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.