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.