You blink and it's May

I can hardly believe that I wrote the previous post 4 weeks ago!! How's that even possible? I suppose this is what happens when your life changes drastically and you try to keep up with the new rhythm. But more about this later... The first race of the season is less than 2 months away and I am NOT freaking out. Nope. I'm good. I am also a terrible liar.

Here's something that doesn't lie. Strava.

As you can see, I only averaged 2-3 workouts a week, but when you think about it, my work as an arborist IS a daily workout. They call us something like... industrial athletes, I kid you not. (Check this out - "Caring for your body as a production arborist"). The ISA even mentions something about a sawdust triathlon. Wait, what?? I suppose it counts as training after all.

This must be the core workout

Now, back to the other kind of triathlon. Alas, I only managed to train in 2 of the 3 sports. And let's not debate whether triathlon is one sport or three, or more, mmmkay?

I ran 5km three times and biked 7 times, with the longest bike workout being 2h. I still have a long way to 3h on the trainer, but it should be doable before June comes around. I may even bump my FTP by 5 points or so. As to running, the goal is to get to 10km before the end of the month.

Just for fun, here are the Trainer Road bike workouts I did, in order of progression:

• Ericsson 1h
• Bays 1h
• Carson 1h
• Glassy-1 1.5h
• Baird-1 1h
• Boarstone 2h
• Phoenix 1.5h

Last but not least - 8fit: I completely forgot about it. Seriously. I kept ignoring its reminders and eventually it left me alone. Yesterday, however, I was in mood for Yoga and I did a quick Neck and Shoulders routine which felt amazeballs.

I also found some wonderful breakfast ideas and I already tried one today:

Chocolate Banana Pudding

• 1 serving of instant Maple and Brown Sugar Steel Cut Oats (PC blue menu)
• 120ml soy milk
• 1/2 tsp raw cocoa
• 15 almonds
• 1 banana

Directions: microwave the milk and oats for 2.5min, mix in cocoa, almonds and banana slices. (Optional add in 1tsp sesame seeds and a pinch of salt)

Ready in 5 minutes and absolutely delish!

I'll try to blog more often, as I settle into a routine. Easier said than done, I'm aware. But at least I'll tell you this. I am not going anywhere. ;-)

And then she blogged

I may be blogging every 6 months only, but any pulse is better than no pulse. In other words, I'm not dead yet! Or I may be coming back from the dead, you never know. Mmmm, brrraaaains!

The reason that I'm blogging again is because there are 90 days left before Ironman Mt. Tremblant 70.3, and since I signed up for it last year in a drunken stupor, and I am not planning on dropping out, I have to get my ass in gear and actually train for it.

Training... a strange word for sure. I don't quite remember what it means to train with a big goal in mind since I spent last year in sherpa mode while hubby was getting his full Ironman on. Little races sprinkled across the season are rather stress free, but this is year is going to be different, because I am not only signed up for one half Ironman, but two!! Last time I did one of those was in 2014... let's see if I remember what 10h of weekly workouts means.

I am starting slow though, because I AM slow and sluggish and I packed on too many pounds over the last 12 months. Let's not go there. Fact is, my fitness has taken a dive into the abyss while I concentrated on reaching the top of the trees. Speaking of which, I will be graduating with an Urban Arboriculture diploma from Humber College in 5 days. Who wants to hire me??

I also stopped going to Taekwondo at the end of last year because my working schedule at Swiss Chalet, combined with school, stress to find an arborist job and exhaustion from climbing trees did not make it possible to keep up with it, not in a manner that justified the monthly fee, especially on a student budget. So, while I am missing it like crazy, I felt that I had to make a choice and look at this year's priorities. When life settles down, I may be able to get back to it. Remind me to work on my patterns regularly, mmmmkay?

And that's it for the "life" updates. Let's get back to training, shall we? I asked my hubby to coach me this year because I trust his approach and he knows better than anyone what state of mind and physical shape I am in on a daily basis. He started me with a few bike rides and short runs and I am happy to report that I completed them all. The "official" start was a week ago and in this time I did the following:

Sunday: Trainer Road "Pettit -1" - 1h

Couples who sweat together are happy together

Monday: rest
Tuesday: Trainer Road "Goddard" - 1h (single leg drills and MVO2 and endurance spins, oh my!)
Wednesday: 4km run/walk (after a tough trial day in a tree) - 29min
Thursday: school practice day and meeting with old friends for beers
Friday: pruning job and single rope technique training

I think my butt is too big for this tree

Saturday: Training Road "Shasta" - 1h

Bruce and I spending quality time in the bat cave

Sunday : 4km run - 27min

Last but not least, I am also doing a few workouts here and there thanks to 8Fit. It's an iPhone app that made a fitness program based on my goals and I really love it. It gives me high intensity (HIIT) workouts less than 15 minutes as often as I feel like during the week plus Yoga and meal plans. For 80 bucks a year, it's packed with features and what I love the most about it is how it reminds me every day to get off the couch and move my butt.

I hope to be able to find time to blog again... the fact that I cancelled my Swiss Chalet shifts for this week must have helped for sure. Let's keep in touch and happy training!!

