To boost my immune system....

Hey,

So I am on a mission to boost my immune system and get (and stay) healthy. I cooked, chopped, baked like crazy on Monday night. For those of you who know me know that I am a health nut...or as Chad would say "I eat weird food"

Multi vitamins, omega 3's, vit D, green tea leaves, anti-oxidant drink and some weird drops that my naturopath gave me - they taste like CRAP

Ancient Grain (millet, quinoa, kamut flakes) and Veggie soup

whole grain pasta with sauce loaded with spinach and asparagus - 2 of the most nutrient dense foods you can eat

Berries - are crazy good for you

More veggies - everyone needs to eat more veggies :)

Banana Bread - this is the healthiest recipe ever, egg whites, spelt flour, no sugar (agave nectar instead), carob chips, cranberries! I will post the recipe later!

Moving on....

I went for my run on Monday and although I was still coughing it felt sooooo good to be out there. Last night we went for a group ride (about 75 min I think) and tried to do some pace intervals, which was hard in the crazy wind! I am still on the mend...as long as I don't get worse I am going full steam ahead back into training!

Here are some pics of Rexy since I haven't posted any in awhile. She has hit her teenage years - oh what fun! The last one is of her in her new house...she chewed her way out of her other one! Then we had to wedge her up against the wall until we could go and get her a new one; she figured out how to push it away a from the wall and climb out! We woke up early that day by her jumping into bed with us! Chad was yelling "why did you let her out" all the while I was asleep beside him yelling back "I didn't!" Ha ha ha she makes our life interesting....and busy!

Happy Training!

Pictures from Legend Camp

Chad and I at the top of Anarchist
Me procrastinating by taking pictures!

Susi, Chad, and Greg - Day 1 at the Husky in Osoyoos

Everyone is still smiling

Chad and I at the out and back day 1

Kellie and Susi at the out and back - Day 1

This is the Mountain Goat I saw at the bottom of Yellow Lake

The picturesque Green Mountain Road

Day 1 before the ride...little did we know what we were getting into!

Pictures from SPG

Hanging out after the race

Chad and his first place medal

Me with my medal

I am alive...

Hey Bloggers,

I know it has been forever since I have updated, but between training camp, being away, and mostly being sick there just hasn't been any time. I am back and promise to update you!

So I guess it all starts with the sickness. The week leading up to the splash pedal and gasp I was starting to get a cold. After the race I took it easy trying to recover so that I could go out to training camp and just giver. Well I just steadily got worse all the way along. It was in my chest and I was hacking up my lungs on a regular basis.

This did not stop me from hammering away at training camp (more on that later). Which in turn made me even more sick. Then I went to Vancouver to visit with my family...my dad had his surgery on the 14th, all is well and he is recovering nicely! Once I came home I was on strict orders by Greg to take it easy until I am better.

Well I am STILL coughing and fatigued, but I am going to go for an easy run today and test the waters. In relation to how I was I am much better and I think I may be rid of this thing. It turns out I was a little contagious and now Darryl and Chad are both sick and Lisa is on her way. I am soooo sorry guys, I hope you bounce back fast!

Here is what went down at training camp in Penticton:

We left Thursday after work (around 6:30) headed to Penticton. I was down and out for the night by 10:00. Darryl was not too far behind me and Chad was on his own to drive the rest of the way. The nighthawk that he is didn't have a hard time with this! We got to Penticton around 1:30 local time and couldn't remember the name of the hotel. With a quick call into Greg we soon found our way! Then it was straight to bed because we had a full day of biking ahead of us!

Camp Day 1

We were up early enough to get ourselves together and organised to ride. We were doing the course in reverse (which is about 160km), so our jerseys were stuffed with food and gels...well mine was anyway :):):) We also had to raid Greg's food since we hadn't gone grocery shopping yet, what are coaches for hey!

We stayed as a group through town and out onto Green Mountain Road (GMR). Although we were told to take it easy everyone was off right away. I stayed back...trying to breathe...took my inhaler and waited to feel some what "normal." After about an hour my chest started to loosen up a bit and I was able to breathe a bit. The descent from GMR is soooo fun and you can just giver.

