A difficult good-bye: May you rest in peace, Lyn

On May 14, an Ironwoman friend of mine, Lyn Duhamel, cycling with her triathlon team, was killed by an inattentive driver. This careless and tragic accident left three cyclists dead and another three injured, physically and emotionally.

No words can describe the shock and grief that rippled through the cyclist and non-cyclist communities ... and also through my heart. This was an accident that should have never happened and that left only devastation and immense sadness in its wake ...

I miss you, Lyn, and I still think of you several times a day. It's strange to know that I will never see or hear from you again, nor will I be able to train with you, nor will I be racing with you at Ironman Canada in August this year, a race that you convinced me to sign up for.

She'd popped up on my Facebook chat with the link to online registration for Ironman Canada:

Lyn: I know you want to do it.

(then after a few minutes)

Lyn: What are you doing?

Sally: What do you think I'm doing? I'm signing up!

Geez, you'd even convinced me to buy the exercise program P90-X, which I still have to complete (once my shoulder heals completely).

In the years that I have known you, Lyn, since my first Ironman in 2006, I have admired your dedication, generosity, kindness, discipline, fiery spirit, and sense of humour. You were my idol and I wanted to become more like you, and welcomed your unwavering encouragement, support and steadfast belief in me as a fellow triathlete. I thank you for your friendship and for being such an incredible individual.

Lyn, you have touched the lives of many, including mine, and will be forever remembered. May you rest in peace ... xoxo




From her obituary:

Lyn was a passionate triathlon and Ironman athlete. Her many achievements were completing five Ironman triathlons, Boston Marathon (2x) and many other races. She was training for the next Penticton Ironman Canada, B.C. She loved her dog Kona and two cats, Shiraz and Charlotte. She was an avid traveler but especially cherished the island of Hawaii. Lyn was a fiery, energetic, spirited soul who inspired many with her encouraging, uplifting, positive words. She loved and lived life to its fullest. She was a generous, giving and caring nurse who helped many deal with grief; an angel to all of her patients. Her work ethics were to be admired. Lyn was a fit competitor who loved to help and train others in attaining their goals.

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Today, after months of not being able to because of my broken shoulder, I am finally taking out my road bike.

I will ride for you, Lyn, because I know you'd want me to.

You'd want me to get back onto my bike and train properly, and make you proud when I will race Ironman Canada later this year ...

Go Habs Go!!

So, the NHL playoffs for the Stanley Cup has been occupying a lot of people's thoughts and time for the past month or so. Not mine of course, but tonight the Habs (Montreal Canadians) won Game #7 against the Pittsburgh Penguins! Woohoo!!

I've never been a hockey fan, 'cept when I was a little kid and used to collect hockey cards of Darryl Sittler and Guy Lafleur, but tonight, I was actually excited! I even honked my horn on the way home from the pool after their win, along with the other merry Montreal folk celebrating.

I was so excited for the Habs' 2-0 score after the first period, I almost nixed going to the pool at all to sit down and watch the rest of the game. After the end of the second period though, I MADE myself go ... heck, I have an Ironman to train for!

So on the way to the pool, I noticed there was no traffic. Of course, everyone's watching the game. And close to the pool, there was no parking, since everyone is either at home or in one of the many local bars watching the game.

At the YMCA counter, the radio was playing and the game was playing!

"They're playing it downstairs too in the pool."

BONUS!

Funny, I've lived in Montreal for over half my life and I've never ever had any interest in the Habs ... until tonight. I may even have to watch some of the finals ... (did I just write that?)

Okay, now to catch you up on today's training ...

Swimming:

Just a short 1000m. I've done more distance than this in other training sessions, up to 1300m, but I got to the pool late and it closed before I could do more.

We cheered in the pool when the Habs won!
5-2, advancing them to the Finals of the Eastern Conference!

My left shoulder still hurts when I swim even though I am working hard at physio to increase stability and strength. Though the bone is now "healed", the ligaments (rotator cuff) that attach to where the fracture was aren't. Such a long road to full recovery ... sigh. The good news is that I've almost regained full range of motion ... one more month maybe of stretches and I'll be good, I hope.

Running:

I actually ran my first 10k of the year, interrupted by three breaks due to an upset tummy ... Waah! But once I'd finished emptying myself out, I felt better and finished strong, though tired. My legs and hips are definitely not used to the pounding and I'm sure I'm going to feel tight and sore tomorrow.

Cycling:

I'll catch you up with this in the next post but it's going well! I'm still not 100% with my shoulder so I've only been riding my heavy mountain bike since the position is higher than my road and tri bikes. On top of that, I had a recent car accident involving a car driving the wrong way down a one-way street (and into me!) So now my neck and back hurt ... again ... WAAAH!

All in all, training is going as well as expected though with all my injuries and lack of base. It's so hard to rebuild again and feel like an athlete. Oh, the pressure! I'm going to have to start some sort of disciplined training schedule for Ironman real soon ... but let's think about that starting in June ;-)