The Race Wasn't.

It did not happen for me. :( I am sad about missing a good fun looking event but can't really argue with reason; the weather was dangerous and roads were treacherous between here and the fun time. We would have had to cross a mountain that is questionable on sunny days and it wasn't worth the risk to car and life :( If we were closer it would have been a really nice day to run; the winds were not as bad as they could have been and all :/ but it wasn't to be.

I have been doing workouts at the gym I've become associated with and they are really hurting my running workouts :/ Im not sure if Im just getting old or if I am not working out there enough? I can often barely move for days after any workout. The yoga classes I take there are quite awesome but the fitness is killing me. And its getting in the way of my running so I really have to take a look at what Im doing.

Diet is still crap, Im not making any headway there. I just am too lazy to change now ;) If I could resist the stuff the kids are always baking and making....

So nothing new here.

I did a fun race on Saturday with Holly; GoTruro.ca ran a winter Triathlon/Duathlon called the Abominable Snowman race, with skis, snowshoes, and sneakers. I did the snowshoe/Run part and it was incredibly hard. It was a beautiful day, with warmish temps. Rain the night before took away little of the snow, but left it slushy and heavy :/ So apparently the skiing was tough, the snowshoeing was ok, I never ran in snowshoes before but it wasn't as bad as I thought. I did the 1.5 km loop in 15 minutes plus. then I dumped the snowshoes and went off with sneakers; I had trail shoes but in a foot of slush and water they weren't very useful. 3 laps of 1.5 km were hard :) And wet!  Total time for the 6 km was 49:24 or something like that. But there wasn't a stable step so hips were killing.

And then Sunday morning before the Olympic Gold Medal hockey game (mens) I had to get my long run in so I met some friends at 6 am and we did 14 km. Right from the start I had a sore hip and tired legs from afternoon before, run finished but short of distance and I was nauseous (wtf?) and couldn't wait to get home. Hockey game was awesome, Canada Gold again :) the girls had hockey games for the rest of the day and we were all tired by night. Annika got very sick and we had a fairly sleepless night :)

Now its Monday yet again and Im not sure where Im going from here :)

Upcoming "Race"

I have trouble thinking any run in February could be a race. Weather conditions are always questionable and we are expecting in the next 3 days snow, rain (think flood) and then snow. Maybe a foot.  Race day? Sun. But after all that weather?  Who cares LOL. The cold takes it out of a runner and my run times lately have been dismal. I say its the weather but its likely that Im getting old and carrying 5 pounds more than I was last year.
Im in taper this week, but I managed on Tuesday to do a fun "bootcamp" sort of class with only 6 exercises in it but 4 of them were "squatty" and my legs are trashed. I then ran 8 km which I hoped would stretch things out but yesterday I was sore and today walking is unpleasant :) Last night I walked and then ran at the RECC and put some of the girls through a fun little workout 10 exercises for 10 minutes; it was good while moving but I hobbled last night. Im thinking today doesn't need to be a workout day but I want to go to yoga tonight. I believe that would be helpful.
I feel lately that workouts are making me more sore than they used to :/ Im not working out more or less than I used to but many leave me too sore for activity for days and are interfering with other things. Like using the bathroom ;)
Ive been thinking more and more that Id like to cut way down on bread and grains, and cut more sugar out of my diet. I am not really looking for weight loss; more looking at things like feeling tired all the time and my family history of late onset diabetes. I cannot seem to, however, control my cravings for breads and ice cream.  Its a work in progress :)
Everything is a work in progress ;)

Status Unknown

Im here at the moment is all I am sure about. Nothing has changed and nothing is going to in the near future. But I am running and managing to be active and I have not resorted to crawling under the covers of the bed to hide from the stress and anxiety that plague every day, so Im winning so far. Not for long tho.

I write now because I managed a long run Sunday.  A real long run;) which I haven't in awhile. It snowed the night before and was forecast for wind so I wasn't sure the run would go, and I got up late so was only able to do some of the run with the group Ive been running with and finished the last 8 km alone. But I did run! 18.5 km in 2:04:21 which I know isn't great but it was slippery and I finished :)

I then skipped spartan training, cleaned some gym, watched a hockey game, and did heated yoga which wasn't strenuous tonight and had a lot of chanting ;) and funny breathing....and sitting.

