Huh.

Post-race blues hit me hard this week. I was flying on a cloud for the first couple of days, what with the bragging rights sense of accomplishment and all, but then...I started get the blues.

I'm already signed up for a few more races this year, so I know it's not for lack of having something to look forward to.

It's more like I started to feel tired. And old. Too old for this nonsense. Old enough that I should retire to my couch. Certainly too old to muster the enthusiasm to head to another starting line.

What the heck?

I think it's the summer training wearing me down. Or lack of training, actually. Every run is a struggle, and very short. I think I'm worried about being underprepared for the next tri (3 weeks to go) and for the 10K I'm doing in late September.

I was also a bit discouraged by just how hard the tri was, and just how unflattering some of my race pictures are. Clearly I need to get working on losing the rest of the extra weight that I'm carrying.

So, I'm trying to keep things in perspective. Keep going to boot camp. And even short, slow runs in this weather will be better than nothing at all, right? Would love to put things on hold and just wait for this humidity to break...but...

I guess that's what you get for signing up for summer and fall events. Will be planning next year's race calendar carefully, I can tell you that.

Wait - next year's races?

Guess I'm not ready to give up after all.

Huh.

So - let's keep this in mind:

Here's this week's recap -

Monday - The day after the Orillia Try-a-Tri and a Rest Day fail. Went to Curves for a light stretch out, but when I go there, the Zumba music was playing and I couldn't help myself. Did the second half of the class, smiled and sweated a lot and THEN stretched. Husband and I took the dog for a walk after.

Tuesday - Rest day. Took the dog for a long, slow stroll.

Wednesday - Curves boot camp.

Blurry. Sorry. But this structure fascinates us. It's just randomly in the middle of the forest. Why?

Thursday - Family walk at High Park. Son, dog and I went on a trail run in the crazy humidity - we managed 15 minutes of 2s and 1s before we all had to give up. But wow - trail running. Uneven terrain, roots, rocks, low hills. That put a smile on my face:

Sweaty. Blurry. Smiling.

Guess a bit of variety is what's needed, eh?


Friday - Errand day. Blah.

Saturday - back to High Park with the dog. More sweaty trail running with lots of walk breaks.  I cannot tell you how much fun I am having running these trails, with my dog off leash running along side me. Great training for her, excellent fun for both of us.

Worn out but still smiling. She sets a great example.

Rookie Mistakes Galore!

Loving this bike trail

So, I went for my first long ride of the season today. 26.6K through the cemetery, along busy roads, along an excellent bike path that I've been meaning to try, down a riverside trail that I'd heard about, and back again.

Loving it even more for leading me through this forest

Aside from the sections of busy roads, it was a beautiful ride. Long rolling hills for a nice challenge. Birds, trees, water. Sunshine. Bright blue sky.

In the forest and beside the river. Good spot to stop for a snack!

But I made just about every rookie mistake that you can make on this ride. Oh, I did a few things right...like wear a helmet and gloves and brought water...but that's about all I did right. Let's see...

• Grazed on some leftover pizza for lunch before heading out rather than fuelling properly.
• Didn't bring a snack even though I knew I'd be hungry soon.
• Chugged water before heading out rather than hydrating in the hours leading up to the ride. 
• Didn't stretch.
• Didn't put on sunblock.

• Made a pit stop en route for snacks but bought a Snickers bar (peanuts give energy!), a small bag of baked chips (need salt!) and a diet Coke (caffeine!).
• Chugged my leftover water when I got home. 

Add all of that up and you have a ride plagued with low energy, tight legs, stiff back, sore hands, and an upset stomach. Followed by violent stomach cramps and throwing up after I got home (thanks to chugging that water). Which made recovery eating almost non-existent. Um, that means that snickers bar didnt put me over my calories for the day...not that this is the way to stick to plan though.

Honestly - you'd think that I have never exercised before.

I did make sure to take an Epsom salts bath afterwards, and I certainly learned my lesson about hydration, nutrition and stretching. So I can take some comfort in that, I suppose.

Make me feel better - have you ever made rookie mistakes like this, despite knowing better? I'd love to hear about it!

Knocking a Few (Mental) Obstacles Out of the Way

I hit a weird mental slump this week. Maybe it's from the break in routine over the holidays, maybe it's from scrambling to get back into school & work routines, maybe it's a bit of a loss of momentum after being sick, who knows.

You may remember me mentioning last week that I've signed up for my first try-a-tri. I'm very excited about this. It's one of my big goals for this year, and it gives me a reason to finally put in the work to improve my rudimentary swimming and running skills.

Now, I'm very new to running. By early December, I was at the run 2 blocks/walk a block stage and was doing that several times a week with my dog. But I stopped for a couple of weeks when I was sick, and somewhere in those weeks I developed a mental barrier about running. I have still been getting out the door just as often as usual,  but I have found myself unwilling to run a single step when I'm out. Oh, I've been coming up with plenty of excuses - it's too wet, it might be slippery, I'm wearing the wrong coat, it's too cold, I'm dressed too warmly, should probably replace my shoes before I run again. Bah.

It's not fear of the tri, I know that. It's just...inertia?

And then it spread to swimming. Can't remember the website to look up the schedule online so can't go because I don't know what the lane swim times are. 

