Police 1/2 Marathon

Had a great run today, the weather turned out perfect and we had a good day.
Ran with Celine, who kept me moving, making sure we passed as many girls as we could. Stuck together until the last couple k's when Celine took off to ensure the girl in the blue touque did not beat her. She tried to motivate a last push out of me by ensuring me she was in my age group and I needed to beat her, but alas, my last push was not enough. Celine was successful and finished in 1hr 42 while I crossed just under a minute later in 1hr 43.
I was happy, it was a good training run and my goal was 1hr45 so this was a bonus and a PR for a half for me.
Feeling pretty good post race, considering my ave HR was 169! Yeesh. It really didn;t feel that intense but my max was 190- the monster hill at the end no doubt spiked me there.
All in all a great day. Darin pulled off a 1hr24:55 despite a porta potty visit at the 10km mark.

Training for the day: Race Running 1hr43

Saturday Swim

Woke up early this morning so I could be at the pool for 8am to get my long swim in.
I was too tired last night after the ride to swim.

Had a good swim this morning, nothing too intense just long and steady.

We are going to Darin's niece Tasha's bday party today- go carts! Should be fun...

Tomorrow am is the Police 1/2, Celine and Clinton are both running with me, but I am treating it as an easy training run so not sure how long we will all stick together. Darin is running too, but the most we will see of him is a trail of dust..he and Clinton are out riding today, it is another windy one out there,but the sun is out and I am sure they are loving it.

Training for the day: 3.0km swim 1hr03

Life is GOOD

So today I took the day off work to ride my bike. Life is GOOD.
What a day! Met Chris, Jill, and Jill's friends Tonia and Cheryl at the Petro Can on Hwy 1 and carpooled to K Country.

We started out from the Barrier Lake info centre at about 1030 and were immediately greeted with a ferocious head wind....wheeee! We rode uphill into the wind as far as we could on highwood pass. Got about 8km past the gate when the road disappeared in the snow.
The headwind, uphill grind was tough, but it was rewarding to have the ride home. My max speed was 71km and I was holding on for dear life at times with the wind gusts coming up off the mtns.
The scenery was spectacular though, and we saw some deer, and a huge bighorn sheep who seemed to be the greeter at the gate.

All in all a wicked good day on the bike. I am pooped but very happy and I feel like this was just the little get- away I needed to recharge my batteries.

Training for the day: 105km 4hrs 12min

Windy Thursday

Another busy day at work today, as I was trying to get my to do list cleared off so that I can take tomorrow off without worry. I did well, and am looking forward to being out in the mountains on my bike! I have been working like a madwoman and this is a reward and a necessary break.

Came home and met Darin to go for a ride. By the time we ate and were ready to go the wind was really gusting and we both decided that a highway ride was out. (well I decided mostly)

SO we did an in city ride, which had its own challenges and was certainly not free from wind! We had a good workout despite the traffic, off roading and unexpected detours.

Ended up with 100 mins. I also had a massage today, Adam focused on my shoulders, pecs, ribs and diaphragm...ouch ouch ouch is all I have to say about that. Hopefully the results are worth the pain, I will find out more tomorrow.

Training for today: Ride 100min

V02 Max Test

Today I did my V02 test on the run. It went well and Syl was really happy with my results, apparently I am an excellent fat burner! Yeah.
We talked about my training and progress and she gave me some really reassuring and positive feedback. I have been very consistent and am still listening to my body so I know I just need to keep it up and I will continue to see good results.
After work did a good run with Celine, I have been doing so much training on my own it was nice to run with a friend for a change.
All in all feeling good and very happy that the sun has returned!

