Redefining the Dream

Great Tips for Green Smoothies

2012-01-29T10:33:00.000-07:00

I just watched this video- it would have been good to see when I started vitamixing! I have figured all of this out through trial and error, but if you are just starting to make green smoothies, watch this first!

From Green Smoothies Blog http://greensmoothiesblog.com/

Are You Still Here?

2012-01-29T10:12:00.001-07:00

Yes I resigned the blog. I started a new one. But it just wasn't working out. I mean, this blog and I have been together almost 4 years! We have history. So we made up and got back together.
I'm not sure I'm going to be much more faithful than I was before the break up. My blogging mojo seems to have died, and since I am taking a year off training and racing what is there to blog about anyway?
Oh yeah...VITAMIXING!!!!
Yes, my passion for sport has been traded for a passion for blending and drinking my fruit and veg.
It is a beautiful thing.

Since getting our Vitamix the first week of January we have both been drinking 2 (Darin) to 4 (me) large cups of super foods a day. I am getting a handle on the art of blending greens with fruit to make the perfect blend. I am learning an amazing amount about what my body wants and needs and I can honestly say I have never been this consistent at getting my 10 servings of fruit and veg a day. We load up our fridge with produce and 3 days later we are re-loading. It is fantastic.

The Vitamix is different from a juicer, instead of separating the juice from the pulp, a Vitamix blends the entire fruit or veg to a perfect consistency so that it is easily absorbed by the body, and you get all the beneficial fiber! Additionaly, the vitamix is a powerful blender that allows you to blend in a short time so you are not heating and destroying the valuable enzymes in the food.

It is also a thing of art :) Check out our Saturday night special:
Variety of greens- spinach, broccoli, kale, grapefruit, oranges, blueberries, apples plus one can of organic coconut milk. And then of course the cherries on top :) and some mint. It was deelish.

Returning to my Roots

2011-11-20T18:06:00.001-07:00

It has been a year of change. Lots of change. Not all of it good, but necessary. Cumulatively, it has taken its toll. I am ready for a new year. A fresh start. I decided that I was ready for a change in my look, to go along with the new year. This hair makes me feel tougher, more rebellious somehow. I can use the added moxie.
This month Skyloft celebrates its 1 year anniversary. As I enter the 2nd year of business I have a completely different mindset than last year at this time. I have one less partner, a bigger debt load (thanks to buying out a bunk partner), and a bucket full of lessons learned. I would be lying if I said my confidence was at an all time high, but I am used to being challenged. I am gearing up to go another round, this time a bit jaded perhaps, but a lot wiser and thicker skinned.
This blog is being resigned, and I have launched a new one. http://amberdawnhunterblog.blogspot.com/
If anyone wants to be included on the reader list, post a comment.
Onwards and upwards....

For my Poppa

2011-05-02T20:24:00.001-06:00

I visited my gram and poppa at Easter. It was family tradition to travel to see them every Easter as a kid. Just like every year of my life growing up, my gram had home made cookies in the cookie jar, and I slept in "Ambie's room" with the doey eyed mexican kids painted on the wall. But this year some things were different. This year my poppa is no longer at home. And this year he didn't know who I was.
Aging happens. But it hurt my heart to see him looking so old and frail in the hospital bed. To hear him ask to go home and know he will never see home again. To see the strain it has caused on my gram's health. The sparkle I did see in his eye came after I referred to him as "stinky" and myself as "ugly" the names we have called each other for as long as I can remember. When I left I knew it would be the last time I hugged him.
While I was there I went for a run. As I was coming down my gram and poppa's street this song came on my ipod. I thought of my poppa. And the thought crossed my mind that one day this would no longer be my gram and poppa's street. One day there will be no one there to visit at Easter. Tears streamed down my face as I ran towards the house and I was painfully aware of how short life is, how fleeting our youth, and our health can be. That one day we will all be old and on our final stretch of life. It made me realize I want a big basket full of memories. I want to die with a body that is well used and a mind that has stretched every day.
Good bye Poppa. Here's hoping they have Lucky Lager in heaven.

Dan Mangan "Basket" (live) from Tyler Stalman on Vimeo.

We are young
We have years ahead maybe
We might fall in love
Fall apart
Fall apart
Before it ends
Well we should try to start

So I'll go but I'm telling you I don't wanna go
Could be stuck here and happy

So there's a puzzle I work on endlessly
And I've got the sides and all the corners
But there's a space
Yeah there's a space
Lost some pieces I can't replace

So I'll be but I'm telling you I don't wanna be
Just a wasted puzzle piece

We are old
And our son took the dog away
And fair enough, guess we're tired all the time
All the time
And you know dogs they need ample time outside

So I'll stay but I'm telling you I don't, I don't wanna stay
So I'll brace myself against the wall and hope to God that I don't fall
My bones are worn, my hip won't hold
I used to be so young, how did I get so old?
Won't you take my cane and hold my hand
You're holding onto all I have
Just a basket full of memories
And I am losing more each day it seems
But if I can make it to the street
I'll steal a car or a bike whatever there is to steal
And it might get cold I just don't care
I'm going 'til I'm getting there
I'll ride my steed all through this town
'Til I have looked and I have found
Your peaceful memory
Won't you return to me?
Won't you return to me?

Are You Ready?

2011-03-13T20:30:00.000-07:00

I keep getting asked this question. And my answer is.... I don't know! I am as ready as I can be, but I have to admit, I am entering into a whole bunch of unknowns!
- Racing a half in March
- Riding a new bike
- Doing 100% of the training indoors
- Racing on a tropical island
- First triathlon after a year + off...

But there are also some things that I do know
- I've done the training
- I've done everything I can to prepare for the heat
- I have never been this fit in March
- I am feeling better in the pool than I have...pretty much ever
- I love my new bike and I can't wait to see how fast I can ride it!
- I am excited to get out of winter
- I am soooo looking forward to a holiday with my love! We both need it.

I tried to order the gold bikini, Keith, but they were back ordered until April. Who know it was such a popular choice? I did get a couple of new bikinis at Ernie's and am looking forward to rocking those ones. Thanks to all the indoor training and sweating (and giving up wine!) my abs have returned from hibernation! :)

Sweat

2011-02-03T21:44:00.000-07:00

There has been a lot of sweat around the Hunter house lately. Training for a race in a place where the temperature is 26-27 degrees everyday with 85% humidity making it feel like 35-36 degrees when you live in a place where it is -30 means you get creative.
We train with extra clothes, no fan and the heat cranked. We sweat like fools and drink as much as we can. Last Sunday I went through 6 bottles and only peed once. We sit in the sauna after our swims and today we discussed doing bootcamp exercises in there.
I fully expect to get slaughtered by the heat. My plan is to survive the swim (no wetsuits allowed) ride as hard as I can, and then survive the run. I really don't care, it is an excuse for a holiday and I am fully looking forward to every bit of it! I have another goal...to rock this bikini...

Training is going surprisingly well. I am surprised because I had an entire year off tri training and I expected it to take longer to feel like I've got my groove back. I finally hit 3k on my swim today, that has been the toughest discipline to get back. I feel amazing on the bike and running is coming. I was able to sneak in 24hrs in Jasper last week when D traveled there for work and Hdog and I enjoyed a 2 hr run in the trails. I have been doing all my running on the treadmill and the deep, narrow and uneven trails were a real workout! I was feeling it for a couple of days. But I loved every second.

I am more excited about triathlon than I have been in years. Maybe since my first one. I have this entirely new motivation and a goal that is pushing me to take it to another level. I know it is early in the season though, and I just hope this lasts. :)

Some shots from our 3 hr ride last Sunday...It was a true sufferfest. I rode hard for the entire 3 hrs and by the end I could barely make it up the stairs. I love it.

I'm Back Bitches!

2011-01-21T20:13:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I'm not calling any of you bitches, but it just felt like the right title for a blog that comes after 4 months of dead air!
So YES! I am back! Thanks to husband extraordinaire for never, ever letting me forget I had a blog gathering dust. I wanted to blog but life changes have been abound and in the moments when I thought of blogging, I didn't know where to start! So much is new!

So rather than trying to update to much, I will start from where I am. Working in my dream business at Skyloft Integrated Wellness Studio, training for a year of triathlons starting with Ironman 70.3 San Juan in March, and loving riding my new Project One Trek Speed Concept! (I designed it online and they built it just for me!!!)
Getting back into swimbikerun has been a challenge. After the Death Race I went right into training a group for the Victoria Half and my body paid the price. I have been dealing with injury/issues ever since and only in the last 3 weeks I have started to run again. It has been a slow building process and I am doing my best to be smart and listen to my body as not to re aggrevate the issues. So far so good.
Swimming has been a real kick in the ass since I took an entire year off of pool time! I am still working on building some endurance in the pool and it isn't pretty. Every week gets a little better though and I did a timed 500 yesterday that had me actually feeling like there is hope that I will regain some swim fitness.
Biking is an entirely different story. I could bike all day every day. Teaching spin classes combined with the motivation my new bike provides ( I WILL NOT look like an ass on that bike) has me feeling like a rock star on the bike. Up to about 90 mins :) But I have been pushing and doing 2hr plus rides and slowly but surely I am getting stronger. I wore skinny jeans today and they were tight in the quads. Which is annoying, but positive feedback :)

So now that my blogging cherry has been re-popped I'll do my best to write with some regularity. And maybe along the way catch things up a bit. Thanks to those of you who kept me on your blog roll!

Oh and PS. It snowed. A LOT.

North Face Canadian Death Race (Post Mortem) :)

2010-09-05T21:41:00.005-06:00

So yes, this is over a month late. And really, after a month is a race report even valid? My husband says yes. In fact, he says "Do it for me". And how can I argue with that? He is the husband extraordinaire, and he did support me in my race (and every day before and after). And he rarely askes me for anything. Plus, I would like a record of this somewhere. So here goes.
The training:
From Jan- June I trained high mileage and built up my endurance. I was running 100km plus a week and felt like I was 100% on track until...

The Death Camp:
In June I attended Death Camp. A weekend where we covered all but the first section of leg 5 either by foot or by bike. After this camp I realized that I didn't need any more mileage. I needed strength and I needed time on those trails.
After the Death Camp: I did squats, lunges, plyometrics and hill sprints. And I spent every weekend I could in Grande Cache. Thanks to Crystal I learned to love Leg 2. Thanks to H-dog and Husband I learned to love leg 4. Thanks to Sue I was scared of leg 3 (haha!) It made me run anyway...
The training was tough and I seriously contemplated dropping out before the race even started. I was starting a new business and I felt stretched as it was. I signed up for this race as a way of dealing with greif. By June I had dealt with it and that was no longer a motivation. I had to find a new purpose for doing this, and finally I did.
The Race:

My #1 goal for the race was to be the happiest soloist on the course. Honestly, I believe this is what got me through legs 1-4. I was smiling, chatting to everyone I met and even had the thought "I don't want this day to end". That thought was followed by "OMG don't jinx yourself!" LOL the fear certainly wasn't unfounded. There were walking dead all around me- and that was only leg 2! I am so glad that A) I took it easy on leg 1 and B) I knew leg 2 like the back of my hand. Leg 2 is a beast. The first time I did it I was ready to drop out of the entire venture!
By the time I got to race day I'd done it 3 times and had made my peace :) Thanks to Crystal Rhyno I had some mind games that kept me happy and positive. Like yelling "BOGMAN" through the tough boggy sections, and singing "The road that never ends" all the way up the long road to the top of Grande.
On leg 3 I ran with a woman from Grande Cache who was a chatty Cathy and kept me entertained. She apologized for her rambling but it was great. I ran leg 3 almost start to finish. I was terrified of the cut off. And rightfully so, there were 85 people who's days ended at that cut off because they missed the 7:06 deadline. (I was there at 6:30)

Leg 4 was the longest of all. I had a short rough patch on the way up, but regrouped and felt pretty good for most of the way to the top. I passed a lot of people and had some good conversations on the way up.
On the way down I was running and keeping a good pace. And then...it got dark. Between the dust and the boulders I had to slow to a fast hike. Once I got to the 7km gravel road to the bottom I was able to jog, but it took me much longer to complete this leg than I'd planned. By the time I reached transition it was after 2am. I had blisters all over my feet, I was grumpy, sore and ready to be done. (did I mention I got my period on leg 2?)
Darin was a fantastic support crew at the end of every leg. Mostly I was easy- fill my camelback, help me change my shoes and give me any food I need. At the end of leg 4 it was different. I needed my husband. I was whiney, grumpy and in serious pain. D popped my blisters, changed my socks and shoes and tried to get me to eat/drink something warm. I was almost crying from the pain in my feet but D was so supportive and told me to just get out there and finish the last 22km.
Leg 5 was the toughest of all. The first part of the leg was the only part I've never seen and it was horrible. Overgrown (and pitch black), steep and nasty. I was really suffering, stubbing my toes on every 4th step and screaming out in pain. I was seeing things that weren't there, and just praying to get to the river for the boat crossing.
Finally I did, and after that I was on familiar turf. I was so happy to get rid of my coin to the man dressed as the grim reaper (you have to carry a coin and a timing chip through the race. If you lose either you are DQ'd). The climb out of the river bank is about 5km and STEEP. But once to the top you have a fairly flat/ rolling trail home. My bladder was on overdrive and I had to pee about 5 times, but when I hit 120km I decided to put my head down and RUN! And I did. All the way to town, and into the finish line. I have to say this finish was the most emotional and satisfying of any I've had. I've done done 4 Ironman's, 4 marathons and lots of smaller races and nothing compared to this. I was so happy to be finished, knowing I had completed the toughest physical and mental challenge of my life.

I was so happy to see D, and my friend Crystal, at the finish, 22hrs and 5 mins after I started. Other than that it is a pretty low key finish line at 6 something AM.
After:
I crossed the finish line, hugged my husband and hugged Crystal. Both of them were huge in getting me to the finish of that race. After that I just wanted to get off my feet! D and I walked (hobbled) to the motorvator a few blocks away. When I got back I wanted a shower, but after taking off my race clothes I was consumed by the shivers and couldn't imagine walking another step never mind the 3 or so blocks to the rec center for a shower. So I washed my feet, and used the baby wipes for a wash down and hit the hay.
A few hours later we woke up and were able to shower and eat.
The aftermath:
So now that the race is done and in the bag I can say for certain it was the toughest thing I've ever done. I can also say (with confidence) I don't want to do it again any time soon :)

I learned a lot about myself while training for, and during, this event. I am glad I did it, and glad I followed through and finished. I proved a lot to myself and I feel like it was what I needed to do. A month plus later the emotions are not as raw, but the lessons are just as relevant.
I finish what I start, if I am not strong enough I can find the strength, and my family are my biggest supporters and most important inspiration.

So there we have it. Race report done, moved on and moved forward. New goals are set for 2011 and I am looking forward to getting back into a regular training and blogging routine.

Fun Facts:
Total distance: 125km
Total elevation: 17000ft
Total time: 22hrs 05mins
Number of bananas consumed: 11 (thanks Julie!!!!)
Number of shoe/sock changes: 3
Number of black toe nails: 4
Number of nails lost (so far): 1

What I've been doing

2010-08-24T20:19:00.000-06:00

In case you were wondering. This has been my 'project' the last few months. Construction is underway and I finally feel confident that we will be all moved in and up and running by October 2010. This is how I would define dream.come.true. :)

Happy Friday!

2010-08-20T20:49:00.001-06:00

Bikes and Wine. How can you go wrong? Celebrating a productive and successful week with the husband and a bottle of this:

Yum! Happy Friday :)

I stole these

2010-08-19T21:16:00.000-06:00

Here are some pics that my friend Crystal took after our run on the Wapiti Trails today. I stole them from her blog since I never remember to carry my camera nevermind take a pic. It was hot and windy but the company was good. H-dog was happy to be back to running the trails with his slow momma :)

Blogwebs

2010-08-18T22:17:00.001-06:00

Yes my blog has grown cobwebs and I am ready to dust them off. My hubby did a great write up of his crewing experience for the Canadian Death Race, and I have yet to post my own. But I will.
In the mean time, I feel fully recovered from the race and have started back into some good training. Next up is The New York City Marathon, and I am excited to race a marathon again. I am also training a group for the Victoria Half Marathon which I will run, but not race as I'll be there as a coach. (tough life, I know)
Since D opted out of IMC this year we have decided to head to Peace River and do their sprint tri which is the same day as Ironman. I have swam twice so far in "training" and haven't been on my bike since Penticton. I am swamped with getting my new venture off the ground by the time the snow flies so I really only train when I am teaching or coaching. I will get out for a few rides in the next couple of weeks, but I know that this race will only be for fun so I'm not stressing about it. I have enough stress in the rest of my life.... :)

What's Up??

2010-06-19T14:40:00.000-06:00

Wow, that last post was up for far too long!
Things have been rolling along great. After recovering I was able to run in the Banff-Jasper Relay. I was leg N9 which had me running uphill for about 9km and then another 7km of rolling/downhill. It was a blast and it was so good to feel like I could run again!

I cheered D and all the team GP athletes on in Hinton the next day. I dedcided to forgo the Duathlon, I didn't want to press my health/ luck with back to back races. I made a video for a tri 101 clinic we did of the guys at Hinton.

Death Camp was last weekend, and it pretty much blew my socks off. I was ready to pack it in after doing Leg 2 on day one, but it was mostly due to not enough food or water. The leg itself goes on forever and is very technical and tough! I stuck it out and survived the camp. I was barely walking by the time the weekend was over, but I managed to cover the entire course between biking and runing/hiking.

Yesterday I was back to GC to tackle Leg 2 again. This time I had back up in the way of a friend. We had a much more enjoyable hike, and I am not the least bit sore today.

Tomorrow I am back again with another friend and we are going to do leg 3 and 4 back to back. I am looking forward to the LONG day (57km, elevation change over 6000 feet, one 3000 foot climb etc)

The rest of life is crazy, lots going on and some big exciting news coming soon.

Happy SUMMERTIME!

So that happened...

