TT

So I did my first TT last week... The Muskoka Cycling Club is putting on a series of TT this summer and I was excited to do a time trial but also wasn't really sure "how" to do it. My race in Binbrook left me feeling a little disappointed in my biking because I didn't really pace it right, but I guess that is the beauty of learning to do something new.

The day of the time trial turned out to be a rough one for me mentally as I had a pretty emotional conversation and despite trying to be strong sometimes things said still hurt and upset me...I was thinking of not going to the event as my motivation level was low but SV got me going and told me I would feel better and all I had to do was go hard for 23.6 km...at that moment there was nothing I wanted to do less, lol. MD and KM were great and gave me big hugs and I figured what the hell...there was going to be a beer at the end.

They sent people off 1 minute apart...there was no real order, we just went in the order we arrived..I went 8th and started one minute behind SV...which I realized wasn't that great because it made me 2 minutes behind the next person that I was trying to catch, as I knew I wouldn't be catching SV. lol

It ended up being a very interesting event. There was 2 laps on the Parkway and I really liked the route. They did a great job with organizing it and made sure the course was clearly marked. I pushed hard and it was fun to see SV blazing by all the other riders. It was very different from anything I am used to and I did enjoy it. I was able to work out some of my frustration on that ride and at the end I knew I had put in a good effort and the day was saved, lol..

I ended up placing 4th overall and was the first place woman which was cool, but I was still 4 minutes behind SV (he won by over 30 seconds), but my average speed was higher than I thought I would be able to ride at and I am pretty happy with it.

I look forward to doing a few more of these events this summer and seeing if I can improve on my first attempt.

Hi There....

It's great to see you...I am sorry it has been so long...wow can't believe how busy life can get.

I am back into the grind of school...we have midterms next week, wow is it going fast but so far I really like this semester a lot of great things are being taught and the teachers are extremely good.

The girlies are doing great..changing all the time, the youngest got her hair cut and looks so grown up as she heads into her 7th birthday...my baby is going to be 7, wow,hard to believe...My oldest is getting super excited as she counts down the days until the 23rd, she gets done school early and is going to camp for 3 weeks...I on the other hand am feeling a little anxious about it, I know that she is going to have an amazing time but 3 weeks away and not being able to talk to her for the first week...ok deep breaths..the camp is supposed to be great and I am excited for her..I am just sad for me, lol!

Other than that things are good, often feel like there isn't enough hours in the day to get done what I would like to get done but I guess that is normal. I think back to this time last year and it is nice to see that life has gone on and we are surviving, the hardest times are behind us and I know that I am a stronger person than I was before...

A few years back I had a conversation with some people about getting older and I clearly remember saying that I was looking forward to age 34 and 35, I wasn't sure why but I thought those would be great years...interestingly enough, 10 days before I am to turn 34, it all makes sense...I am finally happy and getting stronger every day. I like who I am, I love my family and I have a person in my life who makes me smile.

Okay..on to tri stuff....this past weekend I did my first triathlon shorter than an Ironman in almost 5 years...shortest race I have done in 7 years...learned a few things for sure...

SV and I went down and raced in Binbrook with Ange, a new race for all 3 of us...somehow our plan of getting to the race on time/early just didn't work out the way we thought it would...I know I give SV a hard time about sauntering but we were on the rivet and somehow things just kind of happened. It was a beautiful rainy day and we knew that our bikes were going to get filthy...it took a little longer to get into the park and to get our stuff at registration, we were running around trying to get things done as the race announcer was saying 5 minutes to the start of the triathlon...I have never done things so fast, setting up my transition area and getting my wetsuit on...they started the duathlon and SV wasn't even in his wetsuit yet...to say the least our heart rates were high..I looked around the transition area and we were one of the few remaining and we were in the first wave...SV's daughter was capturing all the chaos with her camera and being very supportive of us and telling us we would be fine and helping us into our wetsuits..she's such a sweetheart! ....as we were running to the beach SV was still only half into his wetsuit and we had just over a minute until the start of our wave...we reached the water and put our goggles on and had 30 seconds until we started...My heart was racing, I have never before started a race in such a flurry of activity..I had no clue what the swim route looked like and I was wearing my brand new wetsuit..no warm up swim, no goggle check...just ran to the start line, exchanged a quick smooch and wished each other luck and then it was go time!!