Believe, do something

Last week was a lot more manageable. Not only I had Monday off and spent a few good hours riding my bike with friends, but it also went pretty well on all fronts (work, family, monster slaying). Thanks to Emma, there is even a new picture of Zin and I worth of a frame now. Aren't we cute?

It's now saved as wallpaper on all my electronic devices. In my happy place with the love of my life, it can't get better than that.
Here are a few more from the day because why not?

We had to wait for a train. Now that was a first.
Then Zin posed with our fearless ride leader Emma, who just as I thought, has grown some nice muscles in those legs of hers over the winter. I can't even. She's now waaaaay stronger. But I love her just the same. She's going to kick some serious ass in her first ever triathlon season.

On Tuesday I took a day off. Alas not from work, but I gave my legs a rest since riding 100km over two days was a bit of a shock to them.

However, I showed up to the track the next day, especially after promising to a young member of our club that I would work out with him. I took him under my wing since he joined and it's amazing to see him taking his first steps into triathlon so to speak. He's determined, and I think that he will do pretty good once he gets a little more confident. For now it's all about enjoying the process of learning new skills and building a good base, one km at a time. I am really happy for the opportunity to be there for him.

So we did the speed workout and overall we ran/walked for 5.6km. My legs felt just fine, but mostly because it was interval work and I gave myself plenty of rest in between the fast laps. It was a short workout, but it made me believe that a comeback may be around the corner. My PT seems to have a plan for me. He keeps telling me that I'm making progress and I have a sneaky suspicion that, not only he wants me to go back to running, but also get faster.

On Thursday I went to the pool and swam 3 x 700m in my ROKA SIM shorts. Despite being a bit lower in the water than the week before, I managed to swim 5sec faster per 100m, mostly due to paying attention to my stroke for as long as I could keep focus. I'll timidly call this progress.

Then on Friday I went to my physio where I worked hard as usual, doing all kinds of running and strength focused exercises. This PT really knows how to tap into your psyche and make you feel good about yourself. Which may have been a little foolish of him, because this happened as soon as I got back to the office:

Yes, you read this right. 5 races (because discounts matter)! All sprints, with the exception of Wasaga Beach Triathlon. For now the Muskoka 70.3 is still on the schedule, but I will most likely drop out after the swim, or the bike or walk the 1/2 marathon, or not do it at all. I will be there because it's my hubbs' A race, but I don't have any expectations for myself. It'll probably be as foolish to even toe the line.

Alright, so now that's done, I'd better get in the groove, right? On Saturday I went back on my bike, this time with the FMCT tri club. It was a very chilly day (only 2C when I woke up!), but Zin and I plus 3 other brave souls showed up and we rode to Erin for a treat at Holtom's Bakery, then came back all schuss on Mississauga Rd, which is always a great adrenalin trip. I didn't even beat my fastest time on this downhill, but of course, I wasn't drafting behind Zin. Here are some pictures from day because they are all awesome memories.

I came back home and relaxed for the rest of the day, then on Sunday I did it again. Well, not quite, but our club organized a "brick day" and this time I showed my young friend how to change gears on his brand new road bike and bomb all downhills because it's always a pity not to! Then we ran for a bit on the Caledon Trailway and called it a successful day.

Needless to say, I feel much better today.

Almost 9h of training this week. Say whaaat?

IMMT Training Weeks 26 and 27: Learning from my mistakes

I am tired, but not from working out. I barely exercised in the last 2 weeks and many times I felt like I've literally fallen off a wagon and I've kept looking at the train as it was moving away from me and I just could not get up and run after it. Depressing, I know. Don't get me started or I'll bawl my eyes out. I'm tired because I have been sitting on my butt trying to figure my pain out. I am completely exhausted mentally, constantly juggling with information being thrown at me, with very good intentions of course, but which doesn't help me find peace of mind.

With Ironman Mt. Tremblant being just 3 weeks away, I should have finished another solid 3 weeks cycle, yet all I could do was to stare at my legs and wish for a miracle. I did not want to call it an injury, it is such a dirty word. Besides, athletes are known for pushing the limits of their pain threshold and let's be honest, it does NOT hurt like an injury. It's a nagging pain, that's all, but it's been haunting every single one of my runs. And since I'm the only one who's been inside my head, playing with the pain knobs, I tried to err on the side of caution and not make it worse. It's only in the last week that I started listening to people around me and notably to coach who ordered a proper bike fit, acupuncture and about 0.5% intensity in everything I do, with the condition that I keep moving. And yes, he was the first one to call it an injury (and it got me furious).

So I went for the bike fit. And guess what? Although the seat was at the right height by the books, once I sat on it, my legs would completely stretch out while at the bottom of quadrant, locking my knee. I know for sure that I do not bike like this, at least not unless I try to stand up and stretch my legs, but I end up pedaling with my toes down and heel up and that never gives a break to my legs. I must also be rocking my hips. So my seat was ONE INCH too high all this time, which is huge in terms of bike adjustments. Can you say LOSER? That is me by the way. I remember 10 months ago when I went on a bike ride with coach just after I bought my bike and he looked at me and said: "your seat is too high". He kept repeating it for a month, then he gave up. Did I believe him? Of course not, because my ass knows best. Some think with their head, others with their ass. I'm in the latter category and really not proud of myself.

By the way, for those interested in knee pain that may be due to biking, I found this website that explains the causes very eloquently.

I had the cleat angle and seat adjusted to address #1 and #5 and when I came home Zin told me that #3 is most likely a factor as well because I've always complained about how hard it was to unclip from my Shimano SPD SL pedals (and I'm under 65kg). Given that the leg that I unclip is the one that hurts the most... It cannot be just a coincidence.

So let's assume that I finally know the root cause. I came back from the fit with so much hope, that I imagined my pain going away miraculously in my sleep. Just that it didn't. And here's where I should probably go into recap mode because I'm already back to spinning bad thoughts in my head. Let's go.

Swim

Aaaaaah, that's better! Swimming has been awesome... most of the time.

 I did one pool swim that ended prematurely because of chaos at Mayfield Rec Centre. Someone must have messed up the schedules and I found myself with 40 people in the pool instead of the 4 regulars. I had to get out after 30 min. There was no way to swim properly in a lane when all I was doing was trying to avoid head on collisions.

But going to Professor's Lake was a treat. First week I swam 3 loops on Thursday, and the following week I swam 5 loops (3800m). I was feeling so down, that conquering the Iron distance swim that day was the only thing that could cheer me up. At least I know that I'm going to finish the swim at IMMT, if nobody knocks me out with an elbow to the head that is. I also managed to swim under 1h20 and that's another #win! Exactly where I hope to be on August 17.

The watch stole about 50m.

The only other swim left for this recap was at the Belwood Tri race (separate post to follow), so I will skip it for now.

Bike

Alright, so let's rewind for a minute. At the beginning of the week #26, I still had no clue where my ITB/knee pain was coming from, but I was decided to find out, just that the only method I knew was brute force. I had stopped running the Thursday before, as you may remember from the last recap, then on the following Tuesday I hopped on my bike for a hard trainer workout. THE hardest this year. In my defense, I was following coach's schedule and it was asking for a "sub threshold workout". I chose Aniakchak from Trainer Road because it looked challenging enough, without knowing that I was going to spend more than half the time AT threshold (according to my HR). And it was such a sweet, sweet sweatfest, I loved every minute of if (ok, maybe not the first 5 minutes of the last interval where you can clearly see how I bonked). But a salty ball to the rescue, and a few minutes later all was good with the world again.

Nothing hurt while I was doing the bike and certainly not my ego. But of course, those 6 smashed records were going to keep it inflated for the rest of the season. However, the next day... my IT band woke up screaming. Rub, rub, rub with every step... I could feel it so tense on the outside of my knee, it would snap back in place whenever I'd sit down and stand up. Nasty!! So biking had something to do with it after all...

I had to take it easy for the rest of the week since my knees needed some TLC. Did an easy spin on Friday, but raced on Saturday. The following Monday I had the bike fit and since then it's been easy spin after easy spin every other day, no more than 1h at a time. Pathetic. But at least I am listening to coach now and he ordered that I stay put.

Run

The first week I knew that I was going to run in Belwood, or at least I hoped I could. But before the race I wanted to take a real break from running, just in case it was the culprit for my knee issues. So on Thursday, after swimming 3 loops, I decided to run in the water for 30 min. That was hard!! I came out of the water, legs were shaking and my heart was beating out of my chest. But at least it felt like a workout. Alright then, I can do this.

After racing on Saturday, I returned to the lake for more water running. This time I did a full loop and it took me almost 40 minutes to water run 750m. Everyone was lapping me and the lifeguards were all wondering what the hell I was doing, but I managed to keep a straight face and convince them that my apparent doggie paddling was a serious athletic endeavor that had to be admired. I seriously wanted a medal. This was NOT a jog in the park and I was in serious pain out there. Yeah, it was becoming apparent that water running wasn't going to work for my IT bands either. After reaching the first buoy I started feeling the rubbing outside my knee again. In the middle of the freaking lake!! Get me outta there!! I continued stoically until I completed the loop, then put on my goggles and furiously swam with a solid kick the whole time because I couldn't get my legs to shut up.

And so I had to find yet another way to keep moving, and I found the elliptical. I did 2 more "runs" on it this past week, thankfully without pain around the knees. Hey, if that's what it takes, I'll elliptical myself until my arms and legs fall off!

In a nutshell

I am learning from my mistakes. I am almost 40 years old and I still make monumental mistakes. How many times in life have I told myself that "I'm too old for this shit"? Well, it appears that I can also be "too stupid for this shit". But I got it now. I think.

I went to an all-in one massage therapist, acupuncturist, ex army guy martial artist. He does not mess around!! I may come home with bruises all over, but I believe that his treatments WILL make me better. I need patience, and a lot of it. I wish I went to see him a month ago when the pain started...

I went to Via Ciclante and saw JP who did a bike fit. We may have found the cause of my misery. Again time will tell. He also promised me a 20 watts gain after the fit. Yeah, right. Not sure I believe that, but I haven't tried either.

