Dear 2008,

Good bye.

Please don't smack your ass with the door on the way out. You have given me some wild swings all the way from pure joy to total chaos. You and I have had an interesting time together.

Remember back in January when we decided to start taking this whole tri thing a bit more seriously? We hired a coach, got a training plan together, entered in a bunch of events through out the year. February brought my first half marathon since having kids. It was a cold day, but a super fun day with lots of sunshine and it felt good to run the whole thing and give myself a starting point for what would be improved on. I was only 4 minutes off my PB, on a cold day in February, not too bad!!

Some more training in March and looking forward to my first duathlon in April. Too bad you brought blizzard like conditions and drifts of snow just days before the du and it was cancelled. To tell you the truth, I had no idea how I was going to bike all that way!!

May was cold and I was anxious to get my bike on the roads. We had entered a half ironman in July, remember? I bought toe warmers, ear warmers, gloves and wore three layers on my legs for many a ride in May. I did my second half marathon of the year and finally got under 2 hours! Then June came and you gave us a perfect day for my second attempt at an Olympic distance triathlon (the first, the year before had been cancelled due to lightening and rain...). I had biked 100km the day before and had no idea how I was going to get through the day!! But I surprised myself and pedalled my heart out and ran my fastest 10km ever!!

Bring on Stoney Plain!

Then my big event. My very first Half Ironman. What day!! It rained, it was SO humid, I was scared to death of that bike ride. 90km. But we got it done and had a pretty good run afterwards. I had such a good day, I immediately was looking for another one to enter!

August was spent being lazy and recovering and enjoying time at the lake. September brought another half marathon in Regina and again, I got under 2 hours with a bit more time to spare. A year ago, I would have NEVER thought I would whip off FOUR half marathons in one year!! All getting just a tiny bit faster.

October and November brought some crazy days. Thank-you for the Lehman Brothers, AIG, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the total financial chaos that I watched from my computer screen. Thanks for the sleepless nights, the panicked phone calls from clients, the hedge funds that had to sell off their positions and cause the wild swings in the markets. I want to personally thank-you for the significant income drop I will be experiencing over the next several months. I have come up with a nickname for you "2008: The year the markets hate" I thought that was clever.
All the negative stuff aside, it is lessons like these ones (and 16 years in this business) that have taught me, it's only money. Seriously. I have my health, I have my family, we have a very nice home, we have plenty to eat and cozy warm beds to snuggle in every night. My boys are healthy and active and I love them to pieces! It has been a year of watching Luke learn to talk, use the toilet (properly) and show off his very own personality. Matthew has started school, has excelled at a couple of sports, is a bright, inquisitive, fun little boy.

I can't ask 2009 to bring me much more than that.

Sincerely,

Kelly

minus holy shit it's cold

This training through the holidays works for me. I feel like I have so much time!! No school, no kid's activities, work is super duper slow....I snuck out and test drove cars yesterday...oops. People are just not thinking about their money right now. And I am hoping their November statements have been put under all the other holiday mail they receive...

Yesterday was a recovery bike ride. On my new year's list of things to do, is my recovery rides/runs cause I never do them. They don't make sense to me. Then I actually read the CTS website on what their definition of a recovery workout is and now it sort of makes sense. I just find them boring...was supposed to do 45 minutes yesterday and I had to force myself to spin my way to 30. I kept telling myself, this is mental training...if I don't have a specific workout to do then I will find something else to do!

Today was a run. I got up in good time, got updated on all my websites (CNN; facebook; local tri site; local paper; the NFL; local weather) Minus 42 with the wind. Niiice. What are we on the moon here? Jeepers. Then I had all sorts of reasons as to why I should not go out to the suckmill (thank-you to Steeve in a Speedo for that word!! Hilarious.)

I will get sick.

My car might not start.

I am tired.

My hands get cold and I hate running indoors when my hands have been cold.

The creep that I think lives in the building and slinks by the gym when I am in there. Thank-god the door locks and you need a pass to get in!

I should really get a handle on our laundry from the last few days.

I am tired.

I did not sleep last night.

BUT the good news is, I DID make my way to the gym...told myself to just run slow for a few minutes and see how it goes. Turns out it went really well! Did all my intervals, 3 times 10 minutes in my steady state heart rate with some easy jogging in between.

All told, 50 minutes on the suckmill.

the sights and workouts of my christmas

Some of my favorite pics from the last few days:

Wrestling in front of the Christmas tree...why not?

Me and the cubs. The Ironman wristwatch was a nice fashion touch, don't you think?

Too close!!

My outdoorsman...the child would live outside if I let him.

We bought them play wear for Christmas. A pirate and a king. They LOVED the costumes!!

On the training side of things...got a solid bike ride in on Boxing Day. Man I sweat on that bike!! A run yesterday which was a tough go. Had got some grips for my shoes for Christmas so wanted to try them out. Ran too far from home, turned around and nearly froze on the way back. EEK!! The cords to my iPod froze and I was not dressed nearly warm enough. Bad me, I know better than that!! Today had a rock star run...in the snow storm...from my lesson yesterday, did the first half INTO the snow and then cruised home. Felt really good, and the weather had warmed up considerably from the last few days so was a nice morning out. Gary Garmin told me it was super slow but I was hurdling snow banks so wasn't too worried about the pace.

pre-christmas swim

Moved my workouts around this week as there were some tri people heading to the YWCA today for a swim and I wanted to go. My workout went a little something like this:

250 easy swim

250 pull

10 x 100 meters on 1:35 leaving on 1:45 (these were hard...which is unfortuneate as those are not all that fast...for lil ole me)

15 minutes of chatting and giggling at the end of the pool to finish it off.

Did I mention I am a social triathlete?

So....I ventured to the Calgary half ironman website last night.

HOLY.

CRAP.

Has anyone else been there? Have you SEEN the elevation chart? wtf? I don't remember seeing that when I signed up...what is with that first part? Me sees some hill training coming for this prairie girl.

Have a very Merry Christmas everyone!!

Be safe, laugh lots and eat more.

Enjoy the time with family and friends. Catch up with y'all in the new year!!

LOVE THIS PICTURE!!!!!!!!!!

got a swim in

Got to my Sunday swim. I am really not liking all the drills and friggin IM we are doing on Sunday swims. I kind of just want to swim. I am not sure how breaststroke drill is going to help me in my triathlon swims this coming summer. And a big kick set...which I don't mind cause I can kick, but you shoulda heard the whining!! I think the coach's thinking is get the meters in with some busy work as it is just December, the fun stuff will come after the new year.

I was swimming in Lane 7 and at one point pushed off the wall and one of my toe nails was falling off!! So did 50 meters with a toe nail dangling off my toe. Then I wasn't sure what to do, do I take it off and put it on the deck? Do I just let it fall off into the water? Do I jump out and go to the washroom and put it in the garbage? As I was coming into the wall, CoryF, who apparently has a thing for my feet as he grabbed them and yanked me back to get into the wall before me...but he took the toe nail off at the same time!! Guess I didn't have to worry about it afterall...

Work Christmas Party

Here are some pics of our office Christmas party. If anyone out there is interested in what a bunch of financial planners do with their off time...we can be fun!! Really!!

Me at the salon with rollers in my hair...so interested in that mag. The theme was 1940s Hollywood Glamour.

Tony...the most famous person I know...seriously...check out his website http://www.anthonybidulka.com/

Rod and Herb (partners of the firm) playing RockBand....I am SO NOT getting that corner office for posting this picture!!!

i heart the treadmill

This is what I tell myself.

Or as Coach Justin says "With the weather conditions, the treadmill is necessary so make the most of it and make the best use of your time." Sigh.

So into the blistery winter night/morning I go to make my way to the office gym for a run. I opened up the shades today so at least I could look out and pretend I was outside. Was a pretty solid workout...4 times 10 minutes in my steady state heart rate with a few minutes easy jogging in between. On the second interval, the lights went out. No shit! So I kept running in the dark!! Got the interval done, got off the treadmill and fiddled with the light timer so it wouldn't happen again. Weird. Waved at a few of the lawyers and accountants and stock brokers that come into the building at 6:30 - 7:00am....balance boys, life is about balance. I don't think I have EVER been at the office before 8:00am...the mouse does not start running until injected with caffeine, so why wake the little bugger up before I need to?

Tonight is our office Christmas party. The theme: 1940's Hollywood Glamour. Have my outfit ready to go, a hair appointment today to get some finger waves. One of the partner's bought a fancy little silver car this week. A mercedes I think...so an e-mail went around yesterday that the office would pay for cabs to and from the party OR Herb would drive everyone home but it would take some time as the new car is only a two seater!!

cyberlicious

Is the name of my new lipgloss. It is about this color. With a bit of a metallic sheen to it.

Love.

It.

I? Did not run today. Got a phone call "could you possibly make cupcakes for the Kindergarten Christmas party?" No problem. I am Super Mom (actually Jenna is supermom, I just pretend....) So up WAY early today to bake and decorate friggin Christmas cupcakes...

THEN we get to Kindergarten today and Mr. M is putting his shoes on while sitting on the floor...the teacher is lifting up a tray of cookies and turning around at the same time and does not see Matthew on the floor...do I have to spell this out? The cookies and Mrs. T are on the floor, Matthew is super upset...I am trying to stay sane...somedays I just come to my work that does not involve small kids and all that noise and HUG MY DESK!!!!

crappy swim

Forced myself out of bed today to hit the water. Was going to head down to the YWCA but knew I was going to need some serious help and company to get the meters in so showed up at the tri-club swim. Felt tired and sore (I guess that run yesterday took more out of me than I thought) and my stroke was short. Had to concentrate on making my thumb hit my thigh every single stroke...blah. BUT about 2000 meters in so that is the good news.

In other news, by mistake, I bought the whole wheat version of Kraft Dinner. What were the people at Kraft thinking? It was horrid!! I had thought the noodles had gone bad as there were little specks on them but then realized my blunder. Some things are just not meant to be healthy. Kraft Dinner is one of those things! Don't mess with a good thing!! Just like McDonald's, I don't go there for a salad. I go when I have a craving for grease or hung over...and diet Coke....it is still just plain old black syrup that scratches the back of your throat...I want the full deal and refuse to drink a "diet" soda pop!! The whole wheat version of KD totally ruined my craving last night.

a treadmill run

Up and at it early today as I wanted to get my run in but not outside. The office building I work in has a nice little gym on the ground floor with 2 brand new treadmills. I had e-mailed Coach Justin yesterday with a question about the workout...does it change if I do it on a treadmill? I also sent our weather forcast and he is now convinced I live on the moon.
Turns out the workout changes a bit to "keep my sanity on a treadmill".

• If running indoors and on a treadmill, I would consider shorter efforts of 10 minutes with one or two minutes of easier effort as a mental break between Steady State intervals. Make the treadmill workout 3x10 minutes with 2 to 3 min in between efforts. I would also use this opportunity to add intensity through uphill type efforts rather than worrying about running faster. A brisk uphill pace (set the grade at 3 to 5 %) will help your turnover rate and will encourage a generally better gait, leading to a more efficient running motion when you return to the flatter roads. It is also a lower shock way to run so you won’t be as sore from running compared to the same intensity on a flat road or treadmill.

Well then...always the scientific one, that Justin!! Was a good run, I set the grade a 4% and struggled a bit to keep my HR in the range he wanted. Had to slow down a few times. Someone thought it would be a great idea to put a metal statue right in the middle boulevard as you come off the Broadway Bridge into downtown. I drive by it every day of my life on the way to work. I am not really sure what it is supposed to be. This morning in the dark and the snow, I thought it was a person!! I hammered the brakes, slipped and slid around that corner into downtown...so my HR was well high before I even got to the gym!!!

my weekend: a photo essay

Bike workout: a little sweat anyone?

The treat bags packed full of goodies.

The cake: baked and decorated by someone else...I am a working mom...I just make a phone call and write the cheque!!

Ying and Yang: Mario and Luige: peanut butter and jam: things that go together...Matthew and his best pal Mitchel. Inseperable. The next 10 years will be interesting with these two...and yes, Sir Matthew is really that tall.

What's a cake without a sparkly candle...

Sunday morning came and I hit the pool. This pic is from my car as I was leaving...too lazy to get out and take the picture...was a pretty good swim. Coach Justin's instructions were that the swim was to be the hardest workout of the week...so jumped in with the fast guys, worked my way up from the back to second in the lane...then faded back to last over the remainder of the workout!! bleh. That is what you get for not swimming for 3 weeks!!

Then the gingerbread party at Martha's house (my mom's house). Grandma helping Luke with his gingerbread house.

The finished products:

guess when this was written...

One significant reason why there is such an extreme degree of bearishness, pessimism, bewildering confusion and sheer terror in the minds of investors, is that most people today have nothing in their own experience that they can relate to, which is similar to this market decline. They have the feeling that no one’s ever been here before, because they haven’t been here before.
My message to you is: Courage! We have been here before. Bear markets have lasted this long before. Well-managed investment portfolios have gone down this much before. And investors in those portfolios survived and prospered.
I don’t know if we have seen the absolute bottom of this prolonged bear market, although I think we’ve seen the lows for a lot of individual stocks. I also personally believe that right now, good common stocks in general, and well-managed investment portfolios in particular, probably represent the greatest opportunity for long-term investors that we have seen since early 1942.
In fact, in April 1942, the Wall Street Journal stated: "Brokers say that the lack of trading in stocks and the rising tide of buying bonds stems from the public’s search for the scarce factor these days — security."
Yet on April 28, 1942, in that gloomy environment, in the midst of a war we were losing, faced with shortages of gasoline and other crucial materials, and with the virtual certainty in the minds of everyone that once the war was over we’d face a post-war depression, in that environment, the market turned around.
There was no selling climax. There was no resolution of the serious problems and uncertainties that faced the country and the world. There was no piece of significant good news. And yet, by June 30, 1943, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had made a gain of 54%. By the end of May 1946, four years after the April 1942 low of 92.91, the DJIA stood at 205.61 — a gain of over 121%.
What turned the market around in April of 1942?
Simply a return to reality. Simply a slow but growing recognition that despite all the bad news, despite the gloomy outlook, the country was going to survive; that strongly financed, well-managed corporations were going to survive also. The reality was that those companies were far more valuable than the prices of their stocks indicated. So, on Wednesday, April 29, 1942, for no apparent visible reason, investors again began to recognize reality.
They began to realize that the fact that common stocks had declines for over five years and had been brutally disappointing investments, did not mean that common stocks would never be good investments again. Investors slowly began to look forward and not backward. When they did that, the fact that common stocks had declined for 5 years became irrelevant.

- Jim Fullerton, Capital Group Chairman, 1974

hoy shite..I ran!!!

My date was amazing. With my running shoes. It was dark and snowy and dreamy and really mild. A full moon smiled down on us. My instructions were to "just run". No technology, no Gary Garmin, no HR monitor, no nothing. Just run. I love the mornings. I love the time to myself. I love to run. It just feels good. 50 minutes in the tank.
I have a fan.
Yep. A fan. On the CTS website. They have started this community where you can post pics and comments and stuff....if you could think "Facebook" but for super fit and active people and all coached by CTS. So if you are into Facebook...a "fan" would equal a "friend". I guess would be the best analogy... I am working up the courage to ask Lance to be a fan....
Anyway, this gal lives in Arizona, my profile pic is (of course) the one of me in the Wonder Woman outfit...the gal ran an entire marathon in the SAME outfit!! BaaaHaaa!!! And she knows Coach Justin really well and gives me all sorts of dirt on him to harrass him with in our weekly calls...

i have nothing to say

Nothing. But here are some tidbits...

I feel better. Have not worked out in a week. Read Jenn's blog about quitting and i have quit several times this week. My job, my kids, triathlons, home stuff, I have quit everything a few times in the past 7 days!! Taking off on my life and living as a homeless person somewhere warm was actually appealing to me a few days ago.

I talked to Coach Justin today...poor guy, I think he was afraid to call me. I sent him a sucky, whiney e-mail at the beginning of the week with the tone of "I feel crappy, don't call me, I can't talk to you this week about anything triathlon..." So he called me today. He and the CTS office have ALL signed up for the 100 push up challenge!! This is funny as a few weeks ago he told me he did a run not too long ago and they ran a mile, did 20 push ups, ran a mile, 20 pushups...all in all they did about 300 pushups...

