Weekly Round-Up

I wasn't so active last week. I was exhausted on Thursday and wasn't sure what was going on then Friday I was under the weather with whatever mystery malady I have. I'm still not up to par. I had a couple of job interviews this week as well. One I am interested in, the other not so much. I also went on a boat cruise Monday night through the Pheasant Plucker and its sister restaurants. It was really fun! The band was great and did fantastic covers of songs from my late highschool early university days. We were on the Hamilton Harbour Queen and it tooled around the bay. The weather was perfect. I also got my bike tuned up and two new wheels I went to the New Hope Bike Co-op. I Highly recommend them. the work thatI had done only cost $55. They were done quickly but I wasn't able to pick it up for a week because of other commitments. I'm hoping to get to a clinic when they offer one.

I've just been pretty busy and wasn't making time for the gym. Today though I was meeting friends downtown for brunch at The Augusta House. I went yesterday and had the eggs benny and it was fantastic and it's my only weekend off all summer so I decided I may as well head back down there again. This time I had the banana french toast. Equally as wonderful and a large serving. I rode my bike down. It was perfect weather. I quibbled about whether or not I wanted to attempt riding home. I would take the rail trail so it would have been a gradual elevation as opposed to riding up the jolly cut which is pretty steep. I wussed out though and ended up busing home. Like I said, I'm still not up to par so I wasn't sure how I'd feel and just pictured myself getting worse and being stuck half way home and forcing myself to either get up the hill or head back down and needing a ride home. One day I will though! One day.

A friend of mine told me about the Glowing Green Smoothie. I'm not a medical professional by any means and frankly, it sounded disgusting. I made up a batch one day out of boredom and because I happened to have all of the ingredients. It was gross, not disgusting. I did learn that you could change up the recipe though and began exploring other fruits and vegetables to trow in. Carrot papaya didn't go so well. There was also just a batch I threw random fruit into. I did find this recipe for a peach ginger number that was delish. I used the 'green' base from the glowing green and the fruit base from this and it was great. To keep the carbohydrates down, for my diabetes I left out the honey. It's the perfect time of year to pick up our Ontario Peaches.

I talked to my dietitian about smoothies and she's not a huge fan as they don't often provide enough protein and psychologically your body gets full from chewing. So, a piece of bread and pb is just as beneficial as a smoothie. Additionally, she recommended not messing around with costly protein powders and said that powdered milk adds the same protein and is more affordable. Overall, she is not supportive of smoothies. She said they're better than juices though because they at least have fibre in them. What IS great about smoothies is that I can make up a batch for the week and just pour them the night before and bring them along in the morning as I am NOT AT ALL a morning person I find them very convenient because some mornings I don't even have the will to chew. If you're someone who needs to get your bowels moving with a morning coffee and are trying to cut back, the green smoothies seem to do the job too. I don't drink coffee, nor do I have issue with morning movement, but definitely noticed the difference.

Anyways, that's about all. Lots of links for you to peruse. Have a great week!

Still Catching Up

I've inspired mon petit frere to participate in a race next year. No word on him if he's gonna attempt the try tri or a du as he can't stand running. Regardless, I'm impressed this kid is (actually as of Aug 3 WAS) a smoker and long time couch potato. I'm not insulting, he's the first to admit it.

We headed out for another cycle settling on 12k for a distance on a path down by the waterfront that he'd told me about. It's lovely because it's a marked trail. I think that this is my favourite place to go in the city now for training. I love, love, love that it is a marked trail, every 200m.

We've got a  nice little sibling rivalry going. I am not competitive by nature except in this one instance. You may recall that I hate cycling but the last time I went out with him I had a blast, so I was looking forward to this ride. I also knew that being down on the beach it would be a pretty flat ride. He led for pretty much the entirety of the ride. Here's the thing though, I have this theory men-especially ones new to working out- they tend to overextend themselves at the beginning then it gives women an opportunity to catch up/surpass them. I told this theory to my brother and that I would beat him because of it.