2010-05-31T22:11:00.000-06:00

I wanted to get this 'out' of me before the start of June. Tomorrow is a new month. I am ready to start fresh. So here it is in all its whiny glory. If you don't want to read my sad story, move on. I am sure I'll be back to my normal happy positive self soon. I have until tomorrow :)

After training basically since January for my goal run on May 29th I feel robbed that I wasn't able to cash in on all that training with a race. I am working on letting it go, but I am super disappointed and pissed off. I know that I did absolutely everything within my power to get to the start line healthy and prepared- but circumstances were beyond my control. It is like the universe keeps shoving this lesson down my throat even though I feel like I've learned it. Here is my message to the universe...Eff off already!

Last week was a nightmare. Waking up sick as a dog on Monday I wanted to scream "NOOOOOOO"! But my throat was swollen and felt like it was full of razorblades so there was no screaming. With 5 days until the Blackfoot 80km I knew I was in a bad situation. I spent most of Monday sleeping with a fever that had me freezing one minute and sweating buckets the next. I was worried I had strep throat. The next day the coughing started (a sign that it was not Strep). I decided to do whatever I could to get better. I unleashed an array of alternative modalities- Oil of Oregano (5 drops 5 times a day- that stuff is NASTY!), various vitamins, 2 sessions of accupuncture, magic chinese tea and cough syrup, infared sauna sessions, saline nasal flushes, super powered smoothies and lots of sleep. While I felt somewhat better everyday, I was still not well. I would take H-dog for a 3km walk and be so exhauseted at the end I would need to lie down. D told me I should pull the plug on the race. But I couldn't.

Despite knowing I was not near 100%, I still wanted to toe the line at Blackfoot. I knew if I stayed home I would be even more depressed about missing out on the race I'd trained so hard for.
We headed to Edmonton Friday afternoon, and while my energy was starting to return, I was still full of congestion and coughing my head off. But still, I thought that maybe, by some miracle, I would feel better once I started running. Oh the power of desire (and denial)! haha!

I hadn't actually run a step since Saturday, when I had pulled the plug at 3miles because I was feeling so off (this was the first sign of things to come). I was pretty tight from a week of laying around and had a painful massage Thursday to try to work out the kinks, but I had no idea how things would go. I was hoping for the best though.

Saturday night I slept very little. I had decided to bite the proverbial bullet and take some drugs. I took 2 tylenol cold pm caps, primarily because they had a cough suppresant and I wanted a night off coughing. Unfortunately it didn't work and I think one of the other medications in it actually kept me awake...live and learn.

We were up at 5am, had breakfast and hit the road. We started off on a bad note when we realized we didn't have the map. We had a general idea of where we were going, but unfortunately with a 6:30am race start we didn't have any room for error. And error we did. Several wrong turns later, we finally arrived at the race site. At 6:43. Every racer's nightmare come true. I asked if I could still run and the race director just laughed and said - yes. I asked if my start time would be 6:30 and he laughed again and said yes! But don't worry, Jack Cook was 25mins late one year. I had no idea what he meant or who Jack Cook was but I was pretty sure he was saying it to make me feel better. I took off to use the washroom and then started my run. The 80km starts with a 5km out and back and then is 3 loops of a 25km course.

It was really weird being the only runner out there. And knowing I was dead last. I felt pretty good running and the course was beautiful. About 1.5km in I started to see people on the return of the loop and at 2.5 I hit the turn around. The sweeper bike was with me :) At this point the weather was a cool 6 degrees with a very light rain. I felt perfectly dressed in my 3/4 length tights, bike jersey and thin sugoi jacket. I had my mountain biking gloves on more for the snot factor than warmth at this point.
And snot there was... I won't go into any more detail, but it was a blessing to have no one around me as I hawked, blew, and wiped the steady stream of mucous.

I made it back to the start line to finish the 5km and start my first loop. I did the first 5km in 28mins which was faster than I was planning to run, but I felt fine. Soon after I started to catch up with people and within the first couple of kms I had passed about 6. I knew that every km out there was a gift for me so I was just enjoying the run, the fun of reeling people in and the fact I was there.

After the first hour it had started to rain a bit more and the wind was picking up. I was still warm enough but shortly after the skies really opened up and it began to pour. My jacket was soon plastered to my body, soaked through, and my fingers were freezing inside my soaking wet gloves. The temp was also dropping (it was 2 degrees by this time) and I was starting to feel pain in my left hip and knee.

The terrain had also changed from a grassy trail to a dirt road which by this point was a greasy, muddy mess. I chose to run just off the road in some long grass which was easier to keep my footing, but my shoes were soon full of water.

At about 20km I started to go downhill. I was freezing, soaked to the bone and everything was cramping up- fingers, toes, legs... and the aforementioned mucous that I was coughing up was now mixed with blood. I knew at this point I was probably done for the day. I came into the last aid station and D and H-dog were there. I told D that I was pulling the plug at the end of the loop. He had the Jeep there and told me I could stop now, but I really wanted to finish the loop.

I took off for the last 5km, thinking I could handle anything for 30mins. I had been running 2hrs 28 but the last 5km were by far harder than the 25 previous combined. My left IT band seized up and my hip and knee were in serious pain. I had to take walk breaks and the more I walked the colder I became. Just in case I had doubted my decision to pull out my calves seized up too. I was hobbling/ walking the rest of the way in, finishing the last 5km in 40 ugly minutes. So my day ended at 30km, 3hrs08 mins. I went straight to the truck and was shivering so bad D had to take my shoes and socks off. He had the heat blasting and the seat warmers on but was was shaking like crazy. I finally got all the wet clothes off and some dry ones on and I started to warm up. I was coughing my head off and felt horrible. I just wanted to have a hot shower and go home. So we checked out and headed back to GP.

I have no regrets about pulling out when I did, it was hardly even a choice for me at that point. But I was (and am) really bummed that I didn't get to take on the goal that I had been working towards for so long. The disappointment of that still stings. I want to give it another go next year for sure. It was a beautiful course and the organizers, volunteers and participants were fantastic.

So that is that. Time to move on. This weekend is the Banff- Jasper relay, I am running the only leg rated "very difficult"- a 15km climb out of Columbia Icefields. I am also registered for the Hinton Duathlon the next day, so for the love of all things fair and reasonable I NEED TO BE HEALTHY!

June, I am looking forward to you... to training, running, enjoying life and being well. Bring it on.

PS (I stole this title from Mr Simon Whitfield. He used it twice. I am hoping for an opportunity to use it again the way he did.)

Victoriahhhhhhh

2010-05-26T19:59:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago we took a spontaneous trip to Victoria. It was an amazing little get away and a great time to reconnect and refresh with a change of scenery. And oh my oh my the scenery.... what a place. Someday we'll call it home :)

The top picture is the view from our room. The green pictures are from an amazing 3hr trail run we did in Goldstream Park. We also rented bikes and rode along the ocean. The shot of me and the politicians is from the wax museum. That was too fun.
Lame recap, I know. But the pictures are nice :)
3 days until my 80km run and I am sick. I have been working hard to get better. Tomorrow I will have a verdict.

run day sunday

2010-05-09T19:56:00.002-06:00

today I needed to run. I had some grumpies to run out, some sadness that was weighing on me and some energy that had to be moved. in the first 3km of the run I had tears running off my face but I didn't care. I had sunglasses on and there was no sobbing, just tears. by 5km the sadness was gone. I ran 11km out to bear creek and then did the 4km single track trail out and another 4km back. by that time it was 10:30 and I needed to make my way to the race start to see my peeps. I had a huge group of Women of Strength running the Brian Harms 3,5, and 10 mile races. I have to say, seeing the army of women wearing my t-shirts had me bursting with pride. my sis in law was running her first 5km so I ran with her (she kicked butt) and then ran a few more in. I finally met up with one of my run stronger girls on her first loop of the 10miler so I headed out to pace her on her second loop. she did amazing!! I was so proud of everyone, not the least of which my hubby who won the 10miler in 58mins. my original plan was to run home but I was starving and I knew I wouldn't make it without fuel so I took a ride home, had a snack and then ran 10miles on the treadmill to make it 50km in just over 5hrs for the day.
The grumpies are gone, the sadness has passed and once again running helped me make sense of the world.
When I got home I read this quote in my running log "I ran to be free; I ran to avoid pain; I ran to feel pain; I ran out of love and hate and anger and joy." Fitting...no?

:)

2010-05-07T22:26:00.007-06:00

Hubby made this for me a year or so ago...I love it.

You're almost there! Not.

2010-04-28T22:12:00.002-06:00

Run.Run.Run.STOP

2010-04-28T15:03:00.002-06:00

I haven't blogged much lately. Mostly I am too lazy to write about running, after running all the time. If I could blog while running (just uploading my thoughts) that would be great! We've had some fun adventures lately with some stellar runs and even a race! Ever since the race I have been fighting a cold/flu though and today I had to succomb completely. Hence the STOP. And since I am on my ass on the couch anyway...

We got out to Grande Cache a couple weekends ago and were able to run most of leg one (we did an out and back). The hills and trail conditions were a reality check for me- no more road running! I need to run hills and trail. That is what is going to help me now! I have a great base, I just need to get more specific.
Here are some shots from Grande Cache:

So as I said, after the run in GC, I decided I needed to get off the roads and onto the trails...and I needed to find some hills to train on! I found some great terrain south of the city. Below is a shot of part of the trail- like mother nature's agility ladder!

Here are some more, the second one is a long sandy hill that is a great

This past Sunday we headed a couple of hours north to the Peace River Valley. We participated in the Unchaga Run in Peace near Grimshaw. It was a beautiful drive north, the countryside is amazing up there!
The bridge is the Dunvegan Valley Suspension Bridge. I stole this photo from the interweb since I forgot my camera.

Here is my Garmin info from the race. If you click more info you can see a profile of the run course, it really did redefine "hilly"...

And here is a shot of us at the finish line. I was happy to discover I could still push myself into that white hot instesity place. I finished in 1:34:58 officially. I was rewarded with a 5th overall placing, 1st female and set a course record. (it is a new race, only the 3rd year). D finished strong in 1:18- super impressive if you know just how long and steep that last hill was!!

Unfortunately I think the intensity was too much combined with the high mileage (I ran 30km the Friday before the race) and I am now paying for it. As much as I hate being sidelined, I am taking it as a deep recovery week to let things heal up and get stroger. I just hope I am 100% by the weekend so we can make the most of our weekend in the mountains!!

Happy Training everyone...

Spring!!

2010-04-13T21:15:00.002-06:00

How do you know it is Spring in GP?
- The pathways are packed with runners, walkers, bikes and dogs
- Motorbikes everywhere
- Bootcampers flooding the park at 6am
- Beautiful sunrises on the way home from class
- 9pm and still daylight
- Emails flying about group rides, runs etc.
- A big SMILE on my face :)

the weekend

2010-04-04T22:36:00.001-06:00

It has been a while.
This was a big weekend for my run training. I did a 45km run in 4:20 and felt fantastic. The next day (today) I did 10km and it took more energy than yesterday's 45. That is the b@$ch that is running.
But I feel good that I am making progress.

More importantly, I have beautiful neices. Seriously, I have the cutest 3 neices on the planet. I thank God for the gift of these girls and for being a part of their lives.
Happy Easter!!

And of course my boys, the loves of my life!!

Oh yeah, and it snowed.

2010-03-22T19:23:00.000-07:00

So I am sitting here eating Godiva 72% Dark Chocolate with Almonds, and drinking a Rickards Dark Beer. Mmmm.

In the last week I have been either working, running, eating or sleeping. I have felt like I've barely had time to breathe little alone blog, thus the lack of posting.

Not for lack of things to write about! On the contrary, my life has been one exciting and blog worthy event after another, I just haven't had the time to write. And I've been spending so much time at my computer my eyeballs feel like they are bleeding, so there is that too.

A full week ago I was in a business course. It was awesome and as a result I have launched 2 new business ventures. I also am entering into my busiest time of year for my bootcamps, so the combination has my head spinning pretty good. All of it is wonderful and exciting though, and I am super appreciative of the opportunities I've been given and the people I have partnered with.

Running has been going well too. I am almost to the 1100km mark for the year. Crazy! I was doing my 35km run on Saturday, thinking about the week's mileage and just about to pat myself on the shoulder for covering 110kms...when I realized...that is still 15km short of what I am going to cover in ONE DAY for the Death Race. At that point I threw up a little in my mouth.
I mean, I realize I signed up for this thing Dec 31 and have been training with it in mind ever since, but for some reason I have been living in some sense of denial. I had a mini panic attack and asked myself "do I really want to do this?"

So far the answer is still yes...I just won't think about the whole elephant. One bite at a time I can handle it.

I have a whole other blog post I want to write based on a question my sister in law asked me via facebook. "What do you love about running? What makes you get out there over and over again?"
This is a good question and something I've had a lot of time to think about in those long solo runs.
I will blog about it. But not tonight... I am shutting the computer and going to enjoy my beer and chocolate :)

You gotta know when to hold em...

2010-03-10T19:17:00.000-07:00

You are all tapping your toes to Kenny Rogers now aren't you?? :)

This was the theme of my day. Last week was a bit of a test to see how I would handle the mileage. The marathon followed by a half marathon left me feeling a bit depleted, but not too bad. Monday was a rest day, and I felt great- I wanted to run. Tuesday I felt like a bag of ass. I begrudginly went out for my 20km run and slogged through but I knew I was digging myself into a hole. Today I was scheduled for another 20km but I had to take Kenny's advice and fold em. I am not sick, just run down. I think if I had run today I would be sick. And I am traveling to Calgary on Friday for a course I am super excited for and I really want to be functioning at 100% for that.

Anyway, here's to hoping tomorrow brings renewed energy. Enjoy...

Babe, you need to update your blog...

2010-03-07T21:46:00.001-07:00

Yeah I was told this today. I have been meaning to, really I have. It has just felt very busy and everytime I think about updating it seems there is too much to post and not enough time...lol.
So here is a recap of the past two weeks...

My folks came for a visit! 10 days for mom and dad just left this morning. It was awesome to have them here, I love having my parents here and the house always feels a bit too empty after they leave.

We celebrated my first born niece's 5th birthday!! So hard to believe that this little angel...

...is 5 already!!

We had a big party and I had the honor of making the cake. I'm not a baker but I was up for the challenge. I think what I lack in baking skills I made up for in creativity.

Can you guess the theme??? LOL She was so cute in her birthday outfit. The lady at the hotel desk where we had the party (pool/waterslide) wished her a happy birthday. She said thanks and then asked "how did you know it was my birthday?" This is what she was wearing at the time...

So cute.

We have had some awesome weather the past 2 weeks. D has been loving riding outside in March!!! Note the snowbanks...they are receding!

I, of course, have been running. And running. And running. Last weekend I did 27km and 16km for my long runs as a bit of a recovery from the big 35km the week before. This week I was so happy to be out in the sunshine I did all my runs outside, 2 of them on trail! It was a.maz.ing.

Yesterday I did a 42.2km run, my first (of many I am sure) solo marathon. Today I ran 20km with a friend and I felt really good. It helped to have company for sure! I am surprised at how well I am adapting to the mileage. I felt pretty crappy yesterday with a horrific headache and nausea and still managed to do the marathon in 4:08. Faster than my first ever marathon in 2003 (4:11). Today we ran very easy and still managed sub 6min kms (1:55 for 20km). The week's total was 110km. I am publishing all these numbers because it is all still a big novelty to me. And that's how I roll....LOL (for Julie)

Best of all I seem to recover quickly. My whole family and everyone I have been around lately has been sick and (knock on wood) so far I have held it off. I felt a bit run down today but tomorrow is a rest day and I will make sure to get lots of sleep and vitamin c in me.

So that is the recap. This weekend I am off to Calgary for a business course so it will be a lower volume run weekend. I am looking forward to doing some new (old) trails though so I will probably be getting up early to run before the class starts. If any of you Calgary freaks want to join me let me know!! Hopefully cowtown gets some nice weather too :)

Happy Training!! (and gestating for the other half of my blogroll!!)

A run worth writing about. Get comfortable, this is a long one.

2010-02-21T19:50:00.004-07:00

Maybe it was the 2 weeks of taper/recovery and the deep desire (and dare I say need) to run. Maybe it was the week long binge of watching the Olympics and being inspired daily by the phenomenal athletes of the world. Maybe it was all the couch time while watching said Olymics and the roots that were beginning to grow from my butt. Maybe it was the glorious sunshine and above (yes ABOVE) zero temperatures we had today. Or the smell of spring in the air and the swarms of people that emerged from their winter caves to celebrate the promise of an end to hibernation by walking, running, skating and sledding in the warmth of the long absent sunshine. Maybe it was none of these or all of these. Whatever it was or wasn't that contributed to my experience of running today, I am grateful.

Because today, my blogland friends, was one of those days.
You know, the reallyreallyreallyreallysuperradicallyawesome kind? Yup, one of those.

Buuuuut, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me back up a bit.

So, last Monday I ran the Frozen Ass 50km (in case you forgot), and a few ~~minutes~~ hours after completing it, true to form, my dear husband asked me "So babe, what's next?" Despite the urge to punch him in the face, I sat and thought about it for a few minutes. I had been totally focused on cramming for this 50k in the past 6 weeks, and my only thoughts were of getting in the miles, staying healthy, and getting to the finish line. But what I noticed during my long runs, and in fact during the 50k, was that I seemed to have a mental/physical block at the 30km mark. Meaning, I was all good until 30km and then things started to deteriorate at an alarming rate. I suppose it could be due to a lack of calories, but something told me it was beyond the mechanics and had roots deeper in my subconscious. 30km was the point at which I seemed to fall apart in my previous marathon training as well, and during my marathon races that is the point I started to fall off pace.

I know that training for an 80km, and then 125km, means that if I am falling apart at 30km, I am screwed. Even during the FA50 the last 20km were a serious sufferfest. So, I told him "What I really want to do in the coming weeks is break through this 30km limitation I seem to have and to really get comfortable with that distance (so I can find the next distance I fall apart at..haha)."

This week I ran a couple of short 5km jaunts and a 9km with D and the boys. I wanted to make sure I was recovered from the race, but my body (and mind) have felt great all week. If nothing else it has been a good excuse to sit on my duff. Yesterday I did a 90min ride with the crew and it hurt, but today I knew I wanted to go for a long run. I worked my butt off to get all my shit list jobs done on Saturday giving me the entire day to do with as I pleased (what a beautiful feeling that is!). This morning consisted of lattes with D, breakfast, and Olympics. I checked the weather and it was -17 with the promise of warming to -2. So, since I could, I waited. And had more lattes, more breakfast and more Olympics. I also filled up my new pink ipod shuffle (a Valentine from my sweetie) with some new music. At around noon the weather network announced it was -3 with a wind that made it feel like -9. Single digits was all I was looking for so I put on drastically fewer layers than I am used to and headed out. I had no set time or distance to run, I was just going to run as long as I felt good. I brought enough food and water for 2-2.5 hours thinking that would be sufficient.

