What does $1.25 buy you?

I've been doing way too much overtime recently (i.e. finished at 1 am the other night) and figured it would be good to work out a bit after birthday cake and pizza (yes, for one of my wonderful boys) ... so I went to the local pool.

Plunked in some coins to buy me some parking, walked into the YMCA and then walked back out one minute later. Pool was closed. Undergoing maintenance.

Couldn't they choose to maintain the pool another time when I didn't want to go for a swim? Heck, I haven't been in the pool for weeks! My hair is getting shiny again what with the lack of chlorine ...

No running either, it was storming outside, and I felt lazy what with the measly 3 1/2 hours of sleep I got the night before. So I went back home and tried to catch a bit of CSI or was it Law & Order ... can't remember, I didn't watch enough of it to figure it out before I ...

Zzzzzzzz ....

Dang that couch of mine!

Slept 10 hours ... woke up at 8am and barely had enough time to get ready for work!

This marathon training somehow isn't getting off to a good start ... T minus 31 days. Oooooh!!

Time to kick some a$$!!

This past weekend, I decided I needed to kick some a$$ ... MINE, of course!

One thing about training is that it is too easy to fall out of routine. In fact, I fell out of my routine last year, right after Ironman. And now, miserably "out of shape" with a growing little Buddha Belly pushing the limits of my waistbands, I am truly missing it.

Sure, there have been a few haphazard short-lived frenetic spurts of training but I think they were more so due to "sloth guilt" and definitely not at all to discipline and determination.

(Hmm, well, I can't say I've completely faltered on the determination part since, looking back, I was able to complete a marathon with almost nil training ... guess that takes some sort of guts ... on second though, maybe that was plain old stupidity.)

This makes me think ...

Interesting how perception plays such a large part in things. I remember my first marathon, for which I was the best-trained of all my 12 marathons ... I feared that I wouldn't be able to finish it.

Fear of the unknown. It can break us if we let it.

There have been countless times that I could no longer endure the pain and fatigue while running a marathon but I always seem to get through it, because *I believe*. I'd be cursing at myself, once even incredibly angry at myself that I had elected to piggy-back marathons, when I ran Niagara after Hartford, only two weeks later. Ouch! No ... OUCH!!!

In that memorable race, my quad had seized up right after the half-way mark and it would not let go. I hated to have to take walk breaks but I needed the 30 or so seconds (okay, maybe longer) to try to massage out the cramp, working the muscle so hard I left my leg black-and-blue.

After I crossed the finish line, I looked at the volunteer who had put my finisher's medal around my neck with big eyes and asked her to *hug me*. And I then proceeded to shed loud tears of anguish and relief as my frustration and anger from the pain and my stupidity finally found its cathartic ending.

This weekend, I decided to give myself a kick-start to a new training regimen.

1) Saturday evening - ran 5 k in the icky hot and humid weather, tough but I got through it somehow

2) Sunday morning - ran 10 k in the cooler humid weather ... thought I was gonna d-i-e, I am sooo out of shape

3) Sunday afternoon - cycled 21 k with the kiddies, not super fast but it was still good to be on my bike again after this long training hiatus

4) Signed up for a marathon. Nothing like a race to motivate my lazy a$$ ... well, that didn't really work for Ottawa, but heck, it has in the past ... Yes, yes, I know the race is just a month away ... that's the challenge.

5) Sunday evening - cycled another 22 k, this time without the kiddies

6) Monday morning - cycled 22 k again before heading to work. I felt the weekend's furious kick-start in my legs. Ouch, lactic acid!

Now, let's see if I can keep up with this pace. I just have to figure out a way to train around the 10-12 hour work days I've been encountering ...

Observations of the week

12 hour work days are very long.

Going to Toronto and back in one weekend is extremely exhausting (6 hour boring drive).

Enjoying supper and laughs with friends is always special.

No time to train ... what a week!

Well, at least I slipped in a short 5 k while in Toronto (and a 5-hour nap!) and also cycled to work once last week.

