Beseiged by injury!

Alright, this past week has been a little trying in terms of training.

A week ago, I went on a 50k ride with a triathlete friend who hadn't been out this season yet on his bike and boy, was he enthusiastic! So enthusiastic that for one 20 min. period, we pushed the pace at 33-34k/hr and kept it there, without my drafting him (since he's not used to it). So happy when we could drop down in speed a tad to 28-32k/h when I took the lead and my friend started hurting. Whew!

Knee was a bit sore afterwards, and I didn't help matters much when I went swing dancing on it for a couple of hours later on that day. And then the blues dancing at night locked in the injury ... and I could barely walk, never mind make it down the stairs from my friend's apartment when it was time to go.

So, after a two days' rest, I went out for another ride. 10k, good, 15k, good, no pain ... let's turn back now ... 20k, pain starts, 25k, ugh, I am still injured :-( Whew, 30k and I finally made it back home. Dreaded knee! Even hurt when I went for a short swim afterwards ... sigh.

So basically no riding for many days and just some short swims after another day's rest.

But I did get brave one day and ran 4.07k! And then paid with it with a sore hip. Good news though is that I have an MRI booked finally for September. I have a friend still waiting for one since last year, so this is a Godsend, and maybe I can find out what's happening with my hip and why I can't run (and why I may not be able to race this year!)

Sunday came and I decided to go for it ... I'm gonna ride! I adjusted my seat position as I'm still looking for the right fit and went off. Wanted to turn back after 15k as the headwind was incredible and then contemplated whether or not I could get back in time before the pool closed. But no, dammit, I was gonna RIDE!!

I did my regular route that I take when I ride 50k and just kept on going, and very happily so as I discovered a new bike path that took me to Charlemagne, a suburb north-east of Montreal and off the island. Headwind on the bridge over was wicked but the view was awesome.

80k today with no knee pain ... VICTORY!

Mind you, I discovered butt muscles I didn't know I had ... ;-)

Bag Balm, I love you!!

I've been off running since mid-April due to a hip injury, I think caused when I had my last bike accident. Probably something to do with not being able to unclip manually before being thrown off my bike. I'm thinking that the same force that threw me into the back of the mini-van might have also torn a tendon slightly as my leg extended backwards before my pedals unclipped ... thus the hip injury. Sigh ... stupid mini-van driver. I've had pain every time I've ran since then, and it would be gone in a day, but only when I upped my mileage recently in anticipation for the Ottawa Marathon did the pain not go away.

So ...

That leaves me with cycling and swimming.

Meet my "new" pal, Kate. She's gonna allow me to train in the city ... Tri-bikes are way too dangerous to ride in Montreal traffic ... I'd hate to injure my neck a third time!


And since I've put new pedals on her and also a new seat that doesn't shred my private soft bits, we've been able to start a beautiful love affair.


Admittedly, we had a few squabbles at first, even with the change of seat, but with the introduction of the new mediator, things have since been hunky dory.

Hello BAG BALM! Good-bye BodyGlide!



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BAG BALM stikes into the milk glands allaying irritation, relieving congestion and softening the tissues. It heals the skin troubles and makes the teats soft and pliable.

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Wow, I never thought cycling could be so "pain-free" :-D

Three years, it's really been three years ...

I accidentally left my silicone bathing cap and swim goggles in the shower at the public pool the other day. Good thing or bad thing?

Bad thing when I wanted to swim and had to resort to using my "emergency" crappy goggles and latex pull-my-hair-out bathing cap.

Good thing when I went to my local sports store and purchased new swim goggles (my all-time fave is Speedo Hydrospex, clear), a new silicone bathing cap and ...

A new bathing suit!

I figured it was about time. I've had the bathing cap and suit for three years now. The bathing suit lining was torn in many areas and shredding in others. She's been through countless swim trainings and several triathlons ... she's had a good life! Goggles were only a year old but they were starting to leak and we all hate that, don't we?

Now on the running front ... I'm injured! My right hip has hurt every time I've run since my last accident (I've been totally ignoring the pain) but what with the recent increase in mileage and running four times a week, even walking has become painful! Argh! Week One completely off running and it's driving me nuts.

