Orillia Try-A-Tri - Check!

My first triathlon is in the books!

350m swim + 10K bike + 2.5K run = 1:09:57

Let me just preface this by saying...I am a poor swimmer, I'm afraid of taking hills and corners too quickly on my bike, and I'm a slow runner. So why the heck would I sign up to try a tri?

I really don't have an answer for that, aside from...it called to me.

It called to me so loudly that I actually signed up for two this summer. So that if this one was dreadful, I'd have a second shot at tri in August, rather than having to wait until next season to redeem myself.

Now, if you've been following along, you may have noticed that I didn't exactly train for this. I've been biking, I've taken up running, and I swim when I can. But I wouldn't call that focused training.

Each leg in the tri sounded very reasonable to me - but I really underestimated what a game changer it is to put 'em together in one event. Particularly when you add in 31C weather with blazing sun.

So you won't be surprised that this event was a challenge! 

My goals for this race were modest, though: Learn the logistics of doing a tri. Finish. Not dead last if possible.

Done and done :-)

Here's the details -

Before

We stayed at my parent's the night before. The race had an 11am start time, so I had plenty of time to wake up, have breakfast and get ready. Said 'see you at the finish' to my family and rode my bike to the starting line - about 6 minutes away. Sweet.

My red bike is racked. Yes, it's a mountain bike.
 I'll invest in a road bike by next season, I promise.

Checked in about 45 minutes before the start, picked up my ankle chip, got marked, racked my bike, organized my gear, checked out the entry & exit points for each leg, then headed to the beach.

Was a bit of a long walk from transition to the swim start, but on soft grass and clean sand. Nice and easy on the bare feet.

Hit the water for a quick swim. Lovely and warm. And all of a sudden, it was time to get started.

First two waves went out...2 mintues to go before mine...tap on the shoulder...my mom and sister had come to the start to surprise me! Which helped take my mind off how nervous I was.

Hamming it up for the camera with a gun show. Less than a minute to go.
Yes, I'm wearing a swim suit. Will invest in tri suit and possibly wet suit for next season 

 350m swim - 13:32 (includes time to exit the water, cross the beach and enter transition)

Honestly, there were more than a dozen of us in this wave - everyone is really spread out to the sides

Ran in as far as I could, started swimming, and immediately ran into trouble.

Between a mad rush of adreneline making me forget absolutely everything I knew about breathing and technique...and the water being much choppier than I had trained in...I got hit in the face with a wave, swallowed most of it and couldn't breath. Like I'd had the wind knocked out of me.

Forced myself not to panic and to tread water until I recovered. What really helped keep the panic away? The idea of having to give up 20 seconds into a race that I'd signed up for 8 months ago...well, that made me furious.

Recovered, started swimming and almost ran into trouble again with another wave. Decided to flip onto my back for most of the swim rather than keep fighting the waves. Had to swim a heck of a lot harder than I had planned to in order to made up for lost time.

Left the water breathing hard and headed to transition.

T1 - 3:06

Pleased with how I laid out my gear; everything went smoothly. Took a few moments but I was still having a hard time generally calming down. Headed out on the bike still breathing hard.

Leaving T1. Wondering exactly when I'll be able to catch my breath, and how on earth I'm going to be able to run later.

Bike - 34:53

Bike started at the bottom of a steep hill. Said a few nasty words to myself about it and headed up. Reached the top without stopping to walk (woohoo!), and started up a long slope. Followed by another hill. Things levelled out around the 4K mark and I was finally able to get my breathing under control.

Got to the turnaround and - hey - isn't that my mom over there? Fabulous surprise. So great to see a familiar face on the course.

Me in black beside the guy in red.
Mom didn't get a pic of me approaching. Guess I was going too fast, haha.

Aside from being somewhat cautious on down slopes and corners, I love biking. I was really able to relax and enjoy this ride.

Which was over far too quickly!

T2 - 1:48

Got off the bike and was shocked at how tight my legs were. You know, I had *meant* to do some brick training this spring...better get on that before my next tri in a month...

Run - 21:34

The late morning start to this race meant that it was getting close to noon - and very hot and sunny - when I headed out on the run. I knew going into the race that this would be a problem so decided just to have fun with it. Short runs, lots of walk breaks. Took my time at the water stations getting a drink and sprayed down. And guess who showed up at the turnaround? Mom!

I wasn't kidding when I said I'd decided to have fun on this run.

The best thing about a 2.5K run? It's over really fast.

About 50 feet to go and just spotted my husband, kids and dog. Lots of cheering for mom.
And the dog dragged my son off his feet trying to get to me! 

