A Day in the Life ~ Last Tuesday

I wrote this last week before a whole bunch of unexpected things (including a very sick pup, a snowstorm and a never-ending power outage) derailed life and training a bit. Other than the fact that we are still without power, things are starting to get back to normal. So here’s a look at one of those kind of ‘normal’ days.

4:30am Wake up, look at clock and realize I have just over an hour to sleep.

4:53am Geez, it’s only been 20 minutes. I tell myself to go back to sleep.

5:05/5:21/5:25am ^See above, with slight variation on “geez, it’s only been….”

5:31am Screw it. It’s time to get up. Alarm or not.

Hit the washroom, floss, brush teeth, and put my swim suit on. Quietly say goodbye to Shane and head downstairs where I give Rusty some cuddles before getting ready to head out the door.

5:35am [I actually take longer than 4 minutes to do the washroom biz, but I set my alarm clock ahead by about 12 minutes, as I don’t like the idea of getting up before 5:30, even though I clearly am – this means I often make it downstairs with the same time on the clock as when I get up]. As today is mine and Shane’s anniversary I set up the coffee so it will be ready for him when he gets up. This isn't something I usually do, but since it's a special day, I act the part of a nice wife. Set up a card and anniversary present on the counter; slug back some water and juice, do one final bag check and give Rusty one final snuggle before I head out the door.

5:45am Hit the road on route to the pool.

6:05am Have a quick chat in the change room with “lady-who-has-been-swimming-there-for-as-long-as-I-can-remember-but-have-no-idea-what-her-name-is” about the fact that the parking lot is really busy today and how we are both hopeful that doesn't mean the lanes will be busy.

6:12am Walk out onto the pool deck to the glorious sight of EMPTY LANES!

6:13am Get going on my swim workout. It’s just a short one today, which is quite nice as my body is feeling a bit sluggish from the big weekend of training that just past. I flip turn through my warm up, do some drills, chat with Roger [an older guy who is about the same speed as me but likes to tell me how slow he is and how quick I am – really, I’m pretty sure he’s just fishing for compliments] before getting to work on the main set. Good, consistent times. I still feel a bit lethargic, but am happy to be swimming and notice a few moments that really click. I make it through the whole workout without having to share my lane at all, even though the lanes around me have begun to fill up.

7:04am Workout done! I head over to the leisure lane to stretch out a bit and find myself creepily watching “IM-Florida-swim-cap-guy” cranking through some 100m repeats. I’m not sure why, but I feel the need check his times and stroke count. For the record, his stroke count is similar to mine, however his 100m time is definitely quicker. I am not a stalker. I swear. 

7:10am Hit the showers and get cleaned up for the day ahead.

7:37am Sit in my car and eat my breakfast while listening to the “Awkward Tuesday Phone Call” on Brooke & Jubal, before joining the rest of the cattle on the way to work. Notice I’m following my Dad into town today. I wave at the next stoplight, but I don’t think he saw me.

8:05am The Colwood Crawl was pretty good today and I make it to town pretty quickly. I park and wander through the alleyways and side streets to Habit for an Americano. I’m not sure what it is, but I always find that a Habit Americano is pretty much the best thing on earth after an early morning swim.

8:15am Get to work a bit early and just kinda get to it. Do some work. Some Twitter and Facebook (which is actually work related now). Check emails. Work some more. Facebook some more (non-work related now).

10:00am Head downstairs to Starbucks with the coworkers. I haven’t had a double coffee day in quite a while, but I’m feeling rather ravenous and think that maybe drinking some calories might help. I green tea latte it up and head back to work. Eat some snacks and do the usual everyday tasks.

12:17pm Look out the window at the driving rain and contemplate skipping my run.

12:25pm Suck it up and go get changed.

12:30pm Head out the door for my lunch run. This truly was one of those days that getting changed and getting out the door was the hardest part. It was windy and it was wet, but it didn’t actually feel too bad once I got moving. My legs were a little tired and my pace wasn’t super quick, but it turned out to be a decent run. My inner monologue went something like this: “head winds suck” “tail winds are awesome” “oh man, I have to poop” “yay tail wind” “this isn’t so bad at all” “oh man, I’m going to get blown away” “I’m glad I didn’t skip this.”

