Meh...

Thursday night - cycle & swim and I just wasn't there mentally. I'm having an off week folks. It happens even to me. Yep Yep Yep. I got to the gym and on the bike about half an hour early. I just kept it easy & breezey. Theo arrived on time 7:15 - and off we went - good cadence - low tension for half an hour. Kevin came in for the last 20 minutes or so. Theo worked out a strategy with me for my race on Saturday & none of it started with me doing a 5:03 pace ... more like a 5:30 til the first hill - 6:00 up the hill then back to 5:30 until the last hill I should be there by 48 min. That gives me 6 min to get up the hill. I'm down with that. Oh and a warm up run of about 500m ... never done that, but that doesn't mean I'm not willing to try. Then core for 20 minutes - again my heart wasn't in it, but I did it. In the pool for 1000 m. I was working on some new techniques I was researching this morning so I wasn't going very fast as I was trying to tighten my core and stretch my body as far as possible to keep my back end from dragging in the water. So I was about 2oo m behind Theo when he was done. But again- my heart just wasn't in it. I shouldn't swim in my own lane when I'm like this. I dawdle. I was also using my flip turns about 90 % of the time. That puts my breathing off a bit so I'm trying to adjust with that as well. They say to do the flip turns in the pool to better simulate open water swimming as the flip keeps the swimming contiguous rather than getting to the end of the pool and having to turn around ... etc. Good logic. So I was working out some kinks, but still I should have stayed in the lane with Theo to actually put in a decent work out. I really feel like I dogged it today. Maybe the cycling is getting easier? I know I was dogging it in the pool. And then when got ready to leave I realized that I forgot to bring track pants/yoga pants what have you to change into. So it was either my stinky work out clothes or my stinky work out clothes, I opted for the stinky work out clothes. Then home for a spot of food. Pasta stuffed with Porcini mushroom & truffles. with some lactose free sour cream for protein. Also a titch of melted butter and parmesan. Now bed. Maybe just maybe tomorrow will be a good day.

Up the hill over the dale to Grandma's house we go.

Ahhhh Wednesday night is run night. My 6k route - The Church run backwards, so rather than deal with the incline of Blake Street & Puget I choose to go up Owen, Worsely, Theresa, Amelia & Napier. It's not until about the 3k mark that the incline becomes the decline. I say Napier is flat only because I can see the lights by Puget from Duckworth, but it's a slight incline on Napier... Not sure why I thought it was easier that way, but hey why argue with yourself. Right? I managed to get 3/4 of the way up Theresa this time. It was more the fact I was having difficulty breathing than leg pain. That came when I got to the top of the hill. My soleus ached for a moment - around the 1.78k mark then it was that STUPID calf muscle again. I'm not sure if it's because I'm not hydrating enough or what. I'll have to make a note of how much I'm drinking in the day. I know today I didn't drink more than one cup of water. I'll have to work on that. We'll see if that helps on Saturday during the Harry Rosen Spring Runoff - 8k. Running down Puget to Blake went really well. My goal was to just run the 6 k with no breaks ( after Theresa St break) as I didn't think I would be able to manage running under 36min. I check my watch at the 3.06 mark and I was at 19 minutes. So I aimed to just go no stopping. I checked my pace a couple of times and it ranged from 5:50 to 5:30. As I was on Blake I negotiated with myself by the Nelson street stairs that when I hit the lights by codrington I could think about slowing down. Then at that point I'm about 1k away ... what's the sense in slowing down then right? It's only one more klick. Don't worry about it. I clocked in at 35:37 for 6.01 km My goal is to do the 8k in High Park in 44 min. Last year was 46:xx. The issue is the hill around 3 k and then the big one at the 7. k mark. it takes you right up to the finish line. I need to come up with a strategy. It's hard to start a run part way up a hill, but I just may have to do it. The 3K hill ... I can speed walk that I think. I just have to make the most of the "flat" areas and the down hills. Sounds like a strategy to me. Tomorrow is the bike and pool. Theo says just spinning since I'm running Saturday, no cadence etc. phew. The pool though - I'm good with distance. I seem to be coming along very well now that I'm improving my technique. Lots more to improve on it, but one swim at a time right? p.s. did I mention I love my running tights ... CW-X are the greatest. I love love love them.

