Base Prep

The first three weeks of training have gone really well.  I've enjoyed the workouts, I've wanted to workout, and I don't feel pressure.  This is exactly what I need right now as we prep for my Base Phase.  

The Swim:

I've been swimming at the YMCA of the North Shore in Ipswich  on Tuesday and Friday mornings with Coach Perry Chau and so far so good.  I've been swimming there for a bit and Perry has helped me focused on technique work while we start to build the yardage.  Vin started this week too and we can already tell that we will be swimming better than ever before.  What's neat is that Vin is Perry's Tri Coach and Perry did IMMT 2014, so there's a lot of knowledge to go around.  In the weeks ahead we'll continue the work and see where it takes us.

The Bike:

Just go out and ride.  I have to say I love riding my bike especially when I'm not focused on hitting a power number.  Dean has me riding once a week for about 2 hours.  Just go out and ride.  Last week I did a solid 1.5 hour group ride that pushed the pace a bit which was a lot of fun.  This week I'm heading back on the trails and enjoying this weather.  More to report when we start the real work.

The Run:

Zone 2...  4 runs a week broken up into 2 x 45 minutes off-road and 2 x 1 hour on a rolling hills.  This has been, by far, the most fun.  I'm exploring trails near my home that I never knew existed.  I can also feel that the trail running is helping me on my longer runs because I'm using the stabilizing muscle that have been weaker.  I've had IT Band issues in the past and my plan is to avoid that at all costs.  

The Body:

The focus hear is muscle adaptation in preparation of a strength building phase that's coming next.   The idea here is low weight, high reps and then adding a set as I get stronger.   The exercises are pretty simple:  30 x Bench, 30 x Squats, 30 x Lat Pull Down, 30 x Standing Bent Arm Pull Downs, & Half Kneeling Presses that Brandon suggested.    

Brandon also suggested that I need to foam roll with a focus on the Left Outer Hip, Left Outer Calf & Left Bottom of the Foot.  My initial evaluation with Brandon showed that my body is decent shape, but we have to keep it that way.  I've never been much of a foam roller, but I've done it religiously for 3 weeks now and I can absolutely the feel the difference.  Once we  get going in the "real" base phase I'll see Brandon more often for some check-ups. 

Alright, just a quick update for now.  

Up next:  ?