Playing Catch-up

    I am feeling a tad guilty for not keeping up with my writings these last few months. It is reflective of my life, which seems so chaotic and busy that I feel as if I am always playing catch-up. My workouts have been a bit shorter, and somewhat sporadic of late, at least in comparison to the months leading up to my 70.3, although I have been ramping up the intensity. I have yet to do any running, I can't seem to muster much enthusiasm in that discipline, though I know that is where I need to really focus my energies. Instead I have been cycling at least an hour daily, and putting in two very focused swim sessions a week. I am also increasing my strength training considerably.
    I have changed things up with my cycling. Before my 70.3 my main focus was the long, steady state ride, with quick cadence, and easy gearing. Training my body in the I-can-do-this-all-day pace, which was exactly what I needed pre-race. Now I am working to add speed and power to my cycling. instead of maintaining a 90-95 rpm for the duration of the ride, I am adding power bursts, and slower, harder gear cycling. Power bursts are kinda my favorite right now, but are hard on the knees so I am limiting myself to twice a week. Basically, a power burst is going from a dead stop to 85-95 rpm in the hardest gear, and holding the pace for about 20 seconds, repeat 10X, then cycle at high cadence, easy gearing for 2 minutes. Doesn't sound like much, does it? But holymotherofthegods, it is a bit of an ass kicker. I am also doing some slower cadence, harder gear power hours. Yes, I am still doing high cadence riding, but by mixing in the harder work I should be building my power and speed, as well as my endurance. Add to this some very solid leg work geared specifically for cycling and running, and my legs and glutes are getting beat into shape. Now, if I could just have the same passion for running as I do for cycling...
    It is hard to really change things up in the pool, but I have found a few ways to spice it up a bit. I admit, I really miss swimming in The Cove. I miss the cool, green water, the solitude, the quiet, the ability to swim non-stop for as long as I have daylight. But I will have to wait about 8 months before I can return. I have been working at doing long swims at race pace, and even slightly faster. I try to swim as fast as I can while still maintaining good form. The best way to know if I am using good form? I hold my breath and see how much noise I am making. I love that all I hear is a soft, wet sigh as my hand and arm enter the water. I make almost no noise when I swim, and the only splash I make is at the end of my stroke as I push all the way through my stroke, past my thigh, and flip a little water out behind me. Another drill I have added is The Personal Medley. This entails adding backstoke and breaststroke laps throughout my swim. Yes, for a true medley I would do butterfly as well, but I can't quite get myself to make that big of a fool of myself.
    Last night, I didn't get to swim because all the lanes were full of children taking swim lessons, so I did a good 60 minutes on the bike, with 10 power burst sets, and followed up with 30 minutes of core and hip work. This morning I was on the bike (in the living room) by 6:00am. I did 50 minutes, varying gearing and cadence. I followed with 20 minutes of leg work targeting glutes and calves. Tonight, we had the night off from drill at the station so I got in a solid 90 minute upper body workout, targeting all my swim muscles. I think my triceps and trapezius are going to be whiny tomorrow. Tomorrow morning I will be on the bike, and hopefully at the pool in the evening.
    Life has been rather unpredictable of late, so I am trying to get in a morning workout whenever possible, just in case my evening gets rerouted. It has been working for me so far, most mornings, and I need to turn it into habitual behavior. That is how my last few weeks have been, bike like a fiend as often as possible, and swim hard whenever I can manage. Soon, I hope to be mountain biking, to add to the fun. And that opens a whole world of possibilities, including off-road triathlons. So who knows what the future holds, but it will be a lot of hard work, and even more fun. Now, time for the one thing that I am always short of: sleep.