PUMPED!

New year’s eve - clean house, organized bike and run stuff (John's mess), prepare spare bedroom into stretch/yoga room/sanctuary, put up photos of Chrissie and Craig, put my training plan beside the bed so I see it every morning and every night to stay motivated and focused (also hang plan on fridge, on my jail cell cubicle wall at work and in the yoga room).

New Year ’s Day - marks the first day of my Ironman journey. I am happy to report that it has been a successful week. Not one workout missed. WOOOOHHOOOO. However, yes there is a however, my runs have been cut in half. BOOOO. My flippin' IT band is wreaking havoc on me. I took the last two weeks off prior to the start of my training plan (it was for resting the IT band and to eat myself into oblivion over the holidays lol) in hopes that it would help. My first run was not fun. I got about 7km done of a scheduled 14km. With that I am back doing physio and am told I have very strong, developed quad muscles but got nothing in the rear end or hammies to balance out my upper leg which puts way more stress causing ITBS. I guess my sciatica is acting up too which is causing my hamstrings to be extremely tight and not allowing the full range of motion while running. Regardless, I am doing what needs to be done - exercises my physio gal pal given me to do 3 times a day and a DVD I need to watch and practice about ABCD sequences (running technique).  I will be good as new before you know it. I am pumped to have nailed all my workouts and look forward to the many more positive weeks.

On a nutrition front, I have purged the entire house of sugary substances.  Bad sugar! 

What to say? hmm

I am finding it hard to find time or the creativity to write my posts.  I am not a very good writer and I am one to just say things how they are with no real fluff involved. 

That said, I am happy to say that I have been hitting all my runs this and last month.  I run about 11kms on Tuesdays and Thursdays and a long, slow run (16km) on the weekend.  Woohoo.  However, all of these runs have been on routes that have hills.  John says they are not big hills, but they are for me.  So I have a bit of pain in my right achilles and it feels really bruised just to the right of my inside right ankle.  I am not sure if this has to do with the achilles but I have been stretching it like crazy. To be safe I am going to take a week off from running.  Plus my left IT band is tight.  The good ol' foam roller aka pool noodle is back in action.  It is not enough pain to even notice really when I am running but it is there.  I figure as I am just base training now there is no need to push that hard.   can afford to rest for a bit.

John and I resting while on my first century ride!  :)

      In the meantime, my bike is going to need some work.  John and I have been getting up in the mornings twice a week to bike in our pain cave (ok, I didn't get up this morning with him but I rode tonight to make up for it) and I have to work on my cadence.  ALOT, so John says.  I agree with him.  I love having him coach me.  So tonight I pedaled my little arse off and my average cadence was about 85rpm.  It was hard!  I was sweating like a pig.  Good thing I set up the pain cave equipped with a big fan... ... right in front of me.  :)  Work*On*Cadence... this is my goal for the next couple of months.

With regards to my swimming, I have only been in the pool once in the last month.  I felt good but I hate the fact that our pool hours SUCK the big one.  It is the Wayne Gretzky Centre for crying out loud.  You would think that they'd have more then just one hour or one and a half hours of length swimming in the evening.  They have length swimming in the mornings for a measly hour long and it starts at 7am. Well I have to be at work by 8am so this does not work for me and I am sure not for many others.  I personally, like to come home, get my workout in and then unwind for the day.  Not come home rush to make supper, half ass relax, then go to the pool at 8:30pm, home at 9:45pm, then unwind and try to go to bed.  Like I said, it SUCKS!  The good news is that the Centre is undergoing a $50M+ renovation project right now and it includes the construction of another 25M pool.  I HOPE that this is strickly for lap swimming with better, more convenient hours!  Lets keep our fingers crossed!!

And so it begins

It has been quite a while since I have posted but I have been enjoying my 'off time'.

John and I have been relaxing and eating.  lol   We took some holidays in Algonquin for a 5 day canoe & portage trip.  Then we came home, picked up the boys and went back up again for three days of camping and hiking.  The weather was phenomenal. The fresh autumn air, the beauty and colours, it restores my mind and soul..  I love Algonquin!!!!!!!  :)

Vacation time over, let the base training begin. 

