Friday, June 29, 2007

I like It haha

no doubt in response to Reebok's new "run easy" campaign.
I love it.
I should write this stuff...

http://www.wearenotjoggers.com/home

Rrrribit...Rrrrribit

Celine has a new bike. A hot Guru Crono that is green. She calls it her frog.
So last night I rode up to the Westhills Second Cup and met her for a ride. The clouds were dark and ominous and as we started the ride, the rain started as well. It was not too bad so we kept going (I didn't make the offer to go back!) the frog survived the rain and it died off shortly after leaving the city. We rode out Lower Springbank to Springbank and home. It was windy and I was expecting a tough slog back in but it wasn't too bad after all. We must own the 2 smallest bikes in Calgary, we probably looked like a pair of dwarfs out there ;-)
We stopped for a Latte (since we were there and all) and had a good visit.

Training for the Day: Bike 42km round trip from home and was out for 1hr44.

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Trail Trashin'

Had an outstanding trail run tonight with the Trailtrash group. Always fun, always entertaining! Lots of mud, bog and mush to create some fantastic kodak moments. A couple people doing face plants in the mud pit Hugh convinced them to run through. Hint: if Hugh is standing with his camera poised, and suggests doing something...don't! HAHA.
Celine and I stayed pretty clean, we avoided the mudpigs and had a very peasant run on the 16km telephone loop west of Bragg Creek.
Had a nice cool down in the creek crossing near the end which Celine was cautious about doing after hearing the story of Darin's creek crossing turned swim experience...hehe.

Training for the day: Trail Run 1hr 55.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

I am Aero

I should be anyway, I lost at least 500g of hair today- so I should be faster on the bike now!
Had an easy training day, just a commute ride to and from work and to get my hair cut. Feeling good, looking forward to a trail run tonight with the Trailtrash gang.

Training for the day: Bike 55mins

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Looking Ahead

Feeling recovered and ready to start the next phase of training. D and I did a great recovery spin Sunday, and lots of stretching yesterday- I am good to go today for my short brick tonight. I am surprised once again how good I feel post race. I have been recovering soo well with very little muscle soreness or stiffness. My legs felt 100% the next day, the only part of me that was fatigued was my upper body/ neck. This is a good sign of my body's ability to recover efficiently.

I am meeting my coach tomorrow to discuss the next training block of my program. One thing I have become aware of is that I can push myself more in training. I need to start training faster than I have been, so that I can race faster.

July is a BIG month for us. We have some huge cycling volume planned- starting July long weekend with a back to back long ride session and then our 800km in 7 days Tour BC beginning July 15th. I can't wait! A whole week to do nothing but ride through beautiful BC! The multiple days of mileage, mountains and heat will be great IMC training.

We also have a big trip planned for my 30th birthday August Long weekend. Lots of fun on the way!

The other thing that we will be starting with more frequency are the long trail runs. 4-5hrs on the trails every Sunday and 2hrs on Wednesdays makes for some serious strength, endurance and mental training- without the damage inflicted by pounding the pavement.

Finally, we will be doing weekly open water swim sessions beginning July 5th. This always proves to be invaluable training for the IM swim. I know that all the open water swims we did in the past 2 weeks contributed to my great swim time in the Chinook half.

A busy couple of months. Our next tri isn't until August- the Lake Chaparrel Olympic, and then IMC Aug 26th. We are running the Stampede 1/2 marathon and a short trail race in August, but other than that it is all training from now until the big day!

In other news that no one but me (an mom) will care about- I have made the decision to chop the hair. It is too long for summer with all that I am doing and it has got to go! So today I will say goodbye to my long locks and hello to a low maintenance 'do...

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Chinook Half Ironman Race Report

The day started at 5:45am, up for breakfast. It was so nice to look outside and see the sun starting to shine- After last weekend it was a relief!

We were at the race site by 6:45, set up our transitions, checked in and were body marked. I got my wetsuit on and headed down to the lake to get warmed up. We jumped in and did a short swim. The water was not too bad at all- like a bath tub compared to Arbour Lake!