Well he led most of the way, I passed him around the 5K mark and took great pleasure at yelling "LEFT" at him. He let me lead for like 10m then passed me, being sure to respond with equal enthusiasm. As we moved along after the half way point she gained a substantial lead of 200m. I watched him as he rode though and his rpm were above mine so I figured he was in 2nd while I was in 3rd and I noticed him standing up a lot more and taking a brief rest. I knew he was getting tired.  I was most definitely cursing him and the back of his stupid white shirt as I rode not actually sure that I could make up the distance between us now and just hoping that he was really gonna tire himself out. I made up my mind to try to catch him in the last K so for the 2nd last one, I bumped it down to the 2nd gear to give my legs a bit of a rest (ps I have no idea if this is AT ALL the correct terminology, you know, how there are 3 bigger gears in the front, then 7 smaller ones in the back...the first 3 things are the ones I am talking about.) and then in the last K poured it on. I could see him looking back at me so I yelled that I was coming for him and I did, indeed finish ahead of him, just barely. He was doing a gear change as I was passing him and it skipped or something, I heard it. He claims that he would have beat me had that not happened but I am not so sure. I feel like it was too late for him. He defends himself by saying he was a smoker, I say I'm diabetic.

I had really wobbly legs afterward, which is good. I also really liked the approach that I took giving my legs a bit of a rest. I remembered to store that mental nugget away so for the race. It was another really great cycle and I had a blast.

Olympic Break Over

 I have to apologize because over the past 17 days I slacked on my blog. Clearly, I LOVE the Olympics and there were several great moments. My favourite was definitely the Women's Soccer team winning a bronze medal. I absolutely cried my way through these games. Paula Findlay, Simon Whitfield, Usain Bolt, among a hundred others, inspired me. These games reached me on more of personal level than ever before because of my recent training. I marvel at the human body, dedication, and soul.

I ran (and biked and swam) my try-tri today but I'm gonna play a little catch up first. So you're just gonna have to be patient.

I did a cycle and run as part of my brick training a couple of weeks ago. It was a pretty toasty day out and I hadn't done this combination before. My friend who's completed a sprint tri and is competing with me in the event had told me that I should get used to running on tired legs. My legs were sufficiently tired! It was literally, the most difficult thing that I had ever done. 

Between my cycle and run I was getting shaky- a sign that my sugars were low. So I gulped so orange juice and made sure I was going to be ok before heading out for the run knowing that I would have to fiddle with my insulin some more before the race to figure out how much I should take.

I almost immediately wanted to stop running and repeated the Canadian Olympic Team's motto of give your everything to keep me motivated. Plus I knew that if I had have stopped running that I wouldn't be able to start again. At 2 K my second wind kicked in and I made a mental not of this for race day so that when I was that exhausted on the day of I could remember that the last half K would be the best if I could just dig deep and get to that point.  It was by no means an enjoyable training day. It totally freaked me out. I was proud that I had done it but was terrified for race day. I got home and jumped in the pool, clothes and all. There was never a better feeling.

18

Yesterday I spent the day at the lake. I did a swim and a bike, Using various people's extremely scientific guesstimations (on was an OPP officer and the other a traffic engineer, I trust their judgement) I thin my swim was about 500m. I think I managed to stay in a pretty straight line. I also managed to get water in my ears. The were both plugged but the right one incredibly badly. It still is today. Investing in ear plugs will be a definite must. The swim went well. I like it. Then I cycled and it was ok. I just kind of pedalled around for half an hour. I have no guess as to the distance I did. I could feel that my legs were tired later in the day just swimming around for fun and when I went to bed I was exhausted. It was a great day. Putting the two together and not being dead tired afterwards is a good sign.

Here's a good link about great sportsmanship. I've posted about a couple of the events they're talking about before: http://www.buzzfeed.com/jpmoore/the-10-most-heartwarming-moments-of-sportsmanship

Patrice Simard is a *Wheelchair Rugby player (Wait, what?! Wheelchair Rugby? Intense. I need to brush up on my knowledge of paralympic sports). He's nicknamed the Pit bull for his ferocity. After a car accident that caused a spinal cord injury he started playing. He's now considered one of the world's best defensive players. He won silver in 2004 and bronze in '08. This year he's going for gold, to have a complete set. If you get the chance google wheelchair rugby and take a look at some of the pictures. They really demonstrate the aggressiveness of the sport.