Never mind that there's this invention called Google - and that I walk RIGHT PAST the pool on the way to the dog park EVERY DAY. (Yes, I am lucky enough to have a pool, a dog park and a skating rink right at the bottom of my street.)

Excuses, excuses. Double bah.

I remember this sort of behaviour from a few years ago, of throwing obstacles in my way instead of just getting going on what I wanted to do. For example - I'll start going to a gym in the new year. I'll start eating less junk when I join a gym. Wait, can't join a gym until I buy some workout clothes. And also need to get healthy enough to make it though a workout. So, I can't join just yet.

I thought I was over that kind of thinking but apparently not. Started telling myself that once I developed my training plan, well, then I'd start running again. And swimming. As for actually developing that training plan? Well, I do have a newsletter to write this weekend for my daughter's school. And work to catch up on after my vacation. And my daughter's birthday to start planning for. So, I'll get to it...soon.

When really? All I needed to do was run a few steps.

Which I finally did last night.

Got home from the gym wearing exactly the perfect clothes to run in, put the leash on the dog and headed out the door. Walked one block north, then ran that one block back home. Smiled. Went inside and hit Google. Took me 15 seconds to find both the pool schedule and a tri training plan.

(BTW - lane swim is Mon-Fri, 8.30-9.30pm and 4-5pm on Sat/Sun, right after family swim time)

One step, and 15 seconds, was all it took to knock down an obstacle that I'd thrown in my own way.

That was easy enough. Why did it seem like it was going to be such a big deal?

Anything standing between you and what you want to do? What's it going to take to knock it out of your way?

Here's this week's recap -

Unbelievably mild for January. Kind of a drag that we haven't been able to so sledding this season.

Saturday - 2.6K dog walk, Curves + 30 pushups + 2x35s planks. Skating in the afternoon

Notice the lack of snow...and how no one is wearing mitts or a hat. Crazy mild!

Sunday - Rest day. Drove to a different dog park with fenced forest trails. Walked about 2K. We took it slow and easy while Stella ran around like she was in doggy paradise. Which I guess she was!

Monday - 2K dog park walk followed by Curves circuit + boot camp #3 for the year (240 assorted crunches, 3x35s planks, 30+30 pushups), followed by a 1K dog walk.

Tuesday - 1K speed walk.

Wednesday - Rest day.

Thursday - 2K dog walk followed by Curves circuit + Zumba #1 for the year + boot camp #4 (150 assorted crunches, 7 minutes on stairstepper, 2x35s planks, 30+25 pushups). 1 block dog jog (see above) afterwards.

Friday - Oh, Friday the 13th. It rained all night, then temps dropped and we got a dumping of snow. Hit a patch of ice on the way driving to work and slid right smack into a curb. We are A-OK but the car? Well, we're waiting to hear what the insurance company has to say. Sigh.

A Fine Example of an Uneven Week

Ever have one of those weeks that's wildly uneven? Days where you are pleased with the exercise you got and/or food you choose, alternating with days that couldn't be further off the mark if you tried? I had one of those this week. Check it out:

Saturday - the week started off well, even if I do look rather intense here!

Saturday - Rode my bike to Curves and back (6K round trip); worked out + 58 pushups. Spent the afternoon and the rest of the day sitting around - sitting in the car to go to London, sitting at friends' houses. Also at a lot of cheese.

Sunday - More sitting around with friends and eating cheese. Got in the car to come home and ran into terrible weather. Freezing rain and sleet turned what should have been a 2-hour trip home into a stressful 4-hour ordeal. Multiple roll-overs, multiple cars in the ditch and countless fenderbenders. None of which involved us, thank God. Got home wayyyy late.

Monday - Very tired. Skipped the stairs and the gym. Saw the chiropractor after work - I've got some crazy neck and shoulder issues going on after spending so much time in the dentist's chair last week.

Tuesday - I love this sculpture in Commerce Court! Something awesome - it's right outside the Running Room.


Tuesday - Lunchtime walk, 2.1K. Skipped the stairs. Not an ideal decision considering that the Tower climb is in less than 2 weeks. Spent the evening driving kids to and from their activities, then ended up at Emerg in the late evening with my son, who was complaining of stomach cramps. Fortunately, it turned out to be nothing serious. Took a while to get seen  - we didn't get home from the hospital until 5:30am the next morning.

Later on Tuesday - MUCH later. It's 3AM and we've still got 2 hours of waiting to go.

Wednesday - Absolutely shattered. 'Nuff said.

Thursday - Zumba + Curves after dinner. Sweated so much that my eyes were stinging. Great workout!

Friday - Nope, not an emergency. It's a film shoot. One of the official signs of spring in Toronto.

Friday - Went for a gentle stroll at lunchtime. Maybe 1K. Back to the chiro after work.

CN Tower is in one week, folks. Yikes!

What I learned this week - If I don't bring my lunch to work, I don't exercise mid-day. I'm too hungry to exercise before I pick something up, and too full + pressed for time to go out again after I eat. Better to bring a salad + something, eat the salad while I work, go for a walk, then eat the rest while I work after I get back. Next week = back on track, right?

What I'm reading this week - Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy.