Cheaters never prosper

Um ... [with sheepish look on my face] ... all I did today was ... um, swim. And not even a full hour. Just 45 min. Did whole bunches of laps and tried to concentrate on technique. Asked the life guard some questions then slipped in some drills before doing some more laps incorporating some changes.

I was happy not to see Mr. Pool Boy.

Actually, I'd like to run into Mr. Speedo at the other pool, now that I can swim. Yet another one with attitude.

Anyway, again ... where did the day go?! With the braised beef cooking in the oven, I planned to run around and around the block while the kiddies cycled. A sudden heavy rainstorm nixed that idea. DRAT!

I thought about riding my wind-trainer, but it's awfully hard to do that now that I've climbed Camilien Houde and gone around the island several times (yes, Montreal is an island). Indoor riding just doesn't cut it anymore, even with watching a film. No wind, no bumps, heck, no forward motion.

Mr. SB has been completely abandoned. I've been afraid to look at him lest I upset him further. (Ahem, for those who have only joined this blog recently ... Mr. SB is Mr. Stationary Bike.)

So no running, no riding tonight. The kids and I happily ate popcorn and watched:

I have a confession. I've been feeling awfully demotivated this week. It's been really hard to fit in training sessions, especially now that the easy short ones are over two hours and the long ones are +/- 4 hours. I am supposed to train six days a week. Last weekend's work fury totally threw me off-balance and I can't seem to find that balance again. Not that I ever really had it, but at least I was able to straddle it precariously.

This all makes me wonder if I'll be able to pull this IM off ... and I've had a little set-back health-wise with the "healing" and will be seeing my physiotherapist twice next week.

Sigh.

Feeling guilty - I cheated today

Training was supposed to be:
BRICK
Cycle 50 - 55 min. spinning
Run 1h 45 min.

What I ended up doing:
BRICK
Cycle 40 min. spinning
Run, a really slow 1h 15 min. - this almost killed me since I haven't run in 10 days because of work interrupting my training schedule.

Where did the time go today ?!?!

I guess going to the doctor and physiotherapist (yes, both again ... remnants from the accident, you know) don't help in coordinating my time.

Anyway, I tried yet another seat, making it attempt #4. OOF!! ICK!! Pooey!! Yuck!! Back again to Seat #1, the original one that Dirk put on Freida, my bike. I'm starting to realise how "comfortable" she is. Sigh ... the least of four evils.

A friend very gleefully reminded me that I will be sitting on this seat for perhaps up to eight hours.

* Thanks. *

Dirk said, "You just have to do them."

And he was right - the secret to doing hills ...

I climbed Camilien Houde three times tonight along with a bunch of other rolling hills in the neighbourhood. And I would have happily climbed it a few more times had it not gotten so dark.

I followed the same route as the Women's Cyclists World Championship twice before heading off west to take Côte-Ste-Catherine. So cool that I can climb Camilien Houde (name of the road that incorporates a 150m climb over 1.6km) without too much difficulty now. I remember the first few times - what HELL!!I can't remember the distance covered but I cycled for almost and hour and 40 minutes, all hills - yay! I may not be fast, but at least I'm getting stronger!

Pool Boy needs a pull-buoy

I don't often gripe about things that happen in the pool, but I feel the need today.

Paraphrased conversation between arrogant man in pool and myself at end of fast lane:

Pool Boy: Excuse me, you should let me pass.

Silly Sally: Oh, sorry, I didn't know you wanted to pass.

Pool Boy: I think you should go down a level, you swim slowly. I've tried to pass twice but you won't let me.

Silly Sally: Well, I didn't even know you were behind me - I didn't see you either time. No, I'm not going down a level - they don't like when I swim there because all I do is pass and they kick me out. I may swim slowly but I've had to pass people in this lane nonetheless and I haven't had any problems. Maybe I swim slower than you but you've got a pull-buoy helping you float and you're also swimming in my draft, which reduces your effort considerably since I'm breaking the wall of water. I make a point of swimming close to the cord so that people can pass since I know I'm not the fastest one in the pool. You should just go around me.

Pool Boy: Well, I tried to pass but I hurt someone. You should be watching behind you just in case someone wants to pass.

... and on and on for another few wasted minutes until the life guard came over and explained the concept of sharing a lane which I had tried to explain to him.

Yeah, right ... good one, Mr. Pool Boy ... break my form, ruin my technique, just to "watch" when you might want to pass me. I've never heard of any sport where participants watch behind them just in case someone wants to pass and they have to make room. Anyway, what was I supposed to do, Mr. Pool Boy, to "let you pass"? I couldn't have shimmied up any closer to the lane cord than I already was.

I have no tolerance for this type of attitude.

Mr. Pool Boy took off at one point without his pull-buoy while I was still talking with the life guard to show me he can swim fast without it, as per his declaration. Great to know he can do a few laps at that pace - my life has meaning now. I took off afterwards to continue my sets, a little ticked off that I had lost precious training time. Did another 24 laps or so before taking a 20 sec. break - yup, I was pissed off.

