Where would you rather swim?

Here in Midnapore Lake.

Or here in the Gold's Gym pool.  Yes, it may seem weird but Adam and I have taken videos of each other swimming several times so that we can look for areas for improvement in technique.  This video was near the beginning of training and notice how my reach crosses in front of my body, especially with my left arm.  I have since corrected this.  Every little improvement adds up big time.  Oh and by the way, my 3 km training swims that I usually have 3 x's/week are 75 laps in the 20 m pool...that's 150 lengths.  Can you see why I feel like a fish in a bowl??

I will miss swimming in the lake.  Our last lake swim was frigid cold, so I think we're done open water swim training for the season.  But it was great while it lasted.  Thanks mom and dad for getting us into the lake so often!

My one day off training.

So every three weeks I get a day off of training (other than Sundays, which I always have off).  It's usually the Thursday of recovery week.  Adam and I both had the same day off this time around, so we decided to take the kids to Banff and Canmore for the day because Adam had some work to do there.  While he was working I took the kids on a two hour hike called "Grassi Lake trail".  Everyone we ran into on the hike commented on how steep it was and asked things like, "are you sure you want to bring your kids out here...it's really steep?"  Kyla and Riley would respond, "we're super kids, it's easy for us."  It was so cute.  I did have to carry Kyla down some of the really steep sections and Riley carried our lunch backpack most of the hike.  I was so proud of them!

(Riley learning to farmer's blow.  Such an important skill, don't you think?)  :-)

Tears in the pool and other ups and downs

The swim

Downs: Struggling with fears and negative thinking (ie feeling like I suck,
worried that I might not ever be able to do the race distance, worried about puking
during the race from swallowing salt water.)

Crying during/after every swim session for the first couple months of training.  Feeling like a fish in a bowl...back and forth...back and forth....

Ups: Trusting in my training program and carrying on despite my fears.
Watching a mini-miracle as I learn how to swim and even enjoy it. I haven't cried in the pool in months.  It feels amazing to go forward, despite fears.

The bike

Downs: Sore feet, sore butt, sore neck, long boring rides, wind, rain, heat, peeing in ditches, and sunburns.

Ups: Thrilling moments when I'm cycling along and an amazing song surges me with energy.  The exhilaration of speed (have you ever cycled downhill at 70 km/hr...if not, put it on your bucket list). Breathtaking scenery and falling in love anew with the surrounding area of Calgary. 

The run

Downs: Achy knees, hips and feet.  Emergency bathroom breaks on long runs.  Ok, not
much to report here...I fell in love with running years ago.

Ups:  Discovering that Imodium helps prevent the emergency bathroom breaks.  Getting faster and faster and the feeling of flying across the pavement with my heart rate comfortably in the zone.  Running at sunset on the ridge in fish creek park - incredible!   

Overall

Downs: This sport can be really expensive!  Feeling stress as me and Adam try to fit
our training in, while at the same time, being there for our kids and for each other.
Feeling discouraged that my body

hasn't changed as much as I hoped it would.

Ups: Learning how to eat an elephant:  I'm getting experience at taking a daunting task
and breaking it up in my mind into small, manageable pieces.  I'm learning how to find
enjoyment in things that kinda suck. 

I've realized how much I love triathlon...last year I thought I needed a change of hobby.
Seeing the changes in my body (less fat, more lean muscle, lower heart rate etc)
 Going through this amazing process with my best friend and supporting each other
through all the ups and downs.

My first time falling...

It's been an interesting day of training.  I had a four hour bike scheduled.  Adam worked from home so that I could go in the afternoon.  I biked west on the 22x and it was a beautiful ride (the fall leaves are so gorgeous right now) but I had a couple of incidents. A regular annoyance is when one of my back water bottles falls off.  So, after going over bumps I often scoot back a bit on my seat to feel whether or not the bottles are still in place.  Today one fell out when I was flying down a hill and half the liquid leaked out.  The amount of sports mix used on each ride is a bit of a science because everyone needs a certain amount of calories and electrolytes during endurance exercise to replace what is expended.  I need about 300 calories/hour and so some of my precious calories were lost and wasted on the highway.

My other incident was when I was climbing a hill and only going 12km/hour when I changed gears and my chain came off.  I came to an abrupt stop and wasn't able to unclip my foot in time.  When I fell, I landed across the white line, so I was grateful for the keen driver who swerved wide around me.  I landed on my wrist and knee.  I'm not worried about my knee but my wrist is chronically demented, so I'm going to be icing it a lot the next couple of days.  Adam and I hit the gym together tonight for a 3 km swim and I ended up having to do "fist drill" the whole time to avoid undue pressure on my wrist.  