Training for the day: V02 Test 16mins
Tempo run 56mins

The longest Tuesday Ever

Today was a long and challenging day for me. I was up at 6:30, and did some work in the morning before heading to the pool for my swim workout. Had a good swim, with lots of drills, it was 2500m and took me over an hour!
Had a very busy work day, and didn't get much of my work done due to an ultra marathon meeting- not as exciting as it sounds- just a really long staff meeting. I didn't get home until 7pm which meant a very late start for my B/R workout. Fortunately it was a short workout and I finished before the sun disappeared. It was ridiculously windy out there and I stuck to residential streets for my bike, I don't think I could have held on out there. Felt good on the bike and the run, took it pretty easy as I have my VO2 test for the run tomorrow as well as a run after work with Celine. Don't really know what to expect of the VO2 test but I am hoping for less snot/drool that I experienced in the test on the bike...

Training for the day: Swim 1hr5min Bike 45min Run 15min
2hrs total

Massage Monday

Rest day today, but I feel like I did a serious workout. Had a very intense massage a la Adam today, he worked on my hip flexors which were super tight, along with everything below them.
I drank lots of water today and will be in the pool in the morning, so I should feel better for my brick tomorrow evening...

Sunday Run

Today was forcast to be sunny, but the grey skies prevail...
I slept in this morning, it was glorious, 11hrs of sleep!

Headed out for my run feeling great, the plan was to keep it easy and do 60-90mins in zone1-2. The first hour I felt spectacular, so I went for the full 90. I was starting to feel mu hip flexors by the end of the run..I am REALLY looking forward to my massage tomorrow, I definitely need it!

Had a nice afternoon at home, cooking, cleaning and laundry like the good housewife I aspire to be ;-)

Can't wait to get outside on the bikes this week, the forcast looks good so my fingers are crossed!

Training for the day: 90min run zone 1-2
Stretch

Scaled back Saturday

Well rather than a usual long ride today, I did a good 40min stretch and an easy hour spin on the bike. I am trying to listen to my body but it is hard when my mind wants to go! Darin did a good 2hr push on the bike.
I will trust myself and my coach that I am doing what I need to, to train smart. I know going hard in every workout is unrealistic and it is only April...

So the rest of the day we had to ourselves! We both had flat tires to deal with AGAIN (life in a construction zone) so Darin got his tire changing workout (he is becoming a pro) and we went for a nice lunch at the bean and then to Bow Cycle to browse. We are both looking at mountain bikes- something entry level- that we can cruise around the pathways on, take out to the trails and use for commuting. Riding a $6000 racing bike on the pathways just feels wrong...

Training for the day: Stretch 40mins, core, Bike 1hr

Friday Sweet Friday...

Well, the weather hasn't improved, it has gotten worse if that is possible!
But if anything it was a good day for a long swim.
We did our Friday night date at the pool, I had a fantastic swim- did 3.0km 500m (free w/u), 500m (25m fast, 25m easy), 500m (paddles and pullboy), 500m (50m fast, 50m easy), 500m (25m fist, 25m free), 500 free.

I talked with Syl today based on how my body/ energy are feeling I am pulling back a bit on the training for the weekend, to allow a good recovery. I would rather do this and be proactive, then end up sick and be forced to rest.

Darin and I have the whole weekend together- no studying for him..yay!
Looking forward to hanging out, taking it easy and doing some regular people stuff.

Training for the day: Swim 3.0km 1hr2min

Feel the Burn

Today was a great day at work, a good day to be inside as the snow continues to fly..
Had a short but intense bike workout- 10min w/u, 5x5min seated climbing zone 4
recover as long as it takes to get back to zone 2
My recovery was really quick, one minute or less in each set. We decided to do an extra set just for kicks.
Felt really tired tonight, we are off to bed at 9:30...
Looking forward to a chill weekend, feeling on the verge of overtrained, need to back off a bit for a couple of days and allow my body to recover so I can come back strong!

Training for the day: 1 hr indoor bike
stretch

I miss the sun...

So today my schedule had me doing a 90min trail run. How fun, my favorite kind of workout! When I looked out my window this afternoon I was sad to see wind, snowy sleety rain and dreary grey skies... not a great draw to go running.
For the rest of the day I formulated excuses as to why I should skip the run and do a bike or something indoors.
When I got home I bundled up and headed out..so much for excuses. I headed out into the blowing sleet/snow and almost immediately I was unable to see due to the amount of water/slush that was accumulating on my glasses. When I took them off it was worse because the ice pellets flew directly into my eyes making me blind and in pain.
So a blind run it would be.