FINISHED!!!!! And with a smile.

After the race - kids played at the park, I walked the dog around a bit, picked up a goodie bag of snacks, picked up my gear and rode bck to my mom's. Lunch, then a 3-generation girl's trip to another beach (Orillia is full of beaches) to celebrate!

The verdict? I learned a lot, including how undertrained I was for this. Have a plan for how I'm going to prepare for the next one in 4 weeks. And a goal to do this again next year :-)

A HUGE thank you to my family for all of their support and encouragement. My younger sister for picking up my race kit and coming to the start, my mom for driving all around town to catch me on each leg, my kids for cheering me on at the finish, to my dog for coming on every training run with me!

...and most of all my husband, for always helping out and NEVER complaining about being on sherpa and driving detail for all of the races I do. 

xoxoxoxox Jen

I Heart My Trainer

Meet Ana.

She's amazing.

I have sweat bucket and buckets of sweat because of Ana.

Remember in last week's Warrior Dash recap  when I mentioned that I "mentally thanked every boot camp class, every workout...I've ever been on for making me strong enough to keep going"?

That was Ana. Ana made me strong enough to keep going.

My gym is a Curves. The standard Curves workout is circuit training with a coach on hand to supervise everyone on the circuit and correct form if needed.

It works.

But Ana takes this a hundred steps further.

Ana leads a great cardio workout on the recovery stations on the circuit - and watches like a hawk to make sure that we don't skimp out on the strength-training on the machines.

Ana dances us into the ground on Zumba nights - and her energy's just as high after teaching back-to-back classes as it was before. You should see that girl shake her hips!

Ana teaches one heck of a mean boot camp - and you neeeeed to feel the burn of her abs class.

Ana pushes us to work to our potential each and every workout - and then pushes us a bit further the next time.

She skillfully uses a fabulous blend of humour, encouragement, wit, sarcasm and motivation on us - with just the right amount of intimidation - and it works. I always have a great time while getting a challenging workout, which pretty much guarantees that I go regularly.

Speaking of which - and you'll hear about it if you DON'T go regularly!

Ana pays attention to what's coming up on my race calendar and makes sure that I work all the right muscle groups. CN Tower Climb. Ride for Heart. 5Ks. Warrior Dash. I'm smashing my personal records each and every time I cross a finish line because of this lady.

Ana - thank you.

Live in Toronto and looking for a gym? Come to mine. You won't regret it!

PS - Can't make it in during Ana's shifts? No worries - her mom works there full-time too. And just who do you think Ana learned to be so fabulous from?

Here's this week's recap:

Saturday - Warrior Dash, shower at my mom's, drive to my SIL's cottage and hit the beach for a nap. Later took the kids and cousins to a nearby pool for a late evening swim + whirlpool (lovely!) before hitting the highway to come home. 
  

Dirt left over after doing my Warrior Dash laundry. This was after I was washed down with high pressure fire hoses.

Sunday - Laaaazzzzzy morning. Took the kids swimming in the afternoon.

Monday - Curves after dinner.

Tuesday - Took the kids swimming after dinner.

Wednesday - Zumba after dinner.

Thursday - Zumba and an abs class after dinner.

Friday - Stunningly beautiful summer evening. Took the kids to High Park for dinner, batting practice and the playground.



Flopped down on a picnic blanket at the park - a great end to the week!


The Week 6 'Queen of the Circuit' Challenges:
Work out 3 x - check
Thanks to the Warrior Dash, Ana gave me a free pass on the rest of this week's activities :-)

What I'm reading this week - Buying on Time by Antanas Sileika

Who Inspires You?

I'm happy to find myself wanting to explore a wider variety of challenges. Partly because I'm growing progressively stronger, and partly because I'm drawing inspiration from other people.

In particular, there are a few people with achievements under their belts far greater than mine whose accomplishments have been inspiring me to expand my thinking about just what I may be capable of. This is what prompted me to sign up for the 25K Ride for Heart and the upcoming Warrior Dash, has got me putting a try a tri and the 50K version of the Ride for Heart on my wish list for 2012, and has me wondering about what else I'd be up for. I'm even tossing around the idea of something like this for 2013. Which is seriously amazing. I used to hear about events like these and automatically dismiss then as being for other people. Now I'm chomping at the bit to do them? That's a NSV!

I'm lucky to be able to draw inspiration from so many active people. A few examples -  

My friend Bruce took up running in his 50s and has since completed marathons on all seven continents. I'm impressed and inspired daily by his dedication to setting goals, planning and training in all areas of his life, not just running. Bruce definitely leads by example.

