2012 Great Year 2013 Can Only Get Better

Reflection

So we (because Marc and I are in this together) were slated to run in 14 races this past year. 13 were completed – sadly we slept in for our NYC run so it doesn’t count – we didn’t even pick up the kit; one was Just A Bunch Of Friends Out For A Run – not timed, but I was feeling competitive, so I am counting it.

Races of 2012

1.    Winterman February 2012 7.2K - Marathon relay with Marc, Dani, Andre, Linda, Dan, George

2.    OIRC Run March 17, 2012 10K - on my own

3.    NYC Bronx Run May 5, 2012 10K didn’t happen - with Marc

4.    Ottawa Race Weekend May 27, 2012 ½ Marathon - on my own

5.  Weight Watchers 5K Walk, June 3, 2012 - run/walk with Mom, Jonesy and Auntie Shirley

6.    Emily’s Run June 23, 2012 5K - with Linda, Alice, Cathy and Heather

7.    Brockville Triathlon August 19, 2012 Super Sprint - with Jill, Kevin and Richard

8.    Ottawa Triathlon September 1, 2012 Super Sprint - on my own

9.    San Francisco Giant Run September 18, 2012 5K - with Marc even if he didn't run and Leah

10. Stittsville 9-run-run, October 20, 2012 ½ Marathon - with Anne

11. Fat Ass Trail run, November 18, 2012 7.5K - on my own

12. ORC JABO FOFAR November 25, 2012 5K - with Anne

13. Santa Shuffle December 1, 2012 5K - with Linda, Alice, Cathy and Heather

14. Resolution Run December 31, 2012 5k - with Marc

I didn’t do so well in the weight loss department.  Actually, since I quit smoking two years ago, I have put on 25 pounds. I have been working on how to curb the hand to mouth addiction and stop mindless eating. The problem I have is that my mouth likes to party with flavours.  Plain old chicken and broccoli (no digs at anyone) just makes me feel like I am missing out on something delicious. Somehow I am going to eat more protien, apparently I don't eat enough of it!

As  I reflect upon my successes from the year and look forward to another successful year ahead, I am reminded of your support and love, it means so much to me and every time I race or train, I remind myself of how blessed I am to have such a wonderful system. When I feel like giving up, it is thoughts of your support and encouragement that keep me in motion.

Resolutions

Resolutions are not something I like to make and so as I reflect on 2012 and consider what worked and what didn’t, I realize I have to go back to the basics.  This includes flavouring with healthy spices, planning every meal, writing everything down, heck I am even going to talk myself out of over indulgences aloud.

I am not going to care what other people think about me recording my information, asking for nutrition menus or bringing my own meal to a work luncheon.  I will walk the long way around to my managers’ desks to avoid the food that gets dropped off.

I have done very well in limiting the alcohol, however as the holiday season is now behind me, I am willing to put alcohol on my list with smoking. Something I just don’t want to do anymore. I have three drinks and I am sick for days, so why bother.

I plan to run 20 races in 2013. I want to complete four triathlons and run one marathon (just to know I can run one).  This means at least 15 more races for me to find. I have several that I would like take part in and I am hoping to have them all planned out before I have my birthday.  A few of the races will be the same ones from last year, I enjoyed the scenery and the company I kept while running. A few of the races will be fun runs and I hope my hubby will join me on the shorter runs.

I am going to focus on running and swimming for the first half of the year.  I will move more into cycling when I am feeling more confident on the road.  Like many triathletes who find swimming a challenge and the last thing they focus on, I am using cycling as my final challenge.  I can pedal inside no problem, it’s the roads.

I am going to join a running club and do some group running. This is a huge thing for me.  I found a club that gives me a running program, coaches me and I can run with for an entire year and the fees going to a charity.  I like that much better than paying 70 bones out for a 12 week program that goes into the corporate pocket.

I am going to cross train and work my behind off.  If I am not swimming or running, I will be cross training or curling. It may be at 5 am, it may be at 8 pm. But I will be doing it. If I don’t do it, then I can’t race properly and to the best of my ability and that is what training is all about – achieving personal satisfaction.

That being said, I may neglect a few friendships, but as my family and every loving friends you will understand and not bail on me.  I will be there when I can, I may have to leave early because I have a race, but I will be there. I will do what I can to keep in touch. It may be through my blog or through facebook, or the odd text, but I will try to keep as in touch with everyone as often as I can.

I want to acknowledge the following people in no particular order for your support, encouragement, inspiration, guidance and love, without each of you, I would not be as successful as I have been.  My husband Marc; my daughter Dani; my parents; my brother John; my sister-in-law Lori; my neice Jeniece; my many cousins Jen, Alex, Nancy, Darlene, Kelly, Christina, Carole; my in-law Langlois family; and my Weight Watchers family.

Thank you for reading my blog this past year. I wish you and your loved ones a year of good health, peace, happiness, love and prosperity!

Bringing People Together

Christmas is about bringing people together, but this isn't about Christmas. I'll save that for a few weeks from now!

A while ago I was given the opportunity to continue my WL program and be paid for the success of losing the rest of my weight within one year.  The catch was that I had to give up WW. That's right, no online contact with anyone from WW, no tracking, no points.  But I had to pay for a registered dietician. And there was no guarantee they would use my story or that I would get paid for it.  The only support I could get was from family and friends, and I couldn't blog, write, talk and do anything publicly about my weight loss. I declined - A few of my family members and friends wondered why after all, we could all use $5K.

I started online in 2009 and I have met many people online since starting this journey. I have had ups and downs, no different than anyone else and there are several people who have held my hand, and we have shared laughs, ideas, joys, sadness and successes and a few of us have become friends on other online avenues to become more supportive of each other.

Of all the people I have met online at WW, I have met 2 people. One lives in the same town as me, the other only 3 hours down the road.

So tonight I came home and received a wonderful package from an online WW member.  This package had a gift for me and another member who lives in the same town as I do.

