How Far I've come

Wow, just over a year ago I did the 30 runs in 30 days.... so much has happened since then and today I began the experience again. It kinda feels like a new start and I love that feeling!

I will be blogging each day about my runs. I know not all of them are going to be enjoyable but it is still something I really enjoyed last year and as Bob said "Just getter done"

I headed out today in -24 windchill on a snow covered road. I decided to do this road because it lets me just run out however far and turn around... very little thinking required. Halfway out I realized that I hadn't brought my camera along, so I will try to remember for tomorrows run... in case I see something fun while I am out there!

It was a great run, not fast because of the snow ruts and ice but it was still a nice challenging run. Finished 11.92 km this morning fully bundled up and it was a great day out there, the sun was shining brightly. I loved it. I think I may just make this 30 day challenge a yearly thing!

Ultra Distance Triathlete of the Year

Wow, what a way to start 2010. I had been informed that Triathlon Canada Magazine wanted a picture of me from the Ultraman event photographer and there had been a little write up about Ultraman in the November issue so I was looking forward to seeing the new issue when it came out but to be honest I wasn't sure what I was going to be in there for. I was thinking maybe they were going to do a story about Ultraman....
I woke up yesterday to a text message from my friend and crew member Susan who told me I was the Ultra distance triathlete of the year. Pretty cool, I have to admit. Wolfgang was named the male ultra distance triathlete of the year as well, which I find very awesome as we spent a good portion of the first marathon running together and he is a great guy.
It is an honour to have been selected and to have my name and picture published in a magazine. It also is highly motivating, I hold no ambition of becoming the ultra distance triathlete of 2010 but it certainly is a nice acknowledgement to have and something to get me going on these cold and dreary days that we are having.
If nothing else it put a smile on my face and reminded me how proud I am of accomplishing that race in a very difficult year of my life!

hmmmmn....Yoga...

Why is it that something that has the ability to do such good for the body and the mind is one of the first things to be cast aside as things get hectic/stressful? I have been doing yoga since 2002, when my sister introduced me to the beauty of it. In the years since I have kept up with a healthy yoga practice, at times only doing yoga and no swim, bike or run. However, in the last several months yoga completely fell off my radar. I did none with my Ultraman training and through all the stress of the months that are now behind me, I couldn't bring myself to be alone with my yoga mat.... maybe it was the knowledge that my mind wasn't ready to focus on the stillness or maybe it was because the situation was just to volatile to let myself try to find some peace.

The interesting thing about the human body is that it will allow you to ignore it for only so long. It will allow you to pile up physical and mental stress to it's breaking point, protesting politely and when you still don't give it what it needs it makes you pay attention. Luckily, I am getting better at listening to my body and while I did ignore the hamstring/butt pain for awhile I am giving my body what it was wanting. The treatments from Dr. Peggy are working (see her website Shin Splints Solutions, link in my favourite things, for more info) slowly getting back into running and most importantly I got back on the yoga mat.

I can't say that it has been the most pleasant experience getting back to the mat, the body is tight and has forgotten the sweetness that can come from certain poses, but I know I will get back to the point that I can relax and breathe deeply in any pose. I am noticing an improvement in the injured area and that is motivating me to keep my body relaxed and has me coming back to the mat.

I am also feeling a little less blah as I was in my last post. It is amazing how breathing deeply can help you put the past truly behind you and help you focus on the future. My brain is feeling a little less cluttered and unfocused. I have been able to slow down and realize that the past year of my life was a very stressful one but I have survived it and I am happy, I feel like me. I am closer to my family than I have been in years and I have the best parents and sister anyone could ever hope for, my girls are healthy and happy and I do my very best for them and they love me "around the world and back again". I am in a healthy and respectful relationship with a fabulous man, he makes me very happy and I know who my true friends are and love them all dearly for their friendship. When I am on the yoga mat I focus on all these good thoughts and no longer worry that the stress and drama will overwhelm me because I have found my way back to the sweetness and stillness of yoga (and I won't let it be cast aside again)!

Holiday Blahs

So I am feeling the holiday blahs lately, maybe it's the weather, maybe it is the nagging hamstring/butt discomfort but I am struggling with my motivation level this week. Weird how one day I can rock out a solid 2 hour trainer ride and then the next day an hour just about drives me insane.
I think the biggest thing I am struggling with right now is what is next. I have been getting the question lately of what my plans are for 2010...what's my next race? The new ultra athletes that I have become friends with are planning epic 2010 and sending me links and race info and trying to get me to commit to something and as tempting as some of the races sound, nothing is making the butterflies start swimming.
I have a desire to try some new things and SV has planted the bug in my brain for some shorter races and to be honest that kind of excites me because it is something I have never done before and I can't wait to see how I can do(I have done some shorter races in preparation for Ironman training, but the last non-Ironman or longer race I did was in 2005). Short fast stuff will be hard and I will need to learn how to pace myself, how to do a transition and how to suffer for 1-5 hours. I like the challenges and the uncertainty of having to go fast from the start and a little nervous because I know there will be suffering, but at least it will be over quicker. We have talked about a few races and my plan is to commit to one or two of these races before the end of the month, which I know will help with my motivation level.
However, I think what it is that has me a little restless is that along with some of my ultra friends, I too am trying to find that next race. The one that makes the butterflies swarm, the palms start to sweat and the heart to beat a little bit faster. You know that feeling...the one that makes you go "wow this is crazy but I really want to see if I can do it".

