tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7868983427820074282024-03-12T23:01:38.500-04:00Running Away with Myselfa blog for the recreational runner and triathlete trying to balance life, family and runningAlleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17267230194713521007noreply@blogger.comBlogger169125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786898342782007428.post-27351664934124100542019-12-31T09:59:00.000-05:002019-12-31T09:59:02.767-05:00Recap of a Decade<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Another year is coming to a close and another chance to look
back and imagine the year ahead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The end
of 2019 marks the end of a decade, 10 years, it seems like such a long time
but I can honestly say it was gone way too quickly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I think back to Ally of 2010 and I compare
her to today, I cannot imagine they are at all related.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>January 2010 I started my half marathon walking
program online with the Running Room with the goal to walk a half marathon and
cross it off the list, you know that list, the stuff you say you want to do but
not really.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was half way through my
weight loss journey to get fitter and I was starting to set boundaries around
myself and my business.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2010 Ally had no
idea what was ahead, if she had she might not have started but that’s the
thing, we don’t have to know how it will end, we just need to start. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This decade had many challenges and at times I wondered if I
was on the right path but I learned it was OK to change the path and find a new
one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes these new paths led me to
things I could never plan or imagine and I am grateful I had the courage to
find my own way when needed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This last
decade was about self-discovery and I grew into myself, a person who knows what
she likes, who loves her life and the people in it and does not care if others
don’t get me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I leave 2019 content and
it feels really comfortable. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The 20’s will be my last decade of work and I will do the
things I love and leave behind the things I don’t. I have earned the right to
set my own terms and I know I will have challenges but I also know I can handle
them, I always have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I look forward to
travelling more with Neale, if that is even possible and crossing a few more
things off that list but now it’s a list of stuff I want to do and really do
them!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> I could have not gotten through the last 10 years without Neale, you have been my rock and my soulmate since the day we meet. I look forward to this, our 4th decade together. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The last decade brought some
amazing people into my life and they all helped me discover more about myself
and I am looking forward to fun times with them in the future and welcoming
more amazing people into my life because it’s those we surround ourselves with
that make life full.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">2020 will be a great year! I turn 55 and will celebrate by taking trips and running with my friends. My big goal for the year will be a 50k trail ultra, something outside my comfort zone because I am not a fan of trail running and I have never done an Ultra, yikes. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">My work for 2020 is BLOOM, I have worked hard to get here and now it is time to bloom and enjoy all the experiences life offers me. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Happy New Year!!! May 2020 bring you peace and happiness!!!<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17267230194713521007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786898342782007428.post-16100778366491107022019-03-04T08:37:00.000-05:002019-03-04T08:42:21.226-05:00Why I am doing the CrossFit Open<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">People who know me know 2 things, that I like to do things way outside my comfort zone and I like to make plans (usually about doing things outside my comfort zone). I learned a long time ago that I need to make SMART goals and part of that is giving myself time to plan, think, overthink and train for whatever my goal is. </span></span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-b3c0a981-7fff-45cb-8b45-68b47d96091b" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On February 22nd, I did something totally out of character, I registered for the CrossFit Open. I had not planned on doing it, this was a spur of the moment decision, heck, I don't even do CrossFit, but something that day whispered to me to give it a go and...I did. </span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of the things I struggle with is Perfectionism, if I have the perfect training plan and hit 100% of my workout and do everything perfectly my race will be perfect and I will achieve my goal. Well, this has never happened, juggling 2 businesses, family and friends and other activities means I rarely hit 100% of the workouts on my training plan and then I feel like a failure. Perfectionism demands 100%, anything else is failure, there is no middle ground. Perfectionism companion is Shame and it’s voice lives in my head when I am not perfect. </span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For the last few years, my business has demanded a lot more attention and rightly so, I have given it priority. As a result, my training has been inconsistent and my race results less than stellar. It was really starting to mess with my head and then Shame would chirp in, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">see you are not good enough, who do you think you are fooling and the zinger...you are fat and not athletic and you are making a fool of yourself. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So why would I set myself up to fail and open myself up to this mental shaming? </span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I started doing strength training to help my athletics when I turned 50 and for the last year I have been doing CrossFit style workouts (WODs) as a way of keeping my training from becoming boring. I cannot do many of the moves and I am limited to the equipment we (my trainer and I) have but we make it work. I discovered CrossFit in 2017 when NetFlix recommended “Fittest on Earth” and I could not believe that people did this as a sport. These athletes are superhuman! If you have not watched them ( there are 2 or 3 on Netflix) check them out. </span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The CrossFit Open is a 5 week event that is open to everyone around the world. The workouts get posted Thursday night and you have until Monday to post your best score for that workout. The workouts have scaled versions for us mere mortals and differences for each age group as well. I knew going in that I had never done many of the skills required and that I would be struggling every week but I knew I wanted to do it. </span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Two weeks in and as expected, I am doing some of the skills for the first time, like wall ball throws which I caught with my face the first time, and it is really hard to finish even the basic workout. I am also having a blast! Each week I am so happy that I managed to do even a fraction of the workout and accomplished something I had never done before. Yes, for a nanosecond I might think, well that sucked but then I remember that this is all new to me and I did it. </span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In my journey of learning that I am perfectly imperfect, this was an important stepping stone and I am once again glad I had the courage to listen to the tiny whisper that said...just try. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></span></div>
</div>
Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17267230194713521007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786898342782007428.post-1707878777946324142019-01-01T08:00:00.000-05:002019-01-01T09:17:18.680-05:00My word for 2019Happy New Year!<br />
I cannot believe it is 2019! I am not sure where 2018 went but its a new year and a chance to make new goals and try new things. 2018 was not the year I had hoped for athletically, my 70.3 in June was not what I had trained for and it took me a long while to get over it. I basically took the summer off and spent the fall doing the bare minimum to stay semi fit and to be able to run my 2 half marathons, the Army Run and the Syracuse Half marathon.<br />
<br />
I think this was what I needed and I am glad I listened as it gave me a chance to let my Achilles heal and to figure out what I wanted from my athletics. I am usually not happy with my results and push myself to improve and get better without taking time to recognize what I am accomplishing. A few good friends said things to me and they hit home, I spent time thinking about it and then decided to shift my perspective.<br />
<br />
In the past few years, I have found this in my business life as well. I keep pushing myself to do more, learn more and accomplish more and do not take time to enjoy what I have accomplished. It has been 2.5 years of change and challenges at work and it has taken its toll but we have worked through it and will continue to work hard. Any business owner knows it is not a 40 a week job and you need to keep working but we also need to take time to recognize what we have accomplished.<br />
<br />
Since my Ironman in 2015, I have felt stuck in one place, not progressing athletically and dealing with the same issues at work. In September, I saw Tony Robbins in Ottawa and made a decision to go to LA in March 2019 for his Unleash the Power Within Seminar, hoping it would help me figure out what's next. Since then I have done a lot of thinking and began to realize how much I have accomplished, Neale and I will be married 30 years in Aug 2019, no small feat these days; we raised 2 sons who both graduated from University, are working and more importantly are great young men; I own/co-own 2 businesses and get to work on amazing projects; as well I have accomplished my goals in running, swimming and triathlon that I have set myself, not an easy task with my work load and other stuff I do.<br />
<br />
All this thinking lead me to my word for 2019....<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia7cIoUnO4nvl-Z39MMDfvlPJiFk5Zt8DOSjMjA28g0nms-i8QNBKZyeJEzIe0JnNQ7EGp3860uYqwp012J8RTh8gHNFBhGOkjm2bu9qKNinr-9I3Ma2t-jKHaeeOtDDZ9jJoOin3KuJo/s1600/yourwordgratitudesquare.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia7cIoUnO4nvl-Z39MMDfvlPJiFk5Zt8DOSjMjA28g0nms-i8QNBKZyeJEzIe0JnNQ7EGp3860uYqwp012J8RTh8gHNFBhGOkjm2bu9qKNinr-9I3Ma2t-jKHaeeOtDDZ9jJoOin3KuJo/s320/yourwordgratitudesquare.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
I want to spend 2019 being grateful for all the amazing people in my life, being grateful that my body allows me to do crazy things and to be grateful for my amazing husband and sons who have supported me through it all. Of course, me being me I do have some goals, I have not changed completely! I am going to work towards these goals with a grateful heart and enjoy the journey,<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn4KCBlm0qy_NOvudElVjglhBkmbO4Z49CbUgLqXd4waYqtWsOlkua5g9GAAabU5IzbcBOd1JOi73zDG06j02WHCvev42PhYe-lSXgYNvoAGv-dm3-0a7c4qhvE4sV9oeYFQQjc460NUY/s1600/Life-is-a-journey-not-a-destination.-Ralph-Waldo-Emerson-v2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn4KCBlm0qy_NOvudElVjglhBkmbO4Z49CbUgLqXd4waYqtWsOlkua5g9GAAabU5IzbcBOd1JOi73zDG06j02WHCvev42PhYe-lSXgYNvoAGv-dm3-0a7c4qhvE4sV9oeYFQQjc460NUY/s320/Life-is-a-journey-not-a-destination.-Ralph-Waldo-Emerson-v2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17267230194713521007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786898342782007428.post-90893050665222650012018-09-12T09:00:00.000-04:002018-09-12T09:10:08.552-04:00The Struggle is RealSo I had a great week 1 and it was nice to be moving again. I am saying I am on a comeback and I am sure people are wondering why. I had a great winter and spring of training, or so it seemed but I was struggling. I own 2 businesses and the spring is busy for both of them so I work during the day at one and the evenings and weekends for the other (taxes). Add to that the training plan I was on and my lack of sleep due to hormone issues and I was a mess. I am not sure everyone really noticed as I am really really good at hiding it but my close friends did.<br />
<br />
I had finally waived the white flag and asked my Dr. for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) hoping I could get some help for my sleeping, I knew if I could get a decent night sleep, I could at least function better. I started taking it after my June 70.3, a race that did not go as planned and left me feeling frustrated. Well instead of the HRT helping it had the opposite effect, it gave me leg cramps, my muscles unable to recover and it made me depressed. At the same time I was trying to wrap up busy season with my tax business, hold down the fort at my main job as my business partner was on a much needed vacation and try to process what went wrong with my race. I am very hard on myself and am always trying to fix my mistakes, no matter how small they are. Being me, I did not tell anyone I was struggling, not my coach, not my friends, not even Neale, I just carried on. As a result, my training was non existent, I did not feel like doing anything. <br />
<br />
Eventually I decided that this was not good for me, yes I was sleeping better but I was not willing to pay the price required for that sleep, there had to be other ways. I stopped the HRT, made an appointment with a Naturopath and I am currently trying to find the right combo of natural products to help me. As of now, we are still tinkering but I have more energy, I feel better and I am able to handle the stress better. Yes, my life is busy but I am carving out some me time and enjoyed some time in my hammock on Saturday and Sunday afternoon. Yes, I did think I should really be doing something else but I let that thought go and relaxed...it was nice.<br />
<br />
