 3D pro technology is a "spatial yarn design based on a 3D mesh fabric.  It has superior moisture absorption and enhances the air circulation inside the garment structure" (as per the Brubeck.com website).  I have a tough time regulating my body temperature these days (thank you hormones) so on hot days I tend to wear super light and loose tank tops so I don't have much touching my skin.  The 3D pro line are snug fitting, almost seamless tops.  The top I got was a t-shirt style and I thought Oh boy, I'm going to be a big sweaty mess in this.   I wore it on some of the hottest days we've had and I can honestly say that while it felt hot out, I didn't feel hot.  Not at all.  I was sweating for sure, but I wasn't soaked.  I never felt like I was overheating either.  When I came back from one of my hotter runs, I touched my back to see if the top was actually wet because I didn't feel wet.  Sure enough, I was wet but the 3D pro technology kept me feeling dry.  I was pretty darn impressed.  And the top is a beautiful blue colour that I absolutely love.

I am very impressed with this gear.  The fit is great and the functionality is even better.  I still have a long sleeve base layer to test out as well so watch for that review when the weather gets colder.  Brubeck has an extensive line of clothing over in Europe so I'm really hoping to see even more of this fantastic product here in Canada.

Disclaimer:  I was given this product in exchange for an open and honest review. 

Look out 2019!

Happy very belated New Year! 

It’s been a while since I’ve sat myself down and typed an update.  It always seemed very hard to find the time.    When you’ve got 20 hours to kill in a car and you don’t want to use up all your data, you’ve got nothing BUT time.  So here we are.

There has been a lot that’s happened in the last few months.   I’ve hired a coach (Sarah Russell at Sustainable Athlete Endurance), I’ve gotten back to regular running and, the biggest news, I’ve taken a position as the Head Coach at BlackToe Running.  That was a giant step outside my comfort zone but it has been such a fun and rewarding experience in the few months I’ve been there, I’m so glad I accepted the position.

photo:  Edison Yao 

I closed out 2018 feeling ready to put my nose to the grindstone and really put in the work both personally and professionally in 2019.  Going into year three of PKPC I certainly didn’t envision I’d be where I am now.  That being said, I never really had a specific vision when I started my coaching business. I just knew that I wanted to help athletes get across the finish line happy and healthy.  

I won’t say it’s impossible to grow a business without a plan but it certainly helps to have some sense of direction in terms of where you want things to go.  It’s very much like training for a race.   You should have a plan and be willing to put in the work if you want to see results.   I have struggled with that over the last year, probably because I always felt like I had the time and then I’d put things off or I’d forget about things because something else came up that demanded my attention.   My focus was always shifting.  

Which is why I’ve chosen the word FOCUS as my word for 2019.    It is a reminder that goals don’t magically happen.  They require focus and dedication to achieve them.   I’ve got big goals this year, especially racing wise, so once again I will be sharing my trials and tribulations.   Speaking of racing, I’ve flushed out the majority of my 2019 race schedule.  The only thing that is undecided is whether or not I run a fall half marathon and try to qualify for the 2020 New York City Marathon. 

This is where you will find me in 2019:

Great Clermont Triathlon (Olympic) March 16^th, 

Florida 70.3 – April 14^th

The Diva Half Marathon – June 9^th(racing with the BlackToe Team!)

Muskoka 70.3 – July 7^th,

70.3 World Championships – September 7^th, Nice, France

The Diva Half marathon with be the first stand alone running race I’ve done in 2 years.  TWO YEARS.   That’s saying a lot about where my relationship with running has been over the last little while.  But I’m finally feeling strong and healthy and running is actually starting to feel better so I’m excited to toe the line at stand alone running event.  Especially since it will be with my BlackToe ladies. 

This is a step up in number of races compared to last year as well.  I think it’s pretty much perfect, although I have a feeling I will probably struggle a bit mentally in August.  One more reason for me to have a coach to make sure I stay focused on the task at hand.

I put a call out on Instagram stories asking what people wanted me to write or talk about and the overwhelming response was strength training, followed by nutrition.  So I will work on getting some posts out on those topics.   If you have any other topics you want me to talk or write about don’t hesitate to email me or DM me on Instagram.

Happy Monday! 

Off Season Strength Training - Part One

If you’re in the northern hemisphere, chances are your triathlon season is done, or very close to being so.   Your weekly training volume should be decreasing as should the intensity of your workouts.    This lighter load in training volume is the perfect time to either increase your strength sessions, or, if you’re like the majority of triathletes I know, add it back into your routine.  

As I coach and personal trainer, I program strength work into all my athletes training plans.  I know when schedules get tight, it’s almost always the first thing to go but I cannot stress enough how important it is to maintain some kind of routine over the course of your entire season.  Done with proper technique, weight training will help keep you injury free, and will help improve strength, power and muscular endurance.  

Much like a triathlon training plan, strength work should also be periodized.  Off season is the time to start working on building strength for your following race season.  Once your build phase starts, your strength training plan should change again to allow for the additional training load.  And of course, during your race season, your plan should change again with a focus on maintenance.    I will delve into how to structure a periodized strength training plan in a future post.  For now, I’m going to focus on some of my favourite exercises.

