Give it a go

Last week SV pulled out the heart rate monitor for me to wear before we did a hard ride on the trainer, just so we could see where I was riding at...No big deal I thought, I trained with a HR monitor back in 2004 as I was training for Ironman, I figured I was pretty good at knowing where I was at and pushing the correct zone....Boy was I wrong.

Turns out I don't do what I need to do while I am on the bike...I like a certain area and even though I feel like I am working hard, the HR monitor betrayed me, I have been in the aerobic zone and not a bit higher. SV pushed me on the hard ride and another ride to hit the target zone for the workouts and I will admit that I cried like a little girl, yep big fat tears, lol. I am such a wuss.

It was a huge wake up call for me...for some reason I am able to push myself to the point of discomfort in the pool and on the run but I have never been able to do that on the bike...I guess I just back off and stay where it is manageable...maybe it is the years of just going out for a bike ride...even last year on the time trials I would settle into what I could maintain..never really going for it...maybe it is the thought of having to save something for the run...or maybe I just haven't figured out how to put power into the bike, but I don't seem to have the switch that I can turn on while swimming or running...SV is excited to have me finally start pushing myself on the bike and while the athlete in me is interested in the possibility of pushing hard and finding that next "gear" so to speak there is a huge part of me that is dreading what is coming...man this is going to hurt...So we shall see if this makes a difference...maybe I will finally get some calf muscles, lol!

Winter

I have never been a fan of winter...probably because I hate being cold and it has been tough to stay warm this year! We reached -6 degrees this week and it was "nice" but I guess after nearly 10 days of bitter-34 degrees anything will seem nice. I have gone soft living here...I used to love running outside in the winter and could manage the temps as long as I was bundled, but I have learned the hard way that running up here is a lot different then running in S.Western Ontario...the amount of snow and the lack of road cleaning (melting and refreezing) makes the roads pretty uneven and dangerous. I strained my ankle while out for a run with SV and MD, had to take a week off and let it heal... I decided to make SV happy and I gave up running outside until the roads are cleared and have been hitting the treadmill a few times a week with him...the bad part though is that I am finding myself doing hard runs in the middle of January, a time when slow and steady has always been all that I could do...so I guess either way I am in for challenging runs, at least on the treadmill the worst that can happen is that I fly off the back...lol, I'm just klutzy enough:)

Even though I have gone soft and taken my running indoors, I have expanded my winter activities, up here that is easy to do, so much snow so many things to try...we have been downhill skiing a few time with the kidlets. After my first attempt last year I wasn't sure that this sport was for me, but I am happy to report that I have improved a great deal (not hard to do eh Kim!) and the kids really enjoy it. We are having fun and I am even considering buying myself some skis...can you imagine me owning something not tri related, lol...but living up here it just makes sense...although you won't see me on a snowmobile anytime soon (they make me nervous when I see them out on the lake...notice all the tracks in the pics below!)

Between the skiing and taking my running inside, I have to admit I am enjoying winter more this year than I ever have...it is almost bearable...and it really is beautiful from inside the condo looking out...but I would still rather be back here...

New Year

Hey there, hope that 2011 is off to a great start for everyone... I have been trying to decide if I should continue with this blog...which began as a log of my training and experience for Ultraman and the short course races I have done since then...over the holidays I questioned why I still had this blog...I have no desire to do anything "ultra" anytime soon (more on that in a moment) but I have people in my life that think anything I do is "ultra" and since I am not as close geographically as I once was...this is blog gives me a chance to share with them what I have been up to and hopefully makes me seem a little closer! Now I have some catching up to do!!!

SV and I headed to Hawaii back in November...a dream destination of mine for sure. I remember watching Ironman Hawaii on tv and thinking that when I was done swimming I was going to do that...which is where this all kind of started. I qualified for Kona back in 2004 but didn't go, a decision I was never disappointed in (maybe because that year the winds were pretty intense, lol). My parents have been to Hawaii on vacation several times and it is their favourite spot in the world and to be honest it is now mine as well. We spent 3 days on the big Island and I fell in love with Kona...having seen it on tv and heard so many stories about this place it was amazing to be there.

I had always thought if I went to Kona it would be to race, but I no longer have that desire, we connected with some Ultraman friends that were on the big Island getting ready for the World Championships, it was fun to see people that had been such a large part of my experience in Penticton and to hear about the UMH course...they tried to talk me back into the long races and part of my brain did start turning again to be honest...we swam the Ironman course with Gary and Amber (she won UMC'09 and 2 weeks later went on to crush the UMH competition and record!!) it was a beautiful swim, however, it didn't make me want to swim 10km in it!

SV and I did a few runs while on the big Island and I suffered like no other, the heat was intense that first run and I thought I was going to die in paradise...but a quick dip in the ocean and I was feeling better. Our last run in Kona pretty much sealed the deal for me on the ultra racing...we were running along the highway, to our left was black lava rocks to our right a few palm trees and the distant view of the ocean...we were out for a 12km run...at the same moment we both said there is no way we could do this for 84km...84km with nothing but lava rock, heat and distant ocean and a single road...I have no idea how I managed in Penticton, it had to be my great crew, but the turning in my brain shut off there and then...I no longer like the idea of doing something for 9+ hours, let alone more than 20!