I went to a chiropractor/ART specialist. He found a thousand spots that hurt when he pokes at them. He gave me treatments that turned me into a wet noodle, just like the massage therapist, but with a slice of nausea on the side. My friend Matt, who just finished IMLP, swears by him. He may not fix my IT bands, but my body sure needs a hard reboot. I feel that ART does that wonderfully.

I am listening to my coach, but I no longer have a very precise schedule. I just know that I have to keep moving and keep the workouts short and not very intense.

What else can I say? I am a mess, but I want to believe that I will heal eventually. Injury or not, I got handicapped to the point that I can no longer run without pain, but I hope that it will get better before I get to toe the line at IMMT. There are no shortcuts to this finish line. This is my journey and it's too late to look back and start having regrets. Next recap will bring better news, I promise!

IMMT Training Week 16: Restful rest and time with friends

You know that a week promises you rest when it actually starts with a rest day. That was a good change of pace, thank you coach. It made a whole lot of difference as it allowed me to make a mental pause and reflect on the previous week's meltdown. In reality, maybe this was all I needed because on Tuesday, I was itching to start working out again. I wonder if I should change my rest day to Monday from now on... I am going to give the upcoming 3 week block another try, then reevaluate.

Swim

Two swims this week, one on Tuesday on my own and the masters swim on Thursday as usual. Both times I could see intervals times going down. Fast 25s, fast 50s, fast 100s. All better than the month before despite feeling sluggish sometimes. There are only 2 weeks left until the end of the group swim and for once, I don't feel burned out or willing to kill my coach. Seeing progress keeps me in a good mood I guess. I don't expect these times to necessarily translate into torpedo speed in the open water, but I am looking forward to finding my bubble of bliss again in the middle of Professor's Lake a month from now. It puts me at peace with the world and myself, and I need those zen moments during the triathlon season as they remind me why I love this sport so much. Plus, putting on my wetsuit makes me feel invincible, just like a superhero suit.

Bike

I took it easy for the first workout on Wednesday, but on Saturday, brace yourselves, I unleashed the BEAST! Don't get too excited now, I didn't FLY my bike, but I went OUTSIDE!! Yeah, baby!! Wind in my hair, coasting downhill, pushing hard up on Mt. Wolfe, fighting the wind - oh how I missed the elements that make biking outside so damn awesome. I was leading a group of folks from the tri club and this was a "no cyclist left behind" type of ride, so we took a few breaks, even had coffee after 50k, but in the end I rode 70km in 3h and that was truly memorable. I came back home with a high that lasted long enough to make me enjoy another hour and a half on my trainer afterwards, for a total of 4h30 and 105km for the day, longest time spent on the saddle this year. I know, I know... these times only go up from here... and I already sound like a broken record.

I WANT MORE!! I'm sure that I'll be crying after the 5h30 ride that I can already see on my schedule at the end of the month, but I'll leave that for The Meltdown 2.0.

Run

Running has been kind of "meh" despite all the time spent outside. Ankle/post tib is still achy after 8km and I chose not to push it, thus I did not run farther than 10km this week. I really need to know what's making it tick and more important, how to fix it, so I'm going to speak with my massage therapist on Wednesday and maybe go back to physio for a bit. Calves in general have been super tight and they may have a lot to do with my tendons acting out.

But back to the recap, after the Mississauga half I waited until Thursday to run again and I did 10km of fartleks (only for the first half, then I took it easy). On Saturday I ran a 3k as a brick after the 3h ride, then today I went on the Etobicoke Trail because it was good for the soul. My friend Orville joined me and we ran 9km, half of what I had on the schedule. But as I previously said, it may be time that I stop pushing through the pain and deal with it.

In a nutshell

Less than 10h of workouts this week and all of them were rather enjoyable. Spent time with friends (Carol came home to ride and run with us on Saturday), saw a bunch of lovely folks from the FMCT tri club, then Orville surprised me by joining me on the trail run. Friends make everything better. Next week is back to the grind, and while I am still worried about my ankle/calves/tendons, I have a much positive outlook on the next building block than I had a few weeks ago. I am aware that there will always be ups and downs, but at least racing season is starting and I'll be using some of the endorphin high to keep the tears at bay. Plus I'll get to chase more of this girl, so all is good in the world.

IMMT Training Week 8 and 9: Work hard, crash harder

So it happened. I skipped a recap week. Training and work and life swallowed me whole and I got nothing left, not even brain power to put down things like 1+1=3. Wait, is that right? Does it mean that I skipped 2 weeks? No, wait. Whatever... That's what you get when you lose all your week's neurons. Which means that I need to go back in time twice as far and put my memory through a lot of effort. To tell you the truth, I don't even know where to start. Training Peaks to the rescue!

Swim

Two weeks ago on Tuesday, I did a 3000m swim which called for 20x100m on 2:30 main set. It hurt so much, I don't even want to talk about it. The hardest swim I've ever done until now, period. I managed to finish it all, but I wasn't quite sure on what planet I was at the end of it. Needless to say, two days later I was so tired that I put on my pull buoy and swam for 45min straight, all with flip turns so I can keep up with the kids in my lane. I was supposed to do this swim on Sunday, but it felt more appropriate for Thursday. On Sunday, I was still feeling pooped, that I decided to swing it and do whatever my body was in mood for. I swam 100m free, then another 100m, then 300m with my pull buoy, and decided to repeat the same pattern until I ran out of time. I managed to fit in 4 repeats for a total of 2000m. Matched my swim quota for the week, so that was success in my books.

