Birthday Weekend - July 28-29

Why is it everyone goes on holiday during my birthday? Luckily Michelle came through once again and the two of us headed to Pinery at Grand Bend for a weekend of camping. We took our bikes with us but they didn't leave the rack all weekend. :( Michelle was nursing a bug and I had to do a couple of runs to keep up with my Half Marathon training. Saturday was only a 4K but on Sunday I ran 15K over two hours. The campground was so huge that I didn't cover a fraction of it over that time!

The weather was fantastic and the natural beauty of the park was wonderful. We had some beach time both days - my first this summer! I even had time to finish reading Harry Potter. Overindulged in snacks and ice cream cake so now am on the straight and narrow as I head into a race this weekend. I'm doing Belwood on Sunday. I'm a bit concerned over its longer length but know that I will persever. 'til next time!

Blue Mountain - July 21-22

Another race-free weekend. I could get used to this! I spent this weekend at my place at Blue Mountain with my friend Michelle and her sister-in-law Chantal. On Friday night Michelle and I disappointed Chan by heading back to the condo after only a couple of drinks at Windy O’Neils, choosing an early night in order to get some rest for our ride the next day. Saturday morning we took out our mountain bikes and covered the Georgian Trail from Blue Mountain to Meaford and back. It was fun to be back on my mountain bike. Though it is very old it is still functioning well and is oh, so much more comfortable than my road bike. The ride ended up being 63 km. I felt great throughout. Chan impressed me with her ride out as she hadn’t biked much this season. She did pay for it on the way back though as she dropped further and further behind. On the one 500 m section of what could be termed single track on the whole ride, Michelle elected to sacrifice herself rather than a couple of seniors on a corner so had some battle scars – skin loss on her arm and cool bruises on her hip/thigh – to prove her mountain bike riding cred the rest of the weekend.

The next day Chan opted out of the training run I had planned so Michelle and I dragged ourselves away from the mountain stage of the Tour de France for a 14K run. (OK, Michelle dragged me kicking and screaming away from the TV I was hugging.) We did the other part of the Georgian Trail heading towards Collingwood this time. The run went by so much faster having someone with me. Post-run Michelle dove right into the swimming pool only stopping to take off her running shoes. I took a little more time getting there only because I needed to gulp down another litre of water first! The rest of the day was spent relaxing and hobbling around the village feeling good about the weekend’s efforts.

Training weekend - July 14-15

Not much to report. On Saturday I rode in St. Jacob’s. Not a great ride as the area reeked of manure and a red minivan decided to use me as target practice in an intersection after I signaled my turn perfectly clearly. Crazy-ass minivan drivers! The awesome farmers’ market was the only thing that salvaged the day.

Sunday was better. I didn’t leave home as early as anticipated as the Tour de France Alp stage was wicked! Once I did, I headed to Hilton Falls for some trail running. I LOVE trail running! The time just flies by as I maneuver myself up and down hills, across rocks, and over roots. I did a 9.5k trail followed by a 4K trail. In the end I ran almost two hours. I skipped my swim as I needed some chill time after the run more badly.

I’ve decided to register for Belwood on the August long weekend as it will be good to do a race in between the short sprint and Olympic distances before my Olympic race in Manitoba in August. I’ve only done Belwood once before and it was an interesting day as the swim headed off into a dense fog and I did the ride on my road bike for the first time. Other than the swim I had a pretty good time so it may be a challenge to get a PB. Something to strive towards!

Peterborough Sprint - July 8, 2007

Photos above: Me “relaxing” after the race. Michelle doing her strip-tease act in the transition area post-race. For the first time this season my friend Michelle and I competed in the same race so I lost my official race photographer and had to settle for post-race photos for my blog.

Michelle kicked some serious butt in the race coming in at 15th in her category of 38! She scored 10th in the bike, averaging over 30 km/hour! Unfortunately Michelle was also the biggest bad-ass in the group of over 400 and ended up getting disqualified after the race for having “words” with a race official. Michelle assures her fans that the race official was being unreasonable.

As for my race, I didn’t have a great feeling about it from the beginning. My allergies were really acting up this last week and I was woken on Sunday morning by Michelle’s Blackberry alarm going of at 5:00 am and could not get back to sleep. In transition before the race I was accidentally smacked in the face by male athlete warming up doing shoulder rolls. Not a great omen.

The siren goes off. I dolphin dive a few times into the lake. I feel like a goldfish in a goldfish pond competing for food thrown in by a tourist. The water is thick with bodies and I can’t find my spot. I keep getting my legs pushed down which is throwing me off. I concentrate solely on my breathing, getting it under control. The whole swim continues in this vein, fighting other swimmers off, avoiding flailing legs and arms. Two women in my age group block me doing an assortment of strokes – sidestroke, breaststroke, freestyle – the whole race. I am determined to beat them. One gets out of the water right before me. I run as fast as I can to get past her into transition. Score! I know I have beat at least two people in my age group in the swim. (After checking results, I find I actually beat four – making the swim the strongest part of my event.) Swim: 21:17

It was raining when we started the swim but it is now bright and sunny. Like Muskoka, I have to change back my sunglasses lens to something darker for the bike. T1: 2:47

I couldn’t warm up the bike as the fight for transition spots was fierce in the morning and I didn’t want to risk losing my spot by unracking my bike. I run past five people out of transition and get on to find that my guess as to the right gear to start was correct. The bike is a series of short and steep hills. I am working hard and breathing hard yet I can’t seem to go as fast as Guelph. I am trying to be as aero as possible as there is a strong wind. I gear change too quickly as I fly down one hill and dump my chain. A horrible place to do it as I now have to stop at the bottom of the next steep hill to put it back on. Two runners happen to be there and assist me in getting it into the right gear for the hill. One even pushes me to get me started on the hill. I don’t even think at the time that I should not be accepting aid. I’m just so grateful for the help. Don’t tell the OAT officials or Michelle won’t be the only one DQ’d! Bike: 49:24 T2: 2:15

I run out from transition and then stop dead in my tracks. I don’t know which way to go! They changed the course since the previous year. Luckily someone sees my dilemma and tells me. The run course is now through the park instead of through town. It’s a lot of grass running which is slower than concrete but I don’t mind as it is also a lot cooler. I am not terribly motivated because I know that even with a PB run I can no longer get a PB on the race because of my swim and bike times. I still run as best as I can only taking one 30 second walk break. I experience some cramping but nothing like the stitches I usually get. I try to really push it the last couple of km’s thinking the faster I race, the faster it will be over! In the end I come within hundredths of a second of my run PB. Run: 36:28 Total time: 1:52:09

Next up: I’ve registered for the Olympic distance of the Riding Mountain Tri at the cottage in Manitoba on August 18. I may do Belwood on the August long weekend as its distance is halfway between the Sprints I have been doing this season and the Olympic. Stay tuned…

Canada Day (training) weekend

Photos above: Me getting mauled by a black bear at Santa's Village and Deborah annihilating me at mini-putt.

No races this weekend. Took the opportunity to do a few day trips and get some training in. Friday: Left work early afternoon and headed to Lake Kelso for a 30K bike ride and 30 minute swim. Made it up the evil 6th line hill. A very scenic ride that is brutal outbound and oh so short and sweet on return.

Saturday: Got in a 12K run on the Beltline before meeting Deborah and driving to Niagara. While Deborah wandered around NOTL I got in a short fun 20K bike ride on the paved trails. Some silly pedestrians but not as much bike traffic as expected. I wish my competition was as slow as these people on bikes.

Sunday: Did a hill training run in the morning. Flew up the hills in Mount Pleasant cemetary. Unbelievable. Could I be improving at hills? Probably just the cool, temperate weather. Later picked up Deborah and headed to Muskoka for Canada Day which is where the photos above were taken.

Monday: Time for one more serious training day. To Guelph Lake for a 40K bike ride. Love the countryside there for cycling. Good roads. Very little traffic. Other cyclists around. Some challenging hills but nothing too killer. Afterwards got in a 35 minute swim.

Next race: Peterborough on Sunday! I love that race. I tend to do well there. Usually I'm inspired by the Tour de France by that point but as it only starts Saturday I can't rely on that as motivation. My goal: 1:50 which is better than the last two years but not quite as good as my PB of 1:47:57. Stay tuned...