The race was an every man and woman for themselves start- meaning there were no heats and we all started together. I have to say that I really hate swimming with Men. In the first 5 seconds I was elbowed in the face by a guy. I didn't let it bother me too much and just tried to find some space to get going. The pack spread out quite quickly and by the first bouy it was all smooth. The first lap went great, and I started the second lap feeling great. I was sighting fine, but as I came nearer to the first bouy I realized I was wide. I tried to correct my line but for some reason I kept pulling left and when I got to the bouy I had to turn and swim another 15m to swim to get to it. The same thing happened with the second bouy and I was getting really frustrated with myself. I was also completely alone in the water- an eerie feeling when you are in a race with almost 200 other people! I manged to stay mostly on course for the last leg in to shore but I was feeling really ticked at myself for the extra 200m I probably swam. It was a jaunt across a playground to transition, and I made sure that I was quick to put on my gear and get going. I glanced at my watch and was surprised to see that I had finished the swim in under 35mins. A PR for me!

It felt great to be on the bike. The temperature was cool but not cold, and I was only a little chilly in my wet sleeveless jersey and tri shorts. By the time I reached the city limits I was warm. Darin and I biked the course a couple times in the past few weeks to I knew that I was in for a challenging ride. I also knew that the way out would be tougher than the way back, and it was a gradual climb punctuated by significant climbs all the way out. My plan was to play it cool on the way out- to keep my cadence high and stay in my small chain ring as much as possible. I was being passed by lots of men- but it did not bother me. I knew I would see many of them later.
I rode according to plan and about 10km from the turn around I saw the lead male. another couple kms later I saw another male and shortly thereafter spotted Darin. I called out a "woohoo baby!" and was re energized to see him riding so strong! As it turned out the second male I saw was on a team so he was actually riding in second place.
As I approached the turnaround I counted 6 or 7 women ahead of me. I was kind of surprised as I thought I was further up in the pack, but I still had time to make up ground.
Right after the turnaround there is a cattle gaurd and as I bounced over it my water bottle popped out of my cage and dropped into the abyss below. Of course it was the FULL bottle rather than the empty one, and I had just passed the aid station. D'oh.
I had grabbed a banana so I scarfed that down and hoped I would get some moisture and electrolytes from it. Luckily it was not too hot of a day, and it was not an issue. But it could have spelled disaster for my race!
After the turnaround I dropped into my big ring and began to motor. I felt like I was flying and it turned out that conserving on the way out paid off. I was cruising up the hills passing people like crazy, I felt outstanding and passed many of the same people that had blew by me on the way out.
The last 6 km into town was into a pretty strong headwind, but I was really stoked to see my bike time of 3hrs 15mins for 96km! That is better than I have done on 90km courses in the past, and this one was a challenging ride.
It felt great to get off the bike and get going on the run. I was feeling good, my legs were not too fatigued at all, and I covered the first 5km in 25mins. I tried to keep that pace, but my lungs were not cooperating. I saw Darin again and 3/4 into the first lap he passed me on his second lap. I looked at my watch and realized he was going to be well under 5hrs. He was flying and looked sooo strong! I drew on some of that good mojo and it helped me keep pushing. After the big climb out of Fish Creek park it was back through transition to start lap 2. I was a bit disappointed to see 56mins for my first lap, but I knew I just had to keep pushing and hopefully would not slow down any more. I got into a good rythym and began to pass people. I finally saw some females, but they all seemed to be far head of me. The course loops back on itself as it weaves through fish creek park, so I knew they were up there, but I had some work to do to catch them. I think I managed to pick up my pace and soon I was reeling people in, including 2 girls who were both in my age category. In the last couple of KMs before the climb out of the park I passed another woman in my AG and it was one more push up the hill and to the finish. As it turned out I was the first in my age cat to finish- so it was worth that tough push on the run!
Darin was there and I gave him a huge hug- he finished in 4:43 and was second overall. I was even happier for his finish than my own! He has worked so hard and finally had a race where everything came together.
My finish time was 5:49 which is a PR for me on this course distance.
It was a tough day, as they always are! The mental focus required to continue to push through when all I want to do is back off (or stop!) is amazing, but I feel like with every race I am getting stronger at this. I kept thinking of Lisa Bentley, who said that the difference between those who win and those who do not is who is willing and able to push through more pain. It hurts for everyone and success to me is knowing that I never gave in to the voice that is always there telling me how much better it would feel to back off, to walk or to stop all together. For me, winning is about racing from the time the gun sounds until I cross the finish line- no matter where I stand in the field. Knowing that I "left it all out there" is what winning is to me. And as long as I do that, I know that I have done my personal best.

Saturday, June 23, 2007

Great Race Day For Us!

