Thursday, February 26, 2009

Happy Thursday

Well despite a tough start to the week, things are rolling along. I chipped the ice rink that is supposed to be our driveway on Monday for 2.5hrs. I became a bit fixated once I had started and ended up doing quite a number on my hand, arm and shoulder. Tuesday I was sore, but managed a good strength workout and then a spin. Getting on the bike was tough, I just didn't feel like it. I was even thinking maybe I should just 'quit' until I feel like training again. But I decided to put in a Buffy the Vampire Slayer DVD and give it a go. And it worked. Buffy kicked ass and so did I (thanks Heidi!) I ended up feeling great and the hour flew by. On Wed I was in the pool as soon as class finished at 7am and had a decent swim. It was great to see all my tri buds there bright and early too. After the swim I had a client and then took H-dog out for a run. I heard on the radio on the drive home from the pool that it was -35 and so I bundled up. I ended up being a bit too warm as it turned out, the sun was shining and it was a beautiful day for a run. Other than my face, I wasn't cold at all. 

Today I woke up at 4:50 with a smile on my face, knowing that it is the last day I have to get up early this week. Lori joined me for a spin today and I managed to do a solid 90min effort. I felt great on the bike and enjoyed the company so much I didn't even realize how hard I was working. When we finished I bundled up to take Harley for a walk, which is when I started to feel just how solid of a ride it was :-)

Tomorrow is a sleep in (yay!) another dip in the pool, a core session and then my hubby comes home from up North. I am looking forward to the weekend, it is supposed to warm up a bit which will make Saturday's run more enjoyable for sure.

Here are some pics- the first is pre run on Wednesday, bundled up. Harley is waiting impatiently. The color quality on the iphone leaves a lot to be desired. My pink jacket looks orange and my tan carpet looks pink...

This is post run. We were running into the sun on the way back so it melted most of my eye lashicles.Here is H dog is some of his most common poses. Staring out the window (D calls it dog TV), 



And taking a nap with his new friend. 
Thanks to my parents for sending it for him for valentine's day :-)

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Here we go again...

Well training last week finished up well. Thursday was a tough strength session on the bike, thanks to LL for riding with me- not sure I would have made it on my own. Friday was a good swim with my hubby. We rarely get to swim together anymore, since we can no longer have our Friday night swim dates (no lane swim here). It was nice to be lapped again (not!) and I always find I swim harder when he is there chasing me. Hopefully we can coordinate our schedules to have these swim dates every now and then.
Saturday we headed out for a run with the crew. I ran with the 'fast boys' and was able to hold on for about 10 of the 11.1km before they dropped my sorry butt. I still managed to finish under 55mins which isn't bad for a snowy, icy run. Sunday morning D was feeling like he was coming down with something and my whole body was hurting from a week of strength work. We decided to cancel our group spin session (sorry guys!) and take a rest day. And rest we did! Other than walking Harley I don't think our butts left the couch for more than 15mins all day :-) I'll be doing my bike today as it was to be my rest day. The snow is piling up again out there and the forecast shows a drop in temps over the week, so I guess winter isn't over yet. Boo.

In addition to the training we had some good fun on the weekend too. Thursday was D's bday of course, and he and I had our own private party for 2. It was a blast, and D almost stayed up until 11! Friday night we traveled back in time for an 80's shin dig to celebrate our friend Sonya's 40th bday. It was a lot of fun to dress up and then laugh at ourselves and everyone around us looking goofy. I was really impressed with some of the costumes that showed up. People actually saved clothes from high school, and Sonya changed outfits throughout the night showing off some her favorites from the day. My fav was the turquoise blue unitard. Very Jane Fonda.

Here are some fun pics from the week:





Thursday, February 19, 2009

Happy Birthday Babe!

In celebration of the husband extraordinaire's 36th birthday, here are some photos of my sexy man in his poser days. He is gonna kill me for this ;-)




I love you sexy man! Here is to another 36 years+ of bliss!!!

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Is it Friday yet?


Not sure why, but this week has been tough. My energy is low and my workouts have been tough. I am getting through though. The toughest part is breaking through the lack of ambition to get going. Once I do, I've been able to knock off some seriously good work. I think we all have days where we 'just don't feel like it'. But if 'it' is important, we push through and get er done. This relates to work, life, training, the whole works. I think 'practicing' doing something, even when I don't feel like it, builds strength. Mental fortitude that is passed on to other life areas. Part of why I love being involved in sport- it keeps me from coasting.