The start of the race was very different than the race I did last summer which had no contact (with only 24 people swimming and doing 10km, no one was interested in swimming on top of each other..) but my first short course tri brought it all back to me, people pulling on my legs, pushing into my back, kicking me, hitting me in the head...wow, I forgot how rough people could be..luckily it only lasted for 150m or so and then I was in my own space. I felt ok but could tell I hadn't swam in 2 weeks but still pushed myself. There was one pro woman in the race, she is a young girl but very strong in the water, I could see her for most of the swim and she pulled ahead at the last buoy...when I reached the beach I was glad to be done, but it was a long run up a very muddy beach, about 225m run to transition and all mud...this was the first time I had worn the new blueseventy wetsuit I won at Ultraman and I loved the reverse zipper it has, it made taking off my wetsuit very easy!

The bike leg was pretty good, not a really tough ride with a few turns, that I will admit I slowed down a little to much for, but with the rain and sand I was being a little over cautious I think. I am still learning how to do this short course stuff and I think I held back a little bit on the bike, wasn't really sure how or when to push hard and never at any time did I feel like I was working really hard, but I felt strong...not sure if that makes sense. SV caught me at 7km into the ride, he looked really strong and patted me on the butt as he flew by (he ended up passing everyone but the lead male, coming in 2nd off the bike..he was moving!!) I was really looking forward to the run and during the ride I started to think of going hard on the run, figured I would try to "catch" SV out there, even though it was only a 6.5km run...

However, I didn't realize the run was going to be so muddy...the description of the course said grass paths and packed trails...but none of us realized that it was entirely off road and with all the rain that it was going to be so slippery and muddy. Getting footing was terrible as we were running on grassy hills and the paths were all mud and narrow...it made for one messy run. It consisted of 2 out and backs and by the 3km point I was pretty frustrated, I never run on grass or on mud and I was having a difficult time getting solid footing and I could feel myself just kind of shut it down....no point trying to go hard and sprain an ankle, I just wanted to get it done and not be injured. Ran past a friend I hadn't seen in many months and he cheered me on as we past each other, it lifted my spirits to know I would get to catch up with him after we were done. When SV and I would pass each other on the out and backs I could tell he was enjoying the run just as much as I was, and he said the same about me...there were a few really dangerous spots on the course with steep downhills that were mud covered and several people went down, luckily I stayed up on my feet and finished as the first age group woman overall. I was disappointed in my run because I knew I hadn't given it my all but at the same time for the way the course was it was all I could put into it...interestingly, SV said he did the same thing...he knew he could run harder but was frustrated and didn't want to get injured so he "shut it down" too!

Overall it was good to get this race under my belt, it is so different from racing the long distance things that you have so many factors to try to consider and plan for while this type of racing it is purely just "GO"...not sure which I prefer yet...guess I will know after a few more!

Recap.

No bruises today but there was blood....this photo doesn't do it justice...really...I promise this rub mark is HUGE and so painful...ok, you don't believe me...SV didn't give me a whole lot of sympathy either, lol!

Great brick workout today, pushed hard and took 2:30 minutes out of SV's lead on me from last week...I can't wait to do it again....but I think I may wear socks next week...

In the Groove

It has been an interesting few weeks, getting back to classes, learning new things and attempting new training. I have been busy! It's great to be back in classes and although it's going to be a hard semester we are a pretty close group of students so we are all helping each other and I think it will be a great semester.
It looks like the nice weather is finally here to stay, we had some really chilly days the last 2 weeks, even had some snow and riding outside was not fun, but now the forecast is looking great...it is a beautiful time up here..everything is in full bloom, so fresh and pretty..the smell of lilacs (one of my favourite smells while riding/running)in the air, all the trees are full and gorgeous, the lakes are clear and blue, the sunsets are breath taking...I really love it up here...being outside is easy, even with all the black flies!!
I have been doing some really great training, I am trying to break my Ironman/Ultraman mind set and push myself in doing shorter races/workouts...and even though they are intense and painful..they are done quickly and then the rest of the day is free...I enjoy heading out for a long ride but it is nice to know that I can go out do a hard 50-70km ride and it is enough...I have always liked the long stuff, but I am enjoying not having to go long right now...my life is busy enough to not have to try to fit in 4-6 hours of biking and 2-3 hours of running in on the weekends!
SV had me do this crazy brick workout last week with him, it was intense and I figured I would hold back a little because it was only the first time I was attempting it...and I was learning how to get on my bike like a real triathlete, I even have bruises, lol... it was a killer workout and I pushed hard...I felt really strong on the bike and run and I was happy with how well I did but man was I exhausted, but I loved pushing hard, didn't hold back and learned a few new things....however, I discovered that swimming the day after an all out effort can be messy...really messy...but now that I have that first one under my belt I am excited to go out and try it again today...the sun is bright, the wind is blowing and we are off to suffer for 2 hours!!

Mothers Day!

