Back at it

So the ribs situation, while annoying because I cannot sleep very well, is not a deal breaker. Last week I went back to Taekwondo and we had to run 6km (like every class from now on). I was apprehensive to have my insides hit my ribs while in motion, but in the end it was not too bad. It felt like I had a stubborn side stitch and the next day the pain was a lot milder. Go figure. Only a dull, constant pain remained. No more sharp shooting pain, so... yay? The next day we had to run another 6km. That too went well, although I had some pain in the knee that kept coming and going, just to mess with my mojo. Stupid knee, I bet next time it's going to be the other one to bother me. I guess I am still not ready to run two days in a row. By the end of the week I could even do some kicks and add some power into them, so things are moving into the right direction. Still not much core power to help me with balance, but that too shall come back one day.

Alright, enough with the complaints for today. After the crazy training sessions during the week, I took it up a notch on Saturday. How masochistic I am, you must be wondering.

In the middle of a career change (more on this later), I had signed up to attend an event put together by the Women in Arboriculture Canada group, my new adoptive family. I woke up early (for a Saturday, but not for a triathlete!) and drove to St Thomas, about 15km south of London, ON. Arrived there right on time to grab a tshirt, a few promotional materials, a buff and a catalogue for Universal Field Supplies, the Arborist reference store in the Peel region. Rope, carabiners, pulleys, harnesses - OH MY. After getting introduced people left and right, whose names I mostly forgot, we watched a demo for Single Rope Technique done with both fancy, and not as fancy gear, then got released into the wild to climb (designated) trees in the park.

Our playground for the day

Arborists in the wild

Tree climbing champions - learning from the best!

I want this setup

Girls know how to have fun

Excuse my butt hanging out of my pants - but I am climbing a tree!!

I am not in there, but not far. About 5 girls up ahead.

I had my own challenges during the day because I went completely unprepared, resulting in some painful blisters on my hands. The only piece of equipment that I could use was my hard hat which I had to wear while under the canopy. The rest of the equipment was graciously lent by other ladies who didn't even flinch at the idea of sharing with a complete n00b that they met an hour before. I learned lots, met awesome people and had a good upper body workout to prove that I belonged in this "industrial athletes" group.

The next day I had to wake up early again, boo. This time, for an open water swim, the second of the season with the FMCT tri club at Professor's Lake. It was super windy and the lake had a nice chop, therefore I chose to spare my ribs (see what I did here?) and swim only one 750m loop. It was more than enough. I returned home so tired, that I jumped back in bed and slept until noon.

And this completed my epic week of crazy, adventurous workouts. Let's see how this one goes.

Taking swimming to new lengths

Oh, swim.... What a love/hate relationship we have. How can I make it up to you? What about a post dedicated to you, full of pretty pics? See, I've taken up this new sport called triathlon and you are the first bottleneck. You can make it or break it. Most people fear you. I don't, as long as I wear my trusted wetsuit. But I do hate being in the pool and going back and forth like a turtle in an aquarium. I've had great times in open water so far and I can't wait to go back for more. See, yesterday I completed my longest swim ever, 3km at Professor's Lake. It was the perfect day for it. Coach asked for 4 loops, and I ended up being the last one out of the water. But I didn't mind since I wasn't late and nobody had to drag me out with a kayak.

I was there to push my limits and surprisingly enough, I felt that I could have done one more loop, which would have put me on par with a full Ironman swim. Even if I hate the drills and the never ending lengths in the pool, it all pays in the end. So here I am, happy with myself, celebrating the times I tried to mingle with the fish, Instagrammed for the extra oomph, or should have I said, splash?

Professor's Lake

Rain or shine, as long as it's open, this is my go-to happy place. It's clean, quiet, safe and close to home. We do 750m loops, either clock wise or counter clock wise, it's always a surprise. If there was just one reason to move to Brampton, this would be it. In the middle of the suburban jungle, Professor's Lake is where I go to escape.