How thoughtful is that! A gift that my local friend and I can share. This will make us get together before the holidays to enjoy a run together. And share stories.

I can tell you it means so much to us that a person we have never physically met is thinking of us and touching our hearts with such a wonderful and thoughtful gift.

This forum brings us together as sisters (and brothers). From coast to coast we are brought together by one desire - to lead a healthy lifestyle and are bound together by the bonds we build and share in understanding, encouraging and thinking of each other and chatting online. Some inspire, others guide, others keep it real, and everyone always encourages us.  The reality of it all is that we all want each other to succeed. I am pretty sure the registered dietician won't care if I am having a crappy day - as long as I follow the food plan they give me and for a small fee as well. Where are the meetings? Where is the personal connect? For sure it's not with the stranger who will check up on me every two weeks by email and maybe a call if I don't respond!

I looked at all the options and even sought advice from my husband, family, close friends. While I like to share my story, I cannot turn my back on my friends for a shot at $5K. I listened to what people had to say but in the end I realized that I couldn’t drop off the face of the earth and not be able to come to a community that has helped me become the person I am today.  We'd have better luck winning the lottery.

Hence the title Bringing people together!

Not quite my reflection, but close to it

I sort of took last week off of running.  I managed two swim days, several long walks with my mom and a cross training class with my friend JS. This time I was the person leaving the pool of sweat behind me at every station we did.  It felt really amazing to get out there and do some exhilarating working out! Sadly, I have been very lax in this area since my trainer and I took a break. It made me realize how out of shape I really am and how much I really need to get back at it. Especially if I want to run relay races with my cousin! My only dilemma – I don’t want to pay 400 bones to be a member of any gym or club.  Why the heck can’t I just pay a drop in fee once a week or twice? I tried to get that response from the center where we were, but the lady behind the counter was too focussed on making protein shakes and kept ignoring me.  Now I was there at lunch, really lady do you think I have time to wait for you to prepare a shake on your machinery that is apparently all busted up for an answer.  Needless to say, I wasn’t overly impressed with the customer service – the trainer was great.  Will I go again, probably, if for nothing but the workout. Will I join that specific location if they can give me a good rate – no chance in Hello!

Swim was great this morning, as usual, all Monday morning swims are amazing.  I love getting up, and going for a swim.  Today we did DPS – which I know is Distance Per Stroke, however I have no idea how to calculate, determine and know WTF it is for.  I do know that I swam hard for 20 minutes solid – how many laps – not a clue – I lost track after 10.  That may have been when I started to get dehydrated and really just wanted a drink of water.  Surrounded by and swimming in it, but not going to drink it – it’s all chemicaled up. I caved in and stopped for a drink from my water bottle then had to pick up the pace for the 5 seconds it took me to sip my water. It cost me a lot, I had to let someone go in front of me because I needed water.  Oh well better that then pass out in the water.  I even changed strokes for a length or two – just to get my breath.

My recovery time between strokes was way too long, so I tried to remember to push my arms down hard when my fingers hit the water. Yep this is where the cross training classes would come in handy – need to get some strength from something!

It was tough trying to remember to stroke, breathe, stroke, keep kicking, breathe, push hard, breathe, stroke, kick, stroke, kick, breathe, push hard, extend, are you extending properly, keep kicking, push harder and keep your fingers apart for crying out loud!  Sometimes we are our worst critics.  I need to get waterproof headsets where I can listen to music and just swim! LOL – like that would happen.  I am improving and that is all that matters, eventually it will all come to me like water off a duck’s back.

Bacon Brent was there too.  The way he feels about water is how I feel about bikes.  He continues to inspire me to realize that I can ride a bike and conquer this fear.  He is not a fan of water, yet he gets in the pool twice a week and pushes through it all.  When Spring rolls around, I hope to remember that today I decided I would never let riding on the road make me afraid! I would embrace my ability to pedal and enjoy the ride.

I also realized that based on the races I have signed up for I will have 10 races under my belt by December 31, 2012.  They are races of all different types, 5Ks, triathlons, ½ marathons, 7.5ks of hills and 10Ks. Had we have run in NYC this Spring I could have said I have run from coast to coast, but alas not this year.  Perhaps next year my husband and I will be able to do a run on both coasts together and not sleep in.

That being said, a huge thank you to everyone who has supported and encouraged me to keep going: this includes my sister in law who invites me out to run with the women, my WW buddy who ran with me in a 1/2, my coworkers for encouraging me to go do the tris with them, my friend LC for still being my friend after all the times I bail or don't call or hang out because I have to be out running or training, Bacon Brent for getting me out on the road and riding with confidence, my parents for their patience when I say I can't because I have to run, my brother and his wonderful wife for their encouragement and support and inspiration to know that I am stronger than I think I am and most importantly my hubby for flying from one end of the continent to the other for races he didn't participate in, for tossing buttertarts my way and being there for the last minute bit of love to get me to the finish and my daughter for always encouraging me and giving me advice and offering to run with me and for sharing hot tub time to recover!

Superstitious – hardly!

This past weekend I ran my 4^th 21.1 K race.  It is called the 9 run run (911) in support of Ottawa’s First Responders (Fire, Police and Paramedics). I agreed to run this back in June when I was out running regularly and getting things in gear.  Well summer came and went and as usual I was feeling unprepared for race day. I practically offered up my first born to my running partner so that we could start earlier with the walkers.  I was going to need at least 3K of walking to warm up my hammy.

I came home from work on Friday so exhausted that I went for a two hour nap.  When I woke, I was still stressing out and skitterish but prepped up my kit. This meant organizing my gels, yes I have succumbed to using energy gels, and my Sharkies and my belt, bib, running gear and post running clothes and my all-time favourite prerace/run booster – the raisin buttertart. I was in bed by 9 and out like a light by 9:05. Normally I get so nervous I don’t even sleep.  Not this round. Five AM came way to early, but I crawled out of bed, stretched a bit, slowly got dressed and had a bite to eat, stretched a bit more and then counted the WW points for the gels, tarts, and chews. That freaked me out – 9 points for the tart.  I started to second guess the eating of a tart.  What the heck bring the tarts any way, I have a 45 miniute drive to debate eating a raisin butter tart.

