Its a rest week...

TUESDAY:

- School life is hectic.... everyone is being evaluated; Including me!
- Got in an hour workout at gym where, because I missed my swim in the am, I combined my legs and arms workout yesterday in order to be able to swim Wed. am.
- 10 minutes cardio, then weights without machines.


WEDNESDAY:
- Swam 1850 at Juan de Fuca. I was picking up a bad habit, and my shoulder got a bit sore... but it feels okay now. The sprints do the trick in terms of realingning my strokes.

- PHYSIO: Saw Gerald- the tendons/muscles on the outside of my right lower leg flared up after my trail run on Sunday. Gerald massaged the area, gave me strength training excercises and prescribed a no-trail run time until my ankles strengthen. grumble!

- BIKE: 1 hour.

Sunday I ran In the forest! and swim

I ran at Thetis lake and it was invigorating! What a fantastic run!

1.5 hours

I got to run with Kim and a couple of the boys first- which was fantastic! Then after the first lap, they took off- I felt like myself again- the whole run was spectacular. It is still not free and easy yet, but I know it will be shortly!


SWIM: 2300
300 warm up
2 x 150 pull
3 x 200 kick
11 x 100 freestyle.

guess who I got to share a lane with today! That Charlene gal from the
Long- Distance Tri' seminar. They joined my lane when they were kicked
out of the one beside me - (we had the luxury of a 50 metre pool.)
Besides the one time where she totally cut me off: that bitch! (which, on a positive note,
gave me the opportunity to draft off her heels to see what drafting feels like!) I had a
super good swim, because it forced me to keep up and not be caught by her or her training
partner. A good confidence build! Always cool to be by a pro'.

Friday Saturday (I tried to parody a terrible hip-hop song... "Then I Got High"

FRIDAY:

So Friday I had a Physio Therapy session- and the whole day my workouts for Friday were in conflict with other pressing issues.

- In the morning I didn't wake up until 6:30, and I just really needed an hour of prep' time berfore teaching. Then I got no workout. (I've got that son in my head... then I got high)

- I was gonna run at lu-unch, but then I had to fill out a lengthy teacher evaluation.

- I was gonna run after lunch, but then I got cornered to chat about spo-ort.

then I gave a sigh, then I gave a sigh, then I gave a sigh.

- I was gonna run after the meeting, but I had hairy le-egs.

- I was gonna run after the physio but then I was told not to

- I was gonna run but my back was twitching from all those needles.

then I gave a sigh, then I ate Mexican, then I went home.

alright... a little poetry at Sunday in the AM- not bad. I was so disappointed to not be able to run and workout in the evening after physio... however, it was a worthwhile tune-up. He found my L4 muscle on the left side was very knotted up - so he gave me the IMS needles.. eww! He then massaged that knotty left quad' (because it was not any looser.) And, as a result, Saturday's workout was good.


SATURDAY

I brought home my first basketball championship as a coach - Yihaw! So excited. It was awesome! The girls were amazing. I was trying to guide them under the Winless Coach philosophy, and I pushed them to give a 100% game in the tournmanent (with no lulls) and they did it! Such classy ladies. Woo - Hoo.


The tourney ended at 2:00

BIKE 3.5 hours/ RUN 30 min

• TRAINER: 1hour while trying to feed off the action in Ocean's 12 the movie.
• OUTSIDE: saw it wasn't raining anymore, so I tried to quickly layer up, and then pumped my tires. After a 10 minute transition (is that bad?) I charged out around the lake.
• It was a wicked-good ride on the lake- the best one yet.
• FROZEN: Except my toes were frozen. I don't know if the frost throughout a gully section psychologically got me questioning the warmth factor.
• TRAINER: I decided to finish the ride on the Trainer while watching Ironman 2005.
• EMO' PUNK IRONMAN: It got pretty funny; I've noticed that when I exert myself on the long days, that I tend to get super emotional. As I watche the IRonman video, and the mother ran in (who was raising money to raise awareness for MS and her kids) I just had this loud instant cry/ release. It totally brought up my heart rate and made me a bit tired- It just ejaculated itself from the pit of my stomach. CRAZY!
• RUN: 30 minutes on treadmill- no problems! yippee!
• STRETCH: great. so satisfied and proud that I accomplished all of this today!

THURS. swim and bike: so... am I a circus freak?

MORNING:

Swam at Juan de Fuca- wow, I even woke up early enough to fill up my gas tank before descending the Malahat at 5:30am. crazy regimen. I love it.

2350metres - the workout was tough, but after the 10 x 25 metre sprints I finally found my rhythm to feel like a fish in the water for the cool down. great!

AFTERNOON:

charged out on my bike to do the 10 hills... yowsers! It was tough. At first it wasn't, because I didn't feel that sweat that I feel on my trainer... but it was like 0 degress out. By the 10th, I was ready to vomit. Amazing that it was the 10th... do we tell our bodies to hold on until the very last chance. Its as if there is this other communication there that happens simultaneously before we are even conscious of it.

And I'm sore. My left quad is all knotted up. Time for a shower and rest.

I spoke about this with some rowers training for the Olympics, it was pretty funny. I asked them... you know, if they ever get sore. I described today's workout and then they said "welcome to everyday!" wow- Ï say "so everyday you're sore?" and they said "yup." and I said.... "Holy shit, I've entered a whole new world! Why didn't anyone tell me about this! Can I do it... " I feel like Froto in the Hobbit when he finally realizes what is actually required of him and the greatness of the challenge. He just wanted to run away! I'm just going to run to bed.

I truly love it! This is exciting. I'm glad this is normal... I was worried that I was a circus freak!

Wed.

MORNING
We had a school-wide sleep-in this morning, which was so great- I GOT TO SLEEP UNTIL 7:00 am!!! YAHOO!

I woke up, did some work and then hit the gym for a long session:

30 min treadmill (I'm wondering what a cardio workout should look like, now that I feel good)
- Upper body with machines
- Core and Glutes
- 1/2 of lower body workout.


EVENING:
1 h 10 on bike
25 min run (including transition time) (my legs just don't feel tired after riding the trainer- and I've really kicked it up a noch to remain within my heart-rate zone)

EVINING Part II: THE WINLESS COACH

• - I cut it short to hear a speaker at the school talk about the WINLESS COACH (Jason Dorland)
• He's an x-Olympic Rower and won a world record coaching a high school 8.
• - IT WAS AWESOME!
• - He distinguished the internal personal legend kind of competition (a play on The Alchemist) vs the go out and smash your competitors competition.
• - He is convinced that when you go out with a personal quest who values your competitors and feeds off their excellence that you will be guaranteed to reach your potential in a race.
• - He insists that one must stop comparing themselves with their competitors and to ranks, and to simply focus inwardly to tap into your possibilities as an athlete. By looking within and doing your personal best, it is easy to perform your best in any circumstance.

Yog's, Swim and fatigue

Yoga on Monday was awesome,

As was my 2,400 m swim on Tuesday morning.

I had an hour between class and sport/ duty- but I just had to sleep; I was so tired! I think it was a combination of all of my classes being taught that day and trying to manage so much more,. The time is hectic. I'll combine my legs with my morning routine today.

Sunday pool run

Wow- I can't believe my body recovered the way it did!

I cancelled out my run with Richard because I felt my SI joint at the end of the run yesterday, and I thought it would be a shame if I slowed him down - and I just wasn't sure how my SI joint would hold up.

I opted to pool run in the evening instead.

Well as the day continued to look sunnier and sunnier, I was feeling a bit anxious to get out there.

What a great sign! I love that urge and drive to workout. I decided it was wise to pool run and save that outdoors run for next week.

yahoo!

Friday, Saturday.

Friday:
Morning Run: 40 minutes
- Ran straight it was awesome, just in time to catch the sun!

Evening Weights and Cardio:
- 20 min. eliptical
- core and glutes
- Up'r Body with machines.


Saturday:
SWIM 3,200 m: THE MORNING SWIM SAGA....

Pool #1:

• I arrived in great time to Duncan Masters to do arm swings and get in the full warm up
• Then, got moved to a slower lane because there were more fast people at the pool.
  
• In that lane was the lady that made sure I moved out of her lane because I swam too fast around her.
• She was asked to move to the next slower lane too - but she didn't move
• The workout was a combo of 100 breast 100 free
• I can't do breast stroke well enough to keep up
• this stressed me out... I would be on people's heels with the freestyle (even though I tried to slow down, and then I was slowing everyone down with the breast)
  
• When I flip-turned at the wall, the slow lady clocked me right in the head with her fist (by accident... she back-stroked into the wrong lane.)
• It shook me up pretty good- but it was no concussion.
• Nonetheless, I just couldn't deal with it. I burst into tears!
• I didn't know what to do... my tears were just streaming, So I left.

Pool #2:

• Commonwealth.
  
• After crying in the changeroom, and feeling quite ashamed of myself for leaving the pool, and also worrying that I made the lady who hit me feel guilty, I got in the car, bought a good latte and charged to Victoria.
• Got in the pool and started with a Friel workout:
  
• 4 x 2o0 (side kick no arm/side kick one arm/ 1 zipper switch/ 3 zipper switch)
• Got kicked out of the pool for a Water Polo tournament. Why didn't I ask or call first?!''

Pool #3:

• admittedly, I'm feeling like a bit of a fool going to my third pool
  
• Swam the main set:
  
• 4 x 100; 20 sec rest (working on lengthening my stroke)
• 2 x 300; 30 sec rest (focus on technique)
• 1 x 600; 1 min rest
• 3 x 100
• 1 x 50 (got some instruction from a lifeguard. I can't seem to beat 22/23 strokes per 25 metres. She observed that my catch was too wide. She suggested that I draw it in towards my centre line.)

HOME to coach B-Ball and eat lunch

BIKE:

• 2.5 hours outside- it was awesome. I dressed way more warmly and also had more to drink and eat on the bike.
• 45 min indoors on the trainer (it got miserable so I cooked it down the #1 to get home and warm.)
• Amazing; when I ride on the highway I have much more capacity to go hard and fast.
• Ran 27 minutes on treadmill afterwards - felt great. stopped there b/c I could feel my SI joint, and couldn't seem to correct it with my core (pelvic tuck)

Now I'm just knackered- Can't wait to sleep!

- I wonder if

Thursday

AM: Swim.

- Went well. Did full workout. Worked on lengthening my stroke.


PM: Bike:
- This was fun... I was ltd. by time. Warm up 25 min. Biked 7 hills at Graveyard HIll here in Shawnigan. It was awesome, because each time I would almost make it to the top and I'd just keep working hard to get to the top. I'm not sure where I should be gear wise in these hills. I was muscling it at the middle chain rings or slightly harder, and working hard not standing up. Is that VO2 Max? Then I had a 15 minute cool down.
- The workout called for 9, however b/c it was my first time doing them I decided to only do 7.

Woes and Praise of Heart Rate Monitor

THE DIMINUTIVES OF CARDIO AND WEIGHTS at 5:30 am!

Like training at the start of the term in January after having a break from my morning routines, waking for this workout was a challenge - I was just too comfortable in bed!

with less time...I opted to train in my room:

• started with Glutes and Core (it was sooo slow going!)
  
• 10 minutes on Trainer + Arm swings to warm up
• Upper Body workout. I have 10 lb weights that I borrowed from a rugby player in the house. its funny b/c they are just too heavy for some of the shoulder excercises. So my next option were cans of beans. These were very light- but better than nothing.

HEART RATE MONITOR ARRIVED!
I was so pleased to finally have my little TIMEX 30 Lap HR Monitor. I thought I found a real steal on E-Bay by winning the bid at 42$, however, after all that other stuff the watch cost me 78$. Whatev's... at least i have it.

I tested it out last night while on duty in the house. I'd arrive at a student's room and tell them that their behaviour was raising my heart-rate! It was funny.

QUESTIONS:

• does the sports bra interfere with the readings? I seem to have a pool of sweat where the elastic supports me... and the elastic is very firm... i wonder.
• do I trust the Age formula for my Max H.R? (ie 220 - age) Is there another way for me to determine my max?

BIKE (trainer) 1h 15 and 20 min. RUN

• I was a bit of a hater today- the cable to read my cadence ripped in half... Did this happen @ the Bike Shop on Monday? BAH!!! Ah well, I know that I'm consistent on the cadence... either 93 or very fast.
• The H.R. monitor was a good resource.
  
• I'm assuming that ZONE 3 is Moderate? I'm really not sure. On the net it says that ZONE 3 = aerobic. perhaps I should have cooled it a bit?
  
• I averaged around 143 beats/min for the workout. I was sweating more than ever.
  
• I was surprised when I started that I was way below the zone. I had to up the wattage with higher gears to pick up my heart rate. Usually I pedal with easy resistence.
  
• Have I not been working hard enough or is this HR Zone too hight?
  
• It was hard but good and do-able. I was just wondering how I would keep that going for 6 whole hours in the desert?!

My HR Monitor was a pane in the neck!

It wouldn't make a reading on my wrist in the aero-position. I had to move my wrist in under my chest to get a reading. I tried to wrap the watch on the top bar of my bike, which was virtually under my chest - yet it still wouldn't read my HR. What a pain! I also ran with the HR monitor, and it still wouldn't read my wrist as I ran. GAH! I think I bought a faulty tool. Or maybe I just don't know how to use it - I'll have to ask for advice.