So why am I sharing this now? A friend posted something on FaceBook yesterday, <a href="https://bethbridges.com.au/17-reasons-why-modern-women-are-struggling-so-much/" target="_blank">17 Reasons why Modern Women are Struggling so Much</a> and I answered honestly that I related to most of that and she was surprised...see reason #7. Not all apply, not sure if #4 or #5 apply to me and I don't have kids at home (#9) but I do have a full life with lots of things to do each day. I guess why I am posting this is because while I looked like I had it together, I did not. I have the ability to encourage and support others but not myself and I speak to myself in a way that I would never let a friend do to themselves (another person pointed this out to me recently as well). Being a goal orientated, critical thinker who loves to learn and improve is great for my business life but not always in other areas. I am sure I am not alone in this and we need to be honest and ask for help or advice from others and share our struggles so other know they are not alone. I felt so alone and did not want anyone to know I was burnt out and depressed, I did not want to ask for help because I am always the one offering help and I did not want to burden anyone else with my problems.<br />
<br />
I am back on the right track now, I have a goal I am working towards, I feel more like myself and I am ready to tackle a new plan, a plan that has some time to relax, to do breathing exercises, closest I will get to mediating, I am still Type A after all and being kinder to myself. This will be interesting!Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17267230194713521007noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786898342782007428.post-29227216108322087792018-08-31T09:00:00.000-04:002018-08-31T16:43:30.708-04:00Installing GoalsWell, lets face it, I have ghosted on everyone, disappeared without a blog post and vanished. I have been struggling for the last few years, I had accomplished some amazing goals and then struggled to find my "Why" and to stick to anything. I went through the motions, I tried to get motivated but stuff was going on and it was taking my attention away from training. In the span of 6 months, I had lost 2 business partners, had to refocus my business with my remaining partner, figure out whats next and work harder than I had in years. I am also going through that wonderful time in every women's life...menopause. For the last 17 months, I have been lucky to get 4-5 hours sleep a night, have suffered from phantom smells, night sweats, weight gain and loss of fitness...it sucks! All in all, it's been a challenge and to be honest I have had enough. Into every life there comes a moment, that lightening bolt from the sky, that moment you say things have got to change...fast!<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This past year, some running friends trained to do Ironman Mont Tremblant (IMMT), 2 couples in fact and I enjoyed watching them train thinking better them than me. I offered some advice and encouragement and spent a lot of time answering questions when I was asked. They all did amazing and I loved tracking them on race day, it made me think about my Ironman and how badly I wanted it. I did finish in 2015 but I always felt unsettled abut my race...it's hard to explain but to me it is a bit of a failure, I did not execute it the way I had wanted and my finishing was a close thing. At one point I was going to give up...that fact has always haunted me... I need a re-do. I had started to think about it, not really seriously but a small maybe someday. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
A few days after IMMT I got a message from Danielle who, in a high after IMMT, signed up for IM Lake Placid in 2019 with her husband and asked if I wanted to join them. She ended her message, Food for thought...😃. Well I have to tell you that message was my lightening bolt, food for thought..it was a buffet. I went out and told Neale I had just received an offer that I would need to refuse and told him about Danielle's message. That quickly changed to well maybe I could...or could I. After thinking about everything, talking to Neale and others I trust I messaged her back saying thanks but it was not something I could commit too...but I was still not 100% convinced...and I am still not if I am being honest. My rational mind is saying to wait for 2020 and spend 2019 working on my cycling, which is still my weakest part, my monkey brain says YOLO, go for it and make it happen. Thank you Danielle for being the lightening bolt and lighting the fire in me again, it is now burning bright!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I have thought about a lot of things over the last week...has it only been a week? I can't say I have all the answers yet but I am making some plans and sorting out some new goals, some short term and some longer term. I have decided that I am doing another Ironman and for now I am looking at 2020 and probably IMMT but I reserve the right to change my mind. I am climbing Kilimanjaro in 2019 with Neale and I am spending the next 4 months losing body fat and trying to sort out the hormone stuff . Lets face it sleep is important in training and as of today, I am about 15lbs heavier than when I did my Ironman in 2015. I also want to get back to consistent training and feeling like I am back in control of my life. I have other goals as well, that sub 2 hour half marathon, a 10km open water swim and to finish my book and now I have added an Ironman to the list, something I was never sure would happen again. </div>
Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17267230194713521007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786898342782007428.post-13568392926052846372018-01-07T19:52:00.000-05:002018-01-07T19:52:00.056-05:00Deep FreezeWelcome to the deep freeze! Its been really cold in Ottawa this week, the last few weeks actually and I for one have had enough of it. There is no way to enjoy yourself outside when it is -40C and cabin fever is setting in. I do have to go out everyday to walk the dog but even his walks have been cut short due to the weather. <br />
<br />
I got my new training plan this week and I did a few of the workouts and all I can say is I have my work cut out for me. I am trying to be more consistent with my workouts this year so I have all my key workouts in the morning before work and the evening workouts are flexible so if I have to miss them, it is OK. On Sunday my workouts is outdoor, either a snowshoe run or skiing so I hope the temperatures get a little more reasonable. I have swimming Monday and Wednesday and a bike session on Tuesday and Thursday but those bike sessions will be tough. On Saturday I have a long trainer ride and a 10k run. Right now the 10k run is not happening, I need to focus on getting my time on the bike up because this week I could not even do the minimum time never mind the maximum time. Today's snowshoe run did not happen due to a non-functioning furnace and to be honest a lack of desire to go out in the -40 temps. I need to acknowledge that sometimes the motivation is not there but I can try again tomorrow and make it a better day. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjO93hbY5Icde7NzTr6jQg7-vxocNhgY0zJONCqwRc48ulfHZ1TdBt1QRBeDSbHc8zOUd3uHekOBvNbD9v6r2Ej_cj3kboFhQVMRmF44ZUM4KqelfYVd9CQ29W5o3gSGVD0zrdKxDOHIE/s1600/cf1e72c95868f9e04a419a95088bba39--funny-weather-weather-memes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="635" data-original-width="631" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjO93hbY5Icde7NzTr6jQg7-vxocNhgY0zJONCqwRc48ulfHZ1TdBt1QRBeDSbHc8zOUd3uHekOBvNbD9v6r2Ej_cj3kboFhQVMRmF44ZUM4KqelfYVd9CQ29W5o3gSGVD0zrdKxDOHIE/s320/cf1e72c95868f9e04a419a95088bba39--funny-weather-weather-memes.jpg" width="317" /></a></div>
<br />
I am excited to have a new training schedule but it also means my first big race of the year is closer, less than 6 months away and I need to do a lot of work to be ready for it. I really need to work on my cycling, I am slow and it takes a lot out of me so my goal over the next few months is to hit those bike workouts and be more consistent with them so I see the dividends when the snow melts and I get back outside. Another area for improvement is my weight. Like most of us, I put on a few extra pounds over the holidays and I hate how my clothes fit. I know if I work on it now, I will feel better in the spring and it will help my training. I am doing a nutrition course for athletes and am learning a lot and my son Stephen helped me figure out my macros and built me a spreadsheet to use. I know that this year slow consistent effort will bring me the results I want so I am not worrying about a missed workout today, I am worrying about getting ready for the next one and the one after that. One day at a time, I will get there!Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17267230194713521007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786898342782007428.post-64520722664497041682017-12-31T13:49:00.000-05:002017-12-31T13:49:04.411-05:00My word for 2018So for the last five years I have picked a word to represent the new year, a word to give me some inspiration and purpose as I look forward. This year the word picked me and I accept it because it is just what I need for 2018. My word for 2018 is RESILIENT. I stumbled upon this image while looking for something else and as read it, I knew this was a message from the Universe to my soul. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyfvM3nhVpbevS1g9lV5TlzDcOXBDlFssuWW2ejoviWF_CMO5qACMfxCr-SU83UfkXssOKJZV0yD5mMSsavqFTPTk7aOg3wq5rJpkOO3nFfXW7tcI4iF28V3vfDopHxK4psvZG6fJR6wk/s1600/I-AM-RESILIENT-POSTER.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="360" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyfvM3nhVpbevS1g9lV5TlzDcOXBDlFssuWW2ejoviWF_CMO5qACMfxCr-SU83UfkXssOKJZV0yD5mMSsavqFTPTk7aOg3wq5rJpkOO3nFfXW7tcI4iF28V3vfDopHxK4psvZG6fJR6wk/s320/I-AM-RESILIENT-POSTER.png" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
So 2018 will be the year I embrace life's challenges (and the weather) and not let it define me. I have my goals, I will have a plan from Ray and I will execute it. Hard work and determination are a choice and I choose them to be front and center this year. I will be kinder to myself and keep the dragon in my head firmly locked in its cage, I will believe in myself. I am looking forward and not backwards because I can not change the past, only the future. I will encourage and support all those who ask (and probably some who don't) because it makes my heart sing. I choose happiness and joy, I have had enough sadness and anger. <br />
<br />
I also believe that you need to make a big scary goal from time to time and you need to tell people so they can hold you to it. So here goes... I will have 2 big goals for 2020, the year I turn 55, qualify for the Boston marathon ( something I said I could never do) and earn a <a href="http://www.endurancetriathletes.com/rudyaward_web.pdf" target="_blank">Tri Rudy</a> award (sorry Caitlin but I have to do it). This will be an interesting 2 year journey but I am looking forward to it...I think ;-)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17267230194713521007noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786898342782007428.post-71953588845144177902017-12-30T10:44:00.000-05:002017-12-30T10:44:09.535-05:00Year end wrap up 2017Well, 2017 is almost over. To be honest, I am ready for it to go away and to start a fresh new year. I really have not felt like sharing much in 2017 and it showed in my blogging but I want to get back to it in 2018, if only for myself to recognize what I have learned and shared with others. I figure I should put the year in perceptive and get ready for a fresh start so here goes.<br />
<br />
2017 was the year of weather and frustration for me. Most of my races featured weather as a big part of it, the cancelled half marathon in Disney World, the truly Hypothermic <strike>half marathon</strike> 10K in March and the heat in Whistler for Ironman Canada 70.3 and the Army Run half marathon in Ottawa. It was not a great year of training with injury and other problems but the weather certainly did nothing to help me this year. It is frustrating to have something you can not control screw up your race day!<br />
<br />
Other things in my life that I could not control also messed with my year. Being a business owner is tough and this year carried on where 2016 left off and proved to be more challenging than I could ever imagine. It is hard enough to juggle everything when it is going well and almost impossible when it is not! I know my training and mental attitude suffered because of all the work stuff. I would like to think this will change for 2018 but probably not so I am going to have to sort it out and decide what I can handle and what I can not.<br />
<br />
2017 had some high points for sure and it revolved around helping my friends achieve their goals. I have been friends with Jenny since I was 13 and eventually we both started running. For years she said she wanted to run the Bluenose half marathon and I said I would come and run it with her if she wanted. It was the highlight of my spring to cross the finish line with her and Tanya, both completing their first half marathons. In July I did a local swimming event called Bring on the Bay with Anita. This was Anita's longest open water swim and I swam with her, just in case she needed anything. She rocked it and I was so happy that we did this together!<br />
<br />
I was feeling mentally and physically trashed and my coach told me I needed to de-stress my body and we decided to cancel my 2 remaining marathons of 2017. We changed up my training plan, added lots of strength training and some different runs and it was fun! One of my marathons was in Cocoa Florida with my friend Kate. Kate was going through cancer treatments and I asked the race director if I could move to the half marathon to run it with her and they agreed. Kate and I had a great run together and we finished the race so she could accomplished the 5 year series challenge . If I need to be inspired, I look to Kate. She never stopped swimming or running/walking through out her cancer treatments and was determined to finish this half marathon to achieve the 5 year goal. She has finisher her treatment now and is back to running and training, a truly inspiring person. <br />
<br />
