XC Ski pics and some training

Here are a few pictures from a xc ski race I did a couple of weeks ago. This is one of the biggest races in the midwest and I plan to do this one for a lot of years to come.

We actually got a bit of a thaw this past week so the trails have held up in some places, but others are in rough shape. I may do one more race the first week of march, but it's all dependent on snow. I am ready for Spring and would rather it start warming up. It's bad when I say a thaw and I'm only talking about high 30s/low 40s but when it's been hovering around zero for the past month that really does seem warm. The roads have cleared up quite a bit too so that's been nice on the run front. My paces have gotten a good 15+ sec. per mile quicker because I actually have some traction

Things are starting to come around nicely on the training front. I feel like I have done everything I can this winter to set myself up for a great Spring and therefore a good racing season this summer. I have improved in some key areas and have done so without a tone of volume or intensity. I feel fresh and that's a huge benefit as the real training is about to begin. So many people train there but off during the winter to arrive at Spring fried and ready for a break. You have to be careful as this is a very bad place to be, especially if you plan to be racing at a World Championship long course event in the Fall be it Kona or Las Vegas.

A few key sessions for me included: a main set 2k pull set, with the 1st 500 at about a 1:20 - 1:25 pace, the next 1k alternating a 50 at about :35 - :40 with a 50 at about :40 - :45, and then the last 500 building to max by the last 100 and I think we came in just under 1:15. I was pretty tired at that point so was really just trying to hang on. My friend Chris swam with me. We've been doing a lot of our swim training together this winter and plan to ride a fair amount together this year as well. Chris is an accomplished triathlete who focuses mostly on the Ironman distance. His swimming and cycling and on par with any age grouper in the country. Once he starts nailing the run he's going to be a low to mid 9 hour guy for sure.

My bike sessions this week included one session focusing on threshold, one focusing on steady state or half ironman pace, and the 3rd on VO2 max where I did 2 sets of 6 x 1.5 minutes @ 360 - 370 watts. I am excited to get outside to start riding a bit longer, but I am getting a lot out of my trainer sessions. It's amazing how much work can be done on just 3 x 75-90 minute sessions a week.

Had two key runs this week. The first was a treadmill workout on Wednesday that had me spending a total of 24 minutes at high end tempo. It was a mixture of intervals. Today's run session included 20 minutes worth of hills repeats with a longer warm up and cool down. It's been such a nice addition to my running being able to hit hills on pretty much every single run. It's almost impossible for me not to with where we live. I'm not complaining though. When I get on the flats that same pace feels so much easier now.

So that's just a bit of insight into my week of training. I plan to share some of this every week or two. I know that's something I like to read about when I go to a couple different triathlon sites. The key is recognizing that just because someone does something doesn't mean that training is right for you. It's all about finding the right mix for you and I think I've found that mix. Little tweaks can always be made, but as a whole we have figured out what works best for me from a training perspective.

Lastly, Rachel had an ultrasound on Friday. Everything looks healthy and on par with the time frame they gave us before of early July. It was tough not finding out the sex of the baby. It's funny how some people will say for whatever reason they thing it's a boy or girl. Some people tell us they think we're having a boy for some reason and then others say they think it will be a girl. We truly don't care. We just want a healthy baby.