So the plan to get me back on track is this...a date with my running shoes tomorrow...a bike ride on Saturday...a swim on Sunday. In between those are a dinner party at our house tonight...super busy day at work tomorrow...a weekend in hell...10 x 5&6 year olds at the Fun Factory for Sir Matthew's b-day party...I am hosting a brunch on Sunday and my mother is having a gingerbread house making party at her house on Sunday as well...go, go,...GO!!!

happy anniversary: part deux

To us.

Yeah...been married 9 years today! Or as Shaun explained it to our children "Mom and Dad have been married a really long time..." Then Matthew asks "How long?" Shaun says "Nine years." Matthew: "Holy Dad!! That IS a long time!!"

This must be some sort of record. But here is my coundown for the past nine years:

9 years

8 is Luke's favorite number: everytime you ask him how many there are, could be 5, 7, 9 or 22 he says "EIGHT!!!" and grins.

7 days were were in Hawaii when we eloped 9 years ago.

6 days of sunshine in Hawaii, when we were there.

5 or more like $500 is the money we paid to rent the Ferrari for the day.

4 is the number of years were were married before having kids. Sigh. Them were the days.

3 is the number of times we have had our bags packed. Not gonna lie, the pressure of owning a small business, having kids, 2 bear markets, and freaky relatives, has taken its toll some times.

2 is for the number of beautiful children we have managed to create and love and raise together.

And last but not least, 1...one guy on the entire earth that has managed to put up with my moods, my quirky ways, my over the top mother, and my big big dreams!

sickie

I? Am sick. Sick,,,sick,,,sick,,,sick and tired of being sick. First my little bout with pleurisy a couple of weeks ago and now this...whatever "this" is...it must go away NOW!!! I feel shitty. I look shitty. I am in a shitty mood. God help me....please. OR the drugs I just took...I don't really care.

The ONLY positive things that have happend this weekend are...I met Blogger Julie! Had supper with her in fact. I will post more details when I am feeling better but I do smile when I think about what a gem and kick-bum person she really is!

And Matthew got his blue-striped belt in TKD! I was feverish, sweating and begging for mercy but dragged my sick butt to the test because I am a mom and this is apparently what mom's do. He did awesome and I was really proud of him! But honestly, I could not wait to see the couch again when we got home...

7 random things about me

Was tagged by Jenna: http://journeytoironman.blogspot.com/

1. I did not understand what love was until I had my children. To love someone unconditionally, no strings, no matter what...I did not understand what this meant. To see their precious little faces every day, I nearly start to cry.
2. I dislike it when people say "It must be so hard to be a working mom!" Nope. I love my work. I am very lucky to have a super flexible job. I have never been very good at having my world center around someone else's. Not even my kids. Which brings me to...
3. I often feel very guilty about not being built like my mom was, super nurturing, over the top maternal, stay at home mom who baked, cooked, crafty, sewed...bleh. That stuff is just NOT in me!!
4. I know, I know...everyone has heard this one...but we were in a very bad car vs train accident when I was a kid. There had been 4 other people who had died a that very crossing that summer. I think about it sometimes when life gets hard and darn it, I was left here for a reason! So suck it up and make the most of it!
5. I think there is just no beating McDonald's french fries. But only when they are hot.
6. If I could meet three people (alive or dead) they would be: Winston Churchill; Alex Bauman and Robert Downey Jr (omg I have such a crush on him....)
7. Recently, I put the following songs on my iPod: "Let's go Crazy!" and "Rasberry Beret" - Prince. I mean...why not??

The Rules for the game, if you decide to play are:
Link back to me for nominating you.
Nominate a few other bloggers and link to them on your blog.
Julie...you are IT!! http://runningwithdoggies.blogspot.com/
Post these rules.

that's 10!!

Pushup challenge: Sets were 6, 8, 6, 6 and the max I did was 10!
Matthew counted them all so he was the witness!! #10 was a HUGE effort and he was so cute "C'mon Mom!! Get to 10!!"

bundle up

Wednesdays are usually my swim days. But Shaun had to leave for work super early today so I did not have time to get a swim in. But I did have time to do a run. But it was not a very good run. I was tired. It was cold. There was lots of new snow so I could not see any slippery spots. My legs were not doing what they were told. Still got about 45 minutes in the tank so can't complain too much about that. Had a long talk with Coach Justin yesterday. We had a big long talk about power meters. The pros the cons. The whys and the why nots. They are expensive...expensive as in I am not sure I can justify that expense just yet for my triathlon life. You know? I have two kids I really want to help pay for their schooling someday....this is the thing I always think about when an "I want" purchase comes up...

Registered for the Hypo Half Marathon in February. eek! Let's hope for some mild weather right around then.

Had to start my push-up challenge again. Had totally fallen off the wagon. Did my first week, first day reps Monday night. 6, 6, 4, 4, max was 8. Today is my first week, second day reps.

I am beating my sugar addiction! Yep. I caved yesterday and had a piece (one piece) of fresh toffee some bad person brought to the office...but seriously, that is the ONLY sweet thing I have had in one week! And the two strawberry coolers at the party on Saturday don't really count...or do they?

happy anniversary!!

To my tri-buddy Shannon!! It was one year ago today that she BEAT her Kona-qualifying husband in a marathon! In August, Mr. Kona-qualifier's best Ironman time was beat by another local fellow so to keep Mr. Kona-qualifier motivated, Shannon bought the finishing picture, with the time above, of the other guy and hung in on their fridge! THAT was a good one!!!

Anyway, back to me, did my bike ride this morning. AND my core workout. At the triathlon soire on Saturday night, one of the gals there was telling me she does her core workouts in time intervals...do the excercise for 45 seconds or a minute with 15-20 seconds rest. This works WAY better as I was always doing them by reps and then stopping and then daydreaming and then fiddling with my watch or my iPod...so if you just get down and watch the clock, the time goes by pretty quick AND you get the entire workout in! Who knew?

In other news, Coach Justin has been encouraging me to find some shorter races to do. 5km and 10km runs. He says "Enter them ALL!!!" So I was checking out the local running club website and lo and behold, they are starting a 5km Race Series in January. Every second Monday of the month they are holding a timed 5km race, and posting the results on the website every month. I told Justin about it and he got super excited....the most excited he has ever got...and told me FOR SURE enter those. So off I go to pretend I am a runner starting in January. Me thinks I am going to have to put my ego aside and be okay with dead last place!

how NOT to start a Monday...

My 5 year old fell down the stairs today. From the very top to the very bottom.

After telling him about 100 thousand times NOT to play on the stairs. He got the wind knocked out of him and I cannot believe that boy did not break something. He was terrified, I was terrified, we did not have a good morning. They say the trick is not to panic...people have told me I tend to stay calm in a crisis...the go to person when things are crazy...little do they know, it is all an act, but when it is your child, this was very different. He is banged up pretty bad, a nasty scrape all the way down his back (we have no carpets in our house) and I am sure he will be black and blue. Needless to say, I was WAY late today for my Monday morning meeting...but what the hell...somethings are just a little more important than money.

stuff

My life is kinda unbloggable right now. Super busy with life stuff like this:

• Got on my bike today. Had a pretty solid workout. Haven't been able to run in the mornings cause Shaun has a huge job on the go and is out the door super early in the mornings. If all goes well, he will be done next week, we will get paid and have a very nice Christmas. Oh the joys of having a small business...
• Matthew passed his latest stripe test. He was invited now to test for his first belt. I understand none of it. I just bring him to the studio when I am told.
• I missed THE Christmas party of the year last night. Why? Because I was tired and Shaun was working and I didn't feel like getting all glittery and finding a baby sitter.
• However, there is a triathlon Christmas party this weekend that I am going to try to get to. Hopefully someone there will want to talk about stuff other than triathlons but I doubt it.
• I am going for lunch today with CC. Yeah. Gonna get the goods on what the hell is going on and come up with a plan. Maybe.
• I am slowly kicking my sugar addiction. This is day number 6 of not bending to my sweet tooth. I am super proud of myself!! This has taken the most effort. I read this thing about how sugar is as hard to beat as smoking or alcohol. Really? Smoking? Alcohol? And I am down 3 pounds....go figure.
• I read my husband the riot act yesterday. He is a workaholic and very often misses Matthew's events. Luke is only two and has no events yet. We had a parent teacher conference yesterday that was cancelled due to the teacher being ill. I called Shaun to let him know. He says "Wow, I must have an angel on my shoulder because it was looking like I wasn't going to make it" Again, the joys of small business ownership... So I say "The angel, was he cute?" Shaun says "Actually, she works for Victoria Secret."

wowzers

I get a phone call yesterday from an old friend. Old as in we have been friends since grade school. (with the initials CC in case Jenna is wondering...) Anyway, she gives me the low down on another friend who I have also known for about 16 years. The three of us are like sisters. Seriously...if you have seen Sex and the City...CC is Samantha...CK (other friend) is Carrie and I am totally Miranda. We have no Charlotte. But I think you get the point....