The weather can't hold us

One thumb up for clean water

Guelph Lake

My first race of the year, first mass swim start, first time swimming against a clock in the pouring rain. Beat my PR. A great day, despite Mother Nature's crying spells.

Two thumbs up for warm water!

James Dick Quarry

Went there on a Sunday afternoon to check it out, ended doing two 1km loops. Not my favorite place. Despite the inviting color of the water, it was very sandy and if your goggles leaked, you'd feel like giving a sandpaper rub to your eyeballs. I don't mind using it like backup when I just have to get that swim in, but for the drop-in price of $10, I think I may prefer the pool.

Wet feet to get in

Mary Lake

Vast, majestic, and definitely terrifying because of all the speed boats zooming across its waters. You may find a quiet corner, but Port Sydney isn't one. Muskoka is the land of lakes, so I am sure that we could find peace somewhere, but the day we went we didn't have much time to search for one. The water was warm, but choppy, a good open water experience overall.

Majestic, but dangerous

Kelso Lake

This was the place where I wore my wetsuit for the first time, where I got acquainted with open water swimming last year. For a little trip down the memory lane, follow me here. However I had never adventured beyond the "shallow area" buoys. Last Tuesday though, I did and I felt like I could have died. There are very thick patches of grass in this lake and once you find yourself in the middle of one, it's very hard to find your way out, other than plowing forward. You get tangled in them grasses with both hands and feet and although not dangerous per se, they could be if you cannot handle the feeling. I panicked, several times when this happened and I imagined being unable to continue. I was by myself, 500m away from the beach, alone with my fear and my feeling of hopelessness. Thankfully my instincts were stronger and putting on my best Tarzan style, I made it out of this jungle the few times that I had to. A 1 km loop was enough. Never again I said, not at Kelso anyway.

Swimming in the sunset

Zin was there too, attending an open water clinic with the tri club. I am glad that he didn't have to fully experience the wilderness of this place. In celebration of his longest swim ever as well (2.2km at Professor's Lake), I leave you with this image in which he totally looks like a pro coming into transition. I am so proud of him, I never imagined that he'd enjoy putting in so much effort in workouts like he does. He is definitely ready for his first Olympic Tri 15 days from now. He's going to kick some serious butt, just watch him.

Transitioning like a pro!

Now swim, we're going to remain friends until the end of the season, right? There is TTF coming and I will return in the cold water of Lake Ontario for a 1.5k dip with endless turns, then Muskoka 70.3 where I'll be marking my territory in Peninsula Lake. Oh I know I will. But it's for good juju, because what else could I trust on an adventure as big as my first half Ironman?

Like two fish in a pond

First open water swim of the season! We couldn't wait for Professor's Lake Beach to open this year, we've been counting the days and today, finally, we could get our swim on! It was the first one ever for hubbs, in a wetsuit that is. It was also my first time this year that I was putting my wetsuit on. Good news, it still fits! In less than 5 minutes each, we were ready to go. I couldn't contain Zin, he went in right away, I bet he was eager to try his new rubber skin.

We're going to swim from here...

All the way there... that's about 100m I bet!

I followed suit shortly afterwards and was surprised by how warm the water was. A bit "fresh" on the face, but I wasn't expecting anything less, we're in a spring fed lake after all and it's been pretty cold out there this year. We went back and forth along the demarcation line and it was much better than I thought despite the fact that the area wasn't deeper than 5 feet, the water was crystal clear, lots of fish were doing their own thing and didn't seem to be distracted by our attempts to imitate them.

Like a boss

Like myself

We went back and forth maybe 5-6 times, then a bit to the deeper area towards the platform that you can see behind me. I could not stop watching the fish. There were a few really big ones in the deeper end and I was mesmerized. We called it a day eventually. It was close to lunch time and we started to have fish envy. In the belly. Come'on, one last photo, and we're gone!