1:24pm Get back to work a little later than I meant to (oops) and quickly get showered for the afternoon. Remember I ran out of deodorant this morning and make a mental note to pack a new one in my bag tomorrow. Cross my fingers that I won't start stinking too much as the afternoon progresses. 

1:40pm Back at my desk. Munch on my lunch. More usual everyday work tasks. More Facebook and Twitter. Read some blogs. Work some more. Eat more snacks (this is pretty much a constant). Play some radio contests. Kill some time. Work a bit more.

4:30pm FREEDOM! Hit the road home to spend the night celebrating 8 years of marriage and 15 years of togetherness with my favourite person. Stop at the wine store and the Thai restaurant on the way home, as I don’t feel much like cooking and figure it is okay to splurge a little on a special occasion.

5:45pm Home. Home at last. The evening really wasn’t much different than normal. We ate. We chatted. We watched the Olympics. I fell asleep on the couch sometime around 9:00 and missed all of MasterChef Canada. You know, the usual. 

Sometime in the early 10:00 hour Make my way to bed and doze off with Shane and the Rustbucket beside me. 

The Race of Death

^No, I’m not referring to Ironman, although I think some of my friends probably consider that a death race.

What I’m actually referring to is the Canadian Death Race. Aka: the only other race I’ve signed up for this coming season besides IM CdA.

I’m not quite crazy/brave enough to sign up for this bad boy solo (yet?) and so, I will be taking on this challenge as part of a relay team with some of my favourite peeps ~ my family!

In all fairness, this race was never really on my radar and I figured the summer months post CdA would be spent doing what I felt like. You know, perhaps some shorter races, maybe a few trail adventures (running and hiking), filling my gut with yummy food and summer brews, and generally just enjoying a summer free of strict training plans. That said, the Death Race is something Kirsten has been itching to do, and when Shane told her that if she did IM CdA with us, he would do the Death Race – well, she called his bluff.

And so, team “Till Death Do Us Part” was born.

The team will consist of me and Shane, Kirsten and Tyler, and my Dad (who was nominated and named the 5th member of the team without much warning or chance to decline. Good thing he is a good sport and always game for a new adventure).

I don’t have much to say about it so far, as I haven’t done much research. I think my summer post CdA will still consist of all the things listed above, just with a little bit more trail running thrown in the mix... which definitely isn't a bad thing.

One thing I do know about the race is that I will be running the 3rd leg.

I also know that the race takes place in Grande Cache – a town that I have very limited experience with, but a town that I won’t soon forget.

Years ago, as Shane was going into his second year of college in northern Alberta, he decided it would be best to drive back up to school rather than fly and so I accompanied him on the road trip. I think we had planned to try and make the trek in one day, but as the sun began to set and the realization that we would be the sore losers should there be a collision with a moose, we decided to stop at the next town. 

The next town? Yep, you guessed it, GRANDE CACHE!

I have only ever spent that one frightful night in Grande Cache, in a motel that I am pretty sure Norman Bates was running. I still shudder when I think about it. 

Let me tell you, when the creepy desk clerk gives you the ‘only room left’ and lets you know it is a ‘special one’ you kind of wonder. When you enter the world’s creepiest room and realize it is located right next to Norman Bates’ private residence, you start to think about taking your chances against the moose on a dark highway.

I don’t think I slept a wink that night, nor did I remove any piece of clothing or unpack anything from my bag. I was ready for a quick getaway should psycho make an appearance.

Anyway, long story short, we’ll likely be camping during the Death Race, cause I can’t remember the name of the hotel and I’m not taking any chances the second time around.  

    

Friday Five

1) Rolling Rolling Rolling… I've been riding the rollers about once a week this winter. We've had them for a couple years now I think (although I didn't spend much time on them at all last year). I have progressed from the confines of the hallway, to the entrance of our kitchen (it's a slightly wider space than the hallway, but still has something on each side: a counter on one side and a fridge on the other). I would say I am much more confident and comfortable on them than I was in the early days (I don't feel the need to wear my helmet anymore like I did the first time I rode them, haha), but I still am a little shaky at times and do like feeling there is a bit of a safety zone with the counter/fridge situation.

