January Recap

I have to start by saying I'm glad January is over.  Besides a couple birthdays for family and friends, there isn't much else I like about January.  With the holidays over and my next vacation day not until April, there isn't much to look forward to. With the days short and cold, it takes mental toughness to get workouts in. I usually get in a funk in January and this month was no different.  I'm good now that January is over :-).  One good thing this January was the weather.  It was the mildest January I can remember which led to no runs needing to be done on the treadmill!

On the training front, I was dreading looking at this January compared to last January since last year I was three months out from my first 70.3 and ramping up.  This January I'm six months out from my 70.3 A race and just working on base.  I ran the graph today and was ecstatic to see this.

I averaged 60 minutes of exercise a day this January compared to 64 min/day last January.  The two big differences are the addition of strength training and a large reduction on the bike.  I'll be ramping the bike up over the next several months so I'm not to concerned about that.  I am concerned about the low swim volume and that my shoulders are already starting to feel the beginnings of swimmers shoulder like I had two years ago.  I do have a plan though.  I'm going to ask my SIL to sew me a special shirt with a pocket over each shoulder so I can put zip lock bags with ice in them at night and alternate the ice with those instant chemical hand warmers.  I've been reading about how people cured their bursitis and this method makes some sense.  The cold helps push fluid out of the joint, and heat helps push it in so you kind of pump fluid in and out of the joint to aid recovery.  Just end on cold.  Anyway, I'll have to post a picture of my new invention when it's done.

I'm looking forward to ramping up the bike volume, even though most if not all of it will be on the trainer.