My word for this year was strength and 2017 lived up to that! I learned how strong I was and how much stronger I need to become. I learned that strength comes in believing in yourself and when you can't others can help you by giving you some of theirs to carry you through. I could not have gotten through this year without Neale, Ray, Anita and Caitlin, my constant cheerleaders, my strength when I am weak and who believe in me always. I tried to learn all the lessons this year provided and am ready to move into 2018 a stronger person for it all!<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpE2vkCZMHTBFBCaXEcTPReL281HMPJrjOuHf05E-NGgMygRVmHzGV1xeB0uyZKYIE8gwF8Is2HrWB4NFNa4QpE3oQTS14xbyvZcAIOYkWx3eBqdZqDC96Y7qdcB5t4MvSOekbOoW5hkg/s1600/20046363_10156425136857995_3055477316521346249_n+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpE2vkCZMHTBFBCaXEcTPReL281HMPJrjOuHf05E-NGgMygRVmHzGV1xeB0uyZKYIE8gwF8Is2HrWB4NFNa4QpE3oQTS14xbyvZcAIOYkWx3eBqdZqDC96Y7qdcB5t4MvSOekbOoW5hkg/s200/20046363_10156425136857995_3055477316521346249_n+%25281%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5R7J6ccAh4LrpoIMWt2JMwAKFELBIqrjwykvUMRI5O5Xde0IMlZbnzN6Wf9b9IuZZab-Rda55SMU0Ao4yFdj6JU_4-ryejzte05XsvAIlejceTx1kbGCxGoxixtzMMbbiUvBGeb5HmTA/s1600/18556294_10156189798727995_8481211818136334207_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5R7J6ccAh4LrpoIMWt2JMwAKFELBIqrjwykvUMRI5O5Xde0IMlZbnzN6Wf9b9IuZZab-Rda55SMU0Ao4yFdj6JU_4-ryejzte05XsvAIlejceTx1kbGCxGoxixtzMMbbiUvBGeb5HmTA/s200/18556294_10156189798727995_8481211818136334207_n.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkXSJQs9hsb_ZV3SbHRWKtMih_0c2MYTaGwntIiK425vZ56pj9TPHZgNbR8yCiEljxdR9gxjEKGlYplmRXEQeUx4-G1A8pS_EXjizussd3tsww8hOi1XVfN7Q46krfZ16PJPa7UnjghtU/s1600/2017-01-15+12.02.51.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkXSJQs9hsb_ZV3SbHRWKtMih_0c2MYTaGwntIiK425vZ56pj9TPHZgNbR8yCiEljxdR9gxjEKGlYplmRXEQeUx4-G1A8pS_EXjizussd3tsww8hOi1XVfN7Q46krfZ16PJPa7UnjghtU/s200/2017-01-15+12.02.51.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7jBIvtnwXln1MhIRjYPBGx-MhWnnWa7JIfvRjjiOohWw6t0wesyIsMd6VwHleXC0nwWF1Li8XaA76h3X55Qa6wvJBL2OxqpVaE_2HNXbaJ4_1vZ_5Xr_Bp4_6fF9_K3eUAtIVy2zGPeY/s1600/16939521_10155882051047995_1869191657471333961_n+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="724" data-original-width="724" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7jBIvtnwXln1MhIRjYPBGx-MhWnnWa7JIfvRjjiOohWw6t0wesyIsMd6VwHleXC0nwWF1Li8XaA76h3X55Qa6wvJBL2OxqpVaE_2HNXbaJ4_1vZ_5Xr_Bp4_6fF9_K3eUAtIVy2zGPeY/s200/16939521_10155882051047995_1869191657471333961_n+%25281%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8HIilYIt4qcrVWk5SqP9WBMRbGPnwNA5oQKEEMOpXEhJN2kn1Y701zSPdflwi45k2QzDg-sBXoVzCMpCdezPQ69ucS8LuMlni7C39pDSMPKR3-tmTF8977DswCjinm3oFUu3LhVFrBr0/s1600/23844377_10156894868972995_9007893579583283285_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8HIilYIt4qcrVWk5SqP9WBMRbGPnwNA5oQKEEMOpXEhJN2kn1Y701zSPdflwi45k2QzDg-sBXoVzCMpCdezPQ69ucS8LuMlni7C39pDSMPKR3-tmTF8977DswCjinm3oFUu3LhVFrBr0/s200/23844377_10156894868972995_9007893579583283285_n.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Acc-Gth7fZTozXmxeckr4hsToohY4dB-8c_Iuolyn3VfpRMSBrpi4wAK_v-QrAqdBuZQaXfCEOR1PQMaTcCRyxTOtUNNGZJs2hlmMxkkxIhfQeJchHQ6VU_LWmungNAsVr7iSPEqheY/s1600/19437299_10156332766747995_5172217183913576028_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Acc-Gth7fZTozXmxeckr4hsToohY4dB-8c_Iuolyn3VfpRMSBrpi4wAK_v-QrAqdBuZQaXfCEOR1PQMaTcCRyxTOtUNNGZJs2hlmMxkkxIhfQeJchHQ6VU_LWmungNAsVr7iSPEqheY/s200/19437299_10156332766747995_5172217183913576028_n.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIZ26TJiv3fsD03g8gS_zDK65vt_IHkBBsf40E1YyxeSGjpzzzq3MgrI4qaL2VyvZIkIeX0F_klWZjr0gQW8rHxiIjcUkMD1sYpqghPyAfgPR1Cvx9byV27vnGyk2bvTyiqKKcVs5fuOg/s1600/20604429_10156499195802995_2482060591380419545_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIZ26TJiv3fsD03g8gS_zDK65vt_IHkBBsf40E1YyxeSGjpzzzq3MgrI4qaL2VyvZIkIeX0F_klWZjr0gQW8rHxiIjcUkMD1sYpqghPyAfgPR1Cvx9byV27vnGyk2bvTyiqKKcVs5fuOg/s200/20604429_10156499195802995_2482060591380419545_n.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17267230194713521007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786898342782007428.post-80341945515454347692017-09-16T14:34:00.000-04:002017-09-16T14:34:28.392-04:00Something DifferentIt's been 2 weeks of my new program and it has been interesting. It is different not having a loaded weekend of workouts and having the freedom to try new things. During the week I have workouts I need to do but on the weekend, its my choice. After 7 years of structure, it is hard to turn that off and go with the flow. Even harder is logging my nutrition, its hard to keep on top of it but I am trying. <div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Last Sunday I did something fun, I went kayaking. I had been kayaking once about 15 years ago but that was it. My friend Anita has 2 kayaks and invited me to go and since I had nothing else, I said yes. It was so much fun and such a good arm and core workout! We spent 4 hours on the water and covered 11 km. We will not have many more summer days to enjoy and this was the perfect way to spend one of them. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixQ_mROYH7dny8zbBzyDMdv5SA_QipD4RB9B5zg_OoBeL_-bfyVQL3T7Kbsb9x31uEm95VFPBMqmnEGFPk1h4AtwH1niDksSe149pyj5ak0hnne_OMIY8kODdGM6dn4mmXD-RKbz3PvtY/s1600/21640733_885280341623046_930176150739535503_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixQ_mROYH7dny8zbBzyDMdv5SA_QipD4RB9B5zg_OoBeL_-bfyVQL3T7Kbsb9x31uEm95VFPBMqmnEGFPk1h4AtwH1niDksSe149pyj5ak0hnne_OMIY8kODdGM6dn4mmXD-RKbz3PvtY/s320/21640733_885280341623046_930176150739535503_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We did not have much of a summer in the traditional months of July and August but September is making up for it. Tomorrow is the Army Run and it is scheduled to be 28C and feel like 32C, we have not had weather like this in a while. While I am not racing tomorrow, it will still be a challenge due to the heat. I have run that race in rain, in cold temps and in the heat, the heat is the worst. We will see what tomorrow brings. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOrRo3vXf4Nxjerec8VNj7ZlL3yM2rBarlcXC8jNBW9sEnwm0_7sAdKiDdUhII9CzeDr2Rm21B6B0NRb7MIgbLq0ItUVe2Z28kLZlkFlI5tQS_Y9f63UR-aJgrFWoD3CXnpWEg_W63K5I/s1600/scorching-heat.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="410" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOrRo3vXf4Nxjerec8VNj7ZlL3yM2rBarlcXC8jNBW9sEnwm0_7sAdKiDdUhII9CzeDr2Rm21B6B0NRb7MIgbLq0ItUVe2Z28kLZlkFlI5tQS_Y9f63UR-aJgrFWoD3CXnpWEg_W63K5I/s320/scorching-heat.png" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>
Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17267230194713521007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786898342782007428.post-12589831875983858382017-09-02T11:30:00.000-04:002017-09-02T11:30:06.307-04:00Hitting the Rest ButtonHappy September! Where has the summer gone? Her in Ottawa it was a cold 3C this morning and it certainly felt like summer was over but I hope that we will get a few more months of decent weather. For me September is my New Year, I seem to spend August sorting through my life and getting rid of what is not working and double down on what is. This year has been particularly challenging and I have felt like life was running over me like a train with no conductor. Slowly, ever so slowly things are beginning to be sorted out and I know what I need to do going forward. I have spent this year sorting out things that have been holding me back, figuring out what is important and learning to really listen to my instincts. It seems like this year I learned how strong I really was and how to put into practice what I had learned.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_vEGC5UDz5TGLVbwHIBoQ5ocXLY0ugfQLXemO-ixgE3-k4QaFjbma9iJ3SIsJMGTDmI8nYNMhnONiFyb-diqnb57MtRO-dBE-UB2NAkC45WIAieZzrdFvE0fQd8P9sb0UgCkOIP__ECI/s1600/Life+is+tough.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="440" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_vEGC5UDz5TGLVbwHIBoQ5ocXLY0ugfQLXemO-ixgE3-k4QaFjbma9iJ3SIsJMGTDmI8nYNMhnONiFyb-diqnb57MtRO-dBE-UB2NAkC45WIAieZzrdFvE0fQd8P9sb0UgCkOIP__ECI/s320/Life+is+tough.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
In February, I took a chance and asked Ray if he would help me prepare for my triathlons this summer and lucky for me he said yes! I was intimidated to ask since he is such a great athlete but I was starting to feel like I needed something different but not sure what it was. I was dealing with several injuries in Feb and Mar and then we started training for the races I had on my plan this summer, a half marathon and two 70.3 triathlons, five weeks apart. I like to race, having a goal gives me something to work towards but I have a problem scheduling too many, I usually do 10 or more in a year. I was very happy with the progress we made but I felt we were playing catch up, sort of like bailing a boat with a hole in it, you hope you bail faster than the water comes in and you don't sink. <br />
<br />
After Ironman Canada 70.3 I knew I needed to stop bailing and fix the hole in the boat, to keep with the metaphor, and I emailed Ray and said I felt like I needed to hit the reset button so that I could achieve some goals I have set for the next few years. I had trained one way for the last 7 years and I wanted to work with him because he offered something different to that and I needed to trust in his process and see what happens. I knew I needed to do this but I think with all the other stuff happening in my life, I was not ready to do this until now. So, on Sept 1 I hit the reset button and I will not be doing my fall marathons, I will be spending the next 4 months working on my nutrition and strength training with a little bit of cardio. I need to de-stress my body and allow it to rest and recover from 7 years of over use. <br />
<br />
So, this will be interesting and I look forward to sharing this with anyone who reads my blog. As for those big goals, one of them is to write a book about my Ironman and all I have learned along the way. I am doing it for myself, as a way of looking back so that I can move forward to new challenges. What new challenges, you will have to wait and see.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4xrCK1c9LNJUQ-_qs35fnLJ5Af6tdGPfTHdLd11mh2E7H21dl1b6Xn2l-uFHGJ22zQONVIwZj-6jaIZ72DufBEHe4mSgFCvGzqs7ko1mxN3hFF8wMzRBSQPckq7lV37-R9OI8k2YxXF4/s1600/reset.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="620" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4xrCK1c9LNJUQ-_qs35fnLJ5Af6tdGPfTHdLd11mh2E7H21dl1b6Xn2l-uFHGJ22zQONVIwZj-6jaIZ72DufBEHe4mSgFCvGzqs7ko1mxN3hFF8wMzRBSQPckq7lV37-R9OI8k2YxXF4/s320/reset.jpg" width="248" /></a></div>
<br />Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17267230194713521007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786898342782007428.post-78080408270784670662017-08-20T17:55:00.000-04:002017-08-20T17:55:52.664-04:00Trail RunningSo today I did something new, I did a trail run. For the last 7 years, I have stuck to roads and never ventured onto a trail, in fact I even hate when I have to run on crusher dust during a road race. All my friends that run trails said I would love it but I was not too sure but I went to support my coach Ray and to raise money for his charity <a href="http://www.impossible2possible.com/" target="_blank">impossible2possible. </a><br />
<br />
I have had a hard time finding my mojo since Ironman Canada 70.3, I had a cold for a week and generally feeling lazy so I had zero expectations before today's race. Anyway, who runs trails for the first time at a race...I do! It was a 23k trail run, no small feat but compared to what others were doing it seemed small. My friend Leanne was doing 50k today and did 50k overnight for a total of 100k, that seems crazy to me.<br />
<br />
I started out slowly, at the back of the pack and followed the lead of the runners ahead of me, if they walked up the hill, I did as well, if they were running, I ran too. It was quite enjoyable to start with but I found the footing difficult. I usually make up ground on the down hills but today I could not as the rocks and tree roots made me worry about falling or twisting my ankle. I hit the turn around just before the time I expected and headed back! I knew the trip back would take longer and it did. I did not have enough fuel with me either, I based my packing on a road half marathon, not a trail run and I now know I need more food :-)<br />
<br />
I kept on running, walking the uphills but running the rest until the last 3k when I had to take a few extra walk breaks but all in all, I was happy with my first trail run. Am I a new convert to trail running, nope. I guess I am a triathlete at heart and I still prefer road to trail but I will probably get out on the trails again because my coach believes in them so much and I try to do what my coach tells me to do...as much as possible. Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17267230194713521007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786898342782007428.post-44437050761989369512017-08-13T15:01:00.000-04:002017-08-13T15:01:15.271-04:00Beware – Don’t Feed the Dragon!<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br /><div class="MsoNormal">
I feel like this should be tattooed somewhere as a
reminder. I am not referring to a real
dragon but my EGO, who I have referred to as the b!tch who lives in my head
before. I am learning to separate my ego
from myself so now I am thinking of it as a dragon that lives in a cage, it
looks cute and fun to play with but if I feed it, watch out! My dragon looks like this<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh491KHpP2fWTLzqgGJ7B-mzc6xvUY8hPKwRkI9AD6ie9jNDdHJid36kEGJRgf29rkbDfzas0R9QQ4gULiW2oh46Uc-Ckhoxc9yLppnhEdQLTlgErhCV-c9zujSveJWzUoRgzt2KJytAA/s1600/53485347-red-dragon-in-the-cage-illustration+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="326" data-original-width="450" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh491KHpP2fWTLzqgGJ7B-mzc6xvUY8hPKwRkI9AD6ie9jNDdHJid36kEGJRgf29rkbDfzas0R9QQ4gULiW2oh46Uc-Ckhoxc9yLppnhEdQLTlgErhCV-c9zujSveJWzUoRgzt2KJytAA/s320/53485347-red-dragon-in-the-cage-illustration+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have been working on my mental strength for a while now
but especially as I was training for my goal race of the summer Ironman
Canada 70.3 in Whistler. Something my trainer, Catherine, said last fall really
hit a cord with me, she said I should have high commitment to my train and low
attachment to my goals. I would get so
frustrated when I did not hit my goals or when a race did not go as planned
because of the weather (a recurring pattern in my life). I knew I did the training so why was I not
seeing the rewards on race day. During a
race, when things were not going well my ego would start the trash talk, you’re
not an athlete, you’re too slow, you’re too old, you don’t belong her and all
the other stuff I held in the deep dark part of my brain. Years and years of being picked last in gym,
being told I was too fat to do something, not smart enough, not fit enough and
just plain not good enough. Those thoughts are the bottom feeders of our soul;
they hide away until that moment you are at your lowest and then come out to
play. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I went into Whistler feeling strong. Tremblant had been a
good training day, I hit 2 of my 3 goals and it gave us good info for the last
few weeks of training. I had made
significant improvement in my swimming and modest improvement in my biking but
the run off the bike was still my weakness.
