Well, what to say about this race. In short, it was a bit of a grind.
That said, while I would have liked to have done better, I’m not really too torn up about it and am still pleased with the outcome given what I was working with.
As mentioned previously, in the lead up to the race I barely thought about it. I never really experienced the usual nerves and aside from our regular race prep on Saturday morning, the day prior was definitely not very typical of “race day-eve”.
We spent the afternoon with family cheering Cam on to an 11th place finish in the 10,000m (yay!) and then headed to a friend’s house for a bbq. It was a great, relaxed day, where I barely gave any more thought to the fact that I had a race the next morning.
We headed home just after 8pm to get everything ready for the next day (something that I usually do much earlier in the day, so that felt a little weird) and headed off to sleepy time village.
Of course, as I lay in bed trying to fall asleep, the nerves finally hit.
When I awoke Sunday morning I felt like I had barely slept and for some reason, I was still feeling really nervous. I don’t know why, but my tummy was full of butterflies. The usual routine followed: breakfast, coffee, bathroom, yadda, yadda... and then we were out the door and on our way to the race site.
Set up transition, walk transition, porta-potty stop, lube of various body parts, wetsuit on, nerves, nerves, nerves… and it was go time!
I was in the first of two waves for the Olympic distance race, which started 2mins after the sprint wave. There were A LOT of breast-strokers and back-strokers in that sprint wave, which added a few little obstacles once my wave was finally underway, but it wasn’t as bad as it looked like it could be while we were standing on shore waiting to start.
What to say about the swim. It didn’t feel terrible, but I also didn’t feel like I had much to give. There was a bit of bumping and banging and jostling in the first 400-500m, but it spread out pretty quickly and I thought I settled into a rhythm okay. Unfortunately, I was much much slower than I should have been (and that I know I am capable of).
The swim just felt long and it seemed like I was in the water for a pretty significant period of time. My thoughts drifted at times and my tummy started growling pretty badly with (I would guess) about 400m to go. Never a good sign.
Out of the water and up to T1 I was shocked by how wet I was. That probably sounds a bit weird - like duh, you were just in a lake - but as I tore my wetsuit down it felt like half the contents of Elk Lake spilled out of it. I don’t think I’ve ever had so much water dripping off of me ~ I was absolutely drenched! I even had to wipe my face with my hand to be able to see anything through the water dripping from my hair as I neared my bike. This didn't really affect me negatively, but it stood out to me, as it was kind of unusual.
Anyway, T1 felt like it was in slow motion. There was nothing wrong with it or crazy or comical, it was just slow and methodical.
I had a decent mount, and as I started riding I heard [coach] Kelly say something from the side of the road. I’m pretty sure I looked at him and said something like “that wasn’t a great swim” in the most monotone and unenthusiastic voice ever. I think his response was something along the lines of “that’s okay, you need to keep going”.
What to say about the bike. Well, it didn’t feel terrible, but I also didn’t feel like I had much to give (sound familiar, haha). My tummy was still feeling quite hungry, but I just couldn’t seem to bring myself to get anything into it. I knew I had to take a gel and some fluid, but it was the last thing I wanted to do and so I just kept turning over my legs and trying to push as much as I could.
Shane passed me with a smack on the butt much sooner than I would have liked (or was expecting) and so I grumbled about my bad swim as he passed. Later he would tell me that he thought I said "that was a fucking fast swim!" Haha, how completely opposite my dear. Opposite.
Just before the turn around I finally sucked it up and got a gel in and tried to make a better effort to drink.
Now, for all my grumbling, I do quite enjoy the out and back style course. It was fun (and also a good distraction) to see my Dad, Shane and Kirsten at different points on the road… and you know, even though I was failing hard at my nutrition and felt a little lethargic, I actually was enjoying myself and was in a fairly good head space.
Coming into T2 I had a decent dismount and racked my bike easily. I again felt a bit dazed and like I was moving in slo-mo while at the rack, but I got my race belt, socks and shoes on and was out in a somewhat respectable time (not fast, but not terribly slow either).
As I left transition I heard my Mom yell at me that my Dad was just up ahead. I don’t know if that was good motivation or what, but I felt like I came out of transition running well. My calves were kind of tight, but nothing horrible, and I actually had a bit of a spring to my step.
I think I probably caught my Dad about 1km in and slowed down for a few moments to chat (and also contemplate whether I should just run with him or actually try and push on). He was also experiencing some crampy and uncomfortable calves, and so I decided to forge ahead.
I felt like I was running pretty strong for the first 2.5-3km when all of a sudden I got the worst cramps in both sides of my abdomen and in both of my calves simultaneously (that’ll teach me to only eat one gel and maybe half a bottle of fluid on the bike). The cramping was bad enough that I pretty much stopped dead. I walked for a few moments (it felt like forever, but probably wasn’t much more than 45seconds to a minute - although I never actually looked at my watch) and then started running again.
I tried to focus on staying relaxed and calm and just pushing through. Telling myself just to run at Ironman race pace and see how that felt. After another km or two I started to loosen up and feel a bit better. The stomach cramps passed and my calves began to release. I think my pace picked up slightly, but not too too much.
Much like the bike, even though I felt a bit flat, I was still having a good time and did try to smile and thank all the volunteers at the aid stations.
With about 800m to go I tried to pick it up a little more, but also had the thought of “well, if Kirsten catches me now, she deserves it.” A true competitor I am, haha.