As I started out, I didn't feel especially great, but the sun was out and that was wonderful. After a couple of kms I started to find my groove and things started to pick up. I ran down to the park and up around the college. Then I ran past the Pavilion and noticed the skating rink was super busy. I continued to the end of the trails and up past the dog park. This was about 11.5km, but I wasn't ready to turn around. I decided to head out to resource road and maybe head back that way. Once I reached that path (13km) I decided to head out towards Evergreen Park and maybe to another out and back.

Once I hit Evergreen Park I decided to turn down the correction line and make my way back to the dog park via the dump road (this all sounds so exotic eh?). I hit the 21km mark at 1:58 which I noted since I remeber hitting it at 2:04 during the FA 50. And today my time included several waits at lights, shoe fixing and one quick pee break in the woods (too many lattes). Aaaand, I was feeling great. My perceived effort level was about a 5/10 meaning I was barely noticing that I was even running.

I got to the end of the dump road, took a pull off the camel back and realized I was out of water. Shoot. I tried calling D, but he was busy studying and his phone was off. Luckily I was pretty close to a Starbucks so I headed there to refill. This isn't the first time Starbucks has saved me! I used a cup to refill my camel back, but I was starting to feel a little spacey, like I could use some food. I had eaten my only fuel source at 16km (a granola bar) and the thought of another 12-15km with no food was distressing. I looked around the coffee shop but couldn't see anyone I knew to hit up to buy me a cookie (I had no money on me). As I scanned the room, my eyes fell on the coffee condiments bar.

Hmmm....sugar packets- that could work- but even better I spied the honey. Perfect! I dumped a big glop of honey into my cup, squirted in a shot of water from the camel back and began to slurp it up through a straw. It was like heaven in a cup. As I was licking the remaining honey from the straw I sensed eyes boring through the back of my head and turned see the entire coffee shop staring at me. Ooops.
I smiled, tossed my cup and straw in the garbage and headed out.

The honey was like jet fuel. Off I went heading back towards home. At one point I looked at my Garmin and I was running 13.6km/hr. But I felt like I was floating. I did pull the speed back again, thinking I might have a sugar crash to go along with this high, but it never came. I hit 30km in 2hrs 50 mins and from there it was a short 4kms home. I decided I needed to make it 35 so I lapped the block a couple of times, finishing my last km in just under 5 mins for a total run time of 3hrs15.

As I was coming down the street finishing up I could have been the winner of the Boston Marathon. I was that happy. I felt like I had broken through a wall of sorts, and instead of it being painful, it was one of the most effortless and enjoyable runs of my life. The smile literally never left my face for 35kms.

Today was a special day. I had a massive breakthrough and the high has still not worn off. As I said in my twitter/facebook status:

"Dear limitation, I hope it didn't hurt too much when I smashed you into a million tiny pieces today. Warn your friends, I am coming for them next".

I know that the nature of running dictates that the bitch will be back, and I will suffer. But for today, I am basking in my love for running. And I am burning it into my memory (and my blog) so that the next time I have a tough run I can remind myself that bad days make these great days even sweeter.

Frozen Ass 50km in Pictures

2010-02-16T16:15:00.001-07:00

Here is a shot of the day before the race. It was foggy and frosty when we were out for a run. Thankfully Monday was a nicer day.
I had a great sleep Sunday night and woke up before the 7am alarm. Breakfast was oatmeal and berries, 2 poached eggs and a bagel with pb and honey. The waitress seemed a bit shocked at the volume of food I consumed.
We got to the canoe club nice and early and had time to say hi to everyone and use the washroom a few times. It was a nice change to have no line for the girls washroom and a big line for the men's.
We had to cross the bow river to get to the start...

Here we are looking fresh and ready to go

waiting for the start...hopefully the sign in the background isn't an omen!

And we're off...kind of. I insisted we seed ourselves near the back so the deep powder would be a bit more packed down. But it was a very slow start and we had to run through the powder to pass people as we went anyway.

The trail conditions were not great. There was deep snow, ridgy hard pack and ice. There was a bit of clear pavement especially towards Chestermere, but the sun caused more slushy mess on the way back.

The aid stations were great, there were 3, we hit each one twice. The first was 8km out, the second 18km and then the 3rd at the halfway. This was the middle station- there was bacon, which I took, but unfortunately gave me nasty heartburn.

I was filling my pockets :)

Here we are still looking happy...Celine is catching a nap?

Here is Alan's aid station at the half way point.

We hit the half at 2hrs 23. I knew it would be a longer run back as we tired, but I didn't realize how much longer. The sloppy trails really took a lot out of us. My feet were actually cramping from the uneven terrain. We were both a bit dizzy from running with our heads down and had to take turns in the lead as the follower tended to get the most dizzy.

The sun came out and we removed a layer- lucky for us D came by and took our jackets for us. Here I am on the middle aid station, trying to fix my shoe so my foot would stop cramping.

Things got pretty ugly after this point. We were both deep in the pain cave and it was all we could do to keep moving forward. I love the next shot, it is just before the last aid station and we got stuck at a red light crossing Glenmore Trail. Darin caught us both in the same position, clearly tired.

We waited a long time at that light, we lost the group ahead we were catching, and were caught by the group behind us. At this point neither of us cared.

A loooong 7km later we heard a cowbell and saw a figure in the distance. It was Alan, who assured us we had just 1km to the finish. We begged him to carry us, but he refused and just ran with us instead.

As we approached the finish Celine's fur baby Wrigley came to greet us

And gave us a celebratory hug!

Here we are, 5:08 later, looking a little worse for wear...

Celine took another nap in the snow

And then we headed in for.....PIZZA!

Actually I was too nauseous to eat, but we did enjoy a visit and some yummy root beer

And Celine took yet another nap...

It was a tough day, but I am very proud to have finished what I started 6 weeks ago. It was a huge bonus to share the day with a great friend. (Even though she called me a few choice names towards the end). Darin was the support crew extraordinaire, running to and fro to check on us, take photos and carry our extra stuff. I think he clocked about 40km himself!

I am less sore than I expected to be, I only feel stiff in my back and am actually looking forward to a little run tomorrow. I will give myself a week to recover and then formulate the next phase of the training program to lead me towards the Blackfoot 80km in May.

Thanks for all the notes and messages on Facebook! I was overwhelmed when I checked my phone after the run!!!

Just a typical Thursday night...

2010-02-11T20:51:00.000-07:00

Doing laundry...

Playing with toys...

Practicing headstands...

Hanging the new hardwear

The tool belt came out...yesssss...!

And relaxing with some wine....

Happy Thursday!

Happy Tuesday

2010-02-09T21:49:00.002-07:00

Aaah yes, rest day Tuesday.

First off, thank you all so much for the generous encouragement and the food suggestions! I have some new ideas and I am even going to practice on my short runs this week. It looks like it is going to be warm warm this week and all the way through to Monday in Cowtown. I am now wondering if there will be any snow on the trails? The shoes I have been training on are great for snowy/icey/rough trails, but not so good on plain pavement. I am going to wear my new ones this week and see how they go. I may just pull an "Amber" and wear new shoes for my run. If Alan is reading this, he is shaking his head.
I am trying not to stress or over think this. It is, afterall, just 8km more than a marathon, and I won't be running at Marathon race pace so it isn't going to hurt like that. Really, I think it is all going to be just fine.

Speaking of over thinking...Shannon's post about choices, regrets etc. got me thinking. I am a believer in the "we all make the best choices we know how with the information we have at the time" theory, but I am also really bad for wasting energy on things I have done in the past. Even things like something I may have said or did in passing that was 'off the cuff'. When I look back at it I think I might have offended or come across in a way I didn't mean to. I replay this crap over and over and beat myself up for something (another person's perception) that I really don't know even exists and have absolutely no control over.

Anyway, I am working on letting this stuff go. I think part of the type A, perfectionist, goal driven personality that serves us well in many areas, can bite us in the ass when it comes to this.

Hello, my name is Amber and I am an overanalyzer. This is why I run...LOL

Anyway, on to the stats for week 5!
Tuesday: Off
Wednesday: 18km
Thursday: 12km
Friday: off
Saturday:16km
Sunday:30km
Monday: 16km
Total: 92km

The Fickle B%^ch that is Running

2010-02-08T18:26:00.000-07:00

Has anyone else had this experience of running? Some days she is your best friend, you could spend all day with running. Other days you wake up and she hates you (and you her), and with every step the hatred grows.
I had a week like this. One day I felt great, the next- like a bag of ass. Thanks to Julie for that fine descriptor! Today I finished off week 5 with a 16km movie run. Meaning I watched a movie while I ran on the treadmill. I do this every Monday and it is like a reward for getting through the week. It helps me keep the pace easy and I actually look forward to it.
I am tapering down for the Frozen Ass 50km next Monday. I am ready. I think. I actually froze my bum on yesterday's run- does that count? Honestly I don't know how it is all going to go down, but I have done all I can. I have run every km on the schedule, more kms than I have ever run in my life, and I am just hoping I get through. I want to run the whole thing, beyond that no time goals. Well that's a lie. I would like to be 5:00hrs to 5:30hrs. 10min miles have been doable up to the 40km mark, not sure what will happen beyond that.
The one concern I have is food. I have done a pretty terrible job of eating on my long runs and I have so far gotten away with it. But I know I can't get through 50km on 100 or 200 calories. The problem is I don't like sweet stuff when I run. I can force down one, maybe 2 gels but I hate them. On my 30km run this Sunday I did the first 25km outside and then finished the last 5km on the treadmill. I was starving when I got in so I ate a peice of bread with butter and it was like heaven. It totally fueled the last 5km. So I should be eating real food, but in minus WTF temperatures everything freezes and it is hard to carry/extract/eat the food I do bring. The weather is supposed to be really nice on Monday- like maybe even above zero nice!!! So I think that will help. I am going to pack some salty fatty foods that I think will be more appealing- like nuts, crackers etc. Maybe even a cheese sandwich? I dunno. I don't want too much in my stomach either. These are the things I should have been practicing on my long training runs...oops.
Ah well I will figure something out. If nothing else I'll have good conversation to keep me going in my good friend Celine who is running with me.
Today I got a big treat. My new shoes arrived! Dean from Ernie's ordered these special for me. I am so excited to get out for a run in them. (They are the Brooks Cascadia 5)

Harley saw 4 shoes and thought they were for him. He is excited to get for a run in them too!

Happy training (and happy tapering to me!!!!)

Jasper Recap

2010-02-05T20:33:00.001-07:00

Well a week later...here it is. What a busy week!
Anywho...Jasper was great as always. We got up close and personal with some wildlife including a lone grey wolf, many deer and this big ol' daddy.

Thanks to a blind corner, H-dog and D almost ran smack into him!

Friday I did a run up the Pyramid Lake loop with H-dog. I was blissed out the entire run. Seriously, if I could have been anywhere in the world doing anything I wouldn't have changed a thing. It was fantastic.

Saturday we attempted the number 7 trail to 6th Bridge, but we ran out of trail about 3km from there. The snow was knee deep so we bailed and hiked over to the road. We ran the road a bit (saw the wolf) and joined back up with the trail to take us back. It was a chilly day and we were both under dressed. After a big lunch we spent most of the rest of the day under blankets watching movies.

Sunday I wanted to do the Pyramid Lake loop again and it started out with the 3 of us. D and HD took a detour to avoid some off leash mutts and we got separated. I continued on but went a different way trying to find the boys. I ended up going up in reverse to what I am used to. This, combined with the snowfall the night before left me with only a vauge sense of where the trail went once I reached the top. I went half way down on another trail but it didn't feel right so I then retraced my steps to the top. I looked around for another trail but couldn't find anything so back down I went. I went all the way to the bottom, crossed a valley and a creek and ended up at a fork in the trail. There were finally trail signs identifying that I was indeed, off course. I was also in an area that I remembered from my map was a major thoroughfare for wildlife, and 'not recommended to travel'. Eek. So back up the mountain I went. Thankfully I was doing my first run with the awesome Leki poles D bought me. I knew I would get back but I also knew I was going to be waaay late and that D would be worried. Indeed, I was almost 3.5 hrs and by the time I got home D was ready to call search and rescue.

Although it was a bit stressful, I did get a good run in and got to really learn how to run with the poles. It wasn't easy and I tripped myself a couple of times but I did get the hang of it and it really helped in the deeper snow and on the steep ascents and decsents.

We are heading back at the end of the month. Looking forward to more adventures :)

Last Week

2010-02-03T20:12:00.000-07:00

We had all kinds of good times in Jasper on the weekend. I have a few photos to post but I am too tired to go get the camera and upload them. I ran 6 days in a row last week and broke through the 100km mark for the week. I felt great. Monday I ran and I really felt like I could run forever. Yesterday was a rest day and today I feel like I was hit by a truck. Just soooo tired. It took me until 3pm to get out for my run and it was a struggle. I managed to do the 18km and felt better for doing it but I am pretty much ready for bed and it is 8pm. Maybe rest days are a bad idea...lol

Last week's stats:
Tuesday: off
Wednesday: 16km
Thursday: 12km
Friday: 17.5km (Jasper trails)
Saturday: 20km (Jasper trails)
Sunday: 20.5km (Jasper trails, I got lost)
Monday: 16km
Total: 102km

Hopefully my energy will be back tomorrow and I'll write about the Jasper fun.

Gone Running

2010-01-29T08:40:00.001-07:00

We will return to regularly scheduled broadcasting in a few days.

Stats and Happy Thoughts

2010-01-26T19:36:00.002-07:00

Week 4 is a wrap. Yesterday I churned out the 16km run on the treadmill and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I was pleasantly surprised that my legs, feet etc were almost pain free Monday morning. I credit my husbands massage skills, he worked me over and applied a thick layer of tiger balm.

Last week I officially hit 100km for the week and I am really happy with how my body has adapted. Despite some earlier foot/arch issues I seem to have everything worked out (for the time being) as I've had no pain during any of my runs the last week. I think keeping up with stretching, massage and chiro going to be key as well as trying to run on a variety of surfaces and alternating between shoes.

All of this is new, which is why I am so jacked about it. It wasn't enough to do triathlon this year, I needed something that would challenge me in every way. Something that I had to research, learn and test myself with. I have no idea how to train for a 125km run, how/ what I will fuel myself with, what happens when I try to run through the woods at night over several mountains... but I will learn :)

Learning is the fun stuff, every week I am doing something I have never done before, breaking into new zones of discomfort and learning that I can handle more that I ever thought. Julie nailed it when she said that the thresholds are changing. This year is going to turn 40km in to an ordinary run...

2 weeks till the Frozen Ass 50km, and this weekend I have Jasper to look forward too. I am excited to get on the trails and run, x-c ski, climb hills and enjoy the rocky mountain high-ness. D left this morning so it will also be our rendezvous which is also fun to look forward to.

I am not as optimistic as Jenna, that winter is 'almost' over. But at least January is almost over, so we're a month closer!

The stats:
Tuesday:off
Wednesday: 16km
Thursday: 16km
Friday: 12km
Saturday: off
Sunday: 40km
Monday: 16km
Total: 100km YAHOO!

And the happy thoughts...Keith had this post and it seemed like a good idea. 10 things that make me happy... except I chose to do 10 things that I was happy about today.
1. Having the day off running! yahoo!
2. Getting home from spin class this morning and smelling the latte D had made before leaving the house.
3. Kicking big hunks of snow/dirt from between the frame and tires of my jeep. You have to be from northern Canada to get that I think.
4. Taking an awesome nap during my regular run time :)
5. Cleaning the house..well the after effect is the happy part more than the actual cleaning.
6. Making and eating some yummy and spicy Indian food for dinner.
7. Having H-dog to keep me company and make me laugh.
8. Receiving a heartfelt thank you email from a client.
9. Crossing a schwack of crap off my to-do list today.
10. Ordering Brooks Cascadia Trail Shoes thanks to Dean at Ernies! Shhh....don't tell my husband. He already thinks I have a running shoe 'problem'.

Happy Tuesday!

It beats watching football

2010-01-24T18:03:00.000-07:00

That is what D said as we were suiting up for my 40km training run. He is right, and I thought about it several times out on that run. As I was being pelted with blowing snow, running in ankle deep powder, fighting with frozen water bottles and jumping in the ditch to avoid oncoming traffic, I kept thinking "I would still rather be doing this than sitting on the couch watching football". I hate football.

The day started with preparations of epic proportions.

Well not really, but D took his support role very seriously and had the cooler ready with an assortment of beverages and snacks. The plan was to do a 30km highway loop with D parking along the way to be my support/ aide stations. He would drive about 8km, park and then run back to me before turning and running back to the Jeep to wait for me to follow. It was awesome, I have to say. If it weren't for him and H-dog out there I couldn't have done it today. For starters, my legs felt tired from the get go. Usually if I start with tired legs they come around after 5-8km. Today at 8km I felt done. But seeing the boys and knowing at each 8km interval they would be waiting really kept me trudging along. And a trudge it was. It has been snowing and blowing for the past couple days and the shoulders of the highway were covered in a couple inches of powdery snow. It was like running on sand-except under the sand there was ice! And speaking of ice, within the time it took me to run the 8km sections my water bottle would freeze to the point I could no longer drink. Thankfully D would swap out my bottle at each 'station'. He also forced food into me- important since last week my demise came from only consuming 100 calories over a 35km run. Dumb. So today his line was- eat this, eat that, you need to eat, are you eating, you need to eat..etc. And it worked since I managed to take in 500ish calories- a big deal for me, especially in this kind of weather when my face/mouth are covered and the last thing I felt like doing was chewing.
I hit the driveway in 30.4km which worked out perfectly as it left me with exactly 6miles to go. (the treadmill is in miles) Once again D had my back and had everything set up for me!

