Blogging & a Poem

Well, I've been super negligent at updating my blog lately. So much has been going on between Christmas, work, etc.

I've been running & biking as per Greg's program. However I have been skipping the swim workouts and I've been doing all my biking at home. Iain has been travelling a bit so I have not been out much. I've also been x-country skiing a bit. As we've had all this snow, I couldn't resist. :)

However, I'm going back in the pool Friday morning. I know it's my day off but I really need a swim.

I also thought I'd include a poem I wrote about Ironman Lake Placid. I sent it to Mark (Chef) Naphin and he liked it. So, here goes:
**********

Ironwill

Each year, it almost fades
To Placid memories….
The utopian atmosphere,
The camaraderie,
The endless struggle,
The quest for definition,
The physical supremacy,
The fall into humility.
The mountains, the mist,
The 2000 beings,
Adrenaline rushed,
Waiting for the game:
The breaking of Mirror Lake.
The conquest of Keene ,
Of Jay and Wilmington
Of Mama, Baby, Papa bear.
The endless catatonic run,
The awakening
After hours of toil
To the words:
“You are an Ironman.”

Leaha

Leaha the Lazy Blogger :)

Boy, I'm not too good at updating my blog lately!

What's new? Well, I have not been doing too much. Swimming a bit and a few runs and a bike or two per week. It's been nice, although I think it's time to step it up a bit. However, I will be without a sitter for Shannon for the next week or so. So I'll have to manage some basement bike rides.

I was surfing today and went to see what was new at the Muskoka 70.3 site. They've posted a teaser video of the race and they're saying it might be "the world’s toughest Ironman 70.3 course". It will be airing on TSN Dec. 6th at 1pm MST. I will be watching every second of it. :)

Link to video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3vcn-9yI_Q&eurl=http://www.ironmanmuskoka.com/intro.htm

Leaha

Update

Wow, I haven't updated my blog in a while. :)

Hmmm, what's new? I purchased a new trainer from Bow Cycle. It's a mag, rather than a fluid. It'll take some getting used to, but I think it might be better. This one has controls that better simulate hill climbing. My now broken fluid trainer did not. So hey, maybe it's a good thing it broke. :) Well, except for the money to replace it!

I've been swimming up to three times a week and trying for three runs. The cycling has been more like once or twice. But I've been doing weights every day or two. And core at least three to five times a week. Oh and a hike or two with my family. Now I need to fit in some yoga. :) I'm finding it hard to run alone at night now as it's so dark. I think I'm going to start running at lunch again. I need to get some sunlight time.

I think I'm ready for Greg's schedule soon. It's much harder to keep up the workouts alone. lol I tend to miss a few, especially on the bike!

As for the coming season, I think I'd like to do a couple of running races. I was considering the "Around the Bay, 30 K" race in Hamilton as I think we'll be in Toronto then. It's such a great race, pretty challenging. There are a few big hills in the last 10-12K. It's the oldest road race in North America, a few years older than Boston. I am also considering the Calgary half-marathon. My daughter would like to do the kid's marathon. So that would be lots of fun. It's such a great idea! The kids run 41 KM in small increments during the six weeks leading up to the race. Their longest single run is 3 KM. Then at 9:30am on race day, they start at the 41 KM point in the marathon and complete the last 1.2 K. They get a medal, t-shirt, the whole thing. :)

Later,

Leaha

I'm Lazy!

Not much going on this week. I've been very lazy & sleepy for some reason. I'm blaming it on the early sunsets. :)

Last Sunday I swam and brought my trainer & bike to the group ride as I was tired of the basement. On the way, my trainer fell over and broke! Too bad as it's only 1 year old. It's toast for sure as a piece of metal snapped off. As it's not fixable, I'm off to MEC this weekend to find a new one. GRRRRRR! lol

Other than Sunday, I've run once this week. Oh and weights almost every day. But I'm off to the pool tonight. Got to get myself moving. I'm going to try for a swim, bike & run this weekend.

I'll also be making some time Saturday for Ironman updates. My amazing coach, Greg, is doing the Florida Ironman. He just broke 10 hours last August at Ironman Canada!

Go Greg, Go!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Leaha

Tuesday & a Haiku

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I've been staying away from the computer a bit and catching up on my sleep.

I've had some excellent swims since the race. My stroke count per 25 metres seems to have dropped from 25-27 to 21-22! Not sure how that happened. And I've done some 25 metre laps in 25 seconds and 50 metres in 60 seconds. I know this is still slow, but considering were I was, it's a big speed gain. :)

As for the run, I've only done a few short ones this week. I am doing some weight training to try and balance out my body, especially to protect my knee.

Please forgive me, but with all of this time spent thinking in and about water , I've included the below:

*********************
The water sleeps still
Awakening at my touch
The propeller's dance
*********************

Leaha

Thanksgiving Weekend

I did not do a lot this past weekend, but I ate enough, lol.

We went for a two hour hike with a bit of sporadic running. I rode my bike on the trainer for a while, just some spinning. Yesterday I ran for about 45 minutes and my knee was killing me, it's the old IT issue. This started last week. So I've been back to physio & ART. I've also started doing some weight training to work on my core, hips, glutes. I'm hoping this helps with stabilizing the knee.

Anyway, I've been daydreaming of the new bike that I'd like to purchase. I need to save my pennies for this one! It's a Look 586. Likely waaaaayyy too much bike for me, but who cares! I'll grow into it. :) Here is a link: http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/look-launches-lighter-586-road-frame-12315

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving weekend. :)

Leaha

I Can Swim :)

Big night for me in the pool last night! Everything came together, finally.

To preface: I've spent a fair amount of time in the canoe, at my family's Ontario cottage. I know exactly the feeling of grabbing the water with the paddles. I've tried applying that thought to my swimming before, with limited success. For some reason, last night it worked. I felt myself grabbing and pulling the water. I was gliding in between strokes. I could feel a huge difference. What solidified it for me most though, was Jill waiting for me at the end of the lane, telling me I had a beautiful stroke!

Hopefully I can maintain the change. I'm very excited by the prospect of improvement in my swimming.

Leaha the tadpole

Swim & Run

I got back in the pool today. It felt fantastic to be swimming again. Nothing too serious, just some freestyle and kicking followed by a bit of core work. I ran after, not too long but I picked up some speed. It felt great. I just feel a bit of fatigue, but much better than last week. I'm thinking it may be time to hop back on my bike. :)

More later,

Leaha

Bike & Run

Tonight, Shannon and I decided to take advantage of the nice weather before it's gone. So after work, I took her to Edworthy park. She rode her bike and I ran for about 40 minutes. My ankle is getting much better. :) My energy has returned too. I'm dying to run!

We're going back tomorrow night. Got to get a few more in before the snow falls.

I spoke with Karen tonight. She & her husband are back from Europe. They both completed the Berlin marathon. I can't beleive that she was able to run a marathon only two weeks after Muskoka. Crazy. Anyway, Karen has signed up for Muskoka again and I wish I could too. I'm doing that race again someday. We were also discussing Lake Placid plans for 2009. I'm peeling again but I'll need to find another volunteer job this year. I need four hours to get in the short line to sign up for 2010. I have to do Lake Placid, I learned to swim after watching my first Ironman there.

My head is swimming with possibilities. :)

Leaha

A Trail Run

I ran today for the first time since the race and it was great! Nothing really hurt except for my left ankle, and it was not too bad. My body was very tired though. It feels like it's at the cellular level or something. I don't recall fatigue like this before. I've been going to sleep right after my 8 year old, until recently. :)

My trail running friend, Karen and I ran though a bunch of ravine trails and some paths in Nose Hill Park. We were gone for nearly 2.5 hours. Likely too long for my first run, but it was slow and we took a few walking breaks, especially while climbing those hills! :) I wore my heart rate monitor and tried to keep my HR below 145. I think the average for the run was 126.

Anyway, I'm pretty happy. I did have to ice my ankle though. I think I'll get it checked out this week.

I'm going to get back in the pool this week too. I might wait another week for the bike as the ankle issue happened there, I think.

I'm still kind of glowing about the race. :)

Leaha

One Track Mind :)

A couple of Garmin downloads of the Muskoka 70.3 course (elevation & grade), in case anyone is interested in signing up for this race.

More Pictures

Karen & I the afternoon before the race



Note the picture of my door at work! What a great bunch they are!

Pictures

A couple of shots from the race. Finishing the swim, finishing the bike and then finishing the run. Funny, I'm smiling in almost every picture I've seen. :)

Back Home

We arrived home yesterday, thank goodness. My own bed, my own coffee. :) I took my bike down to the shop and had it re-assembled. I love that bike even more now. It took those corners in the rain, it did not dump me once. I saw lots of bikes by the side of the road, a few ambulances too. I learned a lot. Even how to grab a bottle in the exchange!

So now what!? lol

Now I want to run. My body is tired but I really miss running. I feel like I want to do a good long run. :) I've been comparing a marathon and the 70.3 in my mind. They are so different. But I think that a marathon hurts more. The 70.3 just makes your body very tired. Funny, I remember Derek making the same statement this summer. A marathon, even a half is a bit more boring, really. Triathlon really mixes it up. It makes the time go by so much faster.

Anyway, I've been racking my brain to figure out what happened with my stomach last week. I remember that I could not eat much race morning, I never can. So right before the swim I thought I might bonk and ate a half stinger bar. The other half was in my shoes and I ate it in T1. Hmmm..... oops I think Greg told me not to do that. :)

Triathlon is like golf - lots to remember.

Gotta run. :)

Leaha

Recovery & Thanks

Well my legs are feeling much better today. :) I'm running up & down stairs as usual. My stomach though, that's another story. Still a bit queasy, although I'm able to take in more food now, which is good! lol It feels like the day or two after having the stomach flu. I think I've got to try and figure out what happened to my stomach on race day. I think I'd do a much better job if it behaved itself.

