Training resumed!

So I'm back training again. I got over my cold and so as I mentioned have started swimming and riding the spin bike in the gym, as well as core work. The plan is to ride 2 times/week, with one ride being a shorter harder ride, and the other being a longer slower ride, with both being followed by parts of this core routine. At this point there's not much difference between the short and long rides, since I'm just starting to build up time on the longer rider. But I'm incorporating single leg riding into the shorter harder ride. I've been riding at a good high cadence for 5 mins to start, then 1 min each leg, 1 slower recovery minute with both legs, then 4 mins harder and faster on both legs, then back to the each leg for 1 min, 1 min slow, 4 mins hard, etc. I'm up to 36 mins on that, and about the same on the longer ride, although that will continue to increase in time whereas the harder ride will not for a few weeks.

I'm taking a different tack with my swimming this year. I was going to just start by swimming more frequently, which I've read is a good way to get more efficient even without drills, although there's a limit to how much better you can get this way of course. But I read this blog post and it made me realize something. I am really good at pushing myself in running and on the bike, but I have never really pushed myself at swimming. I never feel like I get a cardio workout of any kind swimming, although my arms are often tired at the end of a long session. So I decided to try and go just a little faster. Not race faster, but just feeling like I'm working, as I often do in running. Basically for me that means faster turnover in the arms, and my pace improved immediately, although my form got worse. So I slowed it down a little so that I could concentrate both on form and on turnover and surprisingly, my pace stayed fast (for me). I can't keep it up for an hour, but I can for 1 km or so, and it feels like I might actually make improvements in my swimming pace just by trying harder. Seems kind of ridiculous to say it, but I've never tried to go faster overall when I swim. I've done 25 m drills (I rarely get to swim in a 50 m pool and I find it hard to do fast 50 m when I have to turn), and I swim faster when I race, but I've never really done a sustained hard swim. I have no idea if any coach would tell me it's a good idea or not, but it has turned swimming into more of a workout for me, which I like, meaning I'm less likely to avoid it.

Until this past week. I said in my previous post that I knew my 'back-at-it' high wouldn't last, and it didn't. It ended with the start of this past week. My schedule was out of wack due to it being reading week. I live far enough away from campus that I don't go in if I don't have to, and with reading week, I didn't have to much. But that's where I swim and go to the gym, so if I'm not going in, my workout schedule gets screwed up. Because I can't run still and wasn't riding my bike, and my motivation was low, it turned into a bit of a rest week. It didn't help that I've been really grinding it out at work. Things are getting finished that need to get finished, which is good, but it takes a toll. I'm good at getting into a grove where other things just fall by the wayside, myself included. And I work best in the evenings/at night, so I like to stay up late writing. But that's not good for me, mostly because with a son to get off to school, I can't just sleep in later to make up for it. So my workout mojo was gone.

But then I got back out on my bike for a long slow ride this week which was great! I tried out the my new carbon wheelset (Christmas present from my husband) which made me look like a real poser, as I was super slow. But heck, I would have been even slower without them! Anyway, it felt great to be back out on a real bike, wind through my hair. We went to Stanley Park in the early afternoon and did two spins around. There were relatively few cars which was great. I hadn't ridden in so long that I was very slow and cautious getting through the city to the park, but at least I wasn't jumpy. That ride really helped my mood, and I ended up having a great session at the gym on Friday. I did a short hard ride and my core work. And exactly 2 months after my toe injury I've had an almost pain free day, and I'm going to start running again tomorrow. By start, I mean start. As in, 10 mins the first run. If all goes well, I'll add 2 mins a run. At this point, it's not really going to be part of my training in any big way, so my plans to bike and swim each 2x/ week won't change. I'm hoping that I might be able to do the spring half marathon I'd been planning on, but if not, oh well. These things happen and I need to adjust my expectations accordingly.