I was a bit horrified by how much it hurt, but I managed to get the last 10km done in 57mins. I was so tired, stiff and hungry I felt like..I'd just run a marathon. Except I was 2.2km short of that :) I don't normally go into marathons with the kind of mileage I was carrying in my legs so I guess that evens it out.

D took a couple of shots of me out there (you are right Jenna, no one out there to sneak up on!) before the camera died. Probably for the best since things only got uglier ;)

Thanks to my husband extraordinaire who really was the wind beneath my broken wings today! I couldn't have done it without you (and H-dog), babe.
Tomorrow I somehow have to coax another 16km run out of this old bod. Pray for me.

Motivation

2010-01-23T21:10:00.002-07:00

I am psyching myself for the 40km run I am doing tomorrow. I love this commercial. All it needs is a shot of Julie running down the highway with a snow plow bearing down on her.

Just the facts

2010-01-19T21:33:00.001-07:00

Week 3 running 97km total
Tues: off
Wed: 18km
Thurs: 12km
Fri: 18km
Sat: 30min spin
Sun:35km
Mon: 16km

Toughest week so far, thanks to icy trails and me not eating enough.
More stories for another day, I need sleep.

Happy Training!

A picture's worth a thousand words...

2010-01-17T19:36:00.000-07:00

This is how I feel after today's run...

An Open Letter to my Legs

2010-01-14T18:55:00.001-07:00

Dear Legs,
Thank you for all you have been doing lately. I really appreciate all the overtime you've been putting in and how you have been going the extra mile(s) for me on a daily basis. I understand that you are tired and deservedly took a day off today. It was not easy to run without you, but Harley and Daughtry helped me get through. I hope you are feeling more rested and are ready to get back to work tomorrow. I am really going to need you for the 18km treadmill run.
Sincerely,
Me

Three Thoughts for the Day

2010-01-13T18:42:00.011-07:00

"There are clubs you can't belong to,
neighborhoods you can't live in,
schools you can't get into,
but the trails are always open."
Nike

'There are no accidents...
there is only some purpose that we haven't yet understood.'
Deepak Chopra

I love this dog :)

Run...Run...Repeat

2010-01-11T19:26:00.002-07:00

Week 2 is a wrap! I hit 94km today for the week and I am certainly feeling it in my legs. Up until today's trail run in the snow I felt great, but that pretty much beat the last of the life out of them. It was sure fun though, no regrets. I needed to get into the trees! H-dog loved it too, he was dragging me so fast I felt like I was waterskiing at times! The uneven terrain took its toll though and my calves are two giant knots.

So the week's running went as follows...
Tues: Rest Day
Wed: 18km
Thurs: 12km
Friday: 18km (on the treadmill)
Saturday: EZ spin 1hr
Sunday: 30km (20km outside and last 10km on the treadmill)
Monday: 16km
Total: 94km

After Tuesday's run the arch of my foot was bugging me a bit, I think from the uneven footing. So Wed I decided to try the treadmill just to see if it helped. Sure enough it was fine, I think running at a faster pace helped too. Sunday I was scheduled to run 16km with the 30km run Monday. I was stressed out about the 30km so on Sunday I just decided to keep running and get it over with. Sometimes you have to trick yourself! I did the last 10km on the tready and I am glad I did because it forced me to pick up the pace when I would typically be slowing down.
Here is a shot D took of my sweaty back...

One thing about all this training is that we are ALL eating alot! H-dog has run even more KMs than me this week and his appetite is insatiable. I know how he feels....

Happy training (and eating) everyone!

Grrrrr....

2010-01-04T19:11:00.000-07:00

Jan.01, (THAINDIAN NEWS) According to Chinese astrology, the year 2010 would be the Year of the Tiger and the cycle would begin on February 14, 2010 and would come to an end on February 2, 2011. The Year of the Metal Tiger is said to bring in prosperity as well as ushers in many other positive transformations.
The Tiger represents the third sign in the Chinese Zodiac, which comprises of 12 animal signs. According to the ancient Chinese mythology, Tiger symbolizes courage and it plays a pivotal role in keeping away the three prime disturbances of a household which include fire, thieves and ghosts. At the same time, this year being at the Year of the Metal Tiger, it is being predicted that the Tiger would add the element of courage and the metal part would provide the necessary determination and resolve to achieve the goals that are set for the year. Moreover, the Chinese astrology has described the Year of the Tiger to be ‘tumultuous, hard working and vigorous year.’

In addition to being the year of the Tiger, for me it is the year of running. And snow. And running in snow.
I made it through my first week of cramming for a 50km...Yahoo! It was tough going- the temps this week have ranged from -22 to -30 (today). We had had a lot of snow fall over the Christmas season and the trails have not been plowed so the footing has been brutal. I was so happy D did a 16km run yesterday on the same route as me so he would experience it. Now he knows why my legs are so tired!!
Today I had 25km on tap. It was -30 when I started out, but I was not cold. I had many many layers on and the only exposed area was my eyeballs. My eyelashes were forzen together but I didn't really need to see anyway. I wear my camel back under my jacket so it doesn't freeze up, and normally that works great. Unfortunately today I didn't tuck the valve in deep enough after taking a drink and it froze up. I knew it would eventually thaw if I put it back next to my skin so I wasn't too worried, but about 15mins later my ipod stopped and I realized it too had frozen up! With the prospect of no water AND no music, I decided to wrap up at 10km and do the rest of the run indoors.The last 15km on the treadmill was pretty boring, but I made it through. (thanks to 2 episodes of Buffy The Vampire Slayer on DVD)
So week one is a wrap and I am pleasantly surprised that I made it through 90km and am feeling pretty good. Hopefully this continues as the miles increase...

Uncharted Territory

2010-01-02T20:43:00.003-07:00

I decided I needed a kick in the arse to get me moving. The Death Race is a big scary goal, but it is far enough away that my heart isn't in my throat thinking about it yet. I needed something that would scare me enough to get my butt out the door and running in the minus WTF temperatures and deep snow.

Enter the Frozen Ass 50. A 50km run from Calgary to Chestermere. Dead flat and on a bike trail (unplowed, but paved). The terrain makes it doable, but 50km is still a lot further than I have run in a while...like over a year!

So I Googled "Training for a 50km in 6 weeks". Nothing.
"6 weeks to a 50km run". Nada.
"50km training program" Great! Got a few programs there. But they are 21 weeks in duration. Dang!

Ok, I am in uncharted territory. So I did what I do best and made it up. I applied what I know about my body, training and what I have read about in the ultra training programs I've seen and I created my own.

I guess I'll find out how smart I am in 6 weeks ;)

So far this week I have done:
Monday: 11km
Wednesday: 16km
Thursday: 20km
Friday: 13km
Today was a rest day.

Tomorrow is 16km and Monday 25km. I am doing my longest runs on Mondays and will be doing 16km the day before each long run. The theory is similar to doing a long bike before a long run- to get used to running on tired legs.

I am building up to 100km/week with my longest training run at 40km. I have 2 rest days scheduled in every week, but will continue to spin as I am teaching a class 2x/week and have the Saturday spin we host in the pain cave. I am building mileage that can carry me past this race and into the training for the Blackfoot Ultra 80km (May 29) and of course the Death Race July 31.

I am running SLOW. 6 min per KM which is a very comfortable pace and will hopefully help me stay healthy through the mileage. So far so good, although the conditions have been tough! It has been cold and we have had tonnes of snow so my ankles/shins/calves are really working overtime. I keep telling myself it will just make me stronger, and all the extra weight of layers is like resistance training :)

I received the BEST news today! My good friend Celine is going to run the 50km with me!! I am so happy to have someone to run the race with- we have completed many miles together and I have really missed having a running partner since we moved from Calgary.

It isn't easy to find a compatible running/ training partner and the only person I seem to be able to coax into running with me on a regular basis is a bit lacking in the conversation department :) But he is always enthusiastic, and never complains about the speed, distance, or the weather!

Gulp

2010-01-01T09:08:00.001-07:00

For the first time in years I stayed up until midnight on NY Eve. Not to party (although we did party a little) but to register for this.....

Hill repeats anyone????

Happy New Year!!

A Very Merry Christmas

2009-12-30T19:06:00.002-07:00

This year we traveled to Nipawin, Saskatchewan for our big family Christmas on the farm. My brother, Sarah and the girls were also there which meant we had our whole family together for Christmas for the first time in 5 years. We all stayed with my parents in their not-so-big house. 7 adults, 3 kids and 2 dogs! It was loud and chaotic at times but we really enjoyed ourselves and the time together with everyone. My Grandma also stayed with us Christmas Eve to have Christmas morning and day with us. She, I and D all went to mass on Christmas Day. We usually go Christmas eve but we were all too tired to stay up for it!
Having the kids there made for such a fun time. The anticipation and excitement are only that rich with kids around!
Boxing day we spent the day with the extended family. There were so many of us we rented a hall. It was a great time with lots of food and laughs.
All in all a perfect Christmas holiday. The loooong drive home gave us lots of time to sort out our 2010 goals, race schedule etc. I am pumped! And scared! Bring it on :)

Here is D opening his gift before we left for SK. He convinced me to let him!

H-dog checking out the Power Lung!

Christmas dog

Christmas Morning

Uncle D playing with the girls

Harley and Uncle Buck

My Dad

Card Time!

Hike to the river

The Farm

Hope you all had an amazing Christmas season! Cheers to the next decade :)

The Vegas Highlights

2009-12-13T21:40:00.001-07:00

Here are the highlights and of our Vegas adventure.
* The race itself was defintley a highlight. What an amazing event- very well organized, lots of good schwag and a true Vegas style experience with fireworks, showgirls and a live band at the start. There were also bands playing throughout the race course which created some insane energy out there. I almost wished I was racing, it was hard to hold back!

* Being a part of each of the girls' race experience was amazing. Being an athlete in an individual sport can be a bit of a lonely existence. Your highs, lows, successes and failures are pretty much only your own. It is all to easy to get caught up in the times, splits, and results and lose sight of the core of what got you there in the first place. Having this experience allowed me to share in each of the successes of my girls. I felt 10X the joy of crossing the finish line. They had 3 months of anticipation, fear, doubt, hope and excitement wrapped up in that day and I got to be a part of it. It was amazing and it reconnected me with something I have lost sight of recently- the reason I started running in the first place. The feeling I had when I first broke through what I thought were impossible limitations. The anticipation, fear, doubt, hope and excitement that comes with doing something for the first time. Something that at some point seemed impossible. I have been missing that perspective for a while and I needed the reminder.

* Seeing D race to his potential was amazing. I am continually inspired by him, and not just the results he produces, but his attitude about it all. We hardly had an ideal pre race situation. 12hrs of flying, bad food, not enough water, tons of walking, no luggage for 24hrs, etc... All I could think was thank god I'm not racing! But D took it all in stride. He was never upset, anxious, complaining or whining. He just goes with the flow and takes it all in stride. We had fajitas and beer the night before the race. And not just one beer. He is a better person than I am :) He even shopped with me after the race. For jeans. I had to go to every store before I found some that fit right and he never complained. He hates shopping on a good day but he never rushed me or complained. Yup...

*Our trip out to Red Rock Canyon was fantastic. First, it was great to just get off the strip and see another side of Vegas. Second, we had the whole day to hang out with our friend Alan. We climbed on rocks, took pictures of snow in the desert and found a Whole Foods to have dinner at. I was dying for some vegetables :)

* I got inked! I have wanted this tattoo for a long time and Vegas just seemed to be a good place to get it. It is the Chinese version of Woman of Strength and I had my Chinese consultant Alan along to make sure they didn't put it in backwards :) Prior to this we walked about 5miles in the pouring rain looking for the tattoo place I wanted to go to. Which turned out to be closed. It would be impossible to describe just how hard it was raining and how miserable it was to walk in it. Yet Alan and D walked along with me and never complained. Seriously, the only one complaining was me and I had an umbrella and hadn't run a marathon the day before!

* The rest of our Vegas adventure was fun, the sights, the sounds the smells...not all my thing but it was cool to see and experience for a couple of days.

So with that adventure over, we are looking ahead to what is next. Nothing has been decided for sure yet but we have penciled in a few events for 2010. Stay tuned...

Pics from Vegas!

2009-12-10T20:58:00.000-07:00

Whats Up?

2009-12-02T10:52:00.004-07:00

WoW! Happy December. One post per month is becoming a trend!

As for What is UP? It has been a busy month and things are getting very exciting. 2 sleeps till VEGAS! I am really excited for this trip- for many reasons. Not the least of which is that Husband Extrodinaire and I will get a lovely little get away together. He has been on the road the past 2 weeks and I miss him like crazy! Of course I am also super excited to do the 1/2 marathon with my trainees. I will be running with them, pacing perhaps and most definitely taking pictures. It is the first real race I have not 'raced' and I am going to enjoy it. Don't look for any PRs, I plan to stay out until the last of my crew finishes. Hopefully I will also get to watch my husband fly across the finish line with what I am sure will be a smoking fast time. He is running like an animal lately!

I am almost equally excited to be heading to Calgary the week after Vegas for a Entrepreuner's Bootcamp. This will be different from the bootcamp I teach ;) It is a great opportunity to spend a few days working on my business, and getting ready for the next phase of development.
I have also been mulling over 2010 goals and thoughts. Usually around this time of year I sit and do a review of the year past as well as a plan for the year coming. This year is different than others and it is going to be interesting to try to map out a year that seems so unknown to me.

Until then, here are some photos recapping the last few weeks.

We had a birthday party with my Bro and family...

I put up the Christmas tree (Harley helped)

We ran 22km in -17 weather...

Brunch with my sweety...

We did our last long run as a group

And then had a party for Crystal. I baked :)

We watched my 4year old niece perform at the Festival of Trees

And Harley killed Gingy. "Not the gumdrop button!!!"

Now I am off to walk H-dog. It is -21. Thank GOD for my Eskimo Princess Jacket!!!

Tis the season! Enjoy :)

OH AND PS What do you think of this???

People Like this...

2009-11-20T16:24:00.006-07:00

Are the reason I LOVE what I do.
Here is an article about one of my clients. She is amazing. One of the most determined, willing and committed people I have ever worked with. She has faced some of the toughest obstacles of anyone I've ever coached, and yet she has THE best attitude. She inspires me and makes me want to work harder to reach my goals.
Thanks for writing the fantastic article Crystal, and Melodee- thanks for sharing your story! You are a true Woman of Strength.

Running for the health of it
Crystal Rhyno – Running with Rhyno
If you had any doubts running was a mental challenge, then you haven't met new runner Melodee Luka.
Self-described as queen-sized, Melodee is a thirty-something gal who took up running this past spring.
"I don't run," she says. "I am not built like a runner. When you look at me, runner is not the first word you think of – shot putter maybe, not a runner."
Melodee is getting married this February. When her doctor told her she needed to get on a healthier lifestyle track, Melodee decided to run.
Well, it was either running or ballet, she joked.
"But I don't have the grace for ballet."
Melodee wanted to do something that challenged her mentally, so the physical part wouldn't be so bad.
A tangible goal would be to run a 5K race.
"It was easier to make a lifestyle change by focusing on the 5K race."
After researching and deciding on a training group, she signed up for a learn-to-run program.
"In my head, the hardest part was deciding to go to the class," said Melodee, who is a cost analyst for Conoco Phillips Canada. "And I prepaid the full amount because I am so cheap, I wouldn't want to waste any of my money."
The day before her first class, Melodee was a bucket of nerves. She tossed and turned the entire night.
"I was so nervous about the class," said Melodee. "I am not petite person. I am not a light person. Gravity is not nice to me. I thought I was going to be the worst person in class and I didn't want to die. The whole day I was so nervous."
But as all good stories go, Melodee got over her nerves, and set off on the path leading to her new-found love.
"I am paying a professional," she said. "I will do whatever she tells me to do. And I left everything else at the door. When she said go, I tried. I tried really hard."
At that first class, Melodee knew she had a lot of work ahead of her.
"I couldn't even run for 30 seconds," she said. "I watched the other people break away. I stayed in the back. I had problems with my shins and I had tendinitis in my feet. All I thought was just do what ever you are told."
Through all the ups and painful downs, Melodee pushed through the learn-to-run program.
In June, Melodee entered the Give the Gift of Life Fun Run and Walk for the Kidney Foundation of Canada.
"I finished," she said. "I finished. One day, I will be concerned about how fast I go. All I care right now is making it to the finish line."
Next year, Melodee would love to run a 10K and then in a few years do a half-marathon. These days, she's up to running four minutes at a time.
"I'd love to get to the point where I can get to a 20-minute stretch," she said.
Just a couple of weeks ago, Melodee had a running breakthrough while walking her boxer, Presley.
She thought, "I would rather be running."
So she turned around went back into her house and changed into her running gear.
"My limitations are nowhere close to where I thought they were," said Melodee. "I enjoy the outdoors more ever than I have before. I am not going to say I have the 'runner's high' yet. I have the 'oh yeah feeling'. I think the runner's high is coming. It's getting easier. I appreciate more of what it takes to increase your distances and I will get there."
Melodee grew up near Hines Creek and has lived in Grande Prairie for more than 15 years. She's planning on wearing a strapless dress for her wedding in Mexico.
Melodee trained with the Women of Strength (www.womenofstrength.ca) learn-to-run group.

crhyno@bowesnet.com

Copyright © 2009 Grande Prairie Daily Herald Tribune

A Reminder...

2009-11-19T16:09:00.000-07:00

Walking in a Winter Wonderland!

2009-11-09T21:02:00.000-07:00

So I am the first to admit that I love warm climates, sunshine and heat. But I live in Northern Alberta. And I am not the type to be miserable so I embrace what is and find the beauty.

Yes folks, it is winter again up here in da Nord. The snow is here, the days are mostly dark and the temps are dropping. This year I bought myself a kick ass parka- down filled, to my shins and complete with a fur trimmed hood! This has gone a looong way to upping the happy factor in my winter world. I spend a good chunk of my life walking my dog, and this jacket is like having a wonderful traveling sleeping bag wrapped around me. We had a huge snowfall last week and I was really grateful for my Eskimo princess jacket ;)

This past week I was on the road with D and we had a great time. We finished off the trip in Jasper and Friday night it snowed all night and we woke up to a winter postcard!

