Back to Training

I went out for a 11k run yesterday after being off for 2 weeks. I'm so glad to be able to get back to my training schedule. It just feels so strange to not be out for a run or a bike or a swim. It wasn't the best run I've ever done, but it was pretty solid. (and I was lucky enough to have the rain stop just before I headed out for the trail.) Although I'm feeling much better I was still coughing and choking up muck. Because of that I kept my run to 11k rather than the 20k I had planned and I chose to hold off one more day for Master swim club. I just don't want to set myself back.

I'm feeling a bit better about slow. I timed my run and it took me 75 min to complete the 11k which gives me an average of 6.8 to 7 min per km. So while this makes me less than speedy it's respectable enough and I think by next week as I start to feel even more healthy and recovered that this might even speed up a bit. Furthermore I know that I can keep up this pace over the full 21k so that's all right. I think as part of my training plan next season I will incorporate more speed work. (Not too much.) To date my focus has been almost exclusively on endurance work so I know that I can keep up a nice steady pace and go and go and go. Not super fast but I know that I could keep up that pace over a whole race. And this is true in the swim, bike and run. Well the swimming I actually have done intervals and worked some on speed. So I think considering that I only began seriously considering triathlon racing last year this is pretty good. I have told myself all along to not push so hard that I burn out or get injured because I would like to see myself continue training for Triathlons for years and years rather than it be just a one year or two year goal. Today I'm okay with slow and steady because in the end I will win my race in my heart and in my spirit and that's really what it's all about anyway.

Oh to be training again.

So it turns out flu has turned to bronchitis. This has been the biggest setback in my Training to date. Although I'm glad that it's not an injury because soon I will be well again and should suffer no long term chronic difficulties. I am really itching to get back to my training schedule. But I haven't just been sitting around on my duff feeling sorry for myself. (Okay I have done that at moments but not the whole day.) I've used the extra time to do some extra reading up on Triathlon training both in books/magazines/on line sites and other bloggers. I've also used the time to get extra rest so that in theory I should recover faster. I also have been doing some stretching to keep things limber.

It's not too much longer before I begin my taper for my half marathon. I plan that after the half marathon I will take kind of a training break. I'll keep going to my Masters swim club throughout Dec but I think I might keep the runs and bikes kind of low key. Dec is such a wonky month for me in terms of training. Christmas Parties and family visits throw everything off. Notice that I said I would keep things low key which does not give me a license to sit on the couch and indulge in irrational consumption of Christmas goodies. I also plan at the end of Nov to do some strength training, along with the spin classes. I really enjoy the spin classes that they have at the recreation center near my home. Then come January I will follow a 20 week training plan. I hope to race in the same Aqualathon as I did this year (1k swim/ 10k run), it's very local but it was fun and I just would like to see how my race time has improved as I'm certain even now only 6 months after that I would see a difference. That race is in April and then there is a Sprint that I'd like to do in May and possibly an Olympic in Aug or this could be a Sprint if I don't think I'm ready for the Olympic. My biggest fears about any race is always that I will be so horrifically slow that everyone else finishes long before I even come close to the finish line. Why that bothers me, I'm not sure. I guess no one wants to look foolish or embarrass themselves. It's funny that most people wouldn't even attempt any race so why I should think I look foolish when I'm at least out there...I don't know.

So I pray to the training gods that in the next few days I will be strong enough to do even some light training. I think if I'm not totally ready to run, I might at least go for a brisk walk. I'd just like to be out there, I really miss it.

On the Mend

Slowly I'm starting to feel better. This had been one doozy of a flu. My lungs are still very congested and I still can't really breathe out of my nose. I've had to sit out on two particularly beautiful days that would have been perfect for a ride. I hope to get back to my regular training schedule early next week. I'll have to play it by ear.

When you get really sick it's easy to doubt what you're doing. I started to wonder if I was crazy. Everything is relative. I've been hanging around more active people, others who train for marathons and triathlons, ironmans so when you talk about training hours, 10 hours of training a week can sound like nothing. Then this weekend I went out with friends of mine, they were asking me about what event was coming up and I told them about the Fall Classic half marathon that is in November. They almost fell over when I explained that I'd be running 21k. It doesn't seem like a biggee to me, I think about it, plan it, train it. worry about it but I know that I'll do it even if it's not that fast. They just couldn't believe it. When I talk to other average joe family's I realize that what I do is unusual. It's just a part of who I am now, it's incorporated into my regular day and into my regular being. I wouldn't want it any other way and I know I question myself sometimes...about whether I'm crazy or obsessive but when I think of the alternative...sitting around being a couch potato it's not that appealing so I bumble along with my training plans and strive to be the best me I can

NOooooooooo.... Sick Again

I can't stand this. I'm sick again. For the last year and a half my training has made me more resistant to flu bugs and viruses but in the last month I've been hit twice and been knocked back a peg or two. This time I seem to have some sort of flu/chest cold thingy. I've had a temperature and I feel like I'm coughing out both my lungs. It's hard to imagine at this point that I'm actually capable of running a half marathon when I can barely get up the stairs without passing out.

This has been very discouraging. I think I am going to have to take a very close look at my training schedule because this is ridiculous I hate being sick. The hard thing too is that it doesn't just affect my training it affects everything in my life. I've had to miss school. (My youngest was sick first.) I can hardly look after myself let alone my kids. My kids are pretty good though, they do what they can to help out and they haven't complained about having kraft dinner for supper.

Although just before I got super sick I went on the most amazing bike ride. I met this fella that had done several ironmans (Ironman Canada and ironman Florida) and he had invited me out for a ride with him. He was super patient with me as obviously I'm nowhere near as strong as he is. He showed me a cool place to ride and gave me all sorts of advice from how to train to good ways to stay warm on winter bike rides. I hope I get to go out for a ride with him again but I may have got more out of our ride than he did so perhaps I may not get to go with him again. It did make me realize that I really need to get out with a group more often. It was really nice riding with somebody else and it was such a fantastic day out.

Now if I can shake this flu....

More hoorah's for swim club

Had a great swim this morning. I really am enjoying the swim club. I know that I've said that one more than one occasion, I just can't help it. I guess I had been swimming on my own for awhile and it's just kind of cool to be hanging out with other people who are working towards the same thing. I also like that I get some stroke correction and the different drills alleviate some of the boredom. There's a real sense of accomplishment to get yourself up and out of the house at 4:45 in the morning and get in a swim and arrive back home before most people are even out of bed. I was quite pleased with myself this morning because I had a midterm exam today at 9:30 and I still went ahead and had my swim. At one time I would have been concerned that it would tire me out too much, both the getting up early as well as the hard swim. I actually found it quite invigorating and it helped with the anxiety level. (I always get all freaked out and worked up before an exam.)

Yesterday I did my scheduled run. The weather was overcast and about half way it started to rain. I was quite slow and my legs felt stiff but I did what I had planned so I guess that's good. Today I did my swim but I'm jamming on my bike, it's absolutely pouring and I could go to a spin class but I actually need to spend a bit more time studying for my second midterm. Ugh.

Other than school, my training and school I haven't done too much socially lately. I need to plan in some fun time because sometimes when I just put my head down and go go go I get lots accomplished but I get down and grumpy because everything is just so serious. I wish I had more friends that were active. I have too many sedentary friends. But even just getting out from time to time to eat good food and have a drink or two or just socialize with someone over the age of 12. I love my kids and I love doing stuff with them but it is nice to just talk about adult stuff sometimes. Ya know.

