Quote #1

Well there have been days that you feel on top of the world and your workouts are AMAZING. They come to and end and you feel like you can keep going, and going, and going... Other days you feel like there is nothing in the tank. Sometimes you cant even keep your eyes open and you think that sitting on the couch will make you feel better. Once you are sitting you still feel out of it, you still feel tired, and that little voice says "you should have done something; I'm sure you would have felt better by now".

Nine times out of ten I find this happens. After 10-12 hrs of training others its hard to force yourself to get on a bike or hammer out a tempo run but when you get changed, have that pre-workout snack, and throw on that Ironman video or your latest ipod playlist something kicks in. Once you get going most times you think "Wow this feels great " or "I'm glad I did this".

You will always feel better after getting up and being active and if for some reason it feels terrible then at least you tried and that couch is still there.

I am always thinking about quotes and things to keep me motivated so I have decided to post some on here in hopes of having you remember one of them when you are having one of those days that make you want to sit on the bench.

Today's workout was a 1hr bike (tempo) and 20 min on the TRX full body with a focus on core.

Have a great day and happy training.

"Some times the hardest part about getting your run in is lacing up your shoes".

Paul Dyck

Photo from: CP stationary bike race @ The Wellness (The Warriors of Wellness came in 1st place and beat the second and third place teams by over 80km's) Motivational writings for me from the Jekat's placed on my aerobars to "inspire me". Thank You

54 Days to race day

Holey S#!% only 54 days left until race day. I have one month of long training days left and 3 weeks of taper following that. the final week before race day will be spent out in St George Utah checking out the course, getting in a few workouts, checking over all my gear, and making sure I am relaxed and ready to go. I tend to stay relaxed before events so I hope I can maintain this ability this time around. Lorrie and I will be driving out the end of April and taking 2-3 days to get out there. We plan on bringing out our mountain bikes for after the race. I hear there is AWESOME mountain biking out there.


Is training on track? Well if I said it was 100% on track I would be ling to myself. Am I OK with that... Of course I am. I have to be. Is it the end of the world? NO! I took 3 days off last week with hopes of recovering and feeling like I had more energy. After the 3 days off I felt like I wanted to get back to working out. I didn't pick up where I left off otherwise I would be back to being burnt out, run down, and tired.

I got back into my workouts by doing some shorter rides and runs and a good swim. Yes I was still beat afterwards but felt good overall and still wanted more at the end of the workout (except for the Tribalistic workout on Sunday).

For my workouts back I started with...

Thursday 45 min on the bike with 5 min tempo 2 min recovery x6 followed by a 15 min transition run on the treadmill.

Friday was another bike 1 hr of Tempo, Threshold, and some Vo2 sets (felt good and strong) followed that up with a 45 min full body strength training session

Saturday morning was a 3km swim at North End Centennial pool (1st time in a 50m pool since... Not sure) Followed by a 1.5hr ride @ home on the trainer followed by 25 min of pain in the CP bike race (Avg HR was 178 Max 192) This was it and I was cooked at the end of the day.

Sunday was Tribalistic's indoor Brick workout without the brick! 2hrs on the bike with some tempo, Vo2, Standing, and sprints... Oh what fun! I was ready to quit 25 min before the end of the workout. I felt run down and beat again so i just finished off at the back of the pack.

I feel rested and like I could do something today but Monday is a scheduled rest day and I am going to leave it like that!

Keep Training

Paul

Motivation

Its always good to see a video that makes you want more from yourself!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5Kn77T54GI&feature=player_embedded

Feeling Like Aluminum

Well sometimes you feel like you are on top of the world. Training is on track, recovery is great, you feel like you can just keep going, and going, and going... This week is not one of those weeks.

I have noticed for the past week and a bit workouts are forced and even though some of them turn out great others turn out less than good. Now I knew that training for an Ironman on May 7th would be hard to do indoors. I didn't realize that it would be this hard. I have not been out on my bike (outdoors) since October 2010, my long runs have been outside in -30 - -40c all of my swims have been in a 25m pool, and all of my rides have been on an indoor trainer (up to 6hrs).

All of this is beginning to take its toll on the mind and the body and we are only 62days out from race day! the last 3 weeks of the plan are a taper so I have 5 weeks of hard training left to go before I can back off and regenerate.

This sport awards consistency. If you are consistent and you stay focused you will succeed. For those that are all over the place with their training or are what I call "weekend warriors". Im sure you know a few. Those are the people who train hard and all out on the weekend or enter a race on NO training and have to recover for a week (and thats only for the ones who dont hurt themselves in the event). THEY WILL HURT!

I train consistently and focus on recovery as much as possible. Some techniques include

1. Eating before and after a workout so I am not running on empty

2. Taking a full rest day once a week

3. Backing off when I feel run down or breaking up the workout into 2 manageable workouts

4. Backing off training volume every 3 weeks to allow the body to recover (you get stronger and faster when you recover as long as you stress you body enough during training)

5. Mixing up workouts so you don't run yourself into the ground. Less pounding on the body means quicker recovery.

6. Getting in naps or the sleep I need... Well this one suffers the most. I know I should be getting to bed earlier especially since I am up @ 5am 5 days a week. Going to bed @ 11 is not good for recovery. This is my one downfall.

Am I worried about a loss of fitness with the 3-5 days I am taking off? NO! The body doesnt turn to goo when you take a few rest days. You may feel lazy because you are used to working out almost every day. This is my second day off and I am already starting to miss it so thats a good thing. Its a good thing I have an unfinished bathroom to work on (two of them if you must know).

Speaking of bathrooms I will go work on the basement now. Im sure that will make Lorrie happy.

Recovery day 2 almost over... Still feeling tired but looking forward to a good rest tonight!

Paul

68 Days to go

Well there it is. On the blog when I open it up the days are right there in front of me. I look at them on the calendar and in my program and it doesn't seem that close. When you see the day it seems a lot more real.

So far training has been going well. Everything is on track and I am so run down its not even funny. The longer training days are taking their toll and I can feel it. High volume training is not always that intense but it is high volume. I think it would be better if I could do my longer rides outside instead of indoors on a trainer or treadmill.

My swims have been going well but it's time to bump it up. My swim coach has helped to speed me up in the water and I feel good about it. I will not be getting in any open water swims before the race in St George. This doesn't worry me too much... Yet. I hope to get in a few the days before the race in Utah.

Today was a rest day and I needed it. it's 8:30 and i'm thinking about getting ready for bed. Cant wait! This week is all recovery and regeneration so I don't have to beat the body up so much... I needed this. I hope I wake up a new person full of life and energy in the morning...

I will actually just be happy if I wake up ;-)

Train smart and keep pushing and I will keep Chasing Iron

Paul

To my 1 follower

I just wanted to give a "shout out" to my one follower. This woman has been through a lot in the past 14 months. She has had twins, trained for a full marathon, completed a half (in the friggin cold), trained and prepared for a figure competition for MABBA and keeps it all together.

Its great to see someone who keeps pushing, finding goals and working beyond them. I look forward to see whats in store for your future!

Thats all... Nothing else to say about anyone else because nobody else is following... Just me and Cheryl...

Up and running

So here is the new blog! I am starting to work out all the kinks from bringing all of the old stuff over but it looks like it's coming together.

The website is almost done and I have almost hit the publish button a few times but there is always something to modify... Its coming!

As for training I had an awesome weekend. Everything is on track. I fell fitter and am getting stronger. I am down to 165lbs (thats usually where I am on race day not 3 months out) and body fat is sitting @ 5.9%. I am interested in seeing what weight I can get down to by race day. The less weight I carry on the run and bike the faster I will be!

Saturday was a 4.5hr bike at home on the trainer in the dungeon followed by a 30 min 4.5mile run (I felt great). I was doing great for the rest of the day as well... Strange.

Sunday was ok but didn't feel as powerful as saturday (go figure). Sundays workout was with Tribalistic and the coach just told me to sit on the bike and drink water "Don't even pedal" he said. Of course I did the workout and you adjust and adapt. It was great having real live people around for the ride.

Today is a rest day. I had a cancelation this morning and thought... Well I could do weights... NO! There is a reason why we need a rest day and I need to keep it that way.

Tomorrow is the long run of 2hrs 10min it should be great out.... I am also filling in and teaching Tough Enough tomorrow evening @ 8:30... That was an awesome class that I gave up but enjoy teaching it anyways!

I hope you all had a good weekend.

Paul