I ran to river park and did all the trails I could find. It was pretty wet and muddy to begin with but over the course of the run the trails up the river bank went from slippery to impassable. It got to the point where I literally could not get up the hill, with every step I took I slipped back 2 feet! So I called it a day and ran home. The good news is I managed 85mins and I actually had a lot of fun out there, I came home soaked to the bone, covered in mud, and trudging in shoes that weighed 20 pounds each with all the mud.

Chalk this one up to will training for getting out there and completing it.

When I got home I had a great reward of Darin (exams completed) cooking a delicious dinner and whole evening just to hang out together.


Training for the day: Trail run (mud bath) 85mins

Tuesday mini tri

I had so much fun last week when I did this I decided to do it again. And it is a great excuse to sleep in a bit in the morning ;-)

Went to MRC after work, did a Syl swim workout of 2050m, lots of speed stuff in there. I wasn't feeling super speedy, but felt pretty good just the same.
After the swim it was to the gym for a 45min bike and 30min run- both zone 2.
Once again, I felt like a rock star and kept having to reel myself back in to stay in Z2.
The run was great- 7.0-7.5mph and I felt like going faster.

Total Training: Swim 50mins Bike 45mins Run 30min= 2hrs05
Plus Stretching and core work

MRC Sprint Race Report- My first 1st place Finish!

The race went great, I had a fantastic overall race. My swim was not exceptional, no warm up and it was definitely not my fastest 500 but my watch time was 9:44. The bike was GREAT. I felt super and pushed the entire time, it was 3 laps and I was faster with each lap. My total time on the bike was 32 and change. The run was the best part of the day, I got into a really good pace right away and never fell back. I was able to turn it up a bit at the end and managed to pass every single person within eyesight on the course. My run time was 22mins and change. It was actually 5.8km instead of 5 so not bad for me.
The transitions were pretty good, I decided to go straight on the bike without any add'l clothes. It may have slowed me down in T2 though as my fingers were frozen and I had trouble undoing my helmet and getting into my shoes. But overall I felt really good.
The chip times are funny because the swim time started when you crossed the mat in the pool, then had to walk to your lane, get in and swim. The time stopped after you exited the pool, went up two sets of stairs and outside to the timing mat. So my swim time on paper looks bad. The bike time included both transitions, which wasn't too bad, and the run was accurate. My total time was 1hr 6min which was fast enough to get me 1st place woman and 11th overall.
Aside from splits, placings etc, the real win for me was how I felt. This was an early season race that normally would have hurt!
I felt so strong and amazing the entire time. Maybe that means I didn't push hard enough but I really felt like I pushed the whole way and still felt fantastic!
It was a great reward for all the indoor training sessions all winter!
The bonus was my prize- a massive gift basket from Planet Organic filled with yummy stuff. Made my day! Darin came in second overall and he left with a ton of swag too. We were both pretty stoked.

So I am fired up to keep this training up! I really feel like it is my year to do it.

We still had a 90min ride to do following the race, so we rented a movie and did an easy spin on the trainers. It was mentally tough to finish as I was pretty tired and starting to get stiff. But with my little motivation man at my side I finished the entire ride and did a good stretch after.

Total Training for the day: Sprint Tri (525m swim, 18km Bike, 5.8km run) 1hr06
Plus Bike: Trainer ride 90mins

A Great Saturday

Today was a great day, it is unusual not to be training for 2-3 hours on a Saturday, but today all that was prescribed was an hour run with pickups at the end.
My first mission today was to get tickets for the Bon Jovi concert that will be here in July. I was in right at 10am as soon as the tickets came on sale, but the best I could get was second level!? I was disappointed, I decided to wait and try some other avenues to get better seats. I want one of the first three rows- I am, afterall, one of the oldest, biggest and most dedicated fans!
So next was the run, which was pretty good- but I have racing on my brain and found it difficult to reign myself in and keep my HR under 145. We did a little tour through North Glenmore park along the res.
Aftern the run I met Celine for lunch, it has been far too long since I have seen her and she has had some major life changes in the past month, so it was great to catch up.
After lunch Darin and I did some errands and then spent the evening at home, ready to race in the morning!