I am going to need a STRONG base before my IMMT training starts in January, so John and I (ok John) has completed my program using what he used last year for Lake Placid.  As a bonus, as he is training for a Double Ironman, which means he needs to slow his pace down, we can train together!  (Unlike last year when I was left in the dust!)  lol

I love that we can do this together.  On Sunday, we ran 17kms.  He perfects my form, keeps me motivated and kicks my a$$ when I my mind gets me down.  Which can be often!  My own personal coach.  I am so lucky! 

Tonight, John was going to be late coming home from a conference. While driving home from work I knew I needed to get a 10km run in by myself.  But those 'nasty, lazy' thoughts were in the back of my mind.  Thoughts like, 'do I want to run?', 'do I have to run?', 'I'm too tired to run!'.......  So as soon as I got home I quickly changed and ran out the door before I sat down or anything came up to hold me back.  I am happy to say I got an 11km run in.  It felt strong and so proud that I got out there on my own.  I attacked all the hills with fierceness!   Dear, Nasty, Lazy thoughts.... Bugger off, I am on a mission! 

Um, I'm afraid.....VERY afraid

As some of you know I have signed up for a full Ironman.  eekk!

John was very excited when he heard that they were thinking about having another Ironman event in Canada that is local to us, Mount Tremblent, Quebec.  It will be about a 9hr drive for us (maybe a bit longer with rest breaks!).   I was looking to sign up for a full and was contemplating Louisville, Kentucky but this one in Canada would be perfect.  So when the announcement was released John and I were tickled pink.....until we seen the bike profile..  OMG I am going to die!  Some climbs are a 12% grade for 5kms.  Yep, August 19th of 2012 will be the day of my death! Just kidding but seriously, they better have a stretcher and IV ready.  LOL 
I convinced another tri-chick I know to sign up as well.  SO SORRY, Miha!  ;)  We will get through this together!  hehe

IMMT Bike profile = OMFG what have I done!!!???

John entering the finishers chute!  AMAZING!!!!xoxo

John just completed his first full Ironman in Lake Placid on July 24th, 2011 and while he was on the bike course he was thinking about me.  Lake Placid has some BIG hills and BIG descends.  He began to worry about me in Mt. Tremblant.  He told me I am going to die.  That is great.  Thanks Sweetie, that is just what I wanted to hear! Your extraordinary support is truly cherished...  NOT!!!!!! 

Bike check-in

                                                                    Nonetheless, after watching John work so hard during his training which included every single one of his winter long weekend runs in a blizzard, him waking me up twice a week in the morning with music blaring on his trainer and him dragging me to the pool with him kicking and screaming, I see how this dedication has paid off for him.  He did an amazing job and pushed his limits as I would some day like to do.  He is my inspiration and I am so proud of his accomplishment and achieving all of his goals that day!   Being able to witness this entire day and watch all the Ironmen push their bodies to the breaking points, to have met so many wonderful athletes, fellow bloggers and volunteers and the breathtaking beauty of Lake Placid has left me with a desire to register this Ironman event.  My hope is to sign up for 2013 if they can negotiate their contract next year.  Lets keep our fingers crossed!!

I was going to race the Women's Olympic triathlon this year in Milton but they cancelled this distance so I have no plans to race for the rest of the year.  However, given that Mt. Tremblant is going to be insanely difficult my 'off season' will be a very short one.  I need to work extremely hard on my bike and improve my run significantly.    John and I have been talking and in speaking to TriTwins and his crazy turbo training, I may give it a shot.  John will be much more disciplined then I but that is ok.  He has more passion for cycling!  As for my run, it will progress....  I am patient.  I will continue to run with the Road Rebels and more hill work will be added.  I have to work on my run cadence as well.  Not sure exactly how to do this but I will look into it and if you have any suggestions please let me know! 

Who's that HOT guy getting body marked?  YUM yum

Chalk for my Ironman!

John and me at the top of Whiteface mountain.  Lake Placid is in the background. 

John telling Dylan how to clip in and out of the pedals.

