Monday, December 31, 2007

how wrinkley can your skin get?

tomorrow, a select group of my (craziest) friends and i are attempting the epic and infamous "100 x 100".
the 10 km swim workout done by swim teams across the world on jan. 1st.
a couple of us attempted this workout last year, but called it quits at 6000m (or was it 7000?). why did we stop? yes our shoulders were on fire, our bathing suits disintegrating and our skin was so wrinkled we instantly aged 60 years, but i think we could have done it.... i think we got bored. after all, 4 hours is a long time to do anything, let alone swim.

i'm really psyched for this attempt. we have a great group of people and i feel that i am stronger in the pool when compared to last year at this time.. but who knows. when it comes down to the wire, will we be able to do it?
which bodily system will fail me?

only one thing is for certain. i will be joining my friends at a local bar for drinks and food when it's all said and done.

Friday, December 28, 2007

wednesday at the races

decided that in order to work off the two days of bingeing, i would enter the boxing day 10 miler in hamilton.
standing at the start line, i had no idea how this would go..... haven't done a staight up running race in about a year and a half and that was only a five km!
i was a little worried. coach said to use it as an extra speed workout (16k??).

kinda' forgot how you're supposed to do these things. how does it feel to just start running.... fast? no warmup swim/bike first? was my pre race jog long enough? (only 2 miles)

needless to say, i think we took it out too fast.... 6:31 first mile, and it was up hill. should slow it down a little, no way i can hold that pace the whole race.... second mile, 6:32 - that's better.

okay, really now, slow down, relax.. next mile 6:46 -- now that i can hold.
i was running next to a guy with a GPS who said that our 5km time was 20:07 or so.. not too bad. only 20 seconds off my PB!

i hit the half mark (8km) in 33:21, pretty close to my pb for that distance too (can't remember it exactly but it's somewhere in the 33 min. area).

same GPS guy said we hit 10km at 41:15 -- yikes, that is my 10 k pb. could be a long 4 miles.

slowest mile was #8, insert mountain and ungroomed trail here. 7:41, that really hurt the finish time, but it didn't take as much out of me as i thought it would (biking?).

tried to turn it on for the last couple of miles as there was this girl that i had been eyeing for the last half of the race, and i wanted to catch her.

6:33,
and the last mile (which ended in me and the other girl all out sprinting to the line!) in 6:15.

overall, tied (no really!) for 5th (i actually had a faster chip time though),
1st in AG.

really liked this race, and if i'm in the country, i'll do it again- maybe i'd try and eat less the couple of days before.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

when you're riding in your chevy and your pants are feeling heavy....

yep, been battling a bout of scootitis the last few days.
this am i spent due time in the ladies room before my run to ensure that there would be no emergencies as i was sure there were no decent places to stop if i needed to.

made it close to half way, started to feel uncomfortable, and crampy... thought i would need to pull into a snow covered farmer's field when suddenly, like rudolph's nose, a tim hortons sign.

a new timmy's on the corner of sunningdale and adelaide. when did that get there?
however greatful i was for the use of their toilet, i'm a little perturbed by how fast our city is growing and encroaching on the environment that surrounds us..

not 1 month ago, i saw a huge buck in that same spot. where is he now?
hopefully, he like donuts and coffee.

Monday, December 10, 2007

did it!

got my training plan for the next 4 weeks.... getting a little tougher. should have never complained about the shorter workouts.

today's swim workout = 50 x 50 @ :50...... (+ warmup & 1k paddles)
wasn't as tough as i thought it would be.
probably took it a little too easy for the first half. was worried i wouldn't get through it.
actually felt pretty good.
no tingles in the legs/feet, no burping up dinner, no headaches/dizziness, no cramping.
success!

i've also got a new favorite snack (addiction), crispers all dressed...mmmmmm

Sunday, December 2, 2007

nice day for a jog!


splish wanted some photos of me in their suit...
thought we'd get creative.
wasn't as cold as i thought it would be.
weird looks from the neighbours though.

bummer

drove to oshawa yesterday with ambitions of competing in a 10km race in mississauga this morning....
woke up to a blizzard.
i protested, but my parents wouldn't let my sister and i make the trek down the 401 to the race site.
so i returned to bed (still in my race gear) and slept in til' 10:30.
winter blows.