I've read some other post race blogs on Muskoka. I'm feeling pretty good as the reports stated that 1700+ were registered, but only 1300 or so got into the water. Some people got out of the swim before it ended as well. Not sure why, maybe the rain. Anyway, great experience all around. I'm already thinking ahead to the Calgary 70.3. :) A good sign, I think.

I am also very grateful for the support of several people. Pat, who supported me for those last several KMs, even though her own race had ended that day on the bike course. I hope I can be there for you someday. Wendy, who came out and made me run to the finish. You rock girl! Now I know how you push yourself during your races. Bill Davidson, who helped me get my stuff from transition post race and sat in the rain with me chatting until Graeme & Betty came with the truck. Graeme & Betty, two people I had just met that hauled me and my wet stuff back to the cottage, sent me for a hot shower while they made me coffee and delt with all my gear. :) My coach, Greg. You gave me the direction and inspiration to get here. My swim coach, Jill. I can't count how many times you walked beside me as I swam, helping me to correct my stroke. My daughter, Shannon. You rode your bike with me for all my long runs and watched movies, read books and chatted as I was on the trainer. Keith, who always offered advice and encouragement. And lastly, my best friend, Karen Davidson. You inspired me to run a marathon, you inspired me to do a triathlon. You finished as well on Sunday, ahead of me. :) I'm not sure which means more to me, your finish or mine. They've blended and I have no words to describe what the experience meant to me.

Can't wait for the next one!

Leaha

Muskoka 70.3 Race Report

Wow, what to say about this race. Twas tough!

It rained, lol. It rained a lot!

The swim went pretty well. The water was rough and there were weeds and a big lake roll, ick. But I finished it in 58 minutes. I was happy!

T1: We ran 300-400 metres up a hill into transition. I ate a bar on the way and then had some bathroom issues for a few minutes.

I got on my bike and was nervous as I've never ridden in the rain. The first 20 KM were all hills so it took a while to settle in. The hills on this course were tough not only as they were numerous but because there were sharp turns at the bottom. After about one hour on the bike, my stomach was upset. I took in more Perpetuem but after two hours, I threw up while riding my bike! I was oddly proud for being able to do this. I knew I would not make the cutoff if I stopped. So I kept riding and it kept raining. I took one hill at 67KM per hour with rivers of rain going down the hill. I was pretty confident that if I just kept pushing, I'd get there. Across the bottom of the course, there was a lot of wind, this lasted about 30 KM or so. The remnants of Ike I understand. Then I hit a rough piece of road for about 5KM or so. It was very bumpy and muddy. I was covered with mud just like an Xterra race. :) After this was the last 20 KM climb back to transition. There were many hills and they were very steep. I had to stand on my bike to get up them. I crested the last hill and saw transition. I was so happy as I knew I'd made that cutoff time. I was smiling coming into transition!

T2: I had more bathroom issues there and also found that my feet were cramped. It took a few minutes to sort them out. For a couple of minutes I thought my day was finished. Then I put on my running shoes and started to walk. I tried a gel but it made me sick again and that was the last thing I ate during the race.

The run: I kept running, very slowly until about 12KM. At that point I really crashed. I just could not eat anything. People by the side of the road offered me hamburgers, granola bars, anything they had. I guess I looked bad, lol! The bathroom issues got worse and I used many bushes and port a potties. :) At about 15KM the water I was drinking just ran through me, right after I drank it. But I figured I needed to drink something. I got a bit nervous then as I thought maybe my kidneys were having trouble. So I just walked for a bit. My friend Pat met me at 17KM. She walked with me for the rest of the race. I kept thinking that I'd throw up again, but never did. I was pretty sure by this point that I had missed the cutoff but I was not going to quit. I thought I would just finish the course and that was it. I promised myself that I would just do nice little sprints & olympics if I finished this one. Just after 20KM, another friend Wendy came out to see where I was. She said that I had eight minutes to finish and then they would tear down. She told me that there was nothing left to throw up and that I should just run. So I did. And I made the cutoff by 33 seconds. I got my medal, t-shirt and hat.

I've never been last in a race before, and although I'm a bit embarrassed by that thought, it doesn't matter. I could have quit so many times yesterday but did not. I had great reasons to both quit and indeed, to not start at all. I have heard since I finished that it is the hardest 70.3 that there is. And I did it. It was the hardest thing I've ever done and I did not give up. I'm pretty proud of myself. And as for my promise to only do sprints & olympics - forget that. I'm signing up for the Calgary 70.3. I just have to explain it to my stomach! lol

As for all of the Ironman finishers reading this, I am even more in awe of you all than I was before.

Onward and upward.

Leaha

The List and a Story

I've started to get organized for my trip Friday. I've made a list of things I'll need for the race, it's very long! I've started putting everything on the bed in the spare room so that I don't forget anything. I think I might need more than one suitcase. I'm going shopping today at lunch for a raincoat, Honey Stinger bars and some more Perpetuem.

