dreaming over the ocean

so, it is almost tomorrow, and I am still awake. I have a lecture in the morn, at 8:30, and I am still working on the slides. ooooops. Apparently, I still have been tired. but, at least I have a wide open afternoon, that can allow me to workout in the afternoon, and evening, instead of the morning and afternoon. I had a great meeting tonight with my coach, after the team "webinar." kinda crazy to think that there was 20 other people "in attendance." Anyway, we talked about testing, and bike commuting, and swimming, and run form, and race schedule and nursing and nutrition. right. and race schedule. so, here is what we have come up with :) kinda exciting to have this a bit more solidly planned!!!! woohoo! 18 April: Montreal scotiabank ½ marathon May 10 th : chambly duathlon June 6 th : Mooseman70.3 June 19 th : mayor’s 1/2 marathon. July 11 th : graham Beasley olympic Tri (Carleton place, ottawa) August 8 th : Ste-Agathe Olympic Tri September...

so, what a weekend. it was really my first weekend in a long time (at least all of march!) where I have not spent the entire time stressing out about school work. What a relief. I was able to spend time with friends, I was able to laugh. I was able to race. I was able to go to palm sunday service. i was able to not think about school for a while (right now, though, I am back at it.) Let's talk a little about what was going on. Friday night started with not one, but 2 birthday parties. first it was louis-andre , at Hurley's pub. Louis, and Steph are two of the UdM rowers. And they are fantastic, and It was sooo enjoyable to have see them, since I haven't been able to coach for the last month. Second, it was my favourite man nurse, Will. Will takes fantastic photographs, but, I am not so sure I look great in this. However, here we are. Happy birthday Will. I am glad you are in my life! Then came saturday. All I did on saturday was sleep in until 11:30 (what are yo...

so, i really like this HR graph. you can clearly see when I start running up that hill. yup. legs are feeling it.

SO, this morning, I was out for an endurance run. In the rain, and just above freezing. It was one of those runs where you think "if it is like this on race day, i will be trained. repeat to self. if it is like this on race day, I will be prepared. oh.... what the hell! it is not going to be like this on race day! what am I doing out here?" it was dark. cold. my feet were wet. and, the only thing that seemingly got me through it was the fact that misery loves company. there were other runners out this morning. at least I am not the only crazy one. it brought great comfort to see others out there, doing the things that we love to do. to have the chance to do the things we love to do. I have been a little stressed out, and very tired in the last days. I had no weekend. I have papers to write, and lectures to give, and labs to teach, and deadlines to achieve. right. that deadline. when I run, I think. Unlike when I am on the bike, or when I am swimming. Running,...

So, at about this time, last week, when I got my training schedule, I looked and got excited. Since I started working with Mary, i started with a nice easy 5-6 hrs a week. it then jumped to about 9, and then for two weeks, I have had 12 hr training weeks planned. The first one, I was a sick dog. so, it was hit and miss... this week, though... nailed it. some of the changes that have taken place: last saturday I did my first brick workout. 2hrs bike. 30 min run. and, despite the fact that it was raining ice, the whole workout felt amazing. totally one of those "let's get psyched!" workouts. this week, I discovered a 2.50$ yoga class at mcgill, that actually fits into my schedule. and, then I got the whole "oh yeah! go for yoga! it counts as functional training!" And, it reminded me of how much "progressive overload" is good for you. The whole thing about moving your body in new ways, is that it places a stress on it, and it has to accommodat...

i would just like to mention... only 11 weeks and 3 days until 1/2 ironman .... REALLY?!?!?!?! so exciting!!!!! I know for some people it might seem that is a long time. but really. with the speed that these days and weeks are going... it is going to be a flash of time. Here are a few mappy maps!!!! Just so that *you too* can get excited.

... where you just kinda finish off the day feeling such a smorgasborg of thoughts and emotions. not so much conflict, just enough thoughts to barely keep up with them. ... where at the end of the day, you can barely keep your eyes open. ... where you wonder how it is possible that 16.5 hrs can pass so quickly. ... when you think about people in your life that you wish were around more often, but they are not. ... when you wish that you could just sleep in longer tomorrow, but know that there is so much to do! ... when you write your professor, and ask for a day's extension. ... when you get 10 billion messages in your inbox. ... when you try to figure out what goes wrong, how to make things right, and everything in between. ... when you get a 9.5/10 on a lab report :) ... where the workouts are nailed, and you are excited about where your training is right now. just one of those days. and, maybe because i am so exhausted right now, but, i guess that it is days like this, where ...