I think he is ready for a triathlon!  :)

                                                                          With all of our races and training John and I have inspired one of our sons.  He told us the day after Johns Ironman that he wanted to start running and wants to give triathlon a try!  WOOHOO..  This is fantastic and very exciting.  We both know that Dylan will rock this!  He is a very strong swimmer and natural athlete.  When he was in high school the swim coach and gym teachers strongly urged Dylan to sign up for the swim team after seeing him in the pool.  They were even approaching our other son to convince his brother to join.  Dylan was not one for the competitive pressure I guess.  This is ok though.  You grow stronger and confident the more mature you get...... .... 'mature' in some cases.  LOL    A great support team helps too and we are there for him.  GOOOOO DYLAN!  John fit Dylan on his cross bike last night and got him used to the clipless pedals.  He looked confident on the bike.   John is going to build back up the LeMond for him as we used parts off of it for my bike.  Today we are planning to take him out for a short bike ride and maybe an open water swim.  Soooo exciting!  Now we just have to get him registered for a race towards the end of the season.

Peterborough Half Iron - FINISHER!!!



Half Ironman = MENTAL!!  LOL

 


 

May 29th I injured my IT band in my half marathon.  I was just stretching it out and rolling it on my own trying to heal it but the few times I ran proved that it was not getting any better.  So two and 1/2 weeks ago I decided to seek professional help.  I was seeing a physiotherapist and a chiropractor.  The physio guy did a run analysis to show areas I needed to strengthen and in time would help with the IT band.  I also have slightly contorted legs, my heals slightly pronate and I am slightly bow-legged too! .... Oh, and my right hip is sit about an inch further forward then my left (probably from child bearing... damn kids  jk  ;)  )   Yes, I am a freak!  lol  Nothing that halts my running but something to keep in mind and to make sure I am strong in the areas I need to be (namely my gluteus maximus).  I also had 5 acupuncture treatments to help with the inflammation.  The chiro guy specialized in A.R.T. (active release therapy) and I seen him twice. 

R&R at Sandy Beach

About a week prior to my race I went for a short 5km run and it was the most pain I have been in.  My IT band tightened up so bad that I could hardly walk... I wanted to cry.  I was running with our Road Rebels running coach at the time and he stop and massaged it out for me.  THANK GOD!  It was awful.  After this run I was so scared that my race would be compromised.  I was not about to quit though.... NO WAY!!  I would walk the whole run if I had to.  I was not about to concede defeat before I even tried!  I am waaayyy stronger then that...not to mention I have a high pain tolerance! 

So Friday after work, John, Dylan, Tyler and I headed up to our friends, Brian and Renu, cottage in Peterborough.  Renu was our hostess for the weekend.  Our oldest son, Blake, could not make it as he had to work.  We arrived about 10pm.  We unpacked, visited with Renu for a while, then went to bed. 

Saturday we were up at 7:30 for breakfast and then drove to Sandy Beach for a swim and some r&r.  At this point I could still feel my IT band pain when walking down or up hills.... or when John tried to wrestle with me in the water....  I yelled.. "my knee, my knee" and he let go.  I think he was trying to sabotage my race!  LOL  The rest of the day consisted of normal cottage activity and trying to keep my mind off the race..it was working until it was time for bed!  The feeling of worry was starting to overwhelm me.

Sunday we were up at 5:30 and out the door at 6:10ish.  It was about a 40min drive into town and race start was 8am.

When we arrived I put my bike in transition  and went through the normal motions ( body marking, timing chip pick up, ect. ect.)  My boys were with me the whole time and John went to help out a friend for a bit as it was her first sprint triathlon that day. 

SWIM 2km


John giving me some last minute advice  :)



This was my first ever mass swim start and I was a little nervous.  402 participants in a mass start.   Ummm, I hope this ends well for me!  I don't know if I was more worried on my own or because John was hugging me so tight all the time.  I think he may have been more nervous!  ;)