LOWER BODY

Since running and cycling are essentially single leg exercises, it makes sense to do some of your off season training that way.    This way you work both of your legs individually and can focus on building strength equally.  When doing things like squats, you may think you’re working both your legs equally but I guarantee you that one of your legs will be working slightly harder than the other.  This is why single leg training is an integral part of a strength routine.   When I'm just getting back into the gym, I start with unilateral exercises to work on fixing any imbalances that I may have developed.  From there I will build into heavier lifting.

Form is SO important with all of these exercises.  As is mind muscle connection.   We often just go through the motion of the exercise without focusing on feeling the muscle work.   This is why I suggest doing all of these lower body exercises with body weight first so you understand the movement and can focus on feeling the muscles you are using.

There are endless possibilities when it comes to lifting weights but these exercises are my favourites for developing strength.  

Step up

These are a simple exercise that can be done on a box or a bench.    The surface should be stable and big enough for you to stand on.   You can do these laterally as well to change up your plane of movement.   I like these because they really help you focus on the push up / off.   I also like to add a knee drive on the opposite leg to mimic running stride.

Split Squat 

I used to do these with my foot elevated on a bench but was recently shown an alternate way that I find so much more effective and comfortable.  Instead of using a bench,  you use a Smith machine, lower the bar to just below knee height, grab the squat bar pad, wrap the bar and rest the top of your foot on that.  Doing that avoids the awkward twisting of your foot and toes that usually happens when you use a bench.  

Note:  Don't look at the ground when doing this, look ahead!

Lateral lunge  / Reverse lunge

Strength training provides the perfect opportunity to change up how we move.   I think it’s so important to include movement in alternate planes, especially in off season strength work, which is why I love lateral and reverse lunges.   Everything we do is done in the sagittal plane so moving in alternate planes challenges other muscles that we don't normally use.

Single leg deadlift (RDL’s) + traditional deadlift

The single leg RDL is a great exercise to work on balance and stability as well as targeting your posterior chain.  I do these without weight to start and gradually add weight as my form improves.  I would be remiss if I didn't include barbell deadlifts as well.  When done correctly, they are fantastic for working your entire posterior chain.

Single leg squat + barbell squat 

A quick search on You Tube will bring up a million different variations of single leg squats.  My suggestion is find one that you can do with proper form and do it.   The same goes for barbell squats.  Your ankle and hip mobility will dictate what you're able to do.

UPPER BODY

Swimming isn’t the only activity that requires upper body strength.  Think about how much time you’ll spend hunched over in your aerobars in an Ironman. What does your form look like at the 20 mile mark of a marathon? If you’re like the majority of the population, your shoulders are slumped over and your form has gone to shit.   This is why training your upper body is just as important as training your lower body.  

And just like your lower body, you will probably find that you have imbalances in your upper body as well so working on building strength with single arm exercises is a good way to start your strength training program.  

Again, proper form is crucial.   Always focus on good posture.   Keep your shoulders back and your chest lifted.   That way your core will also stay engaged.

Single Arm Row (cable or dumbbell)

Personally I prefer using a cable machine for these as I feel I have better control of the time under tension than with a dumbbell.

Single Arm pull down (cable)

This is a fantastic exercise for your lats.  If you do this correctly, it should mimic the pull phase of your swim stroke.  

Push Press

This is an explosive, compound movement that works both upper and lower body.  It's definitely one that should be perfected at a lighter weight before progressing to a heavier weight.   

Chest Press (single arm dumbbell) 

Doing a single arm dumbbell chest press really allows you to feel the engagement in your core because of the imbalance it creates.  It's as much about training your core as it is about training your chest.   The great thing about doing these unilaterally is that you end up working both sides of your body.   If you're pressing with your right arm, your left obliques will fire to help stabilize your torso.

Once you've managed to develop fairly equal amounts of strength on both sides of your body, you can progress to more traditional lifting like deadlifts, back / front squats & bench press.

If you're new to strength training, I would strongly suggest hiring a good personal trainer / strength and conditioning coach so you have someone watching and correcting your form.  Because if you're not doing these right, then you defeat the purpose of the exercise and, you may even get injured.

Now that you have some ideas as to what to do in the gym, stay tuned for my next post in the series:  Periodizing your strength plan.

Question:  Do you strength train throughout your race season?  If not, why?

Monday Musings: A Magical Week

Happy Monday!

The dust has settled and the house is quiet once again.  This past week was a big one!  We hosted some elite triathletes for the weekend, I went to Disney for the first time and I celebrated another trip around the sun.

Last December, one of our coaches here, Sarah McClarty, posted in the Clermont Triathletes FB group that another USAT coach was looking for a home stay for 3 athletes that were coming in to race the draft legal race in Lake Louisa State Park.  It happened to be the same weekend as my birthday.  Gary asked if I'd be ok with having some athletes stay with us and I said sure why not.   The girls emailed us shortly after to introduce themselves:  Sophie Chase, Ellie Abrahamson and Mary Alex English.  They were arriving on the Wednesday and staying until the Sunday.   Fast forward to January and I book a trip to Disney for the day with friends of mine that were going to be visiting.  I booked it on the same day the girls were arriving.  Oops.  Turned out that they weren't going to be arriving until much later in the evening.  That meant that I could stay and watch the fireworks at Disney and still make it home before they arrived.

WHEW.

