Spring Has Arrived! Race Season Plans Are Falling Into Place...

With the arrival of spring (I know, I know... it still may likely snow some more but let me have this day, all right?) I'm finding myself bright-eyed with anticipation of spring road races and then.... yes... it's..... TRIATHLON SEASON!!!!!

Not that I'm excited or anything...

I found myself sitting on the trainer on Sunday, looking out the window, just dying to pull Lily (my Guru) off the trainer and hit the open roads... and then it snowed... again... ah well... it shouldn't be much longer before the sunshine sticks around and although it's apparently going to be a cool spring, isn't that why we have such an array of fabulous and functional clothing and accessories?  ;)  A few more weeks and then the bike rack is going back on the Subaru and we're off - to the races!  Woo hoo!!

This spring promises to be a load of fun - with several girlfriends buying new race bikes, we are already talking about going on group rides - I can't wait!! 

I just put some of my race season together with my coach today and so far, it looks like it's going to be lots of fun this year!  I'm not going to be doing two half-ironman distance triathlons but that's fine by me... my right shoulder, although much better than it was at the end of last season, has hampered my swimming mileage so I'll just continue to rebuild slowly and keep on doing what I'm doing...


Here's my lineup for 2011 thus far (I'm SO excited!!):


Friday April 22nd - Good Friday 5k

• (I dream of pulling off a 30:00 5k - a very lofty goal for me but this year, with or without bunny ears, I will attempt to do this to the best of my ability... I mean... what's the worst that could happen - I don't WIN the race?!  ROFL!!!!!  Exactly... ;)

Sunday May 15th - Mississauga Half Marathon

• this will be my 3rd time running this event, which has a start line 800m from my front door - you have to love that!  It's a nice course, close to home and usually there are many friends and acquaintances out and about on the course (and DOGS!!!) so it's a favourite race of mine...

Saturday June 25th - Welland Sprint Tri

• no half-iron distance (this year...) but I vow to knock the socks off my race finish time from last year ;) 

Saturday September 11th - Cedar Point Half-Rev Tri

• my "A" race for the season... I still have lots of time to prepare for this one... it promises to be a fun road trip with hubby and another nice couple that we know have signed up as well so we will have some friends there :)

So... what are YOU racing this year???

Book Review - Born to Run

Have you read this book???  It's AMAZING!! I can't remember the last time I read a book that had me avidly turning the pages, dying for more... diverting my attention to the internet to do some extra curricular research on the various people mentioned within those pages, smiling, laughing and even crying as I read!

The book is really well-written and talks about elite ultra runners, tribal runners, running legends... the beauty of the human spirit and the fact that anthropologically, we were 'born to run'.

After reading all about strengthening feet (I'm a yogini with a PASSION for feet - just ask my students!!) and various footwear and their relative attributes - for good or evil... I've now got this hugely renewed desire to RUN... fast... slow... uphill... tempo... in rain, sleet or snow... as long as I'm RUNNING...

You know where this is going, folks... I WANT TO RUN AN ULTRA!!!!!   OMG - how much fun would that be?!! 

In case you didn't figure it out, I have OCD... welcome to life with someone who takes in everything exciting in great gulps of delight, wanting more, more, more... usually immediately ;)

Obviously I am not ready for this... yet... at least not while my training is geared towards triathlon (I'm a TRYathlete, you know!) but someday... when I have greater endurance and stamina... I really want to do one... somewhere really cool - like in the mountains or somewhere... I've been checking out some of the really neat-sounding races all over North America - my friend, Tina the Trail Queen is going to be SO excited that I'M so excited... because, like me, she's an Aquarian and has a good deal of OCD herself when it comes to things she's passionate about. 

So anyway, I guess this wasn't much of a book review, per se but the experience of reading this book has done SO much in terms of revving me up, renewing my desire to become a more efficient and gentler runner and ENJOY THE JOURNEY without so much fixation on the destination. 

Once again - another yogic lesson :)  See?  They're everywhere!  That's the beauty of universal truths...

Anyone else done one of these or want to??  I want to hear your story!

- Sue