So my challenge starts today and I'm still sick with the never ending cold and running on 2 hours sleep so I'm going to bed very soon. Today I heard back from my friend at the tri-club re the email I had sent her a week ago and she recommended I get in touch with Nancy Hastings for some coaching. I checked out the website and her rates seem very reasonable and it will be good to have someone to check in with. We connected by phone and I gave her the rundown on my situation and we already have a plan of action, she doesn't mess around. Tonight I have to pick three races and get back to her, she'll make up my weekly training program from there and she's taking me out biking next week.
She has recommended July 18 in Gravenhurst for try-a-tri and then Aug 8 in Niagara and Sept 4 in Guelph.
The only change to my challenge will be to complete the workouts as provided to me by her rather than go with my own plan but I expect this will be mostly the same. I'll go by my own program until she sends me one for me and the challenge will end at the end of HER program, 4 weeks from the time I receive it. See you get an extra week or two for free, haha. I get free access to her weekly biking group, she assured me they have a 'novice' group that would be perfect for me, they also do weekly open swims at Gullivers Lake (wherever that is) and she also invited me to run with her running group tomorrow.
That's all I got, it's almost bed time.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Quickie
Well my awesome plans for the week have all been busted since I woke up sick on Monday morning. On Tuesday I was actually laying on the couch under a blanket and it was 28 degrees in the house. How annoying! I have had some bursts of energy which are being expelled by some major house purging. I am happy to report that the basement has been shifted and a plan to remove much of the junk but the rest of the house is beginning to look like a bomb hit it, I'll need to get everything back in it's place tomorrow. After that undertaking I was flat out on the couch for the rest of the day. Around dinner time I started to feel a little more human, took a freezing cold shower, had some Otrivin and a beer.
I am hoping things are looking up. I have to head to Toronto on Friday and then to Kitchener overnight on Saturday. I would love to get in a swim, run and bike before Monday. Here's hoping the beer knocks it outta me tonight and I feel right as rain tomorrow.
I am hoping things are looking up. I have to head to Toronto on Friday and then to Kitchener overnight on Saturday. I would love to get in a swim, run and bike before Monday. Here's hoping the beer knocks it outta me tonight and I feel right as rain tomorrow.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
vacation baby!
Wow's it's been a bit since I posted! I am officially on vacation from work and as of 8:30am I have only checked my work email once since I left last night. I really don't want to check it this week but not sure if I'll be able to help myself. I don't have any plans for the week other than to sleep in and relax.
So, the DDD (double dog dare) challenge. I am happy to report that despite my lack of posting, my computer completely crashing, my iPhone crashing, death of a friend and work craziness that I completed the challenge successfully. I missed 3 workouts in total, 2 bikes and a run and yes I'm still considering this a success. I know this does not grant me the rewards but I definitely sure it doesn't require that I go on that show "How to look good naked" (sukhi). I'm going to ramp up for round two with a few changes to the program, see below for details. I am really happy that I got out there, even on nights when I got home late and didn't feel like running I went out and walked, even more interesting is that once I got out there, I ran most of the time anyway. I saw some good gains in my running and am enjoying just getting outside. It's so easy to just sit in the house after a long day of work but the run/walk really takes away all the day's stress. Weight workouts were easy, I used my DVDs. Not nearly as good as a workout with my trainer Tawnya though and I bought some dumbbells for the house. More on this later.
Swim was super easy because of the weekly swim club but the bike may be the death of me and my tri dream. I did get out there but the fear just isn't going away. I reached out to my friend from the tri-club and told her I was having a real problem with this and maybe she'll have some ideas for me. I am not sure what to do about it. It kind of reminds me of when I was learning to drive, driving scared the crap out of me. I got my license at 39 years old (stop laughing) and it took me years to get over the fear. I finally did get over it and now can't imagine my life without a car but I dunno about this bike business. Nevermind my own fear of just plain riding and then there is all the cyclists that have been killed recently. I have another pal that is getting back into cycling and he has agreed to ride with me. We tried to hook up several times over this past month but work and weather did not cooperate. I'm hoping we can get out when he gets back from his cool motorcycle trip to New Orleans (have a beer for me Craig!!). Maybe riding with someone would make it better.
On the nutrition front, there were no drive thrus, no donuts or french fries which I am really pleased with but I could have made some better choices overall. You should invest in lettuce though because I ate more salad in the last month than I have in the last year. My pants ARE looser (yay!) and I'm staying off the scale for now. I did play fast and loose with glass size regarding the alcohol once or twice and boy am I glad this challenge didn't bleed into my vacation.
SO, I'd like to go again, another 4 weeks starting May 31. Basically with the same parameters with a few adjustments. You can feel free to double dog dare me if you like. Here they are:
My weekly workout parameters are:
3 runs no less than 6km or 45 minutes but this time, must be a run everytime
60 minutes of bike riding, can be one or two sessions
Minimum 1 swim a week, 1000m or more
60 minutes of weights workouts/circuits per week - I am joining my trainers weekly bootcamp cause no one can kick my ass like she can.