We met up again at the Big Bear and once everyone got there we were off to tackle the rollers and the back of Richter pass. These were still challenging but nearly as bad as I remember. I snotted and hacked my way up and was soooo happy to see the Husky in Osoyoos. After a quick break we were back out on the road and my legs were feeling all of the climbs I had just done. The way back into Penticton Susi and I rode together...we would take little breaks and chat and then get down to business and bike. I got a flat outside of Oliver and was able to change it with relative ease. To be honest I was kind of glad because the break was nice!

We stopped again (very briefly) at Tickleberrys and met up with Chad and Dusty. The way back into Penticton was along Skaha lake (the run course for IMC). It is so pretty along there...and bumpy I might add!

I was more than happy to get back to the hotel, and then somehow they convinced me to go for a run. It was a quick one, only 10 mins I think but with my wheeziness that was good enough for this gal. Then it was into the freezing okanagan lake to ice the legs. Within a couple of minutes I was good and numb. Susi braved the water with me...Chad put a toe in and said no way!

Camp Day 2

We went out to Oliver to go for a swim. It was CCCCCOLD. I had to talk myself into getting in the water. I wanted to swim with Chad though because it was his first open water swim. Open water swimming is sooo different than swimming in a pool. Especially when you throw a wetsuit and lots of people in the mix. We started out okay, Susi was giving Chad sighting tips. He wanted to take a break so we went back into shore and then I swam out a bit and he swam to me. That way it was easier for him to sight and stay on track.

Once we got out of the freezing lake we headed out to Osoyoos to climb anarchist. This is a 20 km climb with some pretty good grades. I love the challenge of climbing so I was actually looking forward to it. I started time from the moment I had to gear down...I don't think I even made it past the fruit stands at the bottom before I had to do that! I got into my groove and climbed my way up. I did see a mink and a snake...which I still think was alive although no one else believes me that it was! I find the hardest part is when I am close to the top and around every corner I am looking for the top and it isn't there! It took me 1 hour 19 min to get up to the top. Then it was the zoom zoom down. By the time I got to the husky my back was on FIRE!! Yes my back...sounds weird but when you climb like that you use a lot of core and back...so mine was hurting.

The way back I was a hurting unit and was sooooo happy to be off of the bike. Chad and I went for a quick run...I was smart today and took my inhaler about 30 min before I got on the bike so I was still a little wheezy while running but not nearly as bad as the day before!

Camp Day 3

This was a doozy of a day for me. I felt awful. I got up, got ready and headed out at about 7:30 to get a head start on the guys. I lost part of the group right away...they decided to go down main street instead and I didn't know:) So I went to usual way and led a couple of other people who didn't know the course out to Maclean Creek Road. Once I got going it wasn't too bad, not great, not awful. I tucked into aero at OK falls and stuck to my plan all of the way out to Osoyoos. By the time I reached the Husky I was hurtin, but the hills were coming and I like to climb so that was my saving grace.

Up Richter and onto the first couple rollers is when Greg and a couple of the other guys caught me. I was happy I made it that far, I was sure they would have me by the Husky! Darryl came by a hill or two after that! The rollers went good considering, I did go into Keremeos for a quick water break and then it was back to Yellow lake. I think the 20ish km of gradual climb leading up to Yellow Lake it worse than the climb itself or at least I find it harder!

At the top of yellow lake I had a little pity party. For some reason I figured that even though I was sick, killed my legs with the 2 previous days, it being early in the season I should have seen more improvement. My frustration with being sick 4 times since January finally got the best of me and I was not a happy camper. I kept on trucking...I was cranky but I wasn't about to pull over and call it quits. So I sucked it up and kept on going. When I got back to the hotel I wanted to crawl under a rock. Instead I went and iced my legs, had a shower, took a couple of advil and layed down until the pounding stopped! An hour or two later I was feeling a little more human and was able to go out an visit a bit. I have not felt that awful in a long time....I think Ironman was easier than that! What doesn't kill you makes you stronger right???

I have not trained since then, so I am itching to get going again because I have the Boise 70.3 coming up in a few weeks! I do get to watch Chad race for the next 2 weekends as well, watching races always motivates me!

I think I have paid my sick dues for the year so hopefully I can move forward to a healthy summer and season!

I am sooooo behind in blog reading as well so my plan is to catch up and see how everyone's training is going!

Happy Training everyone!

SPG Race Report

Hey all,

Here is how the day went down...