Darin and I both had great races today. He finally had a great 1/2 race- he finished in 4:43 and placed 1st in his age group and 2nd overall! I am sooo proud of him!
I had a great race too, finished in 5:49 and placed 1st in my age group and 4th woman overall. The results that are up have me in the wrong age cat, but they corrected it at the awards and we both received very cool carvings as prizes.

2Km Swim 34:42 1:45/100m
96km Bike (longer than a regular 90km bike for this distance) 3:19:04 Ave 28.9 km 21km Run 1:56:07 5:32/Km

I was really happy with my swim and bike, but I thought I would have a better run.

I will write a full race report tomorrow- I am spent!

Thursday, June 21, 2007

2 more sleeps till race day

What a gorgeous day! The only way it could have been better is if I had been outside on my bike all day :-)

Had a good ride before and after work and one final open water swim in Lake Midnapore to get our bearings before the race Saturday.
Feeling ready to go...just one more day for getting stuff together and then we get to go out there and have some fun!

Training for the day: Bike 45mins Swim 40mins

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

The best day of my life

A year ago today, I met Darin. A completely random meeting- I was presenting a keynote to a bunch of stiff bankers at a PD day. He was one of the stiff bankers. I talked about Ironman and taking risks to expand your comfort zone to have more of what you want. He was an Ironman and took my words to heart- he decided I was what he wanted more of and took the risk to approach me afterwards. I was less than receptive but a connection was made and something inside of me lit up when I looked in his eyes and he smiled....
It took another month before we went on an official date, but it only took a few conversations and a couple of trail runs for both of us to realize we had finally met our respective matches. Every day since the day we met has been the best day of my life.

So tonight we had an appropriate celebration- a trail run in Fish Creek Park followed by a sushi picnic. It was a beautiful night to do what I love best with the person I love best... followed by the food I love best ;-)

Training for the day: Trail Run 60mins

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Feeling Goooood... :-)

Had a great swim at Midnapore lake, did the course, got familiar with landmarks etc. Felt really good in the water- all the open water swimming has really paid off.
Biked today as well, an easy commute spin with a bit of extra mileage thrown in. My legs and entire body feel great. No residual effects of the race. In fact I feel as rested as I have in a long time and my massage therapist told me on Monday my legs are in as good of shape as he has seen in a long time (meaning they aren't as messed up as usual).
This recovery and back to back races are perfect timing for my training. After Sunday and a recovery, it will be time to build back up. July will be a really big mileage month with our week biking trip in BC and some other cycling adventures we have planned.
I am really looking forward to Saturday, it will be a fun day and a day to test my distance racing.
Training for the day: Bike 1hr Swim 30mins

Tomorrow is a special day for us, we have some fun planned to celebrate!

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Nobody..said it was easy

Well today was a day of will. It was not a race of speed, or even fitness. Today was a test of sheer will and willingness to push through and cope with extreme discomfort.
I have raced in my share of crap weather. I have dealt with rain, wind and cold before. But today was by far the most extreme weather I have ever raced, trained or even spent extended time outside in. I have pushed through pain and discomfort before- in tough training sessions, races and of course in Ironman itself. But this race required me to dig deeper than I have every dug before, just to keep pushing and
continue, when every cell of my body was screaming to stop and find a warm place.

This morning we awoke to rain, not a big surprise as it has been forecast all week. It was windy for an early morning and the air temperature was hovering around 7 degrees.
I was excited to race, regardless of conditions, what I wanted was a change to push myself, mentally and physically- and today provided an exceptional opportunity to do just that.

We were at the race site by 7am, time to set up our bikes and gear in the swamp that had been created in the once grassy transition zone.
I was layered up, but the rain and cool air had me shivering while putting on my wetsuit and getting ready. I was actually looking forward to the swim, I figured (and was correct) that it would be the warmest I would be all day. They herded the Olympic distance women into the water for the pre race meeting and then let us stand there shivering for almost 15mins! I kept warm by swimming short sprints and aqua-jogging but by the time they pulled us back to the beach for the countdown to start, I was shivering along with the rest of the blue lipped, body fat deficient athletes.
The gun went and it was great to dive in and begin to swim. I felt great right from go and held a strong but comfortable pace for the entire swim. I had the lead pack of 7-8 girls within sight, but strangely I was on my own after the first 200m. I kept thinking I must be off course, but realized I was more on course than those ahead of me and a those behind did not catch up enough to be seen by me.
I exited the water not far behind the leaders and proceeded to have what was the longest transition ever. As soon as I had my wetsuit off the cold hit and my body temperature plummeted. I put on a long sleeved jersey and struggled until I had my winter gloves on. I even put on socks which almost never wear thinking they might provide some insulation. As it turned out they were sopping wet before I even mounted the bike, from the rain and the water underfoot.
I started out on the bike hoping to get a fast start if for nothing else to warm up. Even with as hilly of a course as it was, my body temperature never did warm. It went from freezing to cold and even that was a welcome improvement.
In the first lap I passed 3 girls, all of whom were out of the water before me. I didn't know how many were ahead of my but a volunteer said something about me being 4th. As it turned out there were probably 4 or 5 girls ahead but the thought of being near the front of the pack helped to keep me from dropping out on the first 2 laps of the bike.