On Wednesday night at trainer class we had some of Kelly's Kids join us. One of the girls rode rollers for the class. She was beside the wall, but it was just on one side. I was kind of in awe. The poor girl probably felt a bit awkward, as I think I spent the majority of the class staring at her. She was quite impressive – one leg drills, high cadence drills, strong efforts – she seemed to handle it all with ease. Never once did she look like she was going to hit the edge or slide off. Perhaps it is the fearlessness that comes with youth or maybe she has been riding rollers for a long time, but whatever the case, I was impressed.

2) Last weekend Shane was away and Kirsten was in a conference, so I spent a bit of time training (and living) solo. The weather was great on Saturday afternoon, so I tackled a 90km ride around Greater Victoria. My folks joined me for the first 30km which was nice and then I peeled off on my own to head down around the waterfront. The sun was shining and the roads were quiet. It was a good day.

Sunday, my motivation to run long on my own was lacking a little, so I joined the wonderful Trail Guys and splashed around Thetis and Stewart Mountain. I didn’t hit the kilometers that I was scheduled to run (25km) but I did spend a solid 2.5 hours running through the forest (so probably around the same amount of time it would have taken me to run 25k on the road). 

It was one of those outings that was good for your soul. At times I found myself lost in conversation, and at times I was equally lost in the quiet. My legs were pretty fried by the end, but I was happy with the day and the weekend as a whole (and I was finished early enough to be able to get all my chores done ~ something that often gets neglected during IM training).

3) This week has been a bit of a “regeneration” week. (I've noticed Kelly called it this, rather than a “step back” week or a “recovery” week in one of his emails). So, what that means is the week has been a bit lower volume, but with some higher intensity stuff mixed in. On Wednesday, I tackled my first interval run in a while.

The main set was 6x 1km at 10km RP with :90 recovery. I was a little worried about this workout, as it has been a while since I actually ran at a true 10km race effort. Thankfully (and maybe a little surprisingly) it went really really well (despite the shockingly cold weather, one urgent bathroom break, and my stupidity in hitting the stop button rather than the lap button at the start of my last 1km effort). I managed to hit times that I think are realistic of my 10km RP at this time (and they were pretty consistent to boot), and while it was a hard effort, it was definitely a maintainable effort.

4) As mentioned above, it has been ridiculously cold in Victoria this week (central Canadians and east coasters can start laughing at me now). Each morning when I've left the house the thermometer has read somewhere around -8 and I don't think the day time high is getting much above the freezing mark. It's dry and my skin in cracking and I can't seem to get warm – EVER! While I absolutely love the sunshine that comes with this cold weather (and even though my last couple sentences may say otherwise, I don't actually mind it that much), I have realized that I'm kind of a wuss when it comes to the cold. Also, it has made me ever more thankful that I don't live somewhere that “polar vortex” type weather is the norm. So, I guess what I'm saying is... Island living for the win!

5) I tackled one of my New Year's goals recently. I swam 800m with flip turns. I did a 600m “steady strong” effort in one go and then was feeling so good about it, I carried the flipping through into my 200m cool down. I definitely am still not flip turning consistently throughout the workout, and I do notice that if I don’t really focus on what I’m doing, they can get a bit sloppy, but I think it’s a good start. Yay me!

And with that, I’m out. Happy Friday everyone!

A Biggie

I’m ridiculously hungry.

As I sit here writing, I can feel my tummy starting to growl (and I just finished eating!). I suppose it is my body’s way of reminding me of the weekend that just past. This is pretty typical for me, two-days after a big set of workouts is usually when I get the deep hunger. You’d think it would happen sooner, but for some reason, two-days after is always when it hits me the hardest.

If you haven’t guessed by now, this past weekend was a biggie. In fact, the whole week was pretty big ~ a good solid 15-16hrs of training.