Noticed Mr. Pool Boy hanging out several times at the end of the lane. Well, he didn't try passing me again or rather, I didn't check to see. Personally, I'd rather just think he couldn't keep up with the distance ...

I ran out of time ... pool closed. Could only squeeze in 2200 m or 88 laps. Was supposed to swim 2600. Drat.

Wind + Heat + Humidity + New Seat = AGONY!!!

My friend Grommit lent me his old bike seat, well, it actually wasn't too old but his bike got stolen recently. I figured I'd try it because the women's gel seat with hole in middle didn't pan out (too wide for my sit bones - too cushy for my small butt).

How horrible! I hadn't even hit 40k and I knew I was in trouble! The groove in the seat was hitting all the wrong spots and I was dying knowing that I hadn't even gotten halfway through my route! Now my sit bones and every other bone down there rested on the edge of the groove ... And my arms and hands hurt from trying constantly to take some weight of of "there".

To top it off, I couldn't get comfy in my bike jersey - the humidity was so high, all it did was stick. I had three 24oz. bottles with me but could have filled up again. I thought it was supposed to rain but Mr. Sun came out - yeah, after I decided to wear my clear goggles, afraid of the dark menacing clouds.

Throw in lots of cross and head wind, and you get a clear picture of the hard ride I had. It was such a relief when I got a minute or so of wind pushing me from behind, but that was on the rare occasion.

OOOF!! 93 km done. I was so so so soooooo happy to get home. It was a much harder ride than that 100 km I did a week ago where I felt I could have gone on longer if it were not for the time factor.

I'm all topsy-turvy!!

Well, the swim yesterday went well, better than I thought. I had thought about doing sets, the schedule set out for me for Saturday's swim, but I felt lazy and didn't feel like all that counting. Anyway, when I got to the pool, I found out that the summer schedule had started, meaning less pool time for me.

I slipped into the pool and started swimming non-stop for 50 min. I much prefer that actually over sets. I get into a rhythm and let my mind drift (that is when I'm not correcting my technique). I noticed at one point that I had a long line of swimmers all closely following me. Aha! They were drafting. So I tried it too and put myself behind some gentleman who looked pretty strong and I was amazed that I could keep up so easily! It was a busy day at the pool, what with the long holiday weekend and all ... I don't mind when there's lots of people. There will be way more than that when I do the Ironman ...

Here's a really hilarious video clip simulating open-water swimming:
http://weshobsonperformance.com/images/video.mpeg
It makes me laugh out loud every time I watch it!
(it also scares the heebie-jeebies out of me ... ugh!)

What am I doing up at this time?

Well, I set a new record for an early bedtime. 5pm. I worked on my sales reports this afternoon from contracts I had this past weekend, and I just couldn't tough it anymore. Thought I'd lie down for a short nap. In my previous post, I joked about the 8-hour nap. Pretty pitiful when the joke becomes the reality with my finally getting out of bed almost 9 hours later.

WHOA!! Guess I was friggin' exhausted!!

Alright, so here I am up ... finished my reports and did some browsing on the net. Here's my most recent post on the Multi-sport Coolrunning forum:
http://www.coolrunning.com/forums/Forum2/HTML/010083.shtml

Well, I'm done for the night ... gonna crawl back into bed for an hour or two. Back to my regular training starting tomorrow. I'm trying to justify the recent lack of training to myself by saying that no training is worth total exhaustion ...

AAAAAGH!!

There's something about working 50 hours in 4 days at three different jobs with super early mornings and some super late nights that makes me want to just SLEEP and EAT in my "spare" time. Meaning ...

3 days of no training. Not good, not good. That's about 10-12 missed hours of badly needed training! Why is this not 4 days? Well, I'm trying to make myself feel a bit better by telling myself that one of those days would have been a rest day anyway.

Hmm ... I wish today could be a rest day as I still feel exhausted. Maybe I should just lie down for an 8-hour power nap? No, no, have to get back to training again today ... first on the agenda, swimming.

I still feel like I could sleep some more ...

I came home from work yesterday, spoke with a few friends on the phone, then had supper. I lay down at 7:30pm and set my alarm for a half hour nap. Supposed to swim, you know! The alarm went on. I turned it off. So no swimming, no cycling, no running - I "had" planned a grand slam.

It's what time now? Guess I was really tired ... 9 1/2 hours sleep, and I wish I could go back to bed. It's happened before that I slept 14 hours straight. I wish I had this luxury this morning, but off to work I'll be going soon. And when I get back from work this afternoon, I'll be going to work for tonight after a quick chow-down.

I guess it's going to be one of those days ...

Excuse me, what time is it?

The great thing about working contractually is the time off. The bad thing about working contractually is that when it rains it pours. Back to back to back contracts this entire weekend. I got 2.5 hours sleep last night and will get another whopping 3 tonight due to finishing work at 2am. I started my first contract at 6am this morning.

Did I train today? Nope. Did I want to? Yes mentally but no physically ... I opted instead to take a 20 min. nap and do the prep work for tonight's contract. Did I get a break today? Yes, I spent some time meeting up with a cool stuntwoman friend from out of town who came in to see the Madonna concert ... Chinese dim sum is always a good choice!

While I was waiting for her in Chinatown, I checked out a bracelet at one of the market stalls. A tourist commented that it wasn't my colour. I replied that I agreed. He asked me if I was Chinese and I told him yes. He was amazed and exclaimed, "But you have no accent."

In my mind, I rolled my eyes ... (Excuse me, do all ethnic minorities have to speak with accents?) Maybe I should have put on my really bad Jamaican accent and faked him out entirely ... SHEESH!!

Alright, now that I've had my snack, it's off to beddy-bye ... working again tomorrow, but will try to get in a short spin before heading off downtown to the Grand Prix festivities ...

AGH ... I'm tired!!

Short and sweet, and I should have brought another one ...

I ate this granola bar on my ride today ... it was amazing and I didn't know how hungry I was until I ate it. Maybe being so hungry made it taste better, I don't know, but I wish I had brought two of them with me. Next time ...

Bike total = 54km in 2 h 6 min.

I'm not sure how accurate the computer was though because it was a loaner from the bike store that broke my new one today. I spent major $$$ today on much needed repairs/tune-up/equipment. UGH. Good thing I didn't have to buy a new bike on top of it all ...

I'm trying to stay away from expensive "health bars" though I've been told by more than one person that Clif Bars are really yummy ... but at the price for one of those, I can buy 4 of the ones on the left :-) YUMMIER!!

Swam this afternoon while waiting for my bike to be serviced:

- 200 m warm-up followed by slow 8 x 300 m, 20 sec. recuperation (concentration on pulling and pushing)

Swim total = 2600 m

- I hate keeping track of laps and intervals

What goes up, must come down!

It's great not having a regular job, but it's not great either. I'm not very good at 9-5; it makes me feel caged. Maybe it's the flaky artist inside of me. Maybe I've just gotten used to financial instability and not knowing what one day holds to the next. I don't know ... I kinda like it though, that freedom of being freelance, especially when it's nice outside :-) Much better than this ...

The bad thing about not working on a daily contract is managing my time. Because I keep irregular hours, I tend to do things in an organized haphazard fashion. Hmm, perhaps I don't give myself enough credit though for being productive - my friends seem to think I'm some sort of Superwoman.

Yeah, right - I am far from it ... I tell you, the number of hours required to train for an Ironman is incredible and because my contracts tend to come in waves that I can't "plan" out ... my training schedule gets torn to shreds.

In fact, I am at the start of one of those mighty waves and by the end of this weekend, something will come crashing down ... Used to be I could "get by" and even marathon train, take care of the kids, fund-raise, and work full-time on just 4-5 hours of sleep a night. Those days are finished. I'm getting about 7-8 hours a night and know that I am just at the limit and could definitely use more.

I have at least 55 hours of work ahead of me through 'til Sunday. Ugh. And I also have to fit in another 12.5 hours of training. UGH!

Alright, tonight's training:

- I'm still trying to play "catch up" for being delinquent on Sunday and skipping training. Today, I just had too much work and meetings to train during the day, so I had no choice and trained at night.

Bike:
- Hill-work. 1.5 hours.
- Rode through downtown and cut across to Westmount to visit her lovely hills. Up and down and up and down and up and down ... etc. I did this one hill that went from Sherbrooke to the Boulevard (Roslyn, I believe) and there was one part of it that was so steep, I didn't think I'd make it, but I did ... whew! I guess I'm getting stronger!
- I went back via Decarie and Cote-Ste-Catherine (long uphill) and then went uphill again through the Outremont hills, or whatever that posh area is nearby Mount Royal and U of M. (Someone, can you tell me?)
- Learned some things about cycling at night:
1) it's dangerous (yes, I have little lights)
2) drivers are still as stupid as they are during the day, if not more
3) I can't see the cracks and potholes in the street as well (duh!)
4) I can't bomb downhill like I usually can for fear of hitting one of those cracks and potholes I can't see
5) I can't go nearly as fast as I can during the day - see 2) & 3)

Run:
- Short 10 min. break at home to change, drink and yes, Dirk, I know ... phone and e-mail are not part of transition.
- Went out the door and ran to the park where I burnt my retinas with the strong lamps contrasted against the dark fields, said "screw that" then continued around the neighbourhood. - 15 min. warm-up followed by 7 x 5 min. race pace with 2 min. recuperation (fast walking)
- Race pace ... what's that? I can't stand running faster than base pace, which is basically the same as marathon pace - ha ha! Dirk, you're killing me. What pace is this? "Please beat me with a stick" pace? UGH. Last two intervals were obviously the most difficult.
- I think I'm getting better at these BRICK workouts :-)

Here's that Gazette newspaper article that wouldn't upload properly on Blogger!

Goes to show you that everyone has their right to 15 min. of fame ... and I've been lucky enough to get this more than once in my life ... Ha ha!

Um, Dirk ... don't look at the time that I was still up ... yes ... I am a bad triathlete wannabe :-(
It could have been worse - I could have been that last customer asking for a sandwich at closing!

The return of the prodigal daughter ...

Sorry folks, been busy with kids and work and whatnot ... Have to apologize for having broken my promise last Thursday ... not my usual style!

Alright, this is what's been happening ...

Thursday, June 15
- cycled an hour with my friend JoeBoxter, up and over Camilien Houde ... about 20km. I'm getting stronger ... finally ...
- then I ran here and there and everywhere and did some errands at the same time for a total of an hour and a half. Sorry Dirk, I skimped out on that 5 extra minutes written in my schedule, but I had to make sure to pick up the kids on time!
- One of my errands was to leave my car at the dealership garage - Chevrolet Clermont. They absolutely suck for service ... but I will devote a whole blog entry just on how much they suck. It took them four months to "try" to make me a satisfied customer.

Friday, June 16
- Morning swim: 250 m warm-up followed by 10 x 225 m with last 25 m slowly increasing in speed, 20 sec. rest
- Then dashed off to a meeting, followed by physio (ouch!), followed by an audition, then had to pop into the office too - what a day!
- Sadly, no time left over to run, which I was supposed to do for 50 min.
- I thought about running beside the kids while they cycled, but it was more important to get the photos taken of me in my new Team Diabetes Canada uniform for my magazine article. Nifty, isn't it? Toulouse, my son, was the photographer ...

Me and my other son, Gustav

Me being my typical cheesy self! My kids hate when I do this :-)

I wonder if one day my kids will realise what their mother is trying to accomplish ... I think they already think I'm a little *crazy* though (but hopefully in a good way!)

Saturday, June 17
- Um ... gave a tennis lesson to my kids ... does that count as cross-training? What, you mean it only counts if I chased the balls too?
- Great to have a day off!

Sunday, June 18
- Great to have another day off!
- I felt guilty about taking this day off too but I ended up getting some much needed rest and managed to do some yard work for 3 hours, albeit the soaring temperature of 32C
- I told myself that I would at least run at night ... though telling oneself is different than doing ...

TODAY
- I felt guilty for my total lack of discipline Sunday so ...
- Bike: 100 km, through the rain and heat and sun and 30-40 km/h wind. It took me 4 hours ... not bad ... average speed 25 km/h, and that included warm-up and cool-down :-) Those little hills that used to slow me down don't anymore ... hehehe ... I'm finally getting me some cycling legs.
- Had to work tonight, but followed it right after with a 45 min. swim. Glide, glide, glide ... non-stop. Swam as slowly as possible, which is actually kinda difficult! I had to adjust my breathing a bit but kept getting water in my nose ... ugh!
- I considered running when I got home but happily nixed the idea when it started to rain, again. Figured between the cycling and the pool, I'd gotten wet enough for one day.

It's time to lay my head down for a good night's sleep. I figure I deserve it after almost 5 hours of training. To think, I have up to 17 hours in which to finish the Ironman - I can't imagine pushing myself like I did today for another 12 hours!

Sooooo tired ....

Will write more tomorrow, I swear ...

Good night all and sweet dreams xoxo

If you can walk to pick it up, it's not a good thing!

Motorist gripe #1:
Get off your cell phone!!

Motorist gripe #2:
The "must wait 3 seconds when the light turns green" rule is a fallacy.

-------------------------------------------------------
Finally got onto my bike and rode for 2 h 52 min., almost 71km. Average speed was 24.6, max speed was about 40 km/h. Not that bad considering yet once again I rode into a headwind along the river. Hang on here ... there seems to be some sort of correlation ... wind ... along the river... Interesting ...

I must admit, my legs felt tired today, albeit the rest I got yesterday. I hope they will be in shape tomorrow since I have a mega-huge leg training session. Hills with my bike followed by a long run. OOF!! Maybe I'll be really brave and try for a brick ... or maybe I'll do nothing but lounge all day and write on my blog and say I did it.

Met up with my friend, B., for a bit of golf practice at the driving range. Needless to say, not being a golf player, I didn't do too well with the first few balls. A little embarrassed and thinking no one was watching me, I walked onto the grass in front of me to retrieve my ball. B. shouts out, "If you can walk to pick it up, it's not a good thing!" Great, a spectator.

There is that precious moment just before hitting the ball where everything gets still and totally focused. Yeah, right ... try telling that to the mosquitos buzzing around me. OUCH!

Folks, don't wear a mini-skirt and tank top at night at a driving range infested with mosquitos.

Things you don't want to see during the swim leg

This is hilarious ... check it out by clicking here ... I just love the Coolrunning e-boards :-)

I'm just on a lunch break. Had my audition. Folks, do not head out right after swimming anywhere where "racoon eyes" might be a negative. I realised this after I got back from the pool and had to get ready for my audition. Make-up does not hide the distinct "racoon eyes" that swim goggles leave behind. Think about it ... how long do bedsheet lines take to leave your face in the morning? Now add some distinct puffiness and make the lines much deeper. Yup, raccoon eyes.

Swim:
- 200 m warm-up
- 8 x 250 m, 20 sec. rest
- 100 m to practise "sighting" - I suck at this ... have to learn to re-balance my body
- 150 m cool down - breast stroke and back crawl
- Total = 2450 m (well, actually, probably more like 2340 m since this is the "short" pool) in 55 min.

Nice thing was there was hardly anyone at the pool and for a long while, I had the lane all for myself.

Well, off to cycle.

Caught in the doorway

Unintended day off from training ... I swear, I really meant to train today ... Ugh. I am a bad triathlete wannabe.

I ended up getting a whole bunch of work done on the computer and when it was finally time to get going for my cycle (timed to coincide with my triathlon team practice later that evening), I ended up ... ahem ... writing. Hilarious ... I sat at my computer completely geared up in my cycling clothes, my bike all ready to go loaded up with bottles of sport drink. I even had food in my jersey back pockets. I didn't mean to sit back down but sometimes, when inspiration hits, one must go with it, and the particular piece on which I was working had an ASAP deadline.

I finish the first draft and try again to head out the door. I put on my shoes, helmet and cycling glasses and start taking my bike outside. The phone rings and I leave my bike halfway on the porch and halfway in the hallway ... caught in the doorway. It's my agent with an audition and we end up talking for a little bit. Good, good ... I get ready to go again.

Then the phone rings again and it's my friend Sly who almost obliterated me while running last night. He talks about his weekend plans and how he's looking for a lake for me to swim in where he can kayak beside me (cause I don't want to drown ... If I drown, I can't do the Ironman). We talk for a while too and I tell him that I am in the middle of heading out, literally!

I look at the time. Darn. Cycling plans ruined - it's too late to head out. I figure it's not worth going out for just a half hour considering I still had to eat supper before heading out for dance practice.

Well, at least I had an amazing dance practice :-)

I know I've been training a lot when ...

... I dream that I've woken up at 3am to go swimming, hang out all day at the pool to watch competitions and then try to figure out when to swim some more ...

I hate intervals

Alright, the intervals weren't THAT bad this time round ... I had company. Nothing like misery loving company ...

First though, 55 min. in the pool with my triathlon team. Drills and sprints and 500m swim. I didn't make it to the second set of 500m ... did some extra drill sets trying to correct my technique - ARGH!!! Swimming is sooooo difficult!

Then back home to start supper. My friend Sly arrived. He used to run and recently picked up running again, and when I say recently, I mean like last week. The embarrassing thing is, I already knew before running with him that he would kick my a$$. I think only if we ran 25k+ together would I be able to shake him finally and be able to drop him. Argh ... these runners with natural speed and endurance. I'm soooo jealous! ;-)

We went the long way to Jarry Park and ran around the circuit there.

Warm-up 22 min.
8 sets of 4 min. race pace, 2 min. recuperation (walking)
Cool-down jog back home 3 min.

Total run time = 1h 13 min.

Then a feast on BBQ pork chops, rapini with garlic and rice. I make the best BBQ sauce ... request it and the recipe's yours ...

She'll be coming around the mountain when she comes ...

Good cycle today, though it took forever for me to get out that door. I would have rather stayed in lounging in my pyjamas all day and cuddling up on my couch (yes, all alone!) watching DVDs.

But alas, there's that dang training schedule that I have to adhere now which called for 3.5 hours of cycling. Well, Dirk, I did just a wee bit better ...

Started with a cycle up and over Camilen Houde. It went better than last Thursday and I pushed it all the way up and didn't let myself stop. I was really S-L-O-W by the top, but the first two thirds went better than usual, and the first third is definitely much faster! Came back behind the mountain through the "nice" neighbourhood and over some more little hills.

I decided that was the way to go, hills, so I took Côte-Ste-Catherine from du Parc and went to Décarie, then turned around and came back. Turned right on some street because I wanted to climb again, and ended up on the path that takes me back from Camilien Houde through that "nice neighbourhood".

You have no idea what I am talking about but I do, and those rolling hills after CH were pretty cool. Then I cycled north and then east to the tip of the island to Rivière-des-Prairies. I caught a nice cycling path at the end of it and took that for a bit too, just to add more distance.

All in all, not a bad cycling day ... 90k total in 3h 55min. Average speed was 23 km/h (including all my slow hill time!) and my fastest speed was almost 47 km/h. I might have gone faster coming down off CH, but my new cycling computer went on the fritz for a few minutes and stopped registering.

Oh yes, it was really windy today - 30 km/h winds. Average speed out on more open roads, even with the wind, was pretty well between 26-29 km/h. I worked really hard on my way back home in the headwind to keep a consistent pace.

Two things today:

1) I am not a techie cycling geek and wish I was. If I were, I could have gone out the door sooner to avoid riding at dusk since I would not have had to fiddle so long trying to install my new cycling computer.

2) There are a tremendous amount of bugs out at dusk by the water. I came home and had to pick one out from between my teeth. ICK.

Dear Lady ...

If you are alone in your bike path lane and I am alone in my bike path lane, and there is nary a soul around, please do not suddenly at the last minute decide to cross over into my lane to face me head on.

I am travelling at 34km/h. You are travelling at not more than 12 or 13km/h. I cannot unfortunately stop as quickly as both of us, but especially me, would like to. You have absolutely no good reason to change lanes and you will not suffer the way I will from a sudden collision. Your body will most definitely not hurtle as fast nor as far nor as hard as mine will at the speed at which I am travelling.

So please, in the future, try to stay on your side of the bike lane. By the way, be careful darting out between cars without looking because something tells me that you like to do this as well.

Sincerely,

Silly Sally

Date question: Why are ...

I "rushed" to the pool yesterday afternoon. Rushed, why rushed ... 'cause I missed the other period at the other pool and didn't want to miss this one! Got there late anyway, by five minutes, and that made all the difference. Didn't have enough time to finish my scheduled workout.

Swim:
- 250m warm-up
- 6 x 175m, 20 sec. rest
- 4 x 125m, 15 sec. rest
- I was supposed to do 6x 125m, but the pool closed. Ugh. On top of that, the pool is actually a bit shy of 25m, perhaps just under 24m, so I sprinted back an extra lap to try to make up for some of that lost distance. Valiant attempt, but I still feel like I "cheated" on the training.

Run:
- 45 min. easy run
- When I got home, I changed and went out into the rain and ran with my neighbour Kneejerk. She had a little injury and was limping slightly but both of us wanted her to test herself before heading out for long but moderately fast run with TurtleBoy tomorrow. I advised her against it. TurtleBoy should have changed his name a long time ago to RabbitBoy.
- We went and checked out various stores along the way to pick this up - I'm famous! (click on it to make it bigger so you can read it ... hang on, not working, Blogger glitch ... I'll fix this soon):

Later that night, I went to MJ's house and was joined by Jeffy. We watched a chick flick called "Just Like Heaven" There's a car crash scene in it, and it brought tears to my eyes ... I still see my accident too clearly sometimes and relive that moment when I thought I was going to die ...

We ended up talking about relationships.

Mine and MJ's question (and dating dilemma):

Why are men afraid of strong women? Do they feel emasculated by us? Does their ego get in the way that we do not think they are Gods? Why can't we just be equals?

We tried to put it down to so many different things ... how much money we make or don't make, what job we do, our interests and achievements, confidence level, blah blah blah, and we still couldn't figure out what turns a guy on or off. And I really don't want to use the line "I'm a sex toy consultant" on the first date, you know!

MJ said she's trying to come across more feminine and "vulnerable" in her dates. I actually don't bloody care - I'll be who I am. Sure I have a super feminine and sultry side which comes out regardless of the balls that MJ says I have. LOL!!! Jeffy thought we were both great, but he's a sweetie ...

MJ said it's hard to fit me into any kind of box which might scare men. I replied, yeah, and my training for an Ironman doesn't help. Just wait until I tell my dates I'm training for a second one. (Ironman Canada 2007 is the 25th anniversary ... soooo tempting!)

Thank you Universe

Thank you Universe for allowing me to witness that precious moment when a young little soccer player heads the ball successfully.

This might be a little thing to you, but I am sure that little boy felt tremendous accomplishment, and having seen that, I felt delighted.

Friday will be my "thank you Universe" day. Please feel free share what you are thankful for through posting a comment.

Thank you Universe for giving me a complete day off from this Ironman training because I'm really tired :-)

JB says "Sucks to be you"

Cool and dreary day today ... rain, but I waited it out and only went to train when it stopped. JoeBoxter made fun of me since he knew what was on my training schedule for the day ... and I didn't feel like it ...

BIKE
- climbed Camilien Houde, our little mountain, and did it in a more difficult gear, as Erik, my triathlete team coach told us not to use the easiest gear so we would have leeway if needed when it got tougher. It got tougher closer to the top and I changed into a smaller gear but my non-cycling legs were burning, so I wimped out. I stopped and took a 30 sec. rest. OOF! Not good, but it allowed me to finish the last bit of the climb without pain and a little faster
- did a bunch of other small hills on the way back home to make a grand cycling time of one hour

RUN
- I changed into my cycling clothes and ate a banana, downed some juice, checked my e-mail (yes, I am a geek girl) then headed right back out the door after a long transition time of 11 min.
- I ran for 66 min., maybe about 11 km or so. My legs felt alright throughout, never heavy, but I could certainly feel the fatigue of the week's training. I actually cheated on my run since it was supposed to be an hour and a half ... but I ran out of time. I had to head out the door for another night of bad triathlon girl socializing (supper and dancing) but I must say, it felt good to do a BRICK !! Roooaarrr!!

When I was running, it dawned on me to start something new each Friday ...

Blustery, blustery evening!

Today's training:

Swim
- 200m warm-up followed by 8 x 200m reps, 20 sec. rest
- I ran into Erik, my triathlon coach and asked him what we were doing in swim practice that night and he told me "race start followed by 500m, then finish with a 2000m". I thought, "Yeah, right ..." and asked him if he was serious. I asked him if we would have enough time to do that in an hour with warm-up and cool-down and he said sure, everyone should be able to swim fast enough. I told him that I did 3km in an hour and he told me that I should be able to swim 3.5km in an hour. Yeah, right, the day I become an "elite athlete" like him.
- I didn't make it to swim practice with my triathlon group because I still had to ...

Bike
- partly in the dark 'cause I procrastinated and lay on the sofa for a bit then talked on the phone and then worked on my blog (darn Blogger glitch!)
- total time: 1h 45 min., most of it in a headwind. I thought that I would finally be cycling with the wind pushing me all the way home ... yeah, sure ... as if wind never changes direction ...
- lots of bugs ... ick

No socializing tonight ... finally a quiet night at home! Yay! Did I manage to get anything productive done? Nooooooo !!

T-I-R-E-D !!!

Well, it's my fault that I felt tired today. Two super late nights socializing ... I was asking for it ... breaking all good triathlete rules.

First stop last night - Hurley's with the Montreal Coolrunners:

(left to right) Mercury, Truxx the birthday boy, Silly Sally (me!), TurtleBoy (in front), Ralf and Kneejerk

Then off to meet my dance friends from out of town in the cheesy Hotel de la Montagne lounge. Ugh. No good music there and they wouldn't let us put on our music compilations. Then we tried Thursday's Disco. Ugh. No good music there either. Then off to Le Blanc, but it was salsa & merengue night, or perhaps another group of dancers were faster than us and got there earlier to ask to put on their own compilation.

We ducked across the street and the manager at Bueno Notte was nice enough to let us put on our own music and stay for drinks and dancing. Yay! Fun time to be had by us all ... then ...

Late night snack at Boustan on Crescent St., a Montreal institution and must-visit for tourists! :

Me and the owner (but I've forgotten his name!) - He made me the "Boustan Special" - Yum Yum!!

Jacques and Steve, dance teacher extraordinaire

Can (pronounced John) and Cathy, my patient dance partner when I'm leading

West Coast Swing is my favourite dance. The woman (follow) is danced down a slot by the man (lead) who "gets out of her way". There are mainly six and eight count figures with lots and lots of variations and extended patterns. The dance is marked by a special sense of elasticity, with lots of fantastic-feeling compression and extension. Overall a very incredible dance with tons of room for expression and improvisation, very sensual and rhythmical - entirely groovy and cool. I LOVE THIS DANCE!! Thank you Can and Steve for visiting Montreal and dancing with me!

Check out the professionals in a fun "swing jam":
http://barberassociatesinc.com/swango/swingjam.htm

There was some really interesting music playing ... Can and I started dancing. A girl came up to me and told me she wanted to learn since a ex-boyfriend of hers once showed her. A Gazette reporter, Steve Faguy, who is doing an article on "post-midnight hanging out" came up to us and asked us a couple of questions ... Hey, maybe I'll make this Saturday's paper ... and get yet another 15 min. of fame ... LOL!!

And now for today's training:

Swim - I felt tired throughout doing my most absolute favourite thing (just kidding) - drills for 50 min. I tried this new drill of holding my arms at my side face down and kicking, turning only to breathe. I almost drowned and didn't get past half a length. I think I'd better try that for another day when I'm feeling less tired.

Bike - 3 hours, or about 74km with JoeBoxter, my running mate. I can run farther and faster than he can, but boy can he whup my a$$ on a bike. My heart rate was just way too high ... blame it on the fatigue or the heat, or the fact that I just suck on a bike. And my legs felt more tired than usual. Good thing JB was patient with me because he could have easily taken off on me and left me behind like a wet sock. Instead, he took me to all sorts of cool places.

Here's what JB posted on Coolrunning Montreal:

Sally picked me up at work, from there I took her for a few laps of the F1 circuit, then across the very thin strip of land that the Champlain, and Victoria bridges cross to get to the south shore. We took this for about 15k to the "Recreo-parc" in ville de la Cote St. Catherine near Delson and Candiac. From there, we went back to the "Ice bridge" that goes alongside the champlain bridge into Nun's Island. From there, we went back into verdun, then back to my house in Ville Emard. All in all for me was about 53km. Bonnie then continued on to her house for another ~14k (plus the 7K to my office) for a total of about 75k for her. Way to go.

Why is it so difficult to squeeze in my training at times?

Saturday:

- 50 min. run with E., the owner of Vertige, the restaurant that will be hosting my August 2 "Lock & Key" charity event for Team Diabetes Canada. (He's fast and pushed me a bit!) Everyone gets a lock and key ... then mix and mingle to find matches for both to get a chance to win one of many fabulous prizes. Enjoy a fantastic "gastronomic dinner & cocktail" concept in a beautiful classy ambience ... Mark that date in your agendas!

- I was supposed to swim in the afternoon, but was in a meeting with K., my publicist friend, laying down the groundwork for "Lock & Key" ... I'm sooo excited!

Sunday:

- Guiltily, I started out with swimming. Got to the pool later than I wanted but managed to slip in my scheduled workout just under the nose. 200m warm-up, 10 x 150m, 20 sec. rest. Well, knowing the lifeguard allowed me to stay an extra 5 minutes past "closing" while he set up for lessons. He's a member of my triathlon group.