I have been love love loving the group running. My Women of Strength training group did 18km on Sunday, and I am continually impressed and inspired with how far they have come! I managed 21.2km with all the back and forth and am also continually amazed at how easy and enjoyable running is when I am well within my comfort zone :)

I am a little worried that I might forget how to run in that 'other' gear...but I'll deal with that when the time comes. :)

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T17:21:00.003-07:00

The Pain Cave Goes High Tech!

2009-10-29T20:35:00.000-07:00

Christmas came early in the Hunter household. Well, technically the anniversary gifts came late, but since it snowed today, we'll call it Christmas :)

Here are some shots of our sweet ass training space. This week we added Computrainers- and of course a new flatscreen and computer to go with it. Gone are the days of the cement walls and 12" screen black and white tv we had in Calgary.

And yes, it is our favorite room in the house!

oops, how did that one get in there... oh well ;)

Happy Training! If you want to join us for a spin, bike or strength session come on by! :)

Awesome Video :)

2009-10-28T09:21:00.002-07:00

October in Pictures

2009-10-21T20:25:00.007-06:00

I have been really slack on updating this blog! Here is a highlight reel of October so far.
We hosted an awesome IM Kona party with our GP tri geek friends...

I made lattes for everyone :) It snowed! Harley must have forgot about snow, he was a bit nervous about going out the first time. Until he remembered how much he loves to eat it :)
We had lots of kid time with my nieces...

Harley had fun playing dress up with Gianna...We enjoyed a late thanksgiving with my parents who were in town for a week.
Darin and I celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary! We have had an amazing year, and can truly say we are living our dream :)

Vicarious

2009-10-04T18:59:00.004-06:00

So since I am not training and racing to compete for a while, I have found other ways to feel the satisfaction and achievement associated with those pursuits. Luckily my job is the perfect job for this. I get to assist and support others to achieve their goals, push their boundaries and expand their context for what is possible.
Today my Women of Strength group ran the Fall Classic 10km. Since we are training for the Vegas Half, and the schedule called for 12km, the girls had to finish the race and then head out for another 2km. I had many comments of what an evil bleep bleep I was for making them do this. They all did amazing, pushed themselves to run faster and stronger and further than they had before. I've had a huge smile on my face all day, and my heart is full of pride for them.

Also for my husband, who had a goal of PRing today and did that plus more. He ran the 10km in a blistering 34:25. About 3 minutes faster than his previous best from 4 years ago.
While I have struggled some days with this new 'program' I am on, I feel unbelievably fortunate for my role as a supporter and coach. Fitness is still at the center of my life, but now instead of pushing my body to its limits, I am focused on health and balance. Luckily I can live vicariously through the achievements of my clients and my hubby, which for now feels as good or better than doing it myself.

Time Flies!

2009-09-26T10:01:00.003-06:00

I think one of the most amazing gifts that kids provide is the visual awareness of the passage of time. As an adult, a year passes and the tangible change in my body is negligible. The change in my life may be somewhat more pronounced, a change in home, job, marital status etc. But there is nothing quite as loud as the change observed in a child over a period as short as a year.

Case in point. One year ago I was holding this wee little baby, fresh from her mama's womb, in my arms.

Today, she turns 1. She is walking, talking (a bit) and her face lights up with recognition when I see her. In a year from now she'll be greeting me with "Hi Auntie" and playing dress up with her sisters.

Time flies, and I am so lucky to be blessed with 3 beautiful nieces to remind me how precious and fleeting every day is. I am so grateful that we live only blocks away and I am able to share in their lives, and watch them grow, change and develop in what feels like all too rapid progression.

Happy Birthday Angelina!

Flowers :)

2009-09-20T20:00:00.000-06:00

In the hopes of reaching the moon,
many fail to see the flowers that blossom at their feet".
~Albert Scheitzer

Ironman Canada 2009: Iron Wife

2009-09-02T21:32:00.007-06:00

The plan for 2009 was to take a break from IM, to stick a bit closer to home, and to work on some DIY projects such as building a deck.

While I was fully embracing the 'vacation' from IM, D was feeling a bit wistful about the decision. I think we have Robert and Dennis to blame, and all those post run coffee conversations about racing and training...haha! I finally said to D "if you are not racing only because of your agreement with me, then I think you should just do it. But you still have to build the deck!" And so it began. :)

So this year I was happy to be in the role of Iron Wife- ultimate supporter and cheerleader extraordinaire!! As it turns out I had one of my most favorite IM experiences- not only because I got to cheer on my rock star hubby, but because I knew so many people racing and really got emotionally invested in their races!

We stayed in a gorgeous suite of a home up in West Bench. Our great friends JR and Hallsy hooked us up and it was perfect. Away from the noise, surrounded by nature and a big fenced back yard for H-dog. We arrived in Penticton Tuesday evening and after picking up some groceries unwound and relazed in our cozy abode. We spent race week pretty much relaxing, enjoying the IM hype (we embrace it!) and spending time with great friends. On Wed we were at the beach so D could swim and I ran into our friends, the Burgi's, we made when we were in Kona last October. I could hardly believe it was them- but the 4 little mini's Burgi's were a dead give away. I could write an entire post about these guys, we love them so much and it feels like we've been friends forever. We had a great catch up chat while the boys swam and then Tania and I went for a little dip ourselves. It was her first swim since last year and my first one since IM Calgary, but the water was so fantastic it felt great to be out there.

Friday I called my bud Hallsy to go for a ride. I had brought my bike all the way to Penticton, I had to at least do a ride! It was great to have a friend to ride/chat with. We toodled out to OK falls and back. It was hot, sunny and windy. Add the great conversation and I would call it the perfect day for a ride. I have to say that race week when you are not racing is really quite a gloriously enjoyable time!! lol.

We missed the carbo load dinner because they were sold out of tickets. I was a bit bummed since we love going to all the IM dinners etc, but we hit Earl's instead and had some Beers and Fries. My pre race secret- even though I wasn't racing I decided I needed to carbo load haha!
Race morning I was awake at 4am. I think I was worried the alarms wouldn't go off so I just laid there until 4:30 and then got up. I felt great- of course- since I had no pressure! D said he didn't sleep well (thanks to H-dog) but he was eager to get down to business. D had a quick breakfast and I enjoyed not having to force myself to eat that early. We headed down to the race site at 5am and I gave D a kiss, a go gettum and headed to find a parking spot. Just as I found a reasonably good spot my phone rang. The screen said "Husband Extraordinaire". Uh Oh. Someone forgot his bottles in the fridge at home. So off I went back up the hill to fetch them. I was so glad that I was able to be there to do it. I can only imagine how stressful that would have been if we were both racing!

Bottles in check, we kiss goodbye and I am off to find a parking spot. It is now 6am and the crowds have arrived. So I decided to drive out to the Starbucks on the highway and just walk in. At least I could get coffee :) I also picked up drinks for Tania and her 4 kids (yes 4) who were at the swim start holding a place for me. As soon as I stepped out of my truck I saw my friend Alan- everything happens for a reason! We had a little visit on the walk to the race start. On the way I found Hallsy and her friend Amanda and we all went in search of Tania and the kids amongst the throngs of spectators. Eventually we found them and joined them in their awesome spot. It was such a different experience to be on the other side of the fence. I could physically feel the nerves of the althetes looking out at the water and thinking about what is coming.

I didn't see Darin, but I did see my friend's Robert and Lorna. It gave me goosebumps and teary eyes, they had such a rocky journey getting there. Robert had heart trouble a few months ago and had to have his heart stopped and restarted to correct it. Certainly an acceptable reason to take a pass on IM. But he didn't. His wife Lorna crashed her bikes a few weeks ago and she had 20-some stiches and all kinds of bruising and soft tissue trauma. Yet she too was down there on the beach, ready to tackle one of the most physically gruelling one day events on the planet. Kudos to them.

So off they all went, and we headed to get a spot at the bike start. I was really greatful to be with Halls who knows the course like the back of her hand, and knows where and when to be in the best spots. We saw JR and D both starting the bike with good swim times behind them. D was out in 1:02, a PR for him! Then we picked up our vehicles and started out towards Richter. We had a few delays along the way and I was worried I was going to miss D. As it turns out I had just gotten out of the truck and walked about 5 steps when he came over the top of the hill. Woo hoo! He looked great and had a huge smile for me!

Next we headed to the out and back, but the drive took forever as we were on the race course and bikes were riding 5-6 wide, forcing us into the oncoming lane. I was so nervous about either running into oncoming traffic or taking out a bike I dared not lose focus for even a second! I didn't see D on the road on the way to the out and back so I knew he had beat me there. I parted ways with Hallsy and headed up to the exit of the out and back to wait. It was very hot! Thankfully I didn't wait long to see D coming up the road. Just like clock work! He still looked great and was eating a banana, so I knew he must be feeling ok. Off I went again towards yellow lake. I found a spot to park down Green Mountain road and ran up the hill to a steep part where I knew I would be able to see D. Once again it wasn't long until I saw a figure in the distance, standing up and dancing on the pedals. I knew it was my man and I was so excited to see him riding strong as previous years he had bonked on Yellow Lake. I cheered him on as he went by and then ran back down the hill, jumped back in the Jeep and headed into town via Green Mountain road. I made it to town at 1:00 and knew D was hoping to get there by 1:30. I went up to the house and checked on H-dog, then drove back down to town, jumped on my bike and made my way to the out and back on Lakeshore Drive to wait. D was there soon after, and I was also able to see both Robert and Dennis- all the GP boys rode strong! D was running at a blistering pace and I said a prayer that he wasn't going out too hard.

I was starting to feel a bit bonky myself as I hadn't eaten since my Starbucks breakfast sandwich. I headed out on Main street and realized I would not be able to catch D before he left town. I called Hallsy to see where she was and it turns out they were only a block up- eating- and they had extra to share!! Woo hoo!
We sat on main street for a while and I was able to see a lot of people I know running. Chris looked rough but was moving forward like a trooper. Katie flew by running like the wind. JR came by and smiled for the camera.

Hallsy and Amanda headed to OK falls to the turn around and I headed out on the run course to meet up with D. I knew I wouldn't beat him to the turn around so I did some math in my head and figured I could catch him about the 18 mile mark. I got to the marker, parked my bike, took off my helmet and minutes later saw a figure running towards me that I knew was him. He was still running like an animal and looked sooo strong. I gave him a yahoo and headed up the road back towards town. It was great to see more people like Robert C and Jill. I made to mile 22 and stopped for a pee/water break. D came through right on time, and I told him I hadn't seen anyone in his age group up this far. I took off on my bike again and soon came upon a guy who was indeed in D's age group. I waited a bit and when I saw D coming told him to catch that guy!
I could tell he was on that fine line- he looked like he was putting everything into keeping his pace and I prayed he'd hold on.

I zipped into the out and back on Lakeshore, ditched my bike and bag and waited to see D. When I saw him come around the corner I knew he was hurting bad and he started to walk. I ran up and yelled "don't walk! You just have to run to the end of the street and back- GO!" he started jogging but I could tell he was seriously close to falling off the edge. I jogged a little with him and let him go. I saw him take a gel, I guess he knew he was on "E". After the turn around he was walking again. I ran up and yelled- run!!! You are so close just keep going- count your steps, one foot ahead of the other, gooo! He started jogging again and about 400m from the finish stopped and put his hands on his knees, bent over. I ran over and grabbed his arm, practically throwing him up the road. I could see his eyes were going in different directions and I knew that the lights were on and no one was home. I could also see another guy coming up behind that I suspected was in his age group. Run babe! You are almost there! He started jogging again and got to the Power Bar arch when the guy passed him. I saw that he was, indeed, in his age group so I screamed one more time RUN!!! But I could tell that he was running on fumes. I was so happy for him to finish, 9:38 a personal Best and 3rd in his age group.

I met up with him and walked him to the massage tent where he just kept asking to sit down. It was so funny- he was really out of it and they kept asking him questions. He just kept saying 'can I just sit down for a minute?" " I just need to sit for a minute" Can I sit?" Poor guy.
Post race we headed back to the house, showered and D took a nap while I walked H-dog. I was anxious to head back down to see the rest of the competitors finish but I knew D needed to regroup. We eventually made it back down, had some great food (and beers for me) and cheered in a bunch of our friends including Jordan and Lorna. Watching all the competitors running that final mile really reminded me of how tough that race is. We didn't stay until midnight as D was fading fast and I was pretty tired too.

Being a spectator was such a good thing for me. I really needed the reminder of what it is all about, why I decided to start the IM journey in the first place and how much it has added to my life. I think I lost sight of a lot of the important stuff recently by focusing too much on results and time.

Monday we went down to the expo to pick up pictures and D bought us finisher jackets. There was no year on the jacket so I decided I could wear it :)
We then had a super fun day- we went floating down the channel, had an awesome lunch, bought lots of wine and enjoyed the beauty of a summer day in paradise!

The awards dinner was a blast. We sat with Danny and Tania and I laughed and smiled so much my face hurt afterwards. It was so fun to see D get his award (trophy, a new watch and MORE wine which we gave to the Burgi's). It was also awesome to see Jill on the podium and to hear Katie's name called (I cheered so loud!) even though she wasn't there.

D and I should probably have gone home and packed up for our long drive home, but we cracked a bottle of wine and sat and enjoyed our last night and celebrated the end of the season. I think we even got a little drunk LOL.

D did qualify for Kona but opted not to take the spot. Prior to the race when I would ask him "what if" he said he'd decide if and when. After the race he was very clear that he was not going to take the spot. As he put it, he had left everything out on the race course and put his body through so much pain, he couldn't imagine doing it again in 6 weeks. I couldn't blame him for that, although I challenged him on it, just to be sure he wouldn't regret it.He said he was very happy with his day, and his whole season, and was ready to take some time off. It has never been his life goal or dream to do Kona, and after being there last year and seeing how hot, humid and tough it is, I can see why he wasn't eager to go.

After the race a lot of people, after congratulating him, were asking him all kinds of questions about how he trains. People we know and complete strangers. I thought it was kind of funny to hear him answer questions like who is your coach? How many hours a week do you train? etc. D is the antithesis of a type A triathlete. Let's just say if he posted what he does on a typical triathlon forum he'd get ripped to shreds. But then again I don't think D has ever even been on a triathlon forum, save for when I show him something I have read.

I think one of the reasons D does so well is because he truly loves training and racing. He doesn't get stressed out, or grumpy. He doesn't obsess or over-analyze. He approaches everything with a positive attitude and never gets hung up on what doesn't go right. He has fun, enjoys what he does and everything else is a bonus. (this is a concept I am still working on grasping).

D has never had a coach (except coach Troy haha), doesn't have a training 'program', he works an intense full time job that involves a lot of travel, and always puts his family before anything. He doesn't do swimming drills, bike intervals or track workouts. Anyone who looked at what he does would probably say it's all wrong, yet he consistently places at or near the top of his field. It's right for him, he's happy and we're happy so it is what works. And we have a fine looking deck to boot!

My goal for the upcoming year is to embrace this simplicity. To enjoy more and 'train' less. By that I mean continue to swim, bike, and run, but more because I want to rather than because I have to. I am going to run stairs and hills with my bootcamp, play with my neices, run dog intervals with Harley and bike with friends without regard to what a program says I should or should not do.

I might even hire my husband to coach me. LOL

Congratulations to all the people who overcame, endured and broke through limitations to train for and complete the Ironman. You are an Ironman for the rest of your life, it is an accomplishment that no one can ever take away from you. It is also proof that you can achieve anything that you dedicate yourself to 100%. Allow that realization to open up possibilities in your relationships, your career and your life!

But enjoy sitting on the couch eating junk food for a few days first :)

