Lazy Bones

Hello all!

So last weekend I had three days off.....and I did nothing!!!! You may be asking yourself what happened. Well, my little sister came to visit and amongst the late evenings, getting hair cuts, movie watching, oh and lots and lots of shopping the lazy bug got a hold of me. Oh well, unless you count walking around the mall as exercise I did a whole lot of nothing over the weekend:)

I am back on the train today though. I have a run, yoga, and weights planned out for the evening. Life will be back to normal and training will resume. I did enjoy my little stint away. I have a long run up and coming this weekend, I am aiming for 2 hours, so we will see how it goes. I did an hour and 50 minutes a week ago and felt really good, so I should be okay;) Lately I have been doing 2 shorter runs throughout the week, one of intervals and the other just however I am feeling that day dictates the effort!

The cold weather is still getting to best of my swimming. I am aiming for a whopping 1 swim this week. I have to start small....baby steps. And as for the bike lately the longest I have ridden is 90 min -1hr 45 min. Just keeping my butt accustomed to the pain of sitting on a bike seat for a long time. If you don't know what I am talking about, give it a go. I do a least one short ride a week too; about 50-75 minutes of sprints, climbs, etc so I don't loose to much of my hard work from last season!

I am still throwing some weights in the mix, usually 3-4 times/week. I am feeling pretty good about fitting weights into my schedule. It is a nice break from the usual training I am used to. Then I get to harass the guys in the back a little bit and try and get them to do some cardio:) I need to do more core work...I hate it but it is so beneficial for training. I'll work on it, but I make no promises!

Until next time take care everybody!

Leslie

Jingle All the Way

Hi everybody!

It has been a while, I apologize. Chad just yelled at me because I haven't written lately, so here I am.

I ran in the Jingle Bell Run a couple of weeks ago and it was not fun. It was snowing; the wet snow that makes you soaked and cold to the bone, it was also sideways snow, and it was really windy. Mother nature was not kind. To top that off the race started 20 minutes late, no one knew what was going on, and people just started randomly running because no one was at the start line!!! I didn't feel too well either, my body wasn't to happy with me but I sucked it up and finished the whole 10km. I was happy time wise, everything considered. I made it across in less than an hour, so I can't complain about that.

I have been hitting the gym a little harder since the end of summer. I started a strength phase in my resistance training routine, and I made it up to 135lbs squats and deadlifts for 5 reps. That is about 15 more pounds over my body weight. I have just jumped back into an endurance phase for the next few weeks. I think that I will do at least one more strength cycle and see how it goes. I need to work on my technique a little more for squats....we'll see what it brings. I find training in strength and power helps me climb those hills easier both on the bike and run.

Last but not least, I officially have a coach....I just need to send him the $$$$$ and we are good to go in January! His name is Tom Price. He has been doing tri's for ~30 years, so I think I can learn a lot from him! He has won Ironman Canada a couple of times and has competed in IM Hawaii. I am going to enjoy the next month and a half before heavy training starts in January. I am excited to be working with someone though;)

Who wants to swim when its cold outside?

I have been trying to convince myself for the last couple of days that I need to get a swim in. During the summer months I love to jump in the pool and get a break from the constant heat outside. After it snowed the other night; I haven't been able to drag myself to the pool for my workout yet! It is cold...the last thing I want to do is go outside in the cold, jump in a cold pool, get out of the pool soaking wet, change and drive home, now cold and wet! blah. Anyway, that is how I am feeling about swimming this week. For the rest of my training, it has been an awesome week. I am running and cycling faster, and I love it. Next up: 10 km Jingle Bell Run...I think I am going to dress up like a reindeer. It should be fun!

The Gorilla Run:Pre and Post race

Every time I sign up for a race, I am super excited at the possible outcome and love the challenges that we all face along the way! Anyone who knows me at all, will know that I am not much of a morning person. The pre race anxiety sets in 1-2 days prior to the event, and before I go to bed at night I am hating the fact that I have to get up Early the next day. Whether it is a 5 km run to 1/2 ironman, I am plagued with the same uneasiness. I went through the same ritual this weekend. I am getting better, but 6 am is waaaay too early for me. Race day came and went, and I realize as I crossed the finish line that the feeling of accomplishment and tiredness is a great one.

The Gorilla run is a great race, smaller than what I am used to, but we had fun nonetheless. Chad and I ran together for the first 2.5 km which is through the Zoo. It was neat to see all of the animals up and active (not laying around and sleeping like they often are at the Zoo:). Once we left the Zoo Chad took off ahead of me. I began to settle into my race and was feeling pretty good. Runs along the bow river during the fall are beautiful; I enjoyed the scenery and the crisp cool air. I have cut back my training a little bit since the summer, and I could definitely feel it! The burn in my legs and my lungs was all to familiar and by 15 km I was ready to be done! The good news is that 1.5 km later I was. I ran across the finish line happy to have dragged myself out of bed to participate in the race.My brother and Chad were there waiting for me, no doubt wondering how I was feeling. Chad and I chatted about the race, how it went, when it was hard, when it was good, etc. We waited a little longer for Tracy to come across the finish line, it was her first race and she did 16.5 km!

All in all the Gorilla Run was a success. I wanted to run this race as a hard training run, which I think I accomplished. We didn't end up walking around the Zoo after the race. With 5 hours of sleep and tired feet I was more than ready to relax and visit with my brother before he went home!

Ironman...here I come

Well, it has been a month since I signed up for IMC and I am filled with mixed emotions. I am excited about training and being able to finish an Ironman, but also a little nervous about the unknown. Four years ago I was in Penticton on holidays and it was Ironman week. I had completed a few super sprint tri's, but knew little about what triathlon had to offer. While we stood on the side of the road in awe watching all of the athletes, I turned to my boyfriend Chad and said: "In 4 years, I am going to do this race." He thought that I was crazy and kinda brushed it off. Well, here I am. It has almost been 4 years and I am now signed up for IMC. I have put my body through a number of races in the last few years and I have learned a lot. Most importantly I have realized that you can accomplish whatever you put your mind to. I have had a lot of support along the way (Thank you Lisa for sitting beside me at the computer and making me sign up for races that I didn't think I could do, but you knew I could!), and Chad to pushing me out the door when I feel a little lazy and being at every race I have done.

I am ready to put in the long base hours over the winter and in 10 months I will be an Ironman!