Smokin'

A strange week. Started out with good intentions but increasing work commitments & wedding-stuff seem to take priority as the week went on.

Mon: another tough night at swim squad for me. The highlight however was discovering that I am a MUCH better at breaststroke than R :-) Given how much faster he runs /rides / does freestyle, it's a small victory but a victory nonetheless! I gave him a 5m start in a 17m pool & beat him. I'll give him a 10m start next week so he can retain some degree of blokey pride ;-) About 2.2km in total

Tue: unplanned rest (& chocolate souffle) day

Wed: core + stretching session at the gym before work; a change from the usual strength session

Thu & Fri: nada

Of course that brought July to an end with the following totals:
Swim: 9.7k
Bike: 142.5k
Run: 14.8k
Not as much running, or riding for that matter, as I would have hoped but a significant increase in my swimming work loads.

Sat: long (cold) 2hr ride before heading to Canberra for a mega Mango family birthday celebration. Had a fantastic ride. I did the Greendale Rd loop again, this time (somehow) managing to ride it 9 mins faster than when I last did it. My speed over this loop also increased by 1.5k/h. It was one of those rides when it all comes together & finally you see some (significant) improvement in performance. 2:05:30 / 49.33k / aver. 23.6k/r / aver.C 88



In other news, wedding plans are coming along well - the invitations have been ordered, the hair & makeup booked & we have found Mini Mango's bridesmaid dress (phew)

I'm reading a fascinating book called Stability, Sport & Performance Movement about functional stability; basically how the body responds to the challenges & loads we place on it as athletes. I guess my background in my strength training has largely been 'isolation-based'. I've been doing integrated exercises more so in recent years but this book has really explained the rationale behind functional movement and, most importantly, given me tools to test myself & then exercises to improve the problem areas. I guess I've had so many injuries over the years that it seems that what I have been doing hasn't worked particularly well (except for last year when I have a heavy training load & still was injury-free). I wonder if doing years of (primarily) isolation-based strength training has taught my body bad habits which aren't relevant, or of assistance, for the sports that I now do. We shall see.

MTD:
Bike: 49.33k