After nearly 8 months of IM training it was time for me to take a break from planned workouts. Since the morning of my last race Aug 30th I can remember a day that I got out of bed before 6am on a weekday or 7am on the weekends. But my love for food and lack of self control was not a good combination with all this extra free time on my hands. I went up nearly 8kgs (17.6lbs) since July. Most of them coming after Kalmar Ironman (mid Aug). This week I started following a plan again, and it feels great! The following is a summary of my recovery month.

Not since Dec last year have I done less time wise. No morning workouts, and not workouts over 90 minutes. As fun as it was to be home more, I am looking fwd to working out again.

With little to no biking my distance totals were cut to nearly a third from July and Aug (months filled with races) and nearly a fourth of my Feb-June training. Needless to say I am fully rested now.

Swimming is one of the few activities I do not want to miss. I am a in the pool coach and swimming is also mentally relaxing for me. with the few wednesday expections I never really pushed myself in the water, just worked on smooth swimming. In Sept I was able to hold my monthly average for the year and it looks like I am on track for 500km this year.

Biking is really a big black hole when it comes to family time. I have changed the tires on my CX and will start doing some off-road biking on the weekends, but tomorrow will be my first workout on a trainer since April. Looking forward to finishing up Battlestar Galactica this winter.

In an attempt to change my running style from “heal to toe” to a “toe to heal” or “front foot” strike I did fewer shorter runs to build up endurance for those muscle groups that I was not using before. So far so good, with two 10km runs one at 5:00/km and the other at 5:30/km I feel comfortable with my adjust stride. In Oct I will switch from my normal distance pass running to speed work twice a week in an attempt to run a fast 10km in May.

I hope the rest of you have had a great September.

Ps just a reminder today is the official start of my Winter Challenge. I am hoping for a combined time of Sub 40…