By the time Coeur d’Alene actually hits, I’ll probably look back and laugh at the fact that I felt like this was a big training weekend, but right now, at this time of year, as I build back my base and get reacquainted with my bike seat, it feels pretty large.

And it was – in comparison to the fall and the holiday season (where I may have slacked off a little).

My body feels a bit tired, and as much as I wasn't super keen to sit on my bike for 40km on Sunday, after having spent 80km in the saddle on Saturday, I'm enjoying feeling the strength come back into my body. As cheesy and cliché as it might sound, through the heavy legs, I can feel a nice foundation being built.

Last week, while on the higher volume side, was fairly typical. I spent a few mornings in the pool and followed up most swims with a strength session. I spent my lunch breaks running and busted my ass at trainer class. I ate. I worked. I slept. I even sat on my butt and logged some good ol’ TV time.

The weekend was mostly spent on my bike. 

Even though the fog had engulfed Victoria, I am pretty dang thankful for the dry, warm days we've been having. It's so nice to be able to get out and ride for a few hours without having to worry about snow or ice (like the rest of the country) or being soaked to the bone by a deluge of rain (usually accompanied by massive wind gusts).

Saturday was a pretty comfortable ride that saw Shane, Kirsten, Dale and I cover 80km from the Westshore, through Saanich and the Peninsula. The fog was thick and there were definitely a few times I was kicking myself for not having a light on my bike (it was sunny and blue sky at our house when we left that morning ~ amazing what a little elevation can do) but there were lots of other cyclists out on the trails and the roads and we all made it back, safe and sound.

I'm really trying to work on my fueling this year, and I felt like my nutrition was good during the ride, although my refueling post-ride could have been better – which I think I paid for a bit on Sunday.

Sunday's workout was a 40km bike, followed by a 10km run at race intensity (+ 3km cool down). It definitely took me a bit to get going on the bike. My motivation was a bit low, and my body was just a bit sluggish out of the gates (this is where the bad post-workout fueling on Saturday came in). Not to mention, we were riding around Shawnigan Lake, and while I love our neck of the woods, I've ridden that loop so many times that it is not my favourite anymore.

Anyway, I got into a better rhythm by the second lap, and even though I was lagging behind the group a bit, I was happy to stay working at my own aerobic pace and wasn't too worried about the sluggish feeling. I was in a good head space, even if my body wasn't totally doing what I wanted it to do.

Shockingly, the run off the bike felt great! Shane and I stuck together at the start, but my legs were itching to go, so we strung out a bit as the run wore on. My pace picked up as the kilometers ticked off, and before I knew it, we were into the cool down and back at the truck.

It was good. Finishing such a big weekend with a solid run definitely left me with a pretty positive feeling heading into a new week.

Monday was a glorious rest day! And now the new week picks up right where we left off. Another biggie is ahead. 

Yo-Yo-Yoga

At the beginning of December I gave up the yoga class that I had been teaching since early 2012.

I came to a point that I felt like I was doing the ladies who came each week a bit of a disservice by the fact that I wasn't feeling inspired or truly engaged in the classes I was teaching. I suppose, it just started to feel a bit stale. Every Thursday night, I would almost dread the “commitment” of having to be there, and wasn't necessarily enjoying leading the practice like I once did.

I decided stepping away from the class would be a good opportunity to focus on my own practice a little more. Not to mention the fact that during Ironman training, I’m out of the house enough and was longing for more time at home with Shane and Rusty.

So, have I spent more time on my own practice? Not really, but I have spent more time with my two favourite guys, so it's been worth it.

On top of that, I've had the opportunity to sub the odd class, which has definitely helped keep me involved and in the yoga “teacher” mindset.

On Monday night I ended up subbing for Kirsten, as she has been taken OUT by the flu that is plaguing so many people in Victoria right now. She teaches two classes back to back (you can sign up through Panorama Rec if you’re interested), with the first one being a downDAWG Yoga class (essentially, flow yoga + hip hop music = downDAWG Yoga).

I am not trained or certified to teach downDAWG, but since Kirsten was in a pinch, I was her best option. By nature, I tend to teach a very gentle style class, so any sort of power class is a little out of my wheelhouse, but I've been to enough power classes, that I figured I could make it work.

