SOCIALLY PROFILED
IRONMAN CANADA TRAINING - 2022
Week beginning Sunday, August 14, 2022
2 weeks out from race day.
WEEKLY GOAL
Wind it down SAFELY.
SUMMARY
Total Time: 12.3 Hours
I feel like I was VERY GRATEFUL
Some lingering heaviness in the legs even as the volume has dropped but that wasn't the whole story.
The last activity of the week, a run on Saturday, had me thinking about this upcoming race, where I am at in life and the many things I have in my life to be thankful for. Most of it centred on my health and work I've put into it over these past months.
This is certainly a nice place to be.
SUNDAY AUG 14 ☀️
Sleep 2 | Fatigue 2 | Stress 2 | Soreness 2
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
Run 15km. Flat route. Easy effort. Remember to fuel as if you're getting into a long day. Only goal is to cover the distance as comfortably as possible. — Mobility 25 minutes
NOTES
Total Time: 96 Minutes Run: 16.2 km
Maybe the most important run of the summer. I feel like I nailed it.
Easy effort to the Inner Harbour then out along Dallas Road. The weather was warm and perfect. I had moments when I felt good and moments when I felt fantastic. I packed a 500ml water bottle diluted with some of sludge mix left over from the ride yesterday.
After 15km, I felt good to go and round this activity up to 10 miles. More importantly, when I got home I felt like I had run but not cooked.
TIME IN ZONES
MONDAY AUG 15 🌤
Sleep 4 | Fatigue 4 | Stress 2 | Soreness 3
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
Easy spin to the pool.
Swim 2000: 200 easy free, 200 swim w/ buoy, 100 steady kick. 4x 100 Descend easy #1 to strong #4. R :20 after each. 2x 50 easy free. 3 rounds (4x 50 Strong/High turnover/Good focus r :25, 100 EASY R 1:00) 100 extra easy to cool down.
Spin 45 minutes on the way home. EASY
NOTES
Time: 90 Minutes Swim: 2000m Ride: 22 km
Something had me awake at 0115 (leftover Indian food perhaps).
After work, I pedalled to Crystal Pool but when I got on the pool deck, the 25m lanes were closed. Apparently, a part of the filtration system broke and the water was too turbid for lane swimming. What to do...
I got back on my bike and briefly thought about riding up to Thetis Lake for an open-water swim but I really wanted to do the scheduled workout as written. I took a chance and rode to the Esquimalt Recreation Centre.
Low and behold, a 25m lane all to myself!
SWIM WORKOUT
I felt a bit stiff to start but quickly found a groove and got done what I needed to get done.
The balance of riding was a ride on the E&N Rail Trail toward Colwood, looping back home on The Goose. A bit of wind and the XC bike made for a bit of work.
TUESDAY AUG 16 ☀️
Sleep 4 | Fatigue 3 | Stress 3 | Soreness 3
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
Run/Walk 40 minutes: 5 minutes walking to warm up. Run 30 minutes. Flat route. EASY effort. 5 minutes walking to cool down.
Mobility 25 minutes
NOTES
Total Time: 30 Minutes Run: 5 km 5:58/km pace
My run kit was ready for an early morning run but I rolled over and got another hour of sleep.
I felt heavy and slow. Flat route to the Selkirk Trestle and back and never found a groove. 
WEDNESDAY AUG 17 ☀️
Sleep 3 | Fatigue 4 | Stress 3 | Soreness 3
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
Ride 2:45
Last time heading to the hills. A few reps up Observatory (2-3), a few reps up Willis Point (2-3) or just spend all your climbing time on one ride. Steady, but controlled effort, up the climbs. Getting in your calories. Have fun. Getting in the bars on the flatter sections.
NOTES
Moving Time: 151 Minutes Ride: 54.9 km
Similar to yesterday, my legs felt on the heavier side. I rode up Observatory Hill to the stop sign 4 times then a full climb, gate to the very top. →
All steady efforts, HR in the 130's.
From the Observatory, I took a spin up to Stelly's X-Road before turning south back to town. I had a roadie to share some work with into Brentwood Bay. Lots of time in the aero-bars during those flat sections too.
THURSDAY AUG 18 ⛅️
Sleep 4 | Fatigue 3 | Stress 3 | Soreness 3
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
1st: Open Water swim.