This month my coach has me on a strength focus. This means lots of hard work :-) I have read ahead to some of my workouts and I think I might need to stop doing that. Knowing what I had to do today made it tough to get started! I knew I was in for some hurtin. But I got my swim in at 7am and my killer hill workout this afternoon. Now I have one more class to teach before I can collapse into my bed. Every muscle in my body is tired and sore. It is a good tired and sore...at least until I have to tackle tomorrow's sessions...

Happy training :-)

Monday, February 16, 2009

Weekends Rule

Especially long weekends :-)
Our first Valentine's Day and Family day as husband and wife (and H-dog!) were awesome. We did some good training including a group run Saturday and a 2hr group spin on Sun. Today D and I did a brick, but I was feeling a bit sluggish and only lasted an hour.
In addition to the training we had some good non training time too :-) We did go and see 'He's just not that into you', and while there were a few chuckles in there, it was not a movie I'd recommend. At the very least, save your money and catch it on DVD.
We also had a good visit with my cousin Heidi and I got some time with my nieces on Saturday, which I have really missed lately!
Looking forward to a short but busy work week, and to celebrating D's bday on Thursday!!! Thursdays we are both typically bagged from the week, but I have plans to make it a very special birthday weekend :-)

Friday, February 13, 2009

Ahhhh....


It's Friday, a long weekend and Valentine's Day! The week has been great, workouts went well for the most part and I had most of today off and got heaps of crap done that I have been avoiding for weeks.
Wednesday my energy was off. Like completely turned off, as in none to be had or found. I decided to just use what I had for my classes and take the day off training. It paid off because Thursday I was fired up! I met my group at 6am for stairs and then hit the pool. I swam 3km after not-so-accidentally 'forgetting' my workout at home. After seeing the IM drills and one arm stuff the workout mysteriously disappeared from my bag. I had a fantastic swim though. I did 1km swim, 1km pull and paddles, and then 5x200 race pace. I felt like I got stronger with each and by the last couple 200's I was flying. It feels good to know I can still knock out that distance in under an hour. After the swim I met Lori at my house for a spin. We did 70mins which flew by with good conversation. I wasn't slacking though, I kept my gearing at 52/15 and aimed to stay over 85rpm. My hr was high zone 2 for the whole thing but I felt great. We have planned to meet every Thursday to spin together and have been randomly meeting in the pool, which is great. It is really nice to have a training partner who is also a cool chick! The fun wasn't over though, that evening I ran an hour's worth of stairs with my evening group. No surprise I couldn't stay awake to watch Grey's Anatomy.
Today I hit the pool again and did the workout I was assigned to the letter. I had a great workout, other than the a-hole that ended up in the lane with me and had no idea of lane etiquette. It must have been too much for his ego to be passed by Smurfette in the pool.
Tomorrow I am going to run with the group in the morning, and show off my awesome V-day present from my hubby. He ordered me a sweet ass cycling/running jacket from teamestrogen.com. I will have to get a picture, I love love love love it.
We had a Valentine's day sushi feast tonight- first time since before Christmas- and it was soooo good! Tomorrow D is taking my cousin Heidi and I out to see the chick flick "He's just not that into you". THAT, my friends, is love :-) lol
Oh, and a reporter from the paper interviewed me the other day about stretching and running. I didn't know the article would end up being a bit of a roast, but it was good for a laugh. I never thought I'd be described as a 'blonde bombshell' but hey, I'll take it. Have a read and a chuckle if you wish. The picture didn't show up on the online article, but it was me doing a lunge stretch with a goofy look on my face.
http://www.dailyheraldtribune.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1434989

Looking forward to time with my boys this weekend- and visiting with my favorite cousin!

Saturday, February 7, 2009

The first weekend of February

It has been a great week, things are going well with training and life in general. Thursday I did some killer strength work, and then a nasty stairs session that left me completely spent! I ended up not riding in lieu of a 2hr nap :-D, a good trade off in my opinion.
Friday I had a new client in the am and then took H-dog out for a run. We ran fast! The recent snowfall has made for better traction on the skating rink pathways. After the run I had a quick snack and headed to the pool. I was on the phone with a friend who ended up being on her way into the pool too, it was pretty funny. I had a great swim, although I chatted too much and didn't get through my workout as I only had 50mins of swim time in the 60min session- oops! It is all good though, my body was so spent it took a huge effort to get through what I did. I felt super satisfied at the end, a hard week's work complete!