I heard the gun and we were off.  You can walk in quite a ways before it gets deep so I took advantage of it.  While swimming out the the first buoy there was this guy that DID NOT know how to sight.  He kept criss crossing right in front of me.  Really buddy, pick your damn head up and look!  It was really annoying but I kept my cool and tried to avoid the collision.  On our second loop I am not sure if it was the same guy but was at a point that I was getting angry.  I put my hand on his head and was going to shove him but didn't.  ( I am too nice).   As I was on the last stretch of my swim a guy in front of my kicked my fingers..  OUCH..  It felt like they were broken.  I checked them out and they did not look deformed so full steam ahead.  Swim time - 48:25, 2:26/100m pace

BIKE - 90km
I got on my bike and it was already insanely hot out.  I seen my boys and John and off I went.  The course was A LOT harder then I anticipated.  The hills for me were long climbs so I could not carry as much momentum them from the downhill.  It was all hills.  John said after that I did not have the proper gearing so that did not help.  Oh well, it will just make my legs stronger right!    At about 15km in had to go pee.  I did not want to stop, this was going to be a painful ride!  Oh no!  :(    I tried to go on my bike sooo many times but I just couldn't do it.  When I wanted to try there were people behind me and I didn't want them to see peeing.    I guess I need to practice!  hehe 
I had some tremendous pain in the bottom of my left foot.  I had to unclip from the pedal quite a few times to shake it out.  Sometimes I could not even put my foot back in the pedal because the pain was burning so bad.  I will have to figure out what that is all about!? 
I was pretty slow on the bike.  By the time I was on the road leading to transition the runners were everywhere.  I am going to need to do some serious speed/hill work over the winter for IMMT next year.

Bike time - 3:44, 24.1 km/h

RUN - 21km

I ran out of transition.... yes, ran....with no pain..... yippeee!!   But then seen a port-o-potty so ran in there!  RELIEF!!  lol


BIG high fives and all the chalk was for me!  Love my family!



Once back on the run course I was feeling pretty good.  My pace was slower but did not want to push my IT band limits so did 10 and 1's for the first half of the run.  After that I think I was running 5 min walking 1 min.  This is was working out perfect as the uphills were during my walks.  The clouds also rolled in while on my run.  THANK YOU Mother Nature!   I knew I was cutting it close for time and when I was at the 18km mark I seen John standing there at a feed station waiting for me.  :)  He was getting worried so ran out to meet me.  I wanted to stop and kiss him but just wanted to finish the race so I can sit down!  At this point my quads started tightening up too.  I think I could even feel all the micro tears as they were happening.  It was a strange feeling. 

As I was approaching the finishers chute, the people that were in their cars already leaving were all clapping and cheering out their windows. It was awesome!  Then right at the finishers chute Renu ran beside me for a couple of seconds cheering saying "go Fran go, you did it!", I almost cried.  All the people that were still there cheering was fantastic.  I loved it!  My first half iron triathlon was a success.  After I received my finishers medal, John ran around to meet me and gave me the most amazing hug and said how proud he was.  I kissed my boys who waited all day for me and then we walked to the water where I could cool off.
Run time - 2:42, 7:44 min/km pace.  -- run needs work but with an injury I am happy with this!!!

I think I was bang on with my nutrition..  I ate one Lara bar and 4 gels on the bike.  I wanted to eat more but with all those hills made it difficult.  On the run I had 2 gels and drank half a Gatorade and water at each feed station.

All in all, this was a great accomplishment.  I am happy I was able to finish considering I had not been properly training for the last 5 weeks!  I am tough like that!  LOL  :)

Time - 7:20:14, place AG 16/16, Overall 353/402

Woodstock triathlon - June 12th, 2011

Going into this race I was worried about my IT band as it's still causing some pain.  I tried not to think about it!  

Two of our sons as well as my Mom and sister came out to support John and I for this race!  :)  My sister is a hardcore cheerleader!  :)  Loved it!

Dylan and Tyler with their clappers!  :)



Almost back to transition.



Swim complete!

My swim: was strong I think.  I started in the last wave and caught up to some of the people in the second wave!  During my swim I was in awe regarding how aggressive some of the girls can be.  I was swimming along and I knew I was close to another swimmer but I am comfortable with this.... but obviously she was not because before I knew it she stopped and shoved me!  That's right, the b!tch shoved me!!!  Is this normal??    I just let it go and carried on my merry way!  lol

The bike: was freaking cold!  I wanted to put on my arm warmer and had them in my transition but John said after is warm up that I wouldn't need them.  Boy was I cursing him!  The headwind was enough to slow my pace considerably.  The only thing that helped me was knowing when I get to that turn-around I would fly back!  And I did.  Sweet! 