- Later that day, a 2h 10 min. ride. Only 53km, but don't forget, there's a part that I have to fight through lots of lights and traffic before I get out to the north shore where I often bike. Maximum speed hit was 40km/h. Had a bit of wind heading out, so cruised at 25-26km/h, and on the way back, averaged about 28-29km/h. Concentrated on my cadence, like usual.

- I had originally thought about taking the Lachine Canal path, but a friend warned me about the "traffic" due to the Tour de L'Ile (big yearly Montreal organized bike tour). So I ended up fiddling with my bike and installing a gage to help measure distances, speed, etc. Hence, the "shortened" bike ride because I took too long! I was *supposed* to do 2.5 - 3 hours. Oh oh oh!!!

- 9pm - 2am ... lots of West Coast Swing dancing at Le Blanc due to some dance friends who came up from the States. Wicked time to be had by all! This is my absolute favourite dance and this is what it looks like when the professionals dance it in a "swing jam":
http://barberassociatesinc.com/swango/swingjam.htm Check it out!

Today:

- Barely slipped in a 45 min. run, finishing off with 3 x 40 sec. fast intervals with one minute break ... ugh ... I hate intervals
- I was supposed to swim today too, but I had to bake and frost a cake, and seeing that I didn't have the ingredients in my house, had to duck out to get some
- Going off tonight for supper and drinks with my Coolrunning Montreal mates followed by more West Coast Swing dancing ... My social calendar is on overload these days ... lots of fun, but not the next morning when I'm supposed to be training ... UGH.

The Infinite Interconnected Universe

I met this nice friendly fella one evening recently while out with my friend R. catching up. He's been working for Calories since he was 21 years old, and now he's 38. It's rare to see one of those genuinely happy-go-lucky people, always chipper and wanting everyone to "feel good" which is what he obviously is feeling. There are those who'd wish he'd take that smile off his face, but those are the miserable folk.

I, on the other hand, delighted in it. There are just too many unhappy people in this world.

http://www.keetologue.com/102705montreal.html

Calories (4114 Rue St. Catherine, 514 933 8186)

Not only is this dessert out of this world (try the mango cheesecake or the hot apple tart a la mode with caramel sauce, holy moly) but what really makes the place is the really funny brown waiter. If you could clone him and bring him everywhere with you, everyday would be a holiday.

I second that opinion. I struck up a conversation with Gogoblender the "brown waiter" as we were leaving. Yes, he could work for more money, yes, he's been offered lots of positions with more responsibility, but why do it if what he's doing makes him happy? We talked about making the world a better place and he mentioned something that I've always believed in ... CHANGE begins with ONE.

Change oneself and it will affect all those around. This is an interconnected universe and if we let in the light and warmth, the good and positive, that is what will come out of us and shine onto everyone else.

Super nice chap, that Gogoblender ... :-)

When I got home, I got an e-mail from my acting coach B., who is also very spiritual:

Why be "you" when you can be "infinite" you! That's right, I don't want to be "me" (mini me!?). I want to be "infinite me". i.e. me to the power of infinity. That way, my choices are infinite and my possibilities are ... yes, you guessed it ... INFINITE!!!!

So I wish you a huge lasting shift in consciousness so that from this day forth you will ALWAYS be connected to INFINITE YOU!! How? By simply thinking that you are connected to an infinite source of love, light ... and everything. Here's to infinite you with infinite unlimited possibilities at all times!!!!

That's the ticket .. the universe is infinite, and we are all interconnected, making us infinite too ... :-)

My heartbeat has early beats - what does that mean?

Thursday:

Got woken up by a friendly Df, a gal from my running group. I had put in a wake-up request on the running group board and she was nice enough to do me the favour. I lay in bed for an extra 20 min. before I forced myself out. Had to go cycling, you know ... I don't know how triathletes get up at 5am. Earliest I've been up to train is 6:30am. So got in a nice hour and a half cycle. What a breezy day!

Busy, busy, busy today with meetings and appointments. Saw my doctor in the afternoon for a routine physical. She listened to my heart and told me I have "early beats" and sent me for an ECG (electrocardiogram). I came back from the hospital with the report. Yup, premature beats, whole bunches of them.

Seem like other electrical impulses in my heart are causing it to beat when it shouldn't be ... I don't know what to think of this yet ... have to wait for the cardiologist's full report. Hmmm ...

Met up with the Montreal Coolrunners for a Hell Hills run in Westmount. Gruelling ... and because I was with these super fast guys, was forced to run a faster pace than I would have liked so as not to feel that I was running backwards. All things are relative, right? Don't know how far we went, but we covered lots of good hills, ugh, and made it back to the starting point in an hour and ten minutes.

And my heart? Who knows? Seems to still be ticking ... I'm alive still.

Today:

I wanted to go for a long swim just to relax but ended up talking to Dirk on the phone and he quickly nixed that. Yes, yes, you're right, it's marked on the schedule "day off" ...

Tonight:

Swing dancing :-)