Double huge sigh - Hill night on the bike, drill night in the pool

So after an excuriating day at work one filled with disappointment, frustration and an all around feeling of mmmeeehhh, I arrived home armed with the knowledge I'd be on the bike doing hill training SITTING DOWN and drills in the pool. Luckily Theo conceeded and allowed for a bit of out of the saddle training. I don't know about any of you out there in blog-land but those bicycle seats are NOT comfortable at all. They hurt and are uncomfortable in places that shouldn't be uncomfortable. I completely understand the need for chamois in your shorts. COMPLETELY. So hop on the bike ... warm up ... turn the tension up and off we went. Up the tension again. and out of the seat for a minute. No bouncing either, it's inefficient and uses up energy. Plus it makes your thigh burn like they are on a 4 alarm fire in Niagara Falls NY. Accck. Back down tension up. sitting down, then out of the saddle, no moving the upper body, two fingers on the handles while keeping still. MORE BURN. Back down tension up again. ACK. Half an hour of that. I had sweat dripping off me in minutes. Like my body is anticipating the work out. The salt from my sweat was stinging my eyes. gggrr... and OWIES. I was quick to point out that it was sweat in my eyes causing me to tear up & not the work out or my day... not yet at least. Then on to core for 20 mins. I just wasn't there mentally. I got a decent work out in, I could have tried harder on the side plank, but didn't. Then down to get changed to go into the pool. Boy did I have to use the loo. And wouldn't you know it - the ladies from the aquafit class came in and one lady hurtled past me ( which was no small feat for her size) and dove into the stall. The other one was occupado by someone CHANGING... Ladies... We have all know what breasts look like --- GET OUT SO I CAN PEE.. no chance so I turned in disgust and walked out. Into the pool for drills. 200 m warm up. 100 m catch up 50 m fists 50 m paddles 2 x 25 m under 30 secs 2 x 50 m under 60 sec 100 m flutter board thigh reach 100 m finger tips 50 m cool down Okay swimming with a flutterboard between your legs like a sharks fin and rolling so your finishing stroke touches the board aint that easy. HOLY CRAP. well at least the turning around when you get to the wall, but I suppose I could have taken it out from between my legs ... oh whatever. Teaches you to roll really well. The swimming is great - the new breathing technique is really working well for me. Theo and I were "racing" when doing the timed drills & we were neck and neck. I managed to get a few seconds on him with my flip turn though. Tomorrow is running night. Church run backwards. fingers crossed on the hill going up Theresa, it's good practise for Saturdays' Harry Rosen Spring Run off - 8K race. okay... my food has digested - somewhat. Now to wash the clorine out of my hair & bed. Another day awaits me tomorrow.

That Sunday morning thang!!