I was glad we were starting 1:15 ahead of the runners.  It was going to be a long run for me.  My goal was to complete in 3:30, that’s how unprepared I felt. On the drive out to Stittsville I decided that there would be no tart in my future. I wasn’t going to blow my healthy eating strategy because of my “race day tradition/superstition”.

I have been doing some training, just not running as much as I should be. My hubby and I drop of our food bank donations, and meet my running buddy.  We head to the starting line for the walkers – there is about 10 of us.  Oh oh, porta potty…I was thankful this was not the Ottawa race weekend where I would have had to stand in line for an eternity with prerace panic setting in.  The Mayor climbs up into the fire truck to unleash us beastly walkers.  Off we go……

We start walking at a pretty fast pace, one I am sure is faster than my run pace. I start to feel weak in the knees and think I am sweating bullets and we have only moved about 50 paces. I start to panic and think I am going to pass out.  You know that feeling when you haven’t eaten in hours (more than 8). I get all clammy trying to figure out what is going on.  Then it dawns on me – BUTTERTART, I didn’t eat the freaking butter tart.  I call hubby up on the phone, get his location and tell him to meet me a specific cross road with the tart.  Next thing I know most of these “walkers” have started running.  We need to kick it down. When I see Marc with the tart box in hand I start yelling at him to open it up and hand me the damn tart.  It’s like I was possessed.  Sure enough I don’t have to break pace and I even got a kiss out of it.  I am so lucky to have him support me.  I shovel the tart in my mouth as we are walking along, hoping it doesn’t come back up.

At this point I realize I did not bring my sun glasses – SAWWEEETTT I say to my buddy.  This means it is going to be sunny the whole race.  Sure enough Mother Nature cooperated. Not a spigot of rain fell during the entire time we ran.

Surprisingly enough, the tart stays down and we start to walog (walk/jog) at a nice pace.  I feel I could do the next 19+ kilometers at this pace. I am confident now that I will have the energy (what with the tart, two gel packets and two gummy packets). I pass up on water at the first station.  We turn up the LONG road the bulk of the race is up this road and there are cars driving up and down both sides.  We walkers apparently aren’t worthy have having the road closed.  Oh well, not like I have never run on a road facing traffic before.  Seriously why do some jackasses have the need to speed when they see people on the road!

This is a long long long long road for me.  It’s the first time I have run with someone, the first time I have run without my music on, and the first time I have run with NO,  ZERO, ZILCH, NADA crowd on the road cheering the runners on.  It feels awkward for me, but I know I can adapt.

My buddy and I take walk breaks along the way and I realize at the pace we are going at I need to call Marc to tell him when we hit the 10K mark so he can meet me at the end.  I give him notice we are looking at a 3 hour finish now and not 3:30.

We were around the 16K marker when the first runner from the 9:15 start comes whizzing by – actually it was the lead motor cycle. Cool thing … a dude on a handcycle (he was operating the horizontal bike with his hands – pardon my ignorance on the proper term for this vehicle) was keeping up with the motorcycle and the lead fast dude was not too far behind.  I wondered how running so close to a motorcycle’s exhaust would affect lung capacity, and acknowledge I that would never have to worry about running behind the lead vehicle!

I have exhausted all my watered down gels and have a few gummies left over.  My buddy starts to cramp up and so we slow to a walk, then I start to cramp up so I move to a walog pace. My walog is as fast as her walk. She tells me to go ahead. I say no, obviously she doesn’t know me very well.  I couldn’t leave her behind and finish without her so if we walk across we walk across.  Oh oh, people cheering on the trail at a street crossing, we decide to pick up the pace and look good, when no one is looking, we slow down again.  No point in forcing an injury.  After all, to complete is my game, not compete.

As we turn off the trail and onto the road, I start scanning the crowd for my man, he was nowhere in sight and I only hope that he is okay and stuck in traffic.  We finish, under 3 (2:58:52!) get some delicious chocolate milk, which I believe I inhaled mine fresh from the carton.  I call Marc because he was nowhere to be seen at the finish area and I did not get my traditional finishing kiss.  He had to park a long way away after waiting forfreakingever to come down Shea road.  We get a post run photo, some chili, a couple of burgers (all free for participants) and I get to use an indoor bathroom, this was the highlight of my race!!!

I wasn’t feeling tired at all and I didn’t feel my usual exhaustion when we got home.  Even my attempt to nap was futile, apparently there would be no napping for me!  Off to our friends 50^th birthday celebration and I have a couple of beers, some snacks, mostly healthy and then it’s 1 AM before I get to bed. Come Sunday morning, I cannot move my legs.  My quads feel like they have been sledge hammered to smitherines.  I could barely make it to the bathroom.  Since Marc is exhausted from the rum running the night before I take a muscle relaxant and head for the couch, where I lay for the entire day with the exception of hot tubbing it for one hour.  I even started longingly at my foam roller thinking of how painful yet useful it would be to roll my quads and hammies out on the floor. Somewhere in the day I realize I have to get organized for my swimming lesson on Monday, which schizza – that’s tomorrow.  Crap I hope I can walk by then!

Off goes the alarm at 5 am Monday morning, snooze, then 10 minutes later it goes off again.  I toy with the idea of not swimming and realize that is probably the worst idea ever.  Up I get and struggle down the stairs and out the door.  Legs aren’t as bad as yesterday and hopefully a swim will help out.  4X50 of kicking, ya that went slow.  I probably shouldn’t have used my legs today, I would have gotten further faster.  Oh well, I still love my lessons, because I am learning all kinds of things and am trying to correct my bad swimming habits, like relaxing my arm as soon as my figure tips hit the water.  I am learning about recovery while swimming, and DPS (I have a test in this next week) and the faster I get the lap done the more rest time I can have.