I rolled across the finish line in 2:48:29. About a minute slower than last year at this race, but still good enough for 2nd in my age group (which honestly, was a bit of a shock, but I'll take it!).
Initially I was a bit disappointed in myself and the race that I had, but then I cut myself some slack.
I’m in no way trying to make excuses for my performance, but I started to think about the fact that I had just finished the biggest part of the build to Ironman. I had a very unusual week (for me) leading up to this race, and had been on antibiotics for the previous 6 days. Of course I felt a little sluggish.
When I put it all in perspective, it definitely made me feel better about the day, and I was really pleased with my mental game and the fact that I pushed through even when I wasn’t really feeling it. In the end, it wasn't meant to be an "A" race, but it definitely turned out to be a good "race effort" training day.
Oh, and winning a sweet draw prize basket full of cycling goodies also helped!
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Friday, August 3, 2012
GO CAM GO!!!!
I haven’t really thought much about putting pen to paper,
err, I guess, fingers to keyboard, lately.
It has been a crazy busy week at work with the opening of Mamma Mia! on Tuesday night. Opening night was a wonderfully cheesy, ABBA-filled good time spent with my lovely friend Kelly (first night away from the new baby ~ wooo!), but meant I did not get to bed until nearly midnight. Having to be up at 5am to head to the lake for swim practice threw me off a little (I definitely don’t function well on only 5hrs of sleep), couple that with a dose of antibiotics due to a saddle sore gone wrong (let’s just say something very similar to this happened after last Saturday’s long ride, causing me to look like I was growing a testicle on Sunday) and my body has been, well, just a little off this week. Thankfully, the antibiotics are clearing things up, and well, also, very thankfully, it happened now and not 2 weeks from now.
Anyway, this has probably been one of my lower volume training weeks in the whole build to Ironman. It wasn’t intentional (see above: crazy work, abscessed crotch, also an unexpected pool closure due to some kid’s poop, etc. etc.) but I haven’t really been too stressed about it. Actually, I’m feeling very ‘Zen’ about everything right now. At the time of writing this sentence, Ironman Canada is 22 days, 13 hours, 4 minutes and 14 seconds away. I’m excited and nervous, but also feeling strong and ready. I think my belief in myself and my abilities continues to grow.
Sappy self-motivational sh*t aside, this weekend includes the Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence Triathlon at Elk Lake. I’m racing the Olympic distance. I’m hopeful I will pull together a good race (although, didn’t Simon recently say “hope is not a strategy” ~ hmmm), but more than anything I just want to go out and have a good time. Fun is definitely on the agenda for this weekend.
Man, in writing that last paragraph, I’ve just realized that this is probably the most I’ve even thought about this race at all, haha.
Maybe the reason I haven’t given it much thought is for some of the reasons above (work, crotch, etc.), but probably more so due to the fact that tomorrow is Cam’s first race at the Olympics!!!!
Have I mentioned that I LOVE THE OLYMPICS??!!
Have I mentioned that my cousin ~ Cam Levins ~ is racing??!!
So yeah, general Olympic love + a family member racing = Olympic excitement overload!
Anyway, tune in tomorrow at 1:15pm PST (on CTV I think) to cheer Cam on. The family is all getting together to cheer, and we will all be wearing our new “Stop Cam” shirts that the guys at Frontrunners so awesomely gave to us. I know I speak for absolutely everyone in our crew when I say we could not be more proud of Cam.
I tried to get a photo of Rusty and I in our Olympic shirts, but well, he wasn’t really cooperating. So this is as good as it gets for now.
Also, if anyone is reading this and is like “why would you wear ‘Stop Cam’ shirts?”
Well, it comes from the American runner, Steve Prefontaine.
When he was racing at the 1972 Olympic Trials one of his competitors took off his jacket and had a 'Stop Pre' shirt on. A big group of his competitor's spectators in the stands did the same thing.
Prefontaine won the race and broke the American record in the process. He then jogged over to the stands and grabbed one of the 'Stop Pre' shirts and did his victory lap in it. As soon as he did that, it ended up symbolizing the 'try to stop me' attitude that he had. It has since been a legendary moment in track and field.
Here is a picture of Pre with the shirt.
Oh Canada ~ GO CAM GO!!!!
It has been a crazy busy week at work with the opening of Mamma Mia! on Tuesday night. Opening night was a wonderfully cheesy, ABBA-filled good time spent with my lovely friend Kelly (first night away from the new baby ~ wooo!), but meant I did not get to bed until nearly midnight. Having to be up at 5am to head to the lake for swim practice threw me off a little (I definitely don’t function well on only 5hrs of sleep), couple that with a dose of antibiotics due to a saddle sore gone wrong (let’s just say something very similar to this happened after last Saturday’s long ride, causing me to look like I was growing a testicle on Sunday) and my body has been, well, just a little off this week. Thankfully, the antibiotics are clearing things up, and well, also, very thankfully, it happened now and not 2 weeks from now.
Anyway, this has probably been one of my lower volume training weeks in the whole build to Ironman. It wasn’t intentional (see above: crazy work, abscessed crotch, also an unexpected pool closure due to some kid’s poop, etc. etc.) but I haven’t really been too stressed about it. Actually, I’m feeling very ‘Zen’ about everything right now. At the time of writing this sentence, Ironman Canada is 22 days, 13 hours, 4 minutes and 14 seconds away. I’m excited and nervous, but also feeling strong and ready. I think my belief in myself and my abilities continues to grow.