Calgary 70.3 Race Report

2009-08-17T20:15:00.007-06:00

This season has been a different one for me- after GWN I decided that I was shifting my attitudes towards training and racing. I made a choice not to 'train'- I didn't even open the training plan sent by my coach (sorry Syl). I had a stellar weekend of mtn biking and trail running in Jasper, and then a week of heaven biking 850km through the Kootenays on Tour BC. I didn't swim at all, until race week when I needed to test out the new wetsuit D bought me (a 2XU V:1). Normally this would mean I was freaking out pre race, but I wasn't. This was my last tri of the season and I was determined to enjoy it! I was excited to race on our old stomping grounds and to see some old and new friends. Also, after coming off Tour BC I was ready to test out the bike fitness I'd gained, and when D and I pre-rode the course on Monday I was super excited as it was just the kind of course I love- hilly, beautiful and challenging!
Race week I was relaxed and happy- no stress, no nerves, no sense of impending doom...lol. We enjoyed time in Calgary with D's family and although we had good intentions of seeing more of our friends, the week went by really fast! (Sorry to those we missed)
Race morning I was awake by 3am. It is a good thing as neither of our alarms went off at 4am! I woke up feeling rested, and for one of the first times I didn't wish I wasn't racing that day. As we were driving to the buses for pick up at 4:30am in the pitch dark, I said to D, "we have a pretty weird definition of fun, hey?" Once we go to the bus pick up we were surrounded by like minded weirdos, so it was all good :)
We were lucky to run into our friends Chris and Jill and got to sit next to them on the bus. It was good to chat and hear about how well their seasons are going. These two are inspiring folks! They just get better with age :)
Once we got to the lake we did the usual pre race prep and potty. Then we just huddled together trying to stay warm. I had only worn a t-shirt and shorts because it was so warm in the city. But the temp at the race site was much cooler and I was freezing! Finally we just put our wetsuits on which helped a lot. D was in the second wave, starting at 7am. Once he was off I hit the porto potty line again and stood for another 30 mins. On an aside- why do race organizers always skimp on porto potties? It is such an integral component to the racers' experience of the event. Seriously! Isn't it worth the extra few bucks to have enough shitters?
Anyway, once through the line it was almost time for me to hit the water so I made my way down to the ramp. The wave start was a huge bonus for me, since I usually get beat up during mass starts and dread them. The one thing I should have done was start right at the front of my wave. I am so used to starting a bit back in mass starts, that I automatically did that. As a result I had to swim through slower people ahead of me- and because I refuse to swim over, hit or kick another swimmer, I had to go around or wait for an opening which slowed me down. The swim itself was just ok. As I said, I hadn't swam since GWN other than a couple of 10 min test swims the week of the race. I had some trouble sighting as the buoys were really far apart, and the last stretch into the shore was awful with big waves and a nauseatingly strong flavor of boat fuel. My swim time was slower than I expected, but I didn't know this since I hadn't started my watch.
The first transition was the longest in my history of racing. I felt like I was moving efficiently but it was a looong run to my bike and a looong run out to the mount line. The girl just ahead of me was moving slower than I wanted to, but I thought it would be a DB move to pass her on the way out of T1. Especially since there was a single lane of carpet over the gravel leading out.
Once on the bike I was in my happy place. This is the one area I was ready for, and my goal was to RACE rather than ride. I had so many good rides on Tour BC where I really showed myself that I can push hard on the bike. I loved that ride. I passed heaps of people and felt amazing on the hills. My only issue was losing my water bottle that had my nutrition in it. The first time it popped out I went back for it, but the second time was on the bridge going into Cochrane and it wasn't safe to stop or turn around. So I lost 120 calories, and had to pull out some magic in refilling my only bottle at the next aide station. The water the volunteer handed me was in a sealed twist off cap bottle. So I had to remove the cap from my bottle and hold it in my would while holding the bottle between my legs. Then I had to twist the top off the water, and pour it into my bottle, and recap it, all while still riding. So I may have been the only person out there happy that the aide station was on a descent :) The calorie deficit was a factor though, as I only took in 2.5 gels on the bike, totalling 250ish calories. This would turn out to be my only caloric intake for the race, and since breakfast was at 4am and my race started at 7:40, there was a definite negative effect.
My bike time was 2:55 and change for 95km, which made me very happy :)
T2 was a bit better that T1 other than the fact that there was no change tent which meant I would be running in my thick chamois. Yuck. I made a last minute clothing change when I found out it was expected to hit 30 degrees on race day, opting away from my black one piece tri suit and instead deciding to wear a white race singlet and bike shorts and then change into a running skirt. The athlete handbook stated there would be a change tent in T2....buggers.
The run started well, I felt really good and despite pushing hard on the bike my legs felt fine. The first km went by in under 5mins and all was well. And then a knife plunged into my abdomen under my rib cage. Or so it felt. I have had plenty of stitches in training and racing, and generally can run through them. But this was no ordinary stitch. It literally doubled me over, and I had to walk for a bit. I tried stretching, jamming my hand in there, breathing deeply, and finally pulling my bike shorts waaaay up, thinking the waist band was making it worse. At the next aide station I grabbed a cold sponge and shoved it in there. So classy. Shorts hiked up to my armpits, and a big sponge stuck down my pants. But it seemed to help and I was able to get going. I was plugging along at a steady pace, passing lots of people, but I had lost any pep that I felt at the beginning and could not find another gear. I walked every aide station, drank water and dumped more on me to stay cool. I don't like to walk during a race, but I felt I had to, in order to keep myself going in between. I didn't walk at any other time in the race, which I was pleased with considering all the people walking the hills. Normally the run is where I excel, and I was a bit disappointed that I was unable to go the way I wanted to, but at the same time I was just happy to be able to maintain a steady run. I felt like I finished strong and was happy with my 5:34 time, even though I had a 1:53 1/2 marathon, which is the slowest I have done in a looong time.
Overall it was a great day and an excellent way to wrap up my tri season. I was hoping to be in the top 10 of my AG but ended up in 11th. Ah well, such is the story of my season...lol.
Post race we enjoyed a massive feast of sushi and a serious slab of ice cream cake, compliments of D's mom who is the artist that captured our race course on ice cream! (I'll post a pic!)

I have been asked if I would do this race again, and my answer is probably not. While I loved the course, it is a very over priced race (IMO) primarily because it bears the Ironman name. In terms of value for dollar there are many other races in Calgary and area that out-do this one. There was no pre or post race dinner or celebration, there was ZERO schwag in the race packs, the finishers shirt was cotton and the medal was just a Stampede marathon rip off on a plain ribbon. There were also many inaccuracies in the athlete handbook, including the lack of a T2 change tent as mentioned as well as an incorrect course map for the run. Yes these things matter to this athlete. Considering it is the most expensive 1/2 IM race we've done, I would have expected it to compare with the local races in these areas. That said, the volunteers were amazing, the logistics were complex and handled very well, the course was among my favorite all time and the spectator support rocked. Hopefully the other issues are 1st year things and subsequent years will just get better. I definitely would recommend it as an amazing race course and a great way to see the Calgary area.

Now that I am fully rested after a week of holidays post race my mind has began to wander and wonder....now what??

Calgary 70.3 Race Photos

2009-08-17T19:31:00.011-06:00

LongOverdue...but better late than never :)Above Left: Our Friend Robert, who only a month or so ago was undergoing cardioversion to correct some irregular heart activity. His heart is all good now though and he'll be at IMC ripping up the course!
Left: D and I staying warm pre-race. The temp was significantly cooler at the lake than in the city!Below 1: Longest transition in history! 2: Me on the bike, putting down the hammah!
3: The last shot is me coming in the last KM, D yelled at me to "empty the tank!" so I did and passed Mr. Canada :) Thanks to Lorna for the awesome photos, and for all the cheering!!!

Update

2009-07-28T16:33:00.002-06:00

So, I had good intentions to write a bit every day while on Tour BC. I even created drafts with the route info so I could update from my iphone. As you can see....it didn't happen. Thankfully D was diligent in writing his version so I can remember through his accounts and update my blog when I have more time. Well, I have lots of time actually but I don't feel like being on my computer these days.

We are on holidays! In Calgary, camping in D's folks back yard. It is fun and relaxing and we are loving being visitors in the City we started our life together in.

We biked the 70.3 course yesterday and ran the run course today. I am feeling a bit tired but excited to race. It is a very challenging, but beautiful course.

D also bought us new wetsuits...the fastest ones out there. HA! Unless there are built in fins and paddles it probably won't help much. But I am still looking forward to trying it out. We will head out to swim the lake in the next day or 2 once the weather clears up.

That's it! We have heaps of pictures and I'll get around to posting some one of these days...

Hope everyone is loving summer!

Day Seven: Kimberley to Creston: 131km

2009-07-18T22:29:00.004-06:00

Day 7

Saturday, July 25th - Kimberley to Creston

131 km/82 miles

Day Six: Radium to Kimberley: 139km

2009-07-18T22:28:00.004-06:00

Day 6

Friday, July 24th - Radium Hot Springs to Kimberley

139 km/86 miles

Day Five: Golden to Radium 105km

2009-07-18T22:27:00.006-06:00

Day 5

Thursday, July 23rd - Golden to Radium Hot Springs

105 km/65 miles

Day Four: Revelstoke to Golden 150km

2009-07-18T22:21:00.005-06:00

Wednesday, July 22nd - Revelstoke to Golden

150 km/93 miles

Day Three: Nakusp to Revelstoke 105km

2009-07-18T22:20:00.004-06:00

Day 3

Tuesday, July 21st - Nakusp to Revelstoke

105 km/65 miles (inc. 5 km/3 mile ferry)

Day Two:Woodbury Resort to Nakusp: 110km

2009-07-18T22:16:00.003-06:00

Day Two

Monday, July 20th - Woodbury Resort to Nakusp (Hot Springs)
110 km/68 miles
Today I felt like I was adapting to both the climbing and the heat. We had some nasty head wind to keep things interesting, but the scenery here is so phenomenal that nothing can lessen the awesomeness if the riding. We had another ferry ride today as well, but this time we didn't have to wait long which was nice. There were two decent climbs today, I am feeling better climbing and trying to get braver on the decents, but I still use my brakes too much. The last 30km I rode with the two other GP ladies on the tour. We had a speedy little pace line going and the kms just flew by! It was a fun way to end the ride.
Our overnight is in Nakusp. It is beautiful here, a little mountain town with a clear blue lake and a white sandy beach. We took a dip after setting up camp and it was incredibly refreshing. It is soo hot here!
Another early night to bed, and an early wake up tomorrow. Life us goood.

Day One: Creston to Woodbury Resort: 110km

2009-07-18T22:13:00.002-06:00

Day One

Sunday, July 19th - Creston to Woodbury Resort (just north of Ainsworth Hot Springs)
110 km/68 miles

Awesome start to the week! Other than both of us flatting about 10km onto the ride...weird eh? It worked out for me though cause D rode with me most of the day. When D and I ride together he is in zone 1 and I am red lining. Fun!
It was an absolute cyclist's dream route today. Non stop rollers, some nice climbs and drcemts, and twists and turns throughout. The scenery made it even better. Mountains and a lake on one side and forest on the other. Of was stinkin hot too, D's computer said 34degrees. I love the heat but it was a bit of a shock to the system! Hopefully we adapt quickly as it looks like the whole week will be similar.
Camping is great this year with our Taj Mahal Tent. :)
We are fed and ready for sleep already...

This shiz made me laugh :)

2009-07-16T10:36:00.002-06:00

http://www.ismydogoverweight.ca/en/slide_tool/

I am thinking the next will be one for people??

Rocky Mountain High

2009-07-14T15:47:00.006-06:00

Good times had by all. 4 days, 10+hrs of trail time (biking, running) lots of walks and even a swim! We (me and H-dog) got lots of nap time too- while D was working.

Next up...Tour BC!

Happy Goodness

2009-07-06T20:19:00.007-06:00

What an outstanding weekend! We made our trek South for the Great White North Half Ironman on Friday afternoon. Friday morning I dropped H-dog off at the Kompanion Kennels where he would be bunking while we were away. This is the first time H-dog and I have been apart since we adopted him in November. I didn't bawl my face off after dropping him off like I thought I would, but I was sad.

We arrived in Stony Plain about 5pm and checked in to our hotel. Thanks to Ross and Sonya for passing on the super deluxe suite! It was bigger and nicer than the apartment I lived in when I first moved to Calgary :)

Friday night was the carbo load. For anyone who has not done this race, the carbo load is the best I've been to- including IM races. Salads, bbq steak or chicken, potatoes, dessert. Yum.
We met up with our GP friends that were in town (there were 10 of us racing!) as well as catching up with some buds from Calgary we haven't seen in a long time and some blogger friends. I got to chat quite a bit with Naomi, who is truly one of my favorite people :)

Saturday morning we woke up like kids at Christmas. The first morning of Le TOUR!! We watched until Lance finished his ITT and then headed to the lake to do a swim. We met up with more of the crew and ran into more Calgary friends. The lake was a great temp and I had an awesome swim. We did one loop, visited some more and then headed back to town. I was starving so we had a snack and watched the rest of the ITTs. After that it was time to clean up and head into Edmonton. We went to Element to do some shopping for tri supplies we can't get up in the far North. I ran into fellow blogger Jordan who was also racing (and she rocked it!). Then we headed next door to an amazing Vietnamese Restaurant where we ran into our friend Jason and crew. We had a super yummy lunch (oh how I miss Vietnamese food! another one of those things we don't have in GP) and then headed back to our abode. We got our stuff ready and went back out to the lake to do a spin and a little run.

After a sweet nap we headed to Original Joe's for dinner with more of the GP crew. I had my traditional pre race beer and fries :) and it was great to have our friends sharing in the pre race excitement.

Race morning I was awake about 4am. I was ready to get up, but it was too early. I rested for another hour and a bit and then got up. I was feeling rested, relaxed and ready to race! As per my last post, my intention for this weekend was to just enjoy and be happy. I let go of my time goals and was just going out to do what I love. As a result I had no race morning anxiety- no nausea, no stress. What a nice change!

We headed to the race site about 6am, I set my transition up in about 3 seconds and then hit the porto john line up where I stood for about 30mins. As well done as this race is, I have to say they skimped a bit on the shitters. 10 for 850 people? Gross.

After taking care of that business I ran into Julie and had a great pre race chat with her and even met her dancing mom! :) I later saw Julie ripping up the bike course and I know she had an awesome race. Back in transition I ran into Lisa and got to chat with her for a while. She absolutely smoked the course as I suspected she would.

We donned the wetsuits and hit the water to get warmed up. Soon enough the countdown was on and we were off! As usual I got beat up for the first 400m. I had a mini panic attack when I went for a breath and got a mouth full of water, then came for a second breath and got dunked under by another swimmer, but I was able to pull it together in time for the first bouy where I again was pummeled and dunked. Things improved from there and I made it to shore, exited and went for round two. This time I stayed really far left and probably added a bit of distance, but my mission was to have fun and I prefer swimming to water boxing. The second lap was great, I didn't feel especially fast, but I enjoyed it. (as it turns out, I was about minute faster than last year- yay me!)

On to the bike. I had replaced my bike computer with a little sign that said Be Happy. So instead of watching the clock, I was reminded of why I was there. It worked, and I had a great 65km ride. (too bad I still had 25km to go) Soon after that I started to feel really bad. I was nauseous, dizzy and I had a pain in my gut. I have felt rough in lots of races and was reasonably confident that it would pass. After downing half a banana at the next aide station things went from bad to worse and I got the telltale signs that I was going to barf. So I did. I'll spare you all the details, but over the last 20km I was sick several times and I struggled all the way back to town. I am pretty sure the last 20km took close to an hour, and it felt like the entire field passed me. (not surprisingly, my time was about 13mins slower than last year)

Even so, once off the bike I was holding onto hope that things would improve. I thought that maybe once I was running the guts would settle down and I could pull off a decent run. I really wanted to run, after almost 3 weeks with very limited running this was the part of the day I was most looking forward to.

I headed out of transition and saw my friend Lori. She asked how I was doing and I told her things were rough, but I wanted to try out the run. I headed out and got about a half a block before I knew I was going to be sick again. I didn't want to lose it in front of the spectators and other runners so I bolted down an alley and ended up in some one's back yard. This time there wasn't much left to come up, but it came right from my toes and out my nose. I decided at this point I was no longer having any fun and called it a day.

I never second guessed my decision, I didn't feel any kind of sadness, disappointment or anger. Instead, I was happy I had a friend there to offer clothing and drugs, and I was excited I'd finally be able to see my hubby cross a finish line!
I was able to watch all the top finishers come through and cheer in D who had a really tough run but still pulled off a 4:27 and got his IM Canada spot!! He is such a strong person and he continually inspires me with his grit and his ability to be positive and grateful regardless of the situation.

We stuck around for a bit and then decided to head back to get the car so we could shower. I was not feeling well, with a pounding dizzy head and I really wanted to get out of the sun.
It was great to see soooo many people having stellar races out there. Congrats to all our GP friends who posted amazing results, as well as my blogger buddies who all did fantastic.

So although I had my first DNF I still had an amazing race weekend. Thanks to all the people who posted thoughtful and encouraging comments, those of you I got to chat with at the race, my GP crew and most especially my husband extraordinaire, who knows exactly how to support me in being the best version of myself.

Today we were in Whitecourt as D was working there. I had a day to kill so I spent a lazy morning watching the tour, had lunch with D, finished reading The Time Traveler's Wife (AWESOME!) and then went for a pedicure. Rough life.

The whole drive home I was anxious to get there and pick H-dog from the Kennel. As soon as we walked in he started howling and whining. He was as happy to see us as we were him. Once home, he was so excited to play, and most excited to get some love. He was absolutely soaking it up and stuck to me like velcro! By the time we'd showered H-dog was crashed out on the floor, and he is still sleeping now. I guess it was a good party :)

Now we have a day and a half at home and we are off to Jasper for some mountain biking, trail running, doggy hiking and blissful rocky mountain high-ness. :)

Summer rocks!

Just be happy.

2009-07-03T09:37:00.004-06:00

It has been a roller coaster the last couple of weeks for me. I have been a bit of an emotional basket case (sorry babe) and not that easy to be around...(double sorry).
I have been trying to transcend the circumstances and not let what I cannot control consume me. I consider myself a fairly conscious and aware person, yet I have not been able to put into practice that which I know would alleviate my internal struggle.
It all boils down to letting go. I am sure my biggest challenge, lesson and gift in this life is about letting go, which is why it keeps coming up in my face.
So this morning I woke up and made a choice. That I am going to let go. Let go of my expectations, worries, fears and attachments. It might be hard, but it could be easy.
I am choosing to be open and free. To focus on what is, and not what is not. To appreciate what I am, what I can do and what I have. And let go of what could have been. To break free of my attachment to results and just be happy in the process.
For this weekend anyway ;) One step at a time.

Not the weekend I was hoping for...

2009-06-28T21:04:00.005-06:00

With one week until GWN I was planning a strong weekend of training to get my confidence up going into the race. I've been dealing with an injury since the half marathon and have been diligent with chiro, massage, ice, rest etc. I was finally feeling like I had a handle on it and was ready to test it out on a longer run.

So Saturday I headed out for my long ride. It called for some hill repeats so I headed out towards the hill at Simonette river. It was just over an hour to get to the top of the hill, I did my first decent and climb, and then was making the turn around (double lane highway) when I got a heavy dose of 'focus the eff up' by the way of some gravel. I hit the pavement hard and my weekend of training was over.

This one came out of my knee...I am even more sore today and the bruising is really starting to come out. So no swimming (due to the open wounds) biking (unless it is one armed) or running (hip and both knees sore and bruised). Until when? Maybe Wednesday? Which sets me up less than perfectly for the race Sunday. My confidence is completely blown. But on a positive note, I am still determined to race and have the best day I can. I may not achieve my goal time, but if I have learned anything in the last few months, it is to appreciate what I can do, rather than focus on what I cannot.

We got a lot of 'other' stuff done this weekend. D has been sick and also not training so we managed to get some to do's complete and even had a date night Saturday (we are usually too tired!). We saw The Hangover. Friggen hilarious and completely innapropriate on too many levels to mention. But it was great to laugh out loud after a frustrating day.

Oh, and I forgot to post these pictures from Harley's birthday party last weekend!

One more week until holidays....Bring.It.On

Best finish photos...ever!

2009-06-27T21:11:00.001-06:00

Yeah Simon! Yes that is the German that beat him in the Olympics. Just imagining how this finish would feel gives me serious goosebumps...

Summmmmer Baby!!!

2009-06-24T19:42:00.008-06:00

My husband just kindly reminded me that I have been neglecting my blog. It's true. But it is SUMMER and there are so many things to do! It is my favorite season and I plan to soak up every drop of it. I am scared to wish away even a single day as I know it is going to go too fast!