I now walk like a puppet on a string and anticipate that by Tuesday I should be okay to run again. Overall a good run and I will have to run more since I want to run a marathon in 2013 along with completing a few tris.  Now I just need to focus my eating habits and work on the recovery process. Sure hope that some of the stuff I am learning in swimming rubs off on me! And oh ya, remember to eat a butter tart before every race and all the right stuff I did before that too!

Come Monday!

Sunday this week involved going for a 15K run. Was feeling pretty under the weather most of the week and wondering if I had it in me to even get out there and do it. 

I stuck to the commitment I made and out with a running buddy.  We met and decided to start with a walk and run when the mood hit and would go as far as I could go, but had to remember that I had to turn around and go back to where I started.  My running buddy was great, in that she knew the neighbourhood and so looped us around.  We didn’t get our 15K in, but we did get in 10K in 1.5 hours.  Slow, yes however, not too shabby for a walk/run. With the chest feeling not as bad as I thought it would afterward.

Had a great cardio workout in the pool on Monday morning and off to work I go. I went for a short lunch walk and by short I mean around the block short!

I missed my evening walk with Mom to go see Mark Sutcliffe speak.  It was mostly about his book and the people he has met and why he runs. It was interesting.  He spoke of his fundraising, his experience, how he keeps track of everything – details back to his first race. I am looking forward to reading it.

So I am sweating this weekend’s ½ 9 run run. Not feeling ready, not sure I want to run actually. My friend says I will do it because I am so strong mentally. And she is right, I know I will do it, I will pick up the kit, I will show up for the race and I will complete it.  I will feel much better after I get it done. And when it is all done and over with, I will take a day or two and plan my next one. And why I know this will happen is because I asked myself why I run and the answer is complex(ish).....

I run because I like it

I run because I want to be fit

I run because I want to challenge myself

I run because it is cheap – well at least until I get to an Expo!

Mostly - I run because I can.

So I am feeling a bit more motivated, even though I know it will be a tough run. I have my music all selected and working to get my mind and body prepared to be in sync with each other, I will finish it. What is really keeping me committed to this run, I know that come Monday, I will be back in the pool and I will be focussing on training for my tri goals.

Why be excited about focussing on triathlons, well what ND said, once you get the tri bug you don’t want to do other things.  She is right, I want to focus on triathlons, not just running, I want to train hard for my triathlons. When I said I had to focus on doing a marathon first she chuckled and said, no you don’t, and you will train to run the distance when you train for your triathlons.  She is right, so that is what I am going to focus on come Monday!

What have I been doing these days?

Been a while.  Being busy always means something’s got to give – and it was my blog.  Going to try to catch up if I can.

We (my wonderful husband and I) trained for our 5K run in San Francisco.  The week before was a little chaotic. My mother-in-law came with us to San Fran.  The flight wasn’t too bad, broken up by a stop in Detroit and some drugs to sleep.

We drove to our apartment; it was nice once we got rid of the smelly sticks.  Grocery store was around the corner and we stayed close to GG Park and the Pacific Ocean.  We were in bed early enough for our run the next morning. Up early, in the car and out to navigate the streets of San Francisco.

Marc didn’t run the race and I did it in 36 and change.  I finished on Giant Stadium left field, got some photos and then headed out to see the city.  We stumbled onto a popular pancake house in Hayes Valley, conveniently with an Artisan market happening right outside.  It was delicious. The market had so many unique and different things.  Like a wood burning pizza truck, problem with that, I was so stuffed from the coconut banana pancakes.  Then there was the NFL game.  OMG 49ers fans are amazing.  Not like I have been to a ton of professional football games!  Loved the atmosphere, just not the freezing cold wind.  People openly drinking on the bus ride down and standing at the entrance gates chugging whatever they had left!

We walked a lot in San Fran, I got a run in down to the ocean (40 blocks there and back). What happened on this run, I did things people should never ever ever do.  A little old lady was putting out her garbage and stopped me to ask if I could help her with something in her basement.  Yes, indeed if I were reading this I would be thinking the same thing... So she takes me through her garage to the back of the house (a basement is the garage and storage area really) and asks me to help with the washer because it was unlevel. I say sure, and doesn’t all 4 feet nothing of her heave on the washer to lift it so I can slide the coasters underneath the leg.  This is when it dawns on me she could have a whackadoodle partner who would bash my head in.  So I slide it under, stand up and head out as quickly as possible.  All the time I am wondering what the heck was I thinking, I watch too many murder mysteries! She was really a nice little old lady.  And I set off down the street to finish my run to the ocean. I looked as I crossed the street and there was the tip of the bridge, next block a little more to my right and a little more of the bridge! Not a stitch of fog. It was a nice sight to see. 

When I turned around to head back to the apartment, I realized I went the wrong way at the start of the run.  I should have headed towards downtown.  My run back to the condo meant a 20 block run uphill!

We walked 1/3 of the Golden Gate Park, down Haight and beyond Ashbury and all the way back. I must admit the number of beggars was a little overwhelming on Haight, and they would smoke pot openly and congregate in packs begging for money.  I opted to ignore them, yet they were still annoying, mostly because of how young they were.  Awesome shopping there.

We hit up the aquarium in Monterey; it was spectacularness at its best for me.  I was in heaven in the aquarium. I was actually thinking of hiding in a closet somewhere so I could hang with the jellies and seahorses.  We hit up Pebble Beach, yet another spectacular sight.  The drive up the CA-1 was phenomenal, beautiful scenery, so peaceful.  The only thing missing from our trip to Monterey is that we were a few years too late to hook up with our American friends.

