April In a Nutshell

April flew by much faster than anticipated. It feels like it was just last week that I said something along the lines of having 5 weeks to go to St. George….. which is now less than 5 days! I had many goals for the month of April: Catching up on running workouts- both speed and distance, as I lost a good 5 weeks or so of running training back in February due to a hamstring injury. Because I lost this good chunk of time, my second goal was to go into St. George “lighter” than previous races to help potentially having a faster run. There is a fine line between loosing weight and still maintaining power on the bike, and having solid workouts. I feel that I managed to balance this pretty good over the last month or so… not quite achieving goal weight, but was able to cut down a bit. I definitely had some rough days, and have really learned a lot more about my body in this process. Every body is different, and responds to changes in different ways. I really found that when it came to fueling, that 2 days out was the key. If I didn’t plan 2 days ahead to fuel up for a big day, OR be diligent about proper recovery, then I suffered big time. I had to concentrate cutbacks on “shorter” days while not impacting those key volume days. Even if I tried to “catch up” the day before, I suffered. Same on the other end…. If I didn’t replenish those stores right away after a big day, my energy was tanked for 2-3 days after. Like I said…that fine balancing line. On the nutrition subject..... I am super excited to announce a partnership with F2C nutrition! I have had amazing results with their products in the last month, and can't wait to see the benefits throughout the season!

This now brings me up to taper time. I will take big training weeks any day over taper. Same story every time. It’s the end of a big block, so I am tired anyways, then as the volume cuts back, it feels like my body goes into a training “hangover”, and I get even more tired and grumpy. I had the typical 1-2 week taper: 2 weeks out, a very small reduction in volume, and this week a much more significant amount. As of this moment, I don’t feel like I’m ready at all for what is to come in the next few days, but I have to keep reminding myself that this is how I feel every single time leading up to a race. It’s funny how taper really ends up being more of a mental ordeal than a physical one. So trust me…. If you are tired and grumpy and you feel like your body is not in race mode… you are not alone. This is normal:):)

St. George 70.3 this weekend with Victoria 70.3 to follow in a few weeks! Thanks for following along!