Foiled Again - DNS

This weekend we were supposed to be in Knoxville for the Challenge Knoxville Olympic  triathlon.  I won this race back in January at the Bluegrass Tri Club kick off event.   Even though we had a terrible winter I managed to get a good training base in thanks to committing to the Shelbyville Tri Series.  It forced me to get on my trainer all winter.  Once mid March came around I was able to get some good outdoor rides in.  I was feeling strong for so early in the season.

From our last 40 Miler Ride

Then it happened.  It started out as a cold but then morphed into pneumonia.  And just like that training came to a complete halt 11 days before the big race.  I fought a fever as high as 103F for several days before the second round of antibiotics kicked in.   The next few days I was completely exhausted & had an annoying cough.  10 days in, I am feeling better but do not have enough energy to work out yet.

I am bummed but things can always be worse.  I will get over this crud soon & will be able to start training again.  Patience isn't my strong suit.

The doctor did lecture me on not using my inhalers daily.  I am so bad taking medicine if I feel OK.  The reality is I get sick every spring.  It always starts out as allergies then turns into a cold / sinus infection.  This year I was doing so good.  I didn't get sick at all this past winter so it was that much harsher when I got this doozy of an illness.  

In an effort to not repeat this next year I am going to document my spring plans here as recommended by my doctor & and on my calendar for March 1, 2016

• QVAR - If no longer taking - restart!  Take 2 puffs 2x per day.
• Ventolin - Take everyday.  Use prior to every workout
• Nasal Rinse every night
• Shower in evenings instead
• Even if weather is awesome don't do every workout outside especially when pollen counts are high.

Week 1 of a New Plan

At this months Bluegrass Tri Club's kick off Steve won this...

Since he has no desire of doing a triathlon ever I was the lucky recipient!  The options are Olympic or Half Iron distance.  I really had no intention of doing either distance this year but I really can't pass this up.  My plan is to do the Olympic.  It will be a river swim which really creeps me out.  So I have that fear to overcome.

I found some training plans on Beginner Triathlete & created a hybrid between their 16 week Balanced 2x & 3x plans.  Meaning 2 or 3 swims, 2 or 3 rides, and 2 or 3 runs per week.   I moved some of the workout days around to work with my schedule better.

Today, Sunday January 25th, is exactly 16 weeks out but I already made an adjustment to the plan because yesterday we woke up to this....

Although absolutely beautiful I did not want to risk running in the snow since I am still coming off my most recent running injury.  So I decided to do this instead....

One hour and 20 minutes of Spinervals.  I plugged in my headphones & followed along with the DVD.  It wasn't great but not horrible either considering I really dislike indoor riding or running for that matter.   Today I will get my 5 mile run/walk in plus a swim.

So my new plan for Week 1 looks like this:

Sunday: Swim 35 minutes, Spin 1h20m (did this on Saturday)
Monday: Walk & Weights
Tuesday: Run 3 miles
Wednesday: Spin 50 minutes
Thursday: Run, 25 minutes, Weights
Friday: Swim 40 minutes, Yoga
Saturday: Run 6 Miles

I move into a new role at work starting in March.  I am hoping that frees up another early weekday morning so I can get in the 3rd weekly swim.  I am really excited to have something big to train for again.  I may even start blogging regularly again - gasp!

My official winter / spring race calendar looks like this so far:

February 22nd - Shelbyville Triathlon Series #1
March 7th - Railrunner 5K
March 22nd - Shelbyville Triathlon Series #2
March 28th - Run the Bluegrass 7 Miler
April 12th - Shelbyville Triathlon Series #3
May 17th - Challenge Knoxville Olympic Tri

I am looking into a swim clinic in Atlanta the weekend of April 15th.  I have been using the Swim Secrets workout cards for several months now & thought it may be helpful to take one of their clinics.
A race that same weekend is the Heart & Sole Triathlon which I will most likely do if the swim clinic doesn't pan out.  And finally, I will be signing up for this fun sounding new race on April 24th.  It is a twilight 5K through the beautiful grounds of Kentucky Horse Park during Rolex weekend.

Wow, that's a lot of racing.  I am hoping these new Hoka Cliftons keep me healthy.

Happy training folks!