My race is not until 9 Sep 11. It is too early to begin my race taper so I must continue my training as per normal with built-in taper recovery. What I must avoid is lactic acid build-up the day before I get onto the plan. One of the most important lessons I learned from working with Hugh Conlin (hi Hugh…aka Master YODA) is how to train while in taper mode. Taper does not mean that you stop training. Tapering is simply focusing your effort, reconfirming your cues, and focusing on race execution.
So today, I began with a morning swim at my favourite watering hole. This place is so peaceful and so welcoming that I take a moment every time I get into the water, to thank the spirit of this pond. I had a great swim this morning. I came away with two 'race' observations however that I will have to address in tomorrow's training. Tune in for tomorrow's post.
I also met two lovely ladies today at the pond. Both gave me some much needed encouragement and support for my upcoming race. Thank you Pauline and thank you Joan!!
I was off to bike training soon after I got home from my swim. I don't think that I have ever worked so hard on hills - small and large. China is going to be hilly but truthfully these are 2% grade hills. For someone with two legs, these are not the kinds of grades that are worth consideration. But for someone with one leg even these low grades take training. I am predominantly a one-legged rider and without a knee on my residual limb side, I ride with 60-65% effort on my good side, and 35-40% effort on my prosthetic side. The ideal ratio is 50/50. I have trained very hard to get that ideal 50/50 ratio, but this is the best ratio I have achieved five years post amputation. Lessons learned from today is that with the added effort I need to drink at the 10km mark and perhaps take in a GU chomp or two (electrolyte upload).
MAJOR LESSON LEARNED FROM LAST WEEK: Having a late waffle or pancake breakfast with fresh fruit around 11:30am yields a phenominal ride at 3:30pm.
Tomorrow is another day of swim training, run training, and bike transition training.
Its going to be a great day !!
Talk to you tomorrow.
Kimberly