I have a half marathon in 2 weeks. Im not ready ;)

Monday ended up an inactive rest day but today looks amazing :)

MIA

I've fallen off the face of the earth, hiding in my house and avoiding all the stuff. It's been nearly 2 months and there is nothing new.

I'm still unemployed. There's nothing out there in my field :/

Kids are settled into their sports and activities with lots of fall soccer games, cross country meets, 4H shows, hockey practices and games, drama practices, and social times.

I coached the high school XC team again, it was a good season. :)

Im making lots of Christmas bows. Hopefully that will see us through christmas and into the rest of winter:/

I am still running of course but did not do the marathon; those things aren't free and I needed new sneakers instead.

I'm sitting in an airport In Toronto, waiting to go home. The trip to the Royal Winter Fair for 4H is over. Mind blowing that we wait so long and now we are heading home. I've loved Toronto to visit; not to live. But we have done so much while we have been here; Annika and I were not involved in the 4H show so we had flexibility; not to mention she turned 11 while we were here so her wish was our command.  We saw the fair, CN  Tower, rode the subway and city bus, swam in the pool, ran. Yup I ran in Toronto downtown at 6 am. It was awesome.

I'll plan to add detail to Interesting parts of this post.   Still in a bit of a crappy place.  

Ch Ch Changes

Since last post the wheels have kinda come off a bit; reflecting on it isnt much fun so I have not really felt at all like writing anything :( I will keep it simple...after 6 years of teaching and doing everything asked and going above and beyond reasonable I did not get a new contract at the college and therefore at the ripe old age of 40 I am again job-hunting. I can't sleep and dont feel much like doing anything so I am completely going through the motions of what needs to be done. End.

The bike ride on the Shubie course was good. It was hilly and it was hard. But good. I did it twice in preparation for my race ahead.  The wind was a killer; it was gusty just how I Like It; I felt like I was going to be shoved without warning in front of a car, and it always seemed to be in front of me no matter that it was an out and back course.
We found that one bike fits super slick in the back of the Jetta if we don't have any of the kids with us ;) Its a great way to travel.

We were almost home when the "call" came so that kinda ruined Friday night.

Saturday morning we got up bright and early and took Holly to Oxford to show her Jersey calf. 

 

Both Holly and the calf did super well. It was an open show and May won her class in Conformation, then was chosen Grand Champion of the show which made Holly's day. Holly showed in the showmanship class and won her class although not overall; she did beat her father which was awesome. Important show since Holly's calf was shown against some of her competition for Pro Show, so a good preview.

Fast forward a little and School started this week; the kids are in grades 5, 7, and 10.

Cross Country has started and I am coaching the highschool team again. We had practice Thursday and Friday and there was lots of running. I had a run in the Park on Thursday and one on the road on Friday, so lots of km for me :)

 With the lack of sleep and resulting lack of training coupled with the fact that I strained my hamstring and cant seem to bear swimming in the lake, I kinda lost my mind and pulled out of the Tri I was supposed to do on Sunday. Not in health or mental spot to do something like that :( Instead I travelled with Scott and Holly to Cape Breton for the U14 Soccer Provincials :) Holly's team did good to get there; their playoff game was a nail biter. We got up at 430 am to get to the first game on time; we made it with time to spare but were really sleepy.

they lost their first game 1-0 as they did not come out playing but very slow and tentative :( They could have won....
Their second game they played better but tied the team 2-2 which again they could have beat them...and just did not.
We checked into the hotel and other than a trip to the hot tub and a short dip in the pool, we didnt move again and were all sleeping by like 9 pm.
The next morning was the third game, which again they could have won to put them in the Bronze medal game, but they tied 0-0 and the other team went to the Bronze Medal game. There was a goal called back, a post, a missed net....they really came out to play and just did not get the goals they needed, even tho they also didnt give up any. It was too little too late.
So a good trip to CB nonetheless and off home we went.