Sappy self-motivational sh*t aside, this weekend includes the Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence Triathlon at Elk Lake. I’m racing the Olympic distance. I’m hopeful I will pull together a good race (although, didn’t Simon recently say “hope is not a strategy” ~ hmmm), but more than anything I just want to go out and have a good time. Fun is definitely on the agenda for this weekend.
Man, in writing that last paragraph, I’ve just realized that this is probably the most I’ve even thought about this race at all, haha.
Maybe the reason I haven’t given it much thought is for some of the reasons above (work, crotch, etc.), but probably more so due to the fact that tomorrow is Cam’s first race at the Olympics!!!!
Have I mentioned that I LOVE THE OLYMPICS??!!
Have I mentioned that my cousin ~ Cam Levins ~ is racing??!!
So yeah, general Olympic love + a family member racing = Olympic excitement overload!
Anyway, tune in tomorrow at 1:15pm PST (on CTV I think) to cheer Cam on. The family is all getting together to cheer, and we will all be wearing our new “Stop Cam” shirts that the guys at Frontrunners so awesomely gave to us. I know I speak for absolutely everyone in our crew when I say we could not be more proud of Cam.
I tried to get a photo of Rusty and I in our Olympic shirts, but well, he wasn’t really cooperating. So this is as good as it gets for now.
Also, if anyone is reading this and is like “why would you wear ‘Stop Cam’ shirts?”
Well, it comes from the American runner, Steve Prefontaine.
When he was racing at the 1972 Olympic Trials one of his competitors took off his jacket and had a 'Stop Pre' shirt on. A big group of his competitor's spectators in the stands did the same thing.
Prefontaine won the race and broke the American record in the process. He then jogged over to the stands and grabbed one of the 'Stop Pre' shirts and did his victory lap in it. As soon as he did that, it ended up symbolizing the 'try to stop me' attitude that he had. It has since been a legendary moment in track and field.
Here is a picture of Pre with the shirt.
Oh Canada ~ GO CAM GO!!!!
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Smile and Laugh
I feel I’ve been a tad negative in my last few posts, as the final big push to Ironman is upon us. I know the exhaustion is somewhat normal at this phase and I know I’m going to come through it just fine, but figured it was time for a random smattering of things that have made me smile or laugh lately.
1) I had a great run last night. A simple out and back that took me along the waterfront and onto a new(ish) route through Esquimalt that ended up taking me past the house that I started my life in. I didn’t really know where I was, so it was a nice surprise. Anyway, I believe we lived there until I was 3 or 4 years old? It made me smile.
2) With about 20’ left on my run, my guts trembled and my tummy started to cramp. To say I was a little worried would be an understatement, as I didn’t think I had passed (or would pass) a public bathroom. Then, like an oasis in the desert, I turned a corner near the marina and there sat a lovely porta-potty [smile]. It was actually pretty clean too.
However, it got me thinking… I’m pretty sure one of the worst things in the world might be getting splash-back from a porta-potty. Thankfully, that didn’t happen to me, but man, could you imagine the horror, a “wet cheeks poopie” in a porta-loo, blech.
*Also, if you’ve never seen the poopie list and enjoy some good bathroom humour, see the bottom of this post.
3) Sometimes, when I need a good laugh and I’ve already re-read the poopie list for the 8000th time, I will go back and read this post over and over. Never fails to make me snort. Two words: Leather. Cheerio.
If you have never visited Mediocre Athlete’s blog before, it is a must read (in my opinion).
4) I can’t say I was laughing at this article, but definitely smiling. Way to go Ryder.
5) Which brings us to the Olympics. I am an OLYMPIC JUNKIE! The Olympic Games definitely make me smile. Can’t wait. Getting to cheer for my awesomely-fast cousin, Cam Levins, in both the 10,000m and the 5,000m makes it all the more thrilling.
Send positive and fast vibes in Cam’s direction on:
1) I had a great run last night. A simple out and back that took me along the waterfront and onto a new(ish) route through Esquimalt that ended up taking me past the house that I started my life in. I didn’t really know where I was, so it was a nice surprise. Anyway, I believe we lived there until I was 3 or 4 years old? It made me smile.
 |
| It looks a little different than I remember.
(thank you Google Street View)
|
However, it got me thinking… I’m pretty sure one of the worst things in the world might be getting splash-back from a porta-potty. Thankfully, that didn’t happen to me, but man, could you imagine the horror, a “wet cheeks poopie” in a porta-loo, blech.
*Also, if you’ve never seen the poopie list and enjoy some good bathroom humour, see the bottom of this post.
3) Sometimes, when I need a good laugh and I’ve already re-read the poopie list for the 8000th time, I will go back and read this post over and over. Never fails to make me snort. Two words: Leather. Cheerio.
If you have never visited Mediocre Athlete’s blog before, it is a must read (in my opinion).
4) I can’t say I was laughing at this article, but definitely smiling. Way to go Ryder.
5) Which brings us to the Olympics. I am an OLYMPIC JUNKIE! The Olympic Games definitely make me smile. Can’t wait. Getting to cheer for my awesomely-fast cousin, Cam Levins, in both the 10,000m and the 5,000m makes it all the more thrilling.
Send positive and fast vibes in Cam’s direction on:
- August 4 ~ 10,000m Final @ 21:15
- August 8 ~ 5,000 m Preliminary race @ 10:45
- August 11 ~ 5,000 m Final race @ 19:30
[these times are London time, I haven’t done the conversion yet]
 |
| I need to figure out how to get my hands on one of these bad boys. |
7) And last but not least, sunny days and impromptu lunch-time Qoola dates make me smile. Mmmmm, frozen yogurt with self-serve toppings.