I can miss up to one session per week but 'I don't want to' or 'I don't feel like it' are NOT acceptable excuses.
Nutrition:
Eat healthy, NO junk for 28 days, max 1400 calories on non-training days
The usual water, multi and fish oil
While I'm off this week I'm going to clean out my basement and set up a little gym down there. I am hoping to get a treadmill from a co-worker and a universal (for free, how cool is that). And just because I'm not on a challenge for my vacation doesn't mean I won't be working out, OH NO. I'm excited to get out there this week because my schedule is going to be free and easy and my cycling friend is back from his vacation.
PedalmanTO I will let you decide if you want me to accept your punishment (no drinking for 30 days) or if you want to go for round 2. We could go double or nothing, 60 days of no drinking if I am not successful. What do you think?
Today my friend is bringing her dog to hang out with me and I can't wait to see her. She is a doberman rescue and she is BAD but SO sweet. I hope she doesn't eat my coach.
That's all I got.
So, the DDD (double dog dare) challenge. I am happy to report that despite my lack of posting, my computer completely crashing, my iPhone crashing, death of a friend and work craziness that I completed the challenge successfully. I missed 3 workouts in total, 2 bikes and a run and yes I'm still considering this a success. I know this does not grant me the rewards but I definitely sure it doesn't require that I go on that show "How to look good naked" (sukhi). I'm going to ramp up for round two with a few changes to the program, see below for details. I am really happy that I got out there, even on nights when I got home late and didn't feel like running I went out and walked, even more interesting is that once I got out there, I ran most of the time anyway. I saw some good gains in my running and am enjoying just getting outside. It's so easy to just sit in the house after a long day of work but the run/walk really takes away all the day's stress. Weight workouts were easy, I used my DVDs. Not nearly as good as a workout with my trainer Tawnya though and I bought some dumbbells for the house. More on this later.
Swim was super easy because of the weekly swim club but the bike may be the death of me and my tri dream. I did get out there but the fear just isn't going away. I reached out to my friend from the tri-club and told her I was having a real problem with this and maybe she'll have some ideas for me. I am not sure what to do about it. It kind of reminds me of when I was learning to drive, driving scared the crap out of me. I got my license at 39 years old (stop laughing) and it took me years to get over the fear. I finally did get over it and now can't imagine my life without a car but I dunno about this bike business. Nevermind my own fear of just plain riding and then there is all the cyclists that have been killed recently. I have another pal that is getting back into cycling and he has agreed to ride with me. We tried to hook up several times over this past month but work and weather did not cooperate. I'm hoping we can get out when he gets back from his cool motorcycle trip to New Orleans (have a beer for me Craig!!). Maybe riding with someone would make it better.
On the nutrition front, there were no drive thrus, no donuts or french fries which I am really pleased with but I could have made some better choices overall. You should invest in lettuce though because I ate more salad in the last month than I have in the last year. My pants ARE looser (yay!) and I'm staying off the scale for now. I did play fast and loose with glass size regarding the alcohol once or twice and boy am I glad this challenge didn't bleed into my vacation.
SO, I'd like to go again, another 4 weeks starting May 31. Basically with the same parameters with a few adjustments. You can feel free to double dog dare me if you like. Here they are:
My weekly workout parameters are:
3 runs no less than 6km or 45 minutes but this time, must be a run everytime
60 minutes of bike riding, can be one or two sessions
Minimum 1 swim a week, 1000m or more
60 minutes of weights workouts/circuits per week - I am joining my trainers weekly bootcamp cause no one can kick my ass like she can.
I can miss up to one session per week but 'I don't want to' or 'I don't feel like it' are NOT acceptable excuses.
Nutrition:
Eat healthy, NO junk for 28 days, max 1400 calories on non-training days
The usual water, multi and fish oil
While I'm off this week I'm going to clean out my basement and set up a little gym down there. I am hoping to get a treadmill from a co-worker and a universal (for free, how cool is that). And just because I'm not on a challenge for my vacation doesn't mean I won't be working out, OH NO. I'm excited to get out there this week because my schedule is going to be free and easy and my cycling friend is back from his vacation.
PedalmanTO I will let you decide if you want me to accept your punishment (no drinking for 30 days) or if you want to go for round 2. We could go double or nothing, 60 days of no drinking if I am not successful. What do you think?
Today my friend is bringing her dog to hang out with me and I can't wait to see her. She is a doberman rescue and she is BAD but SO sweet. I hope she doesn't eat my coach.