This past week, it was a different story. Tuesday's swim didn't happen. But on Thursday I went to masters with the tri group and had a nice 2000m swim with a lot of 50s, 100s and 200s. I didn't think I could pull it off, but stamina showed up and got me through it just fine. I even swam my fastest pull/paddles splits - how?? Must have been the 10h sleep...

I have no idea what I'm going to do tomorrow, but there are enough missed swims to choose from. Anything that fits within 1h will do I suppose.

Bike

I had a few good rides as well, no complaints here. I only missed one workout, last Wednesday, when I pretty much hit the wall. I came back from work and fell asleep on the couch. Decided to call it a night and go to bed at 7:45pm. I needed it really badly and I'm glad that I listened to my body. I could feel that everything was falling apart, starting with my mental. 

Below are the most exciting rides that I've done.

This one was made by hubbs with instructions from coach. I called it One Leg drills and Two Leg Spins (100rpm). Visually, quite exciting. Pure poetry. I managed to keep my calm and pedal on, what a miracle. Last spin looks almost like a scream though.

The only other ride worth sharing was my 2h45 ride today, Conness. Trainer Road didn't crash like the week before, yay! I did it all in my new Coeur Sports kit which I received yesterday. I was really curious about the magic chamois and whether my bottom was going to complain. Another miracle, I swear. Last week I had a lot of pain in my bike shorts with triple diaper-like padding, but this time, nada!! No pain whatsoever, how is it possible? The people at Coeur should better patent this one because they've got a winner!!

The ride was easy peasy. It wasn't too difficult to follow directions since the intervals were quite long, and I killed the boredom watching "Zoolander". Can you believe that I waited 13 years to see it? I still had a megawatt smile at the end of it (the workout, not the movie).

If you are wondering what a gratuitous view of my belly is doing here, this is my own #keepingitreal moment. The kit fits wonderfully, but I still have a muffin top to deal with. Hopefully 5 months from now I won't have to suck it in until I pass out while approaching photographers on the course of Ironman Mt. Tremblant.

Run

So far, I didn't miss any of the runs! They all have been 8km or more, with the long ones at 15km. Still doing them on the treadmill, sorry. But the early ones in the week were "hilly" where I got to play with both speed and incline on the treadmill, while the mid-week ones introduced 1min accelerations to 10km pace or faster. I'm glad they are not boring me to death. Speaking of which, I need another movie to watch during my long run tomorrow. Last week I watched "Food Inc." and it was rather upsetting at times. No, I didn't cry, but it got me mad. I'll never look at a piece of meat the same way again.

Here's another piece of worthy news. I bought new shoes!! I joined Kona winner Frederik Van Lierde, Mary Beth Ellis and Caroline Steffen in wearing On running shoes. I had NO idea they even existed until I walked into the Running Free store and tried them on. And NO, I could not put them down and walk away. Very rarely I find a shoe that marries my foot (both of them actually :-)) so wonderfully and this is one of them. I was looking for a shoe to do my long runs in while I rebuild enough calf strength to go back to my K Swiss K-Onas, since there is a new Ironman branded pair at home waiting for me to run in at #IMMT. I chose the Cloudsurfer model and so far, amazeballs! Not a single blister, no pain, even my knees seem happier lately. I also run a tad faster for the same level of effort. They are definitely springy and they almost feel like propelling me a little quicker.

Or maybe it's all in my head and I already imagine myself winning Kona in them. On folks, call me now!

In a nutshell

I had such a hectic schedule between office work, workouts, basketball games, long drives in the snow, parties, corporate ping pong tournaments (I move onto round two in doubles, yay!), endless meetings, stress to the max, that I ended crashing really hard and had to skip two workouts in a row. Not the end of the world, since I got back my sanity and some extra hours of sleep, but there were times when I questioned my ability to train for this Ironman. I told myself that if I'm crashing with 10h worth of workouts, what will happen when I'll hit 16-18? Thankfully the funk didn't last, but it's a little seed of doubt that I need to watch closely not to sprout.

I'll leave you with a few more pictures, so you can see what I've been talking about.

We drove for hours in this. 

More snow!! MAKE IT STOP!!!

NOT my bike. Phew.

We like basketball. At least the Raptors win every so often.

100 points = free pizza for everyone!

We skipped the pizza this time, but we went to Pizza Hut later in the week. We had the super thin crust pizza with veggies and a greek salad.

In case you were wondering...

The sad face of our sidewalks. Anyone have skates?

You could call this a slip and slide, alright!

You can understand why I keep my runs inside. No sidewalks, no fun! I refuse to dodge cars.

One last sweaty smile for the road, with boob crack as a bonus! See you next week!!

