6 weeks til the race now time to clean the slate!!

Well if you were following Face Book last night you probably know that I took part in a pub crawl. This was the third annual Okotoks moms pub crawl. The last 2 years the event was a crazy night so I knew this one would be no different.
I was hesisdent about this night out since I knew the drinks would be flowing and I knew that with my training this may not be a good thing...

BUT...Jen (my coach) ended up being on the crawl and well I just followed her lead ;-) YIKES!!! So yes there were many many drinks........a few too many,.....it was a lot of fun but yup I am feeliing not to great today.....
The good thing is this week is a light week of training leading up to camp this weekend so hopefully my body will be good and recovered come Thursday when I head out to Penttction for camp.

With that said Jen has also told me that we are now 6 weeks out for the race...so not only will training change over the coming weeks...I will start tapering in about 2 weeks...but with that I need to make changes to my diet..

So starting tomorrow.......there will be NO refined sugar leading to Ironman.....NO alcohol (that should not be a problem after last night) and NO caffeine.

So it is time to get the systems in top shape leading up to the race.
Now I do have a bit of a sugar addiction.  I do eat healthy.....but I do like a little treat each day...so this will be a challenge for me..

But for 6 weeks and to get myself in top shape I will do it!!

This weeks plan is:

Monday- Swim 1500m
Tuesday- spin 1 hour run 30 min Wednesday- bike 30km Thursday- travel to pentction Friday- Sunday- training camp

7 weeks and counting.....

Yes I am now counting......it may be because the training this week seemed to have gotten harder or the fact I can see the light at the end of the tunnel...whatever the case YES I am now counting...
and yup it is 7 weeks today.....YIKES!!

So last Sunday I did the GWN Half Ironman and the official results were posted and yup I did it in 6:13...which for me is a personal best....so I was really happy with that...

This week was hard...in a few ways...first I was back on the training within 48 hours of my race........I had 2 long bike rides this week..a longer lake swim and a short run...and really they all felt HARD!!!
I was not that sore after my race...a bit tight due to my lack of stretching but nothing crazy....it was more I think my body is used to a rest after a race and I was not letting it....so it was a hard week..

Then I had 2 experiences training this week that did not help...the first was on my bike ride Wednesday I came apon the aftermath of a bike/truck accident where the cyclist was pronounced dead on the scene.
I rode my bike along the scene and seeing a mangled bike and a body bag on the side of the road was one of the hardest things I have gone through....I was in tears the rest of my ride back to Okotoks.....I knew it was most likely a freak accident (which it was) but I still kept thinking "this person has a family....and they now have to deal with this loss".....I was so sad for this and felt sick from what I saw...

Then Thursday....I was out running with my run group and when I got home I saw an alert on the Okotoks web that a cougar was spotted right around where I ran just an hour earlier......SERIOUSLY...someone from above was telling me NOT to train this week...

But I pushed on....had a good swim with a friend Friday...thank goodness she was there or I may have just hung out on the beach..

Then I ended the week on a high.....It was the Okotoks Sprint Triathlon. I did this as a team (which I have never done before) So the team consisted of Melissa who is a crazy fast swimmer.....Jen (my coach) who can kick any ones ass on a bike...and then me for the run....GULP!!!
So ya I was a runner coming into Tri's many years ago...but never considered myself "fast"...so now there was some pressure!!!

So a quick update on how this race unfolded....
So the girls hit the lake.....500 m around Crystal Shores lake.....so as expected Melissa appears out of the lake in first place...just over 9 mins.....
She darts to the bike transition  and passes off to Jen....she gets onto the course...there is about 3 ladies hot on her trail.....
Jen does the 20 km bike course out and around Okotoks....the first rider gets into transition and it is not Jen....but then within seconds she appears....in a time of just over 40 minutes....
So the gal in first place is out of transition and on the run course and I got my chip from Jen and I am on her tail....but this girl is FAST!! So my initial thought going into this 5 km is okay I will hold a 5:5min pace and I can do this in just under 30mins...so I take off and I try to keep this girl in my sight...and I look at my watch and well I am under a 5 min/km......around 4:5....CRAP...this is fast...not sure I can hold this...I train for distance not speed....but man I cant let my team down...so I run and I run and I run........I keep the pace and the girl in first place stays about 50 m ahead of me....and that is where she stays...at 1 km to go...I push it more but so does she...so she crosses first...and then I cross.....with a time of 23 mins....CRAZY!! I have never done a 23min 5 km EVER....it felt good.....we ended up coming in first for the teams....and our final time was 1:13...

We were also so happy for all the C&C Fitness triatahles that completed this race...for many it was first lake swim...and they all did so great! It was an awesome day!

