31 Weeks to Ironman Canada – Work Trip and Training Recap

I was traveling all week for work, so I didn’t get a chance to do any swimming. The pool is too small at the hotel to bother. I tried swimming laps at a hotel pool years ago and ended up getting sick from all the turning. Luckily, this hotel still had good treadmills, a spin bike, and recumbent bikes I could get on to do my Ironman training while I was away for business.

I don’t know how people can travel for week-long business trips with carry-ons, I always need to pack a checked bag when I travel for work. It’s important for me to get in workouts when I travel for work, to stretch my legs, get the blood flowing, start the day strong, and reduce stress before important meetings. So when you have all your work and workout clothes in a carry-on, it just blows my mind.

Usually, I pack a bunch of workout clothes because I don’t like climbing into “dirty” workout clothes. I tried handwashing some gear on one of my last work trips, but it took forever to dry and I just didn’t like it. This time, I only packed 2 pairs of crops, 2 shirts, and tons of sports bras. I wore the same top and crops for 3 workouts, and then a fresh set on the last day. It was OK I guess. None of my gear smelled, which is what you get when buying quality workout gear, so that was also nice. So I guess I could just wear the SAME workout clothes every day … eugh. Does anybody have suggestions?

SWIM

None. I didn’t bother packing any swim gear this time. The pool at this hotel is slightly larger than other hotels I’ve stayed at in the area, but I didn’t think it would be worth it. On the last day I was there, I did see someone swimming laps in it. They also didn’t do flip turns like me (I don’t know how to flip turn, and you don’t have walls in triathlon swims anyway) and it just looked like a pain.

BIKE

3 sessions. I got a heavy intervals ride in, a short “medium/moderate/mad” or MMM effort ride in, and a long 90-minute MMM ride in. The MMM effort workouts are part of the Trisutto Method. I can’t remember the exact details of why it’s important, but I know it’s a good one. I feel like I’m getting stronger, so that’s been a big boost in the confidence of my bike strength.

RUN

I got 2 sessions done at the hotel. Short hill reps and an easy run. I have a long run slated for this weekend but will do a cross country skiing session instead. The tready runs felt great. I was able to run more comfortably at the same speeds, compared to the last time I was there. For example, I remember my jog effort at “5” on that treadmill as being really fast and quite the struggle, but this time I felt really strong!

OTHER

Cross country skiing as a substitute for a long run. And a 90-minute RMT massage. I want to try and be diligent with getting massages.

Overall Thoughts

I felt great this week. Despite flying across the country and being 3 hours off from my regular hours, I didn’t skip any of my scheduled workouts AND I managed to work out at 6am 3 times! This is what commitment feels like. There was no other choice, I just do not want to be 3/4 into my races and regret not putting in the work when it mattered.