We walked around Alcatraz, then to Pier 39, hit up Ghirardelli, enjoyed chocolate and a hot caramel sundae in the soda shoppe. Walked the malls, around Sonoma, through downtown, along Embacardo, in through Chinatown, into little Italy, up Lombard to the crookedest street in America and back down. We walked all the way around the base of Coit Tower, ½ ways across the Golden Gate Bridge and back.  Yes indeed it was an action packed walking vacation.  I do have to go back, only to run the bridge and take the trolley car!

So if ever you find yourself in San Fran and want a good place to stay, check out the Duck’s Nest on VRBO.  It was not in the heart of downtown, so we saw a lot of the city via public transportation, we found a pub that was great to have a few bevies in.

One night we took the bus downtown and took a cab home.  We jumped in the Prius and off we went, seriously the dude was driving like he was a modern day cop on the “Streets of San Francisco”! I was a little afraid the car was going to bottom out.

Now that I am back home, I took the 3 pounds I put on off and am back to focussing on the running and training.

I had my first swimming lesson earlier this week.  I can swim; I have strong legs and pretty good technique.  I have been swimming for as long as I can remember.  I think my brother and I both were swimming before walking. Holy Freakoly, what a difference one lesson can make. Turn your feet, spread your fingers.  Loved the lesson, and I am hoping to really get my timing down pat. The coach was supportive, the other students were friendly. The sad part, we don’t meet for another week and a bit – thanks to the long weekend.

That being said..... This weekend is Thanksgiving.  I have so much to be grateful for.  Today my Mom made her lifetime goal at WW.  This is a huge feat for my mom.  She won’t have to pay any more.  I am grateful for being able to be there to share this with her.  I am thankful for my family for all the support they give to me through my training, whining, and ups and downs. I give thanks for all of my friends who understand that sometimes I am so wrapped up inside of myself that I forget to be as good of a friend as they are to me.  I am grateful that I have a job, a roof over my head, pets who love me unconditionally, my health and that my family is healthy and we are all happy together.

The next few weeks are promising for me as I gear up to run my ½ marathon with a friend from WW.  We will be running in the 9-run-run.  Check it out at 9runrun.ca.

Today I did 10K.  Slightly behind where I should be for the run, however, I will complete the ½ and that is what I am a completer not a competer. I will get some runs in this week – 3 times a day if I have to.

Treadmill and Terrain – a match made in heaven

Today was to be a long slow run.  I woke up feeling achy, tired and thinking about everything I had to get done.  I turned on the bbq, oiled up the tomatoes and tossed them on. Then I grab something to eat and figured I had one hour before I could head out for a run.  Then I chop the butternut squash for soup.  Then I try to focus on the run I really want to do.  I think about mapping it out and get distracted by something, probably the dog or cat.  I grab the tomatoes, puree the soup, which is a little runny so I add some more chunks of squash and watch the clock go by as I procrastinate running even more.  Finally, soup done, veggies chopped and I should get out on the road.  Nah, I am going to head down to the treadmill and run the 10K part of the Giant Race.

I haven’t set foot on my treadmill since before the snow melted so long ago.  I program the run in and get stared at 3 mph.  Feels kind of fast for me, but after a few minutes I up it to 4 then 4.5.  As I am running I have realized that I have been very slack in my outdoor running.  I am a slow poke.  Last time I was on the treadmill, I could run 6.0 mph fairly easily.  Now I am sucking wind at 4.5.  I won’t kid you I am saddened by this revelation.  No wonder I have packed on some poundage. I eventually crank it up to 5.0 and I know I won’t be able to carry a conversation with anyone if I keep going at this pace.  I attempt 6.0, I last 60 seconds and think about bailing because I my need a bucket. Instead I slow myself down to 5.0 and finish my 40 minute run.

I do enjoy watching where I am running on my screen, I see the satellite, the google map and the street view.  I can also see the laps, my heart rate, calories etc..  I remember that I really do love this treadmill.  It tells me how slow or fast I am going, it follows the terrain of any route I program in.  I don’t have to worry about cyclists on the sidewalk, or rolling over on my ankles or what I look like.  The downfall, I have the attention span of a pea when I run inside. There is nothing to distract me.

I love running outside too.  It is more about being outdoors in the fresh air. The downfall, I find I spend a lot of time with my head down looking for cracks, holes and just where I am going.  That and I don’t like to be out of breath. But I am outside. So I  run with no idea what my pace or distance is.  I just listen away to the music and enjoy the time out on the road. Even in the rain, I enjoy being on the road!

Any how..... I made the realization that I really need the treadmill year round and not just in bad weather.  I like to run with as little stuff on my body as possible, from spandex to belts for water bottles to watches on my arms! The least amount of stuff on me the better.  Helps me with my speed! So my running schedule will be changed – Long Slow Distance for my running outdoor pleasure and will be one day a week.  The rest of the week I will be running on the t-mill.  I am not a competitor, I am a completer. However, I still want to lose weight, be healthier and yes beat a few of my PBs, and so yes indeed, I am competitive when it comes to my personal performance.

I will do my tempo and speed work indoors, I will do my LSR on Sunday outside and my hills will be outside as well.

Momma needs a new bike

So this past week was a little crazy, training for the Canadian and a long weekend.  So much to do.

Wednesday’s open water swim was a good eye opener for me.  It was tough and a clear indication that I really need to work on my swimming strokes.  Of course practice and training will help with that.  I was a little shocked when our coach said no heavy training Thursday or Friday.  20 minutes on Thursday and 10 on Friday – MAX. Good thing, turns out I was so swamped I barely had time to think!

Friday I pick up my “kit”.  This is my 4^th somersault event this year.  I really only want my bib and numbers, but I am told to take the whole bag.  I have all these papers, it’s a bit frustrating that I am wasting the paper that I am not going to even look at.  So I just take it, no point in fussing about it. Oh almost forgot – the hideous orange swim cap the women get to wear.  Really – that colour of swim cap should be banned. I know it is so you can see the swimmers in the murky waters of the Ottawa and Rideau Rivers, but still Orange.  Yucko – I have no swimming gear to match that!  Looks like I will stick with my purple one!