That's all I got.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
I owe, I owe
Quick week in review before I head out to swim this morning. My workout week started as you know with the tragic news of my swim coach's passing. As the week wore on I spoke with more and more people that knew her, people that were not in the same circles at all. I know the fitness world is small but there were people through work and other sets of friends that knew her or knew of her. I wonder if she had any idea at all how many people she touched. She had a blog and I've linked it here, there are pieces of her there, her energy, her positive attitude, good things to take.
I found myself on and off sad all week, a death of anyone but especially someone so young and vibrant is bound to make you think about your own mortality and where your life's at.
My workout week was not perfect, due to work and weather I owe two workouts, 1 bike session and 1 run which I will make up this week, that will make this week a tough one but I'm looking forward to it. This past week I wasn't in the mood to go all out or go hard but I got out there regardless. On the food front, wow the people at my work at a bunch of junk food eating machines. Every single day there was something to say no to, donuts and brownies and bagels and a huge chocolate gift basket from our client. But I said no, I was inspired to say no by a co-worker that has lost 30 pounds in record time, she says no to everything, she has her eye on her goal and that helped me.
My friend Jackie from the tri-club was in St. Croix last weekend racing 70.3 and won her age slot and qualified for Kona. That was amazing news, this woman is incredibly inspiring. She invited me for a coffee and I'm looking forward to seeing her. I am not sure if she'll be at the swim today or not. I am not sure how many will show up this morning, it's Mother's Day afterall.
I have one other seekrit thing I'm up to this week and perhaps I'll spill the beans next week, first I'll see how successful I am. It's definitely going to be one of the toughest things I've ever done.
Here we go!
I found myself on and off sad all week, a death of anyone but especially someone so young and vibrant is bound to make you think about your own mortality and where your life's at.
My workout week was not perfect, due to work and weather I owe two workouts, 1 bike session and 1 run which I will make up this week, that will make this week a tough one but I'm looking forward to it. This past week I wasn't in the mood to go all out or go hard but I got out there regardless. On the food front, wow the people at my work at a bunch of junk food eating machines. Every single day there was something to say no to, donuts and brownies and bagels and a huge chocolate gift basket from our client. But I said no, I was inspired to say no by a co-worker that has lost 30 pounds in record time, she says no to everything, she has her eye on her goal and that helped me.
My friend Jackie from the tri-club was in St. Croix last weekend racing 70.3 and won her age slot and qualified for Kona. That was amazing news, this woman is incredibly inspiring. She invited me for a coffee and I'm looking forward to seeing her. I am not sure if she'll be at the swim today or not. I am not sure how many will show up this morning, it's Mother's Day afterall.
I have one other seekrit thing I'm up to this week and perhaps I'll spill the beans next week, first I'll see how successful I am. It's definitely going to be one of the toughest things I've ever done.
Here we go!
Sunday, May 2, 2010
RIP
I only met her a few times but she was a real light in this world. Someone I would love to be like.
About half, maybe less showed up for the swim, some came just to be there while the other coach broke the news. And so we swam.. we didn't do drills and after a few laps the others in the club that have known her for a long time gathered in the shallow end to talk. I didn't want to interrupt their grief so I swam, I swam just like she told me, keep going, good form. And I remembered her.
During a rest they all came into the slow lane which is where I spend my time and said we were going to swim 100m for her together. We swam in the slow lane because that is where she spent most of her time, with us, 'her disciples' they called us. So the fast swimmers let us go first and it was quiet, just the rush and splash of the water. When we finished they waited for me while I finished my 1000m for the day. It wasn't about the bet at all, it was about finishing what I start which is I think how Meredith lived. Finishing what she started, doing what she said she was going to do, and living her life. So today I swam for her.
I'm a complete mess although I'm not sure why. Meredith I barely knew you but I thank you for your support and advice and the laughs. I'm really going to miss you but I'm grateful that you made an appearance in my life.
And I'll swim for you.
RIP Meredith, be PHAT
http://www.educationforthedrivingmasses.com/2010/04/burlington-cyclist-critically-injured.html
imabe imabe
Week one complete, all workouts completed, nutrition was on track and I'm tuckered! but yayyawnyay I got out on the bike yesterday too. I drove the route and it's 2.5kms from where I start to the turn around. Jackie from the club had told me it was only 2kms so I was happy to see it's a bit longer than that. There is virtually no traffic there on a Sunday morning which was awesome, except one guy that was pulled over to the side having a conversation on his cell and then a nap. I saw loads of cyclists who are all very polite by the way. I tried very hard to be polite back but I'm still not comfortable enough to wrench my hand off the handlebars at all to give 'the wave'. Now I would like a route that has little traffic and is about 5kms end to end, any ideas? I know I'm a baby but the bike still freaks me right out.
Today I start all over again in an hour with swimming and I really need this coffee.
Wanna see a real ironman?
Today I start all over again in an hour with swimming and I really need this coffee.
Wanna see a real ironman?
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