Quarantraining goals and toys

I've been pretty fortunate during this pandemic that I'm able to work from home, have access to an outdoor pool, and haven't, to my knowledge anyway, been infected. I've been swimming, biking, and running pretty regularly and have racked up quite a few "quarantraining" hours.

It's ironic that I have this extra time to train and races have been cancelled (rightly so), but I'm trying to make the best out of it. Lately, I've been doing things I *want* to do and trying to squeeze in as much summer as possible. Like, I'm less comfortable breathing on the left side swimming, and since I won't be racing in a lake for a while, I really don't see the point of practicing. Also, I never got the hang of flip turns and I just get frustrated when I work on them. Maybe I will revisit flip turns when and if I have access to an indoor pool this winter, but for now I don't need to waste the mental energy.

I'm going to enjoy this view for as long as possible.

There have been a few days when I would have loved an air conditioned treadmill, but our home treadmill is on its last legs so I have been sucking it up for the hot runs. I take ice water with me, take a quick break to drink every one or two miles depending on how hot it is, and call it at two laps around my neighborhood. I won't have any fall races, so there's really no need to push it on the hot days.

I thought about really trying to work on my FTP on the bike trainer, but I decided to hold off on that for now. Right now, my "big" bike workout of the week has been driving to a nearby state park with some actual hills and doing a few laps. It's safe, I can leave extra water in my car, the bathrooms are open (I pack a mask every week!), and my parents are a few miles away if I need to take an emergency shower or something. I figured I would make that my bike focus until the weather turned, since I'll have all winter to work on getting that FTP up.

I have also been doing weights pretty consistently twice per week, mixing up my own heavy routine with online barre classes and some tried-and-true videos. My quads and back muscles are as big as I ever remember them being, and I can do more chinups and pullups than I ever could in my life. Yeah, it's some extra work, but since I have the time so I might as well get a good strength base going, too.

One more thing I have done to keep pandemic training interesting is order a LOT of toys, clothes, and gear over the last few months. I got new running shoes from my local running store, and took advantage of some deals on running tanks and some spiffy shorts with phone pockets built into the legs. They are my new go-to! I bought a couple swimsuits, bike gloves, and a couple bike jerseys, thanks to the Facebook algorithms targeting me with sales until I couldn't take it anymore. But really, these jerseys were a steal.

I got a couple of these at deep discount. I'm cheap, so I love a bargain!

A couple of other random things I ordered were some new handlebar tape for my bike, a book on building good running form, and some tennis balls. I figured now is the time to take a hard look at my running form and break it all the way down if necessary. And if and when I no longer have access to an outdoor pool, hopefully the tennis balls can be another sport to keep me in shape. I used to play in high school and college, and have been on a few rec leagues in my adult life, so I'm looking forward to hitting some balls again.

New handlebar grip to spiff up my bike and a book on running form.

New bike gloves and my new handlebar grip. I only had green electrical tape to finish it off. XD

I think my next purchase will be one of those percussive muscle massagers. Any recommendations? I am probably looking in the $150 range. My coworker bought an Achedaway and loves it, but I am looking for something a bit smaller and cheaper right now.

I'm not sure what my pool situation will be after Labor Day, or how long the weather will hold out for outdoor biking. Knowing how terrible Michigan weather can be, and how this pandemic is progressing, I'm going to assume I'll be stuck inside all winter. So for now you can find me quarantraining outside as safely as possible. Hopefully you all are staying safe, finding some good deals, and getting in some extra hours, too.