The schedule for travel goes something like this: I'll be taking my bike to the shop so that it can be dismantled and packed. I'll pick it up Thursday night, fly to Toronto Friday morning. I arrive in Toronto at 2pm. I'll take my bike to my old bike shop and they'll put it together and keep the bike box (whew). Then I'll get my rental car and drive up to Huntsville. Saturday will be check in, etc. And then Sunday is the race! I think from Thursday on I will not be bored. :) After the race, we'll be staying on Toronto for a few days, relaxing and visiting family.

Six days to go! Now I am excited. :) I want that medal.

I needed some inspiration in the past few days, so I re-read a speech that I wrote for Toastmasters a few years ago. I've included it below.

Leaha

**************************
Much like Forrest Gump, I love to run. In my quest to become a “real runner”, I have run to forget, run to remember. I have run to de-stress. I have run to feel free without a care in the world for a small but precious piece of time. Running for me has been the most precious of educations.

My running experience as an adult began several years ago when my daughter was three months old. I needed an activity that could be done quickly after she was asleep. At first I could not run to the end of the street, but I ran every day. Each outing, I would run one more lamppost. This continued until I could run 8KM non-stop. Those early runs made me feel as though I could go on forever, but I still did not consider myself a runner.

In order to feed my growing running addiction, I decided to try a challenging 10.8 KM hilly race. I showed up alone, intimidated and terrified on race morning. I saw one familiar face that gave me the strength to go ahead with my plans. It was a woman I knew, it was her first race as well. So I signed up and ran. It took me a long time but I finished. During the race I had decided to never run again! Somehow that changed when I crossed the finish line. On the way home, I was so elated at my accomplishment that I decided to try a half marathon, 21KM. I trained for a few months with my sister and we had a great time. Thank god she agreed to run the race with me, I was not prepared. I was so nervous that I had forgotten to eat! As a result, I ran out of fuel at 17KM. It was terrible; I wanted to curl up in a ball by the side of the road. I held onto my sister’s shirt for the last 4KM to the finish. Again, I promised myself during the race that I would never do this again! Then I got my finisher’s medal and I forgot about the pain. However I still was not a runner, as I had needed help to finish.

I then decided to join a running group so that I could prepare myself for another Half Marathon. I also learned about the Marathon, 42KM. I was intimidated by my fellow runners’ stories and ran 4 more Half Marathons instead over the next year. After each race my coach would ask, “ So Leaha, when are you planning to run a full?” I kept telling him that I was not ready yet. Then in the fall of 2002, I committed myself. Three of my running friends were training for a full so I joined them. That winter we ran in snow, freezing rain, bitter cold. I ran tired and sore, hungry and sick. Sometimes I almost cried as I was so tired, but in too much pain to sleep. But we always showed up and we somehow got through the long runs. Maybe it was due to the difficult conditions or the fact that you will talk about anything during a 3 ½ hour run, but I formed a friendship that winter that I hope to have the rest of my life.

Slowly the winter changed to spring and race day arrived. I recall standing at the start line wondering what the hell I was doing there. The longest distance I had ever run was 32KM, I could not handle 10 KM more! Then the starting gun went off and I started to run. The marathon was long and very tough, at 38KM I was in a daze and not certain where I was, maybe it was the Advil? However, I did finish strong with help. At 40KM, five running friends, all marathoners, were with me. One placed himself ahead of me. He matched my pace and yelled at me like a drill sergeant! He told me to reach down deep and speed up! I found something left and I was able to match his speed. I raced across the finish line finally feeling like a “real runner”. My final time was 4 hours and 46 minutes. I had done it! I had completed a Marathon. I hobbled home with my finishers medal, sat down and thought, “When do I get to do this again?!”

Over the past 7 years I have completed more than 20 races, only five of them Marathons. Some were faster, some slower. I have loved every one of them and I relive them often. I am not a fast runner. I may never run Boston. But running has taught me more about life than anything else I have ever done.

I know now that “can’t” is just a word that does not control me. I have learned humility and great patience. I better understand the power of the mind, endurance, the importance of preparation and the value of hard won friendships. I have experienced moments of pure joy that I have not felt since I was a child. Most importantly, like Forrest Gump, running has taught me that with enough effort, I can achieve anything I set my mind to.
****************************

11 Days to Go!!!

Wow, the 70.3 is not too far away now. :) It's been an eventful few days. The room I was staying in at Deerhurst fell through. The girl I was staying with now would like to bring her boyfriend. Luckily my friend Pat offered me some space at a cottage she rented nearby. Thank you Pat!! She is doing the race as well so we can support each other with what to do with all those bags! Transition bags, special needs bags. What the heck does one put in a special needs bag anyway? lol

I'm starting to feel much better now, I have some energy back and am looking forward to the race. The knee is still an issue though. I've made chiropractor, massage & physio appointments. We'll see if they can put humpty-dumpty back together again, or at the very least patch her up. :)

I biked on my trainer last night, just some spinning and I'll be in the pool tonight.

More later,

Leaha

Rough couple of days

I did not get much training done this week as I've been battling a flu-like thing for a few days. Whatever it was had me in bed every night this week before my daughter. I'm on the mend now though, feeling much better today. Wondering how my three lost days of training will affect my race though.

Thanks Keith for your offer to ride with me. Next season for sure!