Today D is off running with the group and I am going to head out shortly. I kind of wish I had gone with him, but I didn't get up until 8 and didn't have time to eat, get dressed etc. I do love sleeping in on Saturdays though...
I only have a 75min run, so nothing too big. Tomorrow will be our spin group, and we have a tough 2hr workout planned. Should be good and trashed by the end of that. Monday is a rest day but I might hit the pool with a client who is a former competitive swimmer. I can use all the help I can get.

Looking forward to family time this weekend! Have a great one!

Thursday, February 5, 2009

25 things...from FB



1) I have a strong need to do things right. So I had to look up the definition of random. The definition annoyed me so I am winging it.
2) As much as I need to do things right, one of my gifts is my ability to wing it. and I generally get it right. :-)
3) My husband is the best man I have ever met. He is unbelievably smart, kind hearted, driven and gorgeous. He treats me like gold, we have awesome conversation, share passions and values and always have fun no matter what we are doing.
4) I feel infinitely lucky to have met Darin, and even luckier that he chose to love me and spend his life with me. Sometimes I fear that it is too good to be true and one day I'll wake up and god will say 'psyche!' and it will all disappear.
5) That is the first time I have ever admitted #4 and am now feeling a strong need to delete it.
6) I consider myself a strong and wise woman. I don't like appearing weak or vulnerable, even though I am at times both. I usually hide when I feel that way.
7) I love what I do, I am living my dream running a business that is an extension of my passion in life. My other dream job would be writing ads for Nike.
8) When I was really young I had bad allergies, asthma and then developed double pneumonia. I was in the hospital a lot and the pneumonia issue landed me in an oxygen tent. My mom never left my side. She held my hand until I fell asleep every night and promised she would be there when I woke up. She always was. I remember being released on my 4th birthday after getting a needle in the butt. I was crying in the truck on the way home and my brother was trying to cheer me up by laughing at the cartoon food in the toy fridge that was my birthday gift. That is a very vivid memory for me. Not sure why.
9) Being in the hospital so much is what led to me becoming a nurse. I always wanted to work in pediatrics, until I did and it broke my heart. I went into post partum instead and got to work with newborns and new moms for 6 years.
10) Babies (especially newborns) are my favorite kind of people. They are pure love and have no fear. I will one day write a book about the Zen of Babies.
11) When I was young I was always the caregiver to any and all babies around. People were always telling me what a great mommy and wife I would be when I grew up.
12) When I was 20 I wanted to get married and have kids. When I was 22 I was engaged but had a strong intuitive sense that I needed to experience independence (although I couldn't articulate it) and left the relationship. I was on my own with no car, hardly any furniture, very little money and only a couple of friends in Calgary. I felt more free and powerful than I ever had in my life.
13) I am 32 this year and very excited to be a wife and to become a mother. I am glad I spent the last 10 years being self indulgent- traveling, expanding my world, engaging in personal development, engaging in physical mental and spiritual challenges. The learning, growing and developing has allowed me to become a woman that I trust to be a conscious and loving partner and parent.
14) When I was in my early 20's I didn't exercise, I smoked, drank and used drugs. 10 years later I am a 4 time Ironman finisher, have completed 4 marathons (an an Ultra Marathon) including the Boston Marathon and am the healthiest I have ever been. I always wanted to be an athlete, but didn't believe I was one.
15) Sometimes I still feel like I am a couch potato in an athlete's body.
16) I had major body image issues until I became involved in sport. I never felt like I fit the mold of an ideal woman. Then I started running and doing triathlon and realized I fit right in with my flat chest and boy hips. I now completely love my body inside and out and revel in what it allows me to do.
17) I spent 6 months living in Australia and New Zealand. I spent lots of time outside :-), learned what it was like to live with almost no money (in a van that broke down daily), and overcame some serious challenges along the way. I also became even more clear what was important to me and returned home with a new perspective and gratitude for my family.
18) I did my first marathon in Belgium in 2003 and traveled around Europe mostly on my own for 10 days following. It was a TSN turning point in my life to be in a place where I had only myself and find I truly loved my company.
19) I did 6 years of University and loved most of it. I graduated with distinction and was (and am) very proud of what a nerd I became.
20) In high school I got average grades until grade 12 when I worked really hard to make the honor roll. I had a 79.4 average and missed the list. I cried at my graduation when my name wasn't announced and pretended I was just sad that I was leaving h.s. All of my grad pictures show me with a red, puffy post-cry face.
21) I would never want to go back to high school- or any time in my past for that matter- but especially junior high and high school. It was an unbelievable stressful time and I never felt safe or secure (which is probably why I was such a bitch). The invisibility I felt in University was incredibly liberating and allowed me to relax and just be me.
22) I trained and competed in Martial Arts and Kickboxing for several years. I became an instructor and still love to teach. The years kicking and punching were a great release for me. I let go of a lot of anger on those heavy bags...
23) I honestly feel that my life has gotten better every year of my life. I don't fear aging or death for myself, but I am terrified of losing the people I love. I am in denial of the aging process of my family, I want everyone I love to live forever.
24) We adopted our dog Harley in November of 2008 and I love him more than I thought possible to love a dog. He is going to live forever.
25) I have three nieces I love very much. I am constantly feeling guilty for not spending more time with them.
Since I'm winging it, here is my BONUS
26) If I could meet anyone- dead or alive- it would be my grandmother's mom. Her name was Amelia (Emma) Strong. Her husband died when my grandma was 1yr old, she never remarried and stayed on the farm doing everything herself. She later moved to town, owned businesses and real estate. She was a woman ahead of her time. All of her photos show her in pants :-)

