BOOM!

Nearly two weeks ago (on a Monday), everything seemed pretty normal. I had a bit of a sore throat, but was in complete denial that I could possibly be getting sick. I tend to stick with the “if I pretend I’m not getting sick, I won’t get sick” mentality when I feel a bit of a scratch in my throat or stuffiness in my head, and usually, that tends to work and I don’t actually succumb to the bug.

Kelly and I met at lunch that day and discussed the fact that I haven’t felt much desire to race or any real competitiveness lately, and so we came up with a few ways to get that fire lit and planned out some of the races that I will do between now and IM CdA.

We talked about how training would play out over the next few weeks and about an upcoming trip down to Coeur d’Alene that Shane and I had planned for that coming weekend.

I left our little get together feeling a bit more energized and not at all worried about my scratchy throat. All seemed good.

That night my parents delivered some pretty unexpected and fairly life changing news. News, that two weeks later I’m still processing. Emotionally, some days are good. Some days are not so good, and on those not so good days, there is a slight guilt for not being stronger (hard to explain). What I am sure of, is that there will be a positive outcome. Anyway, I always hate on blogs when people vaguely reference stuff that is happening in their lives, but then don't give details (I’m nosy) but, at the end of the day, this is not my story to tell, so I’m going to leave it at that for now. My blog, my rules.

What I can say is… BOOM!

Mix in some emotional stress, and that little tickle in my throat transformed into a full on body-shut-down, can’t-get-out-of-bed, kinda cold. Fun stuff. Anyway, that has meant that over the last couple of weeks training has been pretty eff’d up and mostly non-existent.

I spent a couple days in bed with absolutely no desire to do anything but blow my nose and watch trash TV. I thought things were getting better and so I made my return to work for one day before heading down to Coeur d’Alene.

The trip had already been planned (with another friend) and the time off from work was already booked, so we decided it was best to still go – and I was feeling better (for the most part) so thought the worst of the sickness was behind me.

On Saturday, we rode the bike course. We had wanted to do a full 180km, but after the first loop, I was coughing a lot and my chest was getting pretty raspy. Shane wasn’t feeling super hot either, and the wind was absolutely INSANE, so we decided to do one more loop of the small out and back section and then called it – for a total of 110km on the day.

[Side note: Does anyone know, is it always windy in Coeur d’Alene?]

It’s funny, because while we were riding, I felt great, but as the afternoon and evening wore on, I started to feel progressively worse. I was coughing a lot and my chest hurt.

Early Sunday morning I was woken from a dead sleep with some pretty intense pains in my chest and back (it was like all of the muscles in my torso were spasming and I couldn't get a really good breath). I tossed and turned for a couple hours before it was time to get up.

We had been planning to run one loop of the run course, but because of the weird chest pains, I wasn't sure how that would go and realized it probably wasn't super beneficial to run myself into the ground.

My new plan: start the run and see how it goes. Walk if I have to.

So, that's what I did. I struggled through about 5km before deciding I wasn't doing myself any good. At that point, I stopped and walked (on the course) for about an hour while the guys carried on and completed the out and back. Once they got back to me, I ran the final 4-5km with them back to the car. It wasn't ideal, but at least I still got to see the course and take in the beauty of it all. Also, we didn't get rained on, so that was a definite plus.

Anyway, the trip turned into more of a sightseeing getaway and course recon than the big training weekend I had originally hoped for, but it was still amazingly worthwhile and I’m so happy to have been able to see the course and the town – we even got to check out the house we will be renting while down there, so that was a huge bonus.

Upon our return I was feeling a bit crappy again, so I talked with Kelly and we decided a few more days off was probably my best option before easing myself back up to the our regular volume. So, this week I’ve swam once, run once and am planning to hit the bike for an easy spin tonight before tackling a bit of a larger weekend.

My body is responding well, and although I’m still a bit raspy and still cough up the odd chunk of lung gunk, I’m hopeful that by next week this little blip on the training map will be behind me.

FINGERS CROSSED.

#100happydays

Day 23

Napping on the deck in the sunshine. One bonus to being sick on a nice day.

  Day 24

Bridesmaid dresses selected and ordered.

 Day 25

Sunset from our bedroom window.

Day 26

Testing out Shane's new neoprene swim cap upon our arrival in CdA.

Day 27

Chilling with Mudgie and Millie.

Day 28

Solitude while walking the run course.

Day 29

The way Rusty stretched and then fell asleep in that position cracked me up.

 Day 30

Awesome.

Day 31

Morning snuggles. He loves my harassment.

Day 32

Celebrating Mom's birthday.

Day 33

Impulse buy - some sweet little kicks for my best friend's new bambino.

My IronHeroes

Ironman isn't easy. Getting to the start line is time consuming, costly and downright tiring some days – and while it may be an individual sport, it is one that I've learned really cannot be done alone.