Blah, Blah, Blah

I am not in a good mood today. I'm tired and grumpy and I don't feel like doing much of anything. I don't want to study for my midterms, I don't want to clean my house, I don't want to grocery shop. It doesn't help that it is a gray pouring with rain type of day. What I would like to do is loaf around on the couch doing nothing...except maybe sleeping. But as a single Mom I can't afford that kind of luxury. Although I am planning to take a nap on the couch later this afternoon after I make lunch and get back from grocery shopping and putting my lil monkey down for her nap. Augh! I don't know if it's just that I'm a bit overtired from training or if it's just that sometimes my life is kind of tough. Wah wah me. Whatev.

Something funny did happen last night though. My daughter (the oldest one) and I went out on a Mother/daughter date. I got a sitter for lil monkey and my son was out with his Dad and step Mom. The plan was to go shopping, go for dinner and then see a movie. The shopping was fun, we bought some cute boots for her and some girly nail stuff. Then we went for dinner. Unfortunately we picked a restaurant (near the theatre) that was soooo packed. We looked for a spot at the lounge and this what I thought was a nice couple invited us to sit with them. So we sat down and then a third gentleman sat down. Well it turned out that the woman and the third guy were a couple and the other fellow spent I guess was on his own. We ordered our dinner and drinks. (My daughter had a smoothie and I just had pop) but it was quite funny cus the single guy kept flirting with me and near the end of dinner he discreetly slipped me his phone number. Just seemed so funny to me to get picked up when I was out with my daughter. My daughter who is only 11 (almost 12 she would insist) thought it was quite humorous. Her comment as we left the restaurant to go to the movie was "Gee Mom I think that guy liked you." Ya think. This whole dating in your late thirties is just weird.

Attack of the Grumpy-Grumps

I had a very hard training week and by Friday I had a serious case of the grumpy-grumps. Honestly I was irritated with EVERYTHING. When you have 3 kids this is not a good scenario. I'm certain my kids wondered who had taken over Mommy because it took all my willpower to not yell my head off. I even allowed myself to just flop and watch t.v. for most of the evening. I did make something for dinner but it didn't require much more than open, place in oven, serve. I just was so not into making anything more complicated than that.

I did really enjoy my Master's swimming. I find it challenging and interesting and I'm learning a lot right now. Hopefully in the next few weeks my body will be more adjusted to this challenging early morning swim. I like that I have been able to stick to my training plan but I've obviously pushed it slightly more than I'm able to handle. I did get adequate rest and after today (I'm going to do an easy recovery swim today) I have a rest day.

So Far an Amazing Week!

Yesterday I ran a full 22k, 1k more than the 1/2 Marathon. But I did it! So now I know that I can for sure. Now admittedly it was not a fast 22k but it took me 2hr and 25 min. However, I still have 2 months to improve on this time and this is the first time (in many years anyway) that I have completed this distance. I was quite pleased with myself for running for over 2 hrs and I even chose a new running route. (I'm not always very adventuresome.)

Then this morning I had a most excellent swim session with Hyack Master Swim Club. I got some stroke correction which I think will help with the reoccurring shoulder impingement that I get. I just felt so great, I felt strong and capable of finishing the drills. I still wasn't really that fast but I guess it's somewhat relative to who you are swimming with because one fellow kept telling me and another women how we were just smoking ahead. Anyway I really enjoyed my swim this morning and I still managed to get out for a quick bike ride this afternoon.

When I was leaving for my bike ride, my ex husband arrived to pick up my two oldest kids and he looked quite bemused at the sight of me in full bike workout gear. He wondered what I was doing although I've mentioned to him before my intention to race in a Triathlon. And you would think that me pushing my bike made it kind of obvious. But what I found even funnier is that when I told him I was going for a bike ride he looked almost horrified and wondered why the heck I might want to do that. As I pushed off and pedaled away I noticed that he was climbing back into his truck with his jumbo pack of Mike and Ikes. It's funny when we were married it infuriated me that he could stuff his face with fast food and sweets and pop and he was always so skinny but I would of course gain weight even eating a half of what he did. Well it's caught up with him now. He is starting to get a gut that rivals some of my past pregnancies.

I don't need to go into a huge ex-bashing session (even if he deserves it.) but it's scary because he's not the only one. So many of my friends and colleagues see their fitness levels drop lower and lower and their weight creep higher and higher and at some point they just give up they think that there is no hope, so why bother. It's true I will never look like an 18 year old and I am not always happy about my post-pregnancy body despite my fitness level but I know that I am working toward the most healthy me possible.

Some slight changes to pace...and figure.

Back to training after a few days off. I actually felt pretty good. I did an excellent run yesterday. Granted it was only a 45 min run but I felt like I could have gone longer but wanted to keep it short since I still seem very tired from my illness. I also kept a faster pace. I allready have been concentrating on maintaining a higher cadence on my bike and I think it's time to make at least one of my runs pace focused.



In the last year and a half of training I have always found it more difficult to increase my pace in any of my sports. At times I think it's my mind even more than my body. When I keep to a lower pace, lower heart reat ect I don't worry about wether I can finish my run, bike, swim. I know that I could keep on goin just like the energizer bunny. I don't even know why it's bugging me lately that I am so slow because I've honestly kept that out of my mind. I don't know if it's because I'm around more athletes lately and I'm a bit of a competitive personality or what.



The weather is definately begining to turn. It's colder, wetter and I had to pull out my longer run tights and long sleeve tops. It's so weird when the season changes and you put on clothes that you haven't worn in awhile. I was slightly pleased with the image that greeted me in the mirror. I seemed a little less bumpy, a little more trimmed down around the middle and overall a little more muscular. Boy I like that when I feel pleased about my figure and can focus on the assets instead of the liabilities. I actually noticed a strange thing about my favourite jeans too. In the thighs they are a bit looser but my butt....my word...I think it's bigger, not wider or anything just more muscular. I'm not sure how I feel about that. A muscular butt that rounds out instead of a flabby wide ass....well stated that way I'll take the muscular butt. I thought most of the major changes to my body were mostly over and only incremental changes were going to take place but obviously there is still room for further improvement. Cool. I suppose there's an upside to having allowed myself to get so out of shape, there's lots of opportunitty to experience positive change! Yeah me.

The Half Marathon is a GO

So I'm officially entered in my first half marathon on Nov 18th. Although now that I've actually entered I'm feeling a bit nervous especially since I've been sick this week and haven't done any training. Will I even be able to do it. I think that I can I've been running close to this distance in my Training for well over a month and it's still two months away. I can do it, I can do it! It always seems much scarier to me when it's something more official. If I said to myself that in training today I'm going to do 21 k I'd be alright then let's do it but when it's something officially timed and then posted for the world to see(As if anyone other than me will care much about my posted time!) it just seems a little scarier.

Well even if I had to walk the whole distance (which I know I won't) but it's an absolutely beautiful area of Vancouver to race in and although it will be chilly the trees will still be in full Autumn colours. Awesome!

Cures for a sore throat

So for the last four days I've been out of commission due to a sore throat.



This is how it went down. On Thursday at my swim I was feeling off but just figured I was a bit tired but Friday I woke up and felt like crap and my throat was sore. I thought I was getting a cold however by evening I was feeling worse. I could hardly swallow but it definitely was not a head cold. Saturday morning came and I wondered when the heck did I swallow this golf ball. Everything was so swollen I was finding that even my breathing was hampered. I went off to see the Doctor, who told me that it was probably just a virus I'd have to ride it out but she took a throat swab for good measure.