Only two more weeks!

Leaha

Ode to my knee

Well, I swam last night as per Greg's program and felt pretty good. I allowed a few minutes afterward for steam room/hot tub time. :) I'm finding the heat/cold application combined with lots of stretching seems to help the knee. In addition to my weekly physio appointment, I'm also going to see my chiropractor tonight for some ART. The knee in question feels much better today so I think I'm on the right track. I'm biking & running tonight so we'll see how it holds up.

I'm planning to take another shot at the 100KM ride this Saturday. I might try to find someone to do at least part of the ride with me. I think it's harder to do those long rides alone, or at least to start them! :)

Leaha

Not quite 70.3 - a bit short at 67.6 miles :)

Big weekend for me!

Saturday: I biked 88 KM, not quite the 100 I was hoping for but my knee got a bit sore, so I cut it short. It took me 3:36 to complete it. I then ran off the bike for 20 minutes and felt okay. The bike leg for my race is 94KM, so at that pace, it should take me 3:56. I ate quite a bit but was still hungry at the end. I consumed:

2 bananas
2 gels
2x 2 hour bottles of Hammer Perpetuem
1 Stinger bar (apple - tasted like soap! YUCK)
Water

I think I'll add some date cookies or something cause I seem to have a bottomless black pit where my stomach used to be. lol

Sunday: I swam 1800 metres in the pool and ran 2 hours. I ran pretty slow as I was concerned about my knee. It really didn't hurt during the run though, but after I was cursing all the stairs in my house. :) Lots of icing/stretching last night.

After this weekend and the feedback I received on the Muskoka course, I'm not sure that breaking 7 hours will be possible. Hey, as long as I finish under the cutoffs! It's all good!

Congratulations to everyone that completed IM Canada yesterday. Greg broke 10 hours! Mark got in under 13 hours and Leslie got 14:40! I didn't see Darryl's time yet. I tried to find Keith's time for the Alberta Challenge but the results have not been posted yet.

More later....

Leaha

100KM Ride

Well my knee was a bit sore yesterday and it was raining. Delayed reaction after the race, perhaps? So I rode on my trainer but did not really do any drills. I know I should have done hills but thought spinning might be better for my knee. I have physio today. Rob and his needles will fix me up. :) Oh the joys of being biomechanically deficient. lol

I'm planning on 100KM tomorrow, so hopefully my knee holds out. I might do half on my trainer and the other half on the road, just to be safe. I do not want to have an injury for this race.

I'll be swimming/running on Sunday. After that, of course, I'll be tracking the athletes at IM Canada and Keith at the Alberta Challenge.

Happy training!

Leaha

3.5 weeks to go!

My body seems to have recovered well from Sunday. No aches or pains. :) I rode my bike on the trainer last night then went to the pool this morning before work. I was pretty surprised as the pool was full! It's good for my confidence though as it's one of the few places I go where I pass people in the water. lol It's interesting, I found this new stroke while swimming last Sunday. It's not perfect and not much faster but it feels better. I've tried bending my arm more (as Greg suggested) and it seems to take a lot of pressure off of my shoulder. I've also started pulling all the way down with my hands and rotating my body more. I did that this morning too and it feels more powerful. Although I think I have lots of work to do in the pool, it's nice to feel a change for the better.

I've also been thinking about the races I'd like to do next year. I'm thinking about another half but I figure I should wait until after my September race to figure that out. I keep wondering if I can also fit in a marathon?? Calgary full is in May for 2009. :) I wonder if I might be stronger now because of the cross training?? However, I still remember the pain of the last one... lol One disaster at a time!

I'm off to run tonight.

Happy training. :)

Leaha the tadpole...

Simon Whitfield, 10.5KM and the Muskoka 70.3

Wow, what a race last night! I thought it was all over for Simon. By the last lap, he was pretty far behind the lead three runners. Just as my heart sank for him, he picked up his speed! In 30 + degree heat! He caught up to the group. My heart leapt and I hoped he might earn a bronze. Then in the last 600-700 m, he started to sprint! He took the lead and I was on my feet yelling at the television. The German athlete had more left and sprinted past Simon. And there he was, our pride and joy of triathlon with the silver medal. What an inspiration he is. Coming back from injury and worse, he had lost faith and desire; he had lost his love of the sport. But he won it back, he won us back. Love that guy! :)

Complete subject change: It's interesting, I've read some race reports of Lake Chaparral where people mentioned that the run was longer than the advertised 9K. One guy measured it and found the distance to be 10.5KM. If so, this makes me quite happy as that means I was 6:55 per K rather than 8+! Still slow but that makes much more sense to me, so I'm sticking with that!! lol

I've also heard some interesting reports of the bike course on the upcoming Muskoka 70.3 from Ontario friends. Apparently several people have ridden the course and have decided not to do the race. One woman went to Lisa Bentley and asked her how she could design such a tough bike course and claimed that neither she nor her bike were capable of doing those climbs. Another stated that the course is much harder than Lake Placid. Hmmm... I also found out that the course is 94K rather than 90. So, all of that in mind, I am going out this Saturday on Lockend and 567. I'm going to ride back and forth until I've completed 100KM. :) Then Sunday I'm going to swim 2.5KM and run for two hours. Hey, I may be slower than I'd hoped but I still think I can complete this race.