I have one more week of 'work' and then I am off for July and August. Yes, I am taking the summer OFF. Because I CAN!! lol. I hired a great trainer to take over some classes which is awesome and I will do some drop in stuff when I am in town. I am only in GP 3 days in July and 9 days in August. Fun times! We have GWN 1/2 IM, a Jasper mountain biking trip, a trip to Calgary and then Tour BC bike trip, then back to Calgary for the 70.3, and then I am heading back to my hometown in northern SK. Like I said, FUN times :)

Training is going well, I am finally running pain free, but I have lost a lot of confidence. I haven't run more than an hour since the 1/2 marathon and I have done only a handful of runs. I really wanted to have an A race in GWN, but I am not sure I'll have the training under me. Regardless I am pumped to push it out there. I love that course.

By the time the 70.3 in Calgary rolls around I should be ready to really bring it. I will have a week of 850km of biking just prior, so me and my bike will be good friends :)

In other news.... H-dog and I were interviewed tonight as we were running through the park. I didn't get to watch the CTV news because I was teaching a class- but if you saw it let me know! He was hot and his tongue was hanging full out in all its glory :)

I know I have lots of other things I could update on, but for now here are is a picture that represents one of the best parts of summer:
A picture of my cross training activities (read: back breaking manual labor) Yes, our lawn looks THAT bad! The combination of a lack of rain and a copious amount of dog pee will do that! So I am tearing up the edging and going to put down rocks and then plant some trees and shrubs. Maybe he will get the idea and pee there??
Our soon to be finished new deck (check back for new bbq and beer drinking shot). We are just waiting on handrailing.
And an ode to biking and life in Grande Prairie. I know that riding in gale force winds should be making me stronger but HOLY HELL. It has been nasty out there.

The Moose Is Loose!

2009-06-14T21:12:00.005-06:00

This is the moose that was blocking the highway on my ride today. I slowed down and let her decide when she was ready to go. The picture doesn't do the size of her justice. I could have biked under her.
It was a perfect biking day today and I had an awesome ride. It was hot and sunny and the wind was there but in no particular direction. I pushed hard on my 10min intervals and did the 100km in 3hrs17mins. It is a hilly route so I was happy. I felt great the whole ride and was still feeling good at the end. I did a short t-run and was happy to have NO shin pain!

I've had some massage, chiro and Graston this week which has helped. I also had and xray which showed no fracture, so that was a big relief. I am definitely on the mend.

Friday we took the mountain bikes out for some fun. First we hit the Nordic trails with H-dog.

The trails were great and really sandy which made it tough! Harley loved it and was sprinting for about 45mins until the heat got to him and he bailed on us, taking cover under a building and refusing to go on. He drank and entire water bottle and rested a bit and then we walked him back to the car. We took a little trip to the river and let him have a swim and drink some more which did the trick. We decided to take him home, but we wanted to keep riding so once home we biked down to Muskoseepi and hit the south bear creek trails. It was so fun! I swear, my heart rate is at about 175 the entire time I am riding on those trails! It is such an intense workout and so different from road riding. I am looking forward to playing on the trails in Jasper in a few weeks!

In other news I chopped off the locks on Friday. About 7.5 inches of hair GONE! I love it. It is low maintenance and light.

We are also busy trying to finish our deck. D has been working hard on it and we will both be glad when our project is complete. Today I spent over 4hrs painting the front steps and landing as well as the frame of the deck. It looks great already and hopefully next Sunday we'll be sitting on it drinking a beer!!

Good Days and Great Days

2009-06-08T20:26:00.004-06:00

One of my favorite quotes is from Lance Armstrong "I take nothing for granted, I now only have good days, or great days."
Sometimes I allow myself to take for granted my health, strength and ability to participate in activities I love. I guess the universe thought I needed a reminder, because that is what I got this week.
I have had an excellent early season. I've had success in races and have seen some results in training that are very encouraging. This week I did a particular 80km bike ride that involved some longer race pace intervals and I was flying. I had one of my most impressive training rides and was feeling especially happy with my ability to push hard on the bike. I also had some great swims including some 1500m TT efforts that were my fastest to date. I felt like I was in good shape to have a strong swim/bike in Hinton on Sunday. My running was the big question. I've had some issues with my shin and despite taking the entire week off running, as of Saturday I couldn't run more than a few minutes without pain.
I threw most of my time goals for Hinton out the window due to the state of my leg. But I was sure I would be able to crush the swim and bike and was pumped to test that out.
Race morning I woke up feeling tight, sore and grumpy. It was a really cold morning and on the drive from Jasper to Hinton there was frost on the grass in the ditches and my Jeep thermometer read ZERO degrees. My enthusiasm was definitely lacking and I was seriously thinking of sitting out, the thought of freezing my ass off for 40km was soooo unappealing. I have done my fair share of COLD racing and it is not my thing. I hate the cold. I was also pretty unprepared clothing wise as I hadn't even considered that it might be this cold.
Once at the race site I was still undecided. I got out of the Jeep and saw all the people wandering around transition in down jackets, touques and mitts. June? Really?
I finally decided I would just suck it up and race. I needed to do something with my grumpy energy anyway so I may as well burn it off in a hard swim/ bike and hopefully a run.
With this attitude, it isn't a surprise that I didn't have a great race. I never felt quite right in the swim, the bike was soooo freaking cold I seriously considered stopping several times as my hands and feet were completely frozen and I was in pain! I really wanted to ride hard and fast, as much to warm up as to have a decent bike time. Unfortunately I couldn't get my body to respond. There was just nothing there to push! It was a tough 20km out into a cold wind and uphill. But the 20km back, while faster, was worse because the speed going downhills made it even more bitterly cold.
I got off the bike and fumbled my way through transition and into some shoes. I couldn't feel my legs or feet (which was actually a good thing) and my hands were aching from being cramped up for the entire ride.
I decided I would just jog as long as I could and hopefully warm up! It didn't take long, as the first mile of the course is a long uphill. I shuffled up at a painfully slow pace, unable to push off very well as it aggrivated my shin. I continued to jog along and was not feeling any worse. I started to feel somewhat better in fact, although I was unable to run at the speed I wanted to. At the 5km turnaround I was passed and I wanted to badly to run with the girl who passed me. That is how I normally run and it was somewhat frustrating to be stuck in low gear. I tried to stay positive though and just keep moving and stay grateful that I was still running! With about 200m to go I looked over my shoulder out of instinct and saw another girl bearing down on me. I decided that there was no way I was going to get passed at this point and did everything I could to pick up the pace and cross the line.
I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed a little. I was 5mins slower than my time from last year and I know I had the potential to PR on this course. In the big picture, it is not important as I know there are more races to come and this was just one day. I was able to compete and complete and for that I am happy!
The really great part of the race was that we had lots of our friends and team mates there and the GP althetes really did well. My good friend Lori (with me in the pic at the top) rocked the bike and had a great race. She finished 1st female and our friend Dennis was 1st male.
D had an awesome race despite a flat that he was able to change and still finish just 3 mins back from 1st place! I have no idea how he did it with frozen hands/tire. I don't think I could have.
It was also great to finally meet Naomi and have a visit with her and her hubby. Having so many great friends involved in this sport makes it even better. There are so many reasons to be happy and greatful, my pity party was very short lived :)
Onwards and upwards, looking forward to some solid training over the next few weeks leading into my A race for the season- Great White North!

The results:
15    2:36:38 Amber Dawn HUNTER Grande Prairie
3/5   F3039
Swim 16   27:22  1:50      
Bike 24   1:22:07  29.2      
Run  12   47:09  4:43

We had a stellar weekend in Jasper, spent lots of time resting and enjoying the beauty of the place. We did more hiking and walking than we usually do and it was a nice change. Harley thought so too!

DHT Press Run 21km Race Report

2009-05-31T22:14:00.005-06:00

The face says it all...ouch!
It was a great race!! Very windy with gusts over 70km/hr. There were some sections that were really tough but most of the course was sheltered. I ran hard from the start, I had a goal time and really wasn't sure I could do it. In fact I was pretty sure I couldn't, but I wanted to give it all I had without holding back for fear of blowing up. I know my body is capable of more than my mind will allow, and I really want to push those limits.

I hit 5km in 22mins, and 10km in just under 45. After that I wasn't watching my splits but I knew at the hour mark I was over 13km and I knew that was on pace. I tried to do the math in my head but still wasn't sure I'd make it in under my goal time. I just kept pushing as hard as I could. The last km was really tough as it was into the head wind and up a nasty short but steep climb. The 3rd place male was only about 200m ahead of me and he was walking up the hill. I was really hoping to catch him but he turned around and saw me bearing down and took off like a rocket! I figure he owes me a thank you for that last burst of motivation! :)

My heart was pounding out of my chest and my lungs were screaming but I held on and crossed strong. I was as close as I've ever been to vomiting at the finish (but I didn't).

I didn't know my time until the awards but was happy to hear it was a PR at 1:35:42. A minute better than my previous half. The goal I set for this race months ago was 1:35 or better. I seriously doubted it going in and actually though 1:38 would be the best I could do. Thank god I chose to run at my big goal pace and risk blowing up rather than running conservatively and finishing with fuel in the tank. This is how I plan to race all year. "Balls to the wall" as my friend Katie used to say ;)

D also had a smokin fast run and finished in 1:16 (and change). A good day for us! We were 1st male and female and for the first time I won money! The prize was 100 bucks each, which we chose to donate to the charity that the race was supporting.

In the most exciting news of the day, I had 8 Women of Strength finish the race, with 5 running their first 10km and the other 3 running the 21km. They all did amazing and it was soooo great to see everyone feeling successful and proud of their achievement. I love my job.

Next weekend is our 4th race in 5 weeks! Hinton Oly tri is one of my favorite races and I can't wait to rip it up!!!

Hope everyone had a phenomenal weekend of training, racing and fun!!

Tick Tock

2009-05-29T10:17:00.004-06:00

Tomorrow is the Grande Prairie Herald Tribune Press Run. !!!!

I am super excited for this race. 1) because I am racing and that is exciting and 2) because a have a group of my Women of Strength girls running their first races!!

I am so pumped for these ladies to have their first race experience. They are nervous, excited and somewhat ignorant as to what they are in for. All the emotions that you only have before you do something for the first time! I am proud of their courage and honored that they trust me enough to sign up because I told them too!! LOL There are almost 370 people registered for the 10km run/walk and the 21km run/ walk. That is impressive in a center this size!! Kudos to Sonja and Lori who are the race directors and who have really built this race into a big community event!

As for me, I am stoked to race. My week has been pretty low key as I've been fighting the sickies. Sore throat/ swollen glands have scared me enough to keep the workouts light and easy. I also have a sore leg as a result of H-dog yanking me off balance to chase after something.

Before a race I am never sure if these little aches and pains are real or just psyschosomatic. Sometimes they magically disappear after the race. Anyone else experience this??

Food for Thought

2009-05-27T09:59:00.003-06:00

I came across this article today, and I really like it. I have been personally mortified by the number of processed baby foods that have been popping up over the past few years. I think people trust food manufacturers when they shouldn't. Food is big business and food manufacturers are all about making money/ selling their products. Health of the consumer is not their M.O and we need to remember that! Just because the box says it is healthy, doesn't mean it is a good choice. It is marketing. Getting your kid hooked on processed crap from birth is a frightening thought.

Anyway, have a read if it interests you...

The Definitive Guide to Feeding Primal Babies | Mark's Daily Apple

Posted using ShareThis

I would like to thank....

2009-05-24T20:06:00.008-06:00

The Fire, for returning to my belly :DI am not sure if it is a return to racing, the fact that the weather has turned and we have had some gorgeous summer like days to train, or I have just finally got my mojo back, but whatever the cause I am just happy to feel the way I do.

This weekend was stellar. We met some friends Saturday morning and headed South on highway 40. It is such a beautiful route, the highway is pretty quiet and lined with trees. I rode with Sonya and we chatted nearly the entire 105km. We rode comfortable, but didn't slack off. Our average speed was about 28km/hr and the ride was just under 4hrs. The last climb up Ainsworth hill hurt. I will not lie. But it is great training for Hinton in 2 weeks.

Right off the bike we headed out for a T run. The gang was all doing 20mins, but I had 30mins on my schedule so I went on my own. It was a serious sufferfest for the first 15mins, but my legs gradually came around and the return trip was much better.

We had a wee nap once home and then an awesome steak dinner with lots of grilled veggies. We also had a couple beers (to help with the re-hydration).

Sunday we were up early again to hit the pool. I was expecting the worst as I was feeling pretty depleted from the previous day. Surprisingly, I felt really good in the pool. I had a 300m w/u and then 8x 200m descending 1-4 and 5-8. I pushed hard on these and had D's feet to chase. I hit the retaste zone a few times and was overheating due to the 80 degree pool water. Next up was 800m pull with paddles, I took it nice and easy, stretching out my stroke and keeping the count down. I finished off with 300m of pull, sans paddles to make 3km.

Next up was a 90min run. We ran from the pool so we could do the Southern loop of the half marathon course we are running next weekend. I have to say, my legs were not feeling it, and it took a good 20mins before I could start to feel a bit of a groove. The first 45mins out I averaged an easy 5min per KM, but shortly after the turn around I ran out of water and the heat started to get to me. My pace slowed a bit and I finished up in 92mins. The last part of the run felt eerily similar to an Ironman marathon. But without the aide stations! I really needed an aide station.

D got some work done on our deck project this afternoon and I walked Harley and made a big dinner for us. I feel tired, but completely happy and satisfied with the completion of a solid training weekend. I am finally feeling strong, fit and excited for the season ahead.

Oh and on Tuesday I get my new baby (see previous post). I can't wait! I am thinking of doing the Canmore Xterra at the end of August. I love riding and running the trails and have always wanted to race and Xterra race.

Next weekend is the Press Run 21km. I am super pumped for that race and can't wait to push myself and see what I can do...
Oh, and we didn't take a single picture this weekend during our training. Not surprising, we did get some pictures of H-dog :)

Coming Soon...

2009-05-19T14:11:00.002-06:00

Grande Prairie Triathlon Race Report

2009-05-18T09:49:00.006-06:00

First tri of the season, and the first one we've done since IM Kentucky! We definitely weren't anywhere near Kentucky...The race was unbelievably COLD! 2 degrees, windy and freeeezing rain. But it motivated me to go as fast as I could! (I didn't wear my watch all day so I never knew any times until the end, which was weird.)
The swim (pool thank god) was good, I was at the back of a lane of 4 and passed them all to come out in 8:46 (500m) I am a shitty swimmer, so this was a good time for me. There is something great that happens when I am in a race, I don't think about swimming, I just swim as fast as I can go and try and catch everyone I can. I actually enjoy it! I wish I felt that way in training, I would probably swim more.
I took the time in transition to put on a jacket, but didn't bother with gloves or socks. Dumb. I wasted some time putting on glasses that immediately fogged up, so I tried to throw them back to my transition spot- but ended up getting them caught in someone's wheel so I had to go back and untangle them. The time would have been better spent putting on more clothes.
The bike was 5 loops, the worst part of the loop was on the main road where it was a slight uphill and a nasty headwind. It was sooo cold! I just tried to ride as hard and fast as I could so I could be warmer and hopefully finish before I froze completely. I had good speed on the straights, even in the wind, but I had to slow right down at the corners, one in particular was a sharp right and I had to nearly stop to get around. I probably could have been more aggressive, but with the rain and my frozen hands I was nervous. By the end of the third loop my fingers and toes were frozen and my thighs were burning they were so cold. I actually questioned if I was going to be able to finish the damn race. On the last loop I was finally passed by a girl and it woke me up. I refocused and picked up the pace to keep her in my sights. She came into transition just ahead of me, but I had a much better T2 despite frozen fingers and beat her out onto the run. My feet were frozen and I actually looked down at my feet to see if my shoes were on the wrong feet because that is what it felt like! I ran as best I could, I was worried about being caught. It was a 3 loop course with 2 out and backs so I was able to keep my eye on the competition and stay ahead. Time was 17mins27secs for 4km. Finishing was a relief, and I went straight inside and into the hot tub. For the first time in my life the hot tub was too cold! I was still shivering!
I guess this is what to expect in Northern Alberta in May... Thank You to all the people out in the freezing cold volunteering and cheering! The people here are hard core!
My time was 1:01:56. I thought I would be under an hour, but I raced as hard as I could in the weather. I was 1st female and 8th overall, so I guess the conditions affected everyone.
D won in 52mins and change, he was flying! We both won shoes again! Two weeks, two races and two pairs of shoes! Local races rock!

I love my husband :)

2009-05-14T22:26:00.003-06:00

It goes without saying, but I am saying. I have the best husband. For a million reasons and more... and everyday I am grateful.
Today was the end of a long week. I came home to this "gift" from the hubs. He figured out how to use imovie all on his own and created it while I was teaching classes.
What a lucky woman am I...
http://darin-hunter.blogspot.com/2009/05/this-is-where-my-heart-is.html

Thanks babe.

Run Happy

2009-05-10T19:41:00.004-06:00

Well after an extremely challenging week for me, I am happy to have completed the first race of the season. This week I've been dealing with a really painful back. I was unable to train and only swam a couple of times. It was physically painful, but even more mentally tough as I was really looking forward to racing this weekend. Yesterday I made the decision to switch from the 8km to the 5km because I had no idea how things would go and I figured 5km would be less to walk if I had to...

Thankfully my body held out and I was able to run, albeit not at my 100%. Regardless, I am happy to have the first race of the season under my belt and I was fortunate to be the first finisher across the line- meaning I beat all the other guys and gals in the 5km race :D My time was 21:24, unimpressive by my usual standards, but great considering just a couple of days ago I couldn't get my pants on without laying on my back and it was painful to walk, sit and stand...

D had a fantastic race, he smoked the 8km race in 27mins and a few seconds. He has been working hard to get his training in around all his work travel and I am super proud of his amazing performance!
We both got New Balance runners for being the first male and female, and I won a nice Saucony tee shirt to boot!
Great day to race, after over 7months it feels like there were some big cobwebs to blow out and I am officially pumped and ready for the GP sprint tri next weekend and the Press Run 21km in two weeks....all aboard the pain train....wooooooooooot!

