Training/racing/other useless blabber

Training has been going really well since I left Guelph. I am in the third week of a four week block, and I was still going strong, until today. I will explain below.

Every other Friday in the pool we do 10x100 on 1:30 best average. I was pretty skeptical when i got in because i hadnt't been feeling the best lately, and warmup was no exception. My stroke felt long but laboured, so I was hoping that I would loosen up before the main set. And I did, I started out just above my 400 pace for the first four, and then from 5-9 I held under it. I kind of died on the last one, but nobody's perfect.

On the run, I know that I have been running well over the past month, but I had no way to guage it. My running coach Steve Weiler and his squad the London runner Distance Club hold two winter time trials a year to guage where your fitness is. At the end of February I ran a 15:10, and in one month i have knocked 45 seconds off of that time, which puts me at a pace that is just over my personal best for 5km. I was pretty surprised to see how fast i had ran it in because i was a little sore heading into it. But now my legs are exhausted, just standing kills me(maybe a little over exageration). So hopefully with a few lighter running days before Wednesdays hard run will be enough time to recover.

It is confirmed right now, the first triathlon is only three weeks away. I am heading down to Lubbock Texas to participate in the Twenty-Twelve Talent Identification sprint distance race. It is a cool concept, anyone from the ages of 16-23 are allowed to enter, and if you're 24-34 you need to be a top age grouper in the USA. There are no elites allowed, and you must finish the swim in under 16 minutes(it is going to be close). There is $4000 total prize money up for grabs, so hopefully I can dabble in that. Myself and last years National Champion Matt Vierula are the only Canadians that i know of that are going, so it should be a fun race. Because this is just a race to get all of the the winter cobwebs out, I am trying to make it as cheap a trip as possible, so i am flying in on Friday, racing Saturday afternoon, and flying out Sunday. It should be fun.

In other news, Kirsten Sweetland won the first World Cup of the year, Congrats. After being injured for most of last year, winning the first race has to get a lot of weight of the shoulders.

So until Later,

CH