We've all read the posts and articles about the people behind the scenes that make it happen. We all have them. Those wonderful individuals that allow us – the sometimes selfish, training obsessed triathlete – to be able to get in the miles, work a full time job and still (mostly) function as a ‘normal’ human being. They make it easier to get to the start line, prepared and ready to tackle a life changing event.

For me and Shane, the two people who allow us to do what we do, and support us with so much unconditional love day in and day out, are my parents.

Sharon and Mike, Mike and Sharon – easily the greatest Ironman sherpas and supporters that could ever exist. Without them, I don't know what we'd do.

As training has ramped up lately, and schedules have changed in our household, it feels like we've been leaning on my parents a lot more than normal. In fact, some weeks it feels like Rusty spends just as much time with my folks as he does with us! (Which I'm sure he loves, as he never gets hot dogs at home, haha).

This past Saturday, they outdid themselves. Shane and I had a 150km bike on the agenda, but we also had a 2^nd birthday party to attend for our friend's little guy in the morning that we didn't want to miss (2 is a big deal and you know, we like to try and remain somewhat social so all of our friends don't think we've completely disappeared).

This meant that we dropped the Rustbeast off with my parents around 10am, headed to the party for a couple hours (where I stuffed my face with awesome training fuel of Thomas the Tank Engine cupcakes and other party treats) before eventually saddling up on our bikes around 1:00 to start our ride.

For me, starting a 6+ hour bike ride at 1:00 in the afternoon is not really ideal, but you do what you gotta do.

It was a tough ride that saw us battling a pretty fierce headwind for the last 65-70km. Mentally and physically drained by the time we arrived home, my parents proved once again why they are the greatest.

They had driven up to our place (which is about 20mins from their house) to bring Rusty home and cook us a huge feast! Oh, and on top of that, my Mom cleaned my entire kitchen! Cupboards, toaster, range hood, you name it; it was clean. Cleaning is something that has been sorely neglected over the last little while, so it was no small task.

[Side note: who else lives in a filthy cesspool while IM training? Please say Shane and I aren’t the only ones].

While it wasn't a total surprise as we knew they were going to be coming up to our house with the pooch, it was still the most incredible and awesome treat to be able to finish a wonky training day and come home to a warm house, smiling faces and yummy food.

I am forever grateful for their love and support, and only hope that one day I can be as awesome as they are.

I love you Mom & Dad.

And on that note… some more #100happydays

Day 9

Soaking up the sunbeam before work.

My ability to almost always have inappropriate socks on when trying on dresses.

 Day 10

Coffee with an old acquaintance turned new friend.
Also, Habit.

   Day 11

 Easter treats at work. 

Day 12

Kirsten getting her stagette weekend started!

 Day 13

While the fact that everyone was sleeping after a night of hard partying didn't make me happy, I really like the composition of this photo, so that made me happy. 

The dog 'big air' competition in Whistler.
Check out that crazy mutt almost doing a back flip.

 Day 14

[oops, not a single photo was taken this day... but I swear there were happy moments]

Day 15

Rusty, cruising with his head out the window. Ears and jowls flapping in the wind. 

 Day 16

Quiet sidewalks and cherry blossoms on the stroll to work.

  Day 17

Extending my morning commute to take in the beautiful views, and seeing the signage already up in anticipation of the weekend's TC 10km. 

Springtime in Victoria!
Tulips...

Tulips...

Totem poles...

...and more tulips.

  Day 18

Jeans Day!

 Day 19

Always thankful and happy to be rocking my Road ID.

  Day 20

Catching Shane coming out of the A&W on our long bike ride on Saturday and the devious joy on his face.

  Day 21

Getting ready to run the TC 10km with my Dad. 

 Day 22

Is it weird that a pile of clean Tupperware makes me happy?

Blue Skies Above

Glorious sunny days filled with activity = one very sore, but happy triathlete.

This weekend was Spring! Mother Nature listened to my plea last week for a dry day of biking and delivered with two of the best weekend days we've had in a while. It was sunny. It was warm. The wind was calm and life & training were feeling good.

The previous weekend I really struggled through training. As per usual, Saturday called for a long swim and bike, followed by a long run on Sunday, and while I know we are all entitled to ‘off’ days, they can still be a bit of a bummer. I felt clunky and tired on the bike, then sore and low-energy the next day on the run. It certainly wasn't the worst weekend of training I've ever had, and I was actually pretty happy with myself for how I handled it mentally (as in, I knew it would pass and better days were surely ahead) but it still isn't the most fun to force yourself through a less than joyous “gotta get it done” weekend.

The week following was a little bit of a ‘regeneration’ week (yay!), and while I felt pretty tired at the start of it, things began clicking and falling back into place as the week progressed. The highlight being a pretty stellar 6x 1km @ 10k RP run on Wednesday evening. With that, I could feel myself bouncing back ever so slightly.