I don’t sleep well Friday night – I never do before a race.  That and the fact that I forgot to pop in my night guard.

Up early on Saturday, I want to go for a pre-race run, but remember what Geordie said – save your energy for your race.  I have a peanut butter honey bagel and a glass of milk for my meal wait for my hubby.  Meanwhile, I think long and hard about how long each leg should take me, how long I really want to be and how to swim well in the weeds.

I am nervous, as per the usual pre-race jitters.  I get into the water for a warm-up swim, however I am trying to not get caught up in the weeds.  I decide that laying on my back and avoiding the weeds is a good enough warm up for me since my arms are on the move non-stop.  The water just feels gross! I hit so many weed doing the crawl I opt for the breast stroke.  I may freak out if I keep getting loaded with weeds.

As I exit the water, I see my husband, get my kiss and my shoes, I was going to put them on and decide I want a good transition time so I won’t bother.  I come up the hill and there is the OTC tent and Geordie cheering me on (everyone really, but he shouts my name).  I am moving slowly, because I want to get my breathing under control.  I come around the corner to get to my bike, I know it is in row 13 but I can’t find it.  Panic sets in.  I know nobody took it, and it is here.  I take a minute to calm down and then I walk slowly eyeballing the row.  Takes a few minutes but I find it.  Calming myself down, I dry my feet, sock myself up, pull on my shorts and top then helmet and my water belt.  As I head out some guy is holding on to his bike having a conversation with someone and blocking the way.  I ask him to move his bike out of the way, he looks at me like I asked him to kill his buddy.  Really dude!

I grab a wafer figuring I should get energy while riding.  I even put electrolyte stuff in my water.  I run through to the start line for the bike and hop on the bike.  It’s a shorter than Brockville ride, closed road and much smoother.  I just seem to be very sluggish on this ride.  Almost like I am moving in slow motion.  Since I was moving at the turtle speed of mach -10, I finally figure out how the gears on this bike work and try to find my rhythm, by the time that all happens I am at the turnaround point.  Thankfully nobody cuts me off and I try to stay as close to the outside to avoid all the speedsters!

My arms got numb, my focus was out of whack, and it was like I was lollygagging my way through the bike ride.  Wow could I go any slower, yet my legs never seemed to stop moving.  I tried mimicking other riders pace and I just couldn’t get anything going.  As I approach the end I am thinking – Wow my bike skills are definitely lacking.  As I get to the dismount there’s my hubby again, cheering me on.  What a trooper that guy is.  He’s everywhere!

I run my bike back in, change shorts – yes I think I need to rethink my clothing options for triathlons.  I come out of the track and think I should stay right – that way I am not crossing paths with incoming runners, but no, I have to cross over to head out and those running in have to cross over.  Seems weird.  There I hear the OTC crew, cheering everyone on and bam, there’s my hubby again.  I feel drained.  Like the life has been sucked out of me.  I slow to grab a kiss from him and get a little more energy.

As I run, or walog as I prefer to call it, I think of what I need to do to improve.  First things first – swim, I need to work on that first.  That and I need to start training as well. Boy it’s hot, drink up I say.  Next thing I know, I have no juice left in my bottles.  Oh well, there should be a water station along the way.  And sure enough, just before the 1.5 turnaround there it is.  I actually had some Gatorade – I am not a Gatorade lover by any means, but it was helpful this time around.  I poured water all over my face and head and carried on.  I see the 1.5 turn around and think, hmmmmmm, should I.  Nah, it’s only yourself you are hurting by doing that.  I get through the first 2K and suddenly I feel some energy coming on and I pick up my pace a little.  And by little I mean little.  Then I start thinking about mantras and how I really ought to come up with one, other than “this is it, I hate this sh&^%t” although this mantra does add a little smile to me and lightens up my mood, because right after I think that I say, ya right.  You hate it so much you keep doing it!

I pass a few people who are heading back to the finish.  There’s that old timer from last year.  At least I think it was him. He smiles at me as says, don’t worry it only gets worse.  Great! I think there must be a huge hill coming up.  I hit the turn around and I pick up my pace. There was no hill in sight.  I get to the water station, swallow down some more Gatorade and along with a lot more water to wash it down and off I go.  There he is old timer.  He looks familiar from behind.  I am pretty sure he is the same guy I chatted with last year on the run when I did the Try a tri and he was telling me how much he loved doing these.  I spot my husband with the camera and I catch up to the 76 year old man.  I slow down and take the time to chat with him a bit and get hubby to take our picture.  I tell the man how awesome he is and he tells me to get going and not lose my time on him.  I promised to wait for him at the finish and head off. 

I round the bend and there again is my hubby, I get my final kiss before the finish and the OTC crew are cheering and one coach is yelling for us to get a room, I guess there’s not a lot of romance on the racing field!

I finish, not pretty but I finish and I beat my previous SS time by 13 minutes or so.  Pretty sure that this is because I didn’t come across any people drowning themselves in the water. I stand at the finish line waiting for the old timer.  He finishes, we hug and chit chat while having a post-race drink and snack.  He’s done nine of these.  I am stunned and amazed, thinking of how many I will have done by the time I am 76.  As we part ways he says – see you next year.  If only to see him race, I will go do it again next year!

I head to the OTC crew tent where Bacon Brent is and other OTC members.  I am wiped and ready for chocolate milk and a nice post-race meal.  We head out and all I can think of is how I am really looking forward to improving my swimming over the next eight months and how I really need to get a road bike.  More so now because we are off to deliver my daughter her bike (the one I have been using) so she can get to school over the next couple of weeks.

I start planning my training in my head and doing the numbers, I have two whole years to get to my goal, so I have to really kick it down.  The next eight months or so will be to focus on my swimming technique and speed.  I have to work on improving my cardio and my endurance for running.