I never went to Disney as a kid so I never really understood what all the fuss was about.   I always thought that adult Disney fanatics were a bit crazy.  Now that I've been there, I totally get it.  Especially if you went as a kid.  It is a pretty amazing place.  I am thankful that I went with my friends David & Elyse - they are fanatics and they know all the ins and outs of the various parks.  I trusted my trip to them completely and I had a blast.  I'm not a big ride person, mostly because they scare me, but I went on Space Mountain and another roller coaster and I was totally fine.  Space Mountain was a bit disorienting at first because you're in the dark but it ended up being a pretty fun experience.  And none of the rides are terribly long so even if you are a bit freaked out, you know it's not going to last very long.

I got there just after 10 and we were in the park by around 11.  I was given two buttons to wear, one that said it's my first time and another that said it's my birthday.  Sure it was a bit early but whatever.  I was celebrating all week, ha ha.  Every single staff member  (or cast member as they are referred to here) wished me happy birthday.  Definitely made for a fun day.  I wasn't sure if I'd last until the evening fireworks but the day flew by.  There is so much to see.  They even do a full on parade at 3:00 pm every day.

Yup, that's a fire breathing dragon!!! 

We saw some shows went on a bunch of other rides and wandered around.  Surprisingly the park wasn't that busy.  Yes, there was a lot of people around but it wasn't as insane as I had imagined.  Thankfully!  Knowing that our guests were coming in later in the PM I stayed for the fireworks.  I wasn't disappointed.  Disney definitely knows how to put on a show.

Pre fireworks

I was back home by 9:45 pm, totally sweaty and exhausted.  I really wanted to go to bed but I knew the girls were coming so G and I stayed up until they arrived around 11:15.  We met them all, along with Jarrod, their coach and got them settled.  They were still on west coast time so they stayed up for a bit while G and I went to bed.  G got up to swim the next day but I opted to skip that and hang with the girls in the morning to make sure they were a-ok.  They had to go pre-ride the course but before they could do that, they had to assemble their bikes.  They had no idea how to really do that so G would come in and check on them from time to time.  Their coach told them they had to have their bikes assembled and ready to go for 9:15 am.  I headed out with a couple of friends to do a ride before he got there but I heard he was a little annoyed with them when he arrived.

The girls were racing on Saturday but G and I had committed to doing a charity poker ride that one of my other friends here had told me about.  It was leaving from Winter Garden and was finishing at The Crooked Can which is a great local brewery.  Any ride that ends with a beer is a good ride, in my books.  We got to Winter Garden at about 7:15.  It was COLD.  And by cold I mean 10 degrees celsius, which, when you've been used to 28 to 30 degrees celsius, that feels cold.  My toes were frozen and I wished that I had worn full fingered gloves.  We collected our score card and rolled out with the group.  There was a lot of chit chat.  Again, one thing I've noticed here is that people don't know how to ride in a group properly.  And they wonder why cars here yell at them.  There were a few guys trying to maintain some order and give directions but, it was a bit disorganized.  We did stick together which was nice as there were all levels of riders.  I figured it was going to be an easy ride for me so that was perfect.  Last week was a hard week of training so it was nice to just cruise for a change.  We collected all our cards and headed back to Winter Garden.  I had a crappy hand, but not the crappiest so I didn't win a prize.  There was a prize for the best / worst hands.  G and I sat around for the draw prizes and then went to get a beer.  Well, I had a beer.  We then hit a patio for lunch and after lunch we headed home.  I am not a good day drinker so I was ready for a nap.  But I rallied an managed to keep my eyes open, ha ha.

The girls came back and filled us in on their race.  We were checking their progress online.  We had figured that Sophie would probably win but she wasn't showing any splits after the swim so we figured something happened.  When she got back we found out what went down.  Her top tube snapped.  So, she was out.  She was PISSED.  But Ellie and Mary Alex rallied and came in 4th and 3rd respectively.  Ellie is an insanely fast runner.  She ran a 16:35 OFF THE BIKE.  That works out to 3:19/km.  WTF.   She was so nonchalant about it too when we told her her split.  She had no idea, ha ha ha.  

It was so awesome to have the girls with us for the weekend.  On the Thursday night I made dinner for everyone and we sat around and chatted for a long time.  They told us about their experiences so far.  All of them are VERY new to the sport.  This was only their second race.  They were recruited from various track programs.  They weren't necessarily the fastest or highest ranked but they fit a certain body type that USAT is looking for.  They had to pass a swim test and a run test to see if they had potential.  The cycling they would learn.  All 3 of these girls are swimming 750m between 10-12 minutes.  They're averaging around 35-37/kph in pack as this is draft legal and then running anywhere between 16-18 minutes OFF THE BIKE for a 5km.  So amazing.  What I found really interesting was their mindset.  For them it's a job.  They had no real feelings about the sport like age groupers do.  It was kind of strange.  They thought G and I were awesome because we went out and trained on our own vs. being told to.  I thought that was funny.  It's just normal for us.  I suppose if I had started at a high level in the sport, my mindset would be different as well.

L to R:  Ellie, Mary Alex and Sophie

They left us yesterday to take over an Airbnb in downtown Clermont for the next few days then they're off to Sarasota for another weekend of racing.  We'll be cheering for them for sure.  Before they left they gave us a card and a signed USA Triathlon cycling jersey, which I thought was super sweet.  I'm SO glad we got the opportunity to do this!