I cannot describe just how much physical discomfort I was in. My hands were frozen to the point it was difficult to squeeze my brakes. My feet were completely numb and my entire legs were so cold I could barely feel them. I stayed in aero as much as possible just to conserve a small bit of heat. I kept feeling my body beginning to tremor and I knew that if I let it go it would become uncontrollable shaking. I breathed through each of these episodes and fought to stay in control of my body. I knew if I let it start I would lose it all together.
It was raining so hard that when combined with the headwind and downhill sections there were times when I was unable to see for the rain pelting my eyes. On the 3rd lap there was an ambulance scraping an unconscious female racer off the pavement and it really served as a focus check. I slowed down even more on my descents as the water on the roads was really beginning to accumulate and get deep in some sections. It is a bit disconcerting to be flying down a water covered road on skinny slick tires with brakes that don't want to catch due to the water on the rims. All I could do is pray and hold on.
I also didn't take in more that 2 swigs of fluid- for one it meant sitting up, and for another when I did get the bottle out and to my mouth I was barely able to hold on to it, never mind squeeze it. I was also unable to suck as my mouth was completely frozen!
I was very happy and surprised when I came through after my second lap and Nicole and Andy were there cheering me on. I could not believe they came out in the awful weather! That is true friendship. I tried to tell them that but it came out as some ridiculous garble- again the frozen lips.

By the time I finished the 4th lap I was sooo happy to be getting off the bike. I came into transition and proceeded to have the new slowest transition ever. My hands were absolutely frozen and cramped in the shape of my bars. I struggled to change my shoes and when it came time to get my helmet off I tried and tried but could not get my fingers to do it. I called over a volunteer who had to take off 2 layers of mitts before freeing me from the chinstrap.

Finally I was ready to run- but not before I went the wrong way in transition, forcing me to run the entire perimeter of the slew before exiting with sopping wet feet. Not that I would have known, my feet were frozen like blocks. In fact my legs were numb from my knees down. I literally could not feel anything as I ran and it was the most bizarre sensation to be putting one foot ahead of the other without being able to feel much more that the vibration of the impact.

The run course starts with a gradual uphill section that leads to a climb up 'heartbreak hill'. On any other day this hill would not be a hill to me- but with numb legs and a completely depleted system, it hurt. The first time, the second time the third time, and the most on the fourth lap when my legs and feet has regained feeling. I was willing my legs to move as fast as I could, but almost fell over when I looked at my watch after the first lap and saw 15mins..!!! Yikes. I did manage to pass a couple of girls and was passed only once after I made a wrong turn up another hill (paying attention goes a long way).

When I was coming down the hill completing my last lap I took a moment to feel a true sense of pride in myself for pushing through and completing the race. I truly feel like I gave everything I had and raced to win the entire time.

I finished with a time that on any other day would be terrible. But conditions dictated that my 3hr Olympic race netted me a second place finish in my age group and 6th or 7th woman overall. (Official results have not yet been posted).
On an even cooler note, we stuck around for the prizes (despite what had become uncontrollable shivering from me) and my number was drawn for an awesome cycling jersey- in Darin's size and favorite colors! He was happy and I was happy. Then, his number was drawn for a Pearl Izumi cycling jacket in my size and perfectly matched to my bike. We were even more happy! Our prizes definitely covered our entry fees, and we both left feeling grateful for the race experience we had.

Splits, placings and results aside, this was a day for the records. I made a massive deposit in my metal toughness bank account and I know that it has made me a stronger athlete and person.

