Tuesday, November 18, 2014

and you just keep plugging along

Well the winter season is upon us and although I do live in the warmest part of Canada it has been bloody cold here. It's official, I have become an Island wimp. Seriously, the other morning I met up with my lovely running buddy out at the Trans Canada Trestle and I swear to god it was 8 degrees colder over there. It didn't matter how hard I ran I could not warm up.
Last week was the annual Thetis 20km relay. Each team can have as little as 1 person or up to 4 to do the 4 loops around Theits lake. I thought I would be brave and wear shorts...

 
Holy moly it was cold out there. I thought I would be "cool" and wear shorts. I sure was cool. Took me 3 days to warm back up.


The sun was shinning but it really was cold. I'm not even convinced it got above 0 that day. Regardless of the weather it was a great time as usual. I was on a team with the group I train with- Island Striders youngsters.
Love my training group. In hindsight we should have got a photo or the rest of the team (there were 2 other teams that were part of our group.

Although the Thetis relay was all fun and games I am still hammering out light training. I'm doing 3 days a week strength training, a couple of easy bike rides and swims and of course really focusing on my running right now. I'm hoping that a full marathon will seem easy come August.

Last week I posted a video of me trying out some bike rollers that got loaned out to me. I was warned they are a little tricky at first but I had no idea that I might end up in the ER from them. If you get a chance have a look of the video on my Facebook page. You'll probably get a good laugh out of it. 
This morning I took my second attempt on them and I'm not going to say it was any easier but I managed to survive the event so I'm going to say it was successful! 

Now I have to admit the last few weeks have been a bit of a roller coaster for me training wise. I keep  getting anxiety thinking what have I done? I am signed up for  one of the hardest races around and I'm already tired from just riding my bike around the block. What have I got myself into. Honestly, I have had a few freak outs and I'm pretty sure there are going to be a lot more. I'm getting a lot of people telling me how I'm going to be able to do it all. Training, family, work. I really don't know but what I do know is life isn't always easy and it is all about how you deal. So I find myself searching for inspiration, reminding me that I am capable of whatever my heart desires.


I think that poster says a lot! Really, all it comes down to is you just do it. So for all of those people out there that question big dreams, remember us big dreamers have days of doubt (lots of them actually) and the last thing we need is questioning about doing it. What we actually need is inspiration and support that tells us we can do it and we will do it. 

On a lighter note, our dog and bunny are getting acquainted with each other. The crazy thing is that bunny has no idea just how dangerous this situation could be.






Monday, November 10, 2014

Although I am only in my prep phase of training I have already dove deep into my training but not just physically. Since my weekly training hours are pretty minimal right now I am taking advantage of my "spare" time and doing a lot of research. Because I only have a running coach I am still in charge of my cycling and swimming. So I am trying to ring the master plan as to what is going to work for me. A few weeks ago I came across a post on Facebook about a triathlon summit. What is a triathlon summit you ask? Well, someone brilliant has put together an only event where 23 leading experts come together and deliver fabulous talks and discussions about triathlon. All of this accessible by computer. 


I got my first taste this weekend by listening to Matt Dixion (I just read his book too), Chris McCormack, Andrea Reid (I'm going to listen to this one later), and Joanna Zeiger. 
I have to tell you, this idea is absolutely brilliant. Not only is this free but I can listen to the talks at my convenience. 
Matt Dixon's talk really resinated with me because I just finished reading his book last week. So it all tied everything together. Lots of great tips and ideas to put my Ironman training plan to work and pul it all together. 
I am most excited to listen to Mirinda Carfrae's coach Siri Lindley. 

So does filling your brain with all of this knowledge help or hinder your training plan? Although many coaches take different approaches you can still steer yourself on a route that you tend to follow.   However that doesn't mean that each of these talks don't send you away with something knew that might add to your training benefits. While listening to Chris McCormack's talk he brought up feelings while racing. There were definitely some ideas I took away from that. 
So what am I taking away from all of this knowledge thus far? 
Rest is best! 

Seriously, they key to great training and racing is ensuring adequate rest and recovery. That being said I am officially on a rest week this week!!!!! 
So with even less training hours this week I will indulge in even more of these talks. 
I highly recommend checking out the Triathlon World Summit here:






Sunday, November 2, 2014

And so it begins

So I just completed week 2 of my journey into the wonderful world of the Ironman distance. August 30th 2015 I will conquer this ungodly distance and hopefully prove it ain't so bad... GULP!
Already a few hiccups including getting a wicked cold/flu that had me sleeping 12+ a night, missing more then half of my first week of training and then part of this past week. I held my own though, and the minute I felt better I was out pounding the pavement.
I've learned very quickly that this is indeed a journey. I am learning a ton and trying to find balance between family, work, training and friends. Luckily my family is so super supportive (ask me if they still are in 6 months). Work has been fabulous and also supportive and training is still pretty low key... for now. Friends are routing for me. I have my swimming buddies, my strength training buddies, my cycling buddies and of course my running buddies. Everything seems to be working out. My biggest concern is will it last? As the miles increase will I still have buddies excited to join? I have a feeling I might need to start bribing them.
So today I got the dreaded question... how do you do it all? I get asked this question often. With having to work, raise kids, have a husband that goes away for work part of the week how do you fit it all in and keep everyone happy? I'll be honest, not everyone is happy all of the time. This is why I plan, coordinate, schedule and reschedule to my best abilities. It's not always easy, and I can't always make it work. I prioritize everything and my calendar is chock full of myself, my husband, and both kids activities, work and training schedules. I kid you not, I know exactly where I will need to be in 3 months from now. I also get asked when do we do family activities. Well, we are avid campers and we schedule our camping trips when I'm on rest weeks so that I can do a nice easy run wherever we are and the kids hop on their bikes and join me. Or we all go for a bike ride together. You just make it work.


So bottom line is nope it's not easy but if you love what you do, you just make it happen. No matter what life gets busy and it's all in how you handle it.
So now I jump into week 3 which by the way this is all just pre-season stuff. I don't even start my "real training" until February. Don't be surprised if my tone has a sudden change once I'm out doing 6 hour bike rides... by myself.