Enter this past weekend.

Saturday we were up early to head out onto the bikes. It was a cold morning, with the night's frost still lingering on the cars, but the forecast was for sunshine and warm temperatures, so we knew we were in for a good day.

Out around Shawnigan Lake we pedaled, through Cobble Hill and then onto Hwy 1. Once on the Island Highway, we headed north. Really, it was a pretty uneventful ride (which I think is always a good thing). The pace was comfortable but not easy and the time flew by for me. I had some weird achiness in my hips that I could have lived without, but it wasn't anything that ruined the ride for me.

Before I knew it, we were at the Nanaimo airport (and the 70km mark in our journey) and it was time to turn around.

The way back was just as good as the first half. My pace was consistent throughout and the sun continued to shine.

The worst part of the ride was the nearly 5km of climbing we had to do right at the end to get back to our house. I should be used to this by now, as any ride that starts and ends at home has a pretty big hill to tackle, but it certainly wasn't my favourite part of Saturday's ride. That said, I'm sure it was good for me.

Saturday afternoon was spent running a couple errands and chilling at home with Shane and the pooch. I was supposed to swim, but the lure of the sun soaked couch and time with my two favourite guys won out. So I skipped it, comforted by the false promise to myself that I would swim the next day after my run (spoiler alert: that did NOT happen).

Sunday morning was another early one that saw Kirsten and me meeting up with the Trail Guys for a jaunt around Gowlland Tod Park.

A 35km road run was on the schedule, but we both decided we needed a change of pace, location and scenery and that the trails were calling our name. As such, we decided to do a time based run in the hills. 35km on the road would likely take us about 3.5hrs, so that was the plan for the day.

And so, 3.5hrs(+) of up, down and all around is what we did ~ Caleb Pike, Holmes Peak, Jocelyn Peak to Mount Work and back.

By the end of the run, my legs were like Jell-O. I felt like a baby animal that was first learning to walk. The serious fatigue in my legs made it seem like every one of my stabilizer muscles completely forgot how to function (and I'd say the soreness in my legs today is a good indication that I was using some forgotten muscles yesterday). By the end, I was sweaty, dirty and tired – it was a good kind of tired though.

The afternoon was spent in the sunshine, hanging out and doing some chores. So, while the weekend was full of training, it was also pretty productive in non-triathlon areas as well (which doesn't always happen) and I can happily say, I'm feeling pretty mentally refreshed.

Here’s hoping that feeling will carry on through the week. :)

Also, to end this post off, here are more of my #100happydays.

Day 2

I know I already posted a 'Day 2' in my previous post, but that evening Shane and I rediscovered an old road/trail across the street from our place and had a glorious walk up in the hills. Oh, and I couldn't choose just one photo. Oops.

Day 3

The perfect parallel park job – on the first try! A rare happening when I’m behind the wheel.

Plus: a night out at the theatre seeing some amazing dance.

Day 4

Toot Speed. Enough said.

Day 5

Random dinosaur sighting at the mall.
Pretty much the coolest (and most unexpected) thing ever. 

Day 6

Post-ride nap time with the Colonel. Thanks to Shane for capturing this moment.
Also, pretty sure that poor Rusty woke up covered in my drool, haha.

Day 7

Summit rewards = a glorious day and some of the clearest views I've ever seen.

Day 8

A beautiful spring wander at lunch along a mostly empty causeway.
While I have nothing against tourists (as they help make our city tick), it sure is a treat to have the harbour to yourself on a sunny day. 

Happy

I recently started following Erin’s blog (Sweet Sweat Life) and was really touched by her most recent post.

[Also, I have to admit, I did a lot of whining about the rain this weekend, and reading that it is still snowing in Minnesota (and various other parts of Canada and the US) I feel little bit guilty. I promise, there will be no whining this coming Saturday if I wake up to rain… but, Mother Nature, please oh-pretty-please can we have a dry day for biking?]

I haven't necessarily been feeling any less happy or more happy than normal lately, but I really love the idea of 100 Happy Days and thought it would be fun to participate in it (in my own way) leading up to Coeur d’Alene (which is only 82 days away ~ yowza).

So, for the next 100 days, I’m going to attempt to post my Happy Days photos here on the blog. I likely won’t post a new photo every day, but I do vow to take one every day and then will aim to post once a week(ish) – so kinda like a weekly recap of happiness. That sounds pretty fun eh?

I took my first photo yesterday. It was an easy one. The little Rustbeast makes me smile every day.

Day 1

Rusty ripping up the tracks with a wee stick he found, on a beautiful Spring evening.

Day 2

Walking to work this morning, the sky may have been grey, but the pop of colour from the theatre’s garden definitely put a smile on my face.