Onward and upward. :)

Leaha

Slowest Run I've Ever Had!?

Wow, I checked my results for Lake Chaparral and my run time was the absolute slowest I've ever had by about 2 minutes per KM! In past triathlons, I've usually maintained a sub 6 minute KM time. Even my long Sprint (750/33/7) I did 5:47 per KM. Yesterday showed 8+!! I'm thinking I need some running drills. :) Or maybe it was the heat/lack of food? It's scary when your "best" sport declines. :(

Anyway, still happy with my swim. However, now I need to work more on my bike/transition/run!

Four weeks to go!

Leaha

I did it!!!!

Well, I did my first Olympic! I was slow and did not even wear a watch (I know, I know), so I do not know my run time or my final time. It's not posted yet. But really, I'm not that worried about it, I finished and had fun. It was hot! About 3o degrees at the end, as per my truck.

First the swim, the part I was so worried about. I met Keith and a friend of his (sorry, I forgot her name - race jitters). Keith helped me to put on my wetsuit and offered some good cheer. I was slow on the swim, 41 minutes. :) However, I truly enjoyed every second of it. I love, love, love my new wetsuit. :) The sun was shining; the water was warm and pretty calm. I even got into a rhythm after a while. I got kicked in the face and did not even care. Although I did not kick once, arms only. :) Got to work on that!

The bike was good too, I really enjoyed it. I did not push too hard as this was not my big race. But I was surprised by the hill. There was this HUGE hill we climbed 5 times. It was good though, I loved it. The time on my bike for the ride was 1:30. My chip time was 1:38. This was because of my poor transitions! lol My transitions took 8 minutes obviously. So I'm thinking that I need to work on that a bit. :) Also, I need to cut out the chatter. I'm always talking to a fellow racer. :)

The run was my challenge today, how strange is that? For the first loop I had a heck of a time settling into a groove. Maybe as it was so hot, not sure. The second loop was better but I was very hungry by then. I did not prepare near enough food, I think. As I mentioned, I have no idea of my time. I was planning on 5:45 per km, but I seriously doubt that happened.

Anyway, I had a blast! Shannon (my daughter) made a sign that she held up every time I passed. She also met me at the finish line and ran across with me. :)

Thanks to coach Greg for the swim tips and schedule. That schedule keeps me honest. Thanks to Keith for the wetsuit help and good cheer. More thanks to Iain and Shannon for driving all that way to watch my race. And lastly, thanks to all the Lake Chaparral home owners that helped to keep us cool on the run. Several of them sat outside with their hoses and sprayed us. :)

Best wishes to coach Greg and all the other athletes racing this coming weekend in Penticton. :)

On cloud nine,

Leaha

More water, a pink swim cap and a hottie?

I met Keith, Darryl and Greg at Lake Capparal last night. I got there early so I sat and enjoyed the view. There were a lot of divers out there. Apparently there is an underwater obstacle course. Cool, huh? Not sure where it is though as the water is a bit silty. Hard to see which is not a bad thing for me. :)

Last night was the first time I've met Keith. Much to my surprise, after he put on his wetsuit, he donned a very pretty PINK swim cap. :) I felt so out of place with my plain black one. After a few minutes of struggling into my new wetsuit, off we went. The water was much warmer than Quarry Lake, thank goodness! Keith & Darryl started swimming ahead and Greg stayed with me for a few minutes. He very kindly watched my stroke and gave me a few pointers. As the three of them are much faster than me, it didn't take long before I was swimming alone. However, with Keith's swim cap, I was able to sight them pretty easily. It's a very nice lake and I felt quite comfortable. A far cry from the girl that used to freak out in deep water. I'll be slow but I know I'll get there on Sunday.

As mentioned in Greg & Keith's blogs, we did play ball in the middle of the lake. What a nice respite from swimming! The pool is boring in comparison. But regarding Keith's post, I totally overlooked the "real" purpose of the ball game. I guess I missed the hottie on the dock? lol

Thanks to Keith, Darryl and Greg for coming out for a swim. Extra thanks to coach Greg for the swim tips. :)

Best wishes to everyone racing at IM Canada!

Leaha

Water

Yesterday was all about water.

I watched some of the Olympic swimming before work. Then at lunch I was inspired so I went out and bought a new wetsuit. I think my shoulders have grown, time to retire the old suit. Or just save it for occasional swims in the pool. :)

After work, I caught more Olympic swimming. I watched Michael Phelps get ANOTHER gold medal. Go Michael!! On his website, he is nicknamed the "Pool Shark". After watching and reading about Michael and other swimmers (Keith included), how they visualize and even create nicknames to inspire themselves, I'm wondering about this mental part of swimming, a part I've never considered before. Perhaps instead of stressing about the swim for the entire length of it, I need to focus on something fun and on my technique. Perhaps, like Michael Phelps and like Keith, I need a swimming nickname. Shark just does not fit my uber slow pace and turtle just does nothing to inspire. :) Maybe jellyfish?? lol

So I took all of these thoughts with me to the pool last night and tried them on for size. I swam no faster but it was a welcome distraction to let my mind drift off a bit. :)

Got to get in the open water this week to try out the new suit and name!