But at least I can still ride ... but of course, the city has not yet cleaned the streets properly and there is broken glass and crap everywhere waiting to puncture a tire or two or more (but not mine, I hope) so I've been riding my hefty mountain bike. Been okay so far on it ... sit bones are still getting used to riding (ouch!), legs feel a little sluggish and weak sometimes, but all in all, it's been nice getting out in the fresh air.

Just one word of advice though ... don't ride while wearing a thong.

Looking for some discipline

Alright, now that I'm finally in the end stages of being sick for the third time since November, I figure that it's time to get crackin' again ... Though I've swam a few times in the past two weeks, I don't remember when the last time I ran and my achey legs are paying for it.

So tonight, I promise to print myself a little calendar/agenda and hopefully this will encourage me to be more disciplined with training. I've been so lazy and tired ... sigh.

Alright, no training program yet. That would be too masochistic and I would rebel. I'm just gonna use some common sense and listen to my body, not push too hard or build too fast. Good news is that I finally took my tri bike down from the ceiling to put on a training tire so that I can mount her on the windtrainer.

Let's see if I can't get these three sports going again. The experiment starts tonight with some stretching to get rid of this horrible achey feeling in my legs, very similar to how they feel during taper week before a marathon.

I'm ready to rock'n'roll!

My compact crank rocks!

I finally got a chance to climb Montreal's mountain via the steep road that the car takes Camilien Houde. Yesterday's ride was supposed to be 2.5 - 2.75 hrs long but my trip to readjust my gears (again) cut my time short and I was left with two hours and lots of traffic to fight through to get to the store and out to Mont Royal. It was worth it.

Though I wasn't very fast, and it was difficult, I made it up and over twice and if I had had more time, I would have done it another couple of times ... well, at least until I puked. Anyway, I ended up with only 40k (city riding and traffic, you know) but was happy to know that my new compact crank rocks and makes climbing just a tad easier. How did I ever do Richter's Pass during Ironman Canada with a small chain ring with 42 teeth? My new crank is 53-34 and what a sweet difference!

The last week's been a little crazy coming off of my theatre performances and finally having the time to catch up with everything. I swam, cycled and ran ... not exactly as my training schedule dictated as I couldn't remember where I left it, but enough to feel like I'm starting to get up to speed, including my social life.

Here's a joint Kickrunners/Meetin' gathering ... what fun to combine two of my worlds!

Let's see what the rest of the week holds for training ... well today, what does my schedule say?

Swim
200 warm up
8 times 250 with 20 sec recovery.

Bike
1 ½ to 2 hour ride

Hmm ... I'd better get off the computer.

14 hours sleep

Yup. That's how much sleep I got last night. I lay my little head down on the couch to nap after supper, even set my alarm to wake me a little while later so I could cycle and ... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Guess I needed it. Though I've finished my day contract, I've been busy catching up on paperwork loose ends and also on helping to finish the Operation Triumph website.

Here's a summary of my training for the past week, starting with tonight:

Thurs. Feb. 28
Cycle - one hour
Swim - total of 1700 m
I tried a "ladder" for the first time. I was supposed to swim 1750 total but got kicked out of the pool after 37 min. when it closed.
1 x 250 m
2 x 200 m
3 x 150 m
4 x 100 m
4 x 50 m (yup, missed that last 50 m)
I'm still happy with my time, considering I took about 15-20 sec. rest between each set and each rep.

Wed. Feb. 27
Swim - 15 x 200 m, including the following drill sets:
- swam the first 5 sets with flip turns at the ends = 1000 m
- 50 m fist, followed by 50 m "feel the water" (x 2) = 200 m
- 50 m fast (x 4), did this twice = 400 m
- 25 m kick on right side, 25 m kick on left side, hated that then switched to 25 m front kick, 25 m back kick (x 3) to finish 200 m set = 200 m
- the rest were just swim sets, sometimes concentrating on glide and long strokes, other times on completing the arm stroke down to hip, other times on rotation and breathing, you get the picture ... technique is everything!

Tues. Feb. 26
Run - 8 km very snowy mountain run with JC, like running on sand!

Mon. Feb. 25
Upset belly meant "stay-close-to-home-pyjama-day"

Sun. Feb. 24
Recupe from Saturday

Sat. Feb. 23
Run - 5 km
Snowboard - 4.5 hours of solid fun!

Fri. Feb. 22
Swim - 10 x 200 m = 2000 m
- 1 kick set, 1 fist set (50 fist, 50 regular) x 2, and also 2 sets of (25 fast, 25 slow and smooth) x 4 = 800 m
- 1200 m regular swimming, of which 2 sets included flip turns
Bike - one hour while watching "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" - Yes, I bought all four seasons! Woohoo!!

Alright, now I'm almost half-way to how many hours I should be training now ...

The Thrasher

I'm been trying to be good about asserting some discipline into my training but with the blues dancing festival in town, From Montreal with Love, I tell you, it was tough. I slipped in a very short 800 m swim before heading out for the Sat. afternoon dance. Got complimented by the lifeguard who is also teaching the Master's swim class on my technique ... Woohoo!

Then after a short and sweet supper at JC's, I headed out again with a backless red dress to the Valentine's dance.

An incredible band, The Fried Bananas, played that night ... oh my God. They played perfectly, and many times I had to ask myself, "Is this a CD playing?" The vocals from trumpeter/vocalist Annie Callahan were absolutely sublime, one of the best voices I've ever heard live.


Got in a total of 6 hours of dancing ... does that count for something?

Sunday, after a meditation workshop given by a super talented actor friend, MR, JC and I met up at the pool and ... it was CLOSED! Probably being shocked after "family afternoon" produced an accidental floater.

So off to JC's we went and after a delicious pasta supper, we ended up watching "Little Miss Sunshine". Was I supposed to stay that long? No ... I was supposed to be a good disciplined athlete at home spinning away. I totally suck at this discipline stuff.

Monday ... short swim 750 m before heading out to go Jive dancing to celebrate the end of my work contract.

Tuesday ... Having had a few beers the evening before, I had left my car where I had parked it and of course, to avoid getting a parking ticket, I elected to run to it. 5k done. Then JC and I met up for a swim in the afternoon and I managed 10 x 200 m = 2000 m. Yay!

What was really funny was how a certain individual, The Thrasher (so named by both JC and I), had real difficulty with his ego when I would pass him, even sprinting after me once so that he could slap my toes a bunch of times before I dropped him. Of course I'm gonna pass you, silly thrasher man. Your body position is totally wrong and you're dragging your legs behind you. Your arm strokes are everywhere and aren't even entering the water cleanly.

Sometimes I'd like to offer advice to swimmers like The Thrasher, but alas, I'm pretty sure pool etiquette dictates a "no" to unsolicited advice. Actually, it's probably more like "bad swimmer" ego dictates "no".

Wednesday ... 45 min. spin on the bike.

And today? ... I guess I'll have to check in later ... Wish me luck.

Trail running story

I was doing some trail running one day last autumn when a frog called out to me and said, "If you kiss me I'll turn into a handsome prince." I bent over, picked up the frog, and put it in my jacket pocket.

The frog spoke up again and said, "If you kiss me and turn me back into a handsome prince, I will tell everyone how smart and sexy you are and how you are my heroine." I took the frog out of my pocket, smiled at it, and returned it to my pocket. Then I continued running as the sun was starting to set and I hadn't brought my headlamp.

The frog spoke up again and said, "If you kiss me and turn me back into a handsome prince, I'll stay with you for a year and do ANYTHING you want," and quickly lashed out his long tongue. I rolled my eyes, thinking all males think the same, and again took the frog out of my pocket, smiled at it, and put it back into my pocket.

Finally the frog asked, "What's the matter? I've told you I'm a handsome prince and that I'll stay with you for a year and do anything you want. Why won't you kiss me?"

I replied, "Look, I'm a Triathlete. I don't have time for a boyfriend or a lover, but a talking frog is cool. And if I play it right, I could make enough money off of you to get that tribike I've been looking at and also pay my way to Ironman Lake Placid 2008."

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Going for an hour swim now ...