So now we move onto another week of training:

Monday: 3 km lake swim
Tuesday: 1 hour Spin followed by 50 min brick run
Wednesday: 2 hour run/60 km bike
Thursday:  1 hour Interval run
Friday: REST
Saturday: 120-140 km bike....then a PUBCRAWL!!
Sunday: most likely hungover so we shall rest ;-)

Great White North Post race report.....

Well I survived!!

So I thought it would be good to do a post race report for one you can get an idea what the race was like and two I can look back it when I do this race again NEXT YEAR!!
Yup I decided already I want to go back and do this race again...and try it a year I am not training for Ironman...

I went into this race hoping I could do it close to what I did it in 8 years ago (that was 6:42)...well did not just come close I nailed it out of the park with a 6:13 (unoffical time).....This shocked me in ALL areas...
What was even better is I did not kill myself on this race a I tried it at a pace I knew I could hold for longer...so next year we are going to take it up a bit and my goal to break 6 hours.....we shall see!!!

So we arrived in Stony Plain on Saturday afternoon it was so HOT about 30 degrees when we arrived. So we checked in and then headed down to the beach so I could check in my bike and they has an open water swim. So Amber and I got on our wetsuits and headed out to test out the lake! It was already HOT outside but the lake was soooo warm....so it made it a nice swim...minus the fact it smelted like goose poop!

After we headed back to the hotel and off for supper.  Those who know me know I have a very sensitive stomach so what I chose to eat the night before was a big decision. That whole day I drank up to 5 litres of water and I ate very clean....no sugars and limited my starchy carbs.....I wanted a clean slate for race day...My mistake for dinner I chose a whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce and spinach. Which sounds healthy....but it was still a bit too heavy and my stomach did not like that during the night....oh well live and learn..

I did not have a great sleep...hotels.....tummy issues etc...but still the alarm went off at 5:50am and I was ready to go...

I let the kids sleep a bit and I headed down to have a quick bit of breakfast...again careful on my choices. So I went with my trusted granola and PB on toast....

Headed back to the room kids were ready to go an we headed out...

Stepped outside to realise the weather prediction which was a mix of sun and cloud was WRONG...it was all CLOUD...and windy!
As we pulled up to the lake it started to rain...not alot but enough...

We got set up in transition then pulled on that ever so sexy Wetsuit...Here is a pic of Amber and I before the race..

We got our self set up on the beach....here is a pic of all the athletes ready to start..

This race was a beach start so once the gun goes you run in and start swimming...I wont say I RAN more like a slow saunter ;-).......got in none the less and started to swim....first 100 metres of any lake swim in tough for me...I feel a bit panicked and hard to catch my breath. The bonus of this race was the water was warm and we were quite spread out on the beach...
After that first 100 metres I got into my groove. THis course was a 2 loop swim around the lake a total of 2 km....I was hoping for a time of 50-55 mins....my watch said once I exited the water 43 minutes....I was pumped....way better then I thought...

here is a pic of me getting out of the water...

So next was transition....here is where I could have been a bit quicker....I spent about 10 mins here (oops) but with the weatheer wet and chilly...I took the time to put on a jersey and arm warmers etc...not easy when you are wet..

Then I was off on the bike course (90km)

What I do like about this race...is this is very FLAT bike course.....which is nice compared to other races. The downside this day was as soon as we started the bike it started to POUR and the wind began...so this added a bit of a challenge....but with that it was still a nice bike...and with it being an out and back course the trip back (45 km) the rain stopped and so did the wind....
On this leg I was hoping for a 3:45-3:50.....my watch showed about 3:13 once I got to transition...so again happy! I did not push too hard on the bike...I held back due to wanting to have a good run etc...so I do know I could have took some time off that bike and pushed even harder...
I also played around with some nutrition on the bike...I ate a whole PB and jelly sandwich and a banana...and did it all without getting off my bike....impressive I know ;-)....it was good and was the right amount of fuel I needed plus my HAMMER liquid supplement.

Then it was the run....I felt strong going into the last leg (21 km run).....I took off and really watched my pace...learned my lesson last time...so I stuck around a 6min/km and held it pretty close to that...I felt good through the run....in my head I just kept think okay I am getting close to 12 km and what is my knee going to do?? 12 km came and went and I still felt great!! This course again was flat...which was nice...and the rain had stopped so just cloudy..perfect weather. I took the time in the run to chat with some athletes..I ran beside 2 athletes that were so inspirational....the first was a 68 year old man...yup 68!! This was his 6th half and he has done 4 Ironmans...he was so sweet and we chatted for a while and I told him how I thought it was so great he did this.....I picked up my pace after that (I knew I could not let a 68 year old man beat me ;_)...I continued next I ran with another women she was 65!! This was her last race...she had been doing half ironman and ironmans for 30 years....CRAZY!!! Again an inspiration!!  I now was at 15 km....6 more to go...I then ran beside a friend who is also training for Ironman so we stuck together to the end and held a good pace...and still no pain!!
1 km to go......I said "What the Hell" picked it up and took off to the finish...felt strong and excited to finish...turned to corner and there was my family...I told my kids they could cross the finish line with me so they were waiting. Unfortunately Jade got hurt a few minutes before so she did not want to run but Zach was ready to go...SO here we are running to the finish..