Every single person out there deserves big kudos- many people did not even leave the house today, never mind put themselves in the thick of the wind, rain and cold wearing little more that underwear and strapped to a piece of metal riding on thin, slick wet pieces of rubber- just for the sake of completing a goal they had set for themselves. Because the idea of quitting on themselves was more painful than the pelting rain and biting cold. Because volunteers showed up and stood for hours in the rain to allow us to do it. Because as athletes we know that we don't do this sport because it is easy. Nobody said it was easy, and as with most things in life we know that the things we work the hardest for generate the sweetest reward.

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Ready to Race

Strange to have a Saturday without a long ride...
Spent the day doing house stuff, errands etc. I guess this is what normal people do on the weekend. I would have rather been out on my bike.
Ready to race tomorrow, not sure what the weather is going to bring, but I am looking forward to ripping it up no matter what. I need to put all this extra energy to use.
Wheeeeee...

Friday, June 15, 2007

A nice reminder

Came across this blog entry on trifuel.com and really enjoyed her perspective. I see things from both sides, I have a coach and as much as possible I adhere to the schedule she provides me (why else would I pay for it?). But I am also a firm believer that our bodies are our greatest teachers and #1 coach. My body always wins out over the schedule- and I believe any coach would want their athlete to be that way.
I am also a huge believer that training is a lifestyle, I do it because I love it, it keeps me healthy, it is something I do just for me, and I beleive that I was given a body to use and enjoy. Triathlon has connected me to a side of myself I never knew before, and I have unleashed an inner athlete that (as an adult) no one can tell me is not good enough, tall enough, thin enough or fast enough to compete. I will never be "cut" from the team, or picked last. I am an athlete on my own terms and I race to better myself more that to be better than anyone else. The day that training ceases to ADD to my life in a positive way, is the day I find something else to do. With the amount of time, money, energy and attention I give it, it had better be something I love and enjoy- otherwise what is the point?
Thanks for the reminder ironmom... http://ironmom.blogspot.com/2007/06/meet-coach-joy.html

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Dialing in...

Today we managed to get out for a ride despite the wicked wind and ominous clouds. I am glad we went out, even though it was a slow grind. I haven't been on my bike since Saturday as Tues I was indoors, and I felt a bit disconnected when I was riding today. I will ride to work tomorrow and get in a warm up ride on Saturday. That should get me dialed back in for the race Sunday.
Went on a little date with D tonight, out for a nice dinner and then to Bow Cycle for some gear shopping. We both found long sleeve full zip jerseys which we wanted for the race. It is going to be cool and I hate struggling with arm warmers over wet arms. I tried swimming with my arm warmers under the wetsuit but they bunched up and felt heavy when I was swimming. So this is perfect. I am sure I would be fine without anything but I would rather be comfortable than freezing. Not to mention the jersey matches my bike perfectly and looks hot!
Tomorrow we are going to try and get into the lake again for a short swim. Saturday is a warm up bike and run, probably on the course.
The forecast for Sunday looks like crap, but I have raced in crap before, I can handle it. The thing about crap weather is that everyone in the race has to deal with it and there is nothing I can do to change it. The best thing I can do is stay positive and focus on what I can control.
I am just excited to race. All this training has to lead to something- races are a celebration and an opportunity to put to use all the day to day work and training hours.
Training for the day: Bike 33km 1hr 10mins.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Here Fishy Fishy

Finally got into the lake tonight for an open water swim session. Did the Arbour course, and I felt ok, but my arms felt heavy and even though I tried to go fast, I felt slow. Just getting used to sighting and swimming without the line at the bottom of the pool! I will get in there a couple more times before the race and will get more comfortable I am sure.

One thing I am happy about is that the water temp was not as bad as I remember. It was 12 degrees but really after getting started it didn't feel bad at all.

Swam over lots of fish...

Overall, I am feeling really good about the weekend. I should be really well rested if nothing else, this has been the easiest week of training in a long time.

Training for the day: Open water swim: 40mins (3 laps around the lake plus some fun)

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Crazy Calgary Weather

Well the plan today was to get into Arbour lake for a swim, things seemed to be going as planned until I received a weather warning for severe thunderstorms. We decided to do an indoor workout and swim tomorrow. Of course, as is the rule in Calgary, the weather changed by the time we finished- it turned out to be a calm, sunny and clear evening. Ah well. We will try again tomorrow night.
Got a good spin and run in anyway, feeling good about the race Sunday, I am ready to give it all I have!