Even with all the goings on, I still managed a solid week of training.  I'm working my way up to a 400km week of cycling.  That's my goal for our last week here.  So there will be plenty of time in the saddle over the next little while.  I'm trying not to neglect other things as well but there is only so much time in the day.  This is how last week went down:

Monday:  OFF - when Training Peaks suggests you may need an extra day off because your form is so low and you're not feeling so awesome, you take the day off.

Tuesday:  2650m swim in the a.m., followed by an 80km  hilly ride to the Yalaha Bakery with fellow TTC'ers Kim Robinson & Halley Georgas.  I got the eclair I didn't get last year.  All is right in the world.

Wednesday:  9.7km run with 4 at tempo pace.  My legs were feeling pretty heavy after the previous days ride but I still managed to nail my paces.  Then off to Disney where I spent all day on my feet.

Thursday:  83km on the TT bike with Halley on the Van Fleet Trail.  It was SUPER windy out.  Definitely a good day to be on the TT bike.  And I did my second brick of the season, we ran 12 minutes off the bike.

Friday:  OFF.  I had planned on doing my long run but I wasn't feeling so hot when I got up so I decided to give myself the day off.  I woke up with a headache that was bordering on a sinus attack so I chilled out.

Saturday:  72km ride

Sunday:  16.5km long run with 4x2km race pace repeats followed by a 36km spin along the trail for coffee.

Totals:

Swimming: 2,650m (UGH)
Cycling:  271km
Running:  26.2km

Total time:  13h 17 minutes.  My TSS this week was 742 vs 801 and I felt pretty good for the most part.  Accumulating this much fatigue is new for me so I'm trying to be careful and really listen to my body.  I don't know how far I can push things, but I don't think that I want to dip much past -35 in form.  I've gotten down to -28 and I felt pretty tired but not totally smashed.  I was toeing the line for sure though.  A few more negative points and I think I would have been toast.

Tomorrow Eric is flying in and we're getting ready for our first camp that starts on Saturday.  The weather is looking like a roller coaster ride for the next two weeks so I'm crossing my fingers that the rain stays away at least!

Anyone else been to Disney World?  What was your experience like?  Have you gone back again?   I'd go back again but I think I'd go to Epcot instead.

Happy Monday!

~ Coach PK 

2017: You Were a Good One

Happy New Year!

I'm still alive!  I know I've been M.I.A these last couple of months but I haven't felt like I've had much to share and truth be told, I've been busy focusing on building my coaching business and working on a bit of side hustle as well (more on that down the road).  I've been spending more time on Instagram, telling snippets of stories there.  But I will come back to blogging in 2018.

I hope everyone had a fabulous Christmas.   Ours was pretty low key, especially since G was sick.  That meant I went to my parents on my own.  He's starting to feel better but it's been a pretty slow process.  I'm crossing my fingers I don't get it.  I've dialled back the workouts these last two weeks just to balance out all the other activities.  I find this time of year we can really stretch ourselves far too thin and then we try to cram in training and we inevitably get sick.  I didn't want that to happen this year so I skipped a few swims, did some easier effort rides vs anything too hard and made sure I got adequate amounts of sleep.  A "few" swims turned into two weeks out of the pool but I will get back there soon.  😁  Especially since I've got a big ass goal for 2018.  I put it out on Instagram a couple of weeks ago and I'm putting it out there again.  It scares the crap outta me but I want it.  And you HAVE to WANT it, especially if it's a longer distance race and you know you're going to have to put in the time in less than ideal training conditions.

So what is the big ass goal?  I want to qualify for the 2019 70.3 World Championships.  I have chosen Muskoka as my A-race, which means I need to put in a lot of time in the HILLS this year because I want to absolutely crush that bike.  My run needs to improve a fair bit as well.  I am currently working out the kinks in my body to help provide a much more stable core for when I start to add regular speed work.  I've seen some glimmers of my old running self so I have high hopes that I will be able to find some of that lost speed.  I just have to make sure I remain healthy.  That is KEY.

The fact that I made it through a very successful season of racing with no major issues was huge, especially after my disappointing 2016 season.   As I said on Instagram, 2017 was fan-fucking-tastic.  It exceeded my expectations many times over.  My main goal was to get to the start line of Tremblant 70.3 healthy and ready to race.  Everything else was just a bonus.

My 2017 instagram #bestnine 

Professionally, this has certainly been a year of growth.   I have to pinch myself sometimes because I can't believe I'm finally doing my own thing.  People keep asking me if I miss my old job and the resounding answer is NO.  I miss the people but I do not miss the business at all.  I am still finding my way and figuring out what works and what doesn't in terms of running a business.  It's taken me a long time to get into a groove and I'm still working on developing a solid routine.

I am thrilled with how well this first year has gone and I'm SO thankful to all the athletes that have trusted me with their training this year.   It hasn't been all sunshine and roses however.  There has been some self doubt.  Things have seemed daunting at times.  But as the saying goes, Rome wasn't built in a day and I have learned to plan accordingly.

I'm looking forward to planning some fun events for 2018, in addition to the two I've already got on the calendar:  The Limitless Tri / PKPC  Fun in the Sun training camp in March and a beginner's swim clinic with Coach Jason from Tri-Train on January 20th.  Today's first annual Fun Run was awesome and my crew has given me some excellent ideas for 2018 events.  They may or may not involve beer and running.  😃

A handful of the PKPC crew!