It was Around the Bay Sunday and I wasn't going to run it and I wasn't going to be a spectator/cheerleader either. Sometimes, as much as I love my running family, I just can't cheer. SIT DOWN... did I just say that? Yep. And it's okay. It's hard recovering from a year of injury & a year of cheering everyone else on. However; I got to the Spirit Catcher for 6am with my flask of oatmeal and sat on the bus and had my breakfast with my running family. Then home to get ready to go running. I was uhmming and ahhing about running & I had a pnumatic drill inside me drilling away - any excuse not to run ... but I figured what the heck. You're up you might as well run. So got to the RR and the usual suspects were lined up at the back. Theo had talked about joining me but as it turns out he wanted to run more than I did, so I was pretty much on my own. I had put my Garmin on it's thingy to charge, but at 11pm in the pitch black, ehhh... I wasn't so successful. So it was to be a seat of my pants day. I grabbed the 12 K map the Half Clinic had out. Seemed ok. nothing horrific - Out to Kempenfelt Drive, up Vancouver, up Johnson, and I like Johnson. If Crestwood is my Waterloo, Johnson's long steady incline is my Nelson. Steel, Lay, Grove, Drury, Wellington, Ecles, Innisfil, Tiffin - Lakefront back. A decent 12K. So I polled the fellas to ask where the half way mark in the map is - Theo folded it in half and said " looks about half" ahahah.. Dutch people. ppffft. :) Now I'm usually a pretty hearty kinda gal. I tend to have my big girl panties on, I subscribe to the sticks and stones theory of life, but one of the runners made a crack that my running was like walking. In the words of the great Cher " words are like weapons they wound some times". If he wanted to hurt me, just kick me in the crotch. It was like a knife through my mental instability of the day. I had to walk away. It was meant as a joke, but it was truly a hurtful choice of words. It did though, spur me to have a better run than I had anticipated. I ran all the way from the RR to Kempenfelt Drive up Vancouver, Shanty bay and ran Johnson all the way to Steel. Steel over Duckworth and had a break on Lay st. I think that was about 5 K. managed to pop my very last Halls in my mouth and took off again. My leg was feeling fine as far as my soleus was concerned. It's the danged muscle cramp I get in the calf. I could feel that as I turned on Steel, but it didn't get any worse. From Lay I trotted onto Grove and headed toward Drury. I could feel I was hovering around a 5;50 pace by my breathing - so I was most pleased with that. From Drury I turned onto Wellington and followed it along to Eceles and I was very comfortable with the run from that point on. It felt really good. I don't know if I was slowing down or if I had, as usual, come alive at the 6k mark. I always find it takes me to 6k before I am actually getting everything in order, the gait, the breathing, the song in my head ( which happened to be Delirious - by Prince... don't ask... ) I'm relaxed and everything is moving along well. Before I knew it I was on Tiffin and heading towards the Lakefront. I figured, 2k, you can do 2k. But I did have a quick break ( and I do mean quick) when I turned on to Innisfil. I kept the pace strong and the shoulders relaxed. My chorus playing over and over in my head. Arms moving, feet mid foot strike, minimizing the bounce, head up, shoulders down, Halls from one side of my mouth to the other every few minutes. CRUNCH... dammit... no more Halls with about 1K left. Bugger Bugger BUGGER. They get to that certain size that you just can't help but bite them. Ahh well. I brought Mint Halls with me for a change, but really the cherry ones ( no sugar added) are the best for the metholatim & keeping the airways open. I didn't even use my puffer today. Around the bend and out by the park - and stop by the lights across from Fred Grant Square. And from what I could tell by the clock on City Hall - it looks like I managed 12k in 1:15. so roughly a 6:10 pace. Slowly but surely... one run at a time. My calf is sore - but nothing a hot waterbottle and some downward dog can't fix. Until the next work out !

The night I cried on the bike...

That was tonight.
When Theo bbm'd me this afternoon and told me we were doing cadence, I said sure that sounds fine.
D'OH!!!
Hopped on the bike at 7 and had a nice slow warm up until Theo showed up at 7:14 ... Had my sports watch as instructed.
Then came all the instructions - count this in 15 seconds then multiple by 4 for your cadence per minute then find the square root of an isolese triangle using only a peice of string and a penny. I mean really? I'M RIDING A STATIONARY BIKE... no one said anything about having to count and do math.
I get really anxious about that stuff too much at once... throws this girlie off.
So right back to cadence. I had to smack my hand on my leg on the up to figure it out. 21 smacks in 15 seconds. Not bad...
THEN I HAD TO TURN THE TENSION UP... I was working at not moving my upper body so only my legs were working... the burn was intense. I had to keep the cadence the same for 4 minutes or how ever long Theo said.
I was sweating in minutes.
Then the envitible happened when I have to do math - I get upset and cry. I was working so hard to keep still, trying to count, keeping time & trying to forget my troubles of the day.
I had to turn it down half a turn, I couldn't keep the tension up. I had my head down, sweat pouring off me and I was so disappointed I started tearing up.
Then I just kept telling myself " Rome wasn't built in a day, this is something you will have to work up to". Didn't make me feel a lot better, but it did it's job.

Off to the annex to do core. Man I wish Chelsea had been there. The lower leg raises work so much better when you have the push off, you work with gravity. Oh well.

Then off to the pool for 1100 m.
1x100 m warmup
3 x 300 m straight swim
one minute between sets. ( I knocked it down to 45 sec)
100 x 100 m cool down.

Fairly easy.

I kept miss counting the 300 - I think it was around the 225 mark that I kept goofing up. Oh well, I just had to speed up and add them.

I thought my leg would bother me as durning last nights run up Theresa I could feel it going.
When I turned back with Lucille and Ron to finish that way, I definitely felt it. However; after more careful scrutiny I realized it wasn't the soleus it was that stupid knot in the back of my calf that was starting again. GGRRR... so I stretch that puppy out. Seems to be okay today.
But I do have to take the hills carefully.