More later...

Leaha

Brick walls let us show our dedication, or is that bricks??

Pretty good workouts this weekend overall. Although, yesterday on the bike was kind of ugly. My legs just did not want to go anywhere. With only five weeks to go to Muskoka, I was hoping for a much better ride. However, I made it almost three hours and then bricked about 25 minutes after. I was so glad it was over. I'm wondering if waking up and watching the men's cycling late Friday/early Saturday had anything to do with it? :)


Iain and I then took Shannon to Cirque de Soleil. It was fantastic. Truly, some of the performances defied the laws of physics. Shannon, who is 8, spent most of the show with her mouth hanging open in disbelief. Pretty amazing to impress a child, sans technology, with stage craft alone.

This morning's workout was much better, I swam 1600 metres in the pool and felt pretty good. I then ran about 15K on the river pathway with Shannon and Iain keeping me company on their bikes. :)

On a related note, I'm really enjoying watching the Olympics, especially the swimming. Now I find I watch the swimmer's technique where I never did before. In fact, I never even understood swim technique before. Hopefully I'll learn something. lol

Happy training everyone :)

Leaha

Hill Training

Well, I finally joined Greg's group for hill training last night. It was great, it's so much nicer to train with a group. The evening reminded me of my Thursday night runs with the Long Run group. I did 10 hill repeats, I was planning on 8, so I was pretty happy. I was even happier this morning to find that my legs were not sore. I'm not sure if that means I'm getting stronger or if I should attribute it to Hammer's Perpetuem. :) Or maybe it was the Guinness after??

I met a few other people that are training with Greg. Everyone was very nice and encouraging. I'm looking forward to next Tuesday already.

One final thought, you know you're climbing a hill slowly when flies are able to land on your arm :)

Onward and upward...

Leaha

Wednesday

I realized suddenly today that I had not written anything on this blog about my favorite new training partner, my 8 year old daughter, Shannon.

This summer she has really discovered her bike legs and we purchased a new bike for her, one with gears! Well, that was all she needed, now she can climb hills. :) Ever since, when I need to run, Shannon needs to bike. Tonight was no exception. We went down to Edworthy Park and covered some of both sides of the river. All was well until Shannon tried to bike one handed. Her bike crumpled beneath her and she flew off of it. I ran a bit of V02 max to catch up with her. She had some bad scrapes on her knees, elbow and hand. I suggested that we call it a night but she insisted that she was fine to ride. She told me that she was not giving up, no matter what, she was getting back on that bike, and she did. I was pretty impressed.

On the way home, she told me that if she could, she would marry her bike. :) Funny, I've had similar thoughts myself.

Leaha

Canmore Olympic

Well, ick is the best word I can use for Sunday. I am sorry to say that it was just not my day. It started out well enough. Karen and I drove to the race Sunday, very am. :) Once we arrived at T2, I realized that I had not dressed warm enough. A word of explaination for my foolishness: I've recently moved to Calgary from Mississauga (just outside of Toronto) and the summer mornings are quite warm, as are the lakes. This being my first triathlon outside of southern Ontario, I was seriously unprepared for both the air and water temperature. By the time we arrived at the lake, I was very cold, teeth chattering, etc. I figured that once I started swimming, I'd warm up. However about 200 metres into the swim, I was so cold that I could not breathe, even with breast stroke. So I hung on to a kayak for a minute, caught my breath and started again. However it happened again. My whole body was shivering and even though I hung onto the kayak once more, the shivering did not stop and I felt like I could not breathe properly. So at that point, I asked the nice guy in the kayak to tow me in; I was done for the day. I exited the water to find that my hands were purple and my chest was sore.

I was pretty upset but there was not much I could do. My first triathlon DNF. However, I learned a couple of valuable lessons, I need to dress a bit warmer here, learn some techniques for cold water swims and perhaps eat more on race morning!

Thanks to Iain & Karen for all their support on Sunday.

I've signed up for the Lake Chaparral Olympic in two weeks. This time I'm going to test the swim before the race!

Congrats to everyone that completed the race, you guys are made of pretty tough stuff!

Leaha the fair weather swimmer :)

Canmore Olympic Weekend

I'm really looking forward to Sunday. I'm eager to see if all this training has made a difference. This will be my first triathlon in almost one year, my first race since my disastrous Toronto marathon last October (my worst marathon time ever) and my first Olympic distance! Whew! No pressure. :)

I've been to physio for my knee and have been stretching more than usual, that is to say at all. :) My friend Karen will arrive tomorrow from Toronto. I'm so excited to have her here for this. I swam last night and was consistently doing 2:30 per 100 metres, so hopefully I can hold that pace in the swim Sunday.

Good luck to everyone racing Canmore this weekend!