I can't believe I have chosen sleep and my social life over training (correction: yes, I can) ... I remember when I would be able to do an 18k run on 3 hours sleep after having worked all day ... heck, I've run marathons and did my Ironman on less sleep ... Where did all my energy go?

Got another cortisone injection in my neck today ... aaaahhhhh .... my head is lighter! Yay! I feel like I'm finally getting closer to the end of treatments to my injuries from the car accident last year :-)

Second Wind

I had an exhausting weekend but not from training ... sigh.

I held a garage sale (pics to come soon courtesy of Jonathan Clark, my super talented photographer friend). It's amazing how someone's junk is someone else's treasure and also how cheap people can get when trying to barter.

It's also amazing how drunk one can get on three drinks ... mind you, they were quite stiff ones and I hadn't eaten supper ... well, a banana ... does that count? JC and I headed to a *special function* in *special clothing* and stayed out late like naughty little children. Word of advice: 4-inch stilletto heels are not conducive to dancing for hours.

Was it a fun night? Definitely! Was it a fun post-event morning? Definitely not ... ooooh!

Almost fell asleep on the couch tonight after wrapping up the garage sale and while chatting with a friend on the phone. I realised I was drifting when I heard my friend, AT, say, "Are you there?"

So now, instead of sleeping, since I had too many things to do, I am blogging. WHAT HAPPENED?! I was so tired earlier and thought I'd be able to get in a good night's sleep finally and now I'm wide awake!

Drat that second wind ...

I got shot today ...

... in the neck, with a cortisone injection. Seems that the sports medicine doctor wants to break the inflammatory cycle in my neck muscles at the base of my head. Yes folks, whiplash can cause quite serious damage. I'm going onto a year and a half now since my car accident and I am still not free of pain.

Sigh.

Shot was very painful, the worse part being not the needle penetrating my scalp, but the actual cortisone being injected into the base of my head. It burned.

Now I have to let the cortisone shot settle for a few days and was told by the doctor to lay low ... Definitely no running. Possibly some swimming and cycling if I take it easy, and I sensed that the doctor sensed I don't take things "easy" in the way she was meaning it. What gave this away? When she said, "Not like this," and physically mimed me NOT taking it easy on the bike.

My body is aching to MOVE!!

Alright ... here is my plan:

Thurs. evening: swim
Friday: bike to and back from work (if it doesn't rain)
Saturday: easy short run
Sunday: full marathon

Gotta start back slow, you know ... What do you think?

Birthday Story in Pictures

I couldn't handle the "need-to-move" itchy feeling in my legs any more, and knowing I'm not allowed to train, I went for a walk up and down the mountain. 8 km. It sure takes a lot more energy to walk that distance instead of run it. Grabbed some yummy Indian food from Park Ext. afterwards and was ready to fall asleep in my plate by the time I had finished it.

Here are some fun pics from my sons' birthday party. They're both summer babies so I threw one big bash inbetween their dates. How many parties will they get this year? Three from me and two from their dad. Lucky kids, but I'm a very lucky mom!

Thank you, Mr. Jonathan Clark for the amazing shots. I am always impressed by your talent.

How many hours are in a week?

You tell me ... I seem to have lost count. It just seems though that I ran out of them a few days ago, I've been so busy. That 5-day headache didn't help either.

I was told not to train. None whatsoever. Nada. It's absolutely killing me. It's one thing when I feel like a sloth because I am only training a few times per week (unlike the 15-20-something hours I was last summer), totally another thing when I am forced to move even less than a sloth.

Sigh.

It makes it worse that I have a sit-down job and have also been coaching at night (coaching what, you ask?) so I haven't even had time to take a walk. Buddha belly is getting rounder ...

This sedentary lifestyle just sucks. I want to train for another marathon, a faster one, and a sprint tri this autumn! Haven't raced much and haven't done any triathlons this season ... ugh. I am way off my mark.

Just have to wait for the doctor's okay next week ... I am sooo tempted to cheat. I am supposed to go dancing tomorrow night - would that be considered cheating? If I go for a walk right now towards Dairy Queen, would that nullify the positive effect of taking a walk?

I have lots of pics to post from my sons' birthday party ... It was a total blast! Stay posted ...