Roadie...

I have turned a new leaf...decided to try something new...after listening to so many sing the praises of road bikes and all the benefits of riding a road bike...and after 173km on my tri bike...I decided that it might be a good time to give it a go...plus there was a great deal on a great bike...so this tri girl is now the proud owner of a road bike...and it goes with all my gear, lol!

I have done a few rides on the new machine and it is amazing the differences I am feeling...it is hard to explain but it is a whole new world and I am loving the new positioning, new muscle recruitment, comfort and stiffness that my new ride has brought to my world...best part is I can do a big climb and shift gears at the same time!!!

100+ miles

Last weekend, I did my first ever bike race in Collingwood, Ont. I missed out on doing the race last year and was excited about giving it a go this year...although the night before the race I was kicking myself for not signing up for the 50 mile race...it was going to be a chilly morning and being on the bike for that long was going to hurt...no matter what 100 miles is challenging and I knew it was going to be over 107 miles/172km...so I was kind of dreading waking up early Sunday morning.

Sunday morning was a brisk morning..8 Celsius and I have to be honest, I considered staying warm in bed, which seemed like a much better option than putting on all my warm bike gear..but SV got me moving and we met up with 2 of his boys (Team Size 9....I was the token female member)...I started the ride with them but expected to be on my own for most of it.

The ride was a challenging course to say the least...some great climbs and they threw in some tough head wind around the 100km point to make sure we really had some fun. The last 50km of this race was brutal...the King of the Mountain climb, the climbs to the Ravena bakery and then 5 stinger climbs to Scenic Caves...all of which put my quads/hamstrings on the verge of cramping...By the time I turned at the bakery, 15km from the finish...all I wanted was to be done...I started attacking the hills and just thought of the finish line...I felt really strong even though I was tired.

In the end I am very happy with how I did...my goal going in was to be under 5:30 and top 10 in the woman's field (during the ride I decided I didn't care and I just wanted to be done) so my 5:20 finishing time and 8th place overall (2nd in my age category) was a great end to a challenging day and I even finished smiling!!

Short but Sweet

...so unfortunately our trip ended a little sooner than we would have liked...a young man set fire outside of an apartment door above SV's store and to say the least it was a stressful time. I am impressed at how quickly he and his team were able to set up a temporary location and keep the business operating. It's been a long few weeks but things are running smoothly, they still have a lot to do before they can be back in the building but for now he is taking it one step at a time.

We were sad that we didn't get to complete our trip....no lobsters were harmed though so I guess that is one positive :) We have ordered a new travel rack for the back of the motorbike so that I don't have to carry the back pack next time and we are looking forward to the next time we can go on our trip because even though it was cut short it was one of our favourite trips!

Road Trip

SV and I are enjoying our motorbike adventure...this is such a different trip for both of us...we have no schedule, no places to stay, nowhere we need to be...we are just going wherever, whenever...all we have with us is what we were able to fit into the 2 panniers, 1 backpack and a tank bag...this is very little (we both over pack...always) but I have some skills when it comes to packing and I managed to fit in as much as possible.

Day 1 was an exciting one, both of us were pumped to start our adventure... we agreed to go as long as we were comfortable and just decide where we were going as we went... our friends Sue and Brian have a cottage in Brockville and they invited us to pop in and stay the night if we wanted...which we gladly accepted...it was a beautiful spot and we enjoyed spending the night and next morning with them...the first day was 5 hours of riding and we were both happy to get off the bike that night...but still excited to head out the next morning.

Day 2 was a shorter day of riding, only 3 hours, but we had decided we wanted to head to Lake Placid and stay the night there...it is a very beautiful drive to LP and so much more enjoyable on the back of the mbike...we woke up this morning and walked around the main street for awhile checking out the shops, but given our space situation we weren't really interested in shopping! We did a swim in Mirror Lake, SV loved the line in the water (for the Ironman course) which made sighting unnecessary, but I was so cold after 45 minutes that I decided to get out..it is a great lake to swim in but I was needing my wetsuit big time, hadn't thought the water would be so cold at this time of year (I have only swam there in June and July) but SV didn't find it too bad, although he was shivering just as much as I was when he finally got out after an hour. We then headed out to run around the lake...it's just over 4 km around and a very flat route, which is a great change from home! I don't know that I can honestly call what I was doing out there as running but I plodded along...some hip pain for sure, but I am the first to admit that I am a stubborn one! SV had a great run and looked strong...after that we had a great little lunch and discussed where we were headed...Burlington, Vermont was the next stop..we had an hour drive to catch the ferry that would take us to Burlington, it was a beautiful drive and some great windy roads, so much fun! The ferry was interesting, my first ferry ride and it was an hour long...once we were in Burlington we sat and had a coffee, neither of us were sure if we wanted to stay or keep moving...after some entertaining/interesting people watching we decided to keep heading East...and wound up in Stowe, VT...what a great little place..lots of history here and so quaint. We enjoyed a great dinner and then strolled around the town...very romantic little spot!

Tomorrow it looks like we are going to get wet, but I'm excited to try out my rain suit...we are continuing East and seeing how far we get before we call it a day.