*THE POOPIE LIST
Ghost Poopie
The kind where you feel the poopie come out, but there is no poopie in the toilet.
Clean Poopie
The kind where you poopie it out, see it in the toilet, but there is nothing on the toilet paper.
Wet Poopie
The kind where you wipe your butt 50 times and it still feels unwiped, so you have to put some toilet paper between your butt and underwear so you won't ruin them with a stain.
Second Wave Poopie
This happens when you're done Poopie-ing and you've pulled up your pants to your knees, and you realize that you have to Poopie some more.
Pop-A-Vein-In-Your-Forehead-Poopie
The kind where you strain so much to get it out, you practically have a stroke.
Gassy Poopie
It's so noisy, everyone within earshot is laughing.
Drinker Poopie
The kind of Poopie you have the morning after a long night of drinking. Its most noticeable trait is the skid marks on the bottom of the toilet.
Lincoln Log Poopie
The kind of Poopie that is so huge you're afraid to flush without first breaking it into little pieces with the toilet brush.
Corn Poopie
Self-explanatory.
Gee-I-Wish-I-Could-Poopie Poopie
The kind where you want to Poopie but all you do is sit on the toilet and fart a few times.
Spinal Tap Poopie
That's where it hurts so badly coming out, you would swear it was leaving you sideways.
Wet Cheeks Poopie (The Power Dump)
The kind that comes out of your butt so fast, your butt gets splashed with water.
Liquid Poopie
The kind where yellowish-brown liquid shoots out your butt and splashes all over the toilet bowl.
Mexican Poopie
It smells so bad your nose burns.
The Surprise Poopie
You're not even at the toilet because you are sure you're about to fart, but oops.......a Poopie!!!
The Dangling Poopie
This Poopie refuses to drop into the toilet even though you know you are done Poopie-ing it. You just pray that a shake or two will cut it loose.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Head Case
This past week has been a battle. Not quite “The Worst” (because, I’ll be the first to admit, I was maybe a touch dramatic in my last post) but I have definitely been feeling the effects of some very big volume weeks in training and a general fatigue has set into my body.
I guess, in short, I’ve been feeling a little beat down this week. I know it is normal, and I know with a few more unscheduled naps on the couch with the pooch (see photo below), a few days of compression tights under my pants at work, etc. I will begin to bounce back and I will be ready for race day. I know this, but it is still hard to convince myself of these things in the present moment.
I have found myself trying to remember what I felt like at this time two years ago, but I think I’ve blocked it from my mind. So, I decided to go back and read a few of my posts from late July and early August 2010, and well, let me just say – it is a touch freaky. Is this Groundhog Day? I’m apparently reliving the same events over and over, haha.
Anyway, one thing that is different is my expectation. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have some sort of time expectation for myself for this race. I mean, I have something to compare it to, which I never had before.
The same blissful ignorance that I had going into IMC 2010 is not there, and of course I want to have a better time than I did in 2010. I think that is only natural. I would guess most people who participate in sport want to improve, want to get better, faster, stronger.
Thankfully, I know I am stronger and fitter than I was two years ago, so realistically, I should be able to accomplish this… right? Of course, doubts still creep into my mind.
One word that keeps coming into my mind is just “believe”. I know a huge part of anything is just believing you can do it, so I just need to believe in myself and my training and my ability. I need to work on being stubborn and telling my aching muscles to shut up. I need to work on embracing the pain and staying mentally tough. I need to believe I have this ability.
All that said, ultimately, my goal for race day is to once again finish. You never know what can happen out there and so, I just want to enjoy the day and most importantly, be smiling throughout.
Okay, rambling self-motivational speech is now over.
On another topic, I’ve just now been hit with how crazy August is going to be with two exhausted, stressed-out, tapering IM athletes in one house. Hopefully we don’t kill each other.
I guess, in short, I’ve been feeling a little beat down this week. I know it is normal, and I know with a few more unscheduled naps on the couch with the pooch (see photo below), a few days of compression tights under my pants at work, etc. I will begin to bounce back and I will be ready for race day. I know this, but it is still hard to convince myself of these things in the present moment.
I have found myself trying to remember what I felt like at this time two years ago, but I think I’ve blocked it from my mind. So, I decided to go back and read a few of my posts from late July and early August 2010, and well, let me just say – it is a touch freaky. Is this Groundhog Day? I’m apparently reliving the same events over and over, haha.
Anyway, one thing that is different is my expectation. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have some sort of time expectation for myself for this race. I mean, I have something to compare it to, which I never had before.
The same blissful ignorance that I had going into IMC 2010 is not there, and of course I want to have a better time than I did in 2010. I think that is only natural. I would guess most people who participate in sport want to improve, want to get better, faster, stronger.
Thankfully, I know I am stronger and fitter than I was two years ago, so realistically, I should be able to accomplish this… right? Of course, doubts still creep into my mind.
One word that keeps coming into my mind is just “believe”. I know a huge part of anything is just believing you can do it, so I just need to believe in myself and my training and my ability. I need to work on being stubborn and telling my aching muscles to shut up. I need to work on embracing the pain and staying mentally tough. I need to believe I have this ability.
All that said, ultimately, my goal for race day is to once again finish. You never know what can happen out there and so, I just want to enjoy the day and most importantly, be smiling throughout.
Okay, rambling self-motivational speech is now over.