I crossed the line at 6:13 (my time) official times not posted yet! My time in 2004 when I did this race was 6:42 and my half last year in Calgary 7:20....so I was so happy with this time!! I know my training paid off and so thankful to my coach Jen who helped me get here. I feel confident and ready for Ironman...of course I have 6 weeks of training to go.....but now I know "I can do this"..

The finish....

So I was very happy with my race...now the recovery was a different story......After the race what my plan was to drink my recovery drink......insread I ate a greasy burger....oops....

then I needed to ice and stretch....well since Jade got hurt.....we needed to get to Red Deer..so I jumped in the car and sat for 1.5 hours...got to Red Deer I quickly showered and changed and we went off to Urgent care...there i sat for 5 hours.....so I really started to get sore........

A side note...jade is fine...she has a weak elbow that pops out of joint...so after 5 long hours..the Xray tec got it back in place......

So yesterday I did ice and stretch.....which helped but not ideal foresure!

So now I had 2 days of rest...well kinda I teach spin tonight....for me will be an easy ride but not for everyone else..then I am back at training tomorroow....so here is the plan for the week:

Tuesday- Easy Spin

Wednesday- 140km bike (CRAZY)

Thursday- 45 min steady run

Friday- 3 km lake swim

Saturday- 5 Km fast run (Okotoks Tri) 80 km bike

Sunday- rest....well not really Stampeded day with the family!!

If you took the time to read thanks for reading ;-)





One week till race day....

One week till I will take part in the Half Ironman 'Great White North (GWN)".....now this is not my goal race obviously...but a pretty big one in the lead up..
This race will give me a good idea of where I am at and also I should be able to predict an approximate finish time for Ironman...."should"...

Now I do have 2 half's under my belt leading into this race. The first was GWN back in 2004 so 7 years ago!! The second I did the Calgary 70.3 last summer...

My memory from the last time I did GWN is a bit foggy...all I remember is how I felt when it was over and that was HORRIBLE!! I was sick for a good 24 hours post race....I know now that was mainly due to bad nutrition choices during the race. After that race I actually took a hiatus from triathlon until 2010 when I did a few sprints and 1 olympic then 2011 when I did 70.3.....where I felt 100% better...so good that gave me the momentum to sign up for Ironman...

Now with that said I decided to look up my times from both races to see how they compared and what I had to aim for for this race coming up..

So here they are:

GWN 2004:
2 km swim- 42.22
90 km cycle- 3 hours 51 mins
21 km run- 2 hours 14 min
total time- 6 hours 48 mins

Calgary 70.3 2011:
1.9 km swim- 1:07
94 km bike- 3 hours 45 mins
21 km run- 2 hours 26 mins
total time- 7 hours 27 mins

Now looking back I would have never guessed I did the one in 2004 that much faster then last year...but I must remember I was 7 years younger and this was pre kids!! I had more time to train back then.....also the courses were quite different..70.3 was a more challenging course and the weather last year was also a factor where it was 34 degrees by the time I hit the run..

So looking ahead to next weekend...I have a few predictions....not that I like to make predictions since ANYTHING can happen in a race..
But here they are anyway..

The swim.....Not sure if I can do what I did in 2004...man that was fast (not sure how I did that) so I predict about 50-55 mins this time...my swim has not improved much...it has remained kinda the same since last year...so I could push 1 hour again not sure...

The Bike...now this is the area I have really focused on this year...so I hope this is where I will make the improvements....if I can do it in around 3:40 that would be great.

Now the run......I am still suffering with knee pain once I hit past 12 km...so I not expecting big things in the run...I hope to run as far as I can get...then if I feel alot of pain I may have to walk...I don't want to mess things up for the next 2 months.....so I cant even predict the outcome of the run..
The other factor is my pace I train at right now is slower since my distance will be double this...so I think this will also have a factor in how I do this race...

Overall....if my run goes well I hope to do the race in about 7 hours...but the run may be a major deterrent in that...
What I really want to get out of the day is I get my transitions smooth...my nutrition right and I have the feeling that I can do more once I am done..then I know I am on the right track for my next 6 weeks...also lets hope for some SUN!!!!

here is a pic from 70.3 last year..

So leading up to the race this weekend here is my plan for the week:

Monday- TRX/open water swim
Tuesday- 90 min run
Wednesday- 2000m swim
Thursday- easy 30 min run/ride 30 km
Fri/Sat- rest
Sunday- RACE!!

The Ironman Death March....

