tired number two

"This the last week to make it count!" That's what he said on the phone this week. I have one triathlon to do this summer. One. I only entered to have something to look forward to and get my ass out the door over the summer. It is next weekend. This week has been like the last several...swim...bike...run...
I am feeling super. My running has come around...FINALLY!!
Tuesday was a bike ride that I smoked. The instructions were to do some race pace stuff. I have no idea what my race pace should be so I picked something that I thought could be respectable and I did it!! I was super happy after that bike ride. I can sure notice all the weight training I did in my legs this summer. My goal is to beat my 2008 time on the bike which was...ahem...2 hours and 15 minutes for 62 km. Sigh. I know, I am a shitty biker. BUT that was what I did in 2008 and that time is coming DOWN!!!
Wednesday morning was a swim...another 3000 meters in the pool. I have gotten used to training by myself and I LOVE it. I seem to get a whole lot more focused to get the workout done and there is no pressure of keeping up or waiting for people to show up. But you also don't get to guage how you are doing comparatively...and that's okay because I am learning not to care.
Wednesday night was a hot and windy run. HOT and WINDY. Again, I smoked my pace. I love running again. It just feels good to run!! Each of those intervals were hard fought battles, but they are in the tank. My goal next weekend is to run faster than in 2008...which should not be a problem as I WALKED most of that day. I have unfinished buisness with that run course as the two times I have done that race, I have had to walk. Not this year. I feel a whole lot mentally tougher than I was in 2008 so things are looking up to have a good day!!
No sleep Wed night. I hate not sleeping. To much on the brain. The Thursday workout was supposed to be a 2.5 hour bike ride but I could not wrap my head around that and got only 1.5 hours in. I was exhausted.

i'm tired

And I don't even feel guilty telling you all that, given that some of you are training for Ironman!! Each to their own...and I am TIRED!! Here is how the week went:

Monday...I got up way early and got nearly 2 hours in on my bike. Before work. Yeah. Take THAT!! HaHaha!! It was a gorgeous morning, no flats, some intervals in there for good measure.

Tuesday...early morning meeting so no workouts in the am. My mom took the offspring for the night...Shaun went to a movie with his buddy, and I went for a run. Was a very good run. I have found my running legs.

Wednesday...Up early to hit the pool. 3500 meters in the water...staring at the line on the bottom. Was kind of boring and loooooong, but got it done.

Thursday...was tired in the morning. And it was a rest day...so I slept.

Friday...up again to hit the pool. Another 2500 meters. Some tri peeps were there so some chatting happened. Was a decent swim.

Friday night...I wanted to get a bike ride in but it had poured rain just after work and Shaun decided to go and play ball. So what does this gal do? Onto the trainer. In our hot, hot house, with no air conditioning (we got rid of it as we always get sick every summer and I am 100% sure it that damn air conditioning....without it this year, none of us have been sick, it has been hot some nights, but your body adjusts and it has been great...) I poured sweat from every part of my body for 90 minutes. Watched "The Green Zone". Wasn't a great movie but the ride and the intervals are in.

Saturday morning...a hard run. My legs felt like hell for the first several minutes. Then they just wanted to run...was a beautiful morning, was hot, was a very good run!! Ended up running well over an hour...and my goal for the triathlon coming up in a few weeks is to CRUSH my 2008 run time. That run, back then, was a real bugger and I just remember it being so hard. And hot. And I hated every minute of it. Well, Dear Frank Dunn Run Course...we have some unfinished business and I am ready to go toe to toe with you in a few weeks!!

Saturday afternoon...threw the kids in the truck and went to the cabin. Shaun decided to stay behind to finish some stuff he was working on. I rented some movies and ended up watching "The Road"...a scary, creepy, horrible movie all by myself while the kids were sleeping. OMG, I heard every single critter in the woods ALL night!! And something was running along the roof and the deck and I was totally freaking out...ALL night. Did not sleep a wink.

I am really tired today....

friends in "high" places

From today's stage...the canuck on the left is a guy (I am 98% sure it is him...) I swim with EVERY Sunday!!! And we grew up at the pool together...isn't that picture fantastic!!

new shoes

If Jenn can post a pic of her "special needs" shoes and Melissa posts one of her cool new mom shoes...then check these out...yep...that's 4 inches of heel, baby!! Can't WAIT to wear them somewhere....

But for today I modelled my bike shoes and my running shoes. Sigh. Up early for a bike ride, but damn I was tired. My body just gets wacked when that girlie time of the month comes and I can hardly function for a few days. I don't know what that is all about. It has gotten way worse since having kids. Headaches...soooo tired...lethargic all day...hormones playing havoc on my body and I do not enjoy it. I am literally out of the game for two to three days every month!! Today I tried to get up but just could not. My brain was banging against my skull. So I went back to bed for a few hours. Took some painkillers, dragged my bike outside, got on it and just pedalled.

For just about two hours.

I was flying out highway #5!! Got from my house to the church in about 40 minutes!! Turned around and a great big UGH....wind. Lots and lots of wind. Took me over an hour to get home...But it did not bother me and I just kept pedalling and kept my head down. Had to pee the entire way back but I was not about to go into the grasses and visit those mosquitos again.

And thanks so much for the tips on my last post!! I now have bug spray IN my pack AND I fixed my tire all by myself...All was good today on the bike!!

Then it was time for a run. I seriously felt sick to my stomach starting out but just kept putting one foot in front of the other and after about 20 minutes, I was good to run all day. Ended up running well over an hour. I think I really like to run after a bike ride...my legs are warmed up, I have to really concentrate on keeping myself together...no daydreaming...until it feels good to run. My pace was not all that hot...but covered 12km in about an hour 10...so pretty good for me!! Also took a walk break up Broadway as I love to window shop on that street...some really cute stuff on sale...I will be back there shortly...

!!!!?????

I had a bad feeling. But I went out for a bike ride anyway. That damn back tire of mine has been fighting with me for a few weeks. I took it off and checked the tube and put it all back together again and finally got some decent air into it the other night. All was good.

Up today to go out for a couple of hours before work. I have learned that it only takes me 14 minutes to get to highway 5 where we have a couple of hills. They are not even decent hills but they are all we got, that is close so I like to go out there as much as possible. It was actually a gorgeous morning...the mist over the fields just as I turned onto the highway from McKercher was really pretty. And it was quiet and peaceful. The sun was about to come over the horizon and I was feeling like the rockstar up early getting my ride in.

I got just past the drive-in...as in not even to the base of the first hill and I hear the dreaded...pffffssst.

Oh Shit.

I look back and sure enough, FLAT. Off I get and my first instinct was to just call home for a ride. But then I thought, quit being such a fool and change this thing. This will be GOOD for you!! So I got the wheel off and the tire off without any trouble...the mosquitos were horrible. HORRIBLE!!! I could not stand them. I felt like i was in a sci-fi movie and in an hour someone would just find my bike and my bones at the side of the road...everything else eaten alive. GROSS!!!

I LIKED the semi trucks going by as they would create some wind and push those little bastards away!! I struggled and struggled to get the tube into the tire. I had bought these tubes a few years ago and had never actually used one before...well...I won't use another one. It was like they were too wide to go under the tire (?). But I tried stuffing it in anyway. Honestly, the bugs were so bad...I ended up calling Shaun to come and get me...I could not figure the tube out and I was getting super frustrated. And running out of time.

And then wouldn't you know it, I kept at it while waiting and sure enough, got that stupid tube in and inflated it and got the wheel back on the bike just as he was pulling up!! But boy, oh boy was I in a foul mood!! Some practise needs to be done with getting that back tire sorted out. I could just take it to the bike shop and let them do it....but I want to do it!! So I will be on my new deck tonight, with some beer, sorting that damn bike out.

A side note....I asked Justin about buying a new bike. I am feeling like I should just buy a new bike...He says the cheapest way to improve my riding is to actually ride MORE....and maintain my bike BETTER!!! Hahahahahahahhaa!!!

been a blur

My quest to get these 11 (f-cking) training hours have gone something like this...

Monday...rest day...seriously, it was a rest day...a rest day from resting at the lake all long weekend.

Tuesday...another rest day...because dammit...I was tired and could not for the life of me drag my sorry ass out of bed. On the schedule had been a 90 minute bike ride. Did I mention I was tired? Sometimes I just need to listen the body no matter what the schedule is telling me.

Wednesday...and not very many days left now to get those 11 hours in!! Early morning meeting meant whatever was going to get done had to get done after work. Another 90 minute ride but it was pouring rain...onto the trainer. But it got done!!

Thursday morning...3000 meter swim...at the $50 million dollar pool...10 lanes, 50 meters and I had it ALL to myself. Not one other person in the pool, not even in the warm up pool. Nice.

Thursday night...a 60 minute run...but I did not wait long enough for my supper to settle and I thought I was going to yak the entire time. AND I stepped in a puddle early in the run so I had a wet right shoe and sock that gave me a blister. AND since I wasn't letting the night's meal come up, it tried to go down...had to hustle home or crap my pants...so not a fun time.

Friday morning...another swim...on the schedule was about 1500 meters, but I e-mailed Justin and told him that if I was getting up at 5:30am, driving across town and paying $6 to use the pool...I better make it worth my while. So put in about 2500 meters.

Friday afternoon...90 minutes of lazer tag with the boys...I am SO counting that as training. It was over 30 degrees, I had to carry a very heavy gun and run around the prairie trying not to get shot and shoot my cousins and their kids!! Omg...it was SO MUCH FUN!! But it was 90 minutes of crawling, crouching and sprinting between cover and running up and down hills...I was exhausted by the end of it. Fell asleep on the couch that night.

Saturday am...up at 5:00...fiddled with my back tire for way too long...I can't get enough air into that damn thing. Was running out of time to get the bike ride started so took off anyway, with a low back tire...and no phone. Smart. I just said a little prayer to the bike gods to get me back home. But I was very brave and pedalled through town all the way out Highway 5...no issues. Thank-you bike Gods!! Made it home...quick change into my run clothes and out for a 70 minute run. Legs were shaky for the first bit but then I felt really good. It was a warm morning and lots of people out on the paths. I had to hustle back as Shaun had a ball tournament all day today.

Sunday...let's hope I actually wake up tomorrow after this week so far!! But I want to get a 45 minute run in and a swim. Shaun is golfing and my mom has agreed to take the offspring so my plan is to run early before golf and hit the pool in the afternoon.

Then it is out to my mom's to visit with cousins and eat..eat...eat...eat my face off...

happenings

We are trying to find our groove for July with no school and no kid's activities. The evenings are kind of slow and casual and relaxed. I am keeping up with laundry. I never keep up with laundry. One day this winter, I had to send Matthew to school in a pair of my running socks as the kid did not have one pair of clean socks...oops. I went out that day and purchased about 10 pairs so that "should" never happen again. I know, my dad would tell me that is the easy way out, but really...

We made it to the cabin for the long weekend. Was a gorgeous weekend and the kids had a blast. We rented and watched all 4 of the Indiana Jones movies. Who knew that there was an actual story line in those films? I did not remember that. AND now Matthew wants to be an archeologist...oi. He hums the theme song over and over again. Indiana is his new hero! We played 100 games of UNO and went for many walks. A family of deer has made its home in our yard so that was kind of neat to wake up and see a mama deer and her two babies each morning.

As for training...well...I have deemed July "Get Kelly Fit On Her Bike" month. The problem has been that each time I have scheduled to go for a ride, it is pouring rain!! So I have been on the TRAINER....IN JULY!!! I have 2 whole hours (I know some of you doing Ironman are rolling your eyes...but 2 hours!! That's ALOT for me!!) scheduled for Saturday morning. Rain, rain ...stay away. But before that, I have Friday afternoon booked off and we are going to play LAZER TAG!! How much fun?!! I will let you know.

This week I have 11 hours on the schedule. ELEVEN. And several 2 per day workouts. wtf? But I told him I had the time now with no stuff going on in the evenings....so? Here I go!!