3 Months and Counting

As of February 19th, 2012, Ironman Texas is 3 months away.  This week has been a balancing act between trying to get my training done and celebrating my twins' birthdays.  Ethan and Tavis officially became teenagers on February 15th and I have no idea where the time has gone.  Each year to celebrate the twins birthday, we head back to the farm and spend a couple days with my family.  My family farms outside of Sarnia in a small rural area known as Oil Springs which is the site of the first commercial oil well in North America - that is my history lesson for today.  

Tuesday night I was running with my girls - Michelle (sporting her cruise tan), Sue and Elaine.  Sue is training in Florida this week and Elaine is injured so it is just down to Michelle and I.  

Wednesday was spin class with Clint leading the pack.  Christine and Paul were both in Florida.

I headed home to my family's on Friday morning.  Its odd that after living in London and then Whitby for the last 26 years, that I still consider my parents home.  Travelling for us is a huge undertaking.  Flame and Rukus have to be dropped off at the boarders.  Tavis cannot travel without his music and his snacks.  Tavis, although he is 13 years old, only weighs 50 lbs and he eats like a trucker.  It is my job on the way home to just keep popping food in his mouth much like a slot machine.  Ethan unfortunately gets motion sickness and is a barfer so he has been moved to the front of the van.  So the suitcases get loaded, then the sleeping bags, then Tav's cooler of food, then the wheelchair and finally us.

On Saturday night we had the twins' party and they got spoiled as usual.  On Sunday, I had my long run.  I am training for Around the Bay even though I retired from that race a couple years ago.  My long run was 26 kms which was an out and back between my brother Brian's farm and my parents.  Running in the rural area where my family lives is a whole different kind of running.  There is the element of danger - farm dogs and coyotes, the gravel roads which hinder you trying to sprint away from said farm dogs and coyotes, no telephone service in certain areas so if you do get caught by farm dogs or coyotes, you can't call for help, the fact that 90% of my run was done on gravel roads rutted from tractors and school buses, and the fact that some farmers have already started spreading manure which in some spots sucked the air right out of my lungs.  

In addition, you have to deal with the farmers that don't understand that you are out there running because you want to, not because your car broke down, not because something is chasing you, and not because you are lost.

Clever girl that I am, I sent my mom home with dry clothes and at the 13km turn around at my parents I changed into some dry clothes, had a coffee and protein bar with Mom and Dad and headed back to my brother's farm.  It was cold and damp on Sunday but I had a really good run.  Farm dogs were friendly, mild winter has kept the coyotes in the woods, and it was so quiet and peaceful that you could not help but enjoy yourself.

On Family Day we headed back to Whitby which is always bittersweet for me. I miss the calm of rural life and I miss my family.  I stopped at the cemetery on my way back to talk to Kevin.  The sun was shining and it was warm - just the kind of day that Kevin would have loved.  I told him that the next time I was home I would bring him my finishers medal from Ironman Texas.  I think he would like that.

Today's picture is my first try a tri in Guelph with Glen and Ethan in 2005.

Solid Training Weekend

I see that as my training goes up, my postings to my blog go down. :)

Saturday morning I headed to the gym for my trainer ride a few minutes late - I think I may have shipped all my cycling shorts to Florida with Paul because I could not find any.  In any event, I was 4 1/2 hours on my bike and it was a struggle mentally and physically.  I watched "Untraceable" with Diane Lane, and "Crank" with Jason Statham.  Nothing like alot of blood, guts and gore first thing in the morning.  I could not get my heart rate up (even watching Jason Statham) and focused instead on keeping my cadence at 90.  Training indoors on my bike is difficult.  I like being outside where at least the scenery changes and outdoor riding is alot easier on the back and girl parts than trainer riding.

Coach Paul texted me from Florida to tell me how nice it was there.  Ron stopped in for a chat after Monster Endurance spin class and my friend Hugh who I had not seen in a long time limped over for a chat.  Hugh and his wife Gisele have always been two of the most amazing people I have met doing triathlons.  Hugh is waiting for a hip replacement but was still at the gym working out.  I know that having his hip replaced is only going to slow him down temporarily.

Sunday was my long run.  My friend Sue and I headed out about noon for our 22 km run.  One thing Sue and I have in common is that we are always cold so we looked like we were wearing all the running clothes we own when we headed out.  2 pairs of running pants, 2 shirts, coats, mitts, balaclavas, and hats.   Sue calls this her "mama is coming home with a plasma tv" running outfit. 

Running was not easy especially since we had so many clothes on it was hard to bend our knees.  The sidewalks were not shovelled and it was like running in sand.  I did take a tumble running down Rossland Road.  We could not really tell where the sidewalks were and I tripped off the edge of the sidewalk and did a "penguin slide" much to Sue's amusement.  I jumped back up and did inventory as I was running and everything seemed be working okay.  