By Saturday afternoon I was miserable and the thought of another 4 to 5 days of this and missing my training had me pretty desperate. I started googling and found this cayenne pepper remedy on earth clinic. It basically consists of gargling with 1 cup of warm water and 1/8 a teaspoon of cayenne pepper. I usually don't try these home remedies but I as I said I was desperate. Strangely enough despite the icky taste it wasn't too bad and my throat started to feel slightly better, by bed time it was mildly sore but the golf ball had subsided. Sunday was a bit sore but it was getting better. On Monday the pain was pretty much gone but it would sting occasionally if I drank pop or if I sneezed. Then I got a call from the Doctor...it turns out that I had Strep throat and I should take antibiotics. Weird my throat is definitely feeling better and I haven't even taken the antibiotics.



If I get another sore throat I would definitely use this remedy again. Hopefully I will start some light training today.

Terry Fox: A humble hero

I wanted to take some time in my busy day to reflect on a man who has inspired and brought hope to a city, a nation...the world.

This weekend in Canada has become an important weekend to remember a truly remarkable man and his amazing dream to raise money for cancer research. The Terry Fox run has been held every year for 26 years. I grew up in the area near to where Terry Fox lived and was about 11 when he began his Marathon of Hope. I can remember the first time my whole school ran the Terry Fox Run. Now my own children ask to bring a "twoonie for Terry" on their Terry Fox run days.

When things are going really tough for me I often think about his determination and perseverance. What do you think he would have thought about in those hours as he pushed himself through a marathon a day? How did he overcome doubt, fear,...pain.

I train for my own fitness, for my own accomplishment. I often don't think much about how this may impact on those around me. I may not be training for cancer research or anything loftier than maintaining a healthy lifestyle. But here is something that I just recently become aware of. We touch and impact people around us all the time, when we are not even aware of it.

A few days ago a parent of one of my daughters friends told me that I had inspired her to change her lifestyle. She said that she changed her eating habits and has started walking everyday. She said that since I had made my health and physical fitness such a priority in my life when I had to overcome much more time constraints than her that she could see no reason why she shouldn't be able to do the same. The thing is that sometimes we set out to do things but it is our commitment to our values and goals, the little things that we do day in day out that says far more about us than just one race or one shining moment in the sun. It's the getting up early riding out in the dark, swimming across the cold water or running in the rain, its moving forward when we are unsure, scared beaten down.

Terry Fox didn't set out to move and inspire a nation all he wanted to do was inspire each of us to donate one dollar. He said that if everyone donated one dollar that 22 million would be raised for cancer research. Terry did many things besides raise money and awareness for cancer research. He showed that one man can do miracles, he showed that often it is our minds that limit what our bodies can do and finally he showed the world that believing in your dream is possible.

Where are my water wings

I made it through my first week of masters swim club. It's a humbling experience. I felt pretty strong in my swimming and although I knew that I would not be the fastest swimmer there, I find myself in the last lane...the SLOW swimmers lane. I'm not the slowest in that lane, in fact I'm the fastest and I could potentially move to the slightly faster slow lane but then I would definitely be the slowest. Not that it's a big deal but I hate feeling to pressured to keep up so it's better for me to be in the slower lane.

It is definitely a challenge. The practise itself starts a 5:30 and ends at 7. This is at least a half hour longer than I'm used to plus the pace is faster. I like the different drills that we do and the other swimmers have been super friendly and welcoming. Yesterday I caught crap from the coach for not following the intervals properly. (I was trying but I was getting all confused and tired out) although at first he thought I was a swimmer from last year he didn't realize that it was only my second swim with them. I felt a bit sheepish but I can only try to do my best. It seems hard to believe that I will get any faster. I know that may sound a bit weird but I feel like I will be perpetually slower.

I also found that between the early start and the extra swimming this week I was pretty tired by 6 in the evening and a pretty major grump. My shoulders, triceps and biceps are all mildly sore but in a good way. Although on Wed I did my planned run but cut my long bike that day because my shin on my right side seized up. I was hobbling all over campus so instead of a bike I opted for ice, advil and a nap. I think I may be able to bike on Sat instead. The pain had disappeared by the following day so I don't know what was going on with that. I wondered if some of the kick drills may have aggravated something. (I've never done kick drills before.) I'll know if it's truly gone today because I have a brick workout planned.

And a little aside to my training. My daughters daycare is officially on strike as of Monday. Talk about suck. I'm not quite sure what I'll do but next week is a recovery week and I just cross my fingers that the strike won't drag on too long. It will have a huge impact on my school and on my training.

Masters Swim Club Starts

I have a great training week planned and I am looking forward to it even though I know that I will be tired out by the weekend. I plan on a long endurance run today. ( This semester I don't have any classes on Mon.) Tues will be swim and a shorter higher cadence ride, Wed Long endurance bike and a short morning run, thurs morning swim and Fri Brick work out Sat a recovery swim.



The biggest change in this week's routine is that Tues will be my first swim with the Hyack Masters Swim Club. I'm excited and freaked out all at the same time. My biggest fear is that I won't be able to keep up and I'll be in everyone's way. My second fear is that it will be so hard that I'll come home too exhausted and not be interested in going anymore. I'll have to be up very early to be ready on deck for 5:15 ish. Yikes, I'm an early riser but the thought of being up at 4:30 am does sound a bit daunting. 5:00 is pretty standard for me but moving to 4 just sounds stupid early. Nevertheless it still seems interesting to me.



I'm also still getting used to the new bike but it's coming along and I really like riding it. I'm hoping in the next few weeks to purchase new clipless pedals and shoes. This should make a difference to my riding as well, or at least I think it will. The only reason I'm waiting is more of a time issue than anything else. On top of my training I'm really trying to discipline myself to work on my schoolwork daily/nightly. I left way to much to the last minute last semester and it stressed me out WAY too much and I think my marks were lower as a result. When I'm not trying as hard I tend to come in at about a c plus B level but I know that I could do better. It's only been a week but so far so good. I'm feeling much more energetic than I did over the summer so I think that helps too.

On fitting Training into my life

I've had a few comments recently about how it must be hard to fit in training when I'm a single Mom with 3 kids. Truth be told it is hard sometimes. If someone had told me in April of 2006 that I would be working out 6 times a week and often twice in one day I would of said SHUT UP! There's no way and given at least one if not more of the following excuses

1. I'm too busy to fit in exercise.


2. I'm way too tired to go for a run and if I expend more energy how will I ever make it through the day I'm barely getting through now.


3. I have kids so I can't schedule time in and besides all that running after them must be giving me a bit of a workout.


4. Get up early to exercise ha ha very funny.


5. Get a babysitter while I go for a swim are you paying...cus I have no moola


6. Yeah I was in shape in my teens but I'll never get back to that level of fitness so why bother starting.

But one day I just got fed up of the excuses and feeling crappy both physically and mentally and I started running, four months later I started swimming and I tried out some spin classes at the local rec center. While there I met a man in his 50's who is an Iron Man and his level of fitness just blew me away. Someone on hearing that I was running and swimming jokingly said soon you'll be doing triathlons. And that little comment started me thinking why not? why couldn't I? And thus it started and at first just training once a day 4 to 5 times a week was challenging.

