Ironman Eve

Tomorrow is the big day! I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed with emotions, definately nervous, but also a lot of good emotions. At this point, there is nothing more that I can do... so I'm trying my very hardest to just enjoy every moment and take it all in. It's not just every day that I get to compete in something like this, or have my very own entourage of special people making me feel even more special.
There's not too much more for me to say other than my bags are packed, my bike is checked-in and my body is fully saturated with an enormous amount of water! The weather is supposed to be 32 degrees and sunny, could be better (as in cooler), could be worse (rain, snow or hotter), but regardless, I can't change it.

We've had such a fun week! My mom, Alison and the girls drove up with me on Wednesday, we picked up AR in Kelowna. Following Ironman tradition, we stopped at Mission Hill Winery to roll down the hill and lay in the grass. We thought this picture was neat because it shows 3 generations of sisters in our family:

My mom and AR drove the bike course with me on Thursday. I wanted to do this because we didn't have a chance to come and do our training weekend that was planned in July (nasty forest fires). I'm not sure if this was a good or bad thing (driving the course)... was great to refamilarize myself with it (I biked it twice before), granted, now that I think about it, knowing how big those hills are isn't necessarily better. I do however believe that I'll get through the bike on race well with the memory of the best ever fresh fruit milkshake that my mom and I got at The Bear Fruitstand just before the Yellow Lake climb (around 150 km into the route). I might even be tempted to stop on race day (someone remind me to throw $5 into my special needs bag!): Fresh fruit milkshakes were not originally apart of my pre-race diet plan, but it was worth every calorie!


I got in two really nice swims. It reminded me how much I like swimming in open water, but also reminded me how enourmously big the Okanogan is! I suppose it won't feel quite so big when I'm fighting through 2600 other competitors tomorrow morning (stress!). Putting on the wetsuit is actually more work than the entire Ironman. If you can squeeze your arse into one of those things and not die in the process... then you can complete an Ironman!

My biking friends, Sara and Keith. Sara and I have been through a lot this summer. A. LOT. I'm so happy we hooked up through our coach, and even though I'll be out on the course, I'll be cheering for her all day while she completes her first ever Ironman. Chances are... we probably won't see each other till next spring because we've both mutually decided that our bikes are retiring Monday morning for a good LONG break!

Alison, Aria and I went tubing down the canal, which was SUCH a highlight! This is how summer should be spent! We are so "water" deprived in Calgary, so it was so great to not only have water to go to, but options of which lake or river wanted!

On Friday morning it was the ever famous Ironman Canada Underwear Run. I've never participated before, but this year, not only did I participate... I had company!!! Aria and I ran the entire 1 km together... in nothing but panty's, well... Aria got to wear a tshirt cause it was first thing in the morning and a wee bit chilly, I was not granted the Tshift luxury. Because she was definately the youngest competitor, we were right near the back of the pack, even though we weren't far behind! Unfortunately, I think this made us a good "photo target" and I think my nearly naked body and panty's are going home with a lot of visitors to Penticton via their digital camera's. Lucky them (or not).

Pre-Panty-Race Pose:

A real up-and-coming-future-Ironman (who also happens to be nearly naked):

Wish me luck for tomorrow... the next time I write... I'll be and IRONMAN (#2)!

The final week

This is it!!! This time next week, I'll be running somewhere along Skaha lake (hopefully at this point on the way back!), and I'll have already completed my 3.8 km swim, and 180 km bike. Looking at the forecast, chances are that I'll be sweating my buns off in 30 + degree heat as well. I really can't believe it's so close, I can't even believe that I'm one week in to my two week taper!
There are moments when it hits me, and so does the anxiety, this is really a huge deal for me, a personal goal that I will be so proud to accomplish. I know I've done it before, and for people who do Ironman's year after year, maybe the accomplishment diminishes over time. But for me, the 2nd one is just as big a deal as the 1st one! I suppose I've already completed a huge portion of the whole experience, the training - but I still can't believe that on Thursday I'll enter the registration tent and get my very own athlete's wristband. Craig and I have been talking about it a lot this week (not sure if he likes it or hates it, but at least he humors me), and we've come to the conclusion that I would be crazy if I wasn't nervous/anxious. I wonder if even the pro's - like Jasper, for example, still get nervous. I bet they do, because no matter how good you are and no matter how many world championship titles you've won, it's still an Ironman, and that is still the ultimate challenge in endurance athletics. So, I guess it's completely normal that I'm a little stressed out, and resolving to that decision almost makes me less stressed out, if that makes sense.

I like to be extremely organized, so I have devised a plan for the day. I am well aware that ANYTHING can happen on race day, and chances are that my "plan" will be nothing like the way that the day actually occurs, but I can at least pretend to be in charge:

Pre-Race:
I am going to eat my dinner the night before on the earlier side. This will allow my body to fully and easily digest everything, and also make it possible for me to have a snack before bed. I'm going to be lights out by 9:30, with the hopes to be sleeping by 10, generally I don't have too much of a problem falling asleep. Craig will be forced to sleep on the floor to ensure that I have no annoyances or disturbances during my sleep (just kidding - but he will get a very boney elbow jab in the ribs if he so much as peeps during the night).

Race Morning:
I think I'll be up by 4:30 ish to start getting in all of the millions of calories that I will be attempting to force into my guts. I probably won't actually have to get going until 5 ish though, so I think Craig can just bring me breakfast in bed. I'll be drinking and eating as much as I can in the morning (well planned out high carb - low fiber meals). If history repeats itself, this couple of hours will be the most high-emotion for me. I remember being extremely anxious, stressed and nervous the morning of the race in 2007, but also remember feeling really excited, proud and relieved that I actually made it to the start line (a pretty huge accomplishment in itself!). If this is the case, I'll have to be extremely cautious with my digestion because nerves and my bowels have a very intimate relationship. I think I would rather sacrafice a few calories in the morning to save myself from the quad workout of multiple squats overtop of a port-a-privy! Also, if history repeats itself, my dad will do what he does best, and he will be more stressed out that I am.

Swim:
Even though Coach Carolyn is a faster swimmer than I am, my plan is to start with her, wherever she plans on going. I am definately a believer of "seeding yourself accordingly" - in fact, my biggest pet peeve are slow runners who think that they should start as close as possible at the front of the pack during a road race. Don't they know that they are going to annoy all of the stronger runners that they elbowed their way through before the race started, as well, they are just going to be passed by these annoyed-stronger-runners, which, in my opinion, sucks. Getting passed sucks! However, in this case, I'm really hoping to get in Carolyn's draft for the race (although I don't think my luck would ever be good enough - but here's hoping anyways!). Most of all, I didn't get a chance to start IMC 2007 with Carolyn because she wasn't racing that year (too busy training for the World Championship in October), it would be neat to start with her as she's been involved in my entire triathlon life. I think Carolyn usually starts off to the side, which is much better than starting right in the middle of the pack, in my opinion, probably the same as being on the front lines of WWI.

T1:
I'm definately taking the time to pee, or else it will come back to haunt me early on in the bike! Even if the line up is 4 hours, it's worth it! Otherwise, both my transitions in IMC 07 were approximately 7 minutes, which is slower than it could be, but faster than a lot of people, so I'm happy to stick with that.

Bike:
In many peoples opinion, the race shouldn't even start until 60 kms into the bike, when you reach Richter's Pass, so it is always recommended not to take it too fast or too hard for the first third of the bike. It's pretty flat, so it would be easy to hammer through it, but that would be dumb because I would totally pay for it the second I turn the corner after the Husky station and see the never ending hill that I have to climb, which I like to refer to as Satan's playground (aka Richter's). I'm going to set my 10 minute alarm on my watch to remind myself to take a drink from my aero bottle every ten minutes. If I don't have the alarm, it will be when I'm passed out from dehydration that I remember to drink anything. I'm also going to eat a Clif Block or couple of Sports Beans (jelly beans for sports - best invention ever!!) every ten minutes. I'll be drinking Eload Endurance - doesn't taste that good, but it will be worth it cause it has the best digestable and usable sugars, as well as a ton of electrolytes. I'm going to drink water at the aid stations (if I need it) which will help me survive the sugar overload taste. I'm also going to cut up a bagel and a couple of Clif bars to snack on along the way. In my special needs bag, which I get at 120 km, I think I am going to put two oatmeal cookies in it (I love cookies!!!), and couple of different options of bars (clif bar, granola bar). Who knows what I'll feel like, but chances are, I'll have eaten the cookies in about 2.5 milliseconds. I'm not going to put any chocolate in my bag because I'll be tempted to eat it, and that's probably not a good option at that point. I'm hoping that I don't have to stop at all before the 120 km point, but chances are I'll have to have a bathroom break before then, and I am incapable of peeing on my bike (although highly recommended to me by a number of people). I just can't, don't know if it's physical or mental or both, but I can't.
After Yellow Lake, the last 25 km (or something like that) are all down hill - best part of the ride!

T2:
If I could make some suggestions to the IMC administration, it would be to add a full service spa and shower to T2. I would use it, and I wouldn't care how long it took! Just kidding - the biggest goal is to not get sucked in to T2 because I know I'll just want to sit down and rest. The longer I'm there, the harder it is to get started again. I am planning on changing, even though my tri suit would be fine to run in, I know that at that point it will feel so nice to freshen up! Plus, I prefer to run with sleeves (tri suit is sleeveless) because when I sweat a lot (and if it's 30 +degrees, there will be A LOT of sweating), I can get chafeing in my armpits (which I like to refer to as chub rub).

Run:
I'm pretty nervous about this part because even though I would say I'm strongest as a runner, it's going to be A LONG time before I even get to the run! Plus, heat affects me the most on the run, and the first part of the run will probably be the hottest part of the day (late afternoon), however, considering that it is late in August, it will get darker earlier, and probably cooler than a July evening. Too hot, then probably a bit too chilly. Like all marathons that I run, I'm going to run 10 and 1's (as in, run 10 minutes, walk 1 minute). This is the Running Room method (which I was a participant in for my first marathon and then an instructor of for many years), I really believe in it. In the numerous marathon's I've run, I've zoomed past people that don't stop for their walk breaks, and I've still run 3:30 marathons (which is a pretty decent pace). I get my run special needs bag half way, 21.1 km, where I will definately be indulging in my chocolate bar. At that point in the race, I don't think it's going to give me any negative effects and it might just be the boost that I need! Otherwise, I'll be carrying my fuel belt with more Eload and sports beans. For the second half, in 2007 (after about 11 hours of hardly eating or drinking anything due to cramps) I started drinking Pepsi at all the aid stations (I think aid stations are every mile or maybe every second mile). If I have to drink Pepsi again, then it's a good option. I'm hoping to just stick with the 10 and 1's the whole way, but if I need to (hopefully not), I'll maybe go down to 7 and 1's or 5 and 1's. We'll see, but my biggest goal is to not stop running at all (except for my chocolate bar break and regular scheduled walk breaks). Of course, no matter how I feel, you can be sure that I will be running down Lakeshore Drive with my head held high and a look on my face saying "I could keep going, I'm not even tired!". Then I'll cross the finish line and promptly collapse into the nearest volunteers arms.

It might not be the perfect plan (ie: chocolate bar in my special needs bag), but it's my plan, and I'm stickin' to it!

On a more humerous note, some people at work were asking me how everything was going for my race and when it was. Someone else piped up from across the Nurse's station to say she has a friend who just completed an ironman. She was very proud to announce "Yup, she did it in 2 hours!!!". Either her friend is a genetic freak, or perhaps she got an Ironman and a Sprint distance triathlon mixed up. I didn't want to sound totally snobby (umm, slightly different type of a race), so I didn't correct her. But I REALLY wanted to.

My mom, sister, nieces and I meet AR in Penticton on Wednesday, everyone else joins us Thursday and Friday. I'll be sure to update again before the race!

This was at the end of our holidays last week... I could have stayed another week though!

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!

Game Plan

I guess it's been a little while since I blogged... I was having writer's block, and it rained all last week, so I couldn't get my long ride in (I refuse to go on the trainer for more than 90 minutes!), which is generally where I make my weekly blogging plan.

So here I am, less than 3 weeks till the race (Holy Shizit!!!), and a day before I go on family holidays (Yippee!!!)... It's time to make a serious game plan.

I finished my last really long ride of the year today, 180 km (but it was actually only 177 km - I cheated, just slightly), last week I did a very long run, and a very long swim. I've trained pretty darn faithfully, I haven't skipped any workouts (except for a couple of bad weather days where I just altered the workout), and I over trained the distances in the swim and bike. I have an entire cupboard full of various gels, bar, drinks, and tablets, I carry spare tubes and CO2 cartridges in all of my purses, my tri suit and race day outfit are ironed and ready to go (just kidding - the heat would be awful for the coolmax!) and I now bath in my wetsuit so that I can have daily time trials for the wet suit strip. I guess there is nothing to worry about... except... I'm starting to get a wee bit stressed about all the other zillions of possible things that could go wrong that are out of my control.
There's nothing I can do if my bike freakish-ly snaps in half going down Richter's, or if my wetsuit splits down the middle when I take my first stroke, or if my stomach just won't digest anything, or if it's 500 degrees that day, or if a slow moving herd of aardvark's block the race course for hours at a time making us miss the 17 hour cut off time... You just never know, ANYTHING could happen!

Oh well, I'm trying not to think about it, but there are just so many possibilities!

As for the things I can control:

• I'm going to try my very hardest to get a minimum of 8 hours of a sleep every night until the race (very diffucult for me with my work schedule cause I often work late at night but I love getting up early in the morning)
• I'm cutting out alcohol until the race (very easy cause I hardly ever drink anyways)
• I'm going to try and cut out caffeine almost completely, but I'll make an exception for the odd evening shift that I can't survive without it (it's funny - cause I don't even like coffee, I only drink it when I work in the evenings - probably cause I've been up since 5:30am and I don't even start work until 3pm)
• I'm going to try to take my rest days as REAL rest days. Usually on my rest days now, I still go out for a nice long power walk (I LOVE being outside), or because I have extra time (no 3 hours of working out), I usually try to do all my housework, etc.
• I'm going to try my hardest to stay positive and think positive thoughts - no dwelling on various freak-accidents or uncontrollable weather situations
• I generally have a very healthy diet, but I'm going to put in just that much more effort to cut out preservatives, sugar or junk, just to make sure my body is as clean as possible.
• I'm going to limit my spending money when I shop like a maniac in Seattle this week, this will be a true challenge of self control - hello, outlets! (how did this one make it on my Ironman game plan list?)

Craig and I leave on Wednesday morning for a week of much needed vacationing! We are flying into Vancouver and then driving to Seattle where we are staying for 2 days. Then we move onto Victoria, where we are so excited to spend time with Auntie Rosie and the rest of my family for a couple of days. I am also thrilled to run my all-time favorite running route in Saanich, and get a swim in at Thetis with Coach Carolyn (I LOVE Victoria!). Then we spend a few days up-island in a holiday house on the lake. Basically, this is a PERFECT vacation, the perfect combination of shopping, eating, relaxing, training, and good quality time with my fave people (in no particular order).

Before I finish... In honor of the AWFUL summer weather that we've had (less than 2 weeks of actual nice sunny days!)... I'm going to start off my new-found positive thinking, positive ideas, positive everything regime by pointing out what we DIDN'T have in the last two months:

And if for any reason these pictures make you miss winter... DON'T WORRY! You'll see this weather in approximately 3 weeks (September 1st).

An Ironman's Prayer

Dear God,

I don't think I ask for a lot, so I'd like to cash in on some points and make a few requests.

First, on Sunday August 30th 2009, can you please insure that the mercury in Penticton, BC, does not see any higher than 25 degrees (20 degrees would be ideal). Also, please dry up any rain clouds and make the wind stand still - at least between the hours of 7am and midnight. Please make Okanagan Lake look like glass because it is so calm. And let's be honest, we've had enough with all the forest fire business... it's time to stop.

Please keep the race course safe and clear of any hazards, potholes, debris or crazy spectators. If someone chooses to be an idiot and get in the way of bikers going 50 km/hr, please strike them down with lightning (only a little zap - no permanent damage).

Please help me to control my temper while plowing my way through the mass of 2000 fellow athletes during the swim start. If I happen to elbow someone in the face, kick off goggles or swim directly on top of someone, please do not hold me accountable for my actions. Desperate times.... desperate measures. It would be REALLY great if I could just catch a draft in the first 200 m and then just get pulled the remaining 3600m (hint hint).

If I happen to swallow a mass amount of lake water from previously mentioned "swim attack", please allow my kidneys to go through rapid filtration/elimination, so that I can pee it all out during my pee break in T1, prior to commencing the bike.

Speaking of the digestive system: please turn my guts and inards into "digesting machines" so that I can hold in enough calories and nutrition to make it through the day. Cramps, stiches, spasms, loose BM's, or tummy ache's of any kind will NOT be welcomed in any way. Please keep them far, far, far away! If you can let me stomach power gels for just this ONE day, I promise, I will make Food Bank donations for the rest of my life. Further, if I can stomach at least 5 liters of gatorade, I will volunteer at my local Food Bank!

Please protect all of the volunteers and bless them for all of their hard work. May they enjoy their stale, cold pizza and oversized tshirts (kindly provided by the great folks at IMC), as they deserve the reward.

Especially bless my friends and family who have been such an AMAZING support to me during my training! In fact, because I KNOW that I could never have accomplished any of this without all of my amazing "crew members" please bless them with a TRUE Ironman experience. It would be ideal if we could all experience every aspect of the race together, so I am requesting that we all wake up, the day after the race, with the same excruciating pain, tight hamstrings, raging hunger, and every bone/muscle/joint/tissue equally stiff. If I can't touch my toes, I think we should all experience that together - they deserve it!

Please completely erase from my memory what it feels like the run a marathon after biking for 180 km. I don't need any recollection, whatsoever, of that. I'd rather just NOT know...

Maybe I'm asking just a little too much with this one... but could you please, please, PLEASE pull some strings and make the "Ironman Canada Finisher" cap, t-shirt and medal all come in a PINK option. It would match my wardrobe much better!

If you can take these requests into consideration (you're God, so I know you can do anything!), I can garuntee that for the remainder of my days: I'll never text while I'm driving, I'll floss my teeth every night before bed, I'll make sure my children eat veggies every day (future iron-babies), I'll never ride a bike without a helmet, I'll go to church once a month, I'll help sick people breathe better and I will never, NEVER, wear polka-dots and plaid together.

But MOST of all, just let me cross the finish line for Uncle Bruce, with a smile on my face (*and a new PR*).

Editor's Note: I am aware that bargaining with God is not standard Christian practice, however, in this particular situation, God and I have "an understanding"

Inked

It's tradition for participants to celebrate their Ironman finish by making it permanent and getting the Ironman tatoo. It's a pretty big deal, and it's pretty much expected, plus, I'm pretty sure finishers are secretly more than happy to permanently brag about their accomplishment. I never tried to fight it, I knew that if I finished, I would HAVE to get the tatoo. I'm not really a tatoo/piercing/being-an-individual type person. Give me a Gap cardigan and a pair of chinos and let me blend in to any crowd, I don't even have my ears pierced! I don't do accessories, I don't wear jewlery (minus my wedding rings), I wear a potatoe sack most of the time (aka hospital scrubs) and I'm not into bright patterns and colors, I just like good old classics in black, white or pink. So would it be shocking to say that I am the owner of not 1 but 2 tatoos!!! It's my secret little rebellion from my otherwise very normal appearance.
My first tatoo you would never see unless I showed you....
My second tatoo - the Ironman!

The day after the race in 2007, I pre-booked and pre-paid an appointment in White-Trashville, and as a family, we all went to enjoy the experence. As you can see, it was one of my dad's proudest moments!

I would be lying if I didn't say that the three minutes it took to get the mirco-tatoo made permanent were, in fact, more painful than the entire 14.5 hours of painful endurance that I accomplished the day before! Extremefully painful!

I had a hard time fully committing to the tatoo... The real Ironman Canada tatoo is the IMC symbol, which has the ironman surrounded by a red maple leaf. I just couldn't do it. What if I ever chose to wear pink (which I do most days!), it would clash with my tatoo! Also, image if for some God-forsaken reason I got chubby one day... I would not want a visible Ironman tatoo somewhere screaming of what I used to be (however, I hope that never happens!). Lastly, I did the race in over 14 hours, to non-ironmaners, that's amazing, but to my fellow ironmans... that's not really something to brag about. It would sort of be like someone bragging about their 5 and a half hour marathon. Not that it's not an amazing accomplishment.... but...

So, I just got the little Ironman symbol, and I got it tatooed below my ankle bone. In this case, it can be covered by shoes/socks if necessary, it won't clash with any particular colors, but I can also show it off and wear it with pride when I want to. The final result:

I guess now that I have it, I don't need to go through that again this year... I've had some suggestions on adding to it, perhaps having my time tatooed below it, or perhaps the years that I did it. I think I'll just leave it as it is. I've spent enough time in the tatoo artists chair for one lifetime...

As for other news, I just finished an extremely intense training week (well, I have two more days to go, but all the big workouts are done). Which means, after 3 of the most intense weeks I've ever accomplished, Sunday officially commences my recovery week!!!

My mom, Auntie Rosie and I were all planning a training week in Penticton this past week. Unfortunately, we got forest fired-out. It sucked, I was pretty disappointed, but I guess there is no stopping mother nature (or stupid campers who smoke...whatever it was), the highway from Kelowna was closed and it just wasn't worth attempting the alternate route (long drive!). I was disappointed to enjoy the beautiful Okanagan, partake in some great wine, see AR, and have a nice drive with my mom. But most of all, I feel a bit of anxiety to not have a chance to bike the race course. It's been two years, I'd really like to refamilarize myself such things as Richters Pass, Yellow Lake, and the 7 Rollers from hell... we'll be in Penticton 4 days before the race, so the best thing I can do is drive the course (once, maybe twice), I hope that's good enough.

On a very positive note, I did my dreaded 200 km long ride (only one for the whole training season!) yesterday, followed by a 34 km long run today and preceded by a 4000 m swim on Tuesday (so pretty much an ironman in three days). The ride went great! I averaged almost 28 km/hr, which is great for me, and I did the bike in a faster time than it took me to ride the bike portion of the race in 2007. I was pretty proud! It was stinkin' hot (great for training!), and I biked a lot of hills, so I felt satisfied that it was the best training I could possibly do. I felt fine the whole time but I did have to lie down in the dirt beside my car when I finished for about 10 minutes before I could head out on my 30 minute Brick run (I was a wee bit light headed). I think I paid for it all in my run today! It was pretty painful, and perhaps a good reality check for what I might feel like on race day (plus, it was another hot day and I think I had a mild case of heat stroke). I think the only negative thing about doing an Ironman for a second time is actually knowing what if feels like to start a marathon after biking for 180 km. I liked it better the first time when I thought my strong running background would make the run seem easy (clearly, I know better this year!).

I guess that's all for this week. I'll thoroughly enjoy the rest and relaxation next week (which isn't really that much of a break, but at least I can pretend). Only 6 more weeks till the race!

Week Update

This has been a LONG week! Long and hard! But it's nearing it's end, and Sunday is my rest day, so I think I'll survive it!

I have tried my absolute hardest to be as positive as possible at all times through this whole Ironman experience for 2009. For a couple of reasons: first, I think my 2007 Ironman experience wasn't necessarily one of my better memories, not that it was negative in any way, just that I was SO stressed out about SO many things. It was hard for me to take in the moments and enjoy it, as well I don't think I ever gave myself credit for a rare (and frankly, amazing) accomplishment that I done. I was too busy worrying about if I could actually even do it. Then, when I proved that I could actually do it, perhaps the moment was over. Secondly, I never planned on doing this Ironman, my motivation for this Ironman is so completely different than 2007. Uncle Bruce would have only wanted this to be a fun event for me and everyone else involved, and so I've made that a top priority. Lastly, I think Ironman (any endurance event really) is half physical race, and half mental race. I failed miserabley at the mental race in 2007, and I am NOT going to let that happen this year. All this positive thinking has proved to be beneficial, and I can absolutely see it in my physical race!

Overall, I think I've done really well. I know I've said it before, but I feel great, training is going so well, and I am having so much fun doing it! However.... This week has proven to be a big challenge for me and I'm feeling like my "positive thinking tank" is somewhat drained.

This was a pretty heavy duty week of training, and my 2nd heavy week in a row, so just that much harder than last week! I completed all my scheduled workouts, and I didn't have any specific events or situations that were diffucult. I just seemed to have a hard time finding my motivation, and then I felt guilty for not enjoying myself. Maybe I'm just tired (probably) or hungry (obviously...cause I always am), or maybe it's because I worked 7 days in a row last week (definately did NOT like that!).

So I'm going to dig deep, VERY deep, and pull out all the positives I can to get me out of this rut:

I biked a full 180 km, and I did it faster than I did the bike portion of IMC 07. The route I did was very hilly, so it was comparable, and I felt amazing (particularly in the digestive area). I stopped for only 1 bathroom break, at which point I bought a KitKat bar (140 km into the ride), and I realized that was the first time that I can remember (in many years) actually buying and eating an entire chocolate bar. It tasted so good I wanted another one (however I practiced a wee bit of discipline and opted for a nasty tasting Raspberry Gu). I also think that I know exactly what I will be adding into my "special needs bag" for the race as a little treat!

I swam a full 3800m in a 25 m pool and I did it faster than the swim portion of IMC 07. This is great because I always swim much faster in open water then in the pool doing lengths, so obviously my swim is right on track! My mom joined me on that swim and her "snack sack" was well stocked with my favorites, so I was happy (as the state of my stomach dictates my mood - these days anyways).

I got to celebrate my mom's birthday last Wednesday, it was a beautiful day, and we had so much fun having lunch in the mountains followed by a great family dinner. I hope she felt special, because she deserved it!

I bought myself an "Ironman outfit". I don't want to spoil the surprise (for my fan club, of course), but let's just say... there's a lot of pink. Hot pink.

I cracked out a brand new pair of running shoes from my stash (I like to buy in bulk and keep them hidden away in my closet). I opted for the pink pair. Hot pink.

So, here is my attempt to stay positive even though I am exhausted and the thought of squeezing my buns into one more pair of padded spandex shorts makes me want to cry.

Just get me through till Sunday (rest day!), then I'll be back on track and ready to go at it again...

I know this isn't really related... But blogs are no fun without pictures, so I had to add something...

These are the up-and-coming Ironman's of the future:

Ironman's Past

This year is going to be my 4th year in a row participating (in some capacity) in Ironman Canada. I spectated at Ironman a few times prior to 2006, but my real journey started almost exactly 3 years ago.

2006
I did my first Half Ironman in 2006, the New Balance Half in Victoria, I did way better than I expected (bronze medal!), and it was then that I officially decided that I was going to sign up to do the full Ironman. That meant I was required to be in Penticton for the 2006 race as I had to sign up the next day. Leon, Alison, Aria and I moved back to Calgary (from Victoria), one week before IMC 06, I hate long drives, so it was painful and boring, but I survived it thanks to my extensive library of Celine Dion albums. So it was only 6 days later that I had to get back into the car and do that long, awful drive again! Luckily, this time my dad agreed to join me as long as we followed his "road trip rules". Involving: no talking, no pee breaks, no up-beat-ganster-music ("kids these days!") and no touching anything in his perfectly clean car. It was great (maybe not... but it was nice to have company). We only drove up the day of the race because we couldn't find accomodations for the day before, but we got to Penticton in plenty of time to see Jasper Blake come flying across the finish line.
I was exceptionally stressed out (which became a reacurring theme for the next year) about registering for the race as 2007 was the 25 year anniversary for IMC and was expected to sell out of entries. I lined up at 3 am to insure I got an entry, it was fine because that's normally when my dad gets up anyways. The line started moving at 9am, I was registered by about 9:05 am... and that's when it all began... We got back in the car and drove home that morning.

2007
This was a very big year for obvious reasons. I trained all 364 days since I signed up, and I thought about Ironman every one of those days as well. We turned IMC week into our annual family summer vacation. We rented a house in Kelowna (beautiful house and location, but staying in Penticton would have been a MUCH better idea!), my immediate family, UB and AR, Zoe and Arin (training partner) and Tracey and Oly (neighbors) all came. It was so much fun, we had such a great time, however I wouldn't consider it much of a vacation for me because I was distracted with any number of things that made me stressed out (weather, what to wear, what to eat, if I would finish, how my crossing the finish line picture would look - very important details!). After a long, long, LONG day for all of us, I did finish, I became an Ironman and all I could think about was what I was going to eat! I cried for 3 days straight after I finished Ironman because I wasn't sure what else to do with myself, perhaps it was withdrawl or perhaps I was crying out the excessive amout of salt tablets that my body rejected approximately 20 km into the run portion. UB made the early morning journey into Penticton the day after the race to sign up, and thus started his journey.

2008
This was UB's Ironman year, however, we carried on the tradition and made it our annual family vacation week. Again, we stayed in Kelowna, and it was so much fun having Aria just a little bit older, she really got into the race this year! After being so eternally grateful for and SO impressed by all of the volunteers, I decided that I wanted to volunteer for this race. I chose to be a bike catcher in T2 because I thought this would give me the best chance to have a few minutes with UB when he was in transition, which was our primary reason for being there. I loved volunteering! I wore all of my IMC 07 "finisher" attire with pride and I loved being in the transition area to really see what a fine tuned operation that goes on for all the racers. I did not, however, enjoy getting bikes hurled at me with extreme force (mainly from the pros), nor did I like the fact that I am well aware that racers relieve themselves while biking during the race. Gross. I think I would chose a non-contact volunteer position next time. I would LOVE to volunteer in the medical tent as that is right up my alley, but it didn't work out for 2008 because we wanted to be there to cheer for UB when he finished (...maybe 2010).
UB finished the race, looking great, even despite the nasty rain that accompanied him for most of the marathon. The next day we had a celebration, the whole family, as well as UB's sisters, Buff and Joan, who we had SO much fun cheering with on race day. UB signed up for IMC 2009 as he originally planned to do an Ironman when he turned 60 (he just happened to do so well in the training that he did one a year earlier than planned).

2009
I guess this year is still history in the making... We all had planned to be in Penticton to cheer for UB, so I guess an unwelcomed twist in our plans took me off the cheering squad and put me in the spandex unitard... But after accepting the circumstances, I think the last two months have been the most memorable Ironman months I've had in the entire 4 year journey. I'm so excited for this race! I'm excited to race for a greater reason, I'm excited to drink gatorade till I want to puke, I'm excited for scorching heat and Richter's Pass, I'm excited to FINALLY have accommodations in Penticton, I'm excited to add to my Ironman-brand wardrobe, I'm excited for another fun family vacation, I'm excited to eat whatever the h*ll I want for an entire week after, I'm excited that I feel GREAT. But most of all, I think I'm the most excited about adding to my memory bank, because I know that I was always look back on my Ironman journey, and these 4 years will always carry such a significance to me.
And of course, in all honesty, I'm extremely excited, because this year, I am BRINGING IT to Penticton, and I'm going to race a Personal Best after only training for 3 and a half months (positive thinking!). I'm going to break 14 hours this year!

So here are some pictures from Ironman and some of the best parts of Penticton and Ironman week:

Here we are admiring the bikes at The Bike Barn (however, my bike is still the nicest):
In Ironman Village at the Cervelo Tent:

Up very early on race day (2007), Aria has her Iron-Baby hat on (which Poet will get to wear this year!). Alison is wearing her Iron-Sister shirt which turned into Iron- ister by the end of the day.

Getting my Body Marking. I was #2042, I couldn't get it scrubbed off for 3 days after!!! (is that normal???)

Row after row after row of Port-a-Potties... My parents (so classy):

Sunny Days

I love summer, and this summer has been a particularly great one! Craig and I are just finishing up a long weekend together, which is an extremely rare occassion for us. I work every 2nd weekend, and I usually end up working one of my weekends off, so I really only have one weekend off a month. Also, I always seem to work long weekends because if I actually have the sat/sun off, then I have to work both the friday and monday nights (just how my rotation goes). Don't get me wrong, I actually quite like shift work, the thought of working mon-fri, 9-5, makes me want to poke my eyes out. But, unless it's planned, Craig and I just don't get too many weekends off together, like most normal people.

With some careful planning, we just enjoyed 3 entire days off together! I made Craig spend a lot of time with me (A LOT!), but he survived it because I let him sleep in while I got up at the crack of dawn to do my various training things. We went to Sylvan Lake for a day, we dusted off our cowboy boots and hats and went stampeding, and we had a great time at our Church's stampede breakfast. Almost too much fun for one weekend, I'm exhausted!!! A highlight, having a famous family member has it's perks, Craig and I got to enjoy best possible complimentary seats for the Calgary Stampede Grandstand show Saturday night, which I thought was extremely well done! Leon, Craig and I indulged in some of our favorite treats too (but we made a pact that what happens at Stampede... stays at stampede), then we felt sick for the rest of the night after someone had a crazy idea to go on the "Drop of Doom". Calgarians generally try to avoid stampede, so I kind of felt like a tourist in my own city.

The real reason for this blog is that I have a new challenge for myself. I'm going to make it public, which will force me to at least attempt to stick with it. I HATE not completing something (had to pull out of a marathon once because of a fractured tibia, just about killed me!), doesn't necessarily matter how well I do, but if I make a goal for myself, I need to at least put in my best effort. This goal is going to be very challenging for me, so I'll need the accountability. I am going to commit to avoid the sun, wear sunscreen whenever I am outside, become a shade-lover, and make a much bigger effort to protect myself from the harmful effects of the sun.
Obviously, one could see how this could be very challenging for me, for a number of reasons. I spend a significant part of my day outside, in the sun, for hours at a time, and generally it's ideal to be wearing tank tops and shorts (as in, biking and running). I also have skin that just doesn't burn, ever! It's very weird because I have extremely light eyes, and blond hair (natural, obviously), which would generally be paired with fair skin that burns easily. I guess I have my moms genes, we can be outside for hours on end, we never need sunscreen, at most, we might have pink cheeks for an evening, but it's a nice glowing tan by the morning. It doesn't really help that my half-jamaican husband is sort of in the same boat (never burns... ever). But most of all, I just love a tan, it makes me feel alive, my skin glows, I feel like I look like I have so much more life in me.

Recently my dad found a small spot on his forehead that was diagnosed as Basal Cell Carcinoma. Basal Cell Carcinoma is the most common form of skin cancer, 3 out of 10 caucasians will experience this in their lifetime. Sun light will cause DNA damage in the basal cell of skin, resulting in mutations (aka tumors, carcinogens, cancer). Luckily, Basal Cell Carcinoma is extremely easy to treat (cut out the problem area), survival rate is 99%, and it almost never spreads to organs, nonetheless, it's still skin cancer. My dad and sister are red-heads (well...my dad was a red head, until he started paying for Alison and my university tuition...now grey), extremely fair-skinned, they could even get burnt if they sit too close to me from the UV radiating from my body (yes, that sensitive!). This is what a day at the beach looks like for Alison and I (hahahahaha!!!):

My dad's and my sister's effort for healthy skin is very admirable. They are concious about sun damage because they have to be, but I suppose that makes you more passionate about something. Maybe my skin is skin that can withstand sun damage, and maybe I will never be the person who has to get spots and moles chopped out of my body... But, I think I'd rather not risk it, I rather not know either way. Like everything (drinking alcohol, coffee, eating chocolate, sitting too close to a TV), there is a ton of research about sun-damage and how truly harmful it is. I really believe in science/medical research, it would be foolish of me to disregard this. I really care about my health in certain areas and I'd really like to make more of an effort in this capacity.

In my dad's case, I am fully confident that his issue will be completely resolved when he has his problem area removed. His extremely vigilant effort in this area will also keep him for a reoccurance, he should become a sun-hat model as a career after retirement (as he is never seen without one on these days). Also, on a positive note, statistically speaking, only 1 of my immediate family members will have an experience with cancer. I'm going to go ahead and consider this experience as my "1-in-5", meaning, let's just hope statistics are right and my family is done with cancer. It's nice of my dad, taking one for the team.

So this is my new goal. I'm heading to the store to buy my first bottle of sunscreen, it's almost exciting! You can keep me accountable if you want, or at least give me a glare if you find me secretly catching some rays unprotected.

Product Review

This blog is dedicated to my feet. I have some very well used feet, they definately experience a beating on a daily basis. Because of this, I feel very strongly about treating my poor feet with great care when it comes to my footwear.

To start with, my feet are quite possibly the most horrific, wretched, ugly things that have ever been attached to a pair of ankles. It's not so much that I have gnarled feet, or that they are too fat or too skinny, my toes aren't oddly shaped (sausage-y or middle toes longer than big toe), and I do not have warts. The problem is that my feet are just plain old beaten up, they should be in a battered women's sheltered and I should be charged with assault. I could go into great detail (however, I may lose readers if I do that), but I will paint a picture for you...
I've lost a lot of toe nails (all of them at one point in my running life), what happens is that for various reasons, I'll get blood blisteres under my toenail, which is extremely painful, so to relieve the pressure of the blister, the toe nail comes off. Sometimes the blister makes the toenail fall off, other times, I must perform a minor procedure which I like to refer to as a toenailectomy (it hurts but not as much as if I didn't do it). Luckily, in recent years, I have adjusted the size of my running shoes to give my toes just a bit more space, which has cut back on this significantly, unfortunately, the damage is done, toe nails just never grow back as nicely the second (or 100th) time.

Also, I have some pretty heavy duty callouses. I work hard for my callouses (lots of long hard runs), and its great to have them because they save my feet from a lot of pain. However, these callouses eventually get to a point where they are starting to take over my whole foot. At this point the callouses need to be shaved down a bit. I haven't quite mastered the art of this procedure yet, as I usually end up with a giant hole in my foot where I completely remove the callous. At times, I have also gotten a giant blister under the callous, much like the toe nail issue, which causes a similar problem of excruciating pain from the pressure of the blister... needless to say, the callouses must come off. Unfortunately the fresh virgin skin underneath the callous usually blisteres quite easily, and I have to begin the long hard task of turning that skin back into a callous. It's a vicious cycle of pain, minor surgery (performed by me, in my bathroom) and then more pain. But once I get those callouses... it's great, my feet can endure anything!
I could go on (and on and on and on), I could tell you about my bunion, or my recent stint with Athlete's foot, but I'm going to go ahead and stop there (to save the little bit of pride that I have left...).

Needless to say, I try my very hardest to treat my feet whenever I have the oppertunity. I feel extremely guilty for what I put them through, not that I'm going to change anything, but at least I feel guilty about it (see... I really should be charged with assult). The best way that I know how to treat my feet is by using the best of the best footwear! I try my very hardest never to wear cheap/unsupportive shoes, and I feel very strongly about not subjecting my poor feet (or knees for that matter) into high heels!

When it comes to my running shoes, I am extremely particular. In fact, I simply won't run unless they are in my specific running shoes. I use the Gel Nimbus model by Asics. I've been using these shoes (seen below) for over 5 years now. Asics has updated the model every year, but made no major changes, which I am eternally greatful for, when you have a good thing, change is not always welcomed. I follow the "500 mile" rule pretty faithfully, meaning that I replace my shoes after they have ran 500 mile, which actually works out to be every 4 months for me, so I average at least 3 pairs of Gel Numbus a year. The Nimbus is considered a "cushioning" shoe, which is good for me because I tend to be a bit heavy on my feet, and also appropriate because I wear orthodics, so a supportive shoe (which the Nimbus is not) would actually overcorrect my feet. I do know a thing or two about all these things because I worked at the Running Room while attending Univeristy. As staff, we got a lot of promotional shoes (for extremely good prices, or even free), which we were encouraged to use to add to our knowledge for when we sold the shoes. I refused to run in them, but I certainly enjoyed having an entire closet full of shoes that I could pick to wear to work. I still use all my free running shoes, I match all the various colors to match the various colors of scrubs that I wear to work now, it's great, I'm very coordinated. Anyways, seen below is my loved running shoe, I would highly recommend Asics (the model may vary depending on your foot type) if you are a foot-abuser like I am. Your feet may actually forgive you! The Nimbus usually goes for $180 - $200 /pair depending where you get them (usually cheapest at the Running Room, but they usually have a buy-one-get-one-half-off at Sport Chek)




The next treat I like to give my feet is seen below, the Sanuk sandal/shoe. It's a shoe and a sandal having an identity crisis. I'm actually quite new to the Sanuk world, but I would highly recommend these great inventions! In the summer it is so nice to be able to wear flipflops, what foot wouldn't enjoy the fresh air and freedom to see the world? However, due to various open wounds (weekly minor surgery's), blisters and plain old ugly-ness, it's not completely ideal for the general public to see my feet. The Sanuks allow my to hide my shame (ugly feet), but still enjoy the benefit of sandals, and they are extremely comfortable, and come in a very wide variety of colors and patterns. The only down fall is that they are slightly pricey, $60/pair, which seems a bit much for a pair of sandals. Also to be noted, they don't stink, and they clean up very well, I also just found out that you can buy them online at the Sanuk website, for only $45 USD/pair, which might be just slightly cheaper. I would highly recommend!

So this is my product review for shoes. If you are a high-heel wearer, I think you should consider trading your pumps in for some good ol' trusty asics (your joints will thank you!), but clearly, who am I to judge when it comes to foot abuse! Wear your heels with pride, our feet can become friends at the foot-abuse support group.