On another topic, I’ve just now been hit with how crazy August is going to be with two exhausted, stressed-out, tapering IM athletes in one house. Hopefully we don’t kill each other.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
The Worst
The title of this post pretty much sums up how I felt this Saturday as I made my way around the IMC bike course. Dramatic? Perhaps, but also very accurate on that day.
We were in Penticton again for our 2nd mini-training camp style weekend of the season. The weather was HOT HOT HOT, but that is exactly what we had hoped for, so you won’t get any complaints about that. I will whine and complain about a few other things however.
So yeah, I’m pretty sure that Saturday may have been one of the worst days I have ever experienced on the bike. No joke. It sucked. From the very moment my chaffed crotch touched my bike seat, I knew I was in for a world of hurt.
We started the day with a short 30’ aerobic swim at Okanagan Lake. The water was warm and the swim felt great, and you know, I was actually kind of looking forward to the bike that was to come. My last two long rides have gone relatively well and I was ready to keep that wave of awesomeness flowing out onto the IMC course.
Then I got on the bike.
Enter the Suck.
As we pedaled through town my legs and my body felt like they just had nothing to give. My tummy started growling and within the first 15’ I was already eating a banana, hoping to stop the grumbling in my gut. I was struggling to keep up with the others and really, it was still early and it wasn’t like they were moving that quickly.
Just before Mclean Creek Rd, a coach from LifeSport who was out with a training-camp group rode up beside me and asked me if I was okay. I tried to smile and shrug it off, but at that point, I realized I must have looked as bad as I felt. When a second, different coach from that group asked me the same thing about 10' later, I really had to laugh.
From there it was just a struggle for the whole day. As much as Shane won’t believe me, I did try to get myself out of the funk and think positive thoughts, but I just had no energy and my body was so tired and achy. On top of that (and probably TMI) my crotch/butt has never been so chafed ~ I was having so much trouble even sitting on my seat!
Richter came and went and while it wasn’t fast, I didn’t feel like that climb was too horrible.
Then the rollers hit and I just about fell apart. The headwind was INTENSE! Of course, this should not surprise me, but when you are already struggling, it just takes that much more out of you. I had trouble turning my legs over and felt like times I was going backwards – even on the descents.
The next while is a bit of a blur. We took lots of stops in order to regroup and refill water bottles, etc. Our last stop was at The Bear fruit stand, and as I got off my bike, I had to sit down.
I had thought I did pretty well with hydration, but I think I may have slacked off a bit on actual calories, especially as we got longer into the ride as my stomach was kind of unhappy. By the time we hit The Bear in Keremeos, I pretty much felt like a zombie. Sitting on that picnic table was perhaps the best feeling in the world. I actually think if some wonderful person had offered me a ride back to Penticton in that moment, I would have taken it. Would I have felt guilty after the fact? Of course, but in that moment, I was done.
Alas, we had to get back on the bikes and finish the final 45km-ish stretch back into town.
Shane stuck with me as we headed toward Yellow Lake (which was probably a good thing as I was feeling pretty zoned out). He’s definitely a trooper for putting up with my whining and complaining. Encouraging me and yelling at me like a drill sergeant to drink and eat. He got me up and over Yellow Lake and even tried to get me excited for that beautiful “lane ends 200m” sign. While I may not have shown it in the moment, I was very thankful for his encouragment.
Oh, and might I add, it's really hard to climb when you are holding back tears [total girl moment ~ crying for no real reason but not really being able to do anything to stop it].
The descents back into Penticton are always my favourite part of the ride, and while they were still fun, they weren’t fun enough to erase the rest of the day. Really, you know it’s bad when even going downhill was a struggle.
I was happy to be off the bike. Happy to know that even though we were out on the course for a tortuously long time, we still would have made the bike cut off in the actual race.
Anyway, I guess, looking back on the day, I know every day can't be a good one. I would have liked to have been tougher mentally and fought through the bad feelings a little better, but as much as I tried, I just couldn't shake it while I was out there. I felt like a bag of crap and I let that eat away at me all day long.
Today, I’m feeling better about it. It’s done. It’s behind me. Hopefully I got all that bad biking mojo out of my system before race day. And hell, I don’t think it can get much worse than that, so at least I know I can survive, even when I don’t really want to.
We were in Penticton again for our 2nd mini-training camp style weekend of the season. The weather was HOT HOT HOT, but that is exactly what we had hoped for, so you won’t get any complaints about that. I will whine and complain about a few other things however.
So yeah, I’m pretty sure that Saturday may have been one of the worst days I have ever experienced on the bike. No joke. It sucked. From the very moment my chaffed crotch touched my bike seat, I knew I was in for a world of hurt.
We started the day with a short 30’ aerobic swim at Okanagan Lake. The water was warm and the swim felt great, and you know, I was actually kind of looking forward to the bike that was to come. My last two long rides have gone relatively well and I was ready to keep that wave of awesomeness flowing out onto the IMC course.
Then I got on the bike.
Enter the Suck.
As we pedaled through town my legs and my body felt like they just had nothing to give. My tummy started growling and within the first 15’ I was already eating a banana, hoping to stop the grumbling in my gut. I was struggling to keep up with the others and really, it was still early and it wasn’t like they were moving that quickly.
Just before Mclean Creek Rd, a coach from LifeSport who was out with a training-camp group rode up beside me and asked me if I was okay. I tried to smile and shrug it off, but at that point, I realized I must have looked as bad as I felt. When a second, different coach from that group asked me the same thing about 10' later, I really had to laugh.
