My place in the race.

The beginning of the season has been interesting for me. After a hard winter of training I've been able to see the results of my training. I've already met some of my goals for the year, and had some good results in the races.

So why am I not satisfied with this? I guess it is that inner athlete that wants to be the best, but I really am getting frustrated with his constant nagging!

Other than that, I'm pretty happy! I get my new wetsuit soon. Good to get rid of the old one that doesn't fit anymore. Probably cost me some time at Milton.

The school year is almost over which will free up my time for the big IM training miles. I'm really looking forward to that.

I think that this time of year is the most frustrating. I want to train more, the body wants to train more, but the schedule keeps getting in the way. Work tires you out, so the evening sessions aren't as good as they could be.

I have met a bunch of new people this year. It is great going to the triathlons and knowing a bunch of people. I am starting to feel as though I belong to this community and am not just an outsider looking in. It is neat to hear my name a lot as I pass people coming the other way on the run or bike.

The website is excellent also. Talking to people who are not as fast as me, helps me put things into perspective. They see my speed and think I am super fast, and I see the leaders speed, and compare myself to them. I think I should spend more time looking at last years results and seeing the huge difference.

I saw a bike picture of me from Milton when I was in my tuck. I didn't realize how aggressive I am positioned on the bike. It is awesome! My back is completely flat. I think I can widen my aero bars a bit which might open up my chest a little more and that could ease my breathing. Not that that is a problem right now, but I don't need to have them as close as they are. I don't think I can get much more aero than I am now! (MAybe a nice aero wheelset, but that is about it!;>) This may also help with my digestion.

So I guess everything is going real well. It will be interesting to see how the body reacts to the longer races. I'm looking forward to keeping a slightly slower pace.

Muskoka will be fun. I'm really relaxed about it because I'm not expecting to get many points due to the competitive nature of the race and field. I am more focused on guelph. So it will be a good experience and I get to do the longer distance which is more fun!

This will be a good gauge for peterborough. I'm really going to focus on nutrition. Especially downing plenty of GU on the bike. I think I will try one every 35 min or so. See how that leaves me on the run.

There is an awesome swim at Muskoka. A water start, and lots of room to spread out. I need to focus on getting a good draft in this one. I lost the toes of the lead pack at Milton, and was unable to catch them. Unfortunately, the Pro's will be going off in a seperate wave, so hopefully there will be a few fast swimmers in mine that I can get behind. It will be nice to find a groove. The long straight stretches will allow the breathing to settle down. I was breathing every 2 strokes for most of Milton which isn't good. I was putting out too hard of an effort, and should've eased off until I could breathe every 3. This doesn't cost me any speed. I just need the HR down.

The bike is hilly, which suits me fine. I think I might put the 13-25 back on the bike so as to have the smaller gear on the steep hills. I will put it back on for guelph and peterborough. I want to keep the HR down as much as possible. I need to have a strong run at Muskoka for the confidence. Even if this means losing a position or two. If I can average around 35 or 36 I will be happy.

The run starts hilly, and then flattens out. It isn't hard, but last year I blew up and that hurt my confidence going into peterborough. So I think it is a good idea to ensure a strong run. I know the bike is strong, but the run could use a little work.

My training on the run has been going real well. I've put in some great tempo runs. These are quickly becoming my favourite workout. Still trying to up the speed workout reps, but I keep doing them on hot days. I think they are helping though. Even when I am struggling on the run I am keeping a decent pace. I can cruise doing 4:10 kms so that is promising for peterborough.

I am planning a long weekend this week so I will be able to test out the legs again. I actually miss the long workouts when I have races. They are really relaxing. It will be nice when school is out, and I can get these in during the week so when I do race on sat or sun it won't eliminate a long workout. I really need to focus on keeping the body healthy and not burnt out, and I think that these long easy workouts are the key to this. Especially on the bike. It's funny. The 180km ride is much more daunting to me than the 42km run. I guess it is just the amount of time it takes to complete.

Well, that is it for now.