Training for the day: Indoor Bike 1hr15
Run 45mins
Core/Stretch 20mins

Wow...

http://www.selfgrowth.com/news.html

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Weekend Update...not nearly as entertaining as the SNL version

Had another solid weekend in terms of training.
Friday I was feeling really tired from the sleepless night before so we decided to do our swim Saturday morning and have a relaxing evening. Got to bed early and had a very restful sleep.
Got up early to be at the pool for 7:30 and did our swim. Got in 3100m in an hour and felt really good.
We then packed up our bikes and gear and headed out to Bragg to start our ride. We wanted to do the Chinook half course again before the race.
It looked like we might be in for a wet ride by the ominous dark clouds, but as it turned out it was a perfect riding day.
I had a great first 40km- felt great and did it in 1hr11mins. The way back felt a bit tougher though, there is definitely more uphill on the way out. That will be good to remember on race day, the first half will seem like a tough slog, but I can trust that the way back to town will be somewhat faster. It is a tough bike course none the less, and I am anticipating about 3hr20 for the 96km on race day.
I tried something different and downloaded an audiobook to listen to on the ride. I chose a Paolo Coehlo novel "the devil and Miss Prym". It was really good and I enjoyed listening on the bike. Something I will definitely do again.
Saturday afternoon we did some errands hit the market and did a little shopping. Had a great bbq dinner and then cozied up on the couch and watched a movie.
Sunday morning we slept in until 8:30 and then had a lazy breakfast before heading out for our run.
It was another nice day, I was looking forward to finishing the second half of the audio book. I was surprised at how good I felt right from go, and really enjoyed my run around Glenmore Resevoire.
Had another great afternoon- we both picked up some racing flats for the Sunday and another awesome bbq for dinner.
Looking forward to some open water swims this week in Arbour Lake and this Sunday it is race time!! We are both excited to test ourselves after all this training...woohoo!
It was such a nice evening that we decided to go out for a walk. Went down to River Park and back. It was beautiful as long as we kept moving- the mosquitos were vicious!

Training Saturday: Swim: 1hr 3100m
Bike 80km 2hrs 40
Sunday: Run 18.5km 1hr44

Thursday, June 7, 2007

Sunny Sunny Sunny Day-eay

Feeling much better today, woke up rested.
Did a great ride from Rocky Ridge Church to Cochrane and rode the hill, then home.
Short and fast ride, felt really good. Took 90mins and I was in zone 2 the entire ride.
Had a fun evening at Chucky Cheese for Emma's b-day party. Note to self: never have kids party at Chucky Cheese... ;-)

Had body comp done today as well. Apparently I have 19.4% body fat. Most of which is in my legs...? Ah well.

Training for the day: Bike 42km 90mins

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

I am really tired today, sleepy tired...
I think my BP is really low, I've been lightheaded more than usual. I also missed taking my iron the last few days and I am sure that has added to it.

Took it pretty easy today in training, just an easy hour run. Hopefully the rain stays away tomorrow so I can ride to work. I haven't been on it since Saturday and I miss my baby!

Off to get some sleep...

Training for the day Run 60mins

Tuesday, June 5, 2007

Tuesday Indoor Tri Day

What a storm we were treated to tonight! Luckily we were inside doing our Tuesday Tri.
It was a tough one from start to finish today! All high zones and speed work. I always feel a bit flat on Tuesdays after a rest day Monday, and today was no exception. I was tired after work and it was all I could do to drag myself to the gym for what I knew was going to be a killer workout. Lucky for me Darin was in for it too, and he helped kick my butt out the door to go.

Started out with a swim that was full of speed work. 400m w/u 5x 50 on 1:15, 5X100 on 2:15 and 5x200 on 4:15, 300 C/D. Was a short, but intense workout.

Then onto the track for the Bike/Run workout. It is great at MRC that they have spin bikes right on the track, so it made it easier to do this workout.
4 sets of 14min bike zone3/4, 6min run zone 4.
Sounds easy enough but I literally almost lost my cookies on the third set.

Anyway,we did it. Made for a late night so straight to bed. At least this rain has cooled things off and we should be able to go to sleep without the fan.

Training for the day: Swim: 2500m 1hr
BRICK: 80min

Sunday, June 3, 2007

Wicked Weekend Get Away

We had a fantastic weekend in the capital city. We left Friday after my swim, and Darin putting on my new pedals and cleats for my new shoes (they are soooo beautiful, but like most beautiful shoes, not as comfy as the ugly ones).