Thanks so much to everyone that has read my ramblings this past year.  I know I have been a very sporadic blogger this year but I am aiming to change that in 2018.

Here's to a happy, healthy and KICK ASS 2018.

~ Coach PK

Maintaining Fitness in the Off Season

For many beginner triathletes, the off season is a funny place. What does off season mean?  Do you stop training?  How much rest is too much?  How do I structure my training?  These are some of the questions I've gotten as a coach and I will do my best to tackle them in this post.

I know when I started out in triathlon, after my last race of the season, I stopped training completely for at least a month, probably longer.  I had no fall races planned and I thought because I was relatively fit, I could stop all activity and pick up where I left off.  HA.  Was I ever wrong.  You know that saying Use it or Lose it?  That's exactly what happened to me.  I didn't have a big fitness base at the time so taking over a month off resulted in some serious deconditioning.  I would stay that when I got back to regular activity that I was starting from square one but it was pretty close.  It usually takes about 7-14 days for endurance to start to decline so bear that in mind when taking time off.  The theory is the bigger the base of fitness you have, the longer it will take you to become deconditioned.   So seasoned athletes can afford to take a bit more time off without losing too much fitness.  Beginner athletes shouldn't take too much time off if they want to maintain a good measure of fitness.

How much time is enough? 

How much time "off" depends on the length and intensity of the last race of your season.  The shorter the race, generally the faster you recover.   If you've done a summer of sprint racing, then I'd suggest a week to 10 days off any structured swimming, biking or running for you to relax and regroup.  That may not be necessary for you to fully recover physically but you may need to mentally recharge as well.  If that means sitting on the couch for a week binge watching Game of Thrones, then so be it.  After that getting back to some kind of regular activity is key to maintaining your fitness over the winter.

For myself, I always like to take at least 5-7 days off completely after a major event like a marathon or a half ironman.  That doesn't mean I'm sitting around on the couch.  I still like to move my body so I will go for a walk or do some gentle yoga.  If I've run a marathon, I find one of the best things for my legs is swimming.  Recovery varies by individual.  Some people take longer to recover, others take less time.  Men tend to recover faster than women and the younger you are, the faster you recover.  So us old broads really need to learn to listen to our bodies, ha ha.

Structuring Your Training

As I mentioned in this post, this is the time of year where you focus on improving your weakest link in the sport.  A typical training week in season looks something like this:  Swim 3x a week, run 3x week bike 3x a week.  In off season for me, it looks more like this:  Swim 4x a week, bike 3-4x a week run 2x a week.  Running is hardest on my body so I prefer to do less of it.  That is just enough to maintain a decent amount of running specific fitness, especially if one of the runs is a long run.  Swimming is my weakest link so I'm adding a 4th swim that is all technique and drill focused vs. volume.   And it's now cyclocross season so I will be doing one ride a week like that and then ideally 2-3 more easy rides.

Off season isn't the time for high volume or a lot of high intensity.   My training volume in the off season is about 1/2 to 2/3 of what it would be during my race season.

Integrating Strength Training

This time of year is the best time of year to bring regular strength training back into your training as well.  You don't need to spend hours in the gym.  Two 30-45 minute sessions a week is great.  If you can do three times a week that's even better.  Start by working on muscular endurance with lighter weights and higher reps, and build to working on strength and power with heavier weights and lower reps or some plyometric work.  In the off season I like to do my weight workouts after a short run or ride.  The cardio element can be your warm up so you are ready to tackle your weight workout.  I have some weights in my basement along side my indoor trainer so when I'm done my ride, I can start my weight workout.  It's the most effective use of my time.

Staying Motivated

Over the years I've managed to become fairly self motivated in terms of my cycling and running.  Swimming is where I have a hard time.  Knowing that, I joined a Masters swim club.  If there is any sport that you have a tough time getting done on your own because you either 1) don't enjoy pushing yourself in that sport or 2) you're not sure what kind of workouts to do, then I'd highly recommend you join a training group.  The Toronto Triathlon Club offers coached swim sessions across the city and there are various Masters groups as well.  If the thought of spending solo hours on the trainer isn't appealing, there are plenty of places to ride inside with other people.  There's Watts Up in the West End, Dig Deep Cycling Fitness uptown and The X3 Lab in the east end.   If none of those are convenient, there's always ZWIFT. which is social in it's own way.

Alternatively, you could always hire a coach to help you take the guesswork out of your off season planning and to help you make the improvements you're looking for leading into your next season of racing.

On that note, I do have a couple of openings for coaching as of November 1st so if you're interested head on over to my coaching site and take a look around.  Shoot me a note if you have any questions!

Thanks to all the folks that responded to my IG stories question in regards to posts they'd like to see.  This was the first one and I'll be putting together more over the coming weeks!

Happy Friday!

~ Coach PK

Monday Musings: Where is summer going?

Happy Monday!  And hello last day of July.  What the what???  Yup, it's the first day of August tomorrow.  Summer is flying by.  I'm pretty sure I say that every year.   The funny thing is that we haven't over scheduled ourselves this summer.  In previous summers we've raced almost every weekend.  Last year that didn't happen at all so I figured we'd have the itch to do that again but not so.  I think the fact that we've got a big late season race has kept a lot of our usual short course races off our radar.   I am thinking that next year we'll get back to some regular short course racing.