* All right, while doing a bit of research for this piece I found out that Wheelchair Rugby has undergone a name change, it was previously known as murderball . I am familiar with this. So I'm not so out of the loop as I thought.

Karen Cockburn is a Canadian Trampolinist (I think I just made that word up). It seems that we're going to be quite a dominant force at the games in this event. This is the 3rd athlete that is considered a medal contender that I've written about. If she medals this time around, she's going to be the first Canadian athlete to attend 4 Games and medal at 4 Games. She won a bronze in 2000 and a silver in the following 2 Games. If her name sounds familiar it may be because she also was the flag bearer at the closing ceremonies in Bejing. She's been competing in the sport since she was 11. Just last month she won Bronze at the World Cup in Spain. She is also an ambassador for At My Best and Canadian Tire Jumpstart. If you want to learn more about Karen you can read her book: Karen Cockburn:Soaring High. Her Twitter Handle is: @karen_cockburn and website can be found at: karen-cockburn.ca/

I ACTUALLY Enjoyed a Cycle

I am J-to the -azzed right now. I just got in from a cycle I think I prolly did about 8 or 9 K probably closer to the 8. My baby (he's a full man) brother and I went for a bike ride down on the waterfront this afternoon and I had a lot of fun.

We definitely had a tortoise and the hare situation happening. We had done about 3.5k arrived upon a somewhat deserted area that was mostly flat and straight and we decided to do a bit of a sprint race. Brother is a smoker, overweight and admittedly as active as a toad (I googled inactive animals cuz I didn't want to say sloth, thus appearing more original in my musings and toad came up. I felt I needed to explain in order to justify that toads are in fact, very inactive at least if MF Mason in 1939 has anything to say about it). During the sprint race we had a photo finish. He argues that he is more inactive and has smoker's lungs, whereas I argue I have Diabetes and did not sleep and had to take a wider turn in the last lap because of a CAR! (I know all you Canadian readers mentally shouted that as we- as a culture- are wont to do as a result of years of road hockey).

Regardless, we may have tied during the battle but I won the war because I finished the return ride faster than he did. My tortoise method won in the end. He really poured the steam on in the end and I thought he was gonna catch me. I glanced back and he was STANDING, it made me nervous. Nothing like a little sibling rivalry to kick one's training into high gear. I wonder if I can convince him that tri's are the way to go...probably not as he has an injury that prevents him from running.

I saw this story and loved it: http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1213449--spencer-west-man-with-no-legs-reaches-the-summit-of-mt-kilimanjaro

A little bit of inspiration for me as I now have a strong desire to climb Machu Pichu. I am working on my brother to go with me in celebration of my 30th birthday.

Terror

I realize that there is a heat advisory and the air quality is probably not the greatest but I also have been slacking in the training department over the past week and a half. I had set my alarm to go for a ride at 5 AM knowing that today was supposed to be very hot. I was still up at 3:40 so that was a no go. Instead I did a few sun salutations and was finally able to fall asleep. I got up and went out  early this afternoon. Yes, it was hot but with cycling you create a little bit of your own breeze which I appreciated. Also, I made sure that I was sufficiently hydrated prior to my ride successfully as I was not thirsty post ride.

Up until this point I'd done all my cycles in the comfort of the gym fooling myself into believing that I was working hard enough. Last night I worked out a 10 K (the distance I'll be doing in the try-tri) route with the help of google. Setting out, I knew I would be unhappy with this endeavour when I reached the bottom of my driveway and already felt a solitary bead of sweat drip down my leg. After a mere quarter of the distance I was contemplating if I would be able to back out of the tri. It was a really difficult ride. I really really wanted to turn around and head home, what honestly dissuaded me was the fact that there is a bit of an uphill on the way back and I was too tired to face that.

I reached my half way point and turned around. MUCH NICER I hadn't realized it but I was on a slight incline for most of my ride. Not to say that I wasn't out of breath and incredibly sweaty when I got home but I did feel a bit better when I got home knowing that I could at least do the 10. The fear is that cycling is post swim and pre run. I have no idea how I am going to do all 3. Officially my goal is just to do all 3 without taking a break. I just want to finish without pausing. I've still got over a month to go. I just have to commit more to training. I think I need to work it into my lifestyle more somehow.

Round and Round I Go.