Then I realize, I need to focus on running for the next month - I have a ½ marathon coming up in a month and a half.  Time to get my but into gear!

Sunday was a nice day, we raided my MIL garden and hung out and talked about our upcoming vacation.  By Monday, I want to run some more.  I head out to do a 7K lap and while exhausted and a little stiff, I am glad I got out there. I need to push myself harder than what I have been doing, only because I feel so much better after I do.

Great Moments in Life - all in five days

Wow what a whirlwind 5 days it has been!

Friday I went to a rugby alumni event.  Two of my former teammates were receiving their CAP for playing for Canada.  It was an awesome experience.  I was able to see some people who continue to be positive influences in life. It was like picking up where life left off years ago. I consumed no alcohol and only had one canapé.  I was surprised when people I had met very casually and hadn’t seen in years remembered me.  Some I didn’t think would ever remember me, and yet they did.

Saturday was a huge day for me.  I was up at the crack of dawn and instead of hanging out and waiting for time to pass, I jumped on the bike and took what I would call a safe ride (bike lanes only most of the way) and pass 30 minutes away, get home change and head out for my first OTC open water swim.  The city has “closed” the beaches and they aren’t testing the water, the water must be clean now! The kids aren’t peeing in the pool any more.  Geordie welcomes me and off we go.  A 60 metre warm up in the water and I feel good. We do a lap and coach tells me to not take air in as often as I normally do, keep my head in longer and deeper.  Then we have to breathe facing the shore, I suck up way too much water.  By now all I am thinking of is how much vodka or gin I am going to have to guzzle to clean my insides out! Wow that was a quick hour.

Off to TERP I go to volunteer and catch some international 7’s rugby.  Teams from the Caribbean and North America are representing here.  It was again like old home week.  Seeing so many of the lasses from years ago, some with their young’uns, some with their bellies ready to pop out a wee one.  Then I got to see Biff and we chatted about rugby, life and the comradary of belonging on a team.  Five more of the Ottawa Irish ladies were receiving their CAPs today.  It was a proud moment to remember playing with those gals and wearing the green and gold.  The memories of when I first started and how these women were so patient with me and the other new players.  Talking to the ladies and catching up was great.

When I was leaving the park for the day the Alumni organizer for the Canadian women was looking for her ride and her counterpart.  It looked like they missed their ride and I offered to drive them back to their accommodations.  In the car they get and off we go.  They speak of their day and the duties they were tasked with and I drive in silence because all that is going through my head is “Oh My God, I have an Olympic Gold Medalist sitting beside me in my car”. I jibber jabber a bit, drop them off and then call my hubby when I am out of earshot and tell him how excited I was that I was graced with the presence of an Olympic Gold Medalist.  This isn’t a rarity if you know this gal; she knows a ton of people and doesn’t forget anyone.  She represented Canada in rugby and in the bob sleigh.  How awesome is she.  She is not egotistical, she is humble, shy and overall just a really great person.  All of the women who were out there this weekend from the Canadian Alumni were fantastic.  I was most definitely star struck.  I was years ago when I first volunteered for RC and the women and I don’t think I will never not be!

Sunday was just as wonderful.  I was up early again.  I had a date with an online friend.  We were going to meet for the first time ever and go for a run.  Could have been a psycho for all I knew, but I was willing to take my chances. Turns out she wasn’t, she’s just a normal person like me.  Well I am sort of normal.  It was a great run; the heat wasn’t too insane just yet. 

Back out to the park for some more rugby.  Get to see some of the old coaches, Dick and Lads in particular, seems the sun grasshopper got Biff on Saturday and there was no way he was going to make it out I was told.  I spent some quality time with my daughter and niece while they work and I get to see some great rugby games.  Both the Women and the Men win their final matches to qualify for 7’s World Cup. It was a superb day.  I even scored two 24’s. Then the girls agreed to take them over to team Canada, the ladies had left so they dropped one of with the men who graciously accepted the beer and there was another team left in their tent, so off they go and the team agrees to take a case, but only if the girls will sit and have a shot. And what goes on tour stays on tour, so I will not write any more on that one, but the girls had a great time!

Monday was quasai quiet – I walked with mom.  I definitely miss walking all the time with my mom, we have some good giggles! I didn’t feel like I got enough of a workout in so I decided that I would bike home on Tuesday, since Wednesday was a swim day.

Tuesday, my wonderful hubby loads up the bike and drops me off at work.  All day I am trying to figure out my route home, whether or not I am going to carry my back pack, did I really want to do 17K in rush hour?  I had a pretty productive work day and when it came time to head out, out I went.  There were a few moments when I got a little freaked out, but not so much.  Overall a great ride.  So much so, that I added 4 or 5 extra K on to the ride.

I felt revived, rejuvenated and ready for a run when I got home.  I did not run, I got side tracked by the grand kitty and dog and then all the household duties I had been neglecting.

Wednesday brings me to my second swim so that I can get some more disgusting water in my system in preparation for Saturday’s Super Sprint Tri.  Should be interesting!

BTW – Bacon Brent is a great swimmer and a huge shout out to him for helping me find the courage and strength from within to get out on the open road again. I feel more confident with every ride.

To my husband, who granted me a weekend doing rugby stuff and other stuff while he hung out at home alone doing house stuff, I love you! You are the best!

Tradesies

Remember when you were a kid and you made deals with your friends to trade your STUFF with each other.  I would trade my pack of gum for a Barbie doll dress, or my eye of the tiger marble for a bouncy ball.  Sometimes the trade would go in my favour and most times not so much.  I would come home all proud of what I traded for, and my parents weren’t as happy and would make me go back and trade back for my originally traded item.  My friend’s parents were on the same wave length as mine.  Eventually I stopped trading because I always got my stuff back.