".. is who I am because of my Mom!!"(kvk) A friend of mine wrote that on her facebook and I couldn't agree more...I truly do have the greatest Mom and she has given me so much strength and support in my life that I wouldn't be me if she wasn't my Mom.

My Mom is one of those ladies who tells you how it is, good or bad. She has a beautiful smile and strong arms that give the most amazing hugs....My Mom has cheered me on every step of the way and has one of those voices that, in a loud swim meet I could always hear her cheering, over everything else....She has always been there with an idea or way of making things easier, a shoulder to cry on or a kick in the ass to keep me in line (she says that is why I am so much taller than the rest of the family...lots of kicks in the ass, lol!)

I know I have given my Mom (and dad) several challenges over the years but they have always been there through those rough times never wavering and always making things and life better. She has taught me to be strong, to never give up and to always stay true to myself. She has the biggest heart and her relationship with my dad proves that love is meant to be constant and fair and all consuming!

I love that I have such a strong, beautiful role model, that she is my friend as well as my Mom and I don't know what I would do without her.....Mom......I LOVE YOU!!

Sporting Life 10km

I have to admit that the Sporting Life 10 km is becoming one of my favourite races. I did it for the first time in May 2009 and it was my first race in a long time and it was at the start of a new chapter for me and I had been so inspired at the start and during that run, the sounds and sights of running down Younge St in TO...I had loved every second of it and I had run a 40:30...so I was pretty happy with that race, SV has been doing this race for years and it is one of his favourites as well.. When we had decided to go to the AZ training camp we were a little disappointed to see that the Sporting Life race was on that same weekend that we would be getting back in and we didn't think that we would be able to race it this year...we talked about it and decided that we should still do it, we booked our flights so that we would get to TO Saturday night and be able to pick up our kits on Sunday morning do the race and then pick up my girlies...we knew it wouldn't be the ideal way to race after a training camp and flying and time change but we decided it didn't matter it was more about just going and having fun and being there together.

The week of training camp was insane and I have never been so tired, honestly I am very pleased with the quality of workouts that we did down there but I was dreading how much the 10 km was going to hurt on Sunday morning.

I had an ice bath after our last ride of the camp and although I hate getting into those things they sure do help. My body felt a little better on the Saturday and luckily all our travel went smoothly on the way home and we arrived at the hotel just before 8pm...SV was thinking that we wouldn't be able to sleep that night because of the time change but Barrie exhausted us and we slept like babies. Waking up was a tough one but we got ourselves organized and to the race start very early...so early that using the port-a-potties was easy..no line ups...twice...we even had time to sit in Starbucks and drink coffee...anyone who knows SV will realize how impressive this is!! (just teasing babe). It was a pretty smooth morning and we enjoyed watching all the other athletes starting to get anxious, with 14000 runners/walkers this year we had several people to amuse us.

We headed out to do a warm up run and that was eye opening, everything hurt. Felt like I had cement blocks for legs...we had talked about it and figured we would just run as hard as we could and whatever the time said that was what was going to be...this was just going to be the icing on the top of a great training week and then it would be time for Eggs Benedict!

My time from last year put me in the first coral with SV, just behind the elites. It was a fast start and the first km went by a little too quickly...I wasn't wearing a watch so I wasn't sure about how fast we ran it...but itwas a 3:33 SV told me later....I settled into my pace for the next 3-4 km...the 10 km is something foreign to me, go hard and go harder until it is over...in those 3-4 km I was trying to remember that I needed some for the end but this race just has a way of sweeping you along...so many people running and bands playing and people cheering...it is awesome! SV was slightly ahead of me during that time and I knew we were running hard but it was nice to not know just how hard we were running...By the 5km mark I was still feeling good and I wanted to try to push hard until the end, my legs felt alright, I just kept thinking "GO" ...I started to pull ahead of SV and I knew that his legs were hurting...but I also knew that he would continue to push hard...I saw a few girls ahead of me and my competitiveness got a hold of me...focus on one and reel her in...then on to the next girl...I admit I am not competitive before or after but during it is handy, lol. (SV told me later that we went through the 5km mark on pace for a 38:30...which is a PB for me at 5km distance) Around the 7km mark I was hurting...legs and lungs...I wanted it to be over. I knew I could ease up and it wouldn't hurt as bad, but I thought about everything that had happened since I did this race last year, how much I have grown and learned and I wanted to stay strong, that the suffering was worth it...I wanted to close this past year on a strong note, I told myself I deserved to be strong and not to give up it was almost over...and that it would be worth it.