In many ways the training was gradual so that over time I never realized that what I was doing was hard to accomplish (both from a time perspective and physically) I get pretty creative to fit it all in. Mornings work the best because my family is still asleep and my oldest daughter is on alert in case anyone else wakes up such as my little monkey. I also often fit in a training session in the afternoon before the troop arrive home from school. This time works great because I don't need a babysitter and mentally it's my low point so I find it almost impossible to study at this time so heading out for a bike or a run re energizes me. Occasionally I resort to the evening to work out but this is a more difficult time because I have to pay a sitter and more often than not my family needs me for taxi service /confidante / maid / laundry service / cook/ tutour / entertainmnet director. The weekends are also a bit harder to fit in training but I have started to get a sitter on the weekends that my daughter is not around. (I actually pay my daughter when she does it also because it's so often it didn't seem fair to make her watch the other two without some sort of compensation.)

An interesting observation is that I am now willing to get up at any hour to fit in my work out, and I'm willing to pay a sitter to train but hesitate to pay for a sitter when it's just a social event. Training like this while I'm a student has also taught me some valuable lessons in time planning, priority setting and organization. In order to fit two workouts in especially an early morning one, I must get everything ready for the next day. This means all my stuff for the workout, breakfast, lunch, school stuff, clothes for the day as well as all clothes for my daughter and snacks for all kids.

Like many others I have a planned out my training plan and I review this at the beginning of the week. Then I visualize how the week might work out, Tweak it a bit depending on factors such as

1. how am I feeling (Am I sick, over trained?)
2. what are my children's needs. (Is anyone else sick, overtired, have upcoming events?)
3. Any venue changes needed due to weather, equipment failure, facility closures.
4. Anything else that might need my attention. (Housework that I've avoided for one to many days or a school project that will take up more of my time.)

This system seems to work for me. I think sometimes though it's come down to sheer stubbornness or in more positive terms determination. I have come to a point that I do whatever I need to do to fit in my training while balancing other important parts of my life. Another thing going for me is that I'm somewhat paranoid about getting injured from over training so I' m pretty self vigilant. When I start to notice something wrong I pay attention whether it means extra stretching, extra strengthening, a doctor or physio's visit, rest. Eventually stuff happens I think everyone will happen upon some type of injury but my hope is that I will address it before it gets worse. I have already had to deal with impingement in my shoulder and still have to really watch it but physio and stretching really helped.

I do feel a certain amount of pride in the training that I accomplish and I'm sure that when I start to do some races that it will translate there as well. I feel very fortunate that I am able to do the training that I do. I'm glad that I took the first steps to improve my health and physical fitness. On the days that I don't feel so motivated I tell myself just go out for a bit because at least your doing something and on the days I'm slow I say at least I'm out here, it's more than I can say for many of men and women in my age bracket.

I got my new bike!

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah. And here it is...

I'm trying to decide whether I should rename it. My Mom has always called it the "marinoni" which isn't terribly original but somehow I feel disloyal changing the name to anything else. If I think of something more fitting maybe I'll change it otherwise marinoni it is. I am super excited about getting out to ride. I hope the weather will be alright.

I also spent several hours with my Dad learning how to change the tires. Thanks Dad. Also as part of my birthday gift my parents bought new tires. I don't really know much about tired but my Dad tells me they are good tires and something about kevlar. I don't know it sounded impressive. It's amazing how much you learn though. I'm sure before long I will be spouting off info about this tire or that tire.

My new semester starts tomorrow. Man I just barely finished the last semester. I also found out that the Masters Swim club that I want to join starts next Tues on Sept 11. I'm super psyched but I'm kinda nervous too. I worry about whether I can keep up, and if it's too hard will I hate it? They told me that I can come for the first week to try it out before I commit to registering for the year.

The funny things is that I find the smell of the pool almost comforting, even a bit nostalgic. Sounds strange I know but I think it's because for several years through childhood and early teens I swam with a competitive swim club. You spend alot of time in that pool when you are a competitive swimmer. I can remember during peak season having practices every afternoon and a early morning practise twice a week. Of course there were the swim meets on weekends to. I have good memories of my time with the swim club. But that was a long time ago over 20 years ago. Eww I don't like the sound of that out loud.

Anyway lots of new things on the horizon.

Run, Swim, Run, Swim...

I am now completely reconciled to the fact that I'm not biking this week and I won't be swimming much next week. Instead of allowing myself to get too bent out of shape about it I'm trying to use the time each week to focus on the other two sports.

The interesting thing that I have observed is that I feel much stronger in both my swimming and my running this week. I've been able to keep up a faster pace and my swimming intervals have felt so good. Next week I'll be able to bike again and on a new bike, yeah I'm SOOOOOO excited. With all the pool closures I have decided to do an extra swim this weekend and then when the pools reopen the following weekend I'll fit in a swim then. So in the end I'll only be off swimming for 5 days. It's all good.

The only thing that has really started to worry me is that I've had this nagging pain/tightness in my left knee. It's not exactly my knee, it's on the inside towards the back sort of hamstring and in fact when I stretch my hamstring I can really feel it. I've been really focusing on regular stretching in the last week both after my work outs and in the evening while I'm sitting around watching tv. It's so easy for those stretching sessions to fall off the schedule. I know I sometimes get kind of lax about stretching when I get back from running or biking. I'm always good about stretching my upper body during and after my swim because if I don't my shoulder almost always acts up. I'm sure that this knee pain is related to tight muscles (probably hamstring) I've been so busy with the kids and the end of my semester I just haven't had any time to get in to physio. Although I'm sure that I'll get the third degree for not stretching properly. They are really awesome though, They deal with a lot of sports injuries because they are at the University and all the collegiate teams come to them. Hopefully next week or so I can get in. My kids will be back to school and my little monkey will be at daycare. (If they don't end up on a darn labour strike.)

The World is out to Thwart me

So my bike tire is still flat and I figured no problem I'll just leave it until my Dad comes on the weekend and teaches me how to change a flat in the meantime I'll go to a couple of spin class. But when I called to reserve my spot they've closed for the week for maintenance. Great. So I'm trying to figure out how to change my flat myself but so far I haven't even had a chance to look at it yet. I really don't want to go a whole week without riding, it's really annoying me especially when I feel like my body is totally primed for a hard training week.

Then I found out that most of the pools around the area. (Even the ones farther afield) are closed for you guessed it maintenance. AUGH! Although I swam in a pool that I haven't gone to for a long long time and they will only be close for a week while most of the others are closed for most of Sept. I forgot how much I loved this pool and on the plus side this will be where I will be joining a Masters Swim Club. The only draw back is that it's a bit dark, being an older pool it was never designed with windows. All the newer pools in the area are light and airy in design but this pool is way better set up for lap swimming. It is where alot of the local swim competitions are held. Anyhow I will swim this week but now I will have to take the following week off from swimming because I have nowhere to swim. Too bad I'm not all that set up for open water swims right now. Ah well next year. I plan to buy a wet suit in the spring.

Well at least I can keep up all my running they can't close off all the roads for maintenance. I had an excellent run yesterday. It was my long run and went out for an hour and 50 min. Today I was very pleased with my swimming keeping up some fast intervals for about 45 min, Did 80 lengths. As mentioned above had planned to do a spin class this evening but now that it's closed I might use the tie to fix my freakin' tire.

