Looking forward to 2014

Happy New Year! I thought I would start the new year off right and give an update on what's been happening over the past couple of months and a few things that I have to look forward to over the next little while.

After I enjoyed a couple of weeks off from structured training back in October, I was unlucky enough to tear my left calf in both the gastroc and soleus muscles during my 1st week back to training in November. My original plan of building running mileage and making that my major focus until Christmas was no longer an option, so I had to take a step back and  re-adjust my training. Instead, we decided to spend time in the pool, work on leg speed and cadence on the bike with low resistance, and pool run. I'm happy to report that the calf is healed now, and I gradually introduced running, and intensity on the bike into my training again as of the 2nd week in December.

My 2nd session back of bike intensity down in the High Performance testing labs of Dr. Greg Wells at U of T was captured by the CBC's camera crew for "Marketplace"! I didn't expect the crew to bear witness to the pain and suffering incurred with my critical power testing with Coach Ming, but they captured everything in all of its glory. I was supposed to be the "highly-trained" athlete/research subject for the upcoming episode of "CBC Marketplace" that investigates the need for electrolyte drinks in the recreationally active versus high performance athletes. What a way to kick start my training again! I had to show at least some signs of fitness! I expected to play a small role in the background, so it was a bit of surprise when I had cameras about 1 mm away from my face at all angles, and when I had requests to form sweat droplets onto the camera lenses, and when cameras were strategically placed in my sweat puddles. That wasn't invasive at ALL:) It was actually a TON of fun, and the whole crew at CBC was amazing, and they are actually coming back to shoot me swimming and running on January 9th. This time I will at least know to shave my legs for the cameras. This sporty episode, which will also feature the incredible likes of both Simon Whitfield and Clara Hughes is slated to air on January 31st at 8pm-right before the start of the Sochi Winter Olympic Games. So, please stay tuned!

Lights, Camera, Action!
Photo courtesy of Dr. Greg Wells.

I will spend the next few weeks ramping up my training and gaining some fitness leading into the first Real Deal cycling camp down in the Solana Beach area of California from Jan 24-31. After that week with my teammates, I will head over to Santa Monica where I will spend the next 5 days with my friend and fellow pro triathlete, Amanda Hahn, and her hubby, who have so generously offered to put me up in their home. I'll fly home on Feb 5th, spend a couple of days of down time in Collingwood with friends and family, and then swim in a local meet on Feb 9th! I haven't told my boss yet of these plans...I'm sure it'll go over super well;)

Finally, I have set some ambitious goals for the 2014-2015 season, but I thought I would share them to make them concrete and to hold myself accountable for my training. I am setting my sights on qualifying for the Pan Am Games in 2015 in both the Individual Time Trial for cycling, and the triathlon event. Once the qualifying criteria become more clear, and as I see what my chances are for qualifying for each of the events, I'll focus on the event that seems more possible leading into 2015.

I have my work cut out for me, no doubt.

Thanks for reading.

Leanna