Summer is Here!!

SWIM:

'Everyone into the pew-ellll....' or lake, as the case may be!  I swam in the lake at Kelso (for the first time this year) yesterday morning and could not have asked for a better reintroduction to open water!  Usually, I get in, make a face, start freezing to death, get nervous, get water on my face, get even more nervous and promptly have an asthma attack as I start to swim in the icy depths... yesterday none of that happened!

It was an incredibly beautiful weekend and the water at Kelso (on the side of the boat launch - not the public beach) was just lovely!  True, you can't see anything in that body of water but it is pool-water warm and tastes great in the mouth (unlike pool chlorine and bromine).

I splashed about for a short while, to the rock wall and back, as I watched, mesmerized, as the other athletes swam around the lake... I asked one of the lifeguards how far it was and he guessed it was about 1.5-2 km.... OMG - that's what I have to swim at Timberman!!  Funny how things change... in the pool 2000m doesn't seem that bad anymore but outside... it looks HUGE!! Luckily, as I look ahead in my training schedule, JJ has me scheduled to gradually increase my time spent swimming in the lake...

Oh - and the raving lunatic inside my head?  She was QUIET the whole time!  :)

It's going to be a great summer of swimming outside - I can just feel it!


BIKE:

You know, some people just shouldn't be allowed to ride expensive, beautiful bikes... I am one of them... clumsy and awkward on a bike... ugh... I try and try not to feel nervous and create tension in my body but... I'm a KLUTZ! 

I went out for my first outdoor ride on the long weekend and this weekend, continued to build some time in the saddle.   I missed my riding group by 5 minutes so it was a solo ride - which I don't mind because klutz that I am, I'm terrified of taking out another cyclist at a stop sign...

The weather was hot at 9am and off I went.  Great thing I have the Garmin Edge 705... it slices, it dices... it calculates altitude, descent, speed, cadence, heart rate, calories, power wattage - to name a few... oh - and of course - it has a GPS and map feature... which I apparently don't know how to use properly... so I have this expensive 'speedometer' on my bike... I'd like to say I'll take some time this week to read the instruction manual but it's kind of large...

I followed a route that I hoped I could follow back to my car because I did not have 3 hours to be lost on a bike... other appointments...   It turned out to be a great route!  I found my first 'fast' descent of the season and didn't freak out.  Whew.  Then, of course, that same lovely descent became my first 'hard' climb of the season on the way back.  I stayed in my saddle, hung on hoping to hell I would not tip the bike over on the way up and after what seemed like a long time (I'm sure it was not - it was a little hill!!) arrived at the top, heart pounding and looking forward to an easy spinout for my legs...

At this point, I considered consulting my GPS, map-equipped bike toy to plot an alternate route back to the car... I looked down to see a nice yellow background on a map, with a small red line that said 'Credit River' ... that was IT.  Wow!  So helpful!!!!  LOL!  Needless to say, I retraced my steps (or pedal strokes...) instead of venturing off.

I was feeling pretty darn good when I hit the turnaround point and thought to myself "I will just unclip my right foot and turn the bike around and off I go..." - you know what happened next:  BANG!  My left foot stayed clipped in the whole time.  I had to take my shoe off... "Quick release" my a$$....   bike was okay... I was sore... oh well... almost time to quit anyway... rode back, freshly mown grass blowing into my face (I am allergic to everything in nature...) and finished up my workout.

Yesterday's ride was even hotter... my legs didn't seem to have much spring in them compared with the day before... hitting 90-95 rpm was difficult...  all still seemed to be going fairly well, aside from the wheezing in the heat... came to a stop sign - unclipped in plenty of time... and BANG!  Down I went (again?!) - man, that one hurt -- left foot still safely clipped in... bike overhead and handlebars jammed into my chest... nice... the nice people in the pickup truck stopped and asked if I was okay...

Dusted myself off and kept going... decided that 'any idiot on a bike can do a turnaround into the other lane to turn around and keep going... stop being a wuss and practice!!'  You would think by now I would know how to do this but each time I try, I fail... miserably.  I'm just too nervous I guess... I summoned courage, pulled out a teensy bit to give myself a wider turning radius - and saw a HUGE truck bearing down on me... BANG!!!  So much for cat-like reflexes... this time BOTH feet were stuck and I couldn't go anywhere but down.  This time the truck stopped as well as another passerby to make sure I was okay... 'yes, thank you'...