We made it to Edmonton by 9:00 and checked into our sweet ass hotel room at the Westin downtown. We thoroughly spoiled ourselves this weekend...well mostly Darin spoiled me.
Had a chill night hanging out with a bottle of wine...

Saturday morning we were up early to try and beat the heat. After a 5 star breakfast at the hotel buffet we headed East towards Sherwood Park. Clinton recommended a ride east on the Yellowhead to Vegreville. He said it was 80km each way which was what we were looking to do and a destination in between is always good.

We found out later we didn't drive quite far enough to start so our ride was destined to be longer. It was a real change for us to ride on a fairly flat road with virtually no wind and the first 90km to Vegreville took me Darin just over 2.5hrs and me just under 3. The head was fairly tolerable as it was still before noon, but after a stop for food and water refills it had already begun to heat up.

We started out on our way back and my bottle cage broke. I was now left with 2 bottles, both with Gu20 and no plain water. Big mistake. The first hour all I could think about was how thirsty I was, that my Gu20 was hot and salty and how nice cold water would be. By the second hour I was feeling woozy- the sun was beating on my head, I was soooo thirsty and the Gu20 was making me more thirsty! It was all I could do to keep taking sips and moving forward. It has been a while since I have ridden in this kind of heat and I forgot how much it saps out of me!

Just as I was feeling desperate enough to pull into one of the farm houses and ask for some water, I saw a cyclist in the ditch up ahead. I approached to see what was up and saw a girl my age bleeding from the lips, nose and mouth. She had someone with her and said her boyfriend had gone to get the car and was on his way. I had nothing to provide in the way of help, so I carried on my way with a sharper focus, seeing how much worse my day could be. I realized later that I recognized the other bike that belonged to the boyfriend and then realized who the girl was. I felt terrible for her and later found out her injury was serious enough to end her triathlon season :-( Just shows how quickly it can happen to anyone, and that being on the road negates focus and attention at all times...

I finally got my relief from the heat when I came upon a Shell station about 20km from the car. I stopped and bought the biggest bottle of water they had, guzzled as much as I could, filled my bottle and dumped the rest over my baked head. It was like I'd been infused with life force and I felt 100% better getting back on the road.
Not long after, I saw Darin driving on the opposite side of the highway and realized he was coming for me. We made an agreement that when he finished he would wait 30mins and if I didn't show up come looking for me. Aa it turned out, he figured that in that heat I would feel as crappy as he had and decided not to wait. I was at just over 160kms and 5hrs48 ride time so I was happy to put my bike on the roof and take the ride :-) Darin did 195km in 5.5 hrs and other than being white with salt and sustaining a couple bites from a flying ant, didn't seem too worse for wear to me.

We were back to the hotel later than expected so we had just enough time to shower, grab some Sushi with Jay across the street and head to the concert. Cory was meeting us there as she drove up that day.
The train was packed with people heading to the concert and although we thought we were late at 6:45 (the time it was supposed to start) there were streams of people still arriving when we got there.
As it turned out Sloan didn't start for about 45mins and the Police got to the stage at 9:00!
It was a fantastic concert- so cool to see them live. Jay and Darin are both big fans so they were quite excited to be there. The music was awesome, so many great songs and Darin knew every word to every one they played (he gave Sting a run for his money). He was especially excited at the old old stuff they brought out. My personal favorite was Roxanne which they played prior to the encores and Every breath you take which they played as the final encore.

It was a late night and I am really surprised we both managed to stay up with enough energy to dance and cheer through the end. We didn't get back to the hotel until 11:30 and it was after midnight before we finally crashed.

Sunday we slept in until 8:00, went for another great breakfast and then out for a run on our tired legs. Edmonton has an absolutely amazing river valley pathway system, and we found some fantastic trails to run on that were soft, cool and surrounded by lush greenery. My legs felt sluggish for about the first 20mins, but then started to feel really good. I had a great 95 min run and could have carried on if I'd had more water. The sun was out full force again and as soon as I exited the shade of the trails I was baking.

We showered, packed up and checked out by 12:00. We stopped for some lunch and then hit the road. We made it home by 4:00pm, had time to unpack and relax for the evening.

Overall we had an absolutely perfect weekend away. It was a great celebration and reward for some great milestones we have reached and we both really enjoyed and appreciated every moment.

Training Friday: Swim 3000m 1hr 05min
Saturday Bike 163km 5hrs 48mins
Sunday Run 95mins

oh, and lots of dancing at the concert saturday night......that counts, right?