CC tells me that CK's boyfriend of 13 years has dumped her...again...this is the 4th time...wtf? Which brings me to why do women do this? Keep going back? If you have seen the Sex and the City movie, the scene where Carrie is in her wedding dress and Mr. Big is telling her he "just can't"....the look on that girl's face I have seen SO MANY TIMES with my buddy. CK is a beautiful girl, in any sense you can think of. OMG we have had so much fun over the years!! So many stories I could tell. And she is smart. She owns her own business. She owns her own house. She travels the world. She could have anything she wanted. But yet she keep going back to this guy who has no respect for her, won't commit to her...they are not married, they do not live together. The first time he dumped her, we were young and he wanted to explore his "options". Fine. The second time he wanted to move to Calgary but did not want her to come. Whatever. I seriously cannot remember what the third time was over. But this time, he has been banging another girl on and off for about a year!! WTF!!!!!!!?????????? AND the OTHER girl is a good friend of one of the guys from the local triathlon club....I friggin swear this town is too small.......

I just don't know if I have the energy anymore to try to help. She just does not see the light. Of course, I will help pick her back up and be there. But honestly!! How far do you go with this? My head is full thinkng about it.....

drama at the pool

Just one of those days. Up in plenty of time to get down to the YWCA and do my swim. The gal at the front desk did not have enough money in the till to change my twenty so she says "Leave the $20 here and I will find you change while you swim." And I say "Nah...I think I will take the $20 with me and pay on the way out..." I ended up paying the $3.75 with nickels, dimes and a few quarters...counting is difficult that early in the morning.

Got into the change room and the pool door was locked. I waited and I waited and I tried not to get impatient. I knocked a few times and nothing. Finally a young gal comes flying around the corner, keys in hand, and too many "sorrys!" The door gets opened and there are no lights. She can't figure out how to turn the lights on. I am trying to help her. I can't believe how puzzling it was to find these lights!! Finally, several minutes later and a trip to the front desk for help, she tells me to not let anyone in the water when it is dark....we figure it out. Duh! But now we need KEYS to turn them on....holy smokes.

Into the water I go. My chest still feels incredibly tight. This is annoying me. I just do super long and smooth strokes with some steady kick. I think I counted about 1500 meters. That was all I had in me today at the pool. In the middle of the swim, some young dude in an orange parachute steps into my lane. That's cool. He would swim 25 meters and then stop. That's cool too. What was not cool, is that a few times he would push off the wall when I was about 5 meters from coming in to do my tumble turn....argh!! Aw well...not like that was my best workout of the season!!

battle of the sexes

The ancient battle has reared it's ugly head in our house. They say to not be competitive with your spouse...but what happens when you are both kinda competitive and then a little contest comes up? You know, like the time Shaun told me I would never, ever beat his high score on this computer game he plays...yeah, well I crushed it. And he hasn't been able to beat it since....just a wee brag there....

Or like the 100 push up challenge when my initial assessment was 8 and his was around 50...bugger...men just have more upper body strength...

All last week, my dear Shaun was talking about how he could run faster than me for a kilometer. And my response was "So what? Give me a challenge...let's go 15!!" So we had this one kilometer "race" all set up for Sunday...we even had a couple of friends rooked in to help time to be fair...but then I got sick and couldn't even think about getting off the couch let alone doing a hard run! Last night, he comes home super wired from work and says he wants to see how fast he can run 1km. I give him my Garmin and say "Go for it!!" It was funny because he sets out in his grey sweat pants and Sketcher shoes...SO NOT running shoes...and he wonders why his legs hurt today...

Anyway, off he goes, around the block and Matthew and I sit on the front step waiting. Here he comes around the corner, Matthew cheering, me not so much (cause I WAS a wee bit shocked he was back so soon)...and Gary Garmin tells me he did 1.01km in 4:00minutes!!

And then he puked on the driveway.

down...and out

So, after a pretty good run Saturday am...my weekend went to shit. I started feeling a bit "funny" mid-Saturday afternoon. I attributed the aching in my back and chest to my push-ups. My Grandma called around supper time and was in a panic because she needed her prescription filled...before 6:00...so off I go to pick her up and take her to the local pharmacy. We decide to have a bite to eat while we are out and I just could not get comfortable while waiting for supper...my chest kept seizing up and every time I moved my back would say "F-YOU!!" It was kind of funny as the two of us literally hobbled our way to the car after supper...she being 94 years old and me with a super sore back! When I finally got home, I found a hot bath and the couch and just could not sit, lie down, nothing was comfortable. Went to bed super early but tossed and turned and ached in my chest all friggin night!! Came up with all sorts of different sleeping positions to try to get comfortable but nothing worked. Weird. Spent the entire day, yesterday between the couch and bed. Wasn't a flu or a cold, just a weird tightening in my chest that literally would knock the wind out of me. This happened to me once before when I was pregnant and of course I would not take any painkillers then, but was popping them like candy yesterday!

Anyway, had a much better sleep last night. Still stiff and sore today but not anywhere near what I was feeling yesterday. As for training, me thinks I will be on a bit of a break for a few days...

early bird

My alarm did not go off today. And i was meeting a buddy for a run. I woke up, did the stare at the ceiling, thinking "what day is it? do I have to work today?" Turned over and looked at the clock...HOLY SHIT!!! Shot out of bed like I had a firecracker up my butt. Threw the gear on and raced to the Roastery....was on time but holy smokes close call! I pulled up as another guy was pulling up and we both got out of our cars at the same time, he says "Do you want to warm-up for a bit?" And I say "Sure! Let me in." Thinking he meant to come sit in his car for a second...but he actually meant RUN to warm up....oops!

But had a pretty good run. Was not my best effort and not my worst. My legs were still tired and we got left in the dust in about 45 seconds with the gang that shows up on Saturday mornings. Oh well. At least I am out there slugging it out!!

And my push-up update: I miss read the instructions so have not been doing the program really correctly this week...I know...big duh...but got on track today and my max was 10!! Only 90 to go.

friday, friday

This is something I would do (ignore the political stuff...):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwhMb3L81Uo
Was supposed to get on my bike today. But apparently that cheezy episode of Law and Order last night was WAY more important cause I sat up and watched it. To bed too late. However, sometimes I just need to turn my brain OFF and sit still for an hour or so and this does not happen until after kids are in bed, laundry is done, lunches packed, grocery list made, toys tidied up, to do list made for the next day, dishes done....I think you get my point. And I was super restless all night thinking, worrying, stressing about these crazed financial markets. wtf?
BUT....I did run yesterday. It was poopy run. My legs were heavy and I could not find "the groove". The workout was 30 minutes in my steady state heart rate and I was calling Gary Garmin an a-hole at about minute 19 to hurry up and get to 30!!
Probably a good thing I did not get on my bike today as I think I am going to head out for a run with tri-buddy Shannon tomorrow (...Boston qualifier, coached by Nick White, same coach as Craig Alexander...THAT tri-buddy...) Funny how she does all the talking when we run together...

a gooder...

e*i*g*h*t

I have been humbled.
I eeked and grunted out 8 pushups last night. Eight. Number 9 was on my knees and number 10 was only half way up. So I am starting with 8....only 92 to go!!!!

dude in the green speedo

Got in my Wednesday swim today. The dude that was in the PINK speedo last time showed up today in a GREEN speedo. And it was teensy bit see-through. Not that I was looking.
But.
I struck up a conversation with him as he looks like a character. Lots of tatoos, big silver hooped ear rings, the speedos. Super nice and friendly guy. We did part of the workout together, which went a little something like this:
500 easy swim; 200 kick;100 swim; 6x50 swim on 15-20 seconds rest; 10x100...I did these on 1:35 leaving on 1:45.
And.
I totally FORGOT to do my push-ups today...duh.
But.
The day is not yet over and I have nothing going on tonight so I will let y'all know how many I can come up with tomorrow!! A couple of the gals swimming today have also come up with an AB Challenge...holy, I could be, might be, better be, super ripped come spring....