• The run was spectacular - I charged out to my favourite trails. As soon as I crossed the first river all those exhillerating sensations from being on the trails came back. So much joy- I could have run forever. What a joy to run a straight 20 minutes too!
  

I am now very tired. time for bed.

Swim and Workout

SWIM: It rocked- I was quite bleary eyed and blah in the car to the pool- but once I got going I was fine. In fact I loved the workout- wow, amazing how what seemed like a mega work-out last week has now become the norm. I like the experience of this progress.


WORKOUT: Well- with limited time between coaching and duty- I had 10 minutes on my trainer and then did my core work, glute work and leg weights (w/out machines). It was good.


Its great to have the rest week- because now I'm just keen and focussed about making the workout happen. That hour between coaching and duty could easily just be a cup of tea and meandering random conversations about the weather and IPODS or whatever's hip with other staff members and kids. But, I was so determined to put in the workout.

Monday, Feb 12th: Yoga and Massage

Yoga rocked as did the massage-

Funny, I had the day free today (mid-term break) but not having structure throws my game completely. I wasn't all that productive, nor was i super punctual.

Massage was great. I noticed tightness at the inside-top of my foot- the angle where my foot meets my leg. It seems like my Inside-Toe Tendons were very tight from my feet all the way to behind my knees. Crazy! The achiness manifested itself mostly behind my knee- and then Adrian (masseuse) found the source. It was a very deep tissue massage. feel great.

Signed up for the Y-Tri club as a basic member - after much deliberation with Carolyn! (thanks C!)
and bought me an Aero-Bottle for my bike. yippee. I'm still broke!

Sunday

Run Clinic with Bob-

lots of laughs! it was good to be there, I haven't been on the track since high-school, and it was fun to get back. I'm looking forward to seeing the images of my running technique.

It was so good to be around others training for Ironman- having coffee and talking about what we do was so refreshing.

LONG-DISTANCE TRIATHLON SEMINAR with Lance Watson

It was terrific. I now have quite the crush on Jasper Blake - I'm such a groupee!

I enjoyed talking about all the ins and outs- even if I'm aware of them already from my reading and conversations. I feel lucky to have a coach who can see the big picture and I feel a bit of optimism that I might just be able to run a good part of the marathon in the Ironman- that's up there in the Dream Goal section.

Everyone knew what they were talking about. I got a kick out of Lance's expressions... I wish I could remember them all- he's all about clichés! Like: "There's a hundred ways to skin a cat..." oh deary.

good times

Sat Feb 10th swim and bike

SWIM: Masters (2km)
- focus was on the butterfly (I was relieved that this week was a rest week)

• 200 kick
• 6 x 50 Breast/Free
• 100 easy kick
• 4 x 100 fly kick (front/side/front/side)
• 100 easy
• 3 x 50 (4 kicks and stroke/freestyle back) with flippers
• 3 x 50 (fly stroke only/ freestyle stroke only back) with flippers
• 50 easy
• 3 x 50 (3 kicks and stroke/freestyle back) with flippers
• 3 x 50 (fly stroke only/ freestyle stroke only back) with flippers
• 50 easy
• 3 x 50 (2 kicks and stroke/freestyle back) with flippers
• 3 x 50 (fly stroke only/ freestyle stroke only back) with flippers
• 50 easy
• some kick offs
• 50 easy

BIKE: indoor 2 hours.

ski week and rest: is it possible?

wow- i'm home and tired.

what a crazy week! The school rents out an entire ski resort to build community amongst the students and staff. We worked very hard with the kids; I felt like I was back at summer camp.

Here's a recap from Sunday forward:

SUNDAY:
biked 3 hours on my trainer first thing, Sunday morning. BAH! it was early, just enough time to get the ride in, stretch and hop the bus with the kiddies for Manning Park.

I had an awesome ride. The final tweeks that Bill at Riders made were almost perfect- except the shoe is likely pointed too far to the right.

MONDAY:
On this day I learned that it takes a lot of discipline to rest. As my colleagues went to x-country ski... I worked hard to take it easy and board the late bus up to the mountain.

Nonetheless, I couldn't hold myself back. As soon as I got to the mountain, I slapped on my snowboard and flew down the hills with the kids- it felt great to be boarding again.

TUESDAY: x- country ski! It got me bad!
SWIM: well what i remembered as being a 20 metre pool was in fact 15! I almost hit my head on the wall in the first length, and the shortness made it difficult to do anything in the pool. I focused on Total Immersion exercises and kicking.