I guess I should be happy that the pools and community centers keep everything well maintained but do they all have to pick the same week, the same month. I swear they've conspired together to annoy people like me that go day in day out from week to week. I'm sure most people barely notice the closures. Maybe it's in the stars for me to take it slightly easier for the next week or two or at least focus on my runs.

NO Bike ride for you.

I've had no daycare for my youngest daughter for the last week and my two older kids have been away so scheduling training this week has been a bit tricky but nevertheless I still fit some time in. I had already planned this as a recovery week because I knew I would have less time available than usual. I had managed to secure a sitter for an a couple of hours every morning so I was extremely disappointed when I rolled out to the road and crack psssssst. Dang my first flat and I don't know how to change them properly yet. My Dad and I have planned to have him show me how to change tires next week when he brings me my new bike. Figures eh. At any rate I didn't have time to change the tire that morning so instead of the Brick workout I had planned, I did an extended run.

I am very good at planning my training and I generally stick to my plan. There are only a few things that derail my training, sometimes my kids, my schoolwork if I have a paper that I've fallen behind on, and illness or injury, and oh yeah really inclement weather like snow. In most of the cases other than illness or injury I am generally good at modifying my plan. Sometimes fitting in all the pieces of my training and balancing other life things reminds me of playing a game of Tetris. You have to fit all the pieces just so while all them are moving and sometimes it works perfectly falling all into a perfect line and at others it's a bit harry and other times you miss and it leaves a gap. (but you might get a chance to fill it later.) It's all pretty cool. Training for multi sport is the neatest experience and it has taught me to roll with things more. I also love that my determination level that has always been pretty good in other areas of my life is becoming more fully developed through the course of my training. There are days that I feel almost capable of anything.

what recovery week?

I had an AMAZING ride today. Okay granted it was supposed to be a rest/recovery week and I have up until today cut back my hours on Mon and Tues. I just felt so great and the weather was nice and I could smell the scent of flowers in the air. I didn't realize that I would travel quite as far as I had. I have to say Vancouver is a pretty good city to ride in, the streets are relatively bike friendly(cars are not as tolerant of cyclists but the streets are very nicely set up) I have started to explore different routes because I was getting very bored of circling around my neighbourhood and now that I can go out for 2 hours I can go lots of new places. As I was saying I ended up doing a 2 hour and 15 min ride. Although at 1 and 45 I knew I had probably overdone it a bit. My quads were burning and tired. Ooops.

In 12 days I get my new bike! Yipeee! My Dad is going to come over with it and we are going to set up the basement so that all three bikes can be hung up on the wall. I don't have tons of space so by hanging them it should work out quite well. It's pushed me into organize mode around here because I need to go through all my clutter down there (and all over the house really) and get ride of all the junk. I can't wait to get out on the road bike, I can imagine myself flying through my work out. Sometimes when I'm out on the Tank I feel pretty sl0w. I keep my cadence up but all too often I'm passed by some serious roadie on a tricked out lite speed bike. I console myself that it is not entirely my athletic ability to blame I am after all riding a pretty heavy mountain bike. Even my Brother who inherited a version of my Tank from my Dad is finding it difficult. In fact he has hardly gone out on his as he says not only is it heavy but the gearing isn't very smooth. So at least I have the perseverance to continue training even if I'm on a less than optimal bike.

In like a lion out like a lamb

Or is it more like out like a whimper...
Do you ever begin your week feeling like this:

Only to find the tail end of your week feeling like this:

Although the reason I had a week like this was removed from my training. I'm just finishing up the end of the semester. I'm trying to finish my undergrad Arts degree with a major in English Lit. I'm hoping to move on into the teaching program and eventually teach. Some days I think I'm just going crazy. Why am I doing this to myself. Oh yes it was a personal goal of mine to finish my University degree that I left when I was 19. I want a better life for myself and I want to set a good example to my kids. (To follow your dreams and to work hard towards something that you've chosen to do.) But I swear some days I just want to pack it in some days I just want to scream out "MY LIFE SUCKS" but instead I go out for a run or bike. (OR both) and it helps. So yes I Barely squeezed through this semester and quite honestly I'm not sure how I got the marks I did. As a mature student I see more and more (particularly in the arts and humanities courses) how subjective the marking system in this particular University is. I don't remember feeling that way when I was in first year at age 19 but at 37 with life experience you can see that everything (well practically everything) is negotiable and the Prof's they're on your side. I wish I had this kind of wisdom when I went to University the first time. Oh well. I'm just so glad this semester is over. I've been going to University non stop for 5 semesters and after this 6th semester it will have been a year and a half with only a two week break in between semesters. It's not easy going to school and raising 3 kids on your own. My two older kids see their Dad every other weekend and have gone away with him for several weeks this summer but my youngest doesn't have contact with her Dad (maybe I'll tell the story another time.) so I don't really get a break from her.) Next summer I plan to take a break which means I'll get a brain break but because I plan to NOT work I will have almost zippo in the money dept. The good thing is that I'm heading into my third year and after my break I'l be 4th yearish with only the PDP teaching semester left. I can do it, I can do it!

H2Ohno!

Everyone knows how important it is to drink enough water everyday. Heck you're bombarded with this information from as early as 10 years old. ( according to a very unscientific poll done on my kids and their friends. age range from 9-12) The magic number we're told is 8 cups a day. And of course you should have more if you're exercising. Some articles that I have read suggest the following formula to determine hos much water you should be drinking.

body weight in pounds /3 = number of ounces of water needed.

For me that works out to approximately 4 to 5 cups of water a day. Oh yeah but I still have to add in extra for my work outs so I'm back to at least 8 cups give or take. I think I read in a Triathlon magazine that if you weigh yourself before your work out and again after, and ensure that you don't eat or drink anything or go to the bathroom you could determine how many pounds of water you've lost through sweat. I don't know but that just seems like a bit too much work for me when I know that in the end it just means. REPLACE YOUR FLUIDS DAMN IT.

Then we get to the question of electrolyte replacement. I have been notoriously stubborn around some of these issues. You see I started out with Triathlon to loose weight, why would I add extra calories to my diet if I didn't need to. Water the ultimate low calorie bev. (okay sometimes I had to flavour it with crystal lite or something cus 8 glasses gets a bit tasteless.) When I started out this was a perfectly viable option. I was only working out once a day for maybe 20 to 30 min. Well that's just simply not the case anymore. Now any seasoned triathlete is probably scoffing at my folly by now. But hey it's only taken me a year to figure it out and really it's only been the last 2 to 3 months that I've been dragging my behind through the last half of my training session.

So I committed myself to try out a few energy drinks and see whether this made a difference or not. Big surprise. Of course it did, still a bit tired from a good work out but that weary achy bone deep tired lifted. Maybe it's not much of a revelation to anyone but truly it did make a difference to my work outs. I don't know why I get so stubborn about stuff like that. I'm always very sceptical about "performance enhancing products." Some things can be so gimmicky and way over marketed but truly I'm convinced.

I had to buy a hydration belt for my running to accommodate the energy drinking. I still find them overly sweet especially on a run and I admittedly diluted them a bit. The hydration belt was the hardest thing to get used to. I hate being bogged down with too much gear or too much clothing when I run but this was a necessary nuisance. The first while when the bottle was full and heavy I just got so frustrated with the rhythmic jigga jigga while my feet went slap slap. I must have been quite a sight to behold the first day, pulling and adjusting and moving the belt around. I think I found the best set up now but truly after the first 20 min I barely noticed it and after 30 I had forgotten about it all together and as the bottle emptied the jigga jigga seemed to coincide nicely with the slap slap of my feet hitting the sidewalk. It was great to have liquids along with me and as I said above the electrolyte replacement really affected my workouts in a positive way. I know for a fact that when I did my long run on Monday I ran faster and a lot farther than I normally do in 90 minutes.