Leaha

Ironman Calgary

It was an exciting morning in Calgary. I walked past the television before leaving the house today and did a double take. Lisa Bentley was on BT Calgary. So of course I stopped to listen as I love her. :) She was on the show to announce that Ironman will be hosting a new 70.3 in Calgary! It'll be held on August 2nd, 2009 and registration opens this Saturday. I looked at Iain with hopefull eyes, lol. So I am going to sign up for this one.

After making that quick decision, a ran to the computer to check out the course. The bike looks pretty challenging. A couple of huge climbs but also some great, fast looking downhills. The run also looks pretty hilly as the course is around part of the Glenmore Reservoir. I ran there last spring, there are some challenging climbs, especially for the end of a 70.3. I've done some bike rides out near Cochrane, it's pretty hilly, at least for this transplanted Ontarian and traithlon neophyte :)

More later...

Leaha

Lake Placid Pictures

Well, I got my pictures organized, sort of. :) It was hard this year, I did not get any shots of the athletes on the bike/run portion of the course as I was afraid of rain damage to my camera. I did take lots of scenic shots, near the end of our stay. There are too many, I know, but I just can't seem to delete any. Sorry for all the redundant photos. lol

The links to the pictures are to the right of this post. The peeler links will lead to the Ironman Lake Placid volunteer shots. Some great ones there, the pictures show the extent of both the rain and the athlete's determination.

I signed up as a peeler for next year already. That will make it 5 years running. If my husband agrees, I'll be in the line to sign up for the race next year!

Canmore is next weekend. I found out that an Olympic athlete on her way to Beijing will be racing Canmore then leaving for China the very next day. How amazing to be sharing a course with an athlete of such caliber. I only hope I can finish strong as this is my first Olympic triathlon. How silly to consider signing up for an Ironman when I have not even completed more than a sprint!

Anyway, I'm off to run long today, bike long tomorrow and swim Monday.

Happy training everyone. :)

Leaha

Lake Placid - Recapitulation

Well, I returned from Lake Placid last night. We left at 6:30am and as usual it was so hard to leave. The sun was just coming up and the mist was rising over Mirror Lake and the mountains. I managed to take about 120 pictures yesterday morning. Hopefully some turned out. I will post a link to them shortly.

The weather was very wet this year. On race day it started raining just after 7am and did not really stop until about 10pm. We all thought this would make the course even more challenging for the athletes, but of course they are not your typical group of people. They are always inspiring but even more this year. I saw my swim coach, Jill, out on the course a few times. I peeled her wetsuit, which was great. She looked very strong on the run and had a big smile on her face. :)

Rich, Karen and I rode the course on Saturday. What a great time we had. It was my first 90K ride and I was pleasantly surprised. We took about 4 hours to complete it as we were riding cautiously. My legs were not really sore, although my body was fatigued! Special thanks to Rich as he was very informative, patient and waited for Karen and I. We also swam the course in Mirror Lake. I had a great swim, it took 52 minutes and again we took it easy. Otherwise, we walked at least 10K per day. It rained much of the time so we did not get in as much training as I would have liked. However, now that I'm home, it's back to the schedule.

Thanks to Pat, Wendy and Karen. It's always a pleasure to spend time at Lake Placid with you. Oh and thanks to Rich as well. He was an honorary “Dame of Lake Placid” for a few days. I am sure he’ll need a shot of testosterone to recover from the few days spent with four women that kept threatening to “wax” him. :)

One final note on Lake Placid this year. I have always felt a draw to sign up for the race. However it always seemed too unattainable. Not this year. This year I feel like I can do this. I know it won't be easy, but I want to complete an Ironman. I want to hear those words as I cross the finish line. Not just in my dreams, as the dream is now becoming the goal.

More later…:)

Leaha

To Lake Placid I go....

Well, it's the day before I leave for Lake Placid, via Toronto. Tons to do, I delivered my bike to Speed Theory for packing, am trying to tie things up at work and still have not packed my clothes! Iain was trying to help me organize clothing last night. However, he has not yet convinced me that I don't need 14 shirts and 10 pairs or pants/shorts. This is on top of my wetsuit, caps, swimsuit, bike, helmet, run/bike shoes and numerous running/biking outfits. :) Oh and my bottles, belt, gels, etc, etc, etc. I am hoping that I can squeeze it all into my suitcase and napsack. May the force be with me....

Anyway, this is my last blog until I return from Placid. I'll post lots of updates and pictures when I return.

Leaha

Big weekend for me :)

Great training for me this past week. :) I logged 12.5 hours of training, my biggest week so far!

This past weekend was a great milestone. I biked 71KM of hills on Saturday and got down on my aero bars (whew!), did a 20 min brick off the bike, then swam 2KM and ran 80 minutes on Sunday! The Sunday run was hard and I realize that I have a long way to go in the next 68 days...:)

Funny story about the bike. I slathered on the sunscreen Saturday, however forgot about the small open area on my back between my shirt and shorts. So I ended up with a lovely sunburn across my lower back. Every ride brings with it a sliver of new knowledge...lol

Leaha