Jen sent me this article this week and it is so fitting to how I feel right now...
It is called "The Ironman Death March"
http://www.impactmagazine.ca/workout/articles/welcome-to-the-ironman-death-march.html

What this article talks about is how is a race like Ironman we are expected to feel some sort of pain and discomfort....and also with the high volumes of training...

I am defiantly feeling some "pains" right now....Unfortunately it is every time I go past about 12 km in a run...
I was doing GREAT until about a month ago and I went to a training camp for Ironman....we biked about 300km over 2 days...and I ran 26 km....
I felt great during.....but the following week it all went wrong....attempted a half marthaon and had to stop have way through...
Unfortunately my runs have not got better...
Short runs have been fine......I have done 2 longer runs since...both times feeling pain after about 12 km...
I have been getting treatment....the source is VERY tight IT bands that is pulling laterally on my knee cap..
I think what happened is I did the volume training at training camp but not sure if my body was ready for it and then once I trained the following week my body gave in to the extra stress I put on it...

I was hoping that it would be better by now....but I ran last night and once again at 12 km....PAIN....but the pain was not as bad...so I thought about this article above and took down my intensity and ran through it for another 3-4 km....I could feel it but it was bearable..

My chiropractor Shannon...who also is training for her I think 3rd or 4th Ironman gave me some GREAT advice...since I have a race in 2 weeks (half Ironman) she said go out and have a strong swim and bike...and do the best I can do in the run.......if I have to walk the last 5-8 km I have to walk...this is still not my GOAL race...I might be just looking like the "Ironman Death march" at the end of this race...

So with 2 weeks to go until my first race...my volume is starting to go down in training...which I hope will help my knee...time will tell..

Plan for this week:

Monday: TRX/Spin 1 hour
Tuesday TRX/MAP run / Open water swim 1 hour
Wednesday- Bike 40 km
Thursday- Run 1 hour
Friday- Swim 2500m pace
Saturday- rest
Sunday- Bike 100 km/run 30 min (Brick)

Oh I am going to pay for that....

Well I just returned from my second annuals girls weekend...

This is an annual golf trip...where last year I brought my bike instead of golf and went for a long ride...
So I thought I would do the same this year..

So packed up the bike with the girls and we headed to Fairmount...
Friday night we hung out had a few drinks and a few laughs but I headed to bed early since my plan was to bike about 120 km the next day..

Woke up to pouring rain....I waffled about going...but I stepped outside and the temp was 5 degrees! I did not bring gear for that cold...so I bowed out!

So we spent the morning doing a mini Boot Camp then headed to the Hot Springs...got back to the cabin at lunch and the rain kept coming down...so what else was there to do...we DRANK...and DRANK and DRANK some more...don't get me wrong it was A LOT of fun....but man this 39 year old lady does not do this very often....and I was a hurting unit by about midnight..YIKES!

So today we headed home.,..it was a quieter ride with some sore heads....I did not feel bad but definetly was feeling the effects of the weekend...

So I missed my big ride....may have been not so bad since I had been dealing with an injury for the past few weeks...so maybe the party weekend healed it?? We shall see..

But the show must go on and I move into a pretty high volume week this week and I sure hope when I wake up tomorrow that this booze is out of my system and I am ready to get back at it...

Monday- 1 hour spin/90 min run
Tuesday- Pilates/TRX
Wed- MAP run/swim intervals
Thursday- Ride 100km
FRiday- Swim 2500 Pace
Saturday- Run/bike brick
Sunday- rest

Coach Jen!

One of the best decisions I made in my journey for Ironman as to involve a "Coach"....now Coach Jen is not just any coach...she is also my friend! Jen has completed Ironman about 4 years ago and is a FANTATSIC athlete. Jen is also a police officer and has trained with Tri Cops. Jen last year took her Triathlon coaching and has been coaching the team out of C&C for the past 3 years as well.

So I was so happy when she said she would coach me for this race! Jen sends me the workouts and advises me on things to focus on etc...
What I love also is Jen is a MOM...she know what that is about and that I don't have 20 hours a week to train...so the program I have has balance and I don't ever feel I am taking a lot from my family..and that I love!

So today I went on my first ride with Jen.....She was only able to do the first half of the ride with me then she sent me on my own...it was great since she gave me some great tips on hill climbing...since this ride was full of hills....

Here is a pic of Jen and I today...oh and we did not plan to wear the same jersey! ;-)

So this week I also rode Highwood Pass......this was also a nice ride with some amazing scenery....

After a rough weekend last weekend I had a great week of training.......now we move into next week:

Monday- TRX/Spin 1 hour
Tuesday- Run 3 hours
Wednesday- Intensity swim 2250m
Thursday- run 40 mins/Bike 60 km
Friday- Swim Drills
Saturday- Bike 120-140 km