Recently have discovered Craig Cardiff . Great musician, and great lyrics. And I met God On the edge of town Where the wind meets the stillness The darkness meets the light Where the ocean reaches up to the sky The desert meets the rain But the earth meets the heavens I met God

that has been the theme this week with my work outs: does the guilt of missing a workout overpower the feeling like crap my body is sensing, or, does the feeling like canned crap overpower the guilt of missing a workout? I have been sick this week. it started on sunday, and today is the first day that i can actually say "i feel better." Yesterday consisted of a lot of jammie time, a lot of bed time, and some movie watching time. Days like that, does the body good. but, like I said, when the body is sick, every single athlete goes through the questioning of "Am i too sick?? Is missing this workout going to be a benefit, or a loss?" and, there is always the tried and true " is your sickness above or below the shoulders?" line to say a yes or no to a work out. but, I struggled with that a lot this week, because, recently it has seemed like there has been a lack of consistency with my week-to-week programming, in my mind. and, as soon as I am gett...

so, apparently, some sort of bug has taken up residence in my Upper Respiratory tract. at first, I thought strep throat. Now, i just think URT infection. but, either way: not fun. especially not this week. ugh. one thing i can say that I know... running makes you hack lots of things up when you are sick. and, despite the coughing not feeling good, it clears things out a bit!!!! :) can't wait for friday to be here.

so, sometimes i like to eat pancakes. but, since I am trying to stay "in the core" which means no grains outside of a workout window, you have to accomodate how you make your pancakes. so, try this: handful of almonds some flax seeds. 2 eggs. milk (i used vanilla almond milk this morning) berries Cinnamon grind up the almonds and flax seed into a fairly fine powder (my coffee grinder does not serve as coffee grinder all the time, i grind things like this in it all the time!!!). Beat eggs and some milk into a bowl, and add the powder. Add more milk, or water into the mix if you don't like your pancakes thick. Whip it up real well. add some berries in (i used blueberries this morning!) cook on both sides (slightly above medium heat) until sides are hard. unlike normal pancakes where you will normally have lots of bubbles coming through, there will not be too many here. Just be aware so you don't burn! top with cinnamon, and enjoy! top with what you like! I coup...

Preparing for the busiest week of the semester! friday, in all aspects, was a good day: fantastic day at clinical, followed by a bit of time at the athletic centre for some "functional training" and a swim, where i was sharing a lane with some super fast graduate students, who proceeded to include me in their workout and subsequently kick my ass. good times :) then, since i was ravenous, i went to a friend's to cook myself some dinner: sauteed portobellos with a bit of mozza on top of a veggie paddy, brussel sprouts, a wee piece of trout, and glass of red wine+spending quality time with a friend=fantastic. but, all in all, the 3 assignments, presentation, mid-term and the start for the lab in the class that i am TA'ing (oh, the joys of graduate school!) that I have next week are keeping me busy today and tomorrow, that is for sure. ughghghgh. had a long run this morning. felt great to be in the sun to start the weekend off. random point of the week: on my thursda...

remember what it is like to ride your bike outside?!? cause, I was almost forgetting. Yesterday, I had the great opportunity to get onto my bike at about 5:30 in the evening, and bomb around town with a new friend. it was soooooo enjoyable, but also sooooooo cold. I mis-interpreted how cold it would be. but. frigid. not quite spring time yet. but, also not quite winter anymore, either. strange place to be. but, it was so amazing to ride and feel my bike move, and have the alternating power needs, and having to be aware of traffic, and biking beside someone and having a conversation, and exploring new places in the city that I have never been too. those are the types of things i love. and those are the types of things that make me long for the summer, when I am able to ride outside all the time. sigh. i understand what people mean when they say montreal has long winters. and, this is long, even though it has not been a harsh winter. it has been quite mild, and yet... i long f...

so, i like this template. a lot. but, it is strange to figure out how to make it work. there are some bits that I don't like. but, what do you think!?!? Fundraising for Team in training is going slow. Please donate. anything over 10$ gets you a tax-receipt. Please click on the links to the right hand side for both a blog about our training, and for my donation page. running this morning was on ice. THis was me, less than a week ago. I know that the crux of winter is January, and Feburary. However, i want the ice on the trails to melt faster. I want to race sooner. I want to ride my bike outside without the fear of the road salt eating my components into a rusty nasty mess. sigh. post holiday blues?