So far our total riding time is about 10 hours. We have come upon some wildlife...1 beaver, 1 falcon, 1 jumping fish and a camel...yep that's right a freaking camel here in Vermont!!

I am loving the trip so much better than any other road trip, the motor bike is a great way to travel and I am learning some interesting things along the way, which I thought I would share with all of you...in no particular order these are the lessons I am learning on our motorbike adventure:

1. The view from the motorbike is amazing...with no other distractions I can't believe how much I am seeing while we are driving...so many breathtaking moments! Truly beautiful being on the bike!

2. Going to the washroom at a rest station is very challenging...not because of the bike pants and boots but the not wanting to take off my helmet and the difficulties that comes with trying to do all bathroom related activities while having very limited vision!

3. It is not possible for me to chew gum while riding on the back of the bike...Again the helmet, along with making me feel like Bauble Head Barbie...the padding inside the helmet pushes my cheeks inward and puts my cheeks in prime position for biting...yep not pleasant and after several hard chomps I decided this would be the last gum chewing while I was riding.

4. Communication is possible while we are riding. Before we headed out, SV and I had discussed some ways we could communicate and created some hand signals...but the funny thing is we have barely used them...we just seem to know what the other person needs or is thinking which is pretty awesome and just another thing I love about our relationship...we can say so much with a squeeze or hand hold!! I know when we are going to go fast, I know when we are going to have some fun with the windy roads or when SV needs his back rubbed! I love pointing things out to each other and knowing that we are both enjoying the trip!

5. I finally am able to see the difference between an Adirondack chair and a Muskoka chair and I have to say that Muskoka chairs are the far better chair...no comparison!!

6. When SV asks me if we should stop for gas now or later...the answer must ALWAYS be yes!! It was a very intense 30km while the gas range was at 0 and there was no gas stations to be found...but we now know that the gas range indicator lies slightly!!

7. It is possible to have a nap while being a passenger on the back of the motor bike...not that it is the best idea but I was starting to head bob, which with the helmet was very difficult to fight and I knew that I should really get SV to pull over or something but before I did I guess I drifted off for a little bit...it was about 20 minutes but I woke up feeling 100% better and wide awake...SV said he could feel my helmet hitting him in the back and knew I was drifting off and made sure I was secure...love him!

So for now those are things that I have discovered on this trip...I'm sure there will be more, can't wait to find out what they are!

Update.

The hip is getting better...it isn't 100% better but I am no longer walking around like Frankenstein so that is a huge improvement. Certain movements still cause sharp shooting pains but they are becoming fewer and fewer. I have been doing yoga daily and I think that is really helping, not only my body but my mind as well....ever since my sister turned me on to Yoga in 2002 it has always been something that makes me feel so relaxed and strong. I am coming to realize that since I like to train hard, I have to reward my body for that hard work and Yoga is the best reward I can give it. I can see the improvements over the last 2 weeks and I am motivated to keep yoga on my daily list even when life gets crazy.

SV and I headed out on a great bike ride the other day...this route has become my new favourite...it has all the beauty and challenges that come with living in Muskoka...it was a tough route but I can't wait to do it again...and take some pics so that I can share it all with you.

My girlies came back from camp this week...so great to see them all tanned and fit and excited about all the activities and new friends they made while they were away...makes me wish they had a summer camp for adults...I love that they were able to have such a great experience and knowing that they spent 3 weeks enjoying the outdoors and being active and media free...love it!

A new adventure has me excited this week...SV and I are packing up and hitting the road...on the motor bike...yep that's right...packing only what we can fit into the panniers and a backpack...that doesn't leave me with a lot of options for footwear, lol....We are planning on heading east and just taking our time, stopping when we need a break...no real plan but hope to make it to Vermont and Maine...I have a feeling a lobster or two will be consumed!! Should be a fun trip...running and yoga and hopefully a swim or two...I plan on taking lots of pictures and I am sure I will have some fun stuff to tell you about when we return....not long till the little ones are back and school (and me as well) and the lazy summer days are behind us...hope you all enjoy it!!

Goal Reached.

The weather has been hot and sunny and I have been doing some good swims and rides...unfortunately the hip issue I have been having didn't clear up completely...I continue to do my exercises, work on my posture and stay on top of stretching, etc but running wasn't something I could do with enjoyment or pain free...so over the last few weeks, I have done only 4 runs...but on the plus side I wasn't having constant pain so I took that an improvement. I had committed to doing the Bracebridge Olympic Distance Triathlon, as it was a qualifier to the World Championships for 2012 and SV and I had decided that was a race we want to do next year, so the last 2 months have been about trying to get to race day in some sort of shape to get one of the age group spots available. To be honest, I wasn't feeling comfortable that I was going to get a spot (only 2 per age category) my lack of running and the pain I was having, I had a feeling it was going to be a long shot but I wanted to give it a go because it was probably going to be the only triathlon of the summer....and we have a few friends that were doing the race in hopes of a qualifying spot also, which would make for a great vacation next fall.