X-Country Ski: Carolyn recommended 45 minutes of skiing and I thought she was on crack! I was so used to skiing for hours and hours, I could easily ski up to the mountain from the resort. It took me 1h 40 minutes- and it was very challenging. Its uphill most of the time and the conditions were so warm that I had no stick on the trail. I was practically traumatized from the effort! My hip flexors were so tired and sore- I was brought back to some post- marathon feelings. WOOPS! I felt a bit arrogant as I treated my nemesis (flexor) in the hot-tub.

But I'm also flabbergasted. I love the training and wouldn't change anything - yet I'm jealous of my friends who can just go out and engage in various activities. I'm constantly tempered by the rigorous schedule of training. I love it that I'm even having to recognize this- I suppose I'm reaching another stage in the journey towards ironman. pretty exciting.

WEDNESDAY
Bike: After a long stretch I got on the exercise bike at the little resort gym. Its a bit like a recumbent. While uncomfortable, I did enjoy reading my WATTS and RPM's on the computer screen. I focused on these stat's for 1hr.

Some snowboarding on the hill.

SKI: Ski-ed down with a friend at a super slow pace to sweep up the kids in the X-Country race. Wow- I was totally inspired by one gal. Her courage and resolve will be one more source of inspiration for the Shawnigan 1/2 ironrace. Little Catherine, a little Grade 8, showed so much courage and grit in the skiing competition. Its a 10km decsent to the ski lodge with lots of downs, ups and a few flats. She was terrified of the descents - so she would unclip her skis and then walk down. She had tears in her eyes towards the last third of the course as she continued to round corners and encounter not even one of her peers. Yet not once did she complain- she was incredible. WOW! courage.

THURSDAY:
-Snowshoe walk- very relaxed, easy going stroll with the grade 9's. It was heaps of fun!
- Bike 1hour 15 with 7 intense/high cadence bursts on the crazy recumbent bike.

FRIDAY:
Rest- great day-

The diet of the week was not unlike that of summer camp... and I've sort of lost sense of myself. We were set up with FrootLoops, Frosted Flakes, Croissants, 2 loaves of White Bread, Kraft Peanut Butter, A box of cookies, Kraft Dinner, Mr. Noodles, and apples and oranges. Yikes! It was a challenging week for eating- lots of instant fast empty carb's, ridiculous amounts of sugar and very little protein. Luckily there was wine to wash it down and anti-oxidize my bod'. I'm looking forward to returning to my old routine.

Sat. Swim

It was great-

300 free warm up
4 x 150: kick, drill, swim
14 x 25: 12.5 torpedo kick/ 12.5 swim
150 easy kick
5 x 100: lengthening stroke
200 back stroke
5 x 100: counting strokes
200 back/ breast
3 x 50 swim 25 scull

= 2825 metres.

- I can feel my si joint a bit today... wonder if its related to the riding yesterday.
- my legs felt tired today (lactic-ee) when I started kicking. but as I warmed up, I was fine.

Thur aft and Fri

THURS:
I missed Yoga b/c of a b-ball game with my girls... but what a joy to see their courage and perseverence on the court.

Ran for 35 minutes on the treadmill and stretched and core afterwards.


FRI:
Morning ride with Steph at Valley Fitness Club. we warmed up for 20 min and then biked for 50 minutes in a spin class. It was awesome. I haven't been back to them since last spring and I rocked the class! I felt so strong. B/c this was a substitute for the 9 VO2 max hills I regrettably didn't do, I tried to bust a gut on every possible climb and sprint. When it was over, I knew I still had some left - so I suppose I didn't give everything - but it was still good.

I ran on the treadmill for 20 minutes afterwards. then stretched.

Evening I would up flying to Victoria for a fancy bottle of wine for a present- so I didn't make it back on time to lift weights. However, I did make a good core and glute work out while watching Kona 2005. I was so inspired and so in tears watching that gal with the prosthetic leg make it accross the finish line- she was soo full of joy! Wow- and Natascha too- her smile. These women are phenomenal.

Wed aft and Thurs' morn'

Wed. Afternoon: Got in a bike outside for 1 h 15. I rode the lake- wow- that's going to be one tough set of 4 laps... up and down up and down. its a bit like cycling on SaltSpring Island.

I wanted to run as well- but I had to bust the move to Victoria for a physio appointment. This also went well.

THURS MORNING:

Wow- what a swim! I was very red in the face afterwards.

350 warm up
10 x 25 drill (side kick, side kick arm out, 1 zipper switch, 4 catch up)
6 x 150 (building twice)
10 x 25 sprints
8 x 25 kick (running out of time)
200 cool down