Despite our lack of shorter racing, G and I have been enjoying summer.  We've had just the right amount of chill out time, family time and fun non training time.  I think that balance has really helped us feel like we're not always training.  We had a conversation a few weeks ago about how we both feel like we haven't been training per se, even though we have been.  Training has never gotten to the point where it's become a chore or that we dread it.  I think we've been doing this long enough that we really recognize the need for breaks and adjustments and are ok with taking them.  Although, sometimes I think age dictates the breaks, ha ha.

This past weekend was my first open water swim since Tremblant and my first long ride since July 2nd.  Yup.  Almost 3 weeks of nothing longer than 35km.  I figured it wasn't going to be awesome but I was pleasantly surprised.  My swim coach has changed my stroke slightly so I was curious to see how that would translate in the open water.  Instead of bilateral breathing, my coach now has me breathing to one side every stroke for 3 counts, then three strokes with my face in the water, then back to breathing every stroke.  I experimented with switching sides while I was swimming, just to help me sight a bit better.  I swam almost 1900m and was pleasantly surprised to see my overall pace at 1:49/100m vs. my normal 1:55/100m.  And that was swimming at a comfortable pace, not pushing it.  I don't know how much faster I'd actually go given that I don't have a variety of speeds in the water, ha ha.  But it was nice to see some improvement!

I promised myself this time around I'd spend more time on my TT bike and I'd do more bricks.  During the week I'm riding with my cycling club, Morning Glory, so I'm on my road bike, but I still try to do a run after I ride.  It's much harder to run off a road bike than a TT bike.  I've also added a short strength routine into my training, especially since I have to work on loading my hamstrings to deal with that lingering tendonitis (which is getting much better btw).

So, let's get down to this past week of training shall we?

Monday:  Off from workouts but did a V02 max test.  That experience and comparison to my Garmin predicted V02 max will be up on the blog this week

Tuesday:  Double ride day!  28km with Morning Glory in the a.m. and  22km in the p.m. with the Toronto Triathlon Club

Wednesday:  2150m swim followed by my 30 minute strength routine.

Thursday:  It rained so the Morning Glory ride didn't happen.  Instead I spent 45 minutes (20km) on the trainer watching Game of Thrones and then followed it up with an 8km run at 1:30 pm.  Holy crap was it ever hot.

Friday:  I ended up skipping swimming as I had a massage the night before and was still fairly sore from it.  I had a lot of work done around my shoulders and they were tired.

Saturday:  1883m open water swim, 74km ride that resulted in a few Strava QOM (!!!) and a 6.2km run off the bike.

Sunday:  16km run, 22 minutes of strength work, 2500m swim in the outdoor pool!

Yup, it was a pretty big week and I'm feeling it this morning.  There will be much stretching and foam rolling throughout the day!

Totals:

Swim:  6533m 
Bike:  144km - only 6 km short of my weekly mileage goal.   Arg.
Run:  30.3km

At least I hit my swim and run targets!

Total time:  10h 41 minutes

I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend!  Good news if you're in the GTA - Toronto Island is OPEN, which means that the Toronto Island Tri & Ontario Women's triathlon weekend should be a go!  Get on out and RACE LOCAL on August 20 / 21!

I'm off to tackle my To Do list but I'll leave you with this thought....

Find your passion and work for it!  

~ Coach PK

Monday Musings: Summer is HERE

Hey!  It's finally HOT!  YEAH!  I think everyone has been waiting for this since oh, I don't know, MAY??  We've had multiple days of sunshine and multiple days of heat and, NO RAIN.  That's been the big stumbling block this spring.  I've missed more Morning Glory rides this year compared to last year due to questionable weather.  It's been two weeks since I've done any morning rides with them.  I had high hopes for this week and G and I actually got up early on Tuesday only to look outside and see rain.  Normally I'd say you should ride in all conditions because you don't know what you're going to get on race day BUT, given the type of riding we do with Morning Glory, riding in the wet is very risky.  So, we resigned ourselves to another missed workout.  I knew I'd be riding in the evening as long as there was no thunderstorms.   I thought perhaps I'd get on the trainer and do an interval ride but after running errands, my day totally got away from me.

I had big training plans for this week as this was going to be my last big week of training before Tremblant but weather and my body decided that wasn't going to happen.  Not that the week was a total wash out.  I did have an absolutely stellar run on Wednesday (which also happened to be Global Running Day).   And I tested out a new pair of kicks for my trail running adventure that is happening in July (more on that another day!).   Wednesday night we were out late and I had a couple of drinks but I felt totally fine.  I woke up on Thursday feeling tired but otherwise ok.  By mid morning, I had started to go downhill rapidly.   My sinuses got congested, I had a wicked headache and I was so overcome with fatigue that I actually slept for about an hour on the couch in the afternoon.  I had planned on going to the Real Deal Time Trial that night but that didn't happen.  It was a perfect night for it as well.  Not a lot of wind and it was sunny a warm.  Oh well.   I'm sure I'll make it out to a few after Tremblant.

