Hawaii and Recovery time....

I have decided to give myself a "maintenance" program since I am not too sure what is in the cards as far as racing and training go.........Kelvin laughs a my "maintenance" program though because it is very close to his full on training schedule. What can I say???? I am used to doing workouts 6 days a week. I look at it like a break. The workouts are a lot shorter than they have been over the past six months for the most part. They keep me sane and make me feel better overall. I like knowing that I have burned some good calories and can have a treat here and there. I have been better with treats.....a little better anyways. I think the hormones are starting to become normalized too. What a relief.....

As for Hawaii, a nice last minute vacation planned with my mom. I think this will be a great oppotunity to recover, rest, relax and refocus. I do wish that my husband was coming too.....I will be lonely without him. I feel very lucky that he was so supportive about me going on vacation with my mom. Waikiki might be busy, but this will be a nice time to get away.

Then back to training.......maintenance program training......

out of control.....

Let me just say that after being on the pill for so long I think that your body forgets how to handle it's own hormones......I am not enjoying this change and not loving the feeling that I have no control. No control over moods, no control over eating and NO control over getting pregnant. Being a Type A, scheduled individual, this is a change that is taking a toll.
I am breaking out like a 16 year old again, I have cravings for sugar even worse than before, my weight has increased more than I would like to admit (I have had a 3% body fat increase in less than 8 weeks!!!!! and I still did a marathon in that time!!!!!). I get it, I am not training to the level that I was for Ironman and my food intake has not changed either, infact the sugar intake has likely gone up, so really it is my own doing. My percentage is still relatively low (17%) and people have been saying to me "your healthy now", I hate that. I hate the term "healthy", to me that means "heavier" or "plump". I know that this is not what I am, but that is how it makes me feel when I hear those terms.
I feel frustrated with not knowing when "things" are going to connect properly so I can plan the next event in life and start shopping for the cute little things....I don't know if I should continue to train, how hard to train, will it affect getting pregnant????, should I sign up for any races and make the decision later if I am able to race or not???
Ohhhhh the joys of change......writing on this blog sure does get personal......
I feel I may be sharing too much, but I am sure I am not the only person who has felt this way....am I???

Okay, let's try to focus a little on the positive's:
My dear husband has been very tolerant of my moods and the changes that have been taking place. I am very lucky for all of his support.
I have a fantastic clientelle at work and great athletes that I am coaching.
I am loving our new house!
As always, I have some very supportive friends that have helped through this journey...and many others.

Sometimes it is hard to see the positives in life when we get carried away in the negatives. I really am very lucky and know that my time will come for having a little one. I do always feel that things happen for a reason, and life hands you new challenges when you are ready to take them on......good and bad.

So, here is to making an attempt at taking control....of the hormones and eating at least:)

BQ'd!!!

To give a post race update I have included a post race report. I think that this sums it up. I am now on day one of rest and hoping that I get my legs back soon!


"Post Race Report – Arizona Rock and Roll Marathon

I had altered my mantra coming into this race to “wing it” which I would add onto my treasured mantra of “I finish what I start and I finish strong”. Training had changed about 3 weeks ago when I strained my foot. In the last 3 weeks I have spent a total of 45 minutes running, a total of 1 swim, and some intense cross training on the bike. My hopes for getting a Boston qualifying time was dwindled down to almost nothing. I was ready to accept this. I mean really, if I look back on my past year of racing, I have accomplished a lot. Two ironmans in less than 3 months, along with other running races and triathlons since March, all of which I was hitting PB’s on. I had had a great year.
Don’t get me wrong, I really still wanted to run, not just for myself but for my sister. This was her first marathon, the one which we had been planning on racing together. I wanted to pace her and be sure she crossed the line in the time that she needed to qualify too. So with a foot injury leading up to the race, the plans had changed. We talked about race pacing, nutrition, hydration and I also made it clear, if I was struggling and she was feeling good that she was to continue on without me. I had no doubt that she could do the race, but felt that she might need someone to rein her pace in a little at the start, well the first 20 miles really.
The day before the race we went out for a short run with a couple of race pace pickups. My foot was still sore, but it did not get any worse. I made the final call that I would race and “wing it”. We spent the rest of the day shopping around the mall (trying to not spend too much time on our feet), went to the matinee Avatar and then finished our day at PF Chang’s for dinner. I had continued to stretch, ice, and taped my foot.
The night before the race I slept terrible. I am not even sure if I slept. I heard every movement, each time Lara or Kelvin would turn over in bed, I heard it. I heard the air conditioner kick in every 20 minutes and my mind continued to race with thoughts. Thoughts about the race, what could go right, what could go wrong?
We woke up at 4 am. Washed, dressed, stretched, rolled out the legs, HR monitor on, and out the door for breakfast. The usual was consumed: granola, yogurt and tea. I took a banana to the start line which we arrived at after taking the shuttle from the finish line. It really sinks in how long the race is when you drive from the finish line to the start line and it takes almost 40 minutes!! The morning was COLD, colder than I was expecting, not Calgary COLD though. We waited forever, and I think I visited the port o’ potties about 10 times. I could feel my foot as we stood around waiting for the start. This worried me; I was not sure how this day would unfold. I made the call to take one 200mg Advil.
At 7:40 the race started. We lined up beside the 3:40 pacer knowing that this is what the goal was going to be. As we started the pace felt easy, relaxed really. It was nice. He might have been a little slow at the start, but it was good. The crowd seemed to grow around him and we felt restricted so we made the call to pull ahead a little where there was more room. We ended up beside Ed, the man that would become my new best friend for the day. Ed decided that he was good running with us at our pace. He was there for a training run for a 50 miler he has coming up!! An easy day for him, a work day for us. As we continued I was starting to feel tired and we weren’t that far into the race. I did not want to say anything so I kept trucking along. I was still keeping a conversational pace with Ed and Lara, but had started to notice my IT band and my left knee. As we ran I did some self trigger point release of the gluts both to release and activate the muscle. Things started to feel better. Initially we had planned on taking a walk break every 20 minutes; in the end we took our first walk break well over 1 hour. We decided that we would walk every 2nd aid station from there on out. When we hit mile 13 we were 3 minutes ahead of schedule and pacing was going well. I was still feeling like this was tougher that it should be but persevered on. Lara needed a “pottie” break so we made a quick stop and then caught up to our friend Ed again. I had to take one more Advil, not for the foot but for the knee. I started doing the countdown at each mile marker and repeated to myself “I can do 13......I can do 12.......I can do 11.....” The foot was feeling pretty good, the legs were tired. I kept telling myself that “I have done Ironman, I can do a marathon”. My mantra had now changed again to “No longer winging it, I am doing it!”
We hit mile 21, only 5.2 miles left to go. I knew we were going to make it. I also knew that Lara had more in the tank than I did. As she took off I was happy for her, excited really. I thought, I helped get her here, I helped her do this. I was so proud of her and she was loving it! My pace slowed slightly, I told Ed that he was going to have to tell me to suck it up. (He was kind enough to stay with me and pace me in). At mile 25 he looked at me and said “Did you tell me you beat me at Ironman and this is all you have left?????” (Keep in mind his Ironman was a few years ago and mine was only 8 weeks.......) Still, I had to suck it up, only 1.2 miles to go. We picked up the pace and made it to the finish. A Boston Qualifying time had been achieved!! Lara had come in about 1:45 ahead of me, she was thrilled! Ed had helped me get there, 3:37:24, Boston 2011 here I come.
I looked over and there was Kelvin, tears of joy in his eyes. He was so proud of both of us. He too had just gotten a PB as well in the half marathon!! What a fantastic way to top the day!

(Disclosure: I do not advocate taking NSAID’s during training if you are injured. I also would recommend avoiding it during races if possible as there are known side effects especially in longer events. Take at your own discretion or under the advice of a doctor/ pharmacist.) "

Winging It....

Not really the title of a post you want to use going into a marathon the following day.....
I thought when I signed up for this run that I would still feel pretty confident going into it. I new the timing was tight after Ironman number 2 all of 8 weeks ago, but I still felt that Ironman training would carry me through. I would take a little rest time and get right back out there.

Life does not always go as planned. Besides feeling like I have packed on the pounds after the holidays, I seem to have managed to sustain an injury. Dam foot! I have been great with rest, running all of 45 minutes total over the last 2.5 weeks, still managing to bike pretty intensely and even getting a (that's right 1) swim in. The one great thing of triathlon training is the ability to cross train and always having another option getting in a workout when one or your "wheels is broken".

So in the end, going into this race I feel less than confident. I guess that is why I have changed my game plan and focus going into it. My mantra for this one "wing it". I feel I have done races that are much longer that have challenged me to great lengths, so therefore I will get through this one. Even if it does not go as planned, I will "wing it". Not that I am tossing my favourite mantra that has got me across the finish line more than once; "I finish what I start and I finish strong", I am just adding "wing it". I guess we will see what the day has in store and if this "broken wheel" of mine will still get me through the race and across the finish line. Iced, taped, stretched and given a ton of TLC......ready to go!

On to month 2....will this be the month??

Of course being the holiday season I have to admit that I was hoping for a "baby" gift....I was hoping things would just happen, FAST. Then came Aunt Flow, the red curse, the (.). Then the tears and reality started to set in that this may take time.
Now that I have done some reading, I realize how much of a miracle this really is. The statistical average for my age is 7-10 months of trying!!!!! I am not too sure how I feel about this?? Is knowing too much worse than not knowing anything at all?? Once I started reading more I felt like I did not know a thing. Did we not get taught any of this in sex ed?? Who knew that temperatures, fluids and position could mean so much! I don't know if I want to know so much about fluids......
I guess is it all about trying, learning the timing, the cycle and signs of ovulation. Right now I don't even know if I am ovulating??? I guess I will find out soon enough.
As for training, well I am trying to stay motivated and still have the marathon in 10 days from now. If only I didn't have a sore foot.......I will run this run though. I will do my best to qualify for Boston. Not quite the way you want to go into a marathon, let alone one you want to PB at with my sister. I am needing the workouts, like my dear friend Rena, I too am feeling like I ate too much. I did get on the scale though and have the additional pounds to show for it......not something to be proud of. I guess if I was pregnant I would feel a little better about it. My eating has just become a habit of poor nutrtion right now. Time to get back on track!

Happy New Year!

How much is too much to share in my first post???

Being new to the blogger world I am not too sure where I should draw the line on what information to add. The one thing that I have enjoyed when reading other blogs is the ability to share, vent and be honest.

It is only two weeks to the day since I have completed Ironman Arizona a mere 12 weeks after racing Ironman Canada. I have been training for triathlons for almost 2 years straight and am afraid I am going to get lost in what I am supposed to do if the time comes when I am not able to train....at least not as hard. I guess my blog site title gives it away that Kelvin and I are looking at taking the next big step in our lives, a family. I am very excited about this and feel more ready now than I was after IMC (hence the reason I signed up for IMAz). I am scared for the change, excited for the change, nervous, and happy. I am worried that it might take a while, which I think for anyone who likes to train hard it might be difficult to back off for the time needed. I am hoping it will happen right away, but at the same time I am signed up for the Arizona Rock and Roll Marathon on January 17th, 2009 which I will be running with my sister (and was hoping my friend Rena would be able to join us too), so if it happens right after the race I guess that would be ideal.

There is also the fear of weight gain. I have worked hard to be at the weight that I am at. Well, at least the 6-7 hour workouts have balanced out my sugar intake........This will be a tough change.

I guess now it is the waiting game....... I also have to learn a little more on how much I will be able to workout if/when pregnant.