I heart my neices :)

2009-05-07T15:11:00.007-06:00

Maesa:4, Gianna:2, Angelina:7 months

"A child can always teach an adult three things:
To be happy for no reason, to always be busy with something, and to know how to demand with all her might that which she desires.
-From the Fifth Mountain By Paulo Cohelo

In case you are thinking of skipping your workout today...

2009-05-05T09:55:00.003-06:00

Check out Jamie Whitmore's blog. Can you imagine how much you'd want to train if suddenly you couldn't??

http://www.jamiewhitmore.com/

What if this were your last run or ride or? How would you want to remember it...

Monday Morning Motivation

2009-05-04T10:35:00.003-06:00

"Live more than your neighbors. Unleash yourself upon the world and go places. Go now. Giggle, no, laugh. No...stay out past dark and bark at the moon like the wild dog that you are. Understand that this is not a dress rehearsal. This is it. Your life. Face your fears and live your dreams. Take it all in. Yes, every chance you get. Come close. And by all means, whatever you do, get it on film." Jon Blais "Blazeman"

Whoop Whoop!

2009-04-30T21:01:00.003-06:00

Well it has been an arse kicker of a week for me. My training has ramped up and I am remembering how it feels to be so.very.tired.

Rather than bore you with the gory whatfores, I will take my turn at this game Amy tagged me in.

The rules are:
1. Fill it out
2. Change one question with one of your own
3. Add an additional question
4. Tag 3 other people to do the same

1. What are your current obsessions?
Sleep, eating, and getting knocked up :)

2. Which item from your closet are you wearing most often?
my thermal tights (unfortunately)

3. Last thing you bought for yourself?
A lot $$ of lingerie (see #1)

4. What’s for breakfast (my change)
Oatmeal, almonds for first breakfast, 2 eggs and 2 toasts for 2nd breakfast

5. Say something to the person who tagged you:
Amy is a funny chick who I wish I could meet in person. I think she'd be a hoot to train with, and even more fun to drink wine with :)

6. What is one item you could not live without?
My water bottle (and water)

7. Vacation spots you must visit before you die?
South of France, Italy, Greece, Spain, Rome, India, Africa, Australia and NZ with my hubby.

8. What is your most immediate short term goal:
To stay awake long enough to watch Grey's Anatomy.

9. What are you reading right now?
Fifth Mountain By Paulo Cohelo

10. What is the last movie you saw and enjoyed?
"Yes Man" with Jim Carey. It was awesome.

11. What’s your guilty pleasure?
Wine and Chips on Thursday nights (although I am off booze now). Fries and Beer before a race :) But I never feel guilty about what I eat, I earn that shiz.

12. What’s your favorite smell?
My husband. My dog. Coffee.

13. Whats something you look forward to?
SUMMER heat.

14. Favorite Quote?
I have lots, but my current favorite is "Make hay while the sun shines!"

16. Whats one thing you can't go a day with out doing?
Pooping.

17. What do you have an addiction to?
the internet. thank god for my iphone :)

18. Whats your favorite holiday?
Any holiday I get to spend with family. But I really love birthdays.

19. How many pairs of shoes (not just running) do you have??
This is an area of contention in our house, so I'm not counting! But I have less than 5 pairs of non running shoes. And many many (many) running shoes.

20. Tell us one random thing about you.
I was the shortest person in my school (grades 7-12) when I was in grade 7. They lined us up tallest to shortest for some picture thing and I was at the very back. I actually physically forced the kid in front of me to switch places with me. I was, (and still am), small but mighty.

21. Why did you start your blog?
I started it as a training log, and never imagined anyone other than D and maybe some family would read it.

22. (The question I added) What is your silliest/ most embarrassing triathlete rookie story?
When I was training for my first tri I went to a clinic to learn about transitions etc. They told us to make sure we practice everything so that we would be prepared on race day. So I went home and set my bike up in the basement with all my transition gear. Then I put on my wetsuit, got in the shower and then ran downstairs, practicing getting it off, and getting dressed while wet. The 2nd or 3rd time I did it I slipped on the hardwood floors and nearly flew down the stairs. :)
I guess I take preparation more seriously than others because it wasn't until I shared what I had done that I found out how ridiculous I was...

Tag! You're it.. (I picked 4)
Megan
Lisa G
Hallsy
Naomi

Just watch it...

2009-04-29T19:41:00.003-06:00

Lance Armstrong's Strength Training Workout -- powered by http://www.livestrong.com

Your Welcome :)

Back to the Basement

2009-04-26T19:09:00.005-06:00

Well the weather this weekend continued to be craptastic, which nixed our outdoor training plans. Thankfully, the sun is always shining in the Hunter family basement. We had our asses handed to us by Coach Troy Saturday in a tough 45min Uphill Grind workout, followed by a Lean n Mean 50min session. Awesome.

Today we woke up to another snow storm. D headed out with H-dog and they returned covered in mud. I was not in the mood to run long in the blowing snow, so I decided to head back to the basement sweat lodge. I took my inspiration from Dean Karnazes' Twitter update this morning: My neighbor asked me this morning, “Doesn’t running hurt?” I told him, “It does if you’re doing it right.” Go out and make it hurt!

So I made it hurt. Sometimes pain is a good thing. Not pain from an injury, but the pain of pushing beyond what your mind wants to believe is ok. The pain the comes from breaking out of the comfort zone and into the land of unknowns. "How long can I stay in this zone? Will I fall on my face? Will my heart explode?". I had one of those sessions today. It was short, dirty, and it hurt. First was a bike ride in which I alternated between seated climbs and standing climb sprints (1min at each) for 30 mins. My hr monitor was beeping the entire time beyond my 10min warm up. I even made a little puddle in that short time.
Then it was on to the treadmill. My goal was to run 3 miles under 20mins. I started off a bit slow and ended up missing my goal by 55 secods. The last mile I just kept increasing the pace and I ran the last quarter mile at 10.5mph. This was me after the run...

So tomorrow I will do my long run, outside. The weather forecast still looks wet and cold so I will take my inspiration from the video below...

Congrats to Julie, Keith and the rest of you lucky Calgarians who ran the Police Half this weekend!

The Wrath of Mother Nature

2009-04-23T21:28:00.005-06:00

Wednesday was Earth Day and just for fun I counted Hummers in GP. During my 45 min morning walk with Harley I counted 4. Later in the day I counted another 3. That evening on our walk I saw 2 more. Yes, GP has an abundance of Hummers. Probably the highest number per capita in Western Canada.

Anyway, I think Mother Nature is pissed, cause the temperature dropped and it snowed the last few days. The wind was unreal on Tuesday and it went from plus 18 to 0 overnight. Yikes.

I am soooooooo glad it is Thursday night. Classes are done for the week and I am beat. I can't wait to have a whole day to clean house, run errands and get life in order before the weekend. D comes home tomorrow night....YAY!

Happy Thursday everyone!

Back to Blogland!

2009-04-20T18:53:00.007-06:00

Well I've taken a bit of a break from blogging, but I am ready to return. After a week of holidays, 10 days without internet, and then the start of all my classes I haven't been able to keep up.

The last few weeks have been great, and busy. I have 36 women in my classes and am back to 4:50am wake ups. They are all awesome groups and I am back to being immersed in doing what I love. Training has been going well also. The weather has been much better and we have been out on the road for all but one ride. The first 100km ride was a shock to the system but I was happy with how I was able to ride. This weekend I rode 3hrs on the trainer in the mall to support Team Grande Prairie in the Ride to Conquer Cancer. I rode hard most of the 3hrs and my legs were completely depleted by the end of it.

My parents are in town and they came with my brother, sister in law and 3 nieces to see and support me at the mall. It was fantastic to see them and I was able to finish up and have lunch with all of them. We had some really good family time all weekend as we celebrated a late Easter together.

I had a great run on Sunday, with lots of company on the trails. There were 138 people out for the Press Run Training and I ended up running at the same time so I got to say Good Morning about 138 times...LOL. I did 20km in 1hr 40 with an exact split of 50mins per 10km. I felt good, but I need to get some speed into my legs over the next month if I am going to race the way I want to at the end of May. Physically I am feeling healthy and strong. I am LOVING being outside on the bike and running in fewer layers. I am not sure what this season will hold yet, but regardless I am sure happy I trained all winter so that I can enjoy myself now.
In other news....D and I celebrated 6 months of wedded bliss this past week!

Isn't that is like a 50 year anniversary in Hollywood?

Good Luck to Husband Extraordinaire tomorrow night as he writes his Technical Analysis exam. He was teaching Harley the material and H-dog thought it was pretty fun.

No internet=no blog!

2009-04-09T19:50:00.004-06:00

I have been without internet at home since I returned from Jasper. This means I have about an hour a day at Starbucks to try and keep up with my course registrations, confirmations and inquiries. Not enough time to blog or read all the blogs I love to read! Hopefully Telus will get it together and have me online by tomorrow.
For now, just time to post photos from my awesome week in Jasper...

Spring Break, Old Friends and New Friends

2009-03-26T21:24:00.003-07:00

Well, it looks nothing like spring, but despite old man winter's blatant refusal to curl up and die, I am taking a break!

Today was my last day of classes. It marked the end of 3 months of classes with my 6am class and my 5:30pm class. Working with people for 3 months affords all kinds of rewards. I have seen these women change their minds, their bodies and their lives. I have seen transformation on all levels and have had the honor of being at the helm. I feel beyond blessed that I have this role, and that I have created a community within a community. I am a lucky woman, and I take none of this for granted.

But for the next 2 weeks I am off! I am looking forward to relaxing, recharging and replenishing my body, mind and soul. I am spending my first week off in Jasper with my BFF from Calgary, Celine. She is bringing her 2 doggies and I will have H-Dog, our plan is to run, hike and drink coffee while wandering around the peaceful utopia that is Jasper. I have really missed Celine and am really looking forward to spending some good girl time with a great girl friend. Since leaving Calgary, we have made some great friends up here. But nothing takes the place of someone who has a history with you, a friend who has supported you through some of the toughest times, as well as some of the most fun times. Those friendships both take time to build, and withstand time apart.

Speaking of old friends, one of my bestest is in town, and I will get to see him tomorrow. Cam and I met when I moved to Calgary in 98. We were great buds the whole time I lived there, and saw each other through some pretty major life changes. He and I both got married in Oct and we haven't had a chance to see each other since well before that. We have much to catch up on and celebrate and I am excited for some good laughs and great company tommorow.

Training this week has been recovery (read: SWEET!) and until today I don't think I broke a single bead in any of my workouts. Today's was a doozy and I was finally able to push the levels I wanted and even made a mini puddle in the floor with the sweaty effort. Swimming was a bust most of the week, but tomorrow morning I have a pool date with Lady Leduc, so I am guaranteed at least one swim!

Tonight D and I drank some wine and downloaded enough music to get us through the upcoming OUTDOOR season on the bikes. It was good times, and the memory of finding those tunes together will be reinforced all summer long as we listen to the tunage we picked out together.

Gratitide for friends, new and old. For love that it is unconditional, and crosses the planes of time and space. For memories, dreams of the future and shared goals.

And finally, for the world of bloggers. An unlikely and unforeseen world of support and inspiration and laughs. Thanks to all you kooky and crazy blog-land buds that have encouraged, reassured and motivated me through the winter from hell!

Back to Blogland...

2009-03-24T11:03:00.004-07:00

I have been a lazy blogger. The good news is I have not been a lazy triathlete- and that is what counts right?
Last week I got my first "A" in a while. Meaning I nailed all my workouts and had a solid week. I finally had a long run at goal pace and swam a strong 6km for the week. I did some great trainer rides and a peppy treadmill speed workout to boot. The final ride on Sunday emptied my tank and I pulled the plug after 90mins of the 2hr workout. I could have probably pushed through, but the quality was done and my heart rate kept getting lower...
Yesterday was a rest day and this is a recovery week which I am happy for. I have to say, this winter has been the toughest training season of my life in terms of motivation. Motivation has come relatively easy in the past- a big goal like Ironman has always had enough of a fear/excitement factor to carry me through the winter training. I took that easy motivation for granted, until now.
This year it has been a struggle. I have had to work hard each day, and often each moment, to stimulate myself to train. I am not a quitter though, and my strength is in my ability to remember the big picture, and do the work even when I don't feel like it.
I remind myself that I want to keep the fitness I have worked hard over the past 5 years to gain. I want to be able to enjoy riding outdoors, running for hours on the trails and racing to my potential. I also know I love to eat, and without training it would be a bad situation :-)
I know that this tough winter slogging is the means to that end. But it hasn't been easy. It is mentally tough to feel such a lack of desire to train. But I always, always feel good once I get going and even better when I am done.
So I will continue to force the motivation, and perservere. One day soon the grey skies will retreat, the sun will shine and this snow will melt. One day soon I'll feel the warmth of the sun on my skin, my pale sheen will turn a golden brown and I'll again feel the wind in my face (it is GP after all) as I ride with scenery that changes.
Until then I'll be in the basement, forcing myself to train.

The longest winter ever

2009-03-16T18:04:00.004-07:00

I have procrastinated blogging because every time I go to blog all I want to do is whine and moan about the weather. D says complaining about the weather is as effective as complaining about the markets. Bah.
OK.
Training last week went really well. I had great bikes and runs and swimming was just ok. I did one water running session with a client which was fun for a change. The weekend was really great with a run outside and a killer bike session with the crew.
I managed to jam up my lower back/SI joint though and am a bit gimped out today. Massage, heat and stretching seem to be helping. Just say NO to drugs :-)
I am looking forward to nailing some good swim workouts this week. My swim mojo has gone on vacation but I will push through and do it anyway.
Anyway, that is about all I can say before I rip into a whiny tirade about how freakin cold it is here, and how it snowed for the last 2 days, undoing any progress that was made in the melting process on Saturday and how it feels like we are in Siberia and the winter will never ever ever end....
Here are some shots of D's shoveling Sunday. Not once, but twice. And then I shoveled again this morning. And it needs to be done again...
Sigh.

Now, take a deep breath and say OMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

The rest of the story

2009-03-10T18:17:00.004-07:00

I think it was a Saskatchewan thing- the guy on the radio who told the stories behind the story..and always finished by saying "and that, is the rest of the story".

Well this post has nothing to do with a story behind a story, or Saskatchewan, or the radio. It is just the continuation of the rest of the Jasper weekend.

Saturday D took H-dog fir a run the morning while I just relaxed. My legs were a bit pooched from the run on Friday so I was happy to chill. At about 10 I needed to move so I got ready to go to the pool. Shortly after D came back and was keen to join me for a short swim and a stretch in the hot tub. We made it just in time to catch the last 1/2 hr of lane swim, but it felt so good to just stretch out.

After the swim we went for a latte and then got ready to ski. We headed out to the same trail we skied last time we were here, hoping there would still be good snow. The snow was great and except for some wind, it was a perfect ski day. We did and hour out and just under that back. We got to go down some sweet down hill which was really fun!

Next up was a big dinner, with our friends Jason and Twila from Hinton. Despite the huge meal I was still hungry! We then went to see "Slumdog Millionaire" which was a fantastic movie. After the movie we hit up Mac's for some snacks to try and fill the bottomless pit that is my stomach.

Sunday morning started slow, and we decided to spend some extra time lounging. We debated what to do, finally deciding to take Harley for a hike. We did a great trail that goes up over the town and loops back. It was just over an hour I think it was just right for all of us. By then I was ravenous so we had a huge breakfast feast at Smitty's before hitting the road home.

It was a stunningly wonderful weekend. I can't wait to go back in a month!

Life is Good in Paradise

2009-03-06T16:09:00.003-07:00

I decided to exercise one of the perks of being a business owner, and took off on Thursday to start my weekend early. Harley and I packed up the Jeep and hit the road for Jasper about noon. The roads were really bad, so we drove sloooow, but I wasn't in a hurry. I had a Paulo Coelho audio book to keep me entertained (Brida) and I knew D wouldn't be there until 5:00 or 5:30 so we putted along doing about 80km/hr.

We still managed to beat D to town so I went and picked up some stuff to make dinner and some bottles of vino to enjoy. D was happy to see us early and we had a great dinner and a relaxing evening together.

This morning I was planning to sleep in, but was up at 7am with D, had breakfast and then lounged for an appropriate amount of time given it was my day off. I was actually waiting for the temp to come up from the frosty-24 that it was when we woke up. About 9:30 it broke the -20 barrier and I decided it was almost time to go out. First though, a second breakfast of eggs and toast. Thank goodness I made that choice, as it turned out I needed the added energy.

H-dog and I finally hit the trails about 10:30. I tried out a skiijoring harness system that my friend Kelly lent us, and it worked great for running. The leash has bungee material in it so I don't get jerked forwards and the harness kept Harley from choking himself and still allowed me to reign him in when needed.

We started out on our usual trail that starts behind the Activity Center and leads up up and above the town. We continued on this trail until we came to a junction to take us up to Pyramid lake. I decided to take this route as I was feeling awesome and absolutely loving the run. The trails around here are, for the most part, very well mapped and marked. It is almost impossible to get lost. But I managed to get close to lost. I took a couple of turns when the marked trail ran out and was following a ski trail for a while. Then the trail veered off and we started following another trail that I think was a wildlife migration path, as it just kept going further and further into the mountains. I kept expecting to loop around and come back towards town, but at the 90min mark I decided I had better turn around and double back. I was feeling great, but hadn't brought any food or water and my cell phone was dead. I always say I want to stay in Jasper forever, but this way ;-)

We followed our rough trail back (it was a tough slog through some deep patches) and finally reached a road. I decided to take it, even though it wasn't as fun as the trails I wanted to get back before I found out my limit for running on fumes. Eventually the road met up with the same trail we had started on and I felt confident enough to venture back into the trees and followed it back to our starting place.

It was a 2hr20min adventure, longer than planned, but sooooo fun. I love running in the mountains, and kept thinking that I was so glad I've been doing all those boring treadmill runs, so that I can be in good enough shape to get out and enjoy the beauty of nature like this!

It was one of those days I felt like I could run forever. With only the sound of snow crunching underfoot and my breathing, the crisp and fresh smell of the trees, and beautiful vistas around every corner. I felt such joy and gratitude it felt like I could fly.

Unfortunately D had to work today, but I am glad I had Harley to share it with. He enjoyed every minute of it, and promptly crashed on the couch when we got home. I told him to rest up, D will be looking for a running partner when he gets off work, and I am done for the day!