I felt the same way on Friday but I managed to get a swim in and some work done but by the time the afternoon rolled around, my head got foggy again and I started to get a headache.  I had another short nap.  I've got to get this sinus stuff sorted out because when these things happen, I'm a mess, I can't function.  Needless to say I was in bed super early on Friday night.  I hoped that I felt better for Saturday as we were off to my cousins wedding.  I really didn't want to feel like crap.   Thankfully I woke up Saturday morning feeling much better.  I made it through a Morning Glory ride, stretched, showered and headed out to Oakville by noon.  But once again by late in the evening, my sinuses were bugging me again.  I took a Tylenol sinus which helped a little.  And again after my run yesterday, they were bugging me again.   So frustrating.   I was glad that I made it through most of my cousins wedding feeling ok.   It was a beautiful ceremony and the reception was a blast.  And it was nice to dress up for a change!

We didn't get home until after 12:30 a.m. and I think it was close to 1:00 am by the time we got to bed.   We were both totally exhausted as we had gotten up at 4:45 to go ride with Morning  Glory.  Needless to say, I didn't drag my butt out of bed until almost 9 am, ha ha.   I can't remember the last time I slept that late.

Anyway, the week I had hoped to have as my last big week of training didn't happen.  I had a couple of solid workouts but there were a lot of red boxes in Training Peaks.  Such is life.  This is how my last big week rolled out:

Monday:  OFF

Tuesday:  23km ride in the wet and rain with the Toronto Triathlon Group.   It was so wet and muddy out, I looked like I was wearing flesh coloured socks after I took my real socks off, ha ha ha.

Wednesday:  2700m swim in the morning, 11km run at lunch in my new kicks.

Thursday:  NADA

Friday:  2050m swim in the struggle submarine, ha ha.

Saturday:  101km with Morning Glory - this was a fantastic ride.  The sun was shining, it was warm out and there was very little wind.  I felt great until close to the end when my right knee really started to bother me.

Sunday:  16km run.  My plan was to run for 1h and 40 minutes.  I didn't get out the door until 11:30 am.  By that point it was already 31 degrees.

Totals:

Swim:  4750m
Bike:  124km
Run:  27km

Total time:  8h 15 minutes

I missed all my mileage totals for the week.  Oh well.  I'll just be going into Tremblant very well rested.  Nothing wrong with that.  Today marks the start of another week to get things done!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and got to have some fun in the heat!  Did anyone race this weekend?  If so, where?  

~ Coach PK

Monday Musings: T-Minus 3 weeks

Oh hello June!  Here we are half way through 2017.  Time is just whizzing by.  We have THREE weeks left until Tremblant!  THREE.  Holy crapamole.   We've been occasionally checking the water temperature in Lac Tremblant and a couple of weeks ago it was a balmy 6 degrees celsius.  Thankfully it's now gone up to 15.2 which means that hopefully in another 3 weeks it's closer to 18 degrees which would be perfect.

Not to sound like a broken record (I'm going to) but the weather really isn't helping in terms of warming things up!  The Caledon Quarry that we normally swim at delayed it's opening slightly because the water temps were still quite cold.  It finally opened earlier this week and we opted to head out there Saturday morning for our first open water swim in Ontario.   Luckily the weather was in our favour (thank you Mother Nature!)  It was sunny, with very little wind and it was 14 degrees.  So not totally balmy but not cold either.

There was a small group of us, pretty much all women, save for G, ha ha.  We got ourselves suited up appropriately.  And by appropriately I meant with booties and a neoprene cap for good measure.  I had stuck my hand in the water when I arrived and it was FRESH.  So I could only imagine what it would feel like when I fully submerged myself.   Pro tip:  to help keep the cold at bay, I was told to wear ear plugs.  Apparently your ears have receptors in them that are sensitive to temperature so if you wear earplugs, it helps keep your temperature regulated in cold water.  I tried this on Saturday and it worked.  So much so that I ended up having to take my neoprene cap off part way through the swim.  It also helped with my balance when I was getting out of the water.  Normally I feel a bit woozy after an open water swim but I felt totally fine.  I'm a CONVERT.

G and his Angels and his fancy new Zoot Wetsuit

We waded in and took our time getting used to the temperature.  It did take your breath away for the first little bit.  I walked in to just past my waist and then dunked my head.  That really made me gasp but I was ready to start swimming so I swam out to one of the buoys and then swam across to the start buoy.  I was going to stick close to shore so I could swim in quickly if I got too cold.   As you can see by my Strava map, I did NOT manage to swim in any semblance of a straight line.  I swam back and forth for a bit and then stopped to adjust my wetsuit.  I hadn't pulled it up high enough so the range of motion in my arms felt very limited.  Once that was fixed I was good to go.  I swam two
400m loops before my hands felt like they couldn't really do much anymore.  My arms were tired and it felt like I was swimming in slow motion.  I had covered just over 1200m total so that was enough for me.  The best part?  ZERO panic.  None what so ever!  I think I'm finally getting comfortable with this open water swimming thing.  :)

That was the big adventure this week!  I'm hoping to get a few more OWS in before we head to Tremblant on the 22nd.

I'm heading into my last big week of training this week as well so here's hoping that it goes as smoothly as this past week went!

Last Week's Workouts

Monday:  43.5km ride.  Normally I take Mondays off as a rest day but G had the day off (Memorial Day) and it was so beautiful and sunny out that we decided to go for a ride.   We drove out to Guelph Line and did a little rip around Campbelville.  It had been a while since we'd ridden out that way.  My legs were still feeling a bit tired from the weekend but I wasn't about to turn down an outdoor ride with G in the sunshine.

