Life, etc.

This past week has been full of excitement!! The Monday after coming back from Muskoka I went to a series of interviews with a large telecommunications company and within 2 days I received an offer, which I accepted in a heartbeat. I start working again on June 10! It is an amazing opportunity, 15 minutes away from home (I could bike, even run there if I wanted to), and a good career move. But more than anything, it felt like a good fit. Met with a few people at different management levels and I had a good vibe talking to all of them. I think it's going to be a bit crazy, but also rewarding for working on a very visible product with a team of smart and likable individuals. Good things come to those who know how to wait. ;-)

I am treating these 2 weeks up to June 10 like pure vacation time. Napping for hours, movie marathons, training when I feel like it, an ice cream scoop here and there. Oops. Do. not. weigh. yourself. Breathe, relax. It's all going to be alright. I haven't missed a workout. It doesn't hurt anywhere. Am I exhausted? I am, but it's a good exhaustion, it's all in the muscles, none in the head. Had a good chat with coach this week about the ebb and flow of my training plan. I put my trust in him, I know he'll get me there. Let's not worry about work getting in the way just yet, I feel that I can do this. I even told my future boss in the interview that I was training for an Ironman, so at least that's out of the way.

In the running department, I've been having a great time! On Tuesday when I received the good news I had yet to do a long 14k run. It was pouring rain, but that didn't stop me. Laced my shoes and off I went. I didn't know whether I could run all 14k, so I went by feel. I was flying out there. I hit every single puddle for good measure, it was refreshing and the slosh-slosh sounds when I was hitting the ground were distracting in a hilarious way. I was having so much fun, I didn't care that I was drenched to the bone. The only way I could have been more wet was if I had jumped in the lake. I had to ask Zin to take a picture. Here it is, with a Ginkgo tree growing out of my head.

On Thursday it was a different kind of humidity. Hot and muggy. I didn't mind getting wet again, but this time drenched in my own sweat. I was supposed to do fartleks, so I went to the track with hubbs. I chose to wear my NB Minimus shoes to keep the fire burning in my calves. So far so good, I don't regret my decision, even if for a moment on Friday I did. Look how serious I made this workout look. I see a Running World magazine cover coming.

After I made it back home though, I could not, just not imagine going for another workout. Group swim was next and I was secretly FMLing under my breath.

Yeah, what about those swims? I am in the phase when I've had enough of pool water and clocks on the wall and I just want to put on my wetsuit and start looking for fish to swim with or chase a few ducks. Cannot stand doing another pool length. I totally slacked my last two weeks of swim workouts, I just went long and could care less about putting on my fins and do kicking or finger drag drills. Many days I wonder why I bother when I go so much faster with a pull buoy between my legs and half the effort. It's just not worth it. My view will probably change again next year, but for now I am eager to start the triathlon season so I can stop feeling bad about everyone else lapping me in the pool. For those curious, below are two videos to show my "progress" since last year, but I rarely feel like I've gained anything else but endurance without a wetsuit.

Thankfully there are also the long bike rides where I can let my mind go numb. Yesterday it was another 90km of riding farther than we've ever been around these parts. We chose to go North to Hockley Valley and come back. We discovered what the word "valley" really meant. After climbing nice and steady for 30k, we arrived on 3rd Line Rd and started to taste the adrenaline. 70km/h for me on the downhills, a little higher for Zin. And then we kept going down, and down, and down into the valley and we realized what that meant. We were not going to have so much fun coming back. I turned around after refilling my water bottle at the general store in Hockley. I was scared. Let's say I had the time to admire the surroundings. I remember arriving at the Hockley Resort where I went snowboarding with my son last year. Yeah, you know, this is the place where they put ski lifts so you can go up, but this time I was there on two wheels and the only thing to pull me up was going to be my will power and my legs. I said "suck it up buttercup" and I hang on my handlebars tight. It took me 15 minutes to see the end of the uphills, it was really not what I would call a "leisure" climb, but what I know is that I'll most likely go back again, at least for the thrill.

Now back on St. Andrews Rd in Caledon, we met Henry and his lovely lady owner, out on a walk. Henry got a bit scared of us, but we were on our way soon enough. I took the time to snap a picture of him and his mama, she told us that he was on the mend from an injury. Hope he feels better soon!

This encounter really made our day super special. I finished the 90km in 3h31 and had just enough time to rest before going out again, this time for spectating a soccer game. It was a great day and this summer promises a few more like it, I cannot wait! Between the outdoor and trainer rides, biking is going well. Again, I am not that fast, but at least I'm having more fun than counting tiles at the bottom of a pool. 

Time to end this blog post and go out for this day's workouts. I literally spent hours trying to finish it since this morning and the more I sit here instead of sweating out, the more cranky I get. I don't like writing cranky, so hasta la vista folks! I'll be back!