We focused on those areas and I felt good heading to British
Columbia. Huge thanks to my team of
coaches for getting me to this race in such great shape, Andrea (swimming),
Catherine (strength) and Ray (for everything else). My instructions from Ray were simple, just
go for it and try to get a new PB! This
would not be an easy task on a challenging bike course but I believed I could
if the stars aligned that day. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Race day was amazing, how could it not when you are
surrounded by snow-capped mountains and amazing, inspiring people. As I exited the swim I looked at my watch
and saw my time was slower than Tremblant but I was not going to feed the
dragon, I kept on going knowing the swim had been rougher than Tremblant and I
had more people in my way this time. Biking is my weakest leg of a triathlon
and also the longest but I was going to give it everything I had. Everything was going great until I reached
the 63km turn around and faced the final 27k back to Whistler. At about 70k, the heat and the wind was more
than I could handle and I needed to get off my bike. This would have been the time my dragon would
come out to play but not that day! I got back on my bike, remembered I had been
in tougher races than this and I could do this and more importantly, I would do
this. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I used every tool in my mental tool box to keep my dragon
locked up and for the first time, he stayed locked in his cage for the whole
race. This was my biggest win of the day
and one I have worked so hard to have, I did belong, I was good enough and when
things got tough, I was tougher. <o:p></o:p></div>
Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17267230194713521007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786898342782007428.post-71949533823790479802017-08-05T10:22:00.001-04:002017-08-05T17:46:34.337-04:00Blogging Again, NaturallyWell, its been a long time since I have done a blog post but I want to get back to it so here goes! Sometimes my blog is a way for me to process my thoughts, sometimes its a confessional of my fears and successes and sometimes it is a chance to share my passion for running or triathlon. I found myself last year with less to say I guess and I was not sure if blogging mattered anymore, it became a chore, one more thing I had to do do I gave myself permission to stop. I am learning that it is OK just to stop doing something that does not work for you anymore. As they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder and I recently found I was missing blogging and sharing my passion. <br />
<br />
I was recently interviewed by a writer named April for a blog. She posted on a Facebook site that she was looking to interview people who felt their hobby helped in their business. I had written a blog post about that a few years ago so I reached out to her and she liked the idea. It gave me a chance to review the blog and rewrite/update it with a few more concepts. As I worked on it, I felt the fire inside ignite again and I was excited. I hope I can turn it into a motivational talk sometime soon as I really feel my Ironman training made me a better business women. My interview with April was so much fun and as we talked and I shared my passion for triathlon and my desire to inspire others to start. By the time we stopped, she had enough material for her blog post and I had convinced her to sign up for a triathlon in 6 weeks! I followed up with a bit of a program she could follow and I excited to say that she is getting it done and does her first triathlon on Aug 20th. Here is a link to her blog post for <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/dragonsden/blog/ironman-makes-you-a-better-entrepreneur" target="_blank">Dragon's Den</a>.<br />
<br />
Last week I was <span style="text-align: center;">in Whistler BC for a triathlon and while I was there, I was doing a bit of work. I plan events as part of my work and was viewing venues and meeting contacts in the hope of getting a group there in the next few years. On Monday, after my race I meet with Ginny to learn about her venue. We had a great chat about my triathlon as well and she messaged me later that she ran that day and is looking at working towards a half marathon soon. I love when this happens, when I share my passion about my sports and help others imagine themselves doing the same. We all need a cheerleader, people who supports and encourages us as we start out. I love this cheerleader role and I really want to continue doing this, I want to help others achieve their goals and believe in themselves and what they can achieve. I am not sure what this will look like for me but I am excited to see how I take this and turn it into something.</span><br />
<br />
I also had the chance to meet a group of ladies from a Facebook group I belong too. It was so nice to meet these amazing athletes, from different places in the Pacific Northwest. Meeting them was amazing, they are so inspirational. It was so nice to spend time with them, to talk triathlon and training, the good, the bad and the really ugly we went through to get to this day. We all went to the opening ceremony together and one of the many messages we received received that night was nothing on race day would go the way you expect it too. They also told us to never stop, never quit and never give up and if we kept going we would achieve our goal. Little did I know who true those two statements would be for many of us but it gave us the opportunity to talk about other races and I shared my Ironman day with them. Katie was doing the Ironman while the rest of us where doing the Ironman 70.3 (half the distance). This was her first Ironman and Natalee and Liz were doing their first 70.3, I knew what first time nerves felt like. It made me realize how far I have come in my triathlon journey, my journey is not yet done but I now have a lot of experience to use and to share with others and that makes me really happy.<br />
<br />
These are some photos of some of the races I did recently <span style="text-align: center;">as a bit of an update. </span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="text-align: center;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzLHgaeMTMWJSDJeYA213QrFYlncP_0YZj4obUgqduosBWqCH76IidgD1HLlsfdT6mNiJcAQw0OmBQW-W69thzbyI_ndVZedVdTzqveolaNJ9X2MpAyD7c6dqJTloa5I_45uBKc1VMB_Y/s1600/2016-11-25+16.51.28.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzLHgaeMTMWJSDJeYA213QrFYlncP_0YZj4obUgqduosBWqCH76IidgD1HLlsfdT6mNiJcAQw0OmBQW-W69thzbyI_ndVZedVdTzqveolaNJ9X2MpAyD7c6dqJTloa5I_45uBKc1VMB_Y/s200/2016-11-25+16.51.28.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div>
<span style="text-align: center;">
</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuJXD05s1a2d8GxvT3-qPT76emr1L87X0alcWO104yY4_OZlaGzj5or4GyNtI6xmccKENdws_jR6cpadT4cUkhMlnqymN8tQTtgYm_x1r0WVJddqwxjj5cln6tWtl5fRU920uPpZoOafk/s1600/2017-01-15+12.02.51.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuJXD05s1a2d8GxvT3-qPT76emr1L87X0alcWO104yY4_OZlaGzj5or4GyNtI6xmccKENdws_jR6cpadT4cUkhMlnqymN8tQTtgYm_x1r0WVJddqwxjj5cln6tWtl5fRU920uPpZoOafk/s200/2017-01-15+12.02.51.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigCQ6JuJ17D3qYU4GysFMtLPjxNDE5fz6fi4MA3JRRtUcN5tTMEY6pXmlRIFwun9d2UvxnHh56E6zoquqZwJ-laDUOKFS6kJaQUTQPBs0Yx1jwATT5EMzef7Ulc2owqAw4NtCf7ql-yFk/s1600/16939521_10155882051047995_1869191657471333961_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="724" data-original-width="724" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigCQ6JuJ17D3qYU4GysFMtLPjxNDE5fz6fi4MA3JRRtUcN5tTMEY6pXmlRIFwun9d2UvxnHh56E6zoquqZwJ-laDUOKFS6kJaQUTQPBs0Yx1jwATT5EMzef7Ulc2owqAw4NtCf7ql-yFk/s200/16939521_10155882051047995_1869191657471333961_n.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAePfo8z802ZCZPb89Lzb5f52ufU9VdPhDoUtSVkRsLGMVKDN-s5oYeD7EXqGRYIyhAoZVdVxWEQHPWaNIYdI51cgpTYbP8CRq8ekaVe8TVwbpitXAvhlnzcI5rFu7dHNjFm_YuCupeDc/s1600/20046363_10156425136857995_3055477316521346249_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAePfo8z802ZCZPb89Lzb5f52ufU9VdPhDoUtSVkRsLGMVKDN-s5oYeD7EXqGRYIyhAoZVdVxWEQHPWaNIYdI51cgpTYbP8CRq8ekaVe8TVwbpitXAvhlnzcI5rFu7dHNjFm_YuCupeDc/s200/20046363_10156425136857995_3055477316521346249_n.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgOrhyphenhyphensG3mh1KUIJyVesxoiInGB0xBeK4or_c_-TZTCvXwT-MTZ4GfFpneFpIHziuOpc48pT8hPhCFpa-2MwZ1_OMVszLtYfN_lWKxzQ1RRlFcVgx3oGRMzY6mkqHpgFg8uiHfHRpmRpU/s1600/19399924_10156332750587995_1252397458489745799_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="474" data-original-width="474" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgOrhyphenhyphensG3mh1KUIJyVesxoiInGB0xBeK4or_c_-TZTCvXwT-MTZ4GfFpneFpIHziuOpc48pT8hPhCFpa-2MwZ1_OMVszLtYfN_lWKxzQ1RRlFcVgx3oGRMzY6mkqHpgFg8uiHfHRpmRpU/s200/19399924_10156332750587995_1252397458489745799_n.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGpx7H6flFYx-_IGQFFPaDD7EboazrObNdzUSBZjzrI1kGeRKudJ91WHpWU-hKMb4pfcqpfjiqFKhp8nT62Y54Wd47vJFNatsJPB3DOB2B7Nm7NmypPWvg242vXVic2rQhx47Z5iH-vKg/s1600/20429707_10156488508507995_637742805057729497_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGpx7H6flFYx-_IGQFFPaDD7EboazrObNdzUSBZjzrI1kGeRKudJ91WHpWU-hKMb4pfcqpfjiqFKhp8nT62Y54Wd47vJFNatsJPB3DOB2B7Nm7NmypPWvg242vXVic2rQhx47Z5iH-vKg/s200/20429707_10156488508507995_637742805057729497_n.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3CnfAbSxQ99aIAPdeewCQ_DOHPbAXHyKwJvpZdhGw8J4ozpkqzmqUpNlenLRnke2T0aObzRWIJo4UhHsbhN2sA3XvcXjvCHXMWCLx_xh_KlV5xE5VVO2kM7y5XM95PclLulXX3nGzFvI/s1600/18582227_10155040938356620_2451067162161643377_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3CnfAbSxQ99aIAPdeewCQ_DOHPbAXHyKwJvpZdhGw8J4ozpkqzmqUpNlenLRnke2T0aObzRWIJo4UhHsbhN2sA3XvcXjvCHXMWCLx_xh_KlV5xE5VVO2kM7y5XM95PclLulXX3nGzFvI/s320/18582227_10155040938356620_2451067162161643377_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17267230194713521007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786898342782007428.post-77228785780207903902016-10-02T19:25:00.002-04:002016-10-02T19:25:42.664-04:00October WHAT???I cannot believe it is October, where did September go? I am deep into Dopey training and work is crazy and time is flying by. I will update on a few things...I did the Army Run but it was not a good day, it was hot and humid and I decided to turn it into a training run after 5k. Sometimes it is hard to dial a race back but on that day, my body was not responding well and I have other things coming up so I forced myself to slow down and turn it into a training run. At 8k, I kissed my hubby goodbye and sent him on his way and ran under 140bpm for the rest of the way. I will get another chance to go for a sub 2 hour half and if it never happens that is OK as well. <br />
<br />
Dopey is 13 weeks away and the mileage is getting longer and the odd muscle twinge is happening but it is OK, generally. I have a half marathon on Oct 15th for fun with some girlfriends but generally it is wake, work, run, repeat. I need to find time for swimming and biking, it is hard at the moment but I will do it because it is important to me. <br />
<br />
