2 months to go

I haven't really been taking this training lark seriously to be honest. I've been biking to and from work occasionally and running a couple of times a week. This week I realised there are now 2 months until the Vancouver Triathlon I'm targeting for my first sprint.

This week I squeezed a couple of workouts into my morning before work which really helped, much easier to motivate myself then rather than in the evenings. I had a swim in the local outdoor pool yesterday morning, it was beautiful with the sunlight reflecting under the water. I managed 20 lengths and discovered afterwards that its a 50m pool - so I must have done around 1km. Pretty happy with that as I was using my new paddles which make the swim more challenging.

Today was a rest day and I feel a cold coming on. I'm hoping to go to the pool one day this weekend to try out a swim-bike-run workout for 20 mins each in quick succession. We'll see how that goes (if this cold doesn't hit too badly).

I'm also trying to do enough yoga to try and increase my flexibility and sort out these dodgy hamstrings, ankles and shoulders. Well - everywhere really.

Ankle problems

In April 2009 I sprained a ligament (I think) in my left ankle. Slowly but surely I got back up to distance again, managing to run 10km again. However, the ankle has still been twinging every now and then. Yesterday, during a fast trail run with Hubby it twanged again, and I had to stop running just in case.

Today I visited a new physio, who explained that he thinks my foot is sitting in the ankle socket in a strange way, meaning the cartilage is rubbing and becoming inflamed. So he waggled my foot for a bit then pulled it really hard!

Initially the joint felt a bit looser and ok, but right now it hurts and I'm icing it. I'm a little concerned about a setback, because I REALLY want to do the Triathlon on September 6th...

Trail Running

Yesterday a friend and I took off into the trails for an early evening run. We both had hangovers and a lack of sleep - not the perfect conditions for a longer run. However, we did possibly my longest trail run (in a long time at least) and her personal best for distance.

There is something about running in the forest that is so energizing. I put it down to the oxygen and the coolness/pleasant humidity. We took in some great hills and did ~10.5km in 63 minutes.

I felt great for the run, but have some tension in the part of my leg above inner right ankle. Not sure what this is called, there's not a lot of muscle there. Hopefully nothing to do with tendons/ligaments.

Its time to get serious again with the training so I'll see if I can squeeze a swim into my schedule this evening.

The Diva 8km

Just a quick follow up note. I did run the Diva 8km in March - finished in a respectable 44:37.

Woeful neglect!

My triathlon dreams were somewhat sidetracked by my sudden decision to sit the PMP exam. No room in my life for two BHAG at once. No sooner had I loaned every single triathlon related book out of the library, the PMBOK landed on my lap and took over my life.

Well I passed my PMP on May 6th, and I'm back. Past couple of weeks have seen two runs, two bike rides and two yoga sessions each.

I'm finding the yoga really important. Have signed up to a new (to me) class - the teacher practices Iyengar yoga. What this means to me is she helps me to understand my limits and how to push them. We can use many props, to help achieve correct posture without necessarily being flexible.

I've missed the boat for the July sprint tri, but the September one looks hopeful. Hope I can stay focussed and still have fun this summer.

Physio appointment and injury prevention

The first week of training is going well so far. I'm on track for what I committed to. Here's a summary:

• Swimming. This has been tough, shoulders and neck very stiff. Need to remember to warm up and stretch too. Not necessary to do 30 lengths each time, just concentrate on good posture and getting used to the routine for now.
• Biking. Only one bike session at the gym so far. Tomorrow is a bike commute day. More to come.
  
• Running. Got two personal bests this week (according to nike+)! Fastest mile and fastest 5km in separate workouts. Trail run was fun on Sunday.

This morning I saw a physiotherapist with goal of injury prevention. He complimented me on my very strong calves, and then said my glutes / thighs are letting me down! Lots of squats and lunges for me. He recommended some stretches and exercises for my ridiculously tight muscles. Here they are:

• One legged squats, concentrating on keeping my knee from falling inwards.
• Stationary lunges, upper body upright sinking vertically into lunge.
• 4 key stretches (glutes, hamstings, calves and quads).
• Running, swimming, biking all require an upright posture, chest up - shoulders back and down.

The plan is to get on with this, then in a few weeks go back for some variation in the exercises.

Training begins

There are 16 weeks until the Vancouver Triathlon, and so I started today. Taking it easy, 20 mins on the bike and 15 on the treadmill at the gym. This feels a long way from jumping into the ocean to start the event, but its a start.