Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Twas the morning of race day...

'Twas the morning of race day and all through the year
Muscles had ached, loads of cash spent on gear;
The bikes were racked in transition with care,
In hopes that post swim we’d eventually be there;
Helmets and shoes were nestled all snug in their place,
While we prayed we’d finish this gawd awful race;

With us in our spandex, wetsuits and swim cap,
‘Twas the first open water swim, we must avoid mishap,
When out on the lake there arose such a clatter,
Was too late to worry now, ‘cuz it really didn’t matter.
Down to the beach we marched -- nay we trudged,
Knowing today our efforts would fully be judged.

The sun on the lake, shining off the buoys out far,
Would challenge me for sure, but not you, you’re a swim star!
When, what to our wondering eyes should appear,
But a whole lot of “pros”, with some pretty fancy gear.
With super fast bikes, that would make them ride quick,
Thank goodness we’d planned and done a good brick.

As quick as lactic acid these racers they came,
We were focused and nervous but determined all the same;
"Now, Faster! now, Quicker! no, whining or quittin’!
On, pace! on form! on, spandex tightly fittin’!
To the top of the hill! Without hitting the wall!
Now swim away! Bike away! Run away all!"

As I finished the swim and rubbed water from my eyes,
I saw that these wetsuits aren’t flattering on one’s thighs.
So up to transition I practically flew,
Knowing there might be a chance I could catch up with you.
And then, in a flash, you were gone on your bike
still one more sport left, ‘til the one you really don’t like.
As you put on your helmet, and were turning around,
You looked down the path and cursed something profound.
You were dressed all in gear, from your head to your foot,
Now if only your helmet would stay where it’s put;



The bundle of food you had put in your pack,
Would provide you with an important mid-race power snack.
Gatorade and water, were strapped to your chassis,
and I kid you not, you were looking real classy!
Three laps you would take and up a small hill,
that saddle rash was more effective than a contraceptive pill.
Before you knew it, you were back for T2,
you couldn’t bonk now, you had to pull through.
Out on the trail, you kept a good pace,
You may have stopped twice, but only to tie your shoelace.

You worked so hard, you deserve a gold medal,
You never gave up, even when it was SO hard to pedal.
You’re always so chipper with words of encouragement,
You should be so proud that you never “hit” the pavement.
With always a joke, but willing to work,
And endured all the time; while not being a jerk,
And even while getting water up your nose,
And trying out training tips with a very odd stretching pose.
You sprang to your bike, to your dog gave a whistle,
And away you both flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard you exclaim, ere you went out of sight,
"Happy training to all, it’s been a true delight."

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Hunkering down....

Into week 2 of my structured/coached training, and clearly deep into winter!
This a.m. -38 with a windchill of -49 Celsius. That's just freakishly cold!!! Spending a lot of time indoors.

Yesterday's swim was pretty good, even though I was swimming solo (Stacey had something going on). In total 1000m. Today is a 50 min ride, which I'll be doing this afternoon. Have the day off, doing some "other" work, but will squeeze the ride in on the trainer a bit later. I had planned to do it this a.m. but when I woke up at 5:45 and saw it was -38 I voted to stay in my warm bed knowing I could do it later. Tomorrow is an easy run, resting up for our testing on Thursday.

Last night was Brynn's ballet performance. I volunteered during the first show and then was able to watch the 2nd. It was super cute and all the girls did an excellent job! The photo is pretty bad quality, but that's our little ballerina on the right, really cute mouse ears :)

Well I better get at it! I'll do an update once my workout is done.

UPDATE:
I'd planned to do my bike ride at 2, and then go get the kids. Of course it didn't happen. So, went to get the kids from school, had a few extra in tow (so cute!!!). After going to the post office and store, I put supper in the oven and then got on my gear and headed down for my ride (in the basement). At first I was kind of dreading it, as it can be so boring on the trainer. But Shawn had us doing all kinds of different combinations so the time actually went pretty quick. I was sweating like crazy, so was happy when my boy came down to check things out, got him to toss me a towel. "Thanks Babe" I got frustrated with the single leg drills.... I really need to get clippless pedals. I have the regular clips, but it's just so clunky and choppy doing the single leg drills. I could really see how much better my cadence was when I focused on pulling up and not just pushing down. When I finished my ride I finished up making supper, and we had a nice family dinner. Meat loaf, potatoes, broccoli and spinach salad. Funny, I had made salmon for myself, but just couldn't resist the meatloaf. It was homemade meatloaf, so at least I knew what was in it.

On Friday I had a meeting with a physiotherapist (for my job) and it was great because I knew he was into triathlons as I've seen him race. So we spent the first 10-15 minutes chatting about triathlons. (He was my physiotherapist for rehabing my shoulder after my surgery in '07.) What got me really excited was that I can book a 1 hour bike session with him, and he'll do the full work up, strength, power blah blah and a proper fit! I am especially excited about the proper fit, especially to see if he'll make any compensation for my shoulder. Although it hasn't really affected me, I can tell it is weaker, and when I'm riding for long periods of time it sometimes aches. He was quite amazed how far I've come with my range of motion in my shoulder, especially since it is such an "old" injury (20 years ago was the original "incident").

Going to go relax and stretch, before heading to bed. I have tomorrow as a work from home day too, but I learned my lesson today and will get my run out of the way first thing :)

Thursday, December 3, 2009

First week with a coach

The first week of coaching is almost over!
So far so good :)
Swim workout on Tuesday was ubber hard for me, and as I tired I could feel my form getting progressively worse. I tried not to let it get me down (that was tough), but I am worried about the coached swim tomorrow morning. First I'll have to get up at 5:30 a.m. to make it, plus I worry about how bad I suck! But I know you are supposed to spend more time on your weakest sport, so I'm trying to view it as an opportunity. Was pleasantly surprised by my cycle session, as it was my first on the indoor trainer in months and months (seriously, since a late night catch up session in June!). I haven't had a lot of rides in on my new bike, so I was happy that I felt comfy. However, I am reminded how much I really want to get clipless pedal system ASAP.

Winter has arrived, so I'm accepting my "sentence" of running indoors. I'll try and get a few in on the indoor track, that should provide some interest :) The last few mornings I've really enjoyed listening to podcasts, they make the time fly!!! This week was the AgeGrouper and Milkthecowbaby, and I see that Kelownagurl has put up a new one. Always interesting stuff!!

OK, better get back to work, and oh yeah.... eat some lunch. Tilapia and salad yummy!