Monday morning I did a long run and wouldnt you know it, it was a great run. I had 19 km on schedule and did 23 easily and finished hopping. I could have gone way more. Typical. Im not sure I am able to do the marathon next month; money is super tight and these things are not free. Scott has started a new job and its hard to say how that will go. 
So today I am sitting here looking at ads for jobs I am not the least bit interested in :( Go me. weather is crappy, not planning to run and its windy so I dont feel like biking. This is not a happy place to be :(

Bullet Points

Because my day and even my week as been like that. So here it is, in point form ;)

-right after I signed up for the triathlon in September, my kid's soccer team won their regional playoffs and are going to Provincials. On the same weekend, at the other end of the province. Complicating factors keep it real right?

-in attempt to reduce monthly bills I'm test driving a new car.  A car that is even more like what I want than the one I currently have. It's pretty and shiny and new and can save us hundreds a month. A no brainer right?

  

-trying to fit a little bit of summer into the end of the summer; the week of exhibition where the kids all showed their calves, we too the youngest to Magic Mountain in Moncton while the oldest stayed here and worked :( 

-runs are still going. Last long run was a little late in the morning again; I ran to town and met a friend for 7 km then ran to home; I started feeling a little "dark" about a km short so called for a pick up. Rather be a km short than pass out on the road. I had water, a snack, it wasn't "that" hot. Not sure what that was. 

-I tried an open water swim at the dyke the other night and couldn't swim out over the mud dark bottom.  Panic set in and I totally froze and turned back. I swam back and forth by the shore for 25 minutes, turning every time the water got a little dark. Chicken. This is not a good sign for my upcoming open lake swim I like a week. I swam at the pool last night and at least I didn't freak ;) it's not the water. I can swim. It's the dark. My mind sees sharks and dead bodies. 

-I dropped in to work today even tho I've no job yet. Every summer I'm off and have to reapply to work again :( classes start in a week and that includes a long weekend, and I've not even been hired yet :( 

-this work thing has left me a little crazy. And maybe a little cranky. 

-yesterday when I ran I felt very tight and tired in my hamstrings, so today I've rested.  I might yet run tonight but I ate and I'm sluggish so who knows. I barely slept last night.

- tomorrow I am taking my bike to Shubie Beach and biking the bike route. 

All I can put in my head right now :( 

August Post

Ugh this was NOT autosaving when my computer gave up on my so I lost my post :( Time is in short supply so now instead of finishing this post, I am looking at restarting :( Its going to take much longer :(

I was saying something about Summertime seeming like it should have so much time but really it does not, and I thought I would write more, but I am so busy out there doing more activities, playing with the kids, and training more, I am not in fact writing more. SIGH.

August training has been a little hit and miss. Since the triathlon I have only swam once, and have biked little :( I am not sure why. Its not a matter of want. I want to. 
I have had a lot of other activities going on that are not specific to training, like Ball Hockey, a tournament on a weekend in which we played 3 games in one day :( I consider that speedwork lol 3 sessions in one day is a lot. Ball Hockey is rough therefore I did not long run the next day like I had planned to. In fact I arranged a bit of a party and then did not stay at it because one of my kids was sick.  Sunday ended up being a rest day but Monday the long run happened.  Always something in the way :)

My Aug 4 long run was an experience as I had planned to take an 11.2 km loop twice, staying close to home and giving me an out.  However I was a little put off stride when near the start a fellow in a car pulled over asking where I was going (which is kinda creepy) but he actually wanted to warn me of a BEAR and her Cubs that were spotted ahead in case I wanted to turn back (which is kinda nice of him!).  I did not turn back, but instead took off headphones and went ahead, running in the middle of the (extremely quiet) road as if that would keep me safer lol and I saw no bears but I was so stressed and nervous about it, I continued on into town instead of going the same loop twice, getting my miles in. 

