Monday, December 15, 2014

Plan B

Who says triathletes can handle a little hiccup in the training schedule?

Sigh...
My last few weeks have sucked. Honestly, December is off to a bad start training wise. After the fantastic news of making the SOAS Racing team I thought for sure it was a good omen. Well I'll be honest I wasn't feeling very motivated for December. It was a bit rainy the first week in December, my coach reminded me I haven't really started my Ironman training yet. I'm still in the post/pre season mode where things don't matter too much. So I started feeling better about myself and went on this fabulous bike ride.


I even had some great company join me.


We got out for an easy 90min ride and it was just what the doctor ordered, I felt so much better and decided I was back on track. I mean who wouldn't be motivated with a view like this:


So last week I got to my 1st swim session, got on the bike rollers to then have to be told I have to give them back. Unfortunately they were lent to me to try and just as I mastered letting go of the wall I had to return the crazy hard but super addicting rollers. Insert another big sigh. That's okay though, I still have the wind trainer and since the weather turned into a torrential downpour I can get through this, yes I can...

Wednesday comes along and it's my group run day. These are usually a moderate workout and I always enjoy them. Well, my little munchkin comes home from school sick. So this means no group run. In fact there was no run for me that day. This is where there is another sigh.
That's okay there's always tomorrow. So what happens when your kid is still sick? You just start doing whatever you can. At this point I am doing some light core work and strength training in my living room whenever she lets go of me. My poor little munchkin. So this is when I decide the week is shot and as always my kids come first. So I accept the fact that very little training will get done this week but I will definitely get my weekend workouts in because the hubby will be home and he can help out!
Can we insert one more sigh? 
So Friday night ended up the hardest for my little monkey. I thought Wednesday was bad. The poor thing was up all night with cough and fever so of course I couldn't sleep. So when my alarm went off at 7 to get up for my Saturday group run and I had actually just falling asleep 2 hours before I decided that:
a) I shouldn't be driving on only 2 hours of sleep
b) I probably shouldn't be running on only 2 hours of sleep (although I'm pretty sure all my best races are done on said minimal sleep)
c) My kid is still sick and is crying for me
d) I just want to crawl bak into bed and sleep for a month.

So I had to tell my coach I will be missing yet another workout this week. The good news is she gave me a workout to try and do on my own if I did manage to peel myself away from the sick one.
I actually did get out for a run and I'm glad I did because it was so beautiful out and the fresh air helped me cope with my training failures of the week. 
By Sunday I was feeling rather defeated in the world of triathlon training but I told my husband I absolutely had to get out for my bike and run. The girls had swim club and my littlest was starting to perk up. I was optimistic that the stars were aligned and I was going to get out for my one and only day of training.
One more sigh? The poor kid was still sick. So I got creative. She stayed home with me while big sis went off to swim club with her dad. I set up the bike on the wind trainer and had my good buddy "D" come over and even though it killed me to be inside on such a gorgeous day we hammered a workout while the sick one layed on the couch watching a movie. At least I got a workout done. Except my fur baby didn't get the memo about good behaviour while mom does her bike workout.
Yup, she had some fun with the Christmas tree and decapitated and killed one of the angel decorations. Someones going to hell and it isn't me.

I still needed to get a run done but this I would have to wait on until the fam was back from swimming. 
So once they got back I took full advantage of the amazing weather.

I actually managed to get my 70min of running in. I had to go solo since all my running buddies were heading out at our usual time but I brought some good music with me and had one of the best runs of my life. I obviously needed to run some things out.

So moral of the story is shit happens and you can't beat yourself up over it. I was able to get in a few workouts but I also missed a few. My family is very important to me and sometimes I have to give up some training time for them and that's okay. In fact it felt great to spend hours on the couch getting cuddles with my girls. 
Being a mom, and triathlete while working isn't easy. It brings many challenges into our lives but I've become very good at problem solving and when I do manage to squeeze everything in I feel like wonder woman. We all have our battles but life would be so boring if we did. 
Be strong, because you can.