I have a vehicle this week throughout the day as my mom and brother are away on a fishing trip. It makes it a bit easier to get to the gym. Yes, I realize the irony of driving to the gym to ride a stationary bike. It's worth it for me though because I would probably not get onto a  bike at all otherwise. I wouldn't get into the 'saddle', as it were in cycle-ese.

I get a good sweat on in cyclefit. Today I rode 11 miles I did the 10 K in about 20 minutes. I did more standing up this class. I am still nervous about a repeat incident of my first class where I worked so hard I couldn't walk for days following the event. Last time I did every other standing position today I did two on and sat out one. Although, my tension wasn't as high. I wasn't really into this class as I didn't really like the instructor, or his choice of music. I still worked, I still sweat but I did not smile. I also had a squeaky bike.

I still consider myself a newbie to working out**. I know I've said it before but when you're starting out you really need to find that thing that you enjoy doing. I started running years ago just because. It was the easiest thing for me to do. I just needed shoes and I could go anytime. I honestly don't even remember what on Earth actually motivated me to do it 8 years ago. I just went and did it. I think what had happened was I was kind of sick with my pancreas over the summer and had decided I was going to do EVERYTHING the doctors had suggested. So I started a low(er) fat diet, I stopped drinking and I think I had lost about 15 pounds so I was feeling pretty fit and decided to start running. I was (and am) still over 210 pound (which is obese for my height). My point is this, you've gotta commit and find something that you don't hate, no matter how much you weigh or what your fitness level is. When you're starting a fitness routine EVERYTHING is difficult. You are not going to LOVE anything right away.

I may not remember the moment when I decided to start running those 8 years ago but I DO remember the moment I fell in love with it. Of course, it was snowing. It was night time and I was alone with the crunch of my feet on the snow with huge fluffy flakes falling all around me, just like I was in a snow globe. I remember feeling so good that I ran farther and faster than I usually would.

Maybe running isn't your thing. Try spinning! You don't need any special equipment other than the bike and spin studios/gyms supply those. You will definitely need a towel! Just remember to take it easy!! (as with any new workout). I do not like cycling but spinning is growing on me. I did not leave feeling as resentful towards the instructor as I usually do. The official Spinning website offers a great explanation of what  it is and what to expect: http://www.spinning.com/en/spinning_program_faq

**In proofreading this post, I realize that I am not really a newbie as I HAVE been running on and off for almost a decade now. I just never really "worked out" in that I have goals and a training schedule.

I Did It!

Against all odds I finally did my cyclefit class!

This meant getting up early on a Saturday and getting to the gym. This whole driving thing is really convenient. I don't know why I didn't try it out sooner. I showed up to the class about 10 minutes early and it was completely empty. I WAS TERRIFIED!! I had images of myself and the instructor going mono a mono up imaginary hills and racing imaginary competitors. He introduced himself, I want to say his name was Paul, but I think that was my last instructor. Regardless,  I introduced myself, told him that this was my second class, that I hated cycling but unfortunately it was part of a triathlon and he helped me set up my bike as we discussed my try tri. He also informed me that we were gonna make sure that I was all trained up for the big day. It was kind of nice and makes me feel like there's another person invested in my training. The more people I talk to about doing a try tri (I always stress the TRY part when I am telling people), the more support I get. It makes me feel like I am actually DOING something.

I am ashamed to admit this...but I LOVE talking to people who also run or race. I like talking shop with them. He gave me some pointers about bike shops in the area and told me he was doing a duathlon next weekend in Waterloo. By this time a few others had trickled in (to my relief), including my instructor from last time!

EEK! this class was gonna be full of pros. There was a first timer there but she appeared to be quite fit. With the memory of the searing pain that I endured for 4 days following my last cyclefit experience haunting me, I started the class. Taking it easy this time, when my legs started to hurt, I waited 30 seconds and then sat down. It is essential that I be able to walk for my job. I couldn't destroy myself like I did last time. Throughout the class Paul (?) would often call me out by name, point at me or make reference to training for triathlons. Embarrassing? You bet. Did it make me smile? Sometimes, when I wasn't mentally telling him to f*ck off. I'm actually smiling right now, so I think I enjoyed it more than I was willing to express in the moment.

