Working out the kinks

I have been keeping things rolling and just put down the first week of my new training plan. This is the first time I have managed to keep a training schedule but I think it is a perfect fit so it makes it easy. I am just riding about three times a week but swimming five times a week and have the biggest focus on running. I am working on my "limiters" and working out the kinks.

My biggest issue recently has been my ankles and foot. Sometimes adding volume just highlights a weakness or bad form. Keeping a good training log is a huge help in trying to "figure it out" so I started looking back and all of my injuries have been around my ankles and feet. A good and bad thing I guess. I decided to do something about it and to make a long story short I discovered I need to do some very basic core and stability exercises and that I have wide feet. Strange but it is the little things that make such a big difference!

I often logged my working noting that my feet were going numb and recently that I was bruising my feet. I have been riding without my insoles in my shoes to give me more room. I would have never guessed I had wide feet.

I should have known when I cut the straps off of my specialized shoes to stretch them out a bit more. I just dropped some bills on some new E2 wide running shoes and some wide and comfy road shoes. Agghh...feels so good to comfortably push along!


With my feet behind me...literally, I jumped into another open water swim this weekend at the Surf Monkey event and I feel like I am more comfortable than ever in the water. My muscular endurance for swimming specific muscles is increasing and now that I stopped paddling and everything but swim, bike, run I have more time to work on stroke details too.


Sean and I headed out into the waves and were planning on meeting up with Luke and James for a ride after but that will just have to wait until this weekend. . . Palomar and SART on the lineup and it is going to be big fun all weekend long!


We finished up last weekend with a day out on the San Juan trail. Good times for sure and really made me miss those long mountain bike rides. Then more running!

. . .and running

. . . and running

I am loving running more than ever and working on my biggest limiter. I keep thinking about what Eric said about run fitness crossing over to everything else and I can feel it. Its true and hopefully I can drop some of the weight I gained from paddling too ;-)

I am only racing the Santa Barbara tri as a tune up and but the focus is now all about two more Xterra races to finish off the year. Hopefully my fat feet get me there quickly.