I somehow missed the 8km marker so it was the longest km in my mind..I was going through so many different thoughts and couldn't figure out why I wasn't making any progress but then I saw the 9km banner and the bridge that means the end is just around the corner..there were 2 girls ahead of me and I pushed harder to catch them...I ended up passing them both, (one re-passed me just before the finish though)...but I gave it my all...when I saw the race clock I was surprised but excited...could I really have just ran that fast... I finished and the body was so happy to be done...the hamstrings and calf muscles were screaming but I barely noticed...never had I imagined that I would come off that week of training camp with a best time let alone one that was almost 2 minutes faster...I was thrilled but also felt a little ill...SV came in and his legs were toast, his calves and hamstrings were burning...but we had done it...we ran strong and got to the finish!

As we made our way out of the finish area I was hurting...we had planned to jog back to the hotel but neither of us were going to make it, we were soaking wet and cold, legs were cramping and my tummy was upset from running so hard, we took a taxi instead, lol.

We checked the results online...I had ran a 38:36.20...I placed 177 out of 11918 runners(making the first page on Sportstats results,lol), 19th woman overall out of 6691, 6th in my age category out of 1224. (also I almost even split the race, only adding 6 seconds on the second 5km) I am very happy with how I did...I didn't think I would break 40 minutes in the 10km and now I know that I can push hard with a body that is beat up, it was gives me some confidence heading into the race season...SV was proud of me despite being "chicked" lol, his time (39:40) was where he had hoped to be after the week of training....but man were we sore the rest of that day and I am still hurting today!

Final Training Camp Day

Waking up on the last day of the camp was tough...we had gone out for a great dinner with the group...(seriously the restaurants in Tucson were great--Zinburger, Sauce, North, Saffron...yummy!) but that Friday morning was a tough one to get up and get going..the legs were sore and it was a little chilly out but we managed to drag our tired bodies to the pool. The water was warm and Sean gave us a long 5500 yd swim to do. I was actually feeling good once I got going on this set and I really enjoyed the workout he put together for us. SV had a great swim and I think it helped loosen our legs up a little.

The only thing we had left to do was a final ride and Barrie thought that SV, Taylor and I should head out on this great last ride...the wicked smile on his face should have tipped me off to the fact that it was going to be a challenging one,lol. It ended up being a 115 km ride, probably the flattest ride we had gone on but the majority of it was into a strong head/cross wind. It was a tough ride and with all the biking/climbing we had in our legs I was beat. For the first 50km of the ride we were all chatting and taking pictures and having some fun, the wind was annoying but we were all still in good spirits...at one point we came upon some cows crossing the road and one got a little spooked and took off...I thought SV was done for, the cow came close to hitting him...scary but also pretty entertaining, lol. By the 70km mark our ride got very quiet..we were all down to nothing but a little bit of water and no stores in sight, the wind was getting to us and our legs were done...it was a very tough section to get through, all 3 of us were wanting it to be over and wishing for a few minutes of no wind so we could just relax and take a break unfortunately it never came so we just had to keep on working hard...there was some swearing and Barrie wasn't our favourite person at that moment.. but we got through it and 11 miles from the end we finally found a store and got some calories in us...it was a great ride, a tough one to end a tough week!

I am really impressed with the camp, I wasn't sure what AZ was going to be like but after having the chance to be there I loved it. We put in some great quality rides and I know there are many more rides that we could have done down there. It is a beautiful area with some of the most breathtaking sunsets I have ever seen. I was in awe of some of the views we had and the mountains were beautiful...so different from anything we have here. I would love to go back again and do some more training!!

Barrie put together a great camp and really made sure that each athlete was getting what they needed for their goals. He put together a very well organized camp (SV and I were even early to training events by the end of the week!) and challenged us in a way I didn't think I would be challenged down there. He took the time to talk to me about my training and racing and he put some new ideas in my head and has me pretty motivated to try some things. His knowledge and coaching style is great and I am so glad that we attended his camp and I got to know him better. He is a very impressive coach and I like the way he pushes his athletes. I look forward to doing more training with Barrie (check out his group and event http://www.c3online.ca/index.shtml)

Our goal going down there was to get fit and ready for the tri season...I think we accomplished this as I have never rode so hard in my life...my quads feel huge...ok maybe they aren't huge because my legs are a little scrawny but for me, they feel huge and I have the quad line now and I actually have some calf muscles!) We were both pretty sore and tired and bed time couldn't come soon enough for me.

We met some great people down there of all ability levels and we were able to train with some great young athletes: Sean Bechtel, David Sharrat, Andrew Woegerer, Taylor Reid and Nat Faulkner... their dedication to the sport is inspiring and I can't wait to watch them do some great things within the sport.

It was a great camp....we swam just over 25000 yds, biked almost 500km and ran 30km...a great week for me!