Long runs are going really well, up to the last one. I think I was getting a little cocky because they were going so well; I got up a little later than planned and did not leave until after 9 am (it's August hello?) and it was hot and sunny, fog had all burned off :(  I felt fine mostly, choosing a route that gave me 2 options to turn for home, but since I felt great I kept going and those last 4 km were a total slog home.  I started with Energenix in my bottle but refilled at BIL/SIL house with plain water; I had a cliff Bar at 18 km but I ran through lunch time and was very very hungry.  Last little bit I was tired and a bit spacey; when I got back to within sight of my house, a neighbor with a dead battery needed a boost so while I was talking to them I felt the black closing in on me; I walked home to get car and felt very close to passing out entire time.  Got back to house, tried to eat; too nauseated so I had water and a cool shower; eventually I ate and continued drinking but I felt dizzy most of the day, and stayed still in the cool living room (doing needle point haha) until about supper time when I felt a little more normal.  It was a reminder that although this summer seems better than last, I still have not perfected this long run thing. Weird since my first summer (ages ago) were so much easier compared to this; there was a few runs I felt awful but nothing like last year.

I have some events upcoming, Triathlon Olympic Distance at Shubie Park being the first, in a short 2 weeks.  Im not ready. Ive really let my training down this last few weeks, and I am going to suffer for it. My swim this week was good, 54 laps quite easily which makes me feel I might survive the 1,5 km I am going to be swimming in a lake (weedy, scary lake) and the bike should be ok but the run is going to kick my ass after the bike since I am not really conditioned well enough for that length of bike ride :( The same weekend my oldest DD is going to Provincials with her soccer team, 5 hours away from the race venue. Its going to take some juggling.

6 Days later I will be doing the Maritime Race Weekend which is a 5 km Sunset race on Friday night followed by a 10 km Sunrise run the next morning.  Looking forward to it but expecting it to be tough so close to the Tri.

2 weeks later, a leg on a Relay race, same weekend as the 4H Provincial Show which 2 of my daughters, 3 of their animals, and 4 of their Lifeskills projects are going to be attending.  At least those 2 venues are much closer together.

2 weeks after that is my next Marathon.  Valley Harvest Marathon has been on my radar for a couple of years, I am training for it currently (which is why my Tri training is so sketchy :()

And then there is the Lucky 7 Relay in November with the same team I competed with last year. We are dressing up as farm animals this year and are team Barn to Run.  (giggle )

That will be the end of my season I believe. There are a few others I wish for, like the Cobequid Trail Race this weekend, and maybe a December run. But Ive not committed to anything else.

More on what we've been doing to come!

Am I a Triathlete now?

Its been most of a month since I updated.  I don't particularly think anyone is interested in reading the same old, every day stuff. I am actually crazy busy and training a TONNE :)

red is bike, blue is run, grey is mostly ball hockey

although according to the Triathlon club training schedule Im likely doing half what I should be. Trying to coordinate a tri schedule and a marathon schedule means neither one is getting done very well. 
SO I did my first Triathlon yesterday.
It was a Sprint, not a full Olympic distance. I actually think it was enough. LOL

Ive been doing swimming, but not very consistently, because I have to go somewhere else to do it and cannot do it from my house. I even did a salt water swim but it was super calm and did nothing to prepare me for what I had to do yesterday :(
The biking is a little better, at least 2 times a week or so I am doing some distance although I do need to increase that somewhat.
Running is running. I've been missing my long runs past 2 weeks due to Tri training. 

I figured if I didn't sign up for something I never would so I picked the Guysborough Triathlon because it was also TriNovaScotia's club championship.  We managed to get 4 ladies and 5 men from our Truro Triathlon Club to come out as a team and compete. 2 of us had never done a tri before!  :)

So we got up at 430 am and drove 2 hours to Guysborough, arriving after the sun came up ;) but before packet pick up started. Yay me on time! :)
I arranged and rearranged gear and walked around start and transition lines, picked up race kit, moved bike to rack, without warming up or testing it, by the way, got body ink:)

 I took some pictures before it was time to get too nervous; nerves were kicking in watching the wind blow so hard in Chetabucto Harbour blowing the buoys towards the right. :( wind and waves were strong.

The transition area was congested and a little nuts. The turnout for this race was more than 4 times what it was the year before and they were caught a little offguard. There were not enough racks for the Sprint and Try-a-Try bikes and therefore they were crowding them in very tight. I protected my space til it calmed down.

