Ironman countdown!

Alright, I don't know how the others do it ...

How the other triathletes work, have families and train for Ironman all at the same time. Since my last post about training, I have been precariously juggling an intense IM training schedule with 12hr+ shoot days, auditions, kids, and also trying to get enough rest so I don't burn out.

And geez, I've even put my social life completely on the side! Very hard for a social butterfly to do, you know ;-)

I've never been good with schedules or anything that dictates that I have to do a particular something every day. I think the older I get, the more my artist spirit wants to rebel against anything that wants to pin me down or cage me in. It's not like I don't like training intensely, but I prefer to train in whatever way my mood suits me. And for sure, I do miss my other sports and activities, like swing dancing!

I haven't been particulary good about bedtimes or getting enough sleep all the time, though I've tried. Ironman training actually involves a fourth sport ... REST! It's really difficult though finishing a 16hr day at 1:15am, prepping for the next day, sleeping 2.5hrs, then getting to another film set at 7am to start another production. Alright, that was the extreme this summer, nonetheless, it was my reality, and hours like that mess up anyone's schedule!

Week #5

Swim: 2h 50min, 6550m
Bike: 8h 20min, 196k
Run: 2h 15min, 20k

TOTAL TRAINING = 13h 25min

I didn't quite fit in all my training but I did okay.

Week #6

Swim: 2h 30min, 6200m
Bike: 2h 45min, 56k
Run: 3h 57min, 23k + intervals

TOTAL TRAINING = 9h 12min

Three rest days ... I also started a 7-day straight shooting schedule after also having shot earlier in the week.

Week #7

3h 20min, 7450m
5h 34min, 128k
1h 53min, 18.5k

TOTAL TRAINING = 10h 47min

I finished the other four days of my 7-day shoot schedule. Monday, I slipped in a short 3.5k jaunt in the morning before a 13 hour day on set. Tuesday, I managed a half hour swim before a 16hr day. Wednesday was a day off from training thank God, but not shooting, and Thursday was thankfully a shorter day of work, so I got in 1h 45min of training that evening. I let myself sleep in Friday as long as my body wanted.

Whew! And this was a scheduled recuperation week!

Week #8

125 min = 2h 5min, 4150m
780 min = 13h, 319k
185 min = 3h 5min, 26k

TOTAL TRAINING = 18h 10min

It's surprising how I was able to fit in a week of home vacation with the kids, two auditions and a shoot date with my most intense week of training. Determination! Sunday's ride was not fun though ... it was very dark and cloudy outside and not wanting to be rained upon for hours, I opted to ride indoors on my trainer for 5.5 hours and watch The Lord of the Rings Trilogy with the kids.

I don't ever plan to ride that long on my trainer again ... this was a true test of mental fortitude! My butt hurt so much! But at least there were Rice Krispie squares as snacks. And I got to take a lunch break with the kids ... freshly-baked warm country bread with tomato bocconcino salad! Yum!

Week #9

2h 23min, 5450m
5h 50min, 146k
3h 10min, 28.5k

TOTAL TRAINING = 11h 23min

I took an unscheduled rest day on Tuesday to nurse my sore knee, sigh. I also had a pimple in an undesirable spot for cycling. And I felt really TIRED this week ... My body was telling me it was on the verge of overtraining and I should take it easy. I felt demotivated and cut my Wednesday training by more than half. Thursday, I skipped my 1.5hr spin and just did my 2h 40min long run. I managed 23.5k. This will have to be my longest run distance ... I don't think my knee can handle more.

Sunday ended up being a big calamity! I had planned a 6 hour, 150k ride ... 125k on the road, and 25k on the trainer since it would be too dark outside. I got as far as 67k before I got a flat tire. I had no trouble changing the tire, but unfortunately the CO2 cartridge adapter was missing from my bike bag! So I could not pump up my tire and waited patiently for a friend to pick me up 50k from my house. Good thing I had brought my cell phone!

This was scheduled to be another peak training week, but I guess the Universe decided differently and turned it into a first week of tapering, and perhaps justly so due to the risk of overtraining and more injury.