Tuesday:  8km run - hill repeats in a.m. and 22km ride - TTC hill clinic in p.m..  Since I rode on Monday and I knew I'd probably riding that night, I opted NOT to ride with Morning Glory and I slept in.  I don't think my legs could have handled the beatdown they would have gotten doing 5 laps of Edenbridge.  Instead I opted to do running hill repeats at lunch.  Holy sweaty.  My hamstring was still proving to be bothersome so I made the call to Pivot to go see my ART guy.

Wednesday:  2200m swim.  I actually felt pretty good today despite the fact that it was short sets of sprints.  I'm definitely not a sprinter but I like trying to go fast.

Thursday:  8km run with my friend David.  My hamstring was still kind of bugging me even after some dry needling the night before so we kept the effort fairly easy.  David was still pretty wiped out from the weekend and the previous days workout.  My legs actually felt really good other than my hammy.

Friday:  37.5km ride - High Park Hot laps in a.m. and 2100m swim at lunch.  I had originally planned on doing the Real Deal Thursday night Time Trial but just couldn't get my ass out of the house so, I got up early with G on Friday and we met up with the Morning Glory development ride.  Holy crap was it ever a big group.  I managed to hang on to the first group for about 5 laps and then I caved.  I was pretty pleased with myself.  I did 12 laps in total.    I missed my masters swim because I went and rode instead so I made up for it with a swim at the York Rec Centre at lunch.  I felt really good today and swam about half my workout with pull and paddles, which is not normal for me but I need to work on my upper body strength so those have become a necessity.

Saturday:  1200m open water swim, followed by a 75km ride, followed by a 4.2km run.  This was the BIG day.  I actually felt really good for all of these elements, with the exception of the end of the ride.  I have been complaining to G that my hamstrings seem to be doing all the work even when I'm on my tri bike.  I honestly can't seem to get my quads to engage.  I have seen someone about that and there will be a post about it in the future.  But towards the end of the ride, I really felt that my hamstrings were fatiguing.  On the run, my legs felt a bit better, it felt like I was using all of my muscles but it took a while for that to happen.  Very strange indeed.

Sunday:  3000m swim, followed by an 18km run with 8km at Z3 building to Z4.  This was hard but I felt strong and my pesky hamstring was no longer bugging me.  The only thing that was bothering me was my left glut.  And even then, towards the end of the run, I didn't really notice it until afterwards.  Then it was uncomfortable to sit on that side.  That's my good old piriformis doing all the work.  But I was pretty happy with these workouts and I was definitely ready for a rest day because that was 13 straight days of training.   I'm actually surprised I felt as good as I did these last few days.  I was definitely fatigued on Sunday morning, but once I did my run, I was a-ok.  I slept like a baby last night and got a full 8 hours so I feel very well rested today.  My legs are a bit sore but that's to be expected after a hard run yesterday.

This is the first time in a VERY long time that I've actually done all my prescribed workouts for the week!  Here's hoping I can carry that momentum over to my last big week of training!

Totals:  

Swim:  8562m  <---- Biggest weekly total in a VERY long time
Bike:  178km
Run:  38.5km 

Total time:  12h 30 minutes

How was your week of training?  Anyone else wonder if summer is ever going to show up??   

Have an awesome Monday!

~ Coach PK

May Runfessions

If you follow me on Instagram, you will have seen this post yesterday.  I figured it was time to Runfess, so I'm linking up with Marcia's Healthy Slice for some Runfessions.

What do I have to runfess about this month?

Well.......

Running and I are currently not really getting along and I suspect it's because I've neglected my strength and physio work these past two months.  I'm all over my athletes to do strength training but I can't seem to get myself to do it.  Do as I say, not as I do, right??  Ugh.  Bad coach.

I runfess that I am very concerned that my hamstring issue is coming back.  After yesterday's race pace run, I had this low grade burning sensation in my upper hamstring and tightness in the belly of my hamstring.  This is pretty much the exact same feeling (albeit less intense) I had when I was injured last year.  Minus the nerve pain issues.  I'd be lying if I said I wasn't freaking out a bit. There's exactly 4 weeks left until Tremblant, if I got injured now, I think it'd probably quit triathlon for the foreseeable future.

I runfess that I dragged myself to the gym this morning after swimming to do the work I'm supposed to be doing on a regular basis.  I'm pretty sure I will be sore tomorrow.

I runfess that these days I'd much rather be riding my bike than running because running just doesn't feel good anymore.  There.  I said it.  Never thought I'd see the day but there it is.  I want desperately to get back to loving running again.  I know it's going to involve a long process of rehabilitation, mostly because I don't move efficiently.   I have mobility issues almost everywhere in my body.  There are some that I have been diligently working at (my t-spine mobility) but I am so far gone in that area that it will probably take me a very long time to see any real results.  I'd love to just say screw it but unfortunately that lack of mobility affects everything from swimming, to cycling, to running.  So, I need to continue to work on freeing things up.

I runfess that I am FED UP with the weather in Toronto.  This has been one of the rainiest springs I can remember in years.  I actually rode my bike on the trainer yesterday because it was absolutely pissing out.  Isn't the saying April showers bring May flowers??  COME ON MOTHER NATURE, stop being a cow.

Whew, guess I had a lot on my mind, ha ha.  I'm feeling much better.

Do you have any Runfessions to share this month?   Rain:  Love it or hate it?