Protein and the Endurance Athlete (Wading through the sea of info)

Although this has been a recovery week I have found myself exhausted, on my runs my legs feel dead and on a bike I feel like my quads are complaining and protesting the whole way. By Thursday I began to wonder why this seems to be a reoccurring problem for me. I am convinced that it might be something about my diet.

When I changed my eating over a year ago I did a complete overhaul on my diet. At first I was really strict with myself. I cut all alcohol, cheese (still love), ice cream and increased my intake of fruit and especially veggies. I have been a vegetarian for over 8 years so I kept that in place. At the time I modified my calorie intake. Although I vaguely review it from time to time. I was more concerned with sticking to the plan and really didn't check to see if my plan needed modification. With that in mind I did some research to see if I needed to make some changes.

That sounds pretty easy and straight forward but IT'S NOT!! There is so much confusing, conflicting and misleading information out there about nutrition for athletes. My first investigation was to check out the whole protein thang. For 8 years I've had people pestering me with the standard question "but how do you get enough protein in your diet?" I always believed that if you ate a variety of foods that most people even vegetarians would get enough protein. I cook lots of bean dishes and occasionally eat fish and I do drink milk,(sometimes soy) and somehow over the years I've come to love tofu. But still maybe with 2 workouts a day with most workouts averaging at least an hour (and inching upward) perhaps that was the culprit of this crappy feeling.

The difficulty with the protein question is that it's hard to get a straight answer to how much protein does an endurance athlete need? Here's what I've been able to determine.

RDA) says: .8 grams of protein for every 1 kilogram body weight. This number is more for sedentary adults but if you are an endurance athlete it increases so that you are looking at a range from .8-1.8. To calculate your daily needs take your weight in pounds divided by 2.2. Take that number and multiply it by .8 (or higher if you are active like me.)

So for myself I am 130 pounds or thereabouts.
130/2.2= 59.09
59.09 x 1.6= 94.54

Meaning that I need 94.5 grams of protein per day. At this point all my knowledge about vegetarian eating went out the window. Auck 94 grams, there's no way I'm gettin that much per day. I ran out and in this vulnerable state I'm sad to say that I allowed a salesperson to convince me that I absolutely needed to be taking a protein supplement in the form of a protein isolate powder. I came home and still didn't feel particularly convinced that I should be taking this supplement twice per day. (at 25g of protein and 110 cal per scoop)

Did some further checking on various medical/nutrition sites and vegetarian web sites. And of course rediscovered that yes as a vegetarian it can be tricky to get the right amount of protein especially form as a complete source but it is not impossible and here's why.

1. Meat and other alternatives like an egg, a 1/2 cup of beans or lentils, 1 oz of fish, have 7 grams.
2. Milk products including 1 oz cheese and 1 cup yogurt and 1 cup of milk have 8 g
3. Whole Wheat Grains like 1 slice of bread, 1/2 cup of pasta have 6-8grams

Don't forget that soy has 7g per cup and tofu has 13g per 1/4 of a block and nuts like sunflower seeds or almonds (I add them to my oatmeal in the morning) are 6 g per 1/4 cup.

While this is hardly an exhaustive list it was enough to convince me that while I may at times be low in protein, it would not take much to ensure adequate protein intake. Of course now I have this big tub of protein powder, which I guess I will add a scoop to my fruit smoothie but I doubt that I will fuss about using it 2 to 3 times a day like the salesperson suggested. I did discover Luna and Clif bars which I think might be another option to assist in meeting daily requirements.

I think the main thing is that I would never want to become a slave to any one product be it protein powder or even tofu. I like variety because after I work out so hard each day I want to be able to enjoy what I'm eating. Yes the focus is to fuel the body but it doesn't have to taste like cardboard. Honestly I don't think I could stick to a plan if it I wasn't enjoying eating it. I like eating healthy and I often experiment with different ethnic dishes.

So if protein wasn't the main problem what else could it be. Now that I think about it here's some things that I think I will review hydration: general and during and post exercise. I also noticed during my protein info search that I may be limiting or restricting my calorie intake too much. (maybe, although I did gain weight a few weeks back so what gives!) Stay tuned.

Encouraging an active lifestyle

I am so excited for my son, my parents bought him a good quality Mountain Bike. I could never have afforded what they bought for him. My son (who is 9) was so excited about picking up this bike. While we were at Caps bike store picking up his new pick, I also bought him a new helmet and cycling gloves. We even got to go for a ride together when we arrived home. I loved going out and riding with my son. It wasn't exactly a training ride for me since we only went out for about 20 min and I had to keep a slower pace so that my son wouldn't feel frustrated in trying to keep up. I really really hope that we will be able to cycle together often, it's such a great way to spend time together. Both my older kids play soccer and baseball but I really enjoy actually doing stuff together.

Then my little daughter she has been obsessed with Nature walks. We live at the base of Burnaby Mountain and there are lots of trails and green space within the vicinity. We just head out the door and off we go for a mini hike/ nature walk. On Saturday we went out for two hours and last night for an hour. I'm amazed that she can walk so far because she is only 3 years old. She really seems to love it and I love to be doing something active with her.

On a training note, I'm jammin out bad. This morning my alarm went off at 4:30 and I just could not get into getting up for a bike ride. I turned off the alarm and went back to sleep. Mind you I had a 20 year high school reunion on Saturday night and didn't arrive home until 2 in the morning so I think I'm still catching up on my sleep. I had already decided to cut out my swim today because I'm trying to finish up an essay for school and am worried that I will run out of time. Although yesterday I had that short ride with my son and I went for a 45 min easy run and after dinner went out for an hour "nature walk" with my daughter. So all in all I'm not just sitting around being a couch potato, I'm still active and I think that this counts as active recovery, doesn't it?

Rest Week

After pushing myself really hard for 3 weeks I'm taking a much deserved rest week. I often find the rest week really tough. Tough in that I wrestle with my thoughts throughout the week. I've always been taught to work hard toward your goals and quitters never win and winners never quit. I have to constantly remind myself that cutting back the km in my workouts is not "wimping out", that I HAVE to take these breaks for the purpose of resting my body so that it can train even harder in following weeks.

I also find myself chomping at the bit to start the next week of training. (with tougher longer work outs.) The one thing that really forces me to stay on track with my rest weeks are the fear of injury. You don't have to search for long in the endurance training communities to find someone sidelined because their over training has led to injury. I promised myself when I began this journey that I would take my time. It didn't matter if it took me 2 years of training before I felt read y to do a Triathlon. I feel that I've chosen a lifestyle that I want to follow long term. Rushing myself to enter a race before I'm ready could very well make it not enjoyable making. I guess I just feel that I'd rather be over ready than under.