With my commitment to fitness I am not expecting to lose weight. Not at all my primary goal. I get that it would help not having to haul as much weight around but mostly I just want to be fit. With that being said, today when we were bent over pretending to be as aerodynamic as possible sprinting to the finish, my legs were hitting my stomach and boobs. Uncomfortable. Maybe some weight loss wouldn't be terrible...

"It's rude to count people as you pass them...

Outloud" - Adidas ad

I did not sleep last night. I have this problem on occasion. The longest I've gone is 3 days without sleep. I have been doing well of late, I think the exercising helps. So, I don't know what is up. Discussing symptoms with a counsellor and my Dr, it seems I am bipolar. I may be experiencing a slight manic episode. The only way that I can describe it is like it's Christmas or your birthday and you're just so excited that you can't calm down or sleep and it lasts for several hours or several days. This would explain why I haven't slept and still did a 10k cycle and a 425 m swim as well as a set of sun salutations all before I would normally wake up. PLUS writing this blog.

I had never been to the gym this early. I would definitely benefit from a 24 hour facility (now that I drive). The cycle was tough. I bumped the levels up a couple notches. I had committed myself to going to cyclefit today. Then I didn't sleep and felt waiting for the noon time class would be pointless. I then did my 17 laps of the pool. I really need to invest in an appropriate bathing suit. Mine are all to big, except the one, which is otherwise known for its cleavage displaying qualities. There's actually a lot that I need to invest in for this race. In the book Slow, Fat Triathlete the author outlines what is necessary, what is good to have and frivolous but fabulous items. I forgot to write this down before I returned the book to the library. Something I realised which was slightly depressing- the 17 laps of the pool I did is only 1 & 1/4 ways around a track...Still loving it though!

All in all I'm feeling good. On tap tomorrow is a Yoga class. I think I am going to try to do a run and a swim as well...We'll see about this sleep (or lack thereof) thing first.

Also, I have been watching this video a lot and smiling.

"No one ever drowned in sweat."

But you sure can drown in a pool.

Today I did a cycle and swim. I realize that I've only gone swimming 3 times but I'm already getting back into the groove I am already doing better. I don't know if that first time I made the classic mistake of any fitness newbie and just tried too hard and didn't pace myself. My cycle  is getting better as well. I did 11 (miles? Kilometres? who knows...) in under 60 minutes. I still don't love it but I read again.

I don't know how people for real train for full tris cuz I am a part time student and work part time and feel like I don't have time to train. I am getting to the gym more. So I stayed true to the comment that if I drove I would get there more. I am still owing one cyclefit class...I am really hoping to get that in tomorrow. I think I say that in every entry. Unfortunately, I don't have much exciting/humourous/interesting to add to this post. Other than, yes. I am still doing stuff with the end goal of putting it all together and doing a race in August.

Oh! I am getting back into yoga slowly but surely. I got a dvd from the library and have been alternating that with sun salutations every morning. I managed to convince a friend of mine to try her first yoga class and she said that she liked it, I'm not sure if she was just protecting my feelings or if she actually enjoyed it. She did really well considering it was her first class. It reminded me of my first class and how nervous I was to try it and how lovely it actually is. Of the various forms of fitness that I have committed to, Yoga is the one where you notice improvements the fastest. It can also be easily done in the home. Overall it is very convenient and I highly recommend it. Flexibility is the first thing that your body loses with age and one of the most important to maintain. It is non-competitive and I find really makes me concentrate on my body so I am able to shut off my brain to all that ongoing chatter. As the instructor said on Friday, the concentration required during the practice of yoga, the connection of mind and body- should be brought into your everyday life. I wish I could but I am not at all disciplined enough for that. I'm happy enough being able to do it for 15 minutes every day.

Making the Best of Cycling

I did just over 10 on my cycle today. I realized as I was riding along that chances are that bike measures distance in miles and that I would have to look into that. I kind of took it easy riding today. I still need to do a cyclefit at some point owing from last week. If I cycle on a recumbent stationary bike I can read. That is what I did today, at the end of each chapter I just did a little bit of speed work. I am  reading the 2nd book in the series that Game of Thrones is based on. It's incredibly good and I highly recommend it. So, not much to report on today's venture. Although, I don't understand why my gym is so busy.