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

These Are A Few Of My Favourite Things

It's that time of year. Us crazy triathletes write down every possible need to get us to the start line. I'm sure Santa cringes when he receives my letter of more and more gear. I'll be honest, I don't really need anything this year but a girl must dream and there is always something that catches my eye.
I love doing my fav things because I love sharing my little finds with all of you lovely racers out there, and lets be honest... I'm a total gear head.

This year Christmas came early for me. I made the Soas Racing Team and that was enough for me. I am still relishing in the fabulous news and can't wait to get me race kit. That being said there is still some awesome Soas gear that I think everyone needs!!! 
So first up:
This gorgeous new design from Soas is perfect! I love the beautiful colour combination. Rumour has it that they are working on running tights. This makes me squeal with delight. I know they will be super cute!!! Also new to Soas is the sports bra (pictured with Tri Suit). Now regardless of my affiliation with Soas I absolutely LOVE their Tri Suits. They are so comfortable, they fit true to size and gosh we all look so cute in them. 

Next up is the TYR Women's Torque Lite Swim Skin.
Sorry I stole this image off of their website and it's not a great pic. Anyways, with me doing Penticton this year I need to look at swim skin options. Last years race was not wetsuit legal and of course this is the next best option. I don't mind swimming without a wetsuit but I don't love swimming in a trisuit, I've done it and I feel a little drag and I don't need drag when I'm going to be swimming for 4 km's. Triathlete sports seems to have a decent price on them.

My next item is probably the highest on my wish list. The Adamo Time Trial Saddle has come highly recommended by a few people. Apparently it will make my 180km ride feel much more comfortable. Apparently your bike seat is not supposed to give you grief. 
My bike builder thinks these saddles are the ugliest around but hey I'm all about comfort after the 80km mark.

Another item that is definitely not needed but would be fun to have is the Stages Power Meter.
It's still unknown whether this fun gadget is as good as the regular power meters that are twice as expensive but for someone like me who has never actually used one I'm guessing Stages is probably the best way to go. Plus, you can switch it between bikes.


Another fun item that isn't necessary is these alloy bike rollers.
I had the opportunity to try some rollers out and they are so bloody hard BUT I could definitely feel my riding improve. I was out for a road ride on Sunday and while climbing a hill I could feel how much smoother my pedal stroke was. 
Okay this just got switched to a must have.

Last on my list is the Grid Mini Foam Roller. I use a roller but it's ginormous. These mini's are awesome to throw into your bag and take it with you anywhere, a great stocking stuffer I might add.

So there you have it. My wish list for 2014. I hope Santa is good to all of you and if you have any fun items for your wish list I would love to hear about it in the comments.

*The links may not be specific to the brand but is more where I found the best price for Canadians. 

Friday, December 5, 2014

Good things to come

2015 hasn't even begun and I know it is going to be a fabulous year. Heck, anything will be better then 2014. 
After being so sick for over 3 months, then getting a stress fracture and then having the worst race of my life at Lake Stevens (blog post HERE) and to top it off home life got sucked into the pathetic year as well... really, 2015 is already looking better.
So what makes 2015 so awesome? Well, I just got word this week that I got selected to be a part of one of the greatest female triathlon teams ever!!!


That's right, I am officially on Team Soas!!! I am so honoured to be a part of such a great group of strong determined women. Not to mention they make the best triathlon suits for women. I can't wait to show you what will be on my Christmas wish list this year and it's not just because I'm a Soas girl now.
Second up is that I am signed up for my very first Iron Distance race. I guess this could go really bad but I've never actually done the full distance so I've already embraced that it will be double the pain as what Lake Stevens was and I'm okay with that.


So right now I sit back and enjoy my training. Luckily nothing too difficult and lots of fun activities. I've gotten to spend some great time with good friends that also serve as great training partners. I'm feeling so lucky to have everything settle into place right now. I'm feeling so content and happy. The true key to success!

Next week I will post my fav things Christmas wish list and hopefully some training pictures. I'm not big on taking selfies of me training so I rely heavily on my training buddies to snap the photos for me. 
I'm also thinking of starting to recruit my buddies to do the annual polar bear swim. So be prepared my friends.