Training for the day: 1hr run

Frrriiiiddddaaayyyy

mmmm So glad it is Friday. Hit the pool after work for our Friday night swim. Did a bit less than usual to save some energy for the race Sunday. We picked up our race packs and surprise surprise there were no xs or s race shirts left. Bummer.

Training for the day: Swim 45mins 2.2K

On The Road Again...FINALLY!

Well, the temperature hit double digits today, so I was happy to get out of the basement and out on the road for some fresh air and sunshine!
Had an awesome ride out lower springbank road and up to Springbank. It was a bit windy, but I couldn't even care, I was so grateful to be outside! I rode 42km in 1hr40. I felt really good, the hills were no problem and even the wind wasn't getting to me.
All this training must be working...

Training for the dat: 100min Ride 42km.

Is that the Sun!!??

Yeah, the sun came out today, what a beautiful site. The snow is melting and the air is warming up- not warm yet, but warming.

Did a run with Clinton today after work, he came here and we ran to river park and I led us on a trail run up and down the river valley. It is my first time exploring the trails so we ended in a few dead ends and had some messy trails to navigate, but it was fun just the same. Lots of hills...yeah.

Darin took the evening off studying so we got to have dinner and hang out together which was awesome.

Total Training: 67min Trail Run

Tuesday Triathlon

I slept in this morning and didn't have time to get to the pool, so after work I had a swim, bike and run to do. Serves me right for not getting out of bed!
It went really well, I felt amazing!
Did a 70min swim, did all the drills (even the ones I hate) and Darin noticed that I am getting faster! So it is paying off!
Then it was to the gym where I did a 45min bike- pushed level 10 keeping 95-100rpm. Then I jumped on the treadmill and ran 30mins at 7.0-7.5mph. I felt so strong I could have kept going.

Training for the day: 2.5hrs
Swim 1hr 10mins
Bike 45 mins
Run 30mins

Monday- Rest day

Another rest day.
Mom and Dad left this morning, the house felt really empty with them gone! I spent the day cleaning up and returning our place to normal. Buck has been sick the past couple of days, he is just not himself. Hopefully nothing serious is wrong with him.

Darin and I enjoyed some time together alone tonight, it has been great with my folks here but we kind of missed our one on one time!

Energy is back

Well the rest day was just what I needed. I woke up with more energy today and we got on our bikes by 10am for our 2 hour ride. We did a workout that Syl gave me last week and added a couple of drills to make it 2 hrs. We then went straight out for an hour run to complete the workout. My legs were pretty heavy towards the end of the run, but just being outside in the SUN which finally made an appearance was great.

Had a great dinner out with Darin's parents and my parents. It was great they could meet and everyone had a great meal and a good time.

Training for the day: 3 hrs
Bike 2hrs, Run 1hr off the bike

Impromptu Rest Day

Woke up this morning and decided to take a day off training. My body is exhausted and I don't have it mentally to train tired. Decided to rest and do a longer B/R workout tomorrow.

Darin and Dad went to the flames game tonight- the seats we got were row 1 seat 1- my dad was thrilled. Mom and i watched on TV and saw them 3 times.
Flames lost, but made the playoffs anyway. It was quite and experience for them just to be there.

Good Friday

Ahhh Friday. Darin is off work today so we all went to the Farmer's market this morning to hang out and buy veggies.
Darin and I went to MRC to do our Friday swim and then I did my run while he studied.
I was really tired again today and wanted to nap. I figured out that I have missed taking my iron for the past few days- that is probably part of it. I need to shake this. I am feeling really exhausted. I made it through my workouts but my hr is high and I feel unusually fatigued.

Training for the day: 1hr10min Swim, 1hr run treadmill, set to random.