From there it was just a struggle for the whole day. As much as Shane won’t believe me, I did try to get myself out of the funk and think positive thoughts, but I just had no energy and my body was so tired and achy. On top of that (and probably TMI) my crotch/butt has never been so chafed ~ I was having so much trouble even sitting on my seat!
Richter came and went and while it wasn’t fast, I didn’t feel like that climb was too horrible.
Then the rollers hit and I just about fell apart. The headwind was INTENSE! Of course, this should not surprise me, but when you are already struggling, it just takes that much more out of you. I had trouble turning my legs over and felt like times I was going backwards – even on the descents.
The next while is a bit of a blur. We took lots of stops in order to regroup and refill water bottles, etc. Our last stop was at The Bear fruit stand, and as I got off my bike, I had to sit down.
I had thought I did pretty well with hydration, but I think I may have slacked off a bit on actual calories, especially as we got longer into the ride as my stomach was kind of unhappy. By the time we hit The Bear in Keremeos, I pretty much felt like a zombie. Sitting on that picnic table was perhaps the best feeling in the world. I actually think if some wonderful person had offered me a ride back to Penticton in that moment, I would have taken it. Would I have felt guilty after the fact? Of course, but in that moment, I was done.
Alas, we had to get back on the bikes and finish the final 45km-ish stretch back into town.
Shane stuck with me as we headed toward Yellow Lake (which was probably a good thing as I was feeling pretty zoned out). He’s definitely a trooper for putting up with my whining and complaining. Encouraging me and yelling at me like a drill sergeant to drink and eat. He got me up and over Yellow Lake and even tried to get me excited for that beautiful “lane ends 200m” sign. While I may not have shown it in the moment, I was very thankful for his encouragment.
Oh, and might I add, it's really hard to climb when you are holding back tears [total girl moment ~ crying for no real reason but not really being able to do anything to stop it].
The descents back into Penticton are always my favourite part of the ride, and while they were still fun, they weren’t fun enough to erase the rest of the day. Really, you know it’s bad when even going downhill was a struggle.
I was happy to be off the bike. Happy to know that even though we were out on the course for a tortuously long time, we still would have made the bike cut off in the actual race.
Anyway, I guess, looking back on the day, I know every day can't be a good one. I would have liked to have been tougher mentally and fought through the bad feelings a little better, but as much as I tried, I just couldn't shake it while I was out there. I felt like a bag of crap and I let that eat away at me all day long.
Today, I’m feeling better about it. It’s done. It’s behind me. Hopefully I got all that bad biking mojo out of my system before race day. And hell, I don’t think it can get much worse than that, so at least I know I can survive, even when I don’t really want to.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Solo 160
This past weekend I had a 160km bike to do on Saturday, and as mentioned in my last post, I was on my own.
And let me just say [hit me with a virtual high five here] this ride was awesome!
BUT, But, but... Before I go into too much detail about that, one of the reasons I was on my own was because Shane was racing the Cowichan Challenge Sprint on Sunday morning.
He did so freakin’ great – 6th place overall, 1st in his age group, and 2nd fastest bike split of the day! Not bad eh?
It was fun to be up at the race site cheering, and admittedly I only wished I was racing a few times. I’ve never experienced the Cowichan Challenge before, but after spectating, I can say that it definitely seems like a really great, low-key, community driven race. Oh, and Fuller Lake is absolutely beautiful.
In fact it is so beautiful that around 10:45ish, as I was sitting with Shane waiting for the awards ceremony, he convinced me that I should check out the lake and that I totally had time to get my swim workout done for the day (it was a short one). Something to keep in mind, the awards were scheduled for 11:30. There were multiple signs all over the park, as well as numerous announcements that it would in fact be at 11:30. So I had plenty of time, right?
The lake was warm enough to not need a wetsuit, so I borrowed Shane’s tri-shorts, swim cap and goggles, and stripped down to my sports bra and went for a quick 1000m-ish swim. Of course, probably about 5’ after I entered the lake, they started the awards early and I missed seeing Shane on his first podium. *sad face*
I think it bugged me more than Shane, but I’m still kinda bummed I missed it.
Now, back to Saturday’s long ride.
I started the day nice and early, getting on the road about 5:45am. My plan was to get on the ‘hat and head north. As I had hoped, the roads were super quiet. I was also treated to one of the best sunrises I’ve seen in a long time. I almost stopped to take a photo of the big golden sphere as it rose above the Saanich Inlet, but knew my crappy old phone wouldn’t do it justice. So I will just have to keep it in my memory I suppose.
The ride itself was fairly uneventful (which is always a good thing on a long bike, non?). I cruised along, trying to keep my cadence and my average speed up without killing myself or trying to crush any hills. I ate and drank as planned and just kept spinning. Honey Stinger Waffles are my new favourite thing.
As I passed the Nanaimo airport I realized I desperately needed to refill my water bottles, and also desperately needed to pee. Luckily, like a little oasis on the horizon, the next place to pull over was the Cassidy rest stop and it also happened to coincide with my planned turn around mileage.
I was the only one there aside from a maintenance worker, and I only had one moment of irrational fear that he might be a serial killer (too many Criminal Minds episodes again I suppose – see #4 here).
I emptied my bladder, made the turn to head south back to Victoria, made a quick stop for water and Gatorade at the next gas station and was once again on my way.
