Training on Holidays

This week has been SO wonderful, and it’s not even done yet! Holidays are good for the soul, so refreshing and exactly what I needed! Not that my life is uber stressful or anything… but enough that summer holidays are a must!
In a nut shell…. On Wednesday Craig and I flew to Vancouver and drove to Seattle. We had such a great time, we shopped till we dropped (well, I shopped, Craig sat at Starbucks), we had a beautiful dinner on the harbor, and we stayed in the most beautiful hotel that I have ever stayed at, the Fairmont Olympic Seattle. The next day we had fish and chips on the harbor (I watched Craig eat it…), breakfast on the wharf, and a bit more shopping. I did however manage to get in a workout in the hotel gym, it was incredibly humid because the gym (which was much nicer than a typical hotel gym) was in the exact same room as the pool. I was soaking wet after a 90 minute run on the treadmill (BORING!!!), and it definitely wasn’t from the kids who were splashing me from the pool (well, maybe a combo of that and my excessive amount of sweating).

We then took the ferry from Vancouver to Victoria where we spent two days at Auntie Rosie’s house. We LOVE it at AR’s, we had a great time! I was particularly excited for two things, my run and my swim. On Friday morning, bright and early, AR and I went to Thetis Lake for a training swim that I did with Coach Carolyn. It was so great to see her, and nice to have company and some fairly important coaching tips for the last long swim before the race. We did 4500m, so it was pretty long. Much to my very pleasant surprise, I came out of the water to see that the national team was out doing their Friday morning training swim. I also ran into Jasper Blake. It was no big deal, nothing at all, just a World-Class Triathlete and IMC first place winner and I on the same training schedule. The truth is, I wanted to run around screeching and screaming like teeny-bop girls when they meet the Backstreet Boys, but I managed to contain myself and just act like I totally fit in with the national team. Like I said, we’re on the same schedule, so obviously it’s no big deal, in fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if they invited me to just join the team… I mean, just because we happened to be swimming in the same body of water at the same time pretty much puts me on the same level. I did document it with a picture, which I plan on having a developed hard copy available for Jasper (we’re on a first name basis now) to autograph when he comes flying across the IMC finish line in first place.

After my swim, AR and I went into town to have a quick coffee (herbal tea) and visit with our good friend Adam O'Meara. That’s right people, I was out for coffee with another PROFESSIONAL triathlete. Quite frankly, it was almost too much for one day. Adam had some great tips for me, particularly in the nutrition/digestive situation that I am extremely grateful for. We also made a plan to race together in the Sooke half Ironman in September as a relay team (currently accepting applications for a swimmer), this is the race that will be presenting the Bruce Bowman Memorial Scholarship to a junior triathlete (through LifeSport). I’m not entirely sure how I feel about racing together on a team with a pro, incredibly honored, and incredibly nervous… kind of a once in a lifetime thing for an athlete like me (I mean, not that I’m not practically a pro – Hello, I was swimming with the national team!).

On Saturday I ran my all time favorite running route in Saanich from AR’s house. I had to cut it a wee bit short because it’s a bit longer than I was scheduled for, and I actually ran into Coach Carolyn (no pun intended…) while she was out for her last long ride for her Ironman training. She knows l like to push my long runs a little bit further than I probably should, especially at this point in my training, so conveniently she biked by just when I was nearing my turn around point (and contemplating just going for a little bit longer…). I turned around when I was supposed to….
We’ve been holidaying in Nanaimo ever since then at a beautiful beach house that my parents rented for all of us. It has been glorious in every way, perfect for the kidlets, and great for training. I got another open water swim in, the lake is perfect here. Unfortunately there are a lot of motor boats in the lake, so as a safety precaution, my mom and sister accompanied me in the paddle boat (Pro’s always seem to have an entourage, so it’s was fitting for me). It all turned bad when the paddle boat rudder went dead (not sure how that happened!?!) and I had to tow the paddle boat, my mom, and my sister home with a very strong head wind. Not good for my taper, not good at all! I think we got stuck in the Bermuda Triangle, cause the paddle boat just wouldn’t go anywhere. I laughed pretty hard after I spent the next 90 minutes sitting on the toilet peeing out all the lake water that I swallowed!

Tomorrow we head to Vancouver for the day to celebrate my dad’s birthday. We have an afternoon at the beach planned, and a big dinner at Tia and Tio’s (which means… A LOT of GREAT food…and family of course). Craig and I are heading home after that. To be honest, I could handle another few days, which is very rare for me, usually after a week vacation I am ready to head home to my own bed and my baby (the cat). This really has been the perfect vacation in every way!

Starting Wednesday, when I’m back to reality, I only have 6 days before I leave for Penticton!!! It’s the final stretch, I’m officially in my taper (which means Craig has to cater to my every single need as I must be off of my feet as much as possible!). This summer has flown by, the last three months of training feel like they just hardly started and now it’s almost just another chapter in my history book! Kind of bitter sweet…

I am currently accepting suggestions on how to calm my nerves which are starting to flare up. Now that I’ve trained with the pro’s, I have a reputation to keep up… that’s enough to make me nervous!