So, I let the women in the class know that they wouldn't be getting a downDAWG class that night; but that we’d still use the fun music and I’d still give them a challenging yoga class where they could work up a sweat and have a good stretch. They were totally game and well, I think they were secretly (or maybe not-so-secretly) happy to be getting a slightly easier session to start the New Year.

We shook our bums to the music, blasted our cores, and then cooled it down with a good round of hip openers (among others things). It was a lot of fun, and a nice easy and welcoming atmosphere to be in.

Round two (aka. the second class of the night) was a “Yoga for Athletes” class.

This style of class is definitely more up my alley and allowed for my more natural “gentle” style to be front and center. That said, it didn't come without some new-to-me aspects.

It was a much bigger class than the first one (16 people) with over half the participants being men. Having done my yoga teacher training in a group full of women, and then teaching at women’s only gym, teaching men was new to me. It was not a bad thing, and it was actually pretty cool to see so many guys taking part in a yoga class (rather than the token 3 or 4 you often see in a studio full of women), it just took me by surprise.

Once class got going, it really made no difference that half of the participants were male and half female. Some women had good proprioception, some didn’t. Same goes for the men, some seemed to be naturals, while others not-so-much. The young guys giggled during certain poses, much like the young girls often did in my Thursday night class. In the end, the atmosphere was similar to what I was used to, but little things made it feel fresh and new.

Anyway, while Monday was a long day (that saw me eating mini-eggs for dinner), it was nice to do something a little different and to feel a bit excited about teaching again. I may have even been a little keyed up with yogic adrenaline at the end of the night. :)

Namaste Motherf*ckahs.

A Glance Back, A Look Forward

Glancing Back…

2013 was a pretty good year. I didn't do very much racing (in fact, I didn't do one triathlon the whole year), but I certainly had some fun new adventures and probably learned a little about myself along the way.

Highlights include running my first stand-alone marathon (well, I ran 30ish km of it and shuffle/walked the rest) and diving head first into the wonderful world of trail running. Obviously, a week spent running through the Colorado Rockies was a major, MAJOR highlight and something I won't soon forget.

Through it all, I definitely had some ups and downs and certainly struggled at times, but I finally got some race photos I'm happy with (ones where I don't look like Sloth from the Goonies) and found a whole new appreciation for multi-sport.

Don’t get me wrong, I really loved hitting the trails and being off-road and don't plan to ditch the trail running anytime soon, but I also realized the variety of triathlon is what makes me truly happy. The smell of chlorine on my skin after a hard swim workout is something that will always make me smile.

Looking Forward…

While I don’t really have any true resolutions that I feel the need to declare as we start 2014, I did think it would be fun to do a little list of race goals and other silly/fun things that I would like to accomplish this year.

1) Swim 500m with flip turns. (I totally stole this, but it is such a great idea. I’m always saying I want to learn to flip turn consistently, this might just be my push).

2) Actually get my butt out of bed on a Saturday morning and go to a Duncan Masters session. It will take me out of my comfort zone for sure (both socially and physically), but it will be good for me.

3) Do a cyclocross race in the fall. I had so much fun when I did a couple races back in 2011 and I would like to give it another go.

4) Try not to be so shy around new people. As in, introduce myself to others rather than standing around looking awkward waiting for someone else to make the first move and introduce themselves to me.

5) In keeping with the above thought, I think it would be fun to get out to more group workouts and make some new friends who share similar interests.

6) Run a sub 22 minute 5k. This really shouldn't be that hard if I actually pace myself properly. I've been very close the last couple years (22:01, 22:06 & 22:07) and well, I know I've got it in me.

7) Run a sub 1:45 half marathon. I haven’t really raced a half marathon since 2010. At that time I set my current PB (1:50:53). I think I am a stronger, more confident runner now and so I’m pretty sure I have a faster half in me. Who knows what the year will bring, but I’m thinking that if all goes well and I’m not totally burned out by the fall, I might see what I’m capable of at the Victoria Half in October.