I started a 6 week nutrition program today, I did it in January and it was great and I need to hear the lessons again because they did not stick. Today instead of doing more work or cleaning the house I went grocery shopping and did a big batch of meal prep. When life gets busy, I don't have time to plan and my eating gets lazy and I grab the wrong stuff. I know better, I want to do better and I deserve to do better. Today I made lunches for hubby and I, some breakfasts and soup, lots of soup. I know that in order to feel better and train better I need to eat better, it takes time and effort but I am worth it. I think that is important, to remember I am worth it and putting myself on the list is not selfish, it is necessary. I train because I am worth it, I work because I enjoy it and I need to eat better so I can do both of those better. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxCwbbN6hvkhzivvt0SSDBe7k3vQBp1Kiq4vTXzfh3q_r3aG2FADPQhhxyz9h_UVAGnceLW_-xeTh1w-sXXwLn_qfovRB6JtbVuoa04cN_fCN5JcDC1wEW_MItyrx-gYozEfHNYGeVNDg/s1600/large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxCwbbN6hvkhzivvt0SSDBe7k3vQBp1Kiq4vTXzfh3q_r3aG2FADPQhhxyz9h_UVAGnceLW_-xeTh1w-sXXwLn_qfovRB6JtbVuoa04cN_fCN5JcDC1wEW_MItyrx-gYozEfHNYGeVNDg/s320/large.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17267230194713521007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786898342782007428.post-77958210050302053792016-09-09T07:41:00.001-04:002016-09-09T07:41:53.647-04:00Enough is EnoughHappy Friday!!! Before another weekend of training I thought I would do my update. <br />
<br />
Last weekend I did the Canadian Olympic Tri in memory of Terry McKinty, the founder of a our local tri series. Four years ago, the Canadian try-a-tri was my first ever completed tri after I got a DNF at the one 4 weeks before. When I emailed Terry to tell him what a great time I had despite my finish, he gave me free entry to the Canadian so my season would end on a high note. I always remember his kindness and how it started me on my triathlon adventure. I have struggled with triathlon this year but I loved last Saturday, I might have finished near the bottom again but I had a great time and it helped remind me why I love triathlon. <br />
<br />
At work we did a strength based leadership test and the results did not surprise me and they explain a lot. I scored high in executing and strategic thinking categories - I am a Learner, I always seek to learn more and gain new skills, I am also a Restorative which means I look at weekly performance goals and work on what I am not good at in order to improve and I am Responsible, I always finish what I start and I am self motivated, I hate to delegate and I can easily point out where I can do better and improve. In other words, I can be really really hard on myself and always look at what I can improve and do better and not celebrate what I did.<br />
<br />
I can see this in my athletics, I want to have fun and enjoy myself but I am constantly reading books and articles on how to improve and do better, I always set challenging goals and am way too hard on myself as I work to achieve them. Saturday's tri was all about fun, I was not racing it and I did have fun and was happy with my day but in the back of my mind I keep thinking, if only I had swum straight I could have gotten a PB and you are fat and need to lose more weight to be better. That was not the point about Saturday, it was to honor Terry and have fun and I did both, it should have been enough. I can see this with my Ironman, every one says you finished, Congratulations and I say thanks but I was last...like that makes me less worthy. <br />
<br />
I recent read an article that was a game-changer <a href="http://www.elephantjournal.com/2016/08/how-a-game-of-tug-of-war-changed-my-view-of-unhappiness/" target="_blank">How a Game of Tug of War Changed my View of Happiness</a> and yesterday I read another <a href="http://www.swimbikemom.com/2016/09/business-of-enough.html" target="_blank">The Business of Enough</a>, both gifts from the authors and the Universe and were exactly what I needed and I share them with you today. I have battled my "Monsters" for the last 6 years to become the person I am today and I should be happy with that person. What I realize is sometimes we get wrapped up in the constant need to improve and change we don't stop to appreciate who we are and decide if we like or love that person. To put it another way we get so wrapped up in the journey we fail to realize we reached our destination and cannot appreciate it. It is time to stop fighting, to learn I am enough and to appreciate who I am right now and to breath.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLej2iKQ98oAPkzxuoyEqlxzadjMgQDnGm21nNj4UUmlSEXgZFs0n7M29Vke4frgCzTz1D6X_nnSZxsnDIRQGesiGdzVasKS6ZxDhtWy7jompNnvjfpUXzE0wGtMkwTtz3wR6lEycAzHU/s1600/77c2ab4d68f6c88adbb9d38e85c30b3d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLej2iKQ98oAPkzxuoyEqlxzadjMgQDnGm21nNj4UUmlSEXgZFs0n7M29Vke4frgCzTz1D6X_nnSZxsnDIRQGesiGdzVasKS6ZxDhtWy7jompNnvjfpUXzE0wGtMkwTtz3wR6lEycAzHU/s320/77c2ab4d68f6c88adbb9d38e85c30b3d.jpg" width="234" /></a></div>
<br />Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17267230194713521007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786898342782007428.post-26352675541246934772016-08-28T16:25:00.000-04:002016-08-28T16:25:38.169-04:00Finding the Groove<br />
I had a blast last weekend at IMMT volunteering and one of the most rewarding things was giving finisher medals to friends and some of the athletes I checked in on Friday. It was a wet rainy day and the athletes biked in pouring rain and some ran in it as well. Around 6pm the sun came out and the last 6 hours were amazing. I loved being at the finish line, I had no idea there were so many moving parts since I ended up in medical and missed them all. <br />
<br />
I had an 18k run last Sunday that I did on Saturday and ran on the Ironman course, first time since last year and I was a bit worried but it was a great run. Sticking to my heart rate cap of 140 we set out at 7:15, friends Lucy and Steve and I. There were already bikes on Monte Ryan and runners on the path and we even saw a family of deer trying to cross. As we got to the old Tremblant section I started to have flashbacks to last years run and the final 5k but it was such a great day and the run felt so good, I kept the negative thoughts at bay and enjoyed the company and views. We ran 9k and then picked up our speed as we turned around to head back. I came in right on plan, 2:06:55 and a 7:01 per km pace; the best part was I felt fabulous after a day on my feet checking in athletes on Friday.<br />
<br />
This week I had another 18k run, actually 19.3 for my Dopey plan but the clinic was doing 18k. I was a hot, humid overcast day and the sun kept threatening to come out which would have been miserable. We ran part of the route for the Army Run and it was great! I think I am finding my groove with this heart rate training thing, I can pretty much tell what pace I need to run for the HR I need and how my body reacts. Once a week I get a free run and on Saturday I used it as an opportunity to run race pace and see how my heart rate reacted. It felt great to run that fast since so much of my plan is slow running and I now have a baseline for measurement of my half marathon pace. I am racing the Army Run half on Sept 18th so I need to work out what HR I need to aim for so I don't run too fast at the beginning.<br />
<br />
Next week we are running 20k on Sunday and I have a triathlon on Saturday...I hope my body forgives me.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD7ei1WbXkwIsP3_wuaNjguTGyr0bunBp4W30r9dzaOWnUj50dOP8vdWZdAMy2FveH4CJVPMbLxMRLPGAuvl6E0DH3sCo0b39OVjoeDdqWxOFj_Qmud30eQlDQXJG_L0uLf17unmMQ52o/s1600/I+smile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD7ei1WbXkwIsP3_wuaNjguTGyr0bunBp4W30r9dzaOWnUj50dOP8vdWZdAMy2FveH4CJVPMbLxMRLPGAuvl6E0DH3sCo0b39OVjoeDdqWxOFj_Qmud30eQlDQXJG_L0uLf17unmMQ52o/s320/I+smile.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17267230194713521007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786898342782007428.post-86273222109781128992016-08-13T16:46:00.001-04:002016-08-13T16:46:32.458-04:00The Certainty of UncertaintyWell next weekend is Ironman Mt.Tremblant and I am heading back this year as a volunteer, I have three shifts, athlete registration all day Friday, wetsuit stripping and finish line from 6-12 on Sunday. I am happy to go back and volunteer, to be there for these incredible athletes and support them as I was supported last year. Doing an Ironman is a crazy journey, you train for months and months and spend hours swimming, biking and running. You do not get to spend time with family or friends, are constantly doing laundry and eating, your house is always messy and you are so exhausted. Why would anyone want to sign up for this...why?!?<br />
<br />
I have spent a lot of time thinking about this recently as I ponder new goals and try to figure out what is going on in my head, more on that later. When I posted in my blog that I was going to do an Ironman for my 50th birthday, I had no idea what I was getting in for, but I did know for CERTAIN that I could make it happen if I believed in myself. During the journey I did not believe in myself most of the time, I had doubts, I was afraid and very uncertain but I kept on going, doing what I needed to do. I just felt that if I kept going forward with my plan the uncertainty would make way for certainty, that magical state when I knew I could do this enormous task. I never got to that state, in fact I let my uncertainty sabotage my training and my determination at times. Instead of fighting for what I wanted with everything I had I drifted through my workouts, doing just enough to get it done but not the extra I knew I could and should do. <br />
<br />
When I got up on raceday, I was calm, I had done what I could and now it was time to execute. Looking back I can say the day is now becoming a foggy memory, the pain, the heat and the uncertainty are fading away and I can see the joy in the day, the moments when I was certain I was exactly where I was suppose to be and doing what I was suppose to be doing. It has been a long road to get here, I was so upset by my race for a long time and ashamed of my performance, I should have done better. In fact I got the race I deserved and it has taken me a long time to acknowledge it. I allowed the uncertainty to almost win but on the day that counted, I was able to push it aside and make certain I finished, in time to achieve my goal. <br />
<br />
I have spent this last year without any big goals, yes I did a 5k swim and set a new half marathon PB but I have missed having a big scary goal to work towards, something so big you have to grow into the person to achieve it. I have a few ideas rolling around in my head but I could not land on anything until I did one last thing....figure out why I let my Ironman dream almost slip away. What I have learned is this: uncertainty has no negative power on it's own and it is a gift because nothing is certain and the uncertainty makes you work hard to achieve your goal. The uncertainty is the journey, the every day actions you take along the way to achieve the goal you did not know was possible but were willing to risk it all for. I am now ready to move forward towards new scary big goals and to embrace the uncertainty and let it show me what is possible.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVq2O0T34rrE2_21FY9NZzphVsVr9h-RNxWHKBIxtmIc-PrGUWXBNbgK61WpXSzu4kxD1t2nBzSBnfICO37_cz3yThTfuOvUx3zXAFpowgTZLC4L0KiUV-RXV09JH37COktaWreXvdFrY/s1600/13938620_10155111608737995_2020701677195794913_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVq2O0T34rrE2_21FY9NZzphVsVr9h-RNxWHKBIxtmIc-PrGUWXBNbgK61WpXSzu4kxD1t2nBzSBnfICO37_cz3yThTfuOvUx3zXAFpowgTZLC4L0KiUV-RXV09JH37COktaWreXvdFrY/s320/13938620_10155111608737995_2020701677195794913_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17267230194713521007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786898342782007428.post-70795944004330274352016-07-30T13:50:00.000-04:002016-07-30T13:55:36.504-04:00Do You Hear my HeartbeatI probably mentioned that my friend Barbara and I signed up for our big scary goal and will be running the Dopey challenge in Disney World and then the following weekend we are running the Rebel Challenge in Disneyland. We will be running 6 races in 11 days, 109.4km, 10 medals coast to coast. Barbara and I ran the Goofy together a few years ago and we made a promise to do the Dopey together. Barbara wanted to do the Star Wars themed race so I suggested we do them back to back...me and my big mouth. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXyvVnujcwGEV3DFwNsnc7zXpF4eMyVRPTuX902vIUATN0APr9Ltdn8EBWwAT9oSAOa64_JOQ0TwVAKJ6ycOWfTspIicU3m_uvqntsNrhgu5DwITZTLFQc1cJ6te-QfJzowPO3oF43tP4/s1600/747150-1026-0041s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXyvVnujcwGEV3DFwNsnc7zXpF4eMyVRPTuX902vIUATN0APr9Ltdn8EBWwAT9oSAOa64_JOQ0TwVAKJ6ycOWfTspIicU3m_uvqntsNrhgu5DwITZTLFQc1cJ6te-QfJzowPO3oF43tP4/s320/747150-1026-0041s.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