So what is my plan for 2011?? To be honest I haven't quite figured that one out yet...a lot of changes have happened in the last 2 years and life is finally settled down and each day is better than the day before. SV and I have thrown a few ideas around for the race season but we have avoided committing to any races...still not 100% sure what we are going to tackle this year but I know we will have fun training together whatever it is we finally come up with!

Nature/Nurture?

I started swimming at the age of 5...I think it was something that I always loved to do...and I did a lot of it and I still love it just as much now as I did when I competed competitively. I continue to swim and coach and even when I take a little time away from it I always find my way back... However, swimming is a hard sport...more than any non-swimmer could ever realize, sure it looks easy and fun but those who compete know how hard it actually can be and how much time and commitment it actually takes...for these reasons I have never pushed my girls to become swimmers, it is one of the things I had hoped they would express an interest in, but it was never something that I made them do...I wanted it to be something they discovered on their own, even though it is still a large portion of what I do as an athlete and a coach.

I am happy to tell you that both my girls are loving swimming and doing a great job at it.

Kayla is learning a lot and having fun being a part of the Minnows program at our club team and it is awesome to see her so comfortable in the water, she even dove off the diving block the other day! She is still in the developmental part of the club but she has been working hard and told me she wants to move to the next lane which is the group above her, goal setting at 7 years old...awesome!

And then there is Bre...my parents and a few of my old coaches have told me she looks just like I did at that age, down to the same butt wiggle in the freestyle! She has taken to the pool in such a big way, she never wants to miss workout and was asking me to move her up to the next group so that she could swim 4 times a week... I told her that her coaches were the ones who would decide if she was ready for that and that she would have to work hard if she wanted to advance and that she could do anything she wanted (the other coaches have been impressed with her hard work and the enthusiasm she has)...well this past weekend we had our home MUSAC meet and she performed brilliantly. It is fun to watch her cheer on her team mates and race with no fear..we had one moment of nervousness before her 400 free (which she had swam at a meet a month earlier and lost her goggles...but she dropped 21 seconds and didn't vomit so we were all good!!) I am impressed with how quickly she is improving and how natural she looks in the water...and her hard work is paying off... Coach Mark pulled Bre aside after her 100 fr (which she rocked a 1:35.77, at age 10) that she will be moving up to the Red group in January! The smile on her face after he told her that made me so proud, my kid's a swimmer! Now I think I should head to the pool because Coach Mark and Craig have told Bre that she will be faster than her mom soon...and at the rate she is going, I think she just might do it!!

Fall Running

I think Fall running is my favourite time to run...I love the cold brisk temperatures, the beautiful trees and heading out for a run just because...not training for anything but just getting outdoors before it gets too cold to enjoy it.

I took almost 3 weeks off running and got back into the routine of doing yoga and I have to admit I was itching to get back out there...the past couple of weeks I have had some great runs. SV and I are trying to run as much outside as we can because you can feel winter approaching and running up here in the winter isn't always the safest thing and SV is slowly pulling me towards the treadmill for the winter...so for now we have been getting in some good mileage.

I never really enjoyed running, it was always just something that I had to do, when I was a swimmer it was part of our dryland workouts/cross-training... when I became a triathlete it was something I had to do 3 times a week because that is what you were supposed to do... not until I got injured in 2005 did I realize how much I enjoy running and since then I have found that I love to run... something about the sound of your feet on the pavement, the sound of your breathing... the high you get after finishing... the fatigue in the body a few hours after that same run that makes the couch look so inviting.... and the craving a hamburger or a steak just because you ran x kilometers!

Running is probably the best stress reliever for me, something that has really come in handy the past 18 months... nothing like a hard run to forget about the things that were nagging the mind! I have been enjoying increasing my mileage the last few weeks and SV and I are going to continue to build it up for the next little while just because and we've had some friends joining in... making the fall running even more enjoyable.

One last thing that I love about the fall is the friends that have been running in fall marathons and kicking some major butt! It is so inspiring to see how far running has brought them and the goals they have reached. So impressive and motivating...I can't wait to head out tomorrow!!

Happy Turkey Day

happy thanksgiving!

hopefully everyone was able to be with loved ones today... and even if you weren't able to be with all of your loved ones, hopefully you were able to realize all that you have to be grateful for!

i am so thankful for so many things! i have a strong loving family, 2 of the sweetest little ladies that make my world go round..a guy that i am pretty smitten with and friends and loved ones that make me glad to be me!

Yoga

I started doing Yoga back in 2002...my big sis got me to start doing it after my first Ironman and it got me through my second pregnancy, in those 8 years I have been fairly regular at maintaining a steady practice...at times life has gotten overwhelming and I don't make it to the yoga mat as often as I would like but I always manage to find my way back... the strange thing is that yoga always makes me feel relaxed and strong and smooth but when life gets busy or stressful I somehow neglect the mat... using the kid free time to head out for a bike ride or run rather than getting my ohm on.... But I have decided to make the effort to spend more time on the taking care of me part... I have been enjoying some down time since Budapest... heading out for some bike rides to enjoy the beautiful fall colours, I have taken 2 weeks off running and thought I would let some of the aches recover from a fun summer of doing new things. I have gotten back on the yoga mat and will spend the next 30 days getting reacquainted with some of my favourite poses.... 30 days to remember why I love it and feeling how loose my body can be when I give it the chance to stretch deeply....