Running up a hill out of transition.

The dreaded run: was PAINFUL..  but I sucked it up and ran the whole damn thing in pain.  I found myself really limping afterwards.  Not good as my Half Ironman is only a month away at this point.  I think it is time to seek professional help!  Foam roller is failing me.

I finished last in my age category so I was pretty sad about it.

750M Swim/30km Bike/7.6km Run

Time 2:18  11/11AG    158/181 Overall.

Finished - Doing the happy dance.

John tried to help me feel better by saying I am not training for short distance races (interval training).  It made me feel better but if that is the case why did he place 4th in his age category and he is not training for short races!?  It's all good though.  He is an incredible athlete and much more competitive then I am.  I just do it for the sake of doing it (and to tell people about it!) as well as staying in shape (somewhat).  HEHE

Toronto Women's Half Marathon: May 29, 2011 - Race Report

Ok, I am a little late posting my race experience but better late then never, right?  Where do I start?  I am not one for fluffing things up.  I just mostly say how it is and that's about it.  So knowing that, this race report will probably be on the short side... as most of my posts are!  :)

About 3km into the Race- Am I done yet?

This is my first half marathon...  first ever running only race actually.  I was sooooo  soooooo nervous the couple of days leading up to the race that I was in the bathroom ALOT.  I think I lost about 2 pounds!  lol   Race morning we were up at 4, I ate my blueberry mini-wheat's and a banana, then were out the door.  We offered to pick up a friend in Toronto, Renu Bourne, as this was her first half marathon as well.  Once we got I checked out my race kit she picked up for me, put on my bib number and headed to Sunnybrook Park where the race was being held.  We parked and walked about a block to the park.  As were were walking my stomach started gurgling again..   Oh no!!!    

I warmed up with Renu.  I made her do some high knees, butt kicks and these horsey trot things (I'm not sure what they are called)  John got video of us.  It is pretty funny! 



Firefighter calendar boys!



Race start - some deep breathing and we are off.  The butterflies lasted for 2kms.  The race course was three out and backs but the course was changed a bit because of flooding so there were some turn arounds added to each of the three out and backs.  I did not like this at all.  Now you have to slow down that much more!  My first 10km I had done in an hour..... after that I slowed down and my last 5km were really tough, more mental toughness I think!  At the 18km mark the bottom of my left foot had some pain and my legs were starting to feel heavy.  There were some nice pick-me-up features in this race. 1) The Toronto Fire-fighter calender boys were on the course handing our water to us.  We passed them three time and the last time passing by was most pleasant.....  They had their shirts off.  :)    2) At the 20km mark they had a chocolate station were they handed out Cadbury chocolate bars.  I took one but did not want to eat it at that time and decided I did not want to hold it either so I threw out out at the next water station.  As I was reaching the finisher shoot I can hear all the people cheering so I picked up my pace...  as much as I could, which was not alot.  I was so glad that it would be over but it seemed like the moment was in slow motion.  It took forever to get to that finish line!  At last, I finished in 2:15:59 chip time.  Average pace 6:27.  AG place 117/209, Overall 531/1116.



The race course was not closed to the public John ran the course to get in his long run.  He started running about 30min before the race started.  This way he could take pics of me throughout the race.  I was soooo happy to see him.  It makes me smile when he is there cheering for me.  After the race we spent the afternoon at Renu's house with her husband and kids. We ordered some pizza and enjoyed the sun that finally decided to come out.  My IT band started getting tight as we were sitting there and as of today I am still trying to loosen it. 

Approx 7km to go.  My legs are starting to feel heavy!

LOL  ;)

I ran twice since the race and can get about 5-6km in but then my IT band will instantly get tight.  I have a rolling pin at work to roll it out and have the foam roller (pool noodle) at home.  Gawd that hurts.  There are some BIG knots in there!  I have a triathlon this Sunday so I hope it is better by then!! 

We are done.  YES!