It's Been A While...

since I've been on here but I am in full tri-geek mode now. I just found out I got accepted to Team Running Free! WOOOHOOOO! I'm very excited. I spent 3 hours riding on the computrainer today with Gary and a bunch of our other friends at Absolute Endurance. I tried to pace myself so I didn't die like I did the last time. It kind of worked. My legs were still really sore at the 2 hour mark but I don't think I was as bad as the last time and I still had enough left in the tank to push 230-301 watts for the last km, which is HUGE. It almost killed me to do it but I did. Then of course I get slagged for not working as hard as I should have on the bike because if I did I wouldn't have had anything left to push that wattage. Whatever. I do tend to take it a little easier on the bike just because I don't know how to pace myself properly and I don't want to blow up. I've blown up on the bike before and it's not pretty. Especially when you've still got a long way back. Gary keeps telling me it's ok for that to happen because each time it happens it will take longer for it to happen the next time. Bah. If it's happening every time I go out, I won't want to go out any more. Anyway, I get another chance to ride on the computrainer next week during the Spin-a-thon. Rick and Sue have put together a spinathon at Absolute Endurance to benefit Tri For A Cure again. Should be a really good time!

Rollin rollin rollin......

This past week was my first really good week of training in a long time. No interruptions, no missed workouts, nothing. I felt pretty good for almost all my workouts except maybe my tempo run on Thursday. I suppose that was to be expected after the leg workout I did the day before. My running is progressing nicely as well. I am getting close to where I was when I was training for Boston (sweet!) My cycling is taking a bit of a hit though I think but I'm sure my training focus will shift a bit as I move forward. Although it's hard to tell when you're riding inside on the trainer too. The real test will be when I hit the roads in April in South Carolina (can't WAIT). I'm feeling pretty good about where my fitness level is going. I'm even thinking about getting some additional swim coaching! I'm starting to take this a bit more seriously in terms of wanting to get faster. I also think some swim coaching will help me feel a bit more confident in the water. Weird I know. For someone born under a water sign, I seem to have a lot of issues with water.

Making Progress

I finally got my heart rate monitor back from the repair shop. I had been using Gary's old one for the last month or so and his doesn't have a running pace function so I haven't had any clue as to what my pace has been. I've been doing a lot of faster run workouts over the last month so I figured I'd gotten a bit faster. I had a tempo run last Thursday and I wore my shoe pod. Holy crap. I was turning over 4:25-4:30 k's for my tempo set. At one point I hit 4:00k's.(truth be told I was on a slight downhill). I couldn't believe it. I felt GREAT too. It felt good to run that fast (in a weird sort of way). I had another fast run yesterday and I managed to average 5:03 k's even thought it was really windy. I am really looking forward to running the Chilly Half in March. I was really hoping I"d run 1:45. I think that should be possible or at least close to that. I've got another 6 weeks or so before the race so I'm sure I'll be a little bit faster by that point. I just have to stay healthy. If I keep going like this then it might even be possible for me to run a sub 4 hour marathon at Ironman. MAYBE. But I'm happy to entertain the thought.

Tough Times

These last 2 weeks have been very difficult to maintain any sort of consistency. Work has been crazy and I've gotten sick...again. Although this one hasn't been as bad as the other 2 colds I've had. I got over it pretty quickly without having to take a day off work. It now seems to have traveled to my sinuses. I know I'm not completely better because my heart rate has been high the last 2 workouts I've done. It's so frustrating. I try to make sure I eat well, get 7-8 hours of sleep a night and take care of myself. I feel like I've taken several steps back in my training. I've got my first race coming up at the beginning of March (half marathon) and I hope I'm ready. I know I can do the distance, but I want to do it well (i.e FAST). I'm thinking a trip to the health food store may be in order. People keep talking about Oil of Oregano and how good it is for colds. I might have to pick some up. I'm willing to try almost anything to keep the colds at bay.

A New Beginning

It's New Year's Eve; this is always a time of reflection for me. This year has been a whirlwind to say the least. I've traveled a bit with work; seen places I'd never see (Clayoquat Wilderness Reserve), stayed at places I'd never stay at (The Saint Sulpice in Montreal) and experienced things I wouldn't normally get to experience (flying on a float plane). In that regard, it's been a very interesting year.
Physically & mentally, I took most of the year off. I did one race at the end of the year. I'm glad I took the break as I don't think I would have even contemplated another Ironman if I raced most of the summer. I started off in a good head space when I started my training. I've now hit a speed bump so to speak. Especially with my swimming. I have had very little motivation as of late--mainly over the holidays. All I've wanted to do is sit on the couch and read or play scrabble. I was starting to feel a little burnt out. The last 2 weeks have been really hard in terms of workouts; especially in the pool. I don't think I've ever done this much speed work in the pool. I don't like it. I don't like pushing myself in the pool. This is odd for me. Normally I am pretty hard headed when it comes to my workouts. I will push myself just to get the "I can't do it" out of my head. For some reason, I just don't do it now. I am not feeling motivated. I knew this was going to happen at some point, I just didn't figure it was going to happen so soon and I don't have a plan B. I guess the best course of action for me right now is to put my head down and just do the work, knowing (or at least hoping) that all the hard work will pay off. I know if I want to swim faster I have to work harder in the pool. I just don't like the discomfort of swimming hard. Probably because I am not in my element. Pushing myself when I'm running is easier. It still hurts but I'm more inclined to do the work. Hmmmm.....
Goal for next year: Stop whining and just do it. ha ha ha. Probably not going to happen. But I will make a concerted effort to get in the right head space to do the work.
Happy New Year!

The Week From Hell

I really shouldn't be surprised at the mayhem that always ensues at work around this time of year. Really. It always seems to catch me off guard. One minute I'm sipping a latte, leisurely working on a quote, the next thing you know I'm working 12 hour days and going a mile a minute. That's what happened this past week. 5 shoots in 4 days. Talk about losing my mind. I had a feeling this week was going to be bad when it started off with my clock being incorrectly set. I woke up 45 minutes later than I wanted to on Monday so I wasn't able to get to the gym. So I ran instead. Wednesday I had to swim at the Olympium. What a nightmare. Wednesday afternoon, my stomach was feeling funny. Wednesday night I was feeling pretty ill. I didn't eat dinner and went to bed early. I hardly slept. Thursday was difficult. It was also another 12 hour day. I missed a workout on Wednesday night, missed both workouts on Thursday and was still feeling crappy on Friday so I didn't do anything then either. I FINALLY started to feel better yesterday afternoon. Gary thinks I had mild food poisoning. I had sushi at lunch on Wednesday and he seems to think that was the culprit. No one else got sick though so I'm not sure. All I can say is THANK GOD I only have 4 days of work left.

Stop the Insanity

I have been a whirlwind of activity this past couple of weeks. Work has gone from zero to HOLY CRAP in a matter of days. I had an easy week this week which made the insanity a little easier to deal with. I only managed to miss one workout and that was the only swim I was supposed to do this week. Oh well. This week doesn't look much better in terms of work. I have 5 shoots happening this week; 2 on Monday, one on Tuesday, one of Wednesday and one on Thursday. AHH!! Thank GOD, the Christmas holidays are coming. We're closed for almost 10 days. I can't wait. I'm counting the days till I can sleep in.