Traffic picked up as the day wore on, but it never felt too busy. The hardest part of the day was climbing back over the Malahat, but since I was carrying on past home and down to Juan de Fuca Rec, I was rewarded with a great descent. I love Love LOVE riding fast down hills!
I rolled into JdF with a riding time just under 5:50 and an average speed of 27.5km/h on the day. This may not be fast to some, but for me, getting in under 6hrs definitely helped boost my confidence a little and definitely made me want to do a little happy dance.
46 DAYS – 9 HR – 43 MIN – 4 SEC TO GO!
And let me just say [hit me with a virtual high five here] this ride was awesome!
BUT, But, but... Before I go into too much detail about that, one of the reasons I was on my own was because Shane was racing the Cowichan Challenge Sprint on Sunday morning.
He did so freakin’ great – 6th place overall, 1st in his age group, and 2nd fastest bike split of the day! Not bad eh?
It was fun to be up at the race site cheering, and admittedly I only wished I was racing a few times. I’ve never experienced the Cowichan Challenge before, but after spectating, I can say that it definitely seems like a really great, low-key, community driven race. Oh, and Fuller Lake is absolutely beautiful.
In fact it is so beautiful that around 10:45ish, as I was sitting with Shane waiting for the awards ceremony, he convinced me that I should check out the lake and that I totally had time to get my swim workout done for the day (it was a short one). Something to keep in mind, the awards were scheduled for 11:30. There were multiple signs all over the park, as well as numerous announcements that it would in fact be at 11:30. So I had plenty of time, right?
The lake was warm enough to not need a wetsuit, so I borrowed Shane’s tri-shorts, swim cap and goggles, and stripped down to my sports bra and went for a quick 1000m-ish swim. Of course, probably about 5’ after I entered the lake, they started the awards early and I missed seeing Shane on his first podium. *sad face*
I think it bugged me more than Shane, but I’m still kinda bummed I missed it.
 |
| So, instead, we took photos at home on the deck. WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER! |
Now, back to Saturday’s long ride.
I started the day nice and early, getting on the road about 5:45am. My plan was to get on the ‘hat and head north. As I had hoped, the roads were super quiet. I was also treated to one of the best sunrises I’ve seen in a long time. I almost stopped to take a photo of the big golden sphere as it rose above the Saanich Inlet, but knew my crappy old phone wouldn’t do it justice. So I will just have to keep it in my memory I suppose.
The ride itself was fairly uneventful (which is always a good thing on a long bike, non?). I cruised along, trying to keep my cadence and my average speed up without killing myself or trying to crush any hills. I ate and drank as planned and just kept spinning. Honey Stinger Waffles are my new favourite thing.
As I passed the Nanaimo airport I realized I desperately needed to refill my water bottles, and also desperately needed to pee. Luckily, like a little oasis on the horizon, the next place to pull over was the Cassidy rest stop and it also happened to coincide with my planned turn around mileage.
I was the only one there aside from a maintenance worker, and I only had one moment of irrational fear that he might be a serial killer (too many Criminal Minds episodes again I suppose – see #4 here).
I emptied my bladder, made the turn to head south back to Victoria, made a quick stop for water and Gatorade at the next gas station and was once again on my way.
Traffic picked up as the day wore on, but it never felt too busy. The hardest part of the day was climbing back over the Malahat, but since I was carrying on past home and down to Juan de Fuca Rec, I was rewarded with a great descent. I love Love LOVE riding fast down hills!
I rolled into JdF with a riding time just under 5:50 and an average speed of 27.5km/h on the day. This may not be fast to some, but for me, getting in under 6hrs definitely helped boost my confidence a little and definitely made me want to do a little happy dance.
46 DAYS – 9 HR – 43 MIN – 4 SEC TO GO!
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Tour Love
I’m in one of those head spaces right now where I can’t seem to put the thoughts that are in my head into a succinct flowing blog post and as such, figured a nice numbered list might be the way to go. No need to flow one thought into the next right? Bullet points for the win!
1) Last week it was made official at work that we will close the office at 1pm on Fridays for the duration of the summer. It is awesome and makes the weekend feel slightly longer (which I guess, technically, it is).
Thankfully, last Friday (the first day of our official early departure), I had gotten my workout out of the way before work and so had the afternoon free to do whatever I pleased. Shane met me for lunch, and we proceeded to consume burgers (veggie for me) and beer. I don’t typically drink a lot, but for some reason I was sure craving a beer that day (and a couple other times throughout the weekend too ~ mmmmm summer wheat beer). This unusual beer craving made me wonder what I was lacking in my diet? (Other than barley and hops that is).
2) It’s Tour season!
I love watching le Tour de France. Love it. In fact, Shane and I love it so much we recently changed our cable provider in order to get a PVR, pretty much just so we can PVR the tour and watch it whenever we please… and let me just say, it was so worth it!
My days now look like this: wake up, train, eat, work, train, eat, TOUR, bed. Repeat.
GO RYDER GO!
3) Last weekend was a pretty big volume weekend on the training front. I won’t bore you with the details of ‘Sufferfest’ but can say that, for the most part, it went quite well and left me feeling mostly confident and pleased with where my training is at right now.
The most exciting thing was that Monday was a complete rest day. With the Canada Day stat and a day off from training, our schedule was wide open. No Work and No Training! Say what? A full day off-off rarely happens and so when it does, man does it feel magical. We spent the day doing one of three things: eating, lying on the couch (watching the Tour of course) or napping.
The one downfall to all this rest however, was that it made it very hard to sleep on Monday night.