Speaking of injury I am noticing my shoulder acting up a little bit. I think when I'm pushing hard during my intervals I must be doing something slightly off causing some impingement. I'm very careful with my stretching. I also have been noticing some complaints in my left knee. I'm not exactly sure what it is. It's actually more in the back of the knee or lower hamstring so again I've been carefully stretching which seems to have helped. And I think part of the problem may have been that it was time to buy knew runners. I really should have replaced them earlier. So I treated myself last week to a new pair of Nikes. I always love the feeling of a new pair of runners. If the nagging twinge persists I will need to get it looked at. I hate that you know you should but you don't want anyone telling you that you need to take several weeks off training. Yet in ignoring it you could be doing further damage making recovery even longer. So I think my recovery week is well timed.

Endurance Training from a Single Mother's Perspective

Training for anyone and and Parent is an exercise in planning and multi-tasking, but add to that life as a single Mom and Wow...there are days when I wonder what the heck I'm doing. It can be tricky to fit in my workouts and at times I feel bad that one of my support people in many ways is my eldest daughter. She is the one to watch the other two(mind you everyone is sleeping and don't wake up until after I get home!) when I get up at 5 to do my morning workouts and it is her that hears of the training breakthroughs or setbacks. What I like the best is being able to have one of the kids accompany me on a workout. I'm trying to get some better bikes for the oldest two so that they can come on bike rides with me. That would be So awesome. Even my youngest who is only 3, talks of coming riding with me when she gets "big". I hope so.

Some of the things that have been great about training for a Triathlon that have impacted me as a Parent are:

1. I'm much stronger than I used to be so I can goof around and rough house with my kids.
2. I can carry in loads of groceries all on my own without breaking a sweat
3. If I'm walking somewhere with my 3 yr old and we're in a hurry, I can piggy back her and jog. No Problem.
4. Even when the kids bring home various colds and flu's, I've hardly ever been sick. Maybe once in the last year.
5. I am focusing on good healthy eating and thus the kids rarely eat MacDonald's and we keep junk food down to a bare minimum.
6. My healthy lifestyle and focus on exercise is setting a good example for my children.
7. I've set goals and priorities and it helps to keep things balanced. (Another thing to role model too.)
8. When my 3 yr old runs off (and she's pretty fast) I can catch up to her without getting winded
9. If I needed to I could pick up any one of my kids. (I'm fairly petite at about 5'2")

A few of the drawbacks about Training for a Triathlon and the impacts on my Parenting:

1. Due to the training schedule (and the amount of athletic activities my children are involved in) we have limited family time. That's why I would like to get my kids out training with me.
2. After a long training day, I can be irritable and ill tempered...not a pretty picture when I as the only adult in a four person household is practically in melt down.

It would seem that the good things out way the drawbacks. I'm glad that I've chosen this kind of lifestyle. I think it's a positive one that is good for me and that has many benefits for the kids. I hope that maybe one day one of them might become as enthusiastic about Triathlons as I am. I could see it happening after all my Mom served as inspiration for me when she trained for a Marathon. (My Dad even ran a half marathon not that long ago.)

Dogs, Falls and Hills

This morning as I went out for my ride, I couldn't help feeling like a kid. Almost like I was sneaking away from everything to head out on an adventure. It was great.

Yesterday being Mon I went for early morning spin class and later went for 60 min run. Today I had a 80 min ride. It was my long ride for the week and I also incorporated hills. I was pleased at the effort I put in on the hills. The first is a steep but short hill and the second a long steady incline. I was also happy to be able to go down the hill without breaking the whole way. I'm still nervous about the speed and momentum on a down hill. I always freak out that I might fall. And I had on rookie moment where I was slowing to a stop and didn't get my feet out quickly enough and started to go down. I caught myself at the last moment and of course another (rather cute) cyclist was passing me on the opposite side. Way to look cool! Oh yeah and for the first time I experienced the adrenaline rush that occurs when a big dog comes bounding out barking at you. I let out a few expletives and the dog's owner apologized. More than likely it was just playing. Somehow playing with a dog that was nearly as big as my bike and with sharp teeth didn't appeal to me.

Later I will do a swim. Planning to do intervals. My two eldest are at camp this week and the youngest at daycare so it's a bit quieter around here so that I can train and study without a lot of interruption or distraction.

Am I addicted to training?

I was thinking about this question today because every time I think about racing it excites and terrifies me all at the same time. In the April I entered an aqualthon (1k swim and 10 k run) At that point I had been training for 7 months. The night before the race I didn't sleep well and although I forced myself to eat I really had zero appetite. By the time that the race started I was jittery and my stomach was in knots. I was so worked up that I was quite panicky for the first several laps and I didn't ever really settle into a comfortable pace. This surprised me as I am comfortable in the water and this was a pool swim not an open water swim. I did have an excellent run and for the next few days I was on a total high. About a month later I had an opportunity to race in an another aqualathon and at the last minute I jammed out. The thought of going through all that anxiety just before the race just did me in and I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Yet I LOVE training. I like pushing myself and challenging myself to go farther and harder. And then again I do want to race because I was so pumped AFTER the race and after the swim was really pleased with how strong I felt. When I do race again I think two things may be in order. First, some good positive self talk. Also I wonder if some deep breathing might help. I remember that I opted not to warm up beforehand either. I was worried that I would tire myself out doing laps before the race but upon reflection I think this may have helped with the nerves a bit.

Well the next race I plan to enter is the New Balance Fall Classic Half Marathon. I have approximately 3 months to prepare. I think it will be good for me because although I'm racing I'm very comfortable with running and I'm already confident that I would finish that distance. I thought it would help me build up some confidence to race more and hopefully alleviate some of the anxiety so that I can enjoy the moment.

I gained weight?

What the heck. I stepped on the scale yesterday to discover that over the last month or so I had gained 6 pounds. I've been eating well, training hard. Perhaps some is muscle but really I was not happy to have gained back 6. At one time it seemed pretty simple, now it just seems that there is a lot of conflicting info about calories and training. I might track my eating for a bit too, make sure I'm not sabotaging myself somewhere and just keep training. Hopefully that will make a diff. It's funny too cus I was feeling quite pleased that I was starting to get some ab definition. (Big deal after 3 pregnancies) Otherwise Training has gone well.

Summary:

T- 60 min ride and interval swim training. Dis 1250m Shorter swim than planned due to
irritable daughter syndrome. C is 11 and she often comes to swim lengths with me. Her
shoulder was sore (bball provincials on weekend previous) from pitching. She kept
piddling around getting in the way. I wasn't feeling as well myself.
W- morning spin class. eve 60 min run. Had to run in the pouring rain. It was pretty warm
though.
Th-Planned on a long swim, in the end only did 1500m swim. Went at a different time not
realizing that there was only 1 lane. Sooooo frustrating. I can deal with one recreational
breast stroker maybe even two. But then add a aqua runner and backstroker weaving all
over the lane and I just though this is dumb I can't deal with this anymore.
F- Brick workout consisting of 45 min bike and 30 min run. I really enjoyed my workout. I
actually went much faster than I usually do because I was pressed for time. I still
haven't experienced the tight legs that I've heard characterize a brick work out but I'm
not biking all that far and I'm somewhat forced to do a mini transition between bike and
run. I can't leave my bike out it would be stolen so I have to bring it in and then I switch
shoes and have a quick pee break then head out for a run.
S- Finally a good swim. total dis 2500m

Tank vs the Marinoni

I got to try out what will be my new bike yesterday. All I can say is wow. I'm not sure when my parents will get a chance to transfer the bike here, but it will sure make going back to the Tank so much harder. I went out for a 22k ride with my Mom. My Mom is amazing, she will be turning 60 in a year or so and she can kick some butt on that bike. She has been cycling for 10 years or so now but her fitness level overall is just awesome, never mind just for her age, her fitness level probably surpasses many people in my age bracket (late 30 early 40) My Dad'e fitness level is good too but I think over all my mom surpasses everyone in our family. I do have to say I'm hard on her heels though. I might not be at the same level on the bike but my swimming is good and I think my running might be a bit stronger. My parents are part of the reason I'm on my Triathlon journey now. When I was in high school my Mom trained and completed her first Marathon. It left a deep impression on me and I myself have always wanted to sometime during my life time complete a Marathon. Okay so in the meantime that has evolved to Triathlons but I think during the course of my Training I will run a Marathon. This year it will be a half Marathon.