This was my first Time Trial style start (they started each athlete 5 seconds apart, starting with the youngest to oldest athlete)...which meant through most of the race you wouldn't know where you were in relation to the other athletes you were racing...also, now that I am in the 35-39 age category I had a while to wait before I actually got to start and I ended up swimming through a lot of the field...to be honest, I didn't hate the time trial start but at the same time I didn't love it...hard to get motivated to swim as hard as I could have if there were others to race...but at the same time it was fun to pass so many people...but I think I prefer getting into a groove and swimming with others who push you to go harder...so although my swim time was ok, it wasn't great and I think it had a lot to do with manoeuvring through so many slower swimmers...plus it was my first non-wetsuit swim since 2002... The bike course up here is a great one and I am very familiar with it... we have been biking it a lot lately as it comes close to the house and is one of our new favourite routes... I continued to pass many athletes on the first 20 km of the ride and felt pretty good on my bike, SV passed me at 22km and he looked fast, really fast. I was pumped for him and cheered him on. I felt like I had a pretty comfortable ride, I was only passed by 6 men on the ride and while I could have biked harder, in the back of my mind I was a little worried about the run so I didn't want to push too hard... I came off the bike and a friend that was volunteering informed me that I was 90 sec down on SV...could I catch him...hmmm...didn't want to think about that...wasn't even sure if my hip would let me climb the hill out of T2 let alone run SV down....

Coming out of T2 the race has you climb a grass hill out of the park...I tried to take small steps and just focus on getting to the road...so far the hip felt ok so I just tried to focus on the people ahead of me and tried to not let my mind go to my hip...by the 1km point I could see my training partner Brent up and decided I was going to try to catch him...I caught him by 3km and then decided to just focus on the next man in front of me...this was my strategy for the rest of my run...Just before the 5km turn around I saw SV coming back, still looking strong and I was pumped that I wasn't too far behind him and I decided to try to close the gap a little more...I got passed by another local guy(Joe) and we pushed each other for the next 4km...I pulled ahead but that motivated him to run stronger...around 6km a guy in a pink outfit went flying by me, I noticed he had a 44 on his calf and I hoped SV had enough of a lead..because this guy was moving...I was able to see SV for the last 2km ...but I knew I wouldn't catch him... but I had gotten closer so that was great...I never felt like I was pushing too hard on the run, I was scared to truly go hard because of my hip, but the lack of run training made the effort I was putting in seem pretty hard and in the end I am happy with how strong I did run....I crossed the finish line pretty confident that I had won my age category and I had passed 3 of the men that had passed me on the bike! So that made me pretty happy.

It ended up being a solid day of racing for both SV and I....the flying man ended up passing SV in the last km and because of the time trial start...placed 1st by 16 seconds, but SV still earned his Worlds spot...I won my age category and also ended up placing in the top 5 of the overall women, which I wasn't expecting so I was happy with that....

The hip/leg isn't feeling so great today but I am going to take care of it for the next while and try to get recovered as quickly as possible, it amazes me how adrenaline during the race can block the discomfort...because once I crossed the finish line and stood around for a few minutes...trying to walk almost did me in, lol....but since I have my worlds spot my new goal is recovery!

I'm Alive

It's true...I have not fallen off the face of the earth....life just has gone on at an incredible pace and I wasn't sure that what was happening was "blog worthy" but it seems that one or two people out there still check in to see if I have updated this site and I feel bad that I have been disappointing them...so here we go..Take 76...

Arizona was great again this year...MD,SV and I had an intense training trip...which started off with missing our connecting flight, 2nd year in a row(we decided to drive in from Phoenix instead of waiting 7 hours for the next flight)...the week was full of incredible biking and outdoor swimming...a little bit of running (SV was coming off a metatarsal fracture and I was fighting a chest infection so running was put on the back of the priority list). We met some great junior athletes from Ontario, we have such great young talent emerging from this area in the sport of triathlon...check out the following link for one young man that inspired MD, SV and I while we were down there (http://www.windsorstar.com/sports/Ironman+athlete+fights+back+from+drug+filled+abyss/4935511/story.html )

We did a great deal of biking while we were in Tucson and I even bumped into an old friend from London while we were out shopping for gear!

It was great to come back with a great base, but SV and I decided to skip the Sporting Life 10km this year...deciding to enjoy the night life of TO with the 55,000 other people that were there to celebrate the first UFC fight in Ontario...maybe not the best way to end a training camp, but SV and I tend to roll a little differently than most triathletes.

Since then we have been busy with life...triathlon season has started and I am coming back from a bit of an injury, nothing serious just a little hip pain...but a visit with my favourite Dr...Dr. Peggy Malone http://drpeggymalone.com/ and I am on the road to recovery and actually running again after 3 weeks of missing it.... I have been enjoying swimming in the lakes up here and riding my bike as much as possible...I only have a couple of races on the calendar this year but I am enjoying the weekly bike time trial series that we have been attending...it is a great group of people, a killer route and something to love/hate each week!

Here are some pics of the last few months so you can see what I/we have been up to!