Monthly Archives: May 2007

BBQ at Jericho

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Smokies with Dill Pickle chips. Summer barbecues on the sideline of a beautiful sports venue like Jericho can make anything taste good. I spent the early evening hanging out with Torb and the new Illegal Smile crew. The team is an interesting motley of good people with nice relaxed family friendly vibe. After the socializing and eating, I headed to the Kit’s Community Centre for my workout then back to Jericho to pick up Torbin and Penney for the drive home.

10 min run easy
30 min gym workout
10 min stretch

First Day at Kits Pool

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Kit's PoolOn Sunday, I headed to Kits pool with my wet suit. I swam for 50 minutes. For about 20min, Andrew let me draft off his toes. It was a good swim. I am a whole new swimmer. My wet suit is so fast. I glide along like a streamlined fish. After the swim, Bronwyn and I went for a 2h15 min run from Kits pool, around Prospect Point, and back. The rain was ridiculous, and at times, even laughable. At the end of it all, we both felt very strong for conquering the elements and the big weekend of training.

Today (Tuesday), I find myself with general aches all over – but nothing in particular hurts. There’s a few new aches in my shoulders from the wetsuit swim. I’ve also got to be a bit careful because it’s easy to be grumpy from fatigue. But really, I’m feeling pretty great.

Victoria Preview

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It was a big weekend of training for me. It’s the last big build week before a key Half-Ironman distance race that I have coming up in Oliver on June 3rd. It was also the first weekend where I had the chance to get in my wet suit for a swim. I spent most of the weekend training with my friend Bronwyn.

On Saturday, we got up at 6am and rushed to the ferry to catch the 7am ferry from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay. We ate breakfast on the ferry and then rode our bikes off the ferry through Saanich around the bike course loop for the Half Iron event in Victoria. Bronwyn and I are racing this event as a relay team on June 17th (J- swim, run; B – bike).

Last year, the Victoria Half Iron was my first big race EVER and it was interesting to ride the course again. I’m way stronger this year. Last year, this Victoria ride was the biggest hardest ride I had ever contemplated. This year, it was long and tiring, but Continue reading →

Pump Carrying Thingmabob

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Just as I was thinking, “I forgot my pump, maybe I should turn around and go back” a big staple punctured my rear tire. I was too far (or too lazy – who can say?) to walk home, so I called Torb for a rescue. “Can you bring my pump?” and, “What the heck, while you’re at it, bring the floor pump.” I had just extracted the tire from the rim and the staple from the tube as my hero arrived. This afternoon, I vow to go buy a pump (or two) with a “dohickey” for attaching it to the bike frame. My previous “pump carrying thingmabob” disappeared when my commuter bike was stolen last spring. Never again will a seasoned bike traveller, like myself, head out without a pump.

morning commute
22.2km, 1h:02 + 25min to leisurely change flat
Excuse: my commuter tires have an insane bead
afternoon commute
still to come

The Right Pace

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June’s right on pace in this picture from mile 24 of the Vancouver Marathon.

Tonight’s track workout was all about pacing. We did a fast set of 200′s and then ran the rest of the workout at pace. I ended up running with Kathy and Colleen and we were consistently hitting 4:25/km pace which is 44:10 – 10km pace. We perhaps were a little fast considering my next run will be a half marathon in Oliver.

run
10min w/u
4 x 200m hard w/ 2minR
5 x 200m @ pace w/ 20sR, 3minR
2 x 500m @ pace w/30sR, 3minR
1 x 1000m @ pace
20 min w/d run

Busy Morning

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An early start this morning, as I had a bunch of things to get done before heading out. First, I baked the quiche that we’re having for dinner tonight (swiss cheese, red onion & mushrooms + chives & thyme from the garden). Next, I packed all my workout gear. Since, I haven’t unpacked anything from the weekend of racing yet, this was a bit of a chore that included assembling and cleaning my bike. I made it to the bus stop with only a few minutes to spare. Thanks to Torb, for making sure that I had a coffee in hand, and a yummy wrap for lunch.

OK, I’ve just written two posts that seem to be all about food. I think I must be hungry – time for a snack…

swim
w/u 100f, 2 x 50dr, 50k, 100f, 150p
6 x 50f w 30sR
10 x 200f w 30sR
c/d 200 mix
bike/run combo
w/u 15min bike, 5min run
3 x [3min bike, T2, 2min run] on 10min
4 x [1min hard, 1min easy bike]
c/d ride home

Farmer’s Market

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This evening I headed out to see my favorite egg lady to get free range eggs right off a little local farm. I then looped around to my farmer’s market where the local beets have just arrived. These country shopping trips are among my favorite activities. I can’t wait until we can add fresh blueberry’s to the list. With all the fresh market fare, I baked a golden vegetable crust (sweet potatoes, parsnip and carrot) for quiche, started another batch of homemade yogurt, and cooked myself up broccoli, asparagus, sweet potatoes, and a steak from the organic side of beef that we’ve got in the freezer. It will be a good week of eating, that’s for sure.

run
15 min easy, neighborhood loop
core
20 min @home

BareBones

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I just got back from the Okanagon where I raced in the BC Duathlon championships on Saturday (the BareBones Duathlon). Here’s my race report.

I had a 4 min PB. I finished in a time of 1:47:30. I was 14th female overall and 1st place in the F30-34 category. I’m a BC Champion. Smile. I have a hat to prove it.

During the race, I felt like crap, but of course I was pleased with the outcome. The problem was that I screwed up my hydration, big time. It was a hot and windy day in the dry Okanagon. I arrived at the race totally dehydrated. I didn’t have the right fluids for the race. I realized this way too late. Yes, I’m an idiot.

On the first run, I felt like heavy concrete. The whole field of racers seemed to be ahead of me. My heart rate was 10bpm higher than planned. With the pace I was running and the high HR, I could tell something was not right. From my splits below, Continue reading →

Fast Pace

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A short and sweet workout tonight at Jericho. I went out too fast – I’ll have to be more reserved and relaxed for the race on the weekend. A race plan is emerging …

run
15min w/u
3 x [3 min @ pace, 6 min easy]
10 min c/d