So... it's really great that I have this terrific, beautiful, built-just-for-me custom Guru but honestly I'm too much of a twit to ride this bike... I'm terrified of breaking her... or my arm... as I land on it - or my hip - for the hundredth time... the lunatic is positive that I will crash and burn at Timberman on the bike course... I can't climb... I can't go fast... my bike handling skills suck... I can't even control my own feet!  Please, Lord, I need the courage to continue this quest for athleticism and muzzle her or at least prove her wrong!!


RUN:

It's hot out there and it's allergy season (with a vengeance).  Other than that - running is going well!  (I know... what, no 20 minute tirade on the run training..??) LOL!!

Get out there, gang!  It's gonna be a beautiful summer!!!!

Mississauga Half Marathon - A Huge Success!

What a perfect day for a long run it was yesterday!  Sunny, warm, a bit of a breeze and just a gorgeous day all-around!

I was somewhat surprised at the amount of clothing that many of the runners had on in the morning... it was about 11 degrees celsius at race start... hope no one overheated!  I dressed appropriately in far less than I would usually wear (imagine my surprise that I got it right!? - LOL)

The first 3-4 km was rife with negative self-talk that I couldn't make stop... highly annoying, since it was drowning out my playlist!!  Damn that pessimistic woman in my brain!!

I saw some friends near the start, some of whom were ready to run their first FULL marathon - I was so excited for Sandra, in particular... remembering December 2007 when we almost tied for last place at a local 10.8km race!  Look at her now!  Go, Sandra, go!! 

I just settled in and trundled along... looking for dogs... debating in my head whether I needed or 'should' stop for a potty break each time I saw an opportunity...and mentally 'racing' the race walker I kept running into... I finally introduced myself to her (Janet) and was able to pace myself off her for most of the race... I cannot imagine walking as fast as my run pace... pretty cool!

The kilometer markers seemed to fly by yesterday... last time I ran Mississauga, I remember seeing 7km and thinking:  oh my god... how much longer will this take?? 

My mental outlook improved hugely when I hit the 10km mark at a record-breaking (my records may not be hard for most people to break.. by the way...but it's all about personal bests...) 1:10!!  Wow!  I had shaved a good 5-8 minutes off my typical 10km time!  That was encouraging!!!  At that point, I promised myself that no matter what my finish time was, I'd just run my fastest 10km ever and would celebrate that, regardless.

There weren't as many dogs along the course but I made friends with a lovely chocolate lab puppy named Madison, whom I stopped to hug and pet twice :) Her 'mummy' was very encouraging too! :)

It was wonderful to see spectators, outside, waving and cheering... and for once, each time I saw a race photographer, I didn't have to worry about 'putting on a happy face' because I actually felt strong and happy throughout!  Here's hoping at least one of those shots is a 'keeper'... I have a scrapbook to maintain... :)


The course was changed this year and needless to say, I'd been completely oblivious to that fact till I realized I had NO IDEA where the FINISH line was...  my Garmin died ('memory full') about 1km from the finish line so that was no help at all... "Who moved the finish line?" was foremost in my mind!!

Finally... the finish line popped out of nowhere and before I knew it, I was sprinting through the the chute... woo hoo!  I ran a 2:29 (that's about 20-25 minutes faster than my best prior half marathon) and I didn't feel the least bit broken afterwards!

Post-race, I was met by two of the most wonderful women I know:  Betty-Lou and Janette (who not only are fabulous longtime runners and friends but recently joined my Yoga for Athletes and I'm so glad I've had an opportunity to get to know them!) who passed me water as we sat on the grass before waiting for the shuttle back to the start line.  A large lunch followed and then a bubble bath and a 3.5 hour nap for me... It was a PERFECT DAY!

Lessons Learned:

1. I can muzzle that stupid voice that lives inside my brain - I am not a loser... I can do a lot more than I give myself credit for
2. Learning to drink Gatorade in training was a big help and it was a very welcome sight on the course when I got overheated and knew sodium deficit was the most likely culprit
3. Consistency in training pays off in HUGE dividends!  I know that most of you already know this... but I have to keep reminding myself!

The most surprising part of the day for me (apparently Eric already believed I would do this yesterday...) was that my 'Dream Goal' of running a 2:30 half-marathon was achieved! 'Already??!' is what that lunatic inside keeps asking...yes, apparently, already... now what??


'Now what?' indeed... in 6 weeks I will do my first triathlon of the season at Welland.

But first... I have to don my new 2XU wetsuit and plunge myself into (what I anticipate being) freezing cold Lake Kelso on Saturday morning and fight off the mental panic and asthma attack that usually paralyze me at the start of an open water swim in early season...   Maybe I'll wear my goldfish swim cap for good luck...

Congratulations to all of the runners & walkers at the Mississauga Marathon 2010 -- each of us stepped up to the challenge and did something great!