4) I’ve been dealing with a bit of an ankle issue for the past couple weeks. Actually, I have kinda been dealing with it since the end of April, but was able to manage it on my own with some ice, self-massage/stretching and good dose of denial.
Unfortunately, at the end of the Victoria Half IM, I could not ignore it any more, as my ankle pretty much seized up as I crossed the finish line and made it difficult to walk for a few days post-race.
I had a massage scheduled for two days after the race and my wonderful RMT Lysanne was able to give the ol’ ankle a good adjustment and get it moving again (it seems that my ankle is very loose and that my talus bone tends to slip/rotate out of place ~ thankfully it is just a joint issue and there aren’t any tears or fractures or anything like that).
While the adjustment helped immensely with my ability to walk, unfortunately, the pain didn’t go away and eventually it even starting moving up my leg and into the back of my knee. At that point, I realized I needed to deal with the issue once and for all and have since been seeing a great new physio (Andrew) who is helping to put me back together.
I’m on a strict stretching schedule [I’m sure my co-workers think I’m nuts when once every hour I get up from my desk and do the same 4 stretches], have been getting regular adjustments and even experienced my first taste of acupuncture the other day.
I think things are progressing well and even though there is still a bit of pain, it is definitely lessening. I’m able to do most of my workouts without having to really adjust much, so I think that is a win.
5) This coming weekend’s training schedule includes a 160km bike. Shane is racing on Sunday and Kirsten is otherwise involved, so I will be going it alone.
160km solo. Gulp.
For some strange reason, I’m feeling a little nervous about being out there all on my lonesome for so long, but also know it will be a very good way to work on some mental training. So, I suppose, while nervous, I am also kind of looking forward to it.
And wow, I think that might actually be it.
Happy Belated Canada Day to all my friends and family up here in the frozen North!
Happy 4th to our neighbours down south!
And of course, Happy [almost] Weekend!
Good luck to anyone racing this weekend! I’ll be thinking of you as I pedal my way to 160k.
1) Last week it was made official at work that we will close the office at 1pm on Fridays for the duration of the summer. It is awesome and makes the weekend feel slightly longer (which I guess, technically, it is).
Thankfully, last Friday (the first day of our official early departure), I had gotten my workout out of the way before work and so had the afternoon free to do whatever I pleased. Shane met me for lunch, and we proceeded to consume burgers (veggie for me) and beer. I don’t typically drink a lot, but for some reason I was sure craving a beer that day (and a couple other times throughout the weekend too ~ mmmmm summer wheat beer). This unusual beer craving made me wonder what I was lacking in my diet? (Other than barley and hops that is).
2) It’s Tour season!
I love watching le Tour de France. Love it. In fact, Shane and I love it so much we recently changed our cable provider in order to get a PVR, pretty much just so we can PVR the tour and watch it whenever we please… and let me just say, it was so worth it!
My days now look like this: wake up, train, eat, work, train, eat, TOUR, bed. Repeat.
GO RYDER GO!
3) Last weekend was a pretty big volume weekend on the training front. I won’t bore you with the details of ‘Sufferfest’ but can say that, for the most part, it went quite well and left me feeling mostly confident and pleased with where my training is at right now.
The most exciting thing was that Monday was a complete rest day. With the Canada Day stat and a day off from training, our schedule was wide open. No Work and No Training! Say what? A full day off-off rarely happens and so when it does, man does it feel magical. We spent the day doing one of three things: eating, lying on the couch (watching the Tour of course) or napping.
The one downfall to all this rest however, was that it made it very hard to sleep on Monday night.
4) I’ve been dealing with a bit of an ankle issue for the past couple weeks. Actually, I have kinda been dealing with it since the end of April, but was able to manage it on my own with some ice, self-massage/stretching and good dose of denial.
Unfortunately, at the end of the Victoria Half IM, I could not ignore it any more, as my ankle pretty much seized up as I crossed the finish line and made it difficult to walk for a few days post-race.
I had a massage scheduled for two days after the race and my wonderful RMT Lysanne was able to give the ol’ ankle a good adjustment and get it moving again (it seems that my ankle is very loose and that my talus bone tends to slip/rotate out of place ~ thankfully it is just a joint issue and there aren’t any tears or fractures or anything like that).
While the adjustment helped immensely with my ability to walk, unfortunately, the pain didn’t go away and eventually it even starting moving up my leg and into the back of my knee. At that point, I realized I needed to deal with the issue once and for all and have since been seeing a great new physio (Andrew) who is helping to put me back together.
I’m on a strict stretching schedule [I’m sure my co-workers think I’m nuts when once every hour I get up from my desk and do the same 4 stretches], have been getting regular adjustments and even experienced my first taste of acupuncture the other day.
I think things are progressing well and even though there is still a bit of pain, it is definitely lessening. I’m able to do most of my workouts without having to really adjust much, so I think that is a win.
5) This coming weekend’s training schedule includes a 160km bike. Shane is racing on Sunday and Kirsten is otherwise involved, so I will be going it alone.
160km solo. Gulp.
For some strange reason, I’m feeling a little nervous about being out there all on my lonesome for so long, but also know it will be a very good way to work on some mental training. So, I suppose, while nervous, I am also kind of looking forward to it.
And wow, I think that might actually be it.
Happy Belated Canada Day to all my friends and family up here in the frozen North!
Happy 4th to our neighbours down south!
And of course, Happy [almost] Weekend!
Good luck to anyone racing this weekend! I’ll be thinking of you as I pedal my way to 160k.
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