IMMT Training Week 7: A different kind of struggle

I'm a bit late with this blog post, but last week was absolutely draining, mentally and emotionally. On the flipside, the workouts weren't that bad and I even threw in some corporate fun. Ping pong anyone? I organized this tournament at work as a team building activity and we played round 1 this week. I lost to a stronger opponent, but I'm still in for doubles. That was somewhat expected since I only played twice in the last 5-6 years. We also played some games outside of the tournament which sure made my heart pumping and sweat dripping. One hour of smashing and jumping, and the next day my arm and back on the right side reminded me that I had not used these muscles in a long time. It totally counted as 1h of effort, no doubt about it.

Swim
My longest ever swim in a pool was on Tuesday morning and it gave me the feeling that I could conquer the world that day. 3100m, boom! Followed by 2250m during group swim on Thursday and 2000m on Sunday. Biggest week ever!! It was also the slowest in a while, but I can't have it all. It didn't bother me a second. I take whatever the pool gods give me and not drowning is always a WIN.

Bike
One hour easy here, one hour easy there... then boom again! Monday's ride was a snooze-fest, and on Thursday, hubbs made me a "custom" Trainer Road workout, just for me. I loved it (that's because it felt easy)!

However, the group spin on Saturday brought back memories... and sweat, and tears. I tried dialing it down, but I still stuck with the group effort until the last imaginary hill.

I even beat my 30min record. What about that, eh? Maybe it's time to do one of these 8 or 20 min tests again, even though I don't feel quite ready for putting all the hurt on my glutes and knees. I'll wait for coach to give me the green light. I think he's planned one of these tests for us in 2 or 3 weeks, and that should be just what I need.

Run
Two treadmill runs to keep my legs moving and they were both dreadful. Being alone with my thoughts this week did not count as success. Both times my mind went wondering in muddy places and slipped into some dangerous sinkholes. I even had a major freak out 40 min into the run on Tuesday and started bawling my eyes out while on the treadmill. Thankfully nobody I knew was there to witness my meltdown. I managed to compose myself again and did not fall face forward on the belt, but it was a close one. Since then, I've talked to a few people, and it helped tremendously. I am a work in progress anyway...

On Sunday, I needed some fresh air to clear my head. I debated whether to go outside or not the whole day, but since another introspection without distraction was not advisable, I eventually dug out my winter clothes and went outside to brave the cold, wind and (some) hills. I got reminded how much harder running outside in winter is. To add excitement to my run, I may or may not have caused a car accident, but since both drivers started yelling at each other instead of pointing at me, I continued my 11km solitary journey, now with something else to occupy my brain. Back home, I even managed to crack a tiny smile.

Running is supposed to do that to you, right? It was a nice reminder... that I can fight this.

In a nutshell
Tough week, mentally rather than physically. Survived it. This coming week will be another kind of tough as I keep thinking about a friend of mine who lost her daughter in a house fire on Friday. The Universe is so evil sometimes, I wish it left the good people alone. Too sad for words, over and out.

IMMT Training Week 5: Double-Double

Oh, look a recap post! Once you read it you'll understand why I waited until Tuesday to write it. It was a week of firsts and I am not sure that I want a repeat of any of these heroic attempts to stay on schedule.

Swim

Tuesday was the day that just didn't want to be. I had planned to go swimming early in the morning, but then I ended dicking around the house too much trying to prepare breakfast and snacks for the kids and lunch for my work and made it to the pool 45min later than I hoped. Zin looked at the schedule and said that I should be ok because the pool was going to be open for another 2.5h. So I got there and started my workout, but to my surprise, 20min later they started removing the lanes. I asked why and they said that the lane swim was over. Whaaaat?! Why?? Because their published schedule was wrong, that's why! And that I should know better because I'd been going there for a long time. Yeah, but never in the morning!! It must be a sign that I should just give up mornings at the pool. Anyway, I had just finished my warm up set, and I was pissed. Took my toys and left, pretty much wanting to strangle someone.

Nice pool, until they kick you out

Went to work, but in the evening I decided to go back to the pool to finish my swim. It was full of fast 50s and fast 25s and I can't say that I enjoyed any of it. My mojo sank like the Titanic, but I managed to get some decent times on those lengths nevertheless.

Thursday I had group swim with the tri club, but I needed a massage really badly and the only appointment I could find was at noon. 1h15 of pure torture and while walking out of there I wondered if I wouldn't drown if I attempted to use my bruised limbs to stay afloat. The decision not to go to masters got cemented after the run workout that I did later in the day (whose idea was that anyway?). My legs were so sore, I chose to soak them in a hot bath with a ton of Epsom salts for a change.

So this leads us into the weekend with one swim scattered over 12h and another one missed. Sunday, as you may know if you followed the Olympics, was the big game for Canada's men hockey team and even though I had ambitious plans to get my long 2900m swim done before 9am, I got the surprise to find the pool closed without notice for a "special event".

Early to rise, for nothing.

Come'on, now!! 

Where is everyone?? Canada is watching hockey, come back later...

I had no choice but to go back home and put my feet up and cheer for our athletes like a good Canadian. But I still had one long swim to do and no pools with more than 1h lane swim openings. Sigh... Went to Mayfield at 1pm, did whatever I could in 1h, then went to another pool in the evening to finish the job. Why can't I swim faster so I can fit it all in? #slowtriathleteproblems. It was BRUTAL. That's why I called this blog post Double-Double. Never again!!!

