🏃♂️ Good trail on today’s long run. Fun to slog through mud on occasion
fitness
The whimsy of Zwift distracts from the difficulty 🚴♂️
🏊♂️🚴♂️🏃♂️ I’ve cancelled my Strava subscription. This isn’t directly caused by the price increase (though a 100% increase is big!), rather this was a good reason to reconsider the service. Most of the Strava features that I’ve found useful (detailed analytics for the most part) I can also get from the built-in Apple Fitness metrics, augmented by the HealthFit app. So, I’m not seeing the value in keeping the subscription. I’ll keep using the app, though, since I do appreciate the social aspects of the service.
My 2022 focussed on fitness. Strava helpfully summarizes this as over 4,000 km travelled with 1,600 🏃♂️, 2,500 🚴♂️, and 100 🏊♂️. Plus 🏋️♂️ and essential 🧘♂️ sessions. I’ll build on this in 2023 while striving for balance
Wednesday, December 28, 2022 →
🏃♂️ Nice run along the river. I’m glad it has warmed up a bit
🏃♂️ Running in fresh snow can be nice. The ambient noise of the city is muffled and the snow cushions your foot striking the ground ❄️
🏃♂️ I expected the rain on today’s zone 2 trail run. The hail and wind gusts were a surprise. Hard to hold zone 2 while being pummelled by ice! 💨🌧️🥶
🏃♂️An easy, zone 2 run today. Almost dark by 5pm
🏃♂️ I’d planned for an easy zone 2 run this morning. Picked the wrong running group though. Time to update my zones anyway. I likely shouldn’t be able to hold zone 5 for so long
How much does a Triathlon cost? 🏊♂️ 🚴♂️ 🏃♂️💰
Friday, November 18, 2022
Other than knowing if I was physically capable of finishing, the main source of uncertainty when I signed up for my first triathlon was how much it would cost. Starting out, I had one pair of running shoes and some goggles from my kids' swimming lessons. So, I knew I’d need to invest in a lot of gear. Here’s the list of what I ended up buying along with some commentary.I’m enjoying these Yoga for Every Runner sessions in Apple Fitness. I’m certain that mobility is important for staying active 🏃♂️
I’ve registered for the Ironman 70.3 in Muskoka 🏊♂️🚴♂️🏃♂️
Long runs are great in Fall weather 🏃♂️
I’ve enjoyed a couple of Time to Run sessions. The coaches are relatively restrained, while offering useful tips, and the music fits in well. They’ll be good for days when I don’t have anything specific planned and have about 40 minutes to spare 🏃♂️
Wednesday, September 14, 2022 →
The hanger for my rear derailleur broke on my commute this morning. So, a shortened ride, along with a minor crash when the freed derailleur ended up in the spokes of the rear tire and I tumbled over the handlebars 🚴♂️
Saturday, September 10, 2022 →
Fun ride to Unionville today 🚴♂️
An early start for today’s ride to avoid the heat and catch the sunrise 🚴♂️
Found some rapids on today’s run 🏃♂️
Nice run along the James Cooper Lookout Trail, despite some tough terrain 🏃♂️
Different running route today to find some unpaved roads and justify packing my trail shoes on the vacation 🏃♂️
Misty morning for an easy run 🏃♂️
Tremblant 70.3 Ironman notes 🏊♂️🚴♂️🏃♂️
Saturday, July 2, 2022
After a few days of recovery, and before I forget, here are a few notes on the Tremblant 70.3 Ironman. The short version (given there’s lots of details below) is that the course was fantastic and the race was really well organized. Pre-race This part was easy and the day prior to the race. There were scheduled times for registration and all we needed was the QR code from our online payment.The Ironman 70.3 in Tremblant was a fantastic experience! Gorgeous course – though you really have to like hills – and really well organized. Ridiculously hot on the run though 🥵. Thankfully there was plenty of ice at the aid stations. I ran most of the course with my shorts full of ice 😀.
A huge thanks to my fantastic race crew! Their support and enthusiasm were great, not to mention all their help over the past several months of training. Knowing they’d be at the finish line really got me through the tough kilometres 14 to 17 on the run.
Although a small thing in the context of the WWDC announcements, I like the upcoming changes to the Workout app in WatchOS 🏃♂️
First outdoor ride on the new bike. Great to be out of the basement, though I swallow fewer midges on Zwift 🚴♂️
Tomorrow’s race will be fun! I haven’t been in a proper event for awhile 🏃♂️
COVID and Readiness to Train 🦠🏃♂️🚴♂️🏊♂️
Saturday, April 9, 2022
With two school-age kids, this seemed inevitable: All things considered, my symptoms aren’t too bad, which I’m grateful for. Nonetheless, I’ve mostly been in bed for a couple of days to properly recover. Since I’ve been monitoring my Readiness To Train (RTT) score, I was curious to see how COVID would appear in the metrics. Thursday morning was the first indication that something was wrong. I completed what felt like a reasonably strong swim workout, only to suddenly feel really drained of energy while walking home from the pool.Although it seems like a luxury, $70 for always dry shoes is worth it. Especially with spring weather 🏃♂️
Completed an FTP test this morning. Important to do, though super challenging 😓🚴♂️
Just fixed a small issue with my Elite Suito bike trainer: the magnets stopped working, so the resistance couldn’t be automatically adjusted. This is obviously a major feature of the trainer and particularly important for Zwift rides.
Fortunately, a quick conversation with their support team identified a fix that required replacing the trainer’s circuit board. Having recently built a gaming PC with my son, this wasn’t too complicated, though someone with less experience would likely be intimidated. The process took about 20 minutes and I took the bike for a quick Zwift ride to confirm all was well.
Although I’d much have preferred that the trainer hadn’t broken, Elite support was quick and helpful.