Sunday will be 12K. Theo wants to run again with me. WTF??? 6min/km, I believe he mentioned the hospital run, so up Crestwood (blech) to steel, johnson to Georgian, to Duckworth, Rose, Davidson and some dipsy doodles. I better take a gel and several Halls. I can see this will be a challenging run. AGAIN.

Looking for my lost shaker of salt

I need a salt lick or something tonight. I was a mess. A wee blonde mess.
It took me two hours to get home from work, the roads were a thick sheet of ice. Then walk the dogs for half an hour - back by 6pm throw my gear in the dryer for 10 minutes cus I forgot to hang it out Sunday.
Forgot to charge the garmin ... *sighs*
Forgot to charge me. *double sigh*

Last night's work out really worked the fiddle out of me. OH MY GOSH. and as I was running up Theresa ( mistake #1) I felt the tank steadily deplete of fuel. Then I missed my turn off Dundonald onto ... whatever street St Mary's is on. I was lost in thought, so I had to turn around... added about 200 m to the run. ACK.

Then half way through my run ( and I know this cus last week I meet up with other runners almost in the same spot and it was 3.06 km) and it was my very good friend Lucille and a runner I knew not, Ron.
So I joined them and headed back the way I came. They were doing 10 & 1's and I figured why the heck not, it's better than giving up right?
So this was exactly what I needed; some company to keep me motivated. We managed to keep a pretty decent pace. I tell you that Lucille has come on leaps and bounds in her running! So on to Duckworth, that road I missed, Theresa & down the hill - we were taking it all in a great stride.
up Bercy to Mulcaster a quick walk break and then lickety split back. That last half was so much better!!
Since my Garmin was uncharged and therefore unhelpful, I had to rely on Lucilles. She had it clocked at 35:xx for 5.62 k and I reckon I was a bit more since I added that extra distance and I probably took off about a minute before them. So I was probably 2 minutes slower, but as I was told this morning - those days will happen.

And you know what - I'm okay with it.

I've also figured out that I'm not feeding the fuel tank enough. With the work outs I'm doing I need more carbs & I'm not doing that. So time for this lactose intolerant, gluten sensative vegetarian to sort out her carbs. Google here I come!!!

If I can't feel my legs does that mean I'm done tonight's training?

OMG... I have never come close to tears on a stationary bike, after a particularly gruelling run yes, cycling no.
Tonight I almost did. That has have been the most difficult cycle yet.
My quads were screaming at Theo half way through. We had the tension up to about 7-8; and you wouldn't think that 4 minutes is a long time, but it truly is. Every time it was turn up one notch. Turn up another notch. Out of the saddle and up a notch. Don't move your shoulders ( no bounce) when out of the saddle. I thought I was going to pass out.
I couldn't even talk to tell Theo how much I disliked him at that point in time. My legs were on fire.

The funny part is once I was off the bike with in a minute or so, the burning was gone.

The core work out was great. My daughter was at the gym at the same time doing the Step Class. And was done at the same time. So she helped me with my lower core work out. We used to do this one at boxing all the time, and awesome thing was she joined in.
You lay on your back - someone stands over you foot on either side. Grab their ankles for stability and then bring your legs up keeping your back on the ground. Your spotter pushes your feet down with force and you have to control the drop and don't let your feet hit the floor. Then bring your feet back up and do it again. Front and both sides. I did three reps of 10 each.
And the Boss man was chirping that I had more to do... so more core. crunches etc.
Then some stretching using my Yoga from the night before.

Off to the pool for our drills. ACK.
It was actually really manageable. I'm not sure if it's because I'm getting stronger or what, but i was able to keep up with Theo most of the time. When we were doing our 2x75 - 2:00 I actually beat him by about 4 sec. (sshhh don't say anything) I did the 75 m in 1:30 each time. So I got a 30 second rest, yeah.

The 4 x 25 m were really manageable. I just find it hard to push off from the far end of the pool. Not sure what.

I also tried a different method of breathing. I'm actually rolling more and able to take deeper breaths and that is really impacting the swim in a postive way. I'm going to keep doing this and be aware of my form until it becomes second nature.

I really used the 200 m cool down to cool down. 100m arms only and then the last 100 slow deliberate strokes.
I feel good.
I feel really good.

Off to bed so I can be up before the birds.