Bike

At least everything went well in this chapter.
Monday, easy 1h15 ride, I did Collins.

On Wednesday I didn't bother selecting a specific workout, I just went for a free 1h ride while watching True Detective. That did the trick.

But on Saturday, I went to the group spin and allowed myself to have some fun. We did over-unders, but I only pushed hard for small periods of time to keep the sweating to a minimum. It was great to see some watts in the 200s for a change. First time pushing that high this year and not more than 1min at a time. I loved this workout!

Aren't those intervals pretty?

Run

Nothing exciting here. 8K, 6K, 1h on the treadmill. What made those harder though, is that two out of three runs were sandwiched between swims. Believe me, you don't want to do this, especially at the end of the week when you should be lounging on the couch, drinking beer and blogging instead.

In a nutshell

I need to get my shit together. I am improvising too much and playing catch up. I managed to put in 8h45 of solid workouts, but not without serious sacrifices. Call it double dose of dedication if you wish, but I call it double dose of d'uh! I should have known better. The hardest week so far this year, but it's only getting harder from here, so I need to start planning more and playing less with the fire.

One last update for the road - I also did 2 strength workouts. I added in squats, lunges, bicycle crunches and continued the planks, bridges and clam shells. Three days later and my glutes are still crying. There is only one remedy for them: ice baths! Good thing that the polar vortex is back... I could just make snow angels in my backyard. Naked. Totally legit, don't you think?

Training for an Ironman: a primer

For those who don't speak Ironman triathlon yet, I found this great video that explains it well.


In a nutshell, I'm an idiot. And that's ok.

Memories should last forever

There are days when I wonder what the purpose of my blog is. I have been writing for over 10 years at this address, but I never had a blog with a "theme" so to speak until I started this one earlier last year. It just happened that today marked the 10th anniversary of one of the most significant blackouts in North America, and people had been posting all day long memories from that day. I realized that I had none, like my brain had been wiped out. Not surprising though, since I barely remember what I did last week... but thanks to the Wayback Machine and some pages saved on my computer, I could dig out the tale of that day and share it with my friends on Facebook. So today I wonder, what will become of this blog 10 years from now?

My photography motto has always been "Memories should last forever", but it means captured on film or digital memory, then transferred on paper (if ever). Will the memories of today and this past year, in which fitness and well being have taken such an important role, remain? Will I remember? Maybe the reason that I want to do an Ironman IS to remember... maybe I'll get that tattoo as a mnemonic more than anything. My body may not be the same in 10 or 20 years, and for sure, some of the scars I got while running or biking will remain, but what about the memories of today, tomorrow, everything that's going to keep me moving until then?

This. The sweat, the salt on my skin, the dryness on my lips, the burn in my back, the ache in my stomach, the tiredness in my legs, the thirst - oh that thirst! - this is what this blog is for. It has my ups and downs, my (small) victories and (big) defeats. The days when I was counting visits or comments are way behind, like 10 years behind. I still appreciate them and they truly make my day, but I find it a huge waste of time (and source of disappointment) to always wait for someone else's approval. Blogging is like a book club of sorts, where fitness is the main topic and instead of books, we read into each other's diaries without asking for the key. I am an open book, I've always been. I may not be the best writer or fastest athlete out there, but I put my sweat and soul in everything I do. So today, I have no problem telling you that I feel defeated, that I had to take one more day off because stress and exhaustion were creeping in.

I know the signs well by now. After finishing one of the longest and toughest training weeks ever, I had Monday as a rest day, but then I saw 1h30 of hill work on my bike, followed by 1h swim on Tuesday. I started battling with my will to even get out of bed. It also didn't help that I was still in much pain from the sunburn and I hadn't had the greatest sleep for several nights in a row. When I returned from work that day, I found myself a good reason not to go with Zin scream up and down the hills - it was extremely cold for a summer day and windy as hell. If there is something that scares the bejeebus out of me, is handling my bike on the downhills with cross winds: 35km/h NW, thanks but no thanks. So I buried myself in the basement and managed to spin my legs for 1h, then called it a day. I watched "Troy" on my bike and cried, then I went on my couch and watched "So You Think You Can Dance" and cried some more, even when no one was dancing. It was because of all emotions going through my system, from feeling guilty of having had an ice cream, to having missed my scheduled workouts and everything in between. I was trying to rationalize it all, to no avail. I emailed my coach and spilled my guts: I may need another rest day.

And here I am now, in my bed, having skipped today's speed work on the track. And I feel less guilty already, even though I ate ice cream again and had a cranberry scone from Starbucks with a gazillion calories in it (please don't tell me) with my second coffee this morning. Oh, and I had pasta for lunch, and for dinner too. My scale will be cranky at me tomorrow, but whatevah. I am aware of the risks of over-training and I wouldn't want to jeopardize my first half-Ironman for anything in the world. I already worked hard enough to get here and I do remember well how I felt when I had to pull out of my first marathon. Not pretty.

Tomorrow I will most likely go for my open water swim, in my cold bubble of bliss, then for a quick loop around the lake. Friday I have a long 18k run, which I will take easy, then on Saturday I'll be having fun on the Mt. Tremblant bike course before volunteering the next day at the Ironman. I apologize in advance to all athletes whose energy I will use as a fuel source, because there is no better inspiration to start your own Ironman journey than being immersed in one, or a thousand of them. I promise to pay it forward.