My warmup wasn't so great; I did go for a little run, did some stretching exercises, although I did not touch the bike. I just hoped it worked ok after it's bouncy ride to the race. I didn't swim before the start, which really was a good thing since it was FREEZING cold and very rough and wavey; I didn't need to be thinking about that. 

The swimmers were watched over by a full crew and I always felt they were nearby while I was swimming. Those fellows in the kayaks were tossed around a lot :P The prerace meeting was pretty much a waste of time because we could not hear what the race directors were saying and the people around us obviously didn't need the information, as they were chatting loudly about everything else except the race. I don't know if we missed information or what :)
Waiting for the Olympic Distance triathletes to finish their swim was unnerving.  We talked and discussed strategy and just waited for them to be finished.
Once most of the Olympic distance racers were finished, we got ready for our shot at the race. The guys went first, then they finally let the ladies go. I guess they didn't want the ladies holding up the men; or they didn't want the men swimming over the ladies? It was a big crowd.


We waded into the water over a bunch of big rocks; the entrance and exit was a narrow ramp between rocks. Therefore we had an "in the water" start. We had to wade in and get wet. I thought we might have a few seconds for a few strokes in the water to acclimate but unlike the 2 starts before us, they started right away and I was barely wet and still couldn't catch my breath from the cold.
And it was cold.  I had a brain freeze up to at least the first buoy! 

The crowded swim wasn't bad. I hung to the back, and swam over a few people, and got kicked by a few, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been. The waves were bad enough.  I swallowed a lot of salt water, did a bit of breast stroke for it's calming qualities. It took ages to get used to the cold, and ages longer to fight the waves. The tide was going out, and it was dragging the same direction as the wind was blowing. I thought the long distance from the first to second buoy was the worst distance, but the swim back to the ramp was the worst because we had to swim sideways to avoid being swept out to sea!  I must not be a strong swimmer at all ;) It was even hard to avoid the docks, the wind was so strong.

So we swam back up the ramp we entered, over the rocks, and ran between the big rocks onto the matt and up a hill to the transition area. about 24 minutes swimming. ick. I worried a little about all that salt water.




I did have some trouble getting out of the wet suit which I knew I would; I don't know how people do it in suits tighter than mine!  I mean really tight wet suits?  Mine isn't very tight and I still struggle to get out! 
Transition 1 was fast, I was out of the suit and pulled on shirt and shoes, helmet and glasses, and was off. 

I went bare feet on the bike for the first time. It was kinda gross LOL. I think I prefer socks. At the end of the bike there was a long way to run, and I didn't want to do that in my bike shoes; running over the pavement ruins the cleats on the bottom. But I didn't want to ruin my socks either; so bare feet; And then I couldn't get out of my shoes easily on the bike, so I ended up running in my shoes anyway. A long way!

 The bike ride was good. On the way out to the turnaround, the wind was strong in front, which made it hard. And it seemed like there was a lot of uphill, which was awesome on the ride back. I worked hard to drink lots of Energenix on the bike, since that was the only chance for taking in energy.  It took some work lol I spilled a lot but got at least half a bottle. I meant to eat a Cliffs bar on the bike but didn't feel like it so skipped it; error. Rethink! Maybe something lighter than a bar needs to be considered.
 It took almost 30 minutes to get to the turnaround which was disappointing to me, but only 20 minutes to get back to the dismount. Scott was directing bikers by this time so photos were scarce.
Back in Transition 2 I found someone (a very young man) had parked his bike sideways on the rack in my spot with his front tire on my towels with all my gear underneath. I was NOT happy to have to move his bike just to rack mine and get at my gear. I didn't expect it to be tidy but to actually park a bike on top of someone else's gear?  REALLY????

 I put on socks and runners, switched out my helmet for hat, had a drink, and then figured I would grab a bite of Cliffs Bar.....without another drink to wash it down. I swear I couldn't swallow it for like 5 minutes. I considered spitting it out but didn't.  Ugh another error.
The run was mostly trail with some grass and gravel road. It was a little rough and fairly hilly. It was nice but I didn't feel like I had a lot of speed, like running in mud. At the turnaround on the run there was shade which felt nice. at a water stop there was a girl shooting water guns at people and that was nice.
 

