Recently in pictures

A few weeks have passed since the end of the triathlon season and I started settling into a new routine, where exercising is becoming once more a battle of the brains vs the legs. One thing is for sure, the less I work out and sit without stretching, the more my knees hurt. But anyway, this is a reminder that I should not get too comfortable in my laziness. My hubby made me a plan for my next race, The Egg Nog Jog, some time mid-December. It's a local race, 10.6km long, hilly and most likely cold, and if my asthma won't have killed me by then, I may even enjoy. So I will be trying to get a little more running in until then, but most likely not going over 15k at most. My plan is based loosely on the "Run Less Run Faster" formula, but tailored to my current abilities. It also helps to know that once I wake up I can just ask hubbs "what should I do today?" and he can just look at me and adjust the plan on the fly.

Knowing how fluid my physical and mental health can be, a structure helps, but having someone understand and witness first hand the challenges that I am facing, can be a life saver. And without going into too many details, my plan looks something like this:

Monday: rest or Yoga (optional)

Tuesday: Swim or Bike + Physio routine

Wednesday: Speed/Hills Work

Thursday: Swim or Bike + Physio routine

Friday: Long Tempo

Saturday: Long Bike

Sunday: Long Run + Swim (optional)

I will also continue to do my physio and go to the gym for some hot Yoga every once in a while, depending on how much stretching and zen time I need. I am currently in week 4, and I cannot say that everything has been perfect until now, but I will let the pictures below speak for themselves. Here's a visual update with everything that made my life exciting since the Barrelman.

Tough morning. Sad face. Where's that emoticon when I need it?

Stress. Tiredness. Days when work makes me feel super shitty about myself. Which leads to insomnia. And more tiredness. And more stress. Too many mornings waking up and seeing the struggle on my face. And still waiting to take some real time off this year. But deadlines come first, so I wait.

Working my way up through those

I started reading again. After finishing Ronda Rousey's book "My Fight/Your Fight"(I'm such a fan!), I decided to tackle the other dozen books that I once started but never finished. There are more on my iPad too. Currently reading Chris Hadfield's "An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth". Can you tell that I like non fiction?

Romantic sunset

And selfie. With sunset glow as a bonus.

Zin spoiled me with concert tickets and we saw Stromae in Toronto. A beautiful sunset, quality time with hubbs, and music that I love - it made it all better, at least temporarily. It was such a treat!!

Speaking of which...

I managed to squeeze in a lunch with Nicole at my favorite Pho place near my office. That was pretty special too. 

But then I fell sick. And stayed sick for a while... A nasty cold, with lots of coughing and head congestion and pills for 10 days straight. The cough remained, everything else got better. Asthma took over and it sidelined me for almost a week. I could not exercise without coughing my lungs out. I still can't. If it's too cold, windy or my heart beats too hard, I get coughing fits that leave me feeling like death ran me over. Needless to say, I am quite fed up with this illness and asthmatic episode.

I had enough ups and downs in the last 3 weeks, but one of the highlights has been to pace a friend in her first ever race, the Collingwood 10K.

Let my friend own the finish line

Best feeling ever!

We had an amazing race, executed a perfect negative split and my friend finished 4 min faster than she had anticipated in 1h02. Mission accomplished, and I got my first running medal in over a year.

The following week I skipped all workouts for 5 days in the hope of seeing my cough go away. It didn't. Eventually I gave in and went out for a run, which I took easy so I didn't start another coughing fit. The next day I also did an easy trainer ride, in which I had to maintain my HR under 125bpm, or I would cough again and again. It was really not fun at all. 

The long weekend came and we had 3 splendid days in a row with lots of sunshine and warmth. Just perfect for being outside. My hubby went on a very long bike ride (165km!) on Saturday with a few friends and at the last minute I decided to be their support vehicle and follow them with water, Gatorade, bananas and gummy bears to help them replenish their reserves. I knew from experience how daunting such a long ride can become after a few hours on the saddle. Apparently they loved it because they're going for 200km next (cuckoo!).

Someone will have to explain this tree to me

I hope nobody died here

Foliage porn

I also ate the most perfect French Toast that day, when we went to a diner after the ride with the group.

So much yum. Go eat this in Georgetown.

The next day we met with friends from the tri club again, but this time for a run, which I was apprehending a little because it was going to be my longest and hilliest run this year. But the weather was once more spectacular and the company lovely, so I could not have asked for a better day to tackle this new challenge. We met at the Inglewood Arena in Caledon and ran up to the Forks of the Credit and back, for a total of 11.2km.

We run after boys

I finished the run wanting more. Yes, I was really craving a bike ride then, but thankfully the weekend wasn't over yet. The following day was pretty much carbon copy of this one, just that we spent the morning on our bikes. We went back to the Forks of the Credit with a stop in Belfountain for coffee (mocha for me) and a cookie. It was glorious.

I love following the Sky line

Look at that! Smiles two days in a row. Now only if I didn't have to go back to work the next day. But before that... one more thing I had to do because it's a duty and a privilege: voting in the federal election.

And that's it my friends. I'd rather leave this blog post with a smile because soon enough another frown will take its place. One last piece of news though, because it did take me a week to finish this post, we have now booked our stay in Mt Tremblant for 2016 and our first ever vacation in the Carribean in January, which has been 20 years in the making. Yep, in a few weeks we'll be celebrating 20 years of dating (and 18 of marriage). There is so much to look forward to in the next year, this smile better last a few more days.