We really had a good time. I am very happy that Zin is such a natural and is afraid of nothing. I want to see him completing his first triathlon already, he's going to kick some ass! Next open water swim, Thursday with the tri club, but this time in the middle of the lake around buoys! Let the triathlon season begin!

Time for a recap : Swimming

You know you're overdue for a recap when you find pictures in your camera taken two weeks before and you hardly remember the circumstances. And since a full recap may be quite long, I am going to take the "divide and conquer" approach and start with a quick swimming update  - just because I've nauseated you enough with this topic and we could put it to sleep for a while.

I am currently swimming twice a week: Tuesday in the pool and Thursday at Professor's Lake with the Fletcher's Meadow Cross Trainers (FMCT) tri club. I am constantly trying to improve my stroke and efficiency with the goal of swimming constantly under 2min/100m. During my last open water swim it seems that something clicked and was able to swim 2.3km in 47-48min, which is a huge improvement from a week before. The quest continues...

It is not easy to think about doing all this at once though:
-"take your hand out of the pocket"
-"1...2...reach! 1...2... reach!"
-"split screen - keep that goggle under water"
-"bubbles, bubbles, bubblllbslssbsblblbes"
-"you are a meat stick"
-"brush your thumb against the hip"
-"is my head relaxed?"
-"where is my bow wave, dammit?"
-"keep the elbow bent under water"
-"reach over the barrel, keep pushing water backwards"
-"look at your fingertips"
-"relax!!"
-"let's try a little kick"

I am usually too shy to ask someone else to take pictures of me in my wetsuit, but I have a few that I took of the group - too bad this week is the last open water swim session of the season, I am going to miss it...

Most club members were gone to IMMT and it was pouring rain... 

This must have been a "recovery swim" for a few...

Swim done - a little time for reflection...

The morning after.

Isn't it pretty? But damn, I should not have read about that piranha... Anyway, that's it for the pictures.
Next, bike update.

Putting my fish on: success!

You remember how I said a few weeks ago that I was terrified of open water swimming? It surely still stands true when I imagine myself at a triathlon start and getting thrown inside the "washing machine", but this week has been certainly memorable because I got my first taste of lake swimming and got pretty drunk on it. Lemme explain.

On Monday, I talked my youngest son into going to an open water swimming clinic for kids as a local coach member of my tri club is trying to put together a triathlon club for kids. The swim was at Kelso Lake, about 30min drive from our house and we were told that 4-5 other kids all between 10-13 yr old were going to attend. The day was a bit on the chilly side with temperatures in the low 20s Celsius, but it was beautiful outside and a shame not to go for fear of a cold swim. Although I had not planned on swimming, I threw my wetsuit in the trunk, just in case, and off we went.

When we arrived there, I noticed a lot more adults than kids carrying backpacks and didn't quite know what was going on until we arrived on the beach and they all started stripping and putting on their wetsuits. My son got ready to swim with the other kids and jumped in the lake whereas me, I was standing there puzzled, not sure what to do. I realized that the male coach, Dave, was about to give a private lesson to all the adult folks, while Lorene, the female coach, was going to teach the kids. So I asked for permission to put on my wetsuit too. I was in a hurry to join them since they were already in the water going over the basics and the dolphin dives... and pulled too hard on my wetsuit and put a nick in it. Oh well. Shit happens, it wasn't all the way through to the fabric and it was only one inch long. I tried not to freak about it and went in the lake to join the lesson.

Kelso Lake

It was supposed to be my rest day, but the coach had a plan for this clinic so to hell with my rest day. From then on, we did a lot of back and forths (one length was about 120m) across the lake learning the following:
- 2 lengths sighting
- 2 lengths turning around buoys
- 2 lengths drafting off another person's feet
- 4 lengths with water exit after the first loop, run on the beach and back in the water for the second loop
- 2 lengths with water exit and quick removal of wetsuit

Total 1500m of most valuable experience in a group where I got the right amount of kicking and pulling and being swum over and drinking water and untangling algae from my arms. It was a pretty awesome day and I am extremely glad that I had the intuition of bringing my wetsuit with me, even though I messed it up a bit. It's the life of the neoprene, what can you do. I did, however, learn a great tip for putting it on, which made all the difference on Thursday for the second open water swim of the week, but I'm getting there, hold on.

