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 :)