Lynda was walking with canes following multiple knee surgeries (including a knee replacement!) when I met her a couple of years ago, but has since conquered physio and gone on to powerwalk a marathon, a half marathon and countless 5-10K+ distances. Did I tell you that she called me a wuss earlier this year for thinking that I needed a year to train for the Warrior Dash? She was so emphatic about it that we both signed up for 2011 right then and there. Lynda - who has just celebrated her 60th birthday - leads her life anything but quietly!

Deb over at Deb Tris, is training hard for the multiple triathalons on her 2011 race calendar. Wind? Wild weather? Mountains? No matter - she keeps on track with her training! Deb also has two active young children and frequently writes interesting, thought-provoking posts. Her example shows me that it's possible to balance a busy training schedule and family. She recently sent me a comment reminding me that no matter how long or short, respect the distance - a great reminder that has helped keep me on track when I'm tempted to skimp on training. Go read her!

Julie over at You Just Have to Tri sent me congrats on my most recent 5K just hours after she finished a metric century ride, and again for finishing the Ride for Heart shortly after conquering yet another triathalon.  Julie oozes energy, has multiple long distance races and rides under her belt, and finds the time to cook amazing from-scratch dinners. Seriously - how fabulous is she?! I take a lot of inspiration from Julie, and laugh every time I see the 't-shirt wisdom' quote at the top of her blog. She's kind enough to post recipes, too -  although how she finds the time given that she's training for a half Ironman (!) I do not know! Go read her!

I've mentioned before that on a daily basis, I receive a tremendous amount of support from my family, my friends, my Curves trainer. I thank each and every one of you for - you help to keep me in motion every day! Here's where I thank the three most important to me:

My husband is on a mission of his own to keep moving. He recently finished his first 10K, walks 10K home from work several times a week, and is training for a half-marathon. He is as supportive as heck - making sure that he's home on time for me to get to the gym, clearing his calendar on my race days, and plain old assuming that I can accomplish whatever thing I've signed up for next. The level of confidence that he has in me raises my own. 

My children - my biggest cheerleaders - also assume that I can reach the finish line successfully on everything that I sign up for. These kids remember how very large and sedentary I was just a couple of years ago, yet they have that unwavering confidence in my abilities today - which in turns makes me think about reaching beyond what I've achieved so far.

So - what am I doing to pay it forward? I've turned into one of those 'go, go, you can do it' people :-) Tell me that you're thinking of trying something - going to a gym? Signing up for a class? Trying a distance? - and  I'll cheer you on. 'Fantastic! Go go - you can do it! What are you waiting for?'

Thanks for sticking with me during this long post. Who inspires you?

Here's this week's recap:

After a long winter and rainy spring, I forgot the first rule of summer biking:
When you park in the sun, your seat gets really hot. OW!!

Saturday - Feeling great after yesterday's kayaking. Rode my bike to the gym (6K round trip) and worked out, including 20 pushups. OK - maybe my shoulders ARE a bit tired.

Raspberries were on major sale today - time for the kids to make freezer jam!
They are masters at this and took this job over a couple of summers ago - all I do is clean up afterwards :-)

Sunday - Father's Day! Took my daughter swimming while the boys went for a bike/run. Played mermaids and dolphins for an hour, then I hit the deep end for a few quick lengths while she dried off. Realized how woeful my form is - swim classes are definitely in order! Played catch with my son - great work for my pitching arm!

Monday - 1K walk at lunch, Curves after dinner.

Slow ball? Fast ball? Wonder what she's got up her sleeve...

Tuesday - 1K walk at lunch. Made Julie's Lasanga Cupcakes for dinner (YUM), then played catch with my daughter. Lots of bending and running and stretching to get the ball - she's still working on her aim :-)

Wednesday - Zumba AND Bootcamp. Having a hard time lifting my arms this evening!

Thursday - Rest day. 

Speaking of insprations - I'm really looking forward to meeting the Davis Boys!



Friday - Curves after dinner, including some pretty great cardio! Hey - the Do Life tour hits Toronto in a week!



Finally - here are the Week 3 'Queen of the Circuit' challenges:

Drink more water this week - Check - I'm noticing a trend here...
Avoid one carb this week - Check -  I gave up pasta. Those lasanga cupcakes were made with wonton wrappers!
Get out for a walk - Check.
Play one weekly game - Check
Do one Boot Camp - Check
Set a Goal this Week - Check -
Check Body Mass - Check - BMI sitting at 32.5
Workout three times - Check