tuesday bike workout

Yeah...I did it.
It was a close call though...up in plenty of time but I started laundry, did dishes, tidied up, put supper in the slow cooker...looked at the clock...holy!! Better get on that bike! Today was 4 sets of 8 minutes in my steady state heart rate with 4 minutes easy pedalling in between. And boy do I sweat for these, my hair and shirt are soaked when I am done. Tomorrow is a swim day with another one of Coach Justin's workouts. But I saw no planks...thank god.
And I signed up for...............the 100 push-up challenge!! Is this even possible? I think I can do 10 right now. Coach Justin keeps bugging me to do them as they help your arms and shoulders holding yourself up on the bike, and swinging your arms when you run.
I was actually considering trying this one:
"Twenty-One"
Complete the following for time:
• 20 push-ups/1 sit-up
• 19 push-ups/2 sit-ups
• 18 push-ups/3 sit-ups
• 17 push-ups/4 sit-ups
• 16 push-ups/5 sit-ups
• 15 push-ups/6 sit-ups
• 14 push-ups/7 sit-ups
•13 push-ups/8 sit-ups
• 12 push-ups/9 sit-ups
• 11 push-ups/10 sit-ups
• 10 push-ups/11 sit-ups
• 9 push-ups/12 sit-ups
• 8 push-ups/13 sit-ups
• 7 push-ups/14 sit-ups
• 6 push-ups/15 sit-ups
• 5 push-ups/16 sit-ups
• 4 push-ups/17 sit-ups
• 3 push-ups/18 sit-ups
• 2 push-ups/19 sit-ups
• 1 push-up/20 sit-ups
Buuuuuuut....really, I want to see my 38th birthday in a couple of months...

my back is killing me

Those damn planks yesterday at the pool have done a number on my body!! My back and abs are so sore...partly because of the work and partly because I was holding things in so tight as I was afraid I was going to fart....in a wet bathing suit....how uncool would that have been?

Today is a rest day. But I did not sleep last night as my back was killing me all night. Yak. On the go for the next few days trying to find my outfit for a few Christmas parties this season. I have been invited to one and the dress code is "Vintage". Our work party's theme is 1940's Hollywood Glamour. How fun is THIS going to be!! Value Village...here I come!!

Up tomorrow is another hard bike ride. I am cursing the day I told Coach Justin I wanted to get better on that bike...but can't wait for my next run as my dear tri-buddy Shannon brought me back a Carmichael Training Systems jacket direct from Tuscon!! I can run in style now. Do you think I will look like too much of a poser, wearing something like that? I mean it is super cool and super bright and the yellow totally matches my yellow cervelo...I just don't want to be the one wearing expensive workout gear that gets passed....if you know what I mean...so I think the jacket says "I am gettin buff so I can kick your a$$!!!" hahahahahaha!!!!

words...words...words

Words are interesting aren't they? Especially when you have kids and they are learning to talk and learning what words to use and when. My 2 year old calls his favorite stuffed cat "Titty". And we have all adopted that word for the cat's official name. My 5 year old says to me last night that he cannot sit down in the tub for his bath because his "bum is really tired". And then there was someone who was deliberately deceiptful, in recent months, obvious to me now pretending one thing and acting another who called their own actions "inconsistent." This one also made me laugh. They spell it "inconsistent", I spell it "asshole".
I get to swimming today and on the board for the main set is "Strongman 1500 meters". Whoopie!! I thought, timed 1500 meter swim! I like these kinds of things! So I swam the warm up thinking, strategizing, planning how I was going to keep up with the boys up in the top lane. But when we got down to it, it was THIS:
2 x 50 tombstone kick (take a kick board and hold it up in the water so half is out of the water and half under the water...now kick your sorry legs that did that wicked bike workout yesterday...)
4 x 25 meters (#1: dive fly #2: full stroke fly #3: head up free #4: sprint)
one minute plank (yeah...friggin PLANK on the pool deck for one minute!)
4 x 25 meters (same as above)
one minute wall sit (again with those tired legs, squat against the wall for 1 minute)
Do that ALL AGAIN 5 times...
ooooOOOOoooo fun times at the pool today!!

whew...

They can be so precious...

Super Saturday today. Up at 5:30am to get my bike workout in. 5 sets of 6 minutes at my steady state HR with 4 minutes easy pedalling. Was a good, good workout.

Got ready (nylons and business suit on a friggin Saturday...yak) and stopped into the Roastery for my weekly fix of Roastery coffee. Then downtown to the auditorium where the firm was hosting 300 clients for a seminar and lunch. Nothing like being "on" for several hours...and having to stand in front of these people and explain the markets this year...eek!!

Then home to change clothes (thank god) and out to fight the masses. Bought Mr. M a pair of skates. He has refused to take them off...I SO do NOT want to be a "hockey mom" but it is important to his father he learns to skate. Why, why, why do I go to the Superstore on a Saturday I will never know...but got the errands done and home to feed and water the family. There was a group of tri-buddies heading out tonight but I missed the e-mails and had no time to find a sitter, which is probably just as well, as I am beat tonight and am heading the the couch with a blanket, very shortly!

did y'all see it...?

A pro triathlete commented on my blog! Hoop Dee Do!!

Why? You are most likely asking yourself...cause I commented on hers.

Here is the story:

Before my trip out to cheer in Penticton in August, I was reading up on some of the people that were going to be there ie. the pros. I came across a gal, her name, Bree Wee. Her name just intrigued me!! It just sounded so fresh and cool and I read she was from Hawaii...Kona to be exact. So I started following her blog well before Penticton and she had her heart set on qualifying for Kona as a professional....as a professional...I know you are all aware of how freaky fast these people are!!! But it was not to be in Penticton (nor had it been in Japan). She had a horrible day in Penticton. And she missed it in Kentucky. By mere minutes, gang, MINUTES in an Ironman!! Her blog is pretty honest and she has had some super downer weeks but would pick herself up and soldier on.

It all came together for her in Florida just a few weeks ago...she got her spot in Kona for 2009!

The lesson: Without being too "cliche" sometimes we look at those that look like they have it so easy, and when we dig into their lives a little bit more, it hasn't been all that easy...they have had to fall on their face a few times, pick themselves up and move on.

Cheers to Bree!! You are Da Bomb!!

(some of us get wetsuits...some of us will take a nice little comment on their blog...ha ha ha!!!)

my looooong weekend

This is the e-mail I got Sunday after swimming...

Dear Kelly,

You need rest.

Lots of sleep and all of your chores can wait.

Sleep as much as you want for the next 3 days.

Love,

Your Body

I have done nothing but sleep, watch football, hang around, cuddle with my kids for the last 3 days. I did not even leave the house except to take Matthew to Taekwondo and Grandma out for supper last night...and I didn't even do my hair!! GAH!!! In fact my kids were driving me up the wall at one point and I tossed them outside, in their pj's with their boots and winter coats on...good parenting...no? I peeked out at one point and they had both lost their coats and were running around in the falling snow with just their pj's and boots on...and having a BLAST...boys.

I did get on my bike for 45 minutes last night in what Coach Justin calls a "recovery ride". Recovering from sitting on my arse all day!! But I finally felt like moving so onto the bike I went for a quick little 45 minute spin. A light week this week but looking forward to next week...yikes!

watch this....

Take 5 minutes and 48 seconds and watch this...

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/hockeynightincanada/coachscorner/

boo Riders...

Rider Nation is grumpy today. Our team is out. I didn't watch the game but heard all about it today at swimming. eek.

