So.... Here we are in May again. It's hard to believe that the triathalon is only 17 days away, but I've made a lot of progress on getting ready and despite not always feeling "good" about it, feel like I'm actually in a good place. I know I was late on getting started swimming, and I know I've eased up a bit on running, but I finally caught up on my swimming prep, and finally got outdoors on my bike instead of just spin. I'm now able to swim in excess of the 1/4 mile so I think we're ready there. I rode over twelve miles on Sunday, but I knew I was ready there, so all that's left is stitching this all together. If only we weren't going to VA tomorrow... Just poor timing on that one, but Tyler turns 21 tomorrow and we have to go see Niamh for her birthday and, for reasons I can't quite explain, Merinda wants another dog... I guess because our life wasn't hectic enough for her.
All that said, let's recap April shall we.
- Maintain Weight
- Ride 550 miles
- Weekly run and walk exercise. At least two walks and one run per week.
- Weekly Yoga exercise
- Run 3 miles consecutively by EOM
- Weekly rowing activities - My goal is 8-10 for the month.
- Perfect Month in Apple
- Apple April exercise goal
- Gold in my April challenges
- Start swimming
Weight Results:
- Starting Weight: 216.2
- Ending Weight: 219.5
Exercise info:
- Number of rides: 87
- Time on exercise: 01:09:16:30
- Distance on rides: 571.57
- Number of runs: 1
- Distance running: .51 miles
- Number of walks: 3
- Time walking: 1:13:56
- Distance walking: 3.30 miles
- Number of rows: 4
- Time rowing: 1:51:29
- Number of swims: 4
- Distance swimming: 1775 yards
Results:
Well, I'm not going to lie and say it was a great month, because it wasn't, but I will say it was a good month. I hit most of the goals I set, and I feel like I made a lot of progress. That said, there's still a lot of room for improvement before the 19th. So what did I miss? I didn't run. My knees were feeling sore, and once I went for my first swim I realized I had a lot of work to do, so I sacrificed both rowing and running to catch up on my swimming fitness. Swimming twice a week has made a big difference, and I feel like I'm finally on track there. I'm not overly concerned about the run because I've always known that I can walk the 5k. I'm sorry about the rowing, but that's just superflous right now and I should have given it up earlier. I do regret walking, but to be honest, it was hard to do that with Merinda in Ireland.
So what went well? Well for starters my weight is stable. Yeah it goes up and down, but its right where I want it and, shhh don't tell Merinda, I bought my first 34 waist shorts, so clearly I'm doing something right. I hit my cycling goal which was probably a little high given that I'm ready there and not quite ready elsewhere. I don't think it's accurate, but Apple said I did eight yoga workouts and I did make an effort to do this regularly, so I think I'm ok there and I hit all my challenge goals.
What to make of it? Like I said it was good but not great. Maybe I'm being too ambitious in my goals given the overarching short-term goal of the triathalon. We'll see what happens afterwards.
So, what's in store for May?
- Complete the triathalon
- Maintain weight
- Ride 450 miles
- Weekly run and walk exercise. At least two walks and one run per week. Depending on how I feel post race I'll evaluate running.
- Bi-weekly swims for the two weeks before the race.
- Regular Yoga exercise. At least once per week.
- Resume rowing activities after the race.
- Perfect Month in Apple
- Apple April exercise goal
- Gold in my April challenges
Similar to last month but with a few important changes. First, I'm trimming back on cycling mileage by 100 miles. Since I'll be in Virginia for a week I'm going to play that by ear and if necessary I will lower it to 400. I need to be a bit more focused on the race and a little less focused on "distance at all costs". My legs have felt dead for most of April and I want to avoid that for the race and I think pushing all out to hit the April Apple fitness challenge was a little much. This months challenge is better suited for race prep; walk/run 2.5 miles 14 5imes, so I'll be walking and running more and cycling less. It's not reflected here, but, weather permitting, I'm also going to stop spinning on either Saturday or Sunday, yes I will miss endurance or Sunday Vibes, but I want to ride outdoors weekly, and the weekend makes the most sense. Additionally, I'm going to resume rowing post race for cross training. Otherwise, it's Apple challenges, Apple rings and #mc40.
Final thoughts:
I was pretty apprehensive about the race until yesterday. Monday I was able to exceed 440 yards in the pool for the first time, but I needed a few rests, but last night I swam a 1/2 mile with fewer rests, and the big one after I finished the first 1/4. While it's not the ocean, I feel like I've found my swim pace and assuming I don't suffer any setbacks, think I'm on track for the race. I need to do some combo workouts, so I'll probably swim/walk or swim/run while up in Virginia and possibly do a mini swim/bike/run when I get home.
Other than that? Looking forward to a great month!
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