Well this journey is becoming a bit of an internal trade off for me. I can trade off the junk that I love to eat for exercise.  Instead of eating all the time for mindless, emotional reasons, I trade off to train for triathlons.  Really, I am trading one addiction for another.  But the trade-off is a healthier option. 

My friend Nicole once said me that once you start doing triathlons, will not want to do anything else.  She is 100% correct.  The results and the exercise high you get from finishing far outweigh any of the setbacks I may have during the race. It has been three days since I finished my first ever Super Sprint Tri and I did say I wouldn’t do the one in Ottawa because it was in Mooney’s Bay, and well it has been closed for E.coli.  It was one thing holding me back, that and the memory of last year’s fight with the weeds in the water.

So this morning on the ride in with Marc, we talked about me doing the Super Sprint on the long weekend, the grossness of the water and he said – “well you did it last year and survived”.  I don’t think he realized he sealed the deal for me right there.  This means I need to train for the next two weeks.  I can’t miss my open water swim this Saturday morning. I have to get out and run and of course the dreaded bike ride. The good thing is that this bike ride is 15K and is a closed road.  I can live with that.  There is a new running route this year, so I may get out and try the route beforehand.

Sorry I get sidetracked.  So what I have done is traded my eating mindlessly for getting out there and training for better race results.  This will keep me motivated for my 9 run run 1/2 in October, and I will pick something to run in December and then Winterman in February and then something else for the Spring.

Overall I think the tradesies of my food addiction for endless training will pay off for me.  I have realized that reaching my goal is much easier going balls out than it would be to do the minimum and hope for the best.

This is one trade-off I know I can stick with.  I am pretty sure I don’t have any family members or friends who would want to tell me to go back and trade my unhealthy eating habits back.

Super Sprint or Super Bust

Woke up early this morning.  Never seem to sleep so well the night before a race.  I felt okay but know that I was going to sleep on the drive.  It was a sunny morning, with a little chill in the air. Somewhere along the 416 I ended up in the land of nod until we were about 5 minutes outside of Brockville.

My darling husband helped get the bike out of the vehicle, and down to the transition area we head.  I am feeling great.  Not rushed, not nervous.  Managed to see all the triathlon peeps, Jill, Richard and Kevin.  I get my kit and chip and I am good to go. Instead of hanging out in line for the porta potty we head over to the marina area and head to the water to watch the Olympic Race come out of the water. 

The entrance and exit is on a boat ramp, covered in slimy stuff.  In on my butt I go, and swim over to the buoy.  It looks far and maybe I start to feel a little pre race jitters in the water.  Next thing I know it is time to start.  I get a good pace, so much so I almost swam over my buddy Jill, when I saw a guy with his arms flailing and he was panicking.  I stopped to make sure he was okay and he wasn’t. I got him on his back and calmed down and a lifeguard came to get him to safety. About three strokes later, another guy starts to flail and so again I stop and he is doing the same thing.  Throwing both arms over his head while on his back, making him sink.  He kept saying he couldn’t do it.  I assumed it meant swim, you would think so no??? Got him calmed down, swam over to him and in his panic attack, he charlie horses my right quad.  When I told him he had to go to the boat to get out and that he wouldn’t finish the race, he tells me he is going to finish, just wants some help to the end of the swim.  Really!!! Seriously!! I left him on his own!

I finished out of the water 5 minutes later than I wanted.  As I walked through the transition area, I was so frustrated that I couldn’t get my wetsuit zipper down.  And off to the side is Marc, so he unzips me and off to my bike I go.  Funny how my hubby always shows up when I need some support and love!  All unzipped I get to the bike and ready to ride the dreaded bike ride!!!!  Was so wet, couldn’t get my socks on and my quad was killing me from the second swimmer.  So I head out barefoot in my running shoes, with my bike shorts and wet swim suit. Less than 200 metres into the ride, I hit a hill and remember what Brent said.  Stay in hard gear and drop down only when you can’t peddle.  Woo hoo I made it up the hill.  Thanks Brent, I owe you a bacon something or other for that coaching advice!

Then the road was no longer closed.  Open to local traffic.  This would mean cars were coming by and some at a nice clipping speed.  If there was a shoulder I could ride on I would, just to avoid the breeze from the cars.  Some were very respectful, others were not!  But that is what cyclists have to deal with regularly. There were quite a bit of downhills!  With every downhill there is an uphill in the return. Then the 2K of graded pavement, again, there is a turnaround so it’s going to be another 2K of graded pavement. That was the worst 4K or so of a pavement ride ever, made me think about packing it in, but then I didn't know how I was going to get back so bike on I did.  So glad I had my daughter’s hybrid bike.  So much vibration and jostling, it was a little painful on the shoulders, neck and gooch and it made me forget all about my leg pain! I passed nobody on the ride and I was okay with that, I just had to get through it.

Then I made it to the transition and carried on to the run.  It was a slow slow run.  Thankfully my hubby was there to cheer me on.  I was losing power so figured I should refuel with my little jellies.  Much better than Gu!  Around the 1.5K marker I was feeling better and picked up my pace a bit, but then the left calf started to cramp up and the right quad was not working too well. So I slowed down and kept jogging.  It was a beautiful run, great scenery, lots of shade.

A tradition that Marc and I have on any race is that just before I reach the end, he shows up and I get my finishing kiss.  It was a welcomed kiss and as an added bonus, Marc ran with me for about 100 metres then I finished the last 10 metres on my own.

I was glad it was done and over with.  I had not trained for this race, it was a spur of the moment that I decided to do with some coworkers.  Jill and Kevin both won gold in their divisions and Richard and I finished.  It wasn't a super bust, because I finished it and all the triathlon buddies were smiling at the end. I finished in my predicted time, so I am okay with the results and know I can do better.  And that is what drives me to want to do the next one on the September long weekend, yet I know that I need to focus on my running for the ½ marathon in October.

Decisions, decisions.  We shall see how I feel after a massage and 10K run this week!