But what does a wanna be triathlete like me do before swimming, cause I promised Coach Justin I would do ALL my bike workouts in November, and missed one last week because I thought my head was exploding, that's right, I jump on the yellow cervelo for about an hour! Good thing all we are really doing this time of year at swimming is drills, drills and still some more drills, because my legs were tired and I dragged them behind me the entire swim. But was a good swim, mostly because I managed to get the workout in AND visited with several people...shared the top lane with only one other fella, pool was super quiet today. We did my fave drill which is a distance per stroke drill. You breathe every 3 for a 50 and then every 5 for a 50 for a total of 400 meters. I like this one because it makes you stretch out your stroke and concentrate on your breathing. Breathe out nice and slow under the water, don't hold your breath, I have a habit of this. All in all we swam about 3000 meters, so that one as well as the bike ride are in the tank!

an okay run

Up early today to get my Saturday run in. This is what I did:

I ran and I ran and I ran and I ran and I ran somemore and then you know...I kept running, for about 55 minutes. All around the bridges. Listening to my iPod. About half way, at the Circle Drive bridge, I was starting to feel like NOT running. So I counted the bridges down....the train bridge, the 25th Street Bridge, the Broadway Bridge, the Victoria Bridge....I saw the Roastery and it was calling my name...so I did not make it to the freeway bridge.

Went into the Roastery and grabbed a coffee and came home. So, an okay run, was purposely late so I wouldn't be tempted to run with the boys that show up. They are just too fast and sometimes not that *interesting*...if you know what I mean...unless of course we are talking about triathlons which is ALL they usually talk about...just not much in common with any of them...I need to convince some medium speed, mom's who are trying to juggle careers, family and training to come out on Saturday mornings...if you are one of those people, let me know...so opted to run by myself and enjoy the sun coming up over the prairies.

the safe zone

I....was....exhausted....yesterday. So bad that I actually left work and went home for a nap....oops. NOT a great way to climb the corporate ladder....but ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

Picked up my kids yesterday and they were in a mood. Holy Hell. I took them to the Extra Foods just by our house and we left with only butter...seriously...that was all I could handle of them!! I have read that kids will not listen to their parents because they know they are *safe* with them, as in mom and dad will love them, cuddle them, care for them, NO MATTER WHAT. I told myself this over and over and over again as they were running around the grocery store. I was so frustrated with them....then my 2 year old took off on me into the parking lot. Yeah. I am not a sprinter but I could have beat Usain Bolt yesterday in the mad 25 meter dash to catch that kid....and he got a walup on the ass in the middle of the Extra Foods parking lot in rush hour traffic...if you are reading this and do not agree with spanking a child...too f-ing BAD!!! A sore tooshie and bruised ego is better than a forehead into the bumper of a car. And my guess he will not do it again as I literally dragged him by one hand screaming to the car, stuffed him in and he lost ALL his privileges last night....his Wiggles DVDs, his army guys, his halloween treat after supper...he was bathed and in bed by 7:30!!! They are just small, they are not stupid. When my 5 year old was little like that, he pulled the same thing....only the car had to screach to a halt to not hit him...I was so scared I screamed...and he got a smack that day too and has never left my side in a parking lot since.

it's gonna blow!!!

My head, that is. I am foggy and my nose and head are full of nonsense today.

BUT I dragged my sorry arse out of bed for a pretty good swim today. I am leaving the drills for Sunday swims and taking on the workouts Coach Justin has sent me for Wednesdays. Today was a 500 easy warm-up, 200 easy kick, 100 easy swim. The main event was 20 x 50 meters. I started out doing them on 50 seconds but at number 6, could see that it was not going to go well very soon, so took a small break, re-grouped and did the remainder on 55 seconds. Then a warm-down. 2000 meters in the bank. There was 3 people in the pool today...I had lane to myself which was nice. Then the old dude in the bright pink (that is the exact color...) speedo showed up. He sat at the end of my lane and stretched on the pool deck....yeah, so just imagine what I was looking at when I came in for the last 4-5 50's....trying to see the pace clock around him...ewww.

That, my friends, is 5 workouts in 5 days. I need a break...tomorrow is a rest day and then 90 friggin minutes on my bike Friday....90 minutes...can my butt take it? And a run on Saturday morning.

four for four

As in 4 days in a row I have put body in the water, feet to the ground or butt to a bike seat. Today was a Carmichael classic...muscle tension drills. Let's all elevate our bikes 4-6 inches, in case you were thinking of measuring, it is the Saskatoon phone book and our copy of Children's Bedtime Stories, try to get on gracefully, do a warm up, and then 4 sets of 8 minutes in a big gear with 4 minutes easy pedalling in between. The idea: cadence is to be slow (50-60), heart rate low (130-135) and practice, practice, practice that pedal stroke. All the way around. Using muscles that I apparently did not use all summer on the bike. I am really paying attention this time around.

Tomorrow is some more time in the pool. I have a Coach Justin workout I am going to do. The local club is great, but we do all these drills and don't really get told if we are doing them properly so I asked for some swim workouts for Wednesday mornings. Practice does not make perfect....Perfect practice makes perfect. Looking at it for tomorrow, I have one word....ouch.

monday run

I.

Have a Goal.

To do all my workouts this week.

Last week was a lost effort. I wasn't feeling all that hot and was so busy, every morning I opted for sleep over working out. Coach Justin sent me a goal setting worksheet and I spent a good chunk of time on it this weekend. Raring to get at some of these now!!

So...up and at it early today as I had an 8:00am meeting. Ran 55 minutes with 2 times 15 minutes in my steady state heart rate. Gary Garmin says my pace during those 15 minute intervals were not too bad...however the second one felt a little rough. And 15 minutes is super friggin loooong to run at that pace/HR!! I was desperately looking at Gary around minutes 13 and 14 and egging him on to hurry up and get to number 15. I am not going to get obsessesed with my pace, I just think it is so interesting that only one year ago, running at that pace would have a) killed me b) put my heart rate over 200 c) killed me.

The best thing on today's run was that I spit a big loogie on the lawn of a friend's ex-husband!! I promised her I would....so every morning I am going to save the big ones for that house...

giggly school girls

Have you ever had something happen to you as an adult, or you run into someone you have not seen in many, many years and it takes you back to when you were a kid? You know...no real responsibilities and all fun? As I have posted before, my new/old swim friend Tammy is swimming Sunday mornings with me. We are always having a giggle or two about this and that in the middle of swim practice.

A new guy shows up at swimming today and whoa...it was as if I was standing on that very same pool deck 20 years ago...I had not seen him in about that long and if the truth be known, me and every other girl on the swim team had a HUGE crush on him!! HUGE. Smoldering eyes, cute smile, drop dead body...you know the type. Anyway, Tammy shows up late and when I get a chance, I say "Tammers...guess who showed up today?" I whisper his name (I am not kidding, if anyone had of been watching us, we were like two silly school girls today...) and she says "Shut UP!!" She was not wearing her contact lenses so I was trying discreetly to point him out to her...and she was discreetly trying to squint and have a look at him...anyway, we friggin giggled and remembered the good ole days when we would oogle over him back in the day!!! It was SO funny and I seriously felt like I was about 13 years old, again this morning.

Needless to say, the workout was okay but not all that tough. My calves are super sore today from all the drills we did yesterday at the run clinic. They kept tightening up the entire swim workout! Good thing the swim comes before the run in a triathlon....

uncoordinated...my middle name

I ended up signing up for the run clinic today. My tri-buddy Shannon and I met at 6:00am and got a pretty darn decent run in beforehand as the clinic started at 7.

It's official....I have no coordination and no balance.

The majority of the time was doing drills...eek!! I learned quite a bit about proper running technique and the drills totally made sense as to why we were doing them, but it took me many trys to get them right!! If I had of been in the water, let's just say I would have been choking and drinking the pool today. The last thing we did was run around the track twice and she video taped us. I could not stick around to watch it on the television but she told me that I run quite flat footed. I figured this already, so I am going to try to work on running more on the balls of my feet. I enjoy running but have never really been "a runner" so lots of info to mull over. And I find it so interesting the different styles of running....people who are "fast" do not look that fast...I felt fast on the track, but know I am not really all that fast!!!

And I bought a new pair of runners yesterday...finally...I think that part of the issue with my leg has been worn out runners. So I marched into the Running Room yesterday and dropped the money and they felt awesome today, and my leg was not sore one bit. Next up is a swim tomorrow.

proud mom

Matthew had his very first stripe test at Taekwondo last night. It was more of a formal affair than I was anticipating!! They lined up all the kids, had them say their Student Creed, salute the Canadian and Korean flags, do their warm up. The school's master sat at a cloth covered table and had the kids come up and do the test. And of course we were a few minutes late...what is with these kid's activities starting at 4:15...? Seriously, I had to leave work WAY early to get the offspring, get back downtown, parked and walk to the school. eek!! Thank-gosh I have a super flexible job with super flexible hours...