Adam and I have had some enlightenment this week as well.  I realized that he has been thinking that I haven't really been enjoying my training.  This idea started when I would often cry after my swims in the beginning because I was so far from where I needed to be.  I explained that I, like him, enjoy "the struggle" of working towards a major goal.  I came to realize that he has felt kind of responsible for my ironman experience to be a good one and is really concerned when challenges arise.  I explained that I knew it would be a challenging goal when I chose to take it on and that even though the training has been hard at times, I have not yet approached my "struggle limit".  It was a good talk and I feel like we understand each other so much better now.  Isn't it interesting how easy it is to misunderstand others, even spouses??

The Produce Feast is Over

I started my produce feast week with this:

And I ended it with this:

We had chocolate cupcakes for Kyla's birthday yesterday.  I can honestly say that the salad tasted better.  Although the cupcake was a close second.  Even though the week is over, I'm hoping to continue eating lots of veggies...intermingled with a few treats here and there of course.  Don't you find that you feel so much better physically and emotionally when you eat lots of healthy foods??  

On a side note, I am loving this beautiful weather.  I have a four hour bike ride and a two hour run this weekend, so I'm thrilled that I can do both outside.  Yesterday I ran 11.6 km in one hour in my heart rate zone and that was with a warm up and cool down.  That was a personal best training run for me.  

Some girls love high heels.

I have a bit of a shoe fetish these days.  A running shoe fetish that is.


I do think high heels look great, I just haven't yet decided that I'd like to be taller than the 5'10.5" that I already am.  For now, I'll enjoy my gorgeous collection of racing flats, tri shoes and cushiony running shoes.

Update on the produce feast week:
- My weight is down 2 lbs.
- I actually feel tired the past couple of days but I think that's because my body is fighting a little cold.
- I have felt great during my workouts, even without any sports drinks.  I swam 3km in 63 minutes this morning, which is a record for me.
- I have been eating a LOT of greek yogurt with natural honey to satisfy my sweet tooth.
- For lunch today I had an amazing salad where I used up the last of my garden lettuce and of course lots of tomatoes.  Did you know that leftover cooked quinoa us actually really good on salads?

25 pounds of tomatoes

Day 2 of my produce feast week.  So far, so good.  I did not share Kyla's free cookie at Superstore today.  That's a big victory for me.  So far I've had pear, apple, tomatoe and carrots but tonight I will be making taco salad with lots of added veggies, so that will up the veggie count. 

 I bought a 25 lb box of tomatoes at Superstore today.  I know that's a ridiculous amount of tomatoes but it was on sale for $12.  So, for my afternoon snack I had sliced tomatoes.  I think this week I'll make homemade tomato soup, homemade tomato pasta, fresh salsa and I'll be having sliced tomatoes for snacks.  Do you think my family will get sick of tomatoes??

So far I feel good.  Often at the end of the day I feel kind of bloated but I did not feel that way last night.  I had lots of energy for my 3 km swim this morning and I do not have that hazy afternoon sleepy brain.

How many vegetables can I stuff in this body??

This week I am going to be exchanging this: 

For this:

I am going off refined sugars for seven days and I am going to eat obscene amounts of produce, especially vegetables. Today I have already eaten yellow pepper, avocado, tomatoe, lettuce, carrots and sugar snap peas...and it's not even dinner time yet.  I will report back on any differences I notice in how my mind and body feel as I run this little experiment.

Sample Training Program

This week was recovery week, which meant only 9 hours of training.  It was nice!

  My training ranges from 9-18 hours of training/week.  This is what next week looks like:

Swim: Mon, Thurs, Sat (3km and 1 hr each time)

Run: Mon (1 hr), Wed (1 hr), Friday (1.5 hrs)

Bike: Tues (1.5 hrs), Thurs (2 hrs), Sat (3 hrs)

Additional Strength and Stretching: Tues and Fri (1 hr each)

Only two and a half months left until Ironman Cozumel.  I feel like the end is in sight and that makes the grind of training so much easier.

Riding in the basement.

Five hours and 140 km later....

 Heading out for my five hour ride above.  Below are the pictures taken during the ride

with my cell phone.

I know, the picture quality is awful but trust me when I say that

the scenery was beautiful.  I still need to have Adam teach me how to

change a flat tire :)  Lucky me, I still haven't had one, even with all this biking.

This is out by Turner Valley on highway 22.