I have been teaching the half marathon clinic and training for a half marathon and a marathon this summer, well sort of training for a marathon and I had this big goal in the back of my mind as well. I was not sure how to train for this big goal and then I saw that Run Like a Mother was having a Dopey training plan. I thought about it and thought about it and finally decided to look into it. It turned out it was a heart rate based training plan and I was not sure if I wanted to do this kind of plan. I have had a love hate relationship with heart rate training over the last three years. I had my zones tested in 2013 and started with a heart rate training plan and gave up because I was running so S L O W. I gave up after a few weeks and returned to my pace based training and did my Ironman training with my coach. The thing about training for an Ironman is you do a lot of long slow workouts and I knew I was getting better but not faster. <br />
<br />
Post Ironman I had my zones tested again to make sure I was training in the right zones based on pace and was surprised to see my new zone 1 was my old zone 3, I had improved my endurance base. The flip side was I had no speed and my zone 2 and 3 were small and I could not even get a reading for zone 4. I started adding some speed work and strength training and saw some results including my 2:02:28 half marathon in May, a PB by over 6 mins. <br />
<br />
I know that if you keep doing the same thing over and over, you will get the same results and I wanted different results, not sure what they are but I know I wanted something different so I bought the program. When I saw the program I was in shock..where is the rest of the training, 2.5 hours in the first week...WTF??? Also the heart rate zones where low, my zone 1 was 137-157 and we had a 130 and 140 bpm runs...yikes. It was week 2 of the training program and I can't say I fully committed to it, I could not unprogram my past training and believe that this would work for me. What is this I thought, I am use to doing 10+ hour training weeks, this won't work. I started to listen to the podcasts that go with the training program and read the weekly newsletters and it made sense. Coach MK is a straight talking, no bull, fast talking ball of awesome and she draws you in, Dimity is the voice of reason to me, I have followed the AMR podcasts for years and she balances MK's whirlwind, word salad approach. <br />
<br />
The first thing I did was defer the Wineglass marathon, it does not work with my Disney goal and I was not running enough distance but I am running the Army Run half (hopefully for a new PB) and Spacecoast marathon (as a training run) but my focus is heart-rate and Disney for now. I look forward to this training cycle, I am willing to buy in totally now and see where it takes me and as long as it takes me to Disney it's a win. Next year I WILL run the Wineglass marathon and I am hoping I can have Coach MK can help me with that and together we will decide on my goal...I might just surprise myself :-)Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17267230194713521007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786898342782007428.post-51165640557818542702016-07-10T14:41:00.000-04:002016-07-10T14:41:38.717-04:00City Chase YOW 2016So yesterday I did a different kind of race, Anita and I did the City Chase..maybe it should have been called the Weather Chase but more about that. The City Chase has been on my must do list for a few year. As a huge fan of The Amazing Race and the Amazing Race Canada I had wanted to do this part obstacle course, part scavenger hunt race and pretend I was somewhere exotic and Phil or Jon was waiting for me at the finish-line ready to give me a big cheque...enough about my fantasy though. Anita and I signed up and then Neale and Andre signed up so it was also a battle of the sexes, may the better team win.<br />
<br />
Anita and I headed to TD Place early to picked up our bibs and T-shirts and then headed to the bagel shop for some food and while there it started to rain, and the day continued that way, rain on and off, thunder and lightening and general comfortableness. At 10am the heavens opened, thunder crashed and we were off, Anita ran one way to get one page of our clues, I the other to get the other page and then we were standing in the rain looking for each other. We eventually regrouped and headed to the underground garage to get a notebook and pen and plan our strategy. The City Chase give you 2 pages of clues to find the addresses to do the obstacle to get a chase point, you need 10 to finish and you have 6 hours. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpx-Q9yAXKWduzz9IzdAIqZw7B_3B7IT66W_TN99a_c1f-mQjge4D7wptGonXu8khRiEvJD1rUPFcj7MY1KaECEVm52yqm5cZfMlrubBj6XAL8yi4Mzf-A20Tk02wdYp8JjVT1RKfT5ec/s1600/13606996_10154997115757995_5360549034725529080_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpx-Q9yAXKWduzz9IzdAIqZw7B_3B7IT66W_TN99a_c1f-mQjge4D7wptGonXu8khRiEvJD1rUPFcj7MY1KaECEVm52yqm5cZfMlrubBj6XAL8yi4Mzf-A20Tk02wdYp8JjVT1RKfT5ec/s320/13606996_10154997115757995_5360549034725529080_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
We spent about 40 mins getting the addresses we needed, a few from friends on Facebook, thanks for the help, Rose, Leah and Amy and then headed out. It was raining and a lot of the Chase points were closed so the indoor ones where getting really popular and had long lines. Our first stop was a dance studio where we did the ChaCha. I used the time in line to watch a how to ChaCha video so we quickly finished that one and headed to the next. The next one involved Anita trying to hit an apple off my head with a bow and arrow. Let's just say Anita was blindfolded and I am short so after 10 "arrows" they gave us the chase point and we were off. Another team gave us misinformation for the third Chase Point but it worked out OK and we quickly re-routed and hopped on a bus for 2 stops to our third stop where we got to pull a bus, can I say that was really hard and my knees are still sore but oddly satisfying.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV1W8pmNoD985lyevtrrrcI2NWdtEbr-TBs1IseY90e2cXRdf2tXiX7E_6Fn60nBg0SbWMEiMalD0IFFa3k-0Fwzs9duCTsD3bxN1e-75hBYNwCII0e_Cv9ZEKNfBl9YHQ3nwOXlac7NA/s1600/13606813_10154997947857995_7481035851782525092_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV1W8pmNoD985lyevtrrrcI2NWdtEbr-TBs1IseY90e2cXRdf2tXiX7E_6Fn60nBg0SbWMEiMalD0IFFa3k-0Fwzs9duCTsD3bxN1e-75hBYNwCII0e_Cv9ZEKNfBl9YHQ3nwOXlac7NA/s320/13606813_10154997947857995_7481035851782525092_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
We zoomed through the next two Chase Points, we were soaked, hungry and need a bathroom so we stopped at my office and took advantage of the large computer screen instead of our phones and plotted our last 5 Chase Points. The trick to this is plotting a critical path so you are not going back and forth across the city and we were in luck, there were 5 fairly close together. I solved a puzzel while Anita ran on a treadmill at GoodLife, we Escaped the Room in about 3 mins, we, I should say Anita rocked the semaphore challenge and then we had 2 left. A long bus ride put us back in the Glebe and we finished up on Glendale and Craig St and ran to TD Place.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglh9d0euLnaCOzOwhLmc4DWOtScOsWywu2awWeEo3ojuTW9g39dZcsQdJde9Ngz4HplhGSYRoI9oXymE5oXDT6JSPz5tV5ExqG3jsSHKe4YE05gAIuj9KqTsxlM72laioVqDQr2NDJp3c/s1600/amazing-race.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglh9d0euLnaCOzOwhLmc4DWOtScOsWywu2awWeEo3ojuTW9g39dZcsQdJde9Ngz4HplhGSYRoI9oXymE5oXDT6JSPz5tV5ExqG3jsSHKe4YE05gAIuj9KqTsxlM72laioVqDQr2NDJp3c/s1600/amazing-race.jpg" /></a></div>
We finished at 3:18 pm, tired, wet and starving but where were the guys? Let's just say if this was my fantasy, Phil or Jon would have given Anita and I the cheque and I will leave them to tell their own tale. I had a great day, hope to do it again next year and who knows, maybe Anita and I will turn up again on the Amazing Race Canada one day...anything is possible if you want it enough.Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17267230194713521007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786898342782007428.post-63561958509184783832016-07-03T14:13:00.000-04:002016-07-03T14:19:04.570-04:00So, now I know what it feels like in a washing machine...sort of anyway. That is the image that comes to mind when I think of yesterdays swim and like a washing machine, my mind went in soiled and came out clean and fresh. This is my race recap of the King Wolfe Swim.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpqWAeJBqWBFVNtfmaY7RX5eewdNxqbUhYmc0GBWydJf0zo5_ARkbdOx0SKGbQwQViXWZNMRxXivE3YGdSto4m_ANtoC3rUPGbwFEGzGCnNnt7eG4MeFMOiOwZuRtKkznxuBXVFokNj1U/s1600/13557698_10154976342637995_4321857527940726920_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpqWAeJBqWBFVNtfmaY7RX5eewdNxqbUhYmc0GBWydJf0zo5_ARkbdOx0SKGbQwQViXWZNMRxXivE3YGdSto4m_ANtoC3rUPGbwFEGzGCnNnt7eG4MeFMOiOwZuRtKkznxuBXVFokNj1U/s320/13557698_10154976342637995_4321857527940726920_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Last year, a my friend Trevor suggested this 5ish k open water swim to me as a nice swim, flat water in the past and great support. I decided to sign up around New Years Eve and made a plan to increase my swim distances in the pool through the winter. I did manage one long open water swim the week before and swam the whole distance so I knew I was ready. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkDUvQlaKOrS1Nw2TrO1x2HH4kdlNNneJFlgJbUHZL4M0hCE1wwOT1qBK2zzUZCBFedN5DW1obVYO-6SeI0emcgcefxMkvY4TJImUkuxphSXDhEBvp80JL2Kc3B4vW4CbAPKtnTMXVLE0/s1600/13516512_10205537000699143_8169264718204657396_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkDUvQlaKOrS1Nw2TrO1x2HH4kdlNNneJFlgJbUHZL4M0hCE1wwOT1qBK2zzUZCBFedN5DW1obVYO-6SeI0emcgcefxMkvY4TJImUkuxphSXDhEBvp80JL2Kc3B4vW4CbAPKtnTMXVLE0/s320/13516512_10205537000699143_8169264718204657396_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trevor and I</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
We arrived in Kingston on Canada Day and I headed for kit pickup on the shore of Lake Ontario. I was not planning on going to a practice swim but Deborah recommended it. The Lake looked rough and the forecast for Saturday was the same so I thought I should get some practice in. I had never swam in anything so rough and choppy and I was getting worried. I tried to do the 500m swim but I drank the lake several times and really started to panic.<br />
<br />