Now Sue and I have trained together for years and she is well aware of my perpensity to fall - either off my bike or while running.  Its not that I am unco-ordinated, I just don't pay attention.  I am always looking at the scenery or shirtless guys.  One time in Muskoka I fell going uphill because I was looking at the trees or something and Sue and John and a number of my friends just went around me like a line of ants and kept riding.  A motorist actually stopped to see if I was okay - he must of thought I had the cruelest friends ever.  Paul was at the top of the hill and had heard that I had fallen (again) and asked if I was okay.  Sue informed him that I was fine because I was yelling obscentities at them as they cycled past.

Back to our Sunday run.  We did a 15 km loop, ran into Sue's house to rehydrate and grab half a bagel and then we headed out again.  The last few kilometres were tough but we got it done.  It was cold that day and when we started to strip at Sue's house for our dip in the hot tub, I realized that one of my braids had frozen to my balaclava and we had to wait for it to thaw a bit before I could pry it off.  We decided that Sunday's run was definitely a character building run.

Training for Texas is going well.  Last week I dropped 5 lbs (probably when I fell on my face on Rossland) and I am feeling strong.  There are more good training days than bad and I just keep at it.

To my friends, Jeff Drinkle and Liz Valiant, who both had a trying training week this past week, I hope I have said all the right things to keep you motivated and moving forward.  I am secretly amused though because you are two of the toughest, most motivated people I know doing traithlons and your success this season is a forgone conclusion. 

Happy Valentines Day.

Lisa

Training Continues

The back pain continued for most of last week but I hit spin class on Wednesday night and did my 10 km run on Thursday night.  I have to say that this has been a great winter for running.  I am not much of a treamill runner and enjoy putting my mileage in outside.

Saturday morning found me back on my bike spinning for 4 hrs 15 mins.  Some of my regulars stopped by - Coach Paul and my little swimmer friend - and some new people stopped by for a chat - Jack from the Running Room, Michelle Barrett and Fireman Rick.  It certainly breaks up the monotony of the ride when people stop by.  I also saw one of my son Ethan's friend's father who is doing his first ironman in November in Florida.

Then it was a dash home to have a quick bite to eat, grab my son Ethan and my Specialized bike.  The bike had to be dropped off at Coach Paul's for its trip to Florida and Ethan had to be dropped off at the Whiby Rec Centre for a birthday party.  I then headed to Durham Swimwear to grab a new swimsuit and a cap.  My Monday night swimsuit is about 3 years old and was headed for a wardrobe malfunction.

Sunday saw me have a relaxing lunch with the other members of Team Texas - Shawn Reid, Michelle Peacock and Carolyn Senechal.  We talked about our how our training was going and what arrangements still needed to be made with respect to our flights and our bike transport.  We had alot of laughs and are so looking forward to Texas.

Tonight I am back on my bike for an hour and then swim class with Christine in charge.  Christine is just as tough on us as Paul and shows no mercy.  At least I will look like I know what I am doing in my new swimsuit.  Ethan kindly says that I swim like a rock.

Lisa

Small Hiccup

Well I have developed a small hiccup in my training for Ironman Texas.

On the weekends as my hours on my bike increase as well as my mileage for my long runs, I see less and less of my family - my hubby Glen and my twins Tavis and Ethan.  Now Glen is pretty sef sufficient so him I don't worry about.  Ethan and Tavs are turning 13 years old in a couple weeks so Ethan no longer wants to be seen with me anyhow.  He is glued to his computer or his xbox and barely notices if I am at home or not.

Tavis, although he understands everything that is said to him, sometimes doesn't comprehend what he is being told.  All Tavis knows is that he doesn't see me or hear me and he misses me.  I think I miss him more.  He is a major snuggle bunny and I always have a towel handy for his open mouth kisses that can soak your entire face.  When I have had the worse day at the office or a terrible run, Tavis's smile can cheer me up in an instance.  He is incredibly silly and has an infectious laugh which is irresistible.

Monday morning I decided to carry Tavis from the car into daycare because I felt I had not spent enough time with him over the weekend and wanted to get in a snuggle before work  - very bad decision on my part.  Tav is getting heavier and I am getting older and have had back problems for years.  Well another mother stopped to talk to me and then when I got into the daycare I had to wrestle out my own chair from under the table and it was too much for my back.  Walking out to the car, I told my husband that something had snapped in my back.

Luckily Dr. Jason squeezed me in for an adjustment that night but suggested maybe I should take the night off training.  My back hurt worse after the adjustment but that is common. 

Last night I had a good run with my Tuesday night chicks and soaked in the hot tub afterwards and no back pain at all until midnight.  And it returned with a vengeance.  Needless to say I could not talk my body into my 5:30 a.m. swim class.

Things like this are going to happen.  I am not happy about missing my swim class but to go and swim while I am in so much pain is not a good idea either.  I have learned the hard way to listen to my body and my coach.  In the long run, it pays off to maybe miss a class as opposed to injuring myself further and precipitating a longer recovery time.  My Tuesday night running buddy Christine is learning herself right now.

We ask so much of our bodies training for an ironman, we need to take care of it.  Feed it when it is hungry, hyrdrate it when it is thirsty and listen to it when it tells us that it needs a bit of a break.

Lisa