Adjustments

It's funny what you can get used to. 3 months ago I was fighting to do a hard hour on the bike without feeling like my legs would fall off. Yesterday, the only fighting I was doing was with the pedestrians who don't seem to understand what the dotted lines in the middle of the path are for. Seriously, it's paved like a road, painted like a road, how come people can't see you should treat it like one?

Now that I have that gripe out of my system, I' m happy to say we're really getting some good training weather right now. By good training weather, I mean hot and humid, the kind of weather that is hard to prepare for without having it to train in. Living most of my life in the Midwest, I'm familiar with summer heat and humidity. I've never done this much training or a race of this magnitude, so understanding the effects of the weather, and how to prepare for it are some key things.

First and foremost, I've been cramping in my feet during some longer swims. Some of this might be technique, but I believe a lot of it is how much swimming takes out of me. It's more of a whole body workout than biking or running, and I'm always down at least a couple pounds meaning some dehydration is probably occurring. Being that it happens in a body of water is ironic; "Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink".

One of the prizes we won from the Season Opener giveaway was a bottle of Endurolytes, an electrolyte replacement capsule. I don't yet know how much it helps, but I took it yesterday before our hour ride in the heat, and didn't feel like I had lost much juice at the end of the ride. I don't recommend all Hammer Nutrition products (Heed, their Gatorade competitor, tasks like ass), but their Hammer Gels are good, so I'm going to give the pills a try on the especially hot and humid days, or before the really long swims. Plus, making sure I'm getting enough water is a big part of the puzzle.

Another adjustment I've been making is to my running stride, trying to eliminate some of the heaviness in my step. I'm not moving towards a barefoot running stride or anything like that, just something that I feel will help with the strain on my knees and allow me to run for longer periods, which is the single area I can improve most, even when it comes to hills.

Finally, I'm working to adjust my sleep cycles. i have a tendency to be a night owl, and I am constantly having to watch how late I stay up. Especially the night before we have a big early morning workout. There are nights it can't be helped, but I'm shooting to be in bed by 11 PM every night. Hopefully this will allow me to be better prepared to get up early, as I feel best when I get in that work to start the day.

Hopefully these small adjustments can help lead to a big result: a better rested, better prepared, and better nourished me.

Notes:

- I'm adding a page on the header bar for "Team Tyler". While I still haven't heard anything new, I'm still optimistic I'll will soon. This is a busy time of year for the hockey folks who have Tyler's role, and it's likely between training and work duties, plus getting some time with his family that he simply hasn't had much opportunity to sit down and give me a call. Even if he never does call, it's still a worthwhile charity to promote.

- Wheelworks Multisport has a list of races they focus on each year. Two races that make the list every year are the state and regional championships. The state championship happens while we're away for the honeymoon, but the regional championship is the week after Timberman. I know it might be pushing our luck a bit, but we've decided for sure to sign up for this race. WWMS has won the championship several times over the past few years, and we want to be a part of that. It' an Olympic distance so it won't be nearly the effort of Timberman, and should feel not much different than the training work we put in this past Sunday

- Yesterday was a fairly easy hour on the bike. We only average 12 MPH for our rides along the river, but most of that has to do with all the stopping. The GPS tells me we regularly hit 16+ MPH, but then we'll be stopped for 2 or 3 minutes to cross the street. Finding some more open roads is something I'll be working on this weekend while Rach is busy at soccer camp.