The end was nice. I always feel so much better to stop. It doesn't take long to forget how awful the run felt lol.

 

So my first Triathlon is finished. It was a Sprint distance but I cannot imagine having done 2 times everything. That sounds like torture LOL.  I need more endurance training for that. Need to up my miles again!  And the swim ! UGH.  need to stay in the open water!

Swim 750 m, Bike 20 km, and Run 5 km.

91/104

10/12 F40-49 for age group. Im in a new age group. It didn't seem to help my results anyway ;)

I was 94th out of the water, in 24:13.

I was 86th on the bike, in 51:08.

76th on the run, in 30:33.

 

Im glad I wasn't last. I may still be a little disappointed in my placing, but after seeing how slow my times are and how I cannot keep up with anyone, Im not exactly surprised. I need speedwork?  SIGH.



June Catch Up Post - Johnny Miles, GoTruro Twilight Mile, long bike rides.

It's been a long month since the Cabot Trail Relay :)

Ive done a lot of running since then. 16 runs, actually :) the first actual long run of my new training plan was last Sunday morning and it was 9 miles of doing it wrong. I dressed in a shirt that was too heavy. It was black and hot. And the temp was like 15 at 630 which is really hot. It was "only" 9 miles so I decided I didn't need to carry water and I was really, really wrong. I only had 90 minutes to do the 9 miles which means I had to push it. I was meeting some new people to run with, and wasn't sure how that run was going to go. They are faster than I am and it wasn't a slow run but instead averaged 6:08 mins / km.  One of the others shared her water with me, thank goodness. I was really happy to see the park and the end of that hot run. I need to rethink this long run thing :) Im obviously not mentally ready for the long hot runs yet.

Ive played 3 ball hockey games.

I did a 400 m swim time trial. I finished it in 9:12 which I think is faster than the first time but not super better.

Ive ridden the bike 2 times. oops. Both of them were the longest rides yet. the latest one was almost 49 km and they were pretty hilly ones.

I did the Johnny Miles with all three of my girls :)

The day was bright and sunny, not terribly hot, very nice running weather. We drove over just before the race started, and parked at my aunts house, then walked down to the race start after using her bathroom :) We all had to go again but didn't do the port-a-potty thing and ran with the need :) Holly was miserable! lol We met friends there at the start.

I ran with Annika for her first ever race :) And she was awesome.  Holly ran with her friend Mason, and Taylor ran somewhere behind us.  I did see her at the turnarounds, she looked comfortable. Annika set our pace, and she did not walk for about 2 km :) she had a few breaks after that, didn't love the hills, but kept her walks very short :)  

Little runner :) I told Annika about finding someone in front of you to reel in, and she started picking out people to pass. She liked that.

Just as we were headed for the home stretch, she was getting tired and I told her to pass the lady in front of us, with a black and white shirt on. Annika surprised me with a sprint I had trouble keeping up with, and she passed the woman, sprinted around the corner, and right straight through the finish line! 

 

I was really proud of her! 

She was really proud of herself as well! Finish time was 32:46. Mine was 32:47 ;)

Holly and Mason finished ahead of us :)

We picked up our lunch and spent the rest of the day visiting family.

Johnny Miles success again this year :)

Since Johnny Miles went so well I dragged the 2 younger kids out Friday night for the first Gotruro Twilight Mile at the local track.  Just a warm up and a mile run on the track :) classic race! 

The littles went first. Youngest kids, then mid kids, then the oldest kids there including my girls :)

Holly claims she didn't race it; Annika might have.

After the kids broke 10 minutes each, Holly with 8:25, the three ladies took to the line, and raced our mile.  I did a steady 2 minute lap, not wanting to push especially hard because I have been feeling like crap lately.  I did my mile in 8:09.  I might have been able to go faster but at this point, not much :( still having some struggles feeling good.

Which catches up to today. When I did a tonne of house work and some tasks around here before heading to a hockey game. A really good one :)

This has just been a super busy month! The kids are finished school today, their soccer has kept us hopping 6 days a week. Training for a triathlon and marathon will be taking up the rest. Having a social life would be fun, good thing I am currently unemployed :)