Untraining Ends, Re-training Begins
For the past several weeks, I have been happily in untraining mode. I have been drinking beer and wine without worrying about calories or whether I have to get up early the next day. I have been generally eating whatever I feel like, including french fries, potato chips, and soy ice cream. My bikes and runs have been mellow and I didn’t even keep track of them! I have no idea how far I ran or biked and I often didn’t even know how long they took. I just went and enjoyed. It was great. Yoga practice was frequent as was walking the dog. It was lovely.
This morning, though, was the beginning of my training plan for Ironman Part Deux. It is less than 9 months away and we all know that a lot can happen in nine months! I am currently easing myself back into training – 5 workouts a week with 2 days off. That is pretty sweet to me. I still get some time to myself and with my puppy. It’s for 6 weeks that I do that. 6 weeks after that is up to 7 times a week, according to my coach’s Macrocycle schedule. Right now I’m increasing my distance and then I’ll be increasing intensity of the workouts. I have my schedule until Christmas, so I can plan everything around that.
I have decided this time to do things a little bit differently: I’m combining some club workouts with my own schedule. I am going to swim with the Saskatoon Tri Club on Fridays for something different. On Tuesdays, starting in November, I’m going to do a coached spin class for bikers. On Thursdays, I’m doing an advanced yoga class. In between those, I’ll be doing my own coached program set up by my coach and buddy, Dan.
This morning’s 6km run wasn’t too bad, but my IT band and knee were sore again. As was my right ankle. I think I need new shoes in addition to a massage. So I’m planning to get both this week. I am only running once a week right now, which is good. I got into an ice-cold shower right after the run and did some yoga after that, which helped a bit, but on my bike commute to work, I could feel the elastic bands in my knee feeling a bit tighter than I would like. I have no idea what the ankle bit is about. I think it’s protesting because it wants new shoes.
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TNT Fundraising Dinner!
On Friday, January 27 we are holding a fundraising supper. It will be completely vegan (see my post here to understand why).
Where? Masonic Temple 1021 Sask Crescent West, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
When: Friday, January 27, 2012
Cocktails at 5:30pm, Dinner 6:30pm
What: A delicious meal, a silent auction, wonderful musical entertainment, and lots more!
Why? The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada is a voluntary health agency dedicated to blood cancer. LLSC funds lifesaving blood cancer research across Canada and provides free information and support services.
Tickets
are $30 and can be bought at
Turning the Tide bookstore
525 - Broadway Avenue
LLS office
202-402 21st St E, 242-6611
You can also get them from Darcy & Crystal. You can email werunforcancer@gmail.comVT is on Twitter!
- Just posted a 5.36 km run - My personal trainer really worked me hard on this run. It's a good thing ... http://t.co/PflfuxHV #RunKeeper 18 hours ago
- Just posted a 8.29 km run - A nice run with my bff. http://t.co/jh6ToWZN #RunKeeper 19 hours ago
VT has a new look!
Purple has a new meaning in my life as it is the main colour of Team in Training, a group that raises money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. This cause is very near and dear to my heart as my partner and main training buddy had Leukemia & Lymphoma when he was a child. Blood cancer can be very deadly, so I am thankful for the treatment and care that he got.
It is for this reason that we decided to run a marathon together with the Team in Training group in Saskatoon. We have a goal of $13,000!
What is VT?
This website is one that I, Crystal Clarke, started in 2007 with big ideas. It is morphing slowly into a resourceful website for vegans and athletes alike. I put my personal touch on this website in the recipes and the training blog, as I'm a writer & a vegan triathlete. So what is a vegan triathlete? Well...
vegan. n. vee-gahn. - a person who refrains from using any animal product whatever for food, clothing, or any other purpose.
triathlete. n. someone who participates in races consisting of swimming, biking, and running in that order; there are several varying distances with some standard distances:
Sprint: 750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run
Olympic: 1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run
Half Ironman: 2km swim, 90km bike, 21.1km run
Ironman: 3.8km swim, 180km bike, 42.2km runPlease leave comments! I love reading and replying to comments. Cheers!
Who am I?
My name is Crystal Clarke. I'm a vegan triathlete. I've been vegan since 2002 and a triathlete since 2003. Since then I have completed 1 Ironman, 4 half IMs, several Olympic triathlons, and many other triathlons, duathlons, running races, and biking races. My goal for each race is to finish. I'm pretty slow, but can be a middle-of-the-pack person if I'm not injured and train consistently.
In addition to being a vegan triathlete, I'm a writer, I'm an Agrologist, I'm a soil scientist, I'm a knitter, I'm an anti-consumer, I'm an environmentalist, I'm a budding Buddhist, I'm a yogi, I'm a student of life, and I'm bipolar. I'm a lot of things! I don't fit into any one category - that's what I think sets me apart from other athlete blogs.
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