Saturday morning was nice and sunny and windy and the waves still looked rough, I was not sure I could do this or that I wanted to do this. I was trying to stay calm but the pre-race briefing did not help much. Anita and Andre showed up to cheer me on with Neale and Stephen; Anita knew how panicked I was but told me I could do it and I knew I needed to start. I had all these negative thoughts in my head, I could not do it, I was not a good enough swimmer, what if I had to stop midway through...the same old tape that plays in my head every time. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwgBQW_X1igu678v724AYYtl9W6ADPC0GSNrTp75aAhXRP1SRw8q3k0JAE-FkJeo9Pj7a9OBB8tiXyEEhjGOz9SvdJKd4sG7-72UzTOvvQ8qZTMItfxyWJOH1L4Gzu_Wn-aKQaMZMr1TY/s1600/13516651_10205536998059077_4390690841697785259_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwgBQW_X1igu678v724AYYtl9W6ADPC0GSNrTp75aAhXRP1SRw8q3k0JAE-FkJeo9Pj7a9OBB8tiXyEEhjGOz9SvdJKd4sG7-72UzTOvvQ8qZTMItfxyWJOH1L4Gzu_Wn-aKQaMZMr1TY/s320/13516651_10205536998059077_4390690841697785259_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking terrified with Neale and Stephen before</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I decided I had to start, I would do 1k and then decide, 1 k at a time if I needed to but I was not going to quit without trying. I knew 11 people, including two that morning pulled out of the swim but like last year at the Ironman, I knew that giving up/not starting would hurt more than trying, giving my all and failing. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCXmg_rTLLrLKgoSYvqNqtsjST11hVAd-g32lIJ_IWAIpKWpzxd0jxau-zv6uPHFLFiEqIK2TkwJdPdIxOhmEu3dnzTTwqj5HfSX-bJ2CzAVjdZlF1h9Ojnrkcpke9YUWKORLlItTQ8Ns/s1600/13599823_10205537001499163_5095820472653415597_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCXmg_rTLLrLKgoSYvqNqtsjST11hVAd-g32lIJ_IWAIpKWpzxd0jxau-zv6uPHFLFiEqIK2TkwJdPdIxOhmEu3dnzTTwqj5HfSX-bJ2CzAVjdZlF1h9Ojnrkcpke9YUWKORLlItTQ8Ns/s320/13599823_10205537001499163_5095820472653415597_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Start</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I started swimming and I felt like a cork bobbing in the water, wave after wave made it feel like I was not making any progress. My Garmin said I was at 1km and I still felt good, I had not swallowed much of the lake so I decided to carry on. At 1500m I had had enough, I was not having fun and not sure I was getting anywhere. I called out to my kayaker that this was not fun and treaded water for a few seconds. I looked back towards Kingston and then ahead at Garden Island and realized I was about half way between and I had to make a decision. Could I do this for another 3.5k or should I stop. I thought about last summer and the Ironman, I thought about everyone who said I could do it and I thought of Neale`s never-ending support and decided to keep on going, I was not going to stop swimming until I was pulled from the water or I got to Wolfe Island, I was going to finish this. I started thinking of all the advice I gave others, I counted my strokes, everytime I got to 10 strokes, I did a breast stroke and sighted and then I repeated the mantra that came to me as I swam, too tough to kill, to determined to quit. <br />
<br />
Eventually we got close to Garden Island and I heard cheering, I stopped and went over to my Kayaker and took in a gel. I looked around and noticed there were people on the point cheering us on and that made me feel great. Around the island I could see the bottom and that is comforting to me, I looked around and saw wood and weeds, zebra muscles and rocks and I could see I was going forward. The waves slacked off a bit in the shelter of the island and I started having fun. Mike, my kayaker said I made great progress in this section, a straight line and I even passed another swimmer.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiojrmeaeXpGdV5V-I7PhWMJQRai2TUg4fj__PRIPxPZazhQRvq4bi2M1umElEVPRiDymK63X0UEnSC6XU7bg2YGAGDlR6TsCdXnx120wKny3W6rZIzwz_jd5LL_QlAusBpiv_MV0W7efE/s1600/13537728_10205536997819071_6846756018985593000_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiojrmeaeXpGdV5V-I7PhWMJQRai2TUg4fj__PRIPxPZazhQRvq4bi2M1umElEVPRiDymK63X0UEnSC6XU7bg2YGAGDlR6TsCdXnx120wKny3W6rZIzwz_jd5LL_QlAusBpiv_MV0W7efE/s320/13537728_10205536997819071_6846756018985593000_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mike and I before the swim</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Once we hist the small rocks known as Goose Island I could touch the bottom so I stopped for a minute, talked to Mike about direction and remembered Deborah saying at this point we were 90% done. All I wanted was to get this swim over with so I quickly started swimming again. This section was really choppy, the wind was up and we were no longer sheltered by Garden Island. I remembered Deborah saying stay right to avoid the ferry and all I could think about was where is that darn ferry, I had come to far to end my day as the hood ornament for a ferry. A few quick corrections and Mike lead me into the beach, I was done and never so happy to be on dry land again. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQEtqRJkLHub-3Deuw2Gc0leBPF2rWdvkAzjAb9Hac3W_2oRYJu6tzYYKqoEMXgbzaoGk5DvBKgnhYWuXDj_dEUM6K0bMRU1BTEn7vxdMEWC9isnas22koM0rDl0Fjxd2DgRmbYraQmXo/s1600/13533097_10205537495831521_3443574989874585889_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQEtqRJkLHub-3Deuw2Gc0leBPF2rWdvkAzjAb9Hac3W_2oRYJu6tzYYKqoEMXgbzaoGk5DvBKgnhYWuXDj_dEUM6K0bMRU1BTEn7vxdMEWC9isnas22koM0rDl0Fjxd2DgRmbYraQmXo/s320/13533097_10205537495831521_3443574989874585889_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Finish!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I was surprised to learn my time, despite the wind and the choppy waters I had a good time, my goal was 2:15 and I was at 2:22 with my stops, not bad all things considered. The best part was when I saw Trevor I asked if we were going to swim back now, I really felt like I could keep swimming and go back BUT taking the ferry back was nice as well. <br />
<br />
I entered Lake Ontario full of doubt and exited full of joy and hope, the waves that bounced me around cleansed my soul and chased away my negative thoughts. I always think I am not good enough, that I can`t do the task ahead of me but time and time again my body and heart have a different plan and it is that one I want to keep following.<br />
<br />
As Neale`s coach Ray Zahab says ...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGvHWkwyfnd-KaKk_SKDrquI52rhpgMpi_W8MDVryK9sg1PsDDf-3m53PkLRDaeFij6vvndDZsi6wLImXi_l9xaPP_eqT3L8PMtgYbGab1hmQ0CfPQ-EKc2hLF_t4yCtn4J7RM35TYdVM/s1600/ray.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGvHWkwyfnd-KaKk_SKDrquI52rhpgMpi_W8MDVryK9sg1PsDDf-3m53PkLRDaeFij6vvndDZsi6wLImXi_l9xaPP_eqT3L8PMtgYbGab1hmQ0CfPQ-EKc2hLF_t4yCtn4J7RM35TYdVM/s320/ray.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17267230194713521007noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786898342782007428.post-37409518166324221992016-07-01T10:19:00.000-04:002016-07-01T11:15:28.872-04:00Hitting the Reset ButtonHappy Canada Day!<br />
<br />
Time to dust off the blog and hit the reset button on it and my training...my year "off" is over ( well 10 months), and I need to get back to it. My idea of time off may not be the same as everyone else but I did cut back on my races and training, I taught a 10k clinic and am currently teaching a half marathon clinic and I tried a few things, a photography class, a trip to Peru and some business classes. After my Ironman last year my business partners told me they would not support me doing another one but my training is important to me. My relationship with my old coach at the end was tough on me and probably did not help but that is history, time to move on. I have learned a lot in the last year, about myself, about coaching and about what I need and I am ready to get back to it!<br />
<br />
I did do two races in May, I ran the Mississauga Half Marathon and the Ottawa Race Weekend 10k, they are a tale of 2 extremes, the half marathon was on a wet, cold, windy day and the 10k was on a hot, humid and as it turned out wet day, only the rain was the same. One race I ran a PB (personal best) and the other a PW (personal worst) but I had a great time at both. I am trying to have a high commitment to my training and a low attachment to my goals, we can only control what we do and weather or other circumstances are outside our control and can affect our goals. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiczEavUCT3B4HEBffhidoa1ekHlsf0DHN3mo4pvj4gUZ_QZTRTmr3iRNiQV8nFRHs1H0m0KspamIV8xQ1Wstg_p62_6Eu9Joph50QCJ4-iq-GOGcMrpzYSg3yGS_c98SaM6_dafuujUts/s1600/13557943_10154962338252995_5873105749009977782_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiczEavUCT3B4HEBffhidoa1ekHlsf0DHN3mo4pvj4gUZ_QZTRTmr3iRNiQV8nFRHs1H0m0KspamIV8xQ1Wstg_p62_6Eu9Joph50QCJ4-iq-GOGcMrpzYSg3yGS_c98SaM6_dafuujUts/s200/13557943_10154962338252995_5873105749009977782_n.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
I have also been struggling with being not good enough, not good enough at work, not good enough an athlete, not good enough at all. I have been looking at photos and hating how I look, this is stupid I know but I am human. Anyway, enough is enough and I am getting back to what I love and loving what I do...time for a full life reset!<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5lWIglmUmgsRgj4UBQ-DG8de_YmGyQJOa8hy7T4Tpq_DIqis3dA_1Iw2BUgwdSllIK8IWSQmVebkSjawqE7V2b-calDqZTfMajbjxoUbRkLt7EijFrk_K4tUvis0AtU2_YfBh3P2sTPg/s1600/13528502_10154959298622995_6167982804329274734_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5lWIglmUmgsRgj4UBQ-DG8de_YmGyQJOa8hy7T4Tpq_DIqis3dA_1Iw2BUgwdSllIK8IWSQmVebkSjawqE7V2b-calDqZTfMajbjxoUbRkLt7EijFrk_K4tUvis0AtU2_YfBh3P2sTPg/s200/13528502_10154959298622995_6167982804329274734_o.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Last weekend I was in Mont Tremblant watching my friends do the 70.3 event and I had so much fun. Anita did her first 70.3 and survived the heat to rock it, I am so proud of her. Anita overcame her fear of Open Water Swimming and being clipped into her bike and had a fast swim and a great bike. I saw her as she started her run, it was so hot and I knew it would be tough but she was tougher.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
I was not thinking about doing Tremblant70.3 next year, I was thinking of maybe doing the 5150 race that weekend because a June 70.3 is tough, you do most of your training in the winter and you do not get a lot of time to train outside before race day. I think I needed to be at this race to ignite my passion again, to remind me why I love this distance and to remind me I have unfinished business here so YES, I will be doing the 70.3 next June and I have a year to get better. My friend Kory said she would help me with my biking which is my weakest link and I can keep going with my swimming and running with Anita and other friends. I am good enough, I can do this, I want to do this so let's get this party started!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXFE6-aDgmIO3-elkO_KzcJrzWv7F1rw1RMREqrN0jrmk3ACyc_dL_05KCjfWCwAervJG3e6slVgQ9QJ7nsqlw4_jnCmvHZ1_O6vjJYTyFITxeqFlB309IoS5fxbjuC_n-wyfthmNMYIM/s1600/13466416_10154956567227995_8703840663417572520_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXFE6-aDgmIO3-elkO_KzcJrzWv7F1rw1RMREqrN0jrmk3ACyc_dL_05KCjfWCwAervJG3e6slVgQ9QJ7nsqlw4_jnCmvHZ1_O6vjJYTyFITxeqFlB309IoS5fxbjuC_n-wyfthmNMYIM/s320/13466416_10154956567227995_8703840663417572520_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17267230194713521007noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786898342782007428.post-18005814788547262972016-05-07T08:19:00.000-04:002016-05-07T08:19:37.156-04:00What did I just doTax season is finally over and I am beginning to have a life again! Every year I think it is the worst year every but Facebook memories reminds me that it was always this bad. In a way it is like running a marathon, at some point during the run you swear you are never doing another but soon after you find yourself signing up for another one. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAEB3y-UjluvfXz3uZyrAgw-LhTohtHdtTpI7Dpa0WNG4YqVfQ8chLu3SYNSBy9udM7ivhA0b4t4mgEdOEt4TUwtcPug41Pgtl4AoHWoWq6GAF55lTB24fgglHGKT-Kgf2tZhTa-uhyphenhyphenFU/s1600/13103395_631844713630252_935416954929416540_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAEB3y-UjluvfXz3uZyrAgw-LhTohtHdtTpI7Dpa0WNG4YqVfQ8chLu3SYNSBy9udM7ivhA0b4t4mgEdOEt4TUwtcPug41Pgtl4AoHWoWq6GAF55lTB24fgglHGKT-Kgf2tZhTa-uhyphenhyphenFU/s1600/13103395_631844713630252_935416954929416540_n.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