Thursday

My parents and I spent the day together, and I rode with Darin when he got home from work. We rode 90mins in zone 2-3. Mom and dad came down and watched us sweat. I am sure they think we are nuts. Sweating our butts off like hamsters in a wheel...

I am feeling tired today- legs and overall. Had a good ride though, it was tough to just ride, and continue to push the entire ride without any specific drills to focus on. Good training for ironman- at least there are hills to break it up.

Total Training: Bike 90mins zone 2-3

Hills...

Had my first hill workout today, was scheduled to do 5x 3-4' hill. The hill I used in river park only took 2.5' so I did 7 repeats. My HR was up to 174 by the top of the hill, but had easy recovery on the downhill return. It was a 15min run each way to the hill to did 60min total run time.

My parents arrived today, on their way home from a month in Mexico. They are tanned and really not impressed with the crappy weather here. I could really use some sunshine myself!

Total Training:
60 min run- 7x hill repeat

Two a Day Tuesday

Giddy up, good start to the training week with an hour swim this am and a 90min ride after work.

Training for the day

Swim 1hr
Bike 90min
2.5hr total

A Good Attitude Goes A Long Way

Athletics has taught me a lot of life lessons. Some of my greatest personal growth has come through physical challenges- having a goal, working for the goal and completing it. Endurance athletics at a recreational level requires commitment, discipline, sacrifice, blood, sweat and tears. At a professional/competitive level it is all consuming. Pro Ironman triathletes work 40+ hr weeks- but they are not sitting in an office, they are pushing themselves physically and mentally. Swimming, biking and running countless miles. Most people don't make time to exercise even an hour a day. Imagine exercising upwards of 8hrs a day! No matter how you are feeling. All of that training cumulates to races. Races that you are expected to win- by coaches, sponsers, fans and yourself. A bad day means letting a lot of people down, and the bad day is public, reported on, analyzed and talked about. There is nowhere to hide. For most pro triathletes if they are having a bad day that will not produce a good result, they will drop out of the race and spare themselves the physical damage of completing the distance.
Lisa Bentley is one of the hardest working pro triathletes out there. She is not exceptionally fast in the water or on the bike (as compared to other female pros) but she can run down a pretty large time deficit and has relied on her run to make up for her time losses on the bike. She is also tough as nails. This was most evident in Kona last year when she made it through a 3.8km swim, a 180km bike and a quarter of the way through a marathon with a burst appendix! Lisa is also one of the most down to earth, positive and happy people out there. She always puts a positive spin on her situations and is always speaking to how grateful she is to be able to do what she does no matter what the result.
Last weekend Lisa raced Ironman Australia, a race that she has won for the past 5 years. There was a lot of pressure for her to win a 6th- and she was even given the number one for her race number- a first for a female.
Lisa did not win a 6th. She did not even crack the top 10. She had an injury that forced her to walk the last 14kms. Most pros would have dropped out, and most anyone would have been upset. Lisa's response was gratitude- as you can see in her race report below.
I believe that I can take a page from her book and adopt this kind of attitude in my own life- in my training and racing, and in my life.

IM Oz 2007

Today was probably my hardest Ironman to date and probably my greatest victory to date – what a way to celebrate my 30th career Ironman! I did not win the race – in fact – I did not even crack the top ten – but I still won the race because I crossed the finish line and I finished what I started. That, at the very core, is the only thing that matters when you tackle any task – you do your best and you find meaning in whatever happens. The only thing missing while I walked the last 12 km of the marathon were my dogs – Madison and Brunswick. They would have loved a little walk along the ocean!

As everyone knows – I love Australia and I love racing here. And so, I could not pass up the opportunity to race at Ironman Australia. After I finished the 2006 season, I had a few injuries which I dealt to very diligently over the winter and I was completely pain free for the Pucon Half Ironman. But then, Ironman training began and I was constantly plagued my chronic heel injury which has been on again, off again for a few years now. So I nailed all of my key sessions on the road and everything else was done water running in the pool. Then, for the past month, in an effort to get completely healthy for IM Australia, I alternated one week water running and one week land running. To be honest, it was feeling amazing the week prior to Ironman Australia. But a marathon is not a walk in the park and after 18 years in the sport, I am still learning lessons. I have no regrets – I thought I would be fine – maybe a bit off pace – but I didn’t not think that I could not perform at all.