Morning.
The alarm went off way too early at 6:30 am. Although we were in bed at 11:30 the night before Rexy must have been nervous for her mom and dad because she was tossing and turning all night...keeping us awake. Chad and I were both tired and cranky but we got up and got out of the house smoothly in the morning. After my last 2 races I decided I have to eat at least 2 hours before I race and it worked out perfectly!!!

We pulled into the parking lot and as we were unloading the bikes Lisa and Darryl pulled up behind us. We went to set up transition, get body marked, all of the pre-race duties. I hate waiting for the race to start. I get sooo nervous I felt like I was going to throw up my breaky.

I was feeling a little nervous about wearing my tri shorts in the water...I have never done that before (only under a wetsuit)...these ones were feeling a little loose. Darryl offered me his shoe lace so I could tie my shorts up...but I decided to go ahead without...ooops...more on the later.

Swim
I walk over to my lane and was chatting it up with Julie, well we tried but we were both too nervous/race focused to chat! I am standing there watching all of the tall lanky swimmer looking guys come over to our lane. Needless to say I was feeling a little intimidated, I shouldn't have been after all I do swim with 3 tall lanky guys all of the time!!!

I decided before I even got in the water that I was going to swim and not worry about anyone else and not worry about passing anyone. Last year I wasted so much energy trying to pass people so this year I was going to save energy and draft. I think all of those guys lapping me three times helped pull me along in the water!

The swim was mass chaos as per usual with 12 people in one lane. I stuck with my game plan and it worked out perfectly. The guy I was drafting off of must have got sick of me on his feet because with 500m left he let me pass him. I guess I would have to work a little hard for 1/3 of the swim! I had pushed off for my last length and the people were all yelling and screaming at me to get out...who was I to argue...so I got out. I am 90% sure I still had another lap to do.

T1
I think this was one of the fastest transitions I have had. Out of the water, put my jersey and I was flying through everything. When I looked over and saw that I had beat Darryl out of the water that confirmed my belief that I was a lap short on the swim! On my way out of transition Chad told me to hurry up...I was ahead of Darryl!

Bike
I wasn't even out of the parking lot and I had to stop. I went over this little bump and lost my water bottles. One of the great volunteers helped me chase them down and I was back out onto the course.

The entire bike I kept down in aero and focused on getting my legs turning over. My bike computer isn't working properly (telling me I am riding at 40-60 km/hr....which would be sweet if it were true), so I used my cadence and my garmin to figure out where I was at. I tried keeping the cadence at 90 and speed somewhere around 30km/hr. I kept telling myself make it happen on the bike and survive the run. Coming back into town my legs were staring to hurt...I couldn't help but wonder how I was going to run 10 km at the pace I want.

T2

Super easy, super smooth. I was out of my bike shoes and into my run shoes in no time! I couldn't help but notice that there weren't many bike in transition yet...a very unfamiliar feeling to me!!

Run

The run went good...so good. Once I got the numbness out of my toes I was cruising along and couldn't believe the numbers I was getting on my garmin. For both the 10 km run I did in the last couple of months I was dying trying to hold a 5 min/km pace. Yesterday I was able to do it!! I was working really hard don't get me wrong...but I felt good and strong. I was able to maintain this pace throughout the entire run. I was passed the second aid station when I saw Darryl on his way back...with a high five to keep things rollin! I saw Julie in there too....who was working really hard at breathing but I did get a nod this time :):):)

I had been passed at one point by a girl in my age group (who ended up winning our AG), then I passed another and was chasing down the 2nd place girl. Of course I had no idea the placings at the time, I saw her and saw that she was in my age group and decided I would try to catch her!! She must have been reading my thoughts cause when I saw her at the finish line she told me that when she saw me coming it made her speed up!

Then there was the hill. I was having such a good run up until then...probably would have had a PR for a 10 km if it wasn't for this beast. It is so freaking steep. I walked twice on the way up. I made a deal with myself to walk up the really steep parts and run the rest. This was the only time I could tell I had a cold...as I was wheezing, coughing and sputtering my way up the hill! It was here that I saw Chad come flying down the hill.

After the race we sat waiting for them to announce the race results...visiting, sharing race stories etc. Much to my surprise I heard my name. Yup 3rd place in my age group! I didn't even hear my time because I wasn't really paying attention! I was super surprised and pumped all at the same time! Chad and Julie also cleaned up winning 1st and 2nd overall respectively. I believe Darryl was 5th in his age group. So needless to say it was an awesome race day for everyone!