Race simulation day

I knew this was going to happen, it appeared in my August schedule highlighted in yellow. I could only imagine what simulation meant... Other than doing all three sports in order, the lengths/durations were left to coach Dave's last minute decision. One thing for sure, I was going to start by swimming at the quarry at 7am, then take it from there. Our friend Carol joined us, as well as another dozen of brave souls who also decided to put their fate into the hands of the coaches, be it for fun or not. One thing for sure, there was going to be sweat (and no blood, fingers crossed).

We woke up at 5am, knowing that we needed at least one hour to get ourselves ready, including shower, breakfast and coffee. The drive to the quarry took about 25min and we found lots of people getting ready to put their fish on, most of them being members of the C3 triathlon club. It was their turf afterall, so I felt a bit like an intruder for a moment, but once in our wetsuits, it no longer mattered, we were all there for the love of the triathlon. The quarry loop is 1km long, so I decided to go the full 70.3 distance and some more. The water was very warm but quite rough in some spots, so I was glad to be done with it after 2 loops. 46min, not too bad, given how much I felt like going off course, over and over again.

Which means that maybe, just maybe, I could finish the Muskoka 70.3 swim in 45min or less. Wouldn't that be great?

Anyway, as great as that sounds, I still need to work on it. The pros do the FULL Ironman swim in the same time, but who am I to compare myself to them? Just wanted to point that out... I am a slow poke in the grand scheme of things, if you count them turbo engines in it, that is.

After the swim, I changed into my biking shorts and jersey and drove with hubbs and Carol to Inglewood, where coach Dave and Lorene had set up a true transition zone with a bike rack, food and drinks for us. Just like in a race, I took possession of my little piece of real estate, ate a banana, put in my pocket one of the 28k loop maps (I was planning on doing the loop 3 times), filled up my bottles, then at 9:15am sharp I started my ride with Carol and Tammy for company.

Right off the bat, I noticed that my bike gears were skipping. This wasn't new news, but I realized that I had not fiddled with my rear derailleur in almost a week (I know, I should not have to!), and it had probably gone out of alignment once again. Anyway, the train was in motion so to speak, and I told myself that it's not a big deal, it was happening at random anyway. Suck it up and don't sweat the small stuff. Alas with the wind and the constant change of pace, the skipping never stopped and by the second loop I was ready to throw my bike in a ditch and cry on the side of the road until someone would stop and give me a hug and an ice cream.

Winston Churchill, a mean combo of head wind and hills.

Are we there yet? Get this wind off my face!!

More Winston Churchill because I'm so slow, it hurts.

Carol and hubbs weren't having the greatest day either, the wind was truly testing their patience. To add irony to our misery, Carol and I also missed a turn on our first loop and ended on the 21k loop, which included a long stretch of shitty pavement and twice the distance facing the relentless head wind. The only reward of this course was the descent on Old Base road, which we got to do thrice in the day. Faster and faster each time. At each loop, I tamed my anger with adrenalin, it worked like a charm. I ended biking almost 78k in 3h07 and that was more than enough for both my legs and nerves.

When coach asked me how I was doing when I stopped to refuel in between loops, all I could say was "I hate my life and everyone in it". He replied, "one of these days, eh?". But by the end of the third loop, I had managed to empty myself of negativity and embrace the serenity now, most likely thanks to the top speed of 64.2kph in the last descent. Almost empty, actually, I still wanted that ice cream. I had another banana instead, then asked coach, "what now?". He said that I should do an 8k run, which was spot on what I was hoping for. It was 1pm by then and the sun was bright and mean. But I had asked for this, I had even paid for it.

Put on my running shoes, had some fluids, emptied my bladder, then off I went. The run was going to take me on the Caledon Trailway, for an out and back of 4km. I could not wait. I absolutely adore running there, it's so peaceful and there is SHADE (on some stretches, not all the time, unfortunately)!! Oh how I miss the shade... in my burbs there is none, unless you adventure yourself on one of the wooden trails, which isn't very convenient or safe for someone who easily freaks out. But here I had no fear, I knew I wasn't going to be alone and all critters were most likely having a nap.

Shade? Right on!!

Bridge? Uphill? Nooooooo!!

Almost time to turn around? Yeaaaahhhhh!

Because I was the last one to start the run, I saw Carol coming back after 1km, then hubbs just before the turnaround. I was finally having fun, yet I was looking forward to being done with it. Too much pressure knowing that I was the last one out there, I was feeling somewhat of an inconvenience to all those waiting for me. So I put on the turbo and ran even faster than the week before with an average of 5:34/km and without feeling my heart ready to explode.

And there you have it. A 4h40 monster workout and enough good and bad moments to mimic the stress of race day. The coaches put on a great simulation day, with well marked routes, a safe and well positioned transition area, water, Gatorade, technical and even moral support. We even had burgers, salad, watermelon, pineapple and cookies at the end.

Am I ready for the real thing? Hell yes I am! And someone better get me that ICE CREAM!!