3x 3 minutes easy swimming to loosen up and get sorted in the wetsuit. Rest as needed between each. 3x 18 minutes @ IM effort/focus/swimming straight/finding your rhythm. R 2:00 after each. Very short cool down splash around to cool down.
2nd: Run 13km.
Flat route. Easy effort. You're going to need some water and calories in the system. Pretty solid day on Wednesday, and a solid swim before this run. Same as the other longer runs. Goal is to cover the distance and feel as comfortable as possible.
NOTES
Time: 154 Mins OWS: ~3000m Run: 12.6 km
- GPS credited me 3120m for the swim but with the waves, it seems the rests measured longer than reality.
It was warm like night and even with the window open, it took a while to fall asleep.
After a full day at work, I headed up (late) to West Shawnigan Provincial Park (45 min drive) to get my workouts in. The temperature in the Cowichan Valley is almost always a notch warmer and Penticton is expected to be a notch above that.
Getting into my brand new triathlon suit from Jakroo (arrived this afternoon) and then into my full sleeved wetsuit took some time (point to remember for race day).
In the water, the things I noticed immediately:
- The water is far more weedy at this end of the lake (compared to the Mason's Beach area).
- This spot is more exposed to wind chop and there are far more ski boats kicking the waves up too.
- It's been a month since I swam in my full-sleeved wetsuit. It felt foreign for the first ~15 minutes in the water.
I got a groove going in the water a short time into the first 18 minute rep. It took some focus in the waves, paying attention to where I was going and where the boats were. I welcomed the waves as Okanagan Lake is big and is likely to have similar conditions.
I didn't waste much time at the truck, getting out of my swim kit and on to the run.
I saw on the map that there was a connector trail off West Shawnigan Road that would get me to the Cowichan Valley Trail; I found that trail but it wasn't as evident at the map suggested.
The surface of the Cowichan Valley Trail is pretty much the same as the Kettle Valley Rail Trail, the first 10km out and back segment of IRONMAN Canada. Everything was comfortable from a cardio perspective but my ankles were a bit tender this evening. Not much nervy sensation coming from the little toe.
My effort was easy, my pace was slower at 6:10/km and my heart-rate was a bit higher hovering in the low 130s. All expected as the temperature was still quite warm.
I was on the calories the entire run and carried a litre of water in my running vest. I probably could (should) have consumed more water while on the run.
I ran past the trestle and on the way back, I walked down a rough trail to get this week's photo. Once running again, I couldn't afford to stop as the evening bugs were out in full force.
Overall, a solid training late afternoon/evening.
FRIDAY AUG 19 ⛅️
Sleep 5 | Fatigue 3 | Stress 3 | Soreness 4
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
Set the bike up with race day gearing, wheels, chain, etc.
Mobility 25 minutes
NOTES
Mobility: 0 Minutes
Horrible sleep as I woke up hungry, with a headache because of it too. I had a big helping of leftover Phad Thai (minus the tofu, gross) and struggled to get meaningful sleep thereafter. It has been more eating and drinking this morning to recover (no Advil).
Family from Germany in town. I did not get to the mobility session.
SATURDAY AUG 20 ☀️
Sleep 4 | Fatigue 2 | Stress 3 | Soreness 2
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
Race Day fueling and hydration. Good day to use up some extra maple syrup. Just to get in the race day mode/mindset.
Ride 2:40 on TT bike. Flat to rolling route. Basically a standard Island loop. Include 3 trips up Observatory...steady climbing, making sure the 30 tooth works as planned. Spin up nice and easy!
Off the bike: 20 minutes flat and easy running. Making sure the stomach is good to go. Making sure you feel comfortable coming off some time in the TT bars.
NOTES
Total Time: ~180 Mins Ride: 60 km Run: 5.4 km
This morning, I played bike mechanic; the challenge getting the 11x30 cassette installed. The solution was adding a link from to the chain.
Looking at the workouts after the fact, I went up Observatory Hill (full) twice instead of 3 times and was home from the ride ~20 minutes early. On the run, I was feeling good and went ~10 minutes longer. Probably a wash but I did fuel well.
I felt good on the ride with a good tailwind that pushed me north to the airport and a headwind to work with on the way home. The tri-spoke wheels were pushed around a bit but am left feeling confident running them in the Okanagan. The shifting with the 11x30 and lengthened chain was perfect. 
Consistent drip of sugar from the aero bottle put me in a good spot for a run off the bike. The typical bike-path route to Quadra Street and back, feeling great for the full 31 minutes.