What I have given up to do triathlons

What I have given up to do triathlons:

1.   Early retirement – I am on the Freedom 85 plan now.  You would think that once you own your bike and a wet suit you are good to go.  Not quite.  My friend Elaine figured out what it cost her to train for Ironman Lake Placid in 2011.  Now Elaine drove to Lake Placid so there was no airfare and she stayed at a campsite so her accommodations were not as expensive as a hotel but it still equated to nearly $9,000.00.  This includes the additional classes (spin, swimming), increased visits for chiropractor, massage, coaching fees, ironman registration, apparel – running shoes, bike shoes, helmet, etc.  It is not an inexpensive sport.

2.   Stilettos – now this really hurts.  Being a statuesque 5’3”, I really rely on my heels.  I really love those babies but because I put on alot of muscle training for ironman, from behind in anything over a 2” heel I look like a cross dresser or transvestite.  I followed someone in the underground last year with a short skirt and very defined calves and thought to myself that they must work out alot.  When he turned around, I saw the adam’s apple.  It is not just my imagination either.  When I was in Florida this year, I put on a pair of 5” stilettos to prove my point and Patty and Karen nearly wet themselves laughing.  Patty even took pictures. 

3.   Tall boots – see no. 2.  My calves get so big that I can’t zip my boots up anymore.

4.   Cap sleeves – Once again, not just my legs bulk up training for ironman.  I get what my friend Michelle calls “Popeye Arms” and I can’t get my arms through any blouses that have cap sleeves or any shirt from Suzy Shears.  There is that ominous ripping sound and I know it is no sleeves until after ironman.

5.   Snowboarding – Having duck’s disease (my ass is too close to the ground), I have a low centre of gravity and am quite a good snowboarder much to the amazement of my son Ethan.  Last year, I did not heed Coach Paul’s advice and I went snowboarding.  Well I hit a patch of ice and dropped right onto to my ass.  Despite ample padding I nearly broke my tailbone and was off training for over a month.  I could barely walk for 2 weeks.  Coach Paul said definitely no snowboarding this year.  He said after May 19^th, 2012 (Ironman Texas), I can snowboard as much as I want. In that respect, I am not too bothered by the mild winter this year.

6.    Lifting – It is funny when people know you are an ironman because then they assume you just walk around lifting cars for the hell of it.  Personally, I don’t.  I have had a weak back for about 30 years.  In addition to duck’s disease, I have small dog syndrome.  In my mind, I am 6’3” and can carry my own body weight.  In reality I lift stuff way too heavy for me and I pay the price.  For 22 years I have hauled boxes of documents around at my office and for the last 13 years I have carried my son.  Not lifting my son Tavis for me is like not having my morning coffee.  I have trouble functioning without it.  I have carried that little guy around since birth and to not be able to lift him now breaks my heart.  But I do compensate.  I lie on the floor with him and watch movies, I dance with him in his wheelchair, and I crawl into bed with him at night to talk and listen to his books on tape.

7.   Vacuuming – yahoo.  See no. 6.

8.   Gardening – See no. 6

Next blog read about what I have gained by doing triathlons.

Lisa

Well Monday is here again.  I am at that stage of my training where the weekends go by so quickly that I don't feel like I actually had one.

Saturday morning I was on my bike at the Whitby Rec Centre for 5 1/2 hours.  Mentally and physically, it was a tough one.  It was hard to get back on my stationary bike after cycling in Florida for a week.  I watched "The Sentinel" and another mystery that I can't remember right now.  Ron stopped in for a chat after his spin class as well as Elaine.  My new little buddy Laura stopped for a visit on her way to swim class - she was worried because I was not there last week - so she filled me in on what was happening with her.  For about a 4 year old child, she has an astounding vocabulary and she likes to use it.

Sunday was my long run.  I am training for Around the Bay at the end of March so my mileage was 26 kms.  Next Sunday I will do 28 and then finally 30 kms the day of the race.  I do not get a taper week because Ironman Texas is looming about 9 weeks away.

We started out with 4 - Susan, Elaine, Christine and myself.  Christine and Elaine are both limited right now by injuries.  Chris did the first 10 kms with us, and Elaine did 20.  We loop back to Chateau Typert because there is always nutrition available and we can fill up our water bottles.  The last 6 kms Sue and I were on our own but as the two of us are distance/direction challenged we ended up putting in another 8 kms instead of 6 and then it was hot tub time.  It was a gorgeous day and so nice to not have to run in the snow.

Sue and I have learned that we need to do our long runs together.  I am amazed by my friend John who goes out on Sundays and does his long runs/walks all on his own. I don't have the mental strength to do that.   Sue and I are social people with limited attention spans and I seriously cannot keep myself amused for 3 hours while I am out running, even with my i-pod.

Then it was into Mom mode and I hit the grocery store on the way home.  I sat down for a minute and got caught up watching the "Hoarders" marathon.  That always inspires me to knock the big lumps off from my own house.  So I puttered and cleaned for a while, laid on the floor and watched "Tigger" with Tavis, and actually finished unpacking my bag from Florida.

So its Monday again and I am on my trainer tonight and in the pool.  I have learned that the trick is to never sit down.  Once I sit, I am done for.  I thought I would have some time to relax after Ironman Texas but for some odd reason I signed up for the Mont Tremblant half ironman 5 weeks after I get back.  Okay, I am going to have to push my relaxation time to July.

Still alive and training

Well, I certainly have been a little remiss in posting to my blog.  In my defence, my training days are getting longer and I was in Florida last week.

My week in Florida was great.  I was training at the National Training Centre in Clermont, about 30 minutes outside of Orlando.  It was the third week of Coach Paul's camp and only Karen Charpentier and I were there that week.

It was a fabulous training week.  With the indoor bike training, it is difficult to guess if you are training hard enough - I am putting in the ass time on my bike and I know I am pushing myself but will it be enough.  I was glad to get outside on my bike.  I cycled the Green Swamp trail, around Lake Minneola and through the state park.  Everyday we swam in the pool at the NTC and the pool is amazing.  We also did weights most days at the NTC.  The week gave Coach Paul and I an idea of where I am in my training and what I need to work on before Ironman Texas.  The weather was gorgeous and the training was hard.

By about Wednesday, I was missing my boys - especially Tavis.  The twins are 13 now and Ethan sees me as the ATM machine and taxi cab service.  But my Tav Man, he is still my biggest fan.  He does not understand why I am gone away, he just knows I am not there.  I talked to him a couple times on the phone but I still missed him desperately.  Tav came to the airport to get me and held my hand all the way home.  I think he thought I was going to leave him again.

Last night was my monthly weigh in and I lost 8 lbs including two more lbs of body fat.  I have the guidance of my friend and nutritionist Christine to thank for that. 

Saturday night was snooker night for some of the triathletes and I was overjoyed to see my friends Shawn and Michelle there who are doing Ironman Texas as well.  They are two of the most entertaining people I have ever met and I know we are going to have a blast in Texas.

Lisa

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