General Training Update

^Creative title eh?

Life has been ticking along.

Training post-marathon was very light, which was a nice mental and physical recharge. It was quite satisfying to include a bit of time to just go with the flow and do what my body felt and for the most part, I think I have recovered very well. Even my disgusting black toenail that looked like it might fall off in the days following the marathon has stayed put and seems to have re-bonded with my foot.

Because who doesn't love a good toe shot!
 

The only slow down to recovery has been a bit of a cold that struck me just in time for the Victoria Day long weekend. I spent about a week coughing up phlegm and slowly getting back to my normal healthy state. I suppose it was the best time for it though and am feeling really ready to jump back into things as training gets set to ramp back up again.

As for this past weekend, well, it was spent biking, cheering, and running.

On the biking front, Kirsten, Shane and I headed out for my longest ride so far this season. At just under 2hours, it wasn’t in fact that long of a ride, but it did include a decent amount of rain and a Malahat summit, so it wasn’t entirely easy. Once the rain stopped pelting down on us and I could see the roads through my sunglasses, it was actually pretty fun.

Side note: Shane and I have been watching a lot of cycling on TV lately, so most of our rides are punctuated with Shane “making a break” and me trying to (unsuccessfully) reel in the break. Sometimes I like to accuse him of being a doper (jokingly of course), because really, how else is it possible that he can climb hills so much better than me? On top of that, we spend a lot of time commentating our rides in our best excited British accents.

Chapeau Sir!

Favourite Giro Moment(s): Cav's awkward reception of podium kisses.
Looks so goofy and makes me smile every time I see it :)

As for cheering, well that happened at home in Shawnigan, and via text messaging with my folks in Ottawa.

This was the first year in many that I have not participated in the Shawnigan Triathlon. I waffled back and forth about entering in the weeks leading up to it, (as I always kind of like taking part in my “home race”) but when I came down with my cold the week before, I knew it wasn’t meant to be this year. So instead, we spent the morning cheering on one of Kirsten’s students as she participated in her very first tri as part of the BC High School Championships. It was a lot of fun and Jacqueline did awesome on her first go at swim-bike-run.



Jacqueline coming in for the big finish!

 

At the same time, my Dad was taking part in the Ottawa half marathon with his best buddy of 40-some-odd years, Jesper. I think we all (Kirsten, Shane, myself) wished we could have been there to cheer them on in person, but it was still fun getting updates from my Mom via text. I haven’t gotten the full scoop on how their race went yet, but I’m sure they had a blast doing it, and well, they got the best post-race snacks ever!

Jesper & Dad enjoying the most delicious post-race snacks ever ~ Beavertails!!!

After cheering all morning, Kirsten and I headed to Thetis with the intention of doing an 80-90min run on the Stewart Mountain race course. For the record, I have never run Stewart Mountain before and Kirsten has only done it once, so I tend to leave her in charge of the navigation. We have (unsuccessfully) attempted to find the course together before and well, Sunday turned out to be just that – another attempt.

We covered some big hills, some very rough single track (that were probably actually just deer trails), got a bit lost and had a lot of fun (for the most part) and yet we still did not get to the top of Stewart Mountain. I think it frustrates Kirsten more than me that we are so navigationally challenged, but one day, I would like to actually find the route and get to the top of Stewart Mountain too. Anyway, we ended up being out in the bush just shy of 2hrs, and by the end, my legs were beat! (in a good way of course).

Looking ahead to this weekend, well, guess what is on the agenda? Hills. Trails. Very Hilly Trails! 
Friday is repeats. Saturday is supposed to be VERY hilly, while Sunday is also supposed to be hilly, but you know, “slightly easier” hilly.

I imagine it’ll look a little something like this: