up and at it

Had to get my bike ride in today and the only time I had was early this morning. Out the door at 6:15 and rode for just over an hour. Three sets of 10 minute intervals in my steady state heart rate. Was super tired and struggled to get going so promised myself a Roastery coffee afterwards. So with the price of gas, the $3 coffee actually cost me around $5 but totally worth it! Was a perfect morning for a bike ride. No wind, a bit cool but okay.

i just felt like it

The plan had called for a 45 minute bike ride yesterday but the weather was so nice and I had talked JP into a longer ride. So off I go after supper and it was an absolutey gorgeous night!! To get out into the country with the smells and the lush green right now and all the colours...and on the prairies you can really seriously see for miles. I saw a fox, lots and lots of gophers, a hawk (who was sitting on the top of a sign and as I rode up he just looked down at me and then so calmly lifted his wings and flew off...as if to say "p-shaw"), the horses and a donkey.

E-I-E-I-O!!!

Anyway, the ride was good, really easy, did not wear garmin just my old stop watch. Put 90 minutes in...that does not include the phone call I took from Jenna!! Some drama happening in the local tri-club that we just HAD to discuss!! The local coach has dropped all of his athletes. On a whim. The explanations/reasons that I have heard (through the vine) have been immature and ridiculous. No concern of mine, really, I just feel bad for the athletes that are stuck now with no coach.

Had a super restless sleep last night and was up WAY early so went for a swim. Don't usually swim on Fridays and JP's instructions were to take it super easy this week, but it did feel good to just float around and stretch the limbs and work a bit on technique. Got about 2500 meters in. Tommorrow is a bike ride, Sunday is a run and a swim. Have been invited to do a charity run with an old friend whose mom died last year from a brain tumour. He has asked me (and some other non-triathlon friends) to run 10km with him so I am thinking of taking him up on it as it will be nice and easy and we will chat the entire time!! And there is a bar-b-q afterwards...food, FREE food, and drinks...how can I NOT go??

mid-week swim

Holy....made it to the pool today. This was a feat as I was sleeping like a friggin log and heard my alarm way, WAY in the background. Finally started to lift my eyelids open...considered just rolling over and heading back to dreamland but I have a half ironman to do in the near future and want to get to the start line with zero excuses.

Was a great swim.

Not fast and not hard, but nice and slow and long and easy. Could not kick worth a damn but was good to stretch the body out. My swim buddy Susan was MIA so had the entire lane to myself. Did not do the workout on the board, just swam length after length after length and I think I did about 3000 meters in total. Talked Justin into a 2 hour bike ride tomorrow. Yes, you read that correctly. He wanted me to do no more than 45minutes to an hour, but I said I wanted to do a bit extra as the weather (as of yesterday morning) was supposed to be amazing. So he gave me the go ahead with strict instructions of DO NOT look at your HR, DO NOT look at your pace, DO NOT look at anything but the scenery at the side of the road!! Time in the saddle, that is all I am to do. However, in true Saskatchewan form, tomorrow now has a forcast of thunder storms...so might be making it out for an early ride Friday morning.

post race talk with JP

Just got off the phone with JP. He makes me laugh. I was complaining (okay..I was whining) about how bad my legs felt during those last 2km on my run. I was telling him I think we need to change something. I need more longer runs. We need to do something so it isn't so hard!! Then there was a long pause. And he says "The last 2km are supposed to be hard. If that was the toughest part of the race, you had a great run!! If you had of said the last 4-5km were too hard, then we have a problem. You will always get that last mile done. It's only the last mile..."

Thought that was good advice and something I will remember.

The longer term plans are for two BIG bike rides in the next few weeks. One of them the day before my Olympic distance race. He told me not to be upset if I feel like a slug on the bike that day as we are training my legs to be tired for the run. I told him I want to do the Olympic tri because it is our local race and it is fun but if my results are crappy, I am okay with that as that race is the carnage for the big one. And he said to expect my results to be crappy!! So honest sometimes... I am to see how it feels to bike after a swim, to practice transitions, practice nutrition, run my butt off after biking long the day before and hard during the race. Does that not sound like FUN!!!

the day after

Legs feel good. Tired and a bit sore but feel pretty good. Sent a long detailed e-mail to JP last night and I am looking forward to hearing what he has to say about the run yesterday. After having several hours to think about things, I am not sure what I would have changed. I think I may have worn too many clothes (it was hard to know what to wear with that wind and the famously unpredictable Sask weather!!) but when getting dressed before the run, I kept telling myself to just do whatever you would do for a training run. Don't be fancy, don't be different, if this was a training day, what would you do, wear, eat etc. But I did wear a different pair of socks than I ususally wear and guess what...my frigging feet!! I even cringed this morning getting ready for work when I looked at my pumps. Nope. Had to wear a pair of FLAT shoes today to work!! Argh! I have a 5'8" personality but stand only 5'5" so I have to compensate somehow. Anyway, felt really good the rest of the day yesterday so that tells me I must have hydrated, ate properly. I was a bit tired, but was also on a bit of a high. I will probably crash tomorrow or the next day. Looking at my training schedule, this week is pretty easy with a swim on Wed and a bike ride on Thursday. Have not looked past that!!

THANK-YOU for all of the kind comments and e-mails!! I really do appreciate them!