Anyway, when it was Matthew's turn I was so nervous!! That was the first time I had ever felt like that. But he did awesome!! Did all the drills correctly, bowed and shook hands with Master Duk like a little pro. At the very beginning of the session, Master Duk told them all, that part of the test was sitting still. So there was one little guy that was having a hard time with this. Master Duk had already given him is new stripe but then asked him to come up to the front and Master Duk took the stripe away!! In front of all the kids!! There was not a sound made from the kids or the parents...Oh Dear!! I thought that was a little harsh, they are only 5-6 years old!! But then, they have to learn and this school is supposed to be very good and I have been very impressed with them...but still!! The poor little guy was close to tears. BUT he sat still the remainder of the session and then Master Duk called him up again and told everyone that he was impressed with the sitting still and gave the kid his stripe back.

And now we can collectively say "awwwwwww"!!!

when it rains....it pours

Feeling better today...thanks to those who read my last post and commented or dropped me a quick e-mail. It is appreciated. Just that time in life, I guess, a bit of the changing of the guard. My mom is travelling overseas right now and is currently in Jerusalem. She is very ill. She e-mails it is just a very bad flu but my aunt also e-mails that is more likely pneumonia. She is trying to come home early but cannot get a flight...I cannot imagine flying all those hours feeling so bad!! Scheduled to be home Friday so hopefully all goes well there.

Back to my training....got a bike workout in this morning and it was a damn good one! Have you ever had a workout where you just want to hurt? You just want to feel pain? Put your body through the paces? This was me today. Stress makes me work harder. Can't explain it but it does. Looking forward....a swim tomorrow, another bike workout on Thursday and the club is offering a run clinic on Saturday morning. Can't decide if I will attend...my running is perfect....oh THAT is funny!! I kind of like my runs around the bridges on a fall morning in the fresh air. It is my time to just run and not have to think about too many things.

All Families are Psychotic

I am reading this book right now, and it is making me laugh. It's really good. I can totally see my family in parts of the family that the story is about. It also flips between present day and the 80's when the sister and two brothers were growing up. Again, I can relate!!

And my family is psychotic....love them to pieces, but oh my gosh we can be a weird bunch. This past Saturday was my grandma's 94th birthday. If you know me, you know I am super close to my grandma. We spend alot of time together and my kids love her. She lives just a few blocks away from us and I am her personal chauffeur and fix-it-gal. I often call her my 4th child who does not live with me. Lately, she is totally stressing me out. She is in the beginning stages of dementia and I am having a real hard time dealing with this. She would be horrified to know the things she asks about, can't remember. She has always been the strong, tough, no nonsense kind of gal. Always on the bubble. She has guided me through university (she did not have the opportunity to go to university so was always so proud that me and my cousins could go), boyfriends, career choices, kid advice.

We went to pick her up for her birthday dinner on Saturday and she asked if we had a new truck...it is the same truck we have had for three years, the same one we pick her up in every single week. She comes out of her condo with just light slacks and a t-shirt on...it was a chilly evening and she was shivering. I asked her if she wanted me to run and grab her jacket, she said "Why would I need a jacket?" We took her to her favorite restaurant and I had reserved the booth we always sit at and as we were walking in, she says she had never been there before. She asked why my mom was not coming to the birthday supper...I told her again, for about the 12th time, mom was travelling overseas.

This breaks my heart. To see someone just deteriorate right before me...she was always such vibrant and chatty gal, but now this is just a shell of her. I hate it. I hate that this is the memory my kids will have of her. I hate that my husband gets annoyed with her. I hate that she struggles to hold it all together but also knows in her heart that she is failing. This past summer she had two nasty falls. I was there for both of them. I hated it, picking her up and carrying her to the sofa...like a child...she would be horrified....horrified! And my kids saw it all too. And I was trying not to cry and hold myself together so none of them would see my own crazy fear. It's getting to be too much and I don't know what to do.

rock star run

Up early today to get my run in as we have a busy weekend. Taking the boys to a play today...should try to get some culture into them that is not sports related. One of the local theatres has a children's series and we have been before and it is really well done and they serve lunch so off we go again today!!

I was a movie star on Thursday night and a rock star today!! I showed up at the Roastery with my mind made up I was going to *try* to run with the gang. Lots of them are super fast runners. I knew one fellow was going to be there that is a very good runner but if I really tried, and got myself focused and didn't chat the entire way, I could probably run with him for a good chunk of the morning...mission accomplished!! I was SUPER happy with my run today!! We did all the bridges and my silly knee was starting to bother me a bit in the last couple of kilometers, so that was the only time I slowed down and walked and told them I would meet them at the Roastery afterwards. But seriously, built some confidence today big time...I did wear Gary Garmin and he tells me our average pace was 5:45/km for 46 minutes...holy smokes....this was unthinkable, undoable and unimaginable a year ago for me...my average heart rate was rather high but oh well...then I had to walk/run as I am taking no chances with this left leg. But I was bouncing along in my walk enjoying the morning and watching the sun come up. A great start to Saturday!

a wednesday swim and the oscars

I am on a roll this week...three days and three workouts! Swam this morning about 2000 meters. We did some sort of a kick drill but your arms were to recover under the water...let's just say I drank alot of the pool today. And there was no hot water in the showers. But was an okay swim, not much to report. Trying to get all my workouts in early this week as I have a sneaky suspicion my head will be foggy on Friday. I have been invited to a dinner through the Womens' Network here in town. Their big event of the year. They give a vacation away at the end of the night. I am going as a guest of one of the invesment companies we work with (we work very little with them so I was surprised to get the invite) But of course me being me, I found out who else was at our table and one of the other gals is someone I would like to meet and find out more about, so off I go to the dinner!! The theme is "The Academy Awards" and you all know how I love to dress up!! Should be a fun time as I got an e-mail yesterday about what time the limo...yeah...limo is picking me up!!

helloooo bike trainer how ya been?

I did a bike workout today.
I will say it again....bike, workout.
Bike.
Workout.
On my trainer. In my living room. I sweat like a cold beer in July. But it felt good! One hour. Done!!
So....the Ultraman, eh? How do I get on a team for this....I want to do the swim...if you are reading this and need a swimmer...let me know!! I would TOTALLY be up for something like that. The bike ride would literally be the death of me...I could do the run with some training, but I think the swim would be a hoot! I checked the website out last night and holy crap...some of those people did their 10km swim in 2.5 hours!!! YIKES! I was thinking it would take me well over 3...?

small update...

given my last post...read it first before you read the rest of this one...I got up this morning, looked up the Boston qualifying time for my age group and wanted to see if I could hold that pace for 30 minutes....Gary Garmin tells me my average pace was 5:43 for 30 minutes...now I just have to hold that (and a wee bit faster) for 3 hours and 45 minutes....no problem!!

your thoughts please....

I found this post this weekend. I am not sure what it means, exactly, but I thought it was interesting...he started the post by saying that he does not like hearing a triathlete say they are "slow"...and here is why...

They associate their slowness, whether it's in training or, more likely, during their races, to a lack of speed. In reality it's not a lack of speed that holds them back but rather a lack of fitness.I can tell you right now that if you think you're slow, you are wrong! You are simply unfit.Yep, the truth hurts.It's not speed that limits us. Most of us have enough pure speed in us to do at least a portion of an Ironman at world-record pace. If you can sprint for a couple hundred meters at Peter Reid's 2:35 marathon pace, it's not speed that's holding you back. It's endurance. The same goes for holding his power output on the bike or sustaining his swim pace. You can go these speeds, I assure you. The question is for how long?If it's not for long, it basically comes down to this: quite simply, you lack enough endurance to hold your God-given speed for longer periods of time.And while you may never be at Peter's level, it's important to realize that endurance is relative...and trainable. For example, managing a sixty-second lap on your local high-school 400-meter track is not considered all that fast. Nor does it take much endurance to hold that pace for that long. But holding it for four laps in a row is fast! And it means you have enough endurance (i.e., fitness) to sustain such a speedy effort.What this really means is that endurance (the ability to resist fatigue at any level of intensity) is related to the event in which you compete. Just as fitness is. This is why it's silly to argue over who's fitter: a runner or a cyclist, or a swimmer and a rower. If they're relatively fast at what they do, they're all fit. If they're fast at all these activities, they're a freak of nature.And while Craig Alexander may be a freak of nature I can pretty much guarantee that you possess enough speed that you could run beside him for a while if you were completely fresh and starting anew and he were at mile 21 in yesterday's marathon of the Hawaii Ironman. This isn't to say that Craig ain't fast. He's fast over the course of an Ironman. But that just isn't fast. It's swift over a long, long time. Craig has simply fatigued less than those around him and therefore has slowed down less. In triathlon, particularly longer-distance events, it's he (or, in the case of Chrissie Wellington, she) who slows down the least who generally wins, not the speediest athlete. This is endurance. This is stamina. This is fitness. And this is especially the case as it relates to our long-distance sport of sports. Training to go fast in triathlon is best done not by speeding up but by not slowing down. And unlike speeding up, this is easily trainable.Period.