8) Race a perfectly executed Ironman in Coeur d’Alene. For me this will involve nailing my nutrition, talking nicely to myself throughout the day, having fun, and most importantly leaving it all out there. I had a time goal of sub-13hrs in 2012 at IMC, and while I still want this, I want all the other things to happen first. If the time on the clock starts with a 12, well that will just be the icing on the cake.

9) This one may be a bit cliché but: Talk nice to myself. Judge Less. Get out of my head.

Shane said something the other day that is very true… my “failures” in racing aren't because I don’t train hard or because I’m physically not capable; they are because of this *points at head*. I'm pretty sure my future successes will be found in the same place.

I have some other more “financially responsible” goals and habits I am hoping to form and have written down in my own special little place, but that is boring stuff (you don’t really care if I bring my lunch to work more than I buy it, do you?), so we’ll stick with the fun sport and health related goals for now.

And with that, I leave you a passage that I once read on Clara Hughes’ blog that seems very fitting at this time of year. 

“The goals I have now are small and most likely invisible to others.  Goals of changing the words inside my head to nicer sentiments.  Goals of simply enjoying what I do no matter how small the deed.  Even more than enjoyment, letting myself feel some sort of satisfaction and accomplishment with these small things.  Not simply moving forward like a freight train though all the beautiful moments, forgetting to stop and feel the wonder of it all.”

33

The holidays have always been one of my favourite times of the year. I love Christmas. Everything about it, from the twinkly lights and the festive trees to the mistletoe hung with care. I love all of the decorations – from the beautiful and ‘sophisticated’ to the goofy and the gaudy; it all makes my heart sing.

I love all the sweet treats and the mass quantities of food (even though my waistline doesn't), but most of all, I really love the endless hours of time spent with family and friends.

Another little bonus to the holiday season is the fact that my birthday falls just two short days after Christmas. (It's pretty awesome, as it definitely helps to extend the festive feeling of the season).

This year, I had a really hard time deciding what I wanted to do for my birthday (and it felt like EVERYONE kept asking me what my plans were). Since the pool had been closed for most of December, and was reopening on my birthday, I had told Shane I wanted to swim 3300m in honour of my 33^rd birthday.

When he didn't refuse the idea, and then Kirsten and my parents showed interest in joining too, the wheels starting turning in my head and suddenly my birthday plan started to grow. Soon enough, I was plotting a little 33-themed birthday ‘triathlon’ of sorts.

The plan: 3300m swim, followed by 33km on the bike, topped off with 33mins of running (and, I would hazard to guess, probably close to 33mins of transition time too, haha).

The day started at the pool with Kirsten, Shane and my Mom (my Dad will be learning to swim in the New Year, so opted just to join in on the bike/run portion of the event). I ticked off 3300m at a consistent and comfortable pace. I feel like I have been a bit sluggish in the pool lately, but this swim felt pretty good. I had a few moments of feeling oddly clunky and spastic, but mostly, I was clicking along, nicely rhythmic and fluid.

We suited up into our rain gear and warm clothes for the bike, and rolled out onto the Goose for a nice 16.5km out and back. The pace was comfortable and the company was great. We pedaled away with the wind (unknowingly) at our backs for the first half of the ride. Shane and I had new fenders on our bikes and we happily teased everyone else for the large brown streaks up their backsides, while we stayed clean and dry. The way back was a little tougher as the tailwind we enjoyed on the way out turned into a headwind (shocking, I know), but the rain stopped and the sun even started to poke through the clouds.

I rolled into the parking lot with my odo showing 33.23km. (I probably should have ridden the extra little bit to make 33.33km, but c’est la vie.)

With a quick change into our runners, it was time to hit the JdF trail for the final leg of my birthday triathlon. The first few steps surprised me a bit, and reminded me what it feels like to run off the bike (it’s been a while I guess) but soon enough, we were trotting along, up and down the little hills around the rec centre. In no time, 33 minutes had passed and my birthday triathlon was complete.

Obviously, there was no race clock and no sense of urgency to compete with one another; just a great day spent doing what I love, with the ones that I love most.