Before we move on, I guess it's worth mentioning my "wardrobe malfunction" when I removed my wetsuit at the end of the clinic. See, my regular swimsuit exploded the last time I went to the pool, growing 4 sizes bigger by the time I came out of the water. The fabric disintegrated even further when I removed it in the dressing room and I had to throw it directly in the garbage as there was no way to salvage it. When I went to the lake on Monday, I had with me an older swimsuit from the times I was 8 sizes bigger. It was ok while under the wetsuit, but when I peeled the wetsuit off, the swimsuit top (it was one of those tanktops with a separate bottom from a Plus size shop) went down as well as the fabric on the straps gave up under the wetsuit's suction force. Nice!! The guys were having a good chuckle while I was being assisted with the "situation". Anyhow, long story short, after Monday, I had no more swimsuits left, so I had to go shopping.

I had two missions before my Thursday official open water swim: to find neoprene glue and a new swimsuit. The first mission got delayed as I had a lot of work in the office and it just seemed impossible to find any in a physical store around me. Eventually I found someone who suggested to try a scuba shop and BINGO, found one last container of Trident neoprene cement (with more warning labels than rat poison). I was now just hours from the swim, so I drove there at lunch and back to the office and took care of the boo-boo on the spot, hoping that 4h of drying time would be enough.

I also went to a swim shop and found an "aqua suit" (as opposed to a regular swim suit, go figure). It's made by Speedo and it looks just like the one on this skinny woman on the right (that is not me, I don't think her thighs touch like mine).

So... where was I? Missions, right. Two out of two complete!! Thursday night could not come fast enough, so I drove straight to Professor's Lake, our neighbourhood "beach" with all amenities and lots of fun for the entire family.

Again, I felt lost for a few minutes, but decided to go in and ask for the open water swim group. They quickly directed me to the marina where many of the group members had already stored their stuff and were already swimming. Once more, put on my wetsuit, while being very careful not to make another boo-boo, pulling from the inside as I was taught by the tri coach. It worked like a charm and after a quick talk with the swim organizer who showed me the buoys and the direction of the swim, off I went.  A loop was 750m, he said most of the people were doing 2 loops. Put my head down and tried to relax, a bit overwhelmed by the experience - that lake looked bigger than ever! - but finished the first loop in 18 minutes and I was no longer scared at all. I could hardly contain my excitement for being there, having the whole lake for myself  in one of the most beautiful evenings of this summer.

My coach Dave (are all coaches named Dave? not to be confused with the coach from the beginning of this post) had given me 1h of swim practice for that night, so I managed to fit in 3 loops for a total of 2.35km in just 56 minutes, the fastest and farthest I had ever swum. The whole experience was so surreal, I didn't want to leave the place, so I took this picture right as I was leaving.

Professor's Lake at sunset with lonely buoy and lifeguard

Here is the Runkeeper workout, with GPS map and all, thanks to my new Garmin 910 XT watch, w00t w00t!

Needless to say, I came back home ready to eat my young. I settled on a bit of cow instead and one hour later, I went out for a 50min run as well. I never felt so lethargic as during that run, it was still extremely hot and I wished I'd gone aquajogging instead. My arms were also cranky for the rest of the week, reminding me that I had asked them to do over 1500 strokes each to drag me all across Professor's Lake. Last but not least, I also got my first chaffing ordeal because of my Xterra Vortex 4 wetsuit. Not sure how I could fix it, it's at the base of my neck, due to the overlapping pieces of neoprene making up the zipper protecting flap. I will try some PAM next time, maybe that will do it.

Neck chaffing, 2 days after

Any other ideas to stay away from chaffing on that particular spot? Thanks, Internets.