Week #10

Official taper week.

I didn't keep track of what I did, but it wasn't much. I had a sore throat all week and when it finally subsided, I realised it wasn't my allergies but a small throat infection. I was also plagued by G.I. issues and a massive headache this week. Throw in auditions and shoot dates and even with the greatly reduced training, I was STILL very busy. I remember short runs, short swims, and also managing a 2h 10min ride on my trainer Sunday ... though it took all my willpower to do it!

I concentrated on getting rest but honestly, I'm really tired of training and can't wait until I can return to my other activites!

Week #11

More tapering. Trainer for an hour last night. Now I'm going to head for a hill ride. Tonight's a short swim and packing, lots of packing ... and more fundraising ...

I'm racing in memory of my mom and fundraising for the Canadian Cancer Society through Operation Triumph. Please listen to or read my letter here. I would love to have your support with a donation!

Alright, gotta dash now, too much to do in too little time. Good thing I slept 10 hours last night since I don't know if I'll have time to sleep tonight or even if I'll be able to ...

Increasing cycling mileage = tired legs

I cycled a hefty 193 km this week, from Sunday to Saturday and have not yet recuperated. Serves me right to increase my mileage that much. What helped was that my play rehearsals have moved into a warehouse west of downtown where a stage has been built to simulate the stage we will be performing on.

So with that said, here's my week in review.

Monday
- cycled 45 km, swam 1500 m

Tuesday
- cycled 55 km, including a long break at GB's for a fantastic steak supper and work on Operation Triumph stuff

Wednesday
- only 25 km cycling to my rehearsal ... it was a busy day what with the encore presentation of Jonathan Clark's fantastic slide show presentation Soul Travel, India!

Thursday
- day off, yay!

Friday
- more cycling, 45 km, including up and over our mountain via Camilien Houde again

Saturday
- short 6km run ... my knee hurt a bit, maybe because of all the cycling!

There's something about being uber-busy that makes it just way too easy to distract myself away from proper training. Sigh.

The food, don't forget the food ...

The ridiculously busy periods of my life seem to get longer and more intense, giving me very little time to stop and breathe and just do nothing.

Recently, it's been one of those times ... and since I don't follow a training schedule yet or keep a formal log, it's quite tough trying to remember what I did when. I try my best to remember, but who knows, maybe I did diddly-squat and just want to believe that I'd been a good little triathlete girl and actually trained for the day.

Today, the day that I am writing this, which you don't really know since I can change the publish date of a post on Blogger, I am sure of only two things and neither have to do with training.

1) The spicy minced pork eggplant dish with broccoli and jasmine-scented rice that I made the other day was incredibly tasty and I could for sure eat it again now. I have fallen in love with melt-in-your mouth eggplant, especially the eggplant and basil at my favourite Thai restaurant, Phaya Thai. (Shh, their secret is to deep fry it first!)


2) Jonathan Clark presented yet another fantastic photo expostion - Soul Travel, India - the third in a spectacular slide show series hosted by Operation Triumph. Check it out to see more pics.

No supper for this little girl!

It's been an intense week ... what with a cold, play rehearsals, and planning upcoming events for Operation Triumph. Come check out Jonathan Clark's amazing show on India on Wednesday, April 30 at 7:00 pm to benefit the Canadian Cancer Society. Details on the website. Tickets still available on-line. Show WILL sell-out!

Last night, after my swim, I lay down for a nap and had even arranged a wake-up call by LifeAny. Brrring, brring! Fate would not have it ... my intended long run of 15 km would have to be put off.

I finally got up around 9am this morning after an uncomfortable but deep 14-hour sleep on the couch. I probably would have been more comfortable had I had a real blanket, instead of just the small polar throw. I woke up several times going brrrrr ... Actually, I would have been most comfie in flannel PJ's lying in bed all sprawled out with my thick blanket covering me. Doh!

Good thing I'd eaten a snack before putting my head down as I'd missed supper entirely. Oh well. I needed the sleep.

Here's my recent training (with my cold ... cough, cough):

Thursday

30 k ride

800 yd swim = 730 m, before the pool closed

I would have swam more had my grumbly tummy not insisted I cook dinner when I got home from cycling. So, go to pool right away hungry or eat some spicy eggplant with minced pork, broccoli, and jasmine-scented rice. Not a difficult decision to make, huh?

Friday

25 k ride

Saturday

1800 m swim

My first ladder = 200 m + 400 m + 600 m + 400 m + 200 m

Well, I'm off for a cycle later this afternoon! It's sooo gorgeous outside!

Week in review ...

Let's go backwards ...

First of all, after a good half hour of creative blogging, what I thought was saved wasn't and my orginal post is lost in cyberspace. Oh well, such is life ...

I have a headache and nausea right now. Is this the start of a cold or am I just feeling the effects of a super busy week and ugly damp cold weather? I think I'm going to go lie down and relax in front of the television.

Friday
Slipped in a 1200 m swim but felt really tired so decided to call it early.

Thursday
Sandwiched a short swim inbetween my run. Felt strong slicing through the water ... YAY!

Run = 6 km
Swim = 1200 m

Wednesday
Had lots to do to get ready for Soul Travel, Burning Man, which was a huge success, by the way. Check it out here.



I managed to slip in a short but strong swim followed by my first bike ride outside. I've been hesitant to get out onto real road because of the potholes and other crap leftover from winter. No way I was going to do this with Freida, my road bike, but figured I'd be safe with my trusty Rocky Raleigh mountain bike.

Or so I thought.

WHOOOOOSH!

At first, I thought it was the brake pad rubbing. I braked and released. Nope. Then I got off my bike and thought, "Oh no, the tire valve must be broken!" since the sound was loud and fast. Nope. And then I saw it. A huge honking piece of glass jutted out from my tire.

DAMN!

"I'll just change the tube! I might not be fast, but I'll be riding in no time."

Doh!

Reality check when I remembered what I'd remarked just a few minutes earlier. I suppose it was an omen when I looked at my water bottle thirstily and noticed I'd forgotten to transfer my pump from my road bike. I started walking but after 15 minutes, I realised that I wasn't getting anywhere fast. I was 8 km from home.

I've never hitch-hiked before and deliberated for many minutes before I courageously stuck out my thumb as a minivan approached. The vehicle stopped ... YAY! I was saved!

Donald, an elderly gentleman with white hair and a friendly smile, told me that he cycles too and that the same thing might happen to him one day. He kindly drove me to my door. This was his second good deed of the day since he had actually been on his way home from giving blood when he stopped for me. We were both very happy that he could help.

Tuesday
I went and picked up JC during my run. He doesn't have my endurance nor speed (yes, there are worse runners than I) but it's always cool to run with a friend. Longest run of the year so far and I was surprised I could tough it because of my tight hamstrings from all the recent stair-climbing. JC elbowed me hard in the upper arm accidentally at one point ... OUCH! Not a good thing 'cause I was so soooore from my previous days' cross-training.

Run = 13k for me, 7k for JC

Sunday and Monday
Five hours of cross-training. Had to empty the flooded cellar so I could get the bikes out from storage. Not fun repeatedly climbing steep stairs, trudging through the backyard, then hoisting heavy buckets of water over the fence to empty into the sewer drain. The right side of my upper body had to do all the heavy work since I'm still too weak on my left side to even lift 5 lbs. because of my car accident.

RN told me that it was good upper body training and it'd help my swim. Maybe he's got a point but I wish he didn't. The melting snow has flooded my cellar again. Back to square one.

**************************************

Tonight, I think I'll take it a little easier and just cycle a bit ... try out my new saddles. A cheap one and an expensive one ... guess which one cost triple the price? I don't care about the cost difference. I just hope and pray that one of them is more comfortable than what I've got now. I've already tried three other ones to no avail.

I've got a new look to my website!

This week has flown by ... I don't even remember exactly what I did as training this past week ... some running and some swimming but I never got around to the cycling even though I had set up my bike on my trainer.

GB, my good friend and webdesigner, called me back at 10pm Thursday evening. I needed to redesign my website and had a deadline. Shortly before, he had given me bad news. He had too much work to do to be able to help me out on such short notice. But being the amazing person he is, he set me up with a basic template and gave me a quick tutorial on how to use Joomla!, the hot CMS (Content Management System) these days.

I worked all night and learnt what I needed to do to create my website. Good thing I'm a quick study!

Geoff checked out my website the following morning ... "Holy sh*t, it's bursting at the seams!" Some adjustments to the colours and bits of editing to text and lo and behold, we were basically ready to go live the next day!

www.bonniemak.com

Then I finally got some sleep ...

Saturday

- swam 40 min., lost count of laps because the pool was so busy and the swimmers were so fast. Besides, I had trouble keeping my goggles snug on my face which was really annoying and made me take extra breaks. I swam about 1500 m, I think.

Later that evening, I met up with some friends and we went to a Meetin' Montreal meet'n'greet at Brutopia. Terrifically fun evening! We played this hilarious icebreaker game. We had been asked to submit three non-evident "secrets" about ourselves a few days previous. Our responses were compiled into a list and it was up to us that evening to figure out which statement belonged to who by mingling.

I wasn't particularly interested in meeting the person who matched this statement: "I am Supremely Intelligent." Seems like I wasn't the only one who felt that way ...

Sunday

- ran 11k, part of it with a hungover JC who had gone out with me the night before. Needless to say, he didn't fare too well. I felt surprisingly good, probably since I had had an inspiring week full of change. As I ran by two men out chatting on the porch, they cheered me on. How cool was that!

That evening, Operation Triumph celebrated some new members and the official launch of the website with a potluck supper. We got treated to some superb singing. Find out more here.

Monday

- Excellent swim today! I experienced a technique epiphany that really made me feel and go faster ... or perhaps it's just the exercises I've been doing with my arms - my pull might have gotten stronger. All I know is that I had a good feel of the water and felt like I was slicing through quicker than usual. Woohoo! I hope to develop more and more of that feeling. I've gotta better my swim time at Ironman, you know!

2 x 500, 5 x 250

Total = 2250m

Playing catch up ...

Been a crazy busy week this week what with the first fund-raiser of Operation Triumph last night, Soul Travel, From Auckland to Montreal. Here's a pic from the fantastic photo exposition narrated by Jonathan Clark, the photographer:


To read the blog about last night, click here.

Needless to say, what with friends in from out of town, all the prep necessary for the show, and some long rehearsals for the play I'm in, Import/Export, I did not manage to fit in any training ... where did the time go?

So today, I am finally playing catch up and tidying up my home and taking care of paperwork and other little things. Gonna swim and bike tonight ... well, that's what I have planned ... but I also have friends in from overseas ... hmm ... and my friend is making his infamous veggie lasagne.

Big black boxes

This has been my week so far ... Let's start with outside my door ...

Wait ... there's a much better way to sum this up. Here's a clip by a friend of mine:

A week after the "big" snowfall, the city is still engulfed in snow and only part of my street has been cleared ... sigh ... But at least someone loves me!

Last Sunday, I courageously ran through the snow so I could get to the pool. That was quite the feat! Short swim of 1000 m followed by the run back home. The 7 km run total through that slippery snow was enough.

The rest of the week passed in a blur. I've either been in a big black box or in front of a big black box every day this week. Rehearsal for the play Import/Export at the Hexagram space at Concordia University and the final crunch period before the launch of my charity team website.

Yes, we are now L-I-V-E !!

Now we are gearing up for our first event, Soul Travel, a photo journey through the eyes of Jonathan Clark.

Check it out here for more details! ('cause there is no way you can read the small print above).

Finally squeezed in some more training Friday. Just 1250 m but that's better than today (which was nada). I met a kinesiology student who is doing a work term at the YMCA where I swim. She's a champion long distance swimmer (i.e. 5 km). She told me that she can swim 25 m in 12-13 strokes. I swim it in about 17-18 strokes. She's only 5' tall. I'm 5'4".

It's all about technique, she told me.