Here are the official times:

Swim 26:52
Bike 1:26 (this includes both transitions...and the run up the stairs!)
Run 53:16
Total 2:46:51

Last year my time was 3:02:15 for the same race!

Today I am quite sore....everywhere. Bring on the recovery and get ready for training camp this weekend!

Quick Update...

Things have not really slowed down for me this week, so I am hoping on Monday I will be all caught up and my life will return back to normal!

Training has been good, getting everything done and feeling good while I am doing it. I have caught a small cold in the last couple of days....along with an IBS flare up that won't seem to go away.

Today Chad and I are heading to Lethbridge for the triathlon down there! Last year I was a minute or so shy of breaking 3 hours....so that is my goal. I know I am sick....but I think I can do it. I will give you full race report when I get back.

Have a great weekend....supposed to be nice tomorrow so at least we can get outside a bit more. Happy Training!

I can breathe again!

Hey,

Last week was a crazy week, my boss has been gone for about 3 weeks and it all added up by the end of the week. I also had to work on Saturday, so I was up earlier than I usually am during the week to be into work for about 6 hours. Needless to say between work and training I am pooped!

Here's what I remember:

Tuesday I did a recovery ride on my own at home (75 min I believe)...it was also my birthday so I skipped spin class so Chad and I could go out for birthday supper!

Wednesday I went for an easy 40 min run...nothing exciting happened while I was running. I didn't have a watch, HR, pace...nothing! I forgot all of my gadgets at home so I was running just for the sake of running, and I felt great. By Wednesday night the feeling of greatness was gone. I had an IBS flare up that started on Monday and it got the best of me by that night. So our swim was less than stellar and we ended up with a lot of hot tub time!

Thursday Chad and I biked at home on the trainers due to the usual crappy weather conditions! We did a 90 min ride with some hills. I love watching Chad hurting on the bike...this triathlon stuff isn't so easy hey?? We did 6 x 6 min hills with 4 min easy. All and all it was a good ride!

Friday didn't do too much...took Rexy for a walk and went to bed early so I could get up and go to work on Saturday.

Saturday I was feeling a little tired when I got home from work but managed to convince Chad to go for a run too. It is always easier to get out the door when someone else is going too! This is my first long run where it was actually warm out, so I had a little bit of a hard time keeping the ticker where it should be. I felt great for the first half of my run until I hit the sets of intervals. OUCH! I had 3 x 6-8 min at 10 km pace with 4 min rest. I thought it would be pretty easy...tough...but not killer. I hit the first one going up big bertha (a hill that kills on one of our running routes). By the time I got to the top I thought I was going to keel over. My heart rate was at 172, it had been a couple of years since I hit the 170's running! The rest of that interval was spent trying to breathe. The next one was fairly flat...still hurt just not as bad. The last one I hit the remainder of the hills...back up to 172. This run kicked my A$$. I can tell I was running hard because I was sore yesterday...even my butt was sore!

Yesterday Chad and I went for a long bike ride. We decided to do the Beisiker road since we had never done it and that we we could pawn Rexy off on family! The first 40 km was good, I was chillin and just enjoying being outside. I did notice that we were continuously going down and that the way back was going to hurt. The first half was good 40 km in 90 min...finally felt like I could bike again. Chad and I rode around Biesiker looking for a gas station (that we couldn't find, how weird is that?) and we got hit with a little mini twister. We watched it coming towards us and decided to stop and put our feet on the ground before this thing hit us. I have never seen one this strong. It picked up peoples chairs in their back yards and the hit the roof! Yikes. We made it out with rocks in our shoes and wondering what had just happened. The ride home was awful. Full on crazy wind...yet again. I am really starting to get sick of this wind, some wind okay, to be expected we live in Alberta but this is getting a little crazy and tiresome on my poor little legs. Did I mention that it was 40 km uphill against crazy wind??? I just keep telling myself that it is good training...it still sucks though. I was so happy to get back to the house. I took Rexy and we went for a little transition run. Greg said something about tempo in there?? I'm not too sure it was quite tempo but my legs were moving so I was happy with that.

Today I am tired. Easy run and bike...thank goodness the easy was written right into my plan. In the meantime I have some blog reading to catch up on!