Pain in the @ss...

I am sad to report that I am taking a few days off running and biking. Yep it's true, ignoring the pain in my butt didn't make it go away (imagine that). I finally got in to see Dr. Peggy and there is something going on there, she told me to take it easy for the next few days, until she can see me again. As most of you probably understand, being told to not run or bike only makes you want to do it more and frustrates you because you can't head out. However, I am forcing myself to be a good patient because I know that if I don't listen to Dr.Peggy and try to keep training that I will only make it worse and be out for longer. Honestly, the pain has been making itself known for a couple of weeks now, giving me plenty of time to do something about it but instead I figured I would be able to "stretch" it out. So now I am paying the price for not listening and running hard and hilly while it was protesting. So for the remainder of the week I will be in the pool swimming up and down and taking it easy on my butt! (Dr's orders!!)

Base in Paradise

10 days in Laguna Beach, California at the Ritz-Carlton. Seriously what can be better than that? SV and I travelled to LA for a conference for his work. It is the most beautiful area I have ever been to and this was my first vacation that wasn't centered around a race. To be honest I was a little nervous leading up to it because I wasn't sure what I was going to do for 10 days. I am not one of those people that relaxes well, or so I thought...

We arrived to blue skies and warm weather and it only got warmer every day that we were there. Our plan was to attend the functions that SV had to attend but then spend the rest of our time doing as we pleased.

We headed out the first morning for a run after a nice American breakfast at the Ritz, thinking we would do a nice and easy 12km run. What we didn't realize was how hilly the area was.

What started out being a nice easy run turned into 1km hill repeats! Seriously, 1km of climbing to the top of a hill followed by descending and starting the next hill. I got to the 6km point feeling like I was going to be sick. I was huffing and puffing so hard and I didn't know how I was going to make it back to the hotel. At one point Steve made it through the light and I didn't. As I waited I could feel my breakfast making it's way up.... I have never had such a feeling of discomfort during a run. To make each run even sweeter the Ritz is situated at the top of a bluff maybe 300 m in length but steep as anything, and after 12km it was torture (this picture is of the path to the top.... the finish being up at the 4 palm trees--people would actually take a shuttle up to the hotel--wimps!!)

We were able to get out for 4 runs while we were there.... each run was 10km of

hills and 2 km of flat. My body is feeling this unfortunately. I have had a nagging hamstring thing for about a week before we came here and by our last run I was in some pain. I think that I will take a few days to try to work through whatever is going on there, however a massage and the TP ball aren't doing much to help with the pain I am having, so I think it is time that I turn myself over to Dr. Peggy.

SV and I also wanted to swim while we were here. California in November..... we had to swim outdoors. We had looked at the hotel pool and contemplated doing some workouts in there

but we decided it wasn't going to be much of a workout.... so we searched out area pools and were happy to find the Laguna Beach High School and Community Center Pool.

It was a great outdoor pool and we were able to go and swim 3 times while we were there. There is something so wonderful about swimming outdoors that those of us in Canada don't get the opportunity to experience enough. Our swims were great and we both are feeling so strong in the water. It would have been great to do an ocean swim but neither of us brought our wetsuits and swimming in a heated pool just seemed like the better option.

It was a great vacation, we were able to spend time with some great people..... enjoyed some parties, and there was dancing. The food and restaurants that we found while we were there were absolutely yummy.... every meal was to die for. So even though we were doing some intense workouts (at the start of our base training) we balanced it nicely with some indulging in the good life. Ahhhh......

Swimming.

I have always been a swimmer, as far back as I can remember I have always swam. I got into swimming because my big sister started on the swim team and I wanted to as well. My parents weren't swimmers but they did enjoy the water. Kim and I spent most of our years swimming (and I was pretty good) but over the past 11 years, I started to lose touch with swimming, it was more something I did just to train for triathlon not because I loved it. I didn't focus on the swim because I wanted to bike and run and my swim compared to other triathletes was pretty good.

It also had a lot to do with swimming alone, it was pretty hard to motivate myself to swim when swimming beside a lady doing sidestroke or head up breaststroke. Through the years I have had a few people that I have been able to swim with occasionally and we would get in some good quality workouts, and even a few times I had Kim coach me when I joined her team for a few swims, but for the most part I would swim on my own and it was easier to do long easy mileage than to push myself to go hard.
Lately I have taken to the water on a regular basis and am realizing how much that I missed it. Maybe it is being around swimmers all the time, with the club team and master swimmers but I find myself wanting to go for a swim over going for a run. It is such a part of me and I am happy to be feeling like a swimmer again.
SV and I have been swimming together and it is nice to have someone who can challenge me in the water, we have been doing some quality sets that I would never have done on my own before and I am starting to feel strong in the pool. I have been swimming more regularly than I did all summer while training for Ultraman, which I find a little entertaining, who knows what my swim time could have been if I actually would have done some swim training, but hey life happens.
It is just nice to be motivated to swim again and to have that love back for the water and I notice as my love for the water comes back that I am able to help my athletes figure out the parts of their strokes that are holding them back, all in all it is a win win situation.
I am enjoying the peaceful sound of being in the water, smelling of chlorine, the dry skin, diving into a cold pool and the insane hunger that comes after a hard swim workout. It's been a long road but it is nice to be back "home" with my oldest friend.