2000 meters in the pool

Was very late for swimming today. Boo on me!! I had cleaned my oven a day or so ago and I guess the clock did not reset properly as that was the one I was watching and ended up being late for Sunday swim!! Missed the warm-up, jumped in on the main set and felt it in my arms and shoulders pretty much immediately. Ended up only doing 2000 meters as my new/old friend Tammy and I ended up chatting at the end of the pool for the last 15 minutes...this will have to stop!! Her kids and my kids are exactly the same age and she is lots of fun and we have the same ideas on lots of stuff and truly, it is nice to have a gal up in the top lane with me!! Although I will have to get a bit more focused than I have been at the pool....or maybe not...!!

Checked my training plan out for the next few weeks as Justin and I had a good long talk this past week about what I wanted to do. Let's just say things have ramped up considerably from last year!! Two swims, two bike rides and two runs per week....only one day off. I am super excited to get started on something structured again. Going to be a good year.

a run & a coffee

Up today way to early for a Saturday. Felt like running the bridges today so I drove to the Roastery, which is kind of embarrassing as it is about 6 blocks from my house, but I still don't 100% trust this leg of mine and wanted an easy out if I needed it!! AND I wanted a Roastery coffee after the run. Got there just before 7:00am and there were some other tri people that I recognized but I didn't feel like running with them so I was rude and headed in the other direction...not to mention that the group that usually shows up on Saturday am is fast and I am not so not a good fit!! Anyway, was a beautiful run...got in 50 minutes...constant running...yippee!! What an amazing time of year Fall is...the riverbank in Toon Town is gorgeous right now. Happened to run into ChrisG at the Roastery and we had our coffees and chatted for a bit...her husband has done the Ironman countless times (not kidding there, I think they have lost count...) and I had had a good long talk with her a week or so ago about Ironman Arizona and she was the one who gave me the dirty goods on the time commitment etc and that was the last nail in the coffin on my Ironman goal for now. On that note, I can't believe how the weight just lifted off of me after making that decision...which means it was the right one for now. Whew!

an itsy bitsy run

Well, I got the a-okay from my cute little physio gal yesterday to run again!! She is so small and she makes me do these excersises where I have to push against her and I told her I was worried big ole me would knock her over and she gave me a look that said "Yeah? Try me!!" Turns out she is also very strong!!
Up again at 5:00am...did my stretches....I am thinking I should have been doing these all along but never have made the time...and headed out for my run.

FORTY SEVEN MINUTES!!

Okay, the last 20 or so minutes were a bit of walking and a bit of running....but I am totally pumped about this! The leg felt awesome, not one issue. And it feels good still now.
Had a talk with Justin today, about getting ready to start some structured training again. I am super excited!! The next several weeks are to ease back into a schedule and make sure it is going to stick as best it can through the holidays.

a fun swim

Got an e-mail yesterday from a tri-friend...the tri-friend coached by the same coach as CRAIG ALEXANDER...yeah, that one!! She was looking for some company in the pool today. So I dragged my sorry arse out of bed at 5:00am, had some breakfast, did my stretches and headed down to the local YWCA. I don't think I have been in that pool since I was a kid. I remember we used to run around the bridges, University bridge to the Broadway bridge and back to the YWCA and then do our swim workout. Them were the days.

Anyway, we did a Nick White (CRAIG ALEXANDER'S COACH) special. (Can you tell I am totally dropping this name whenever I can...?) A 200 warm-up, 200 kick and then 6 times 200 freestyle (I did about half of them IM) and then a 200 warm down. The pool was really warm...I mean really warm....the hot tub/whirlpool is off to the side but still drains into the big pool!! I think the workout was actually supposed to be well over 2000 meters but we were chatting and catching up. And the pool does not open now until 6:15 (we thought and the website said 6:00am) so we only had 45 minutes. But I can feel it in my arms and shoulders that I have not been in the pool for several weeks. Was a fun morning!!

4 degrees...

My tri coach is Justin.
Justin is with Carmichael Training Systems.
Justin works out of their Tucson location.
He shares offices with Nick White.
Who happens to coach.....my tri-friend and local superstar, Shannon.
He ALSO coaches someone by the name of
CRAIG ALEXANDER who just won a little race in Hawaii this past weekend.

Could I say we are "team mates"?

Lookie at what's back in style...

Leg warmers!! And funky cool ones at that...see the buttons?

I am thinking about a pair for my running tights...

Went to my first Sunday swim for the year today. Drills, drills and more drills. Boring but necessary. An old swimming buddy showed up today, Tammy. She was going to jump in a bit slower lane and I said oh no, you are swimming up here with me!! She will be fun to have at the pool.

a fine Saturday morning

Was up and at it at 6:00 today as I wanted to get a run in. I was aiming for 30 minutes of running and 30 minutes of walking. To try my leg out and see how it has liked all the stretching I have been doing!! But Luke had other plans...he was up at about 6:15 and had no intentions of going back to sleep. So we played for a bit and tried to be quiet but that is a hard task for a 2 year old...so I bundled him up, threw him in the stroller and we walked for about an hour. And you can really work up a sweat while walking fast and pushing a stroller!! Was an absolutely gorgeous morning! The sun was just coming up and we stopped for a minute for a Booster Juice for him and a Roastery coffee for me. Ran into a few of the guys from the tri-club and got the question I have been getting for the last few months "How bout those stock markets?" AHHH!!!! Leave me alone about work!! I don't want to think/talk about it while buying a coffee!! I seriously try not to talk about work (ever) when with the tri-club but I guess lately it comes with the job. People just want to know what is going on and the media irritates me on how they have handled things so I feel responsible to set the record straight.
Up next is a swim tomorrow morning. First time in the water since the triathlon up at Waskesiu in August. And before that, I had not been in the water since the half ironman at the beginning of July....my arms and body hurt just thinking about tomorrow morning!!

Found these...?

so....here it is....

I can't do an Ironman.

Before you comment with "Of course you can! Anyone can!" I don't mean I can't as in physically I can't, because OF COURSE I could do that....but with the training behind it.

This is the issue. The time to train for something like that. I don't have enough. Not with my kids little (ages 5 and 2). I want to spend time with them and they need me and it just does not make sense right now. Oprah has the best advice and I tell it to myself every...single...day...You can have it all, you just cannot have it all at the same time.

I have officially put my Ironman goal on a bit of a hold. I was going to enter Ironman Arizona with the attitude of "We will see how the training goes." Not good enough. I know myself and I know I would want to make sure I had the very best day out there possible. This means hours and hours of training. This is just not the time or the year for that. Last summer, training for the half ironman was about perfect. So my focus for the next while will be shorter tris and the half ironman I have entered in Calgary in August.

And Julie: Thanks for your last comment!! What is my bathing suit going to look like....that made me giggle today when a giggle was definitely needed!!!

sssstressss

Is a funny thing, ain't it?
My head has been throbbing for three days now. I have taken more painkillers than I care to admit. These markets have seriously taken a toll on me these last few weeks.
And what do I do when I am stressed?
I EAT!!!
Yep...and I eat chocolate, lots of it.
Ridiculous.
BUT to try to balance things, I DID go for a run today. 20 whole minutes. I am so proud. And my leg did not hurt a bit. I did my stretches before and after and things are looking better! My next physio is next week so hopefully she gives me the a-okay to run longer.
On the job list this weekend is the purchase of a new pair of runners and a bathing suit. Swimming starts Sunday morning bright and early.
And the fun times are starting again!
Thank God.