I swore I was not running a marathon this year but I find myself running 3 in less than 100 days...how did that happen! The first was not my fault...really, I was going to sign up for the Space Coast Half Marathon but it sold out in 4 mins! I registered for the marathon because I wanted to go run with Kate and figured I could take the option to stop at the halfway point (its called the "wormhole") or if I was feeling good I could continue as part of my Dopey training. <br />
<br />
Then I signed up for the Dopey in Jan 2017 so since it was in 2017 I did not break my promise, it was not a marathon in 2016. Neale is hoping to qualify for Boston and was looking for a fall marathon and the Wineglass was still open. The half marathon was full so if I wanted to run it would have to be the marathon and I said sure, sign me up. Maybe it was the tax season haze, maybe it was due to lack of sleep but I now find myself doing an Olympic triathlon, a half marathon and a marathon in less than a month and three marathon in less than 100 days that includes the Dopey. The Dopey is a 5k, a 10k, a half marathon and a marathon on 4 consecutive days. Barbara and I are also thinking about doing a 10k and half marathon the next weekend in Disneyland to make that about 109.4 km in 11 days, 10 medals, coast to coast!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrIHuENWzOrPeyiuuCzdbF6BlLvmX3tgzBUQT7bbnbrHw7ccu_07Awm48vSFPhk17svFKBkEGMnkmz10BbNIqaYucJnmdkUg27XIWgc_PPSQrrtBvPx_rZ3hNylbF73FYM25poRMh24UU/s1600/13177231_10154807649937995_9136903689644073360_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrIHuENWzOrPeyiuuCzdbF6BlLvmX3tgzBUQT7bbnbrHw7ccu_07Awm48vSFPhk17svFKBkEGMnkmz10BbNIqaYucJnmdkUg27XIWgc_PPSQrrtBvPx_rZ3hNylbF73FYM25poRMh24UU/s320/13177231_10154807649937995_9136903689644073360_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
I was starting to panic a bit so I sat down the other night to schedule it all. I am leading the half marathon clinic this summer for the Army Run half marathon so I am locked into those workouts but I managed to fit it all in using a 2 week training cycle. Taking my coaching course has been a huge help in scheduling my workouts and listening to my needs. I am not following a tradition marathon training plan this summer, my longest run will be 20k but I am doing back to back runs every weekend and every other weekend three consecutive runs. I am hoping this works the way I want it to, I guess we will see on Oct 2nd. <br />
<br />
Next up is the 10k for the Ottawa race weekend and I can't wait! Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17267230194713521007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786898342782007428.post-67484924191310453412016-04-10T12:06:00.000-04:002016-04-10T12:06:58.708-04:00Leading and LearningIt is a sunny but cold Sunday here in Ottawa but I headed out early for my 18k run and it was wonderful. We had snow during the week and winter is holding on and I was not looking forward to running in -11 this morning. It was not too windy and I quickly warmed up and ran well, 10k to the Running Room and then another 8.5k with the 10k clinic.<br />
<br />
I am really enjoying leading the 10k clinic, we are a big group of about 30 runners and love having the chance to share my knowledge and joy of running with them. As in any large group we have<br />
many different backgrounds and experiences, some fast, some not as fast, some who have run further, some who are new to this distance but we all support and encourage each other. I really enjoyed today, waiting for the groups to come in and seeing the smiles on their faces as they finished. Everyone had a smile on their face, we offered high fives to each other and special congratulations to those who ran their new longest distance. I might be leading the clinic but I am learning so much from this group, so much about heart and determination, about never giving up after injury and how to write better directions so people don't get lost...oops.<br />
<br />
Last week I had a great run in Hamilton at Around the Bay and while I did not PB the first 15k I came darn close even though it was not about time. I have struggled with consistence this winter and was worried that my speed was not where it should be but I managed to beat my goal pace and whatever happens in Mississauga will happen. I really want to break 2 hours for a half marathon but I think that will be a fall goal, my goal for May 1st is to run a good solid consistent race and try to run a negative split, something I have not yet managed to do.<br />
<br />
Ottawa Race Weekend is quickly approaching and I am so happy to be part of Team Awesome! Whatever distance you run, be proud of your accomplishment, you are a runner so be the best runner you can be, your speed, your race...just do it.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtboyqwKFyAN3sppm7Su7T92qS-aPnpIh4bzUjq3f0r4MMQSqI5jS0z8Rk-tFa0haDRvHuH11ZlkMgJrnK4HQRivpysb1NWuPr9GGDUAjLYBSVW1jdeQpwN7WYgKtjzstucTLV1-KdW3I/s1600/trailrunning-quote---i-often-hear-people-say.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtboyqwKFyAN3sppm7Su7T92qS-aPnpIh4bzUjq3f0r4MMQSqI5jS0z8Rk-tFa0haDRvHuH11ZlkMgJrnK4HQRivpysb1NWuPr9GGDUAjLYBSVW1jdeQpwN7WYgKtjzstucTLV1-KdW3I/s320/trailrunning-quote---i-often-hear-people-say.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17267230194713521007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786898342782007428.post-17631284343071288112016-04-01T17:54:00.001-04:002016-04-01T17:54:44.968-04:00Around and Around the Bay We Go AgainHappy Spring...no wait winter...no I am sure it is spring. I know it is Spring as I am deep into tax season and not blogging much but this too shall pass. I am off to Hamilton Ontario this weekend to run the Around the Bay Road Race, the oldest road race in Canada and older than Boston (their tag line). This year I swore I would not run more than a half marathon distance so I am doing half the 30k as the first part of a 2 person relay team. My relay partner, Anita, actually has a 30k run on her schedule for Sunday so she will run the first half with me and then the last half on her own. The weather forecast is terrible, cold, windy and possibly snow for Sunday but I am determined to have fun because last year the race was a disaster. <br />
<br />
Last year I had the flu but my coach told me to run and run I did...for the first half anyway and then I hit the wall hard and walked in the last 12 km. Not the best coaching advice I ever got but I did my best and tried. This year I want to have fun and one day I will go back to do the full 30k and high five the Reaper but not this year.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2hp6KaGtt-YKMJrrw0QQ5N8QyOubgcQJq1FdiK6E5ZAIa9Q3RoRWkGpkSRMqB8jLW-G6UfGIBygbV_loUIFrBsiBTJIYVuMrSFqEdPoSzAH8TFrBWWrdYAc1kT3uhon_FjE-BBHe8jmc/s1600/10438573_466991236782268_3333327568229574961_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2hp6KaGtt-YKMJrrw0QQ5N8QyOubgcQJq1FdiK6E5ZAIa9Q3RoRWkGpkSRMqB8jLW-G6UfGIBygbV_loUIFrBsiBTJIYVuMrSFqEdPoSzAH8TFrBWWrdYAc1kT3uhon_FjE-BBHe8jmc/s320/10438573_466991236782268_3333327568229574961_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
So this year I will run in my matching outfit with Anita, have some fun and try to forget about last year. Our team name is Burgundy and Chardonnay so we will live up to our team motto at any rate...run now, drink later. Enjoy your running and training and I will touch base soon, as long as the Reaper does not get me. Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17267230194713521007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786898342782007428.post-24318919488139880002016-03-13T09:51:00.000-04:002016-03-13T09:51:30.991-04:00Learning to PivotSo I co-own a communication and I have learned a lot in the last few years, it was a totally new world for me. One of the concepts I learned about was pivoting, Eric Ries, the creator of the Lean Startup methodology says pivots imply keeping one foot firmly in place as you shift the other in a new direction. We do it in communications when the message is not being received the way we intended it to be or not having the desired results. When I did my triathlon coaching class it was clear that coaching was not just giving someone a schedule but making changes when things are not working, pivoting if you will. You keep one foot firmly planted with your goals but change direction with the training if it is not working. I have a full time job, another company I own doing bookkeeping and taxes so this is my busy season, I start teaching a 10k clinic this week and my training; my training is getting the short straw and I am not doing it.<br />
<br />
I am a type A, goal orientated person so admitting defeat does not come easy but I ended this week totally exhausted and miserable, it is time to pivot. I need to fit in at least 3-4 swims, 4 runs, 3 bike workouts, 2 strength training sessions and 2 yoga classes into my plan. that is 14-15 workouts plus work and doing taxes and having some sort of a life, I need more time. Since I can't get more time I need to change the way I think of my training. I think that I have high expectations for myself and I over-schedule my life and then I get sad/frustrated when I can't do it all. It is hard coming off a year of intense training and being satisfied with doing less, I feel like I am lazy and unfocused. It is also hard that I am coaching myself, I don't have another perspective on things and I tend to be way too hard on myself. <br />
<br />
I said yes to the 10k clinic as it would keep me accountable to my running, I have to run 3 days a week for the clinic and I can run to and from the Running Room to get in extra distance when I need it, I just need to fit in some speed work in a fun way so I actually do it. I swim in the morning before work three days a week , I just need to find time to get a long swim in or give up one morning before work to fit in another workout, like cycling. Cycling, my worst leg in triathlon and the one that needs the most work and the one I ignore the most. I need to spend more time on it, not less but we often avoid the stuff we do not like, I will drop a spinning class like a hot rock given the chance. I have to say the same with strength training but I have hired a trainer one day a week so I only have to do one on my own.<br />
<br />
I don't have the answers yet but I am working on it, I think I need to look at things differently, maybe a 9 or 10 day training cycle not a 7 day cycle until the end of tax season and then I can re-evaluate in July. I know I can't fit it all in as it is right now, I know work will be crazy for the next few months and I have to accept that and I need to fit my training around it and still have a bit of fun. I have decided that my time goals for my upcoming races are not a priority, finishing upright and smiling will be my goal and to have some fun, I am missing the fun.<br />
<br />
Anyway, I will embrace the challenge, try to pivot and keep moving forward because that is all I can do right now.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJwRLqqyz-GXVSxey3nHg1DIzFr0ICL3tNCP05Y5Dj8Sh71oZPBn9X7nfJp9dcHmv4gVoGE9CGgD8xYosFgDgFRsQ53Nroevk8x7_0SbkU9G6an1dnpFIuI_qajx9P62oXlzMTRHhqEB8/s1600/quote1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJwRLqqyz-GXVSxey3nHg1DIzFr0ICL3tNCP05Y5Dj8Sh71oZPBn9X7nfJp9dcHmv4gVoGE9CGgD8xYosFgDgFRsQ53Nroevk8x7_0SbkU9G6an1dnpFIuI_qajx9P62oXlzMTRHhqEB8/s320/quote1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17267230194713521007noreply@blogger.com0