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Happy Humpday


Wheeeee it's Wednesday! I am a happy camper. In fact, I am a very happy, and grateful camper. This week has been rolling along tickity-boo-fantastic with training finally returning to normal. Even more important is the fact that I am feeling back to myself energy wise. After the past couple of weeks I am reminded of how important my health is to me. To be able to go through  my daily life activities, and to be able to give 100% to my family and my clients, is what really matters. Training is a bonus. Icing on the proverbial cake. But tasty icing for certain, and also integral to my physical, mental and spiritual well being. 

Tuesday I did a rock star strength workout that had me shaking from top to toe by the end. My afternoon trainer session was tough, I was actually unable to do the workout so I decided to swap for my Thursday workout which called for a 60min steady state. *Much* better. 
Today I was finally back in the pool and did a tough hour long session filled with drills and kick. 600m of kick (in a row!) to be exact. That hurt, but less than I was anticipating. 
My afternoon delight was a kick ass treadmill workout that involved a good warm up, and then a 20min set at 5km pace. I love these types of workouts. I love the feeling of riding the edge of control, sweat flying and heart pounding. I was only able to do 8.3mph for the 20mins but I felt good about it. My 5km pace is faster than that, but I have to take into account where I am at after 2 weeks of illness. 

I am also feeling a return of enthusiasm for the upcoming race season. I am really happy to be racing shorter distances this year, and feel no regret in taking the year off Ironman. I am looking forward to returning to my love of short, painful and fast racing. Quick and dirty. And still time (and energy) to cuddle afterwards. :-)

Monday, February 2, 2009

Knock on Wood

So far today the snot is at bay, which is a beautiful thing after 2 weeks of constant blowing, dripping and sniffling.
On that note, training last week went ok, the weekend was great though. I ran stairs with my group Thursday (even with a pounding sinus headache) biked Friday, ran Saturday and did a brick Sunday. I felt better with each workout and my heart rate is starting to return to normal. I am anticipating a great week, although I am delaying my return to the pool until Wed to hopefully avoid a repeat of last week. 
D came home Friday night and we had a really fun night together that involved too much wine. Saturday he and Harley headed out with the group for a run and I did my own on the treadmill. I was glad I did because he said it was terribly windy and very icy out there. Plus it was all boys that showed up. In the afternoon D finished the basement flooring project, and it looks great. We now have black gym flooring instead of carpet through the entire training space and it is awesome. Saturday night was a movie night and we actually rented 2 really good ones for a change. 
Sunday our spin crew came and we did a great workout. I did an hour of the 90min spin and then hit the treadmill for a 30min run. I felt great and was happy to have a solid calorie deficit to take into our afternoon superbowl bonanza. See below :-)
D heads back on the road this week...boooooo. I have a busy week ahead though, and as of Friday he will be home 2 weeks straight, so I can take it.