Back to the ride, it was a fairly easy, quite flat and the cadence was only about 65 to 70. I forgot to bring my HRM with me but I'm certain it was in a fairly moderate zone. Mainly it was about getting used to using a racing/road bike over a mountain bike. I'm looking so forward to being able to train on it. I just hope that it won't be too long. Mind you the weather in Vancouver is so mild that it is possible to train outside all season round. It just would be nice to start training on the road bike will the weather is still so gorgeous.

This am did a 75min run. I was a bit tired on the hills and found my HR spiking so I had to slow and even walk in a few spots. I love being out on an early summer morning. Birds are singing and the sun is just coming up and there is hardly anyone around. (except other avid runners and cyclists.) It is so WOW. I almost feel sad when I get back and look forward to getting up for the next mornings workout. Being out on such a beautiful morning makes up for the rude awakening at 5 in the morning. Soon I might even have to get up a bit earlier if I'm planning longer rides and runs.

Week in Review- July 9-15

What a great training week. It was a bit of a challenge trying to fit everything in. My oldest kids are away which makes the house MUCH quieter but usually my oldest daughter babysits the other two in the early morning hours so that I can get a workout in. Even with the time constraint I was able to do two workouts almost everyday.
Mon- As mentioned previously I had a 12k run in the hot sun.
Tues- Went out on my bike for 60 min. Swim Total distance 1750 m. (Warm up, intervals,
cool down)
Wed- Bike for 60 min. Run (if you could call it that) 45 min, distance 7k
Thurs- Swim 2500m (Over distance)
Fri-Brick workout. 40 min bike 20 min run

Observations- I feel like such a rookie out on my bike. Over the winter most of my bike workouts consisted of aggressive spin classes. It's one thing to be strong on an indoor spin bike and quite another to be out on a "real" bike. Most of my bike rides this week were all about playing and getting used to gearing and ensuring that I'm not mashing my way around the city. Other than that it was awesome. I went out on all 3 rides at about 9 in the morning, I prefer being out at 5 in the morning but it still worked quited well. It's quite hilly around here so I have no choice but to begin hill training immediately.

Swimming was good this week. I'm really concentrating more on increasing my speed. I'm such a wimp when it comes to fast intervals. I can go and go for length after length when it's an easy over distance workout but I really have to psych myself up to do any speed work. I'm planning on joining the Master's swim club in my area in the fall. I'm certain that this will force me to work on speed. I also noticed some stiffness and soreness in my right shoulder. I had impingement difficulties last fall so I really have to watch my positioning and remember to stretch properly. Interesting that when I begin to work on speed that shoulder acts up. I'll have to watch that.

Running this week. It was a very hot week here in Vancouver and I thought I was impervious to it. My first run in the heat on Monday was fine so on Wed it didn't seem like such a big deal to head out at 1 in the afternoon. Not good. After 20 min or so I felt nauseous, especially in the direct sun. Part of my route was shaded so I continued to run when I was shaded but in the sun I was forced to slow to a walk. I really don't mind running in the heat but obviously this was a bit too much for me even with a hat and sunscreen and hydrating oneself. I also checked out a local run club. I'm already a member of a Tri club but I've never been able to go out on a training session with them because the time frames didn't work so well. This running club starts up in a two weeks and a core group of them are entering a half marathon in Nov. I would really like to do some training with others. I like training on my own, its very meditative but I think the social dynamic would be good for me and training in a group would help push me a bit more.

Today is my rest day. I find it hard to take a rest day sometimes but I keep reminding myself that it's really important to do so or I won't be able to keep up the level of training that I want to. I'm now roped into helping some of my neighbours paint and do some general upkeep around our neighbourhood. I have so much to do today wasn't sure if I wanted to spend 3 or 4 hours painting but it's hard to say no to my neighbour and friend.

Tomorrow I'm going biking with my Mom. My parents are avid cyclists, and train hard with HRM and cadence and the whole bit. I get to try out her old bike. She just got a brand new one. My mom and I are very similar in height so hopefully the bike will work for me. My Dad is going to help me make some adjustments so that it fits me properly. I know it's not as good as being fitted for a bike and ordering it in but I'm a student so my purchase of gear is pretty slow. I really have to scrimp and save to buy an item every 3 to 4 months. (especially bigger ticket items.) It's hard to pass up a free bike. I also plan to swim in their pool that day.

All in all I'm very happy with my week. I've been tired at times and some nights I went to bed shortly after my 3 year old daughter. I've also been very good with eating healthy and balanced. (and I remembered to take my iron!)

Hot Run

I had a great day. I went out for a 12 k run. I felt strong even on the hills. I was worried that I might find it rough today as I ran in the afternoon instead of the morning. I'm not as used to running in the hot afternoon sun either. It was totally fine though.

Last week I was really struggling with my workouts. Actually had been struggling for several weeks. My runs in particular were really rough. My legs were dead and heavy and no amount of willpower seemed able to push me past 7k. It was my Mom that reminded me that I'm very prone to anemia and I had been pretty lax about taking any iron supplements. After three days or four days of taking more iron low and behold my energy was back.

I'm pretty tired tonight though. 12k isn't the hardest or the furthest run I've been on but it has been a couple of weeks since I've done a long run. I plan to go for 15 k next week.
Off to bed.

First and Foremost

So here we are my first ever post in my first ever Blog. How did I get here? I guess it really all started when I could no longer claim that my pants were getting tight because they were shrinking in the dryer. The weight gain really snuck up on me. Somehow between 3 kids, a divorce and going back to University I had become sorely out of shape and could hardly climb one flight of stairs at the University without huffing and puffing. This was bad, REALLY BAD. I had always been really fit so in May 2006 I got fed up of feeling tired and out of shape, and I started running again. It wasn't far or for very long but I went and that was what was important.

In Aug 2006 I decided to start swimming. I was a competitive swimmer in my teens but those first few workouts were extremely humbling. I could hardly do more than a 100 yards at a time. Yikes. (Now I can do 2,500 yards)

In Sept I dusted off the hand me down mountain bike my Mom had given me and decided I wanted to train up to doing a Triathlon. Now this bike is hardly racing material. It's heavy and well it's just really heavy but it's better than no bike. Soon I will be able to upgrade and then I will feel more ready to race.

All in all I've seen huge changes over the year. In the beginning I only ran about 2 k and now on my overdistance days I run 18k. I already mentioned the swim and I had never cycled much before and now attend spin classes or hit the roads at 5:30 am. I've lost 25 lbs, I have so much more energy and I was only sick once this year. I also raced in an Aquathon (1k swim and a 10k run) and I even placed. Well there weren't that many woman racing but hey sometimes it's all about suiting up and showing up! I am planning to do a half marathon in Nov.

So that's it, my training up until now in a nutshell.