My swim was quite good. I got out nice and fast and felt really long and smooth. Apparently, I swam 52 minutes and change which is my best swim ever! I had really worked on my swim over the winter and sought out training partners whenever possible; that is the key for me to keeping my swim training honest and on task.

Off onto the bike, I felt awesome. I was happy with my cornering skills and my aggression – something that was lacking when I raced here in 2006. We had a major headwind on the way out for 30 km and then a fantastic tailwind on the return leg of the 3-lap, 60 km course. I was a few minutes behind Belinda out of the swim and also behind Melissa Ashton and Rebecca Keat. On the outbound leg, I could gauge where I was and I must admit to being a bit discouraged that I was already losing time. But I reminded myself of all of my great bike rides in preparation for this race and to have faith in my cycling strength. I also reminded myself that while I could not control their cycling, I could control my own spirit and my own attitude. Personally, I race best when I am happy and good to myself – so my focus returned to myself to ensure that I was being my own biggest fan.

I did continue to lose time over the remainder of the ride, but I can honestly say, that I rode very well and very legal! There was a lot of drafting out there and I did cross the line knowing that I did, in fact, ride the bike course myself and earned my bike time myself and on my own. I suppose you could say that I did not play by the rules of the day – that I should have tucked in and drafted – but to me, there is no difference between drafting (cheating) and taking drugs (cheating) – and those are two things that I will never do!

I felt fantastic on the final lap of the bike and I really dug in there to try to minimize the time gap to the leaders. I felt as if I could run 20 minutes out of the leaders if I had to. The running I had been doing in my preparation had been fast and so I started the run feeling happy and thinking positive.

After the first hour, I was on pace for a 3 hour marathon but I was not taking much time out of the leaders. I did not pay much attention to my time deficit. I stayed internal and focused on having the best run that I could possibly have. To be honest, my heel was hurting from the start of the marathon, but no different than it had hurt throughout my training. But after the first hour, I started to limp and then part of my leg started to compensate and that was when the trouble started. I had a huge internal battle with myself – I believe that it is important to take what you get on the day and yet, I also have to think about my professional career. And most importantly, I want to be running forever. I had to start walking – the pain was too great and the risk of worsening the injury was too much. I started a little walk with 16 km to go, but I just could not believe how slow I was going. So I managed a little shuffle for another 4 km until I saw Dave and he saw my little limping leg and he made me walk. And so the 12 km walk without dogs began.

Today was a great day. I did the best I could do. I knew I would have some pain on the run, but I didn’t think it would be as brutal as it was. Some may say I was stupid to start the race, but I honestly believed that I had rehabilitated it enough to allow for a good performance without risk. We never know what we are going to get when we do an Ironman. Sometimes, we have the races of our lives and we win and sometimes we have the races of our lives and we walk and we still win. I am very proud of my performance. Finishing today’s race was one of the hardest things I have ever done. But finishing any task is what we all learned from our moms and dads.

Now it is time for some serious non running time and healing. I have no doubt that I will there in Kona – healthy and running fast!

Thanks for cheering.

Lisa

Long Snowy Run..

Yes it is April 1st, apparently the April Fool's Day joke is that winter is back!
We did our long run today in tough weather- windy blowing ice/snow that seemed to be in our faces the entire run!
We made it through though. I almost killed myself coming home, over Crowchild I was coming down the stairs and slipped. Luckily I caught myself on the railing but I smacked my left calk into the step and jarred my right shoulder when I grabbed the railing. Ugh...I need summer!

Had a good day, made dinner and had Darin's parents over for a nice visit.

I am looking forward to a rest day tomorrow!

Training for the day: 1hr45 run- from home, around Glenmore Resevoir. 18-19km