For whatever reason, yesterday wasn't a great day. Lots of little things seemed to be going wrong, and while I could logically see that at least some of them were minor, they were MY minor problems. Trapped within them, I was surly.
The solution? A good, hard, no-holds-barred trail run.
I intended to run while I was away. I really did. There was a nice bike path across the street from our hotel, right along the St. Lawrence. But, alas, I managed to sleep in when I could have been running. I guess I'll have to content myself with having walked extensively over the weekend.
When my son asks me what my favorite color is, I tell him it's green.
I've always loved the geography of this area, the landscapes that I grew up in. Equal parts water, hills and trees. Last night I got a healthy dose of each, as I drove up north of the city, to Gatineau Park, for a trail run.
Saturday's Riverkeeper Try-a-Tri was my first dip into the world of triathlons. While I generally felt physically capable of doing the longer sprint distance, I looked at Riverkeeper as a learning opportunity.
In this regard, I definitely got my money's worth.
This morning was nice and cool, again. Perfect weather for running.
I ended up running with Rob and André, who are both faster than me. We ran a 10km loop for Rob, who was recovering from a cold, then André and I did 4.5 km more. We didn't take any walk breaks, and didn't need them, with the cool air and overcast skies. I forgot to grab a watch, but I'd say we averaged 5:00/km, or better.
When I got home, I took my eldest for a run around the block. He's running in a kid's 1km race in a couple of weeks. Two short, planned, walk breaks were all he needed. Next, the two year old wanted a turn, so we went to the end of the street and back. He did really well, whenever there wasn't a car, dog, or person to distract his attention.
What a perfect start to Father's Day. Happy Father's Day, everyone!
Veni, Vidi, Vici, I guess. I am now a triathlete.
...and probably also a convert.
Well, it's been a week to forget. Everyone's been sick. I didn't get a swim in. I didn't get a bike in. I ran yesterday, got a stitch in my side, and my legs ached all day.
Not the week I'd hoped for, in training or in life. Oh well, you play the hand you're dealt.
It was hot, today. The net said 26, but for seemingly the 4th or 5th day in a row the humidity was at least 99%. It was overcast and hazy, so we were generally spared direct sunlight, but that was just about the only blessing.
The store was busy this morning, with lots of people that I knew. Most of the half marathon clinic group was there, as was most of my old marathon training group. I decided that I'd aim for 14km. Kevin, who's training for another marathon, had done 24km starting at 6:00, and he looked pretty destroyed. It was early, but it was already hot.
After work yesterday, I headed downtown to check out a bike shop. I was in the market for triathlon shorts. Having only recently discovered why cycling shorts are different from running shorts (why, oh why, didn't I know this 20 years ago?), I felt a little overwhelmed walking in the door.
I told my brother-in-law the other day that I'm convinced that high-end riders are technophiles - living and breathing for the latest technology or material breakthrough. I'm not going to tell you that I'm immune from this phenomenon in general (computers), but I think I'm still grounded enough to see multi-thousand dollar bikes as excessive, if not ridiculous.
I biked to and from work yesterday. Felt great. I am getting more comfortable on the bike. I'm also getting a bit better at hills, though I don't see anything too strenuous on the ride.
This morning, I set my alarm for 5am, and headed for the track. I'm still technically in recovery from the half, plus I knew my legs might be tired from yesterday, so I decided I would do some 400m repeats. I figured I might be able to do 6, which isn't a ton of distance (fine by me, for now), but which might help me develop a bit more speed. I was aiming for around 1:20, which I thought would be reasonable based on my recent mile times.
Oh, I'm just a social runner. Every time someone says they'll go for a run, I say, "so-shall I!" -- Blizzard's Dwarven runner
Since I'm technically in recovery mode, I had no ambitions for Sunday's run. I didn't want to run far, I didn't want to run fast. I just wanted to run.
The cool thing about yesterday is that I had my first opportunity in months to run with my sister. So, I ran for, um, 45 minutes or so. With lots of chatting and reconnecting. I know we walked a fair bit in there, but nobody really noticed. I have no idea how far we ran, either. It just didn't matter.
It was the absolute highlight of my weekend.
I biked to work this morning. I felt much better than my first attempt a few weeks back. I was over 10 minutes quicker, too. The new tires were great, and the new water bottle holder was handy, too.
I feel like a million bucks right now! (Well, maybe not my quads, but in general.)
This morning was the last swim of the year. Kinda sad. Masters swimming was a big experiment, something to catapult me into trying triathlons this summer. It ended up being so much more than that.
I was an indifferent and frankly weak swimmer as a child. I ended up taking years of swimming, so I suppose I was moderately proficient at it. This year, I started out as one of the weakest swimmers in the pool. By the end, I could keep up with almost anyone in the beginnner's half of the pool. Weird.
I've often heard that one of the best things to do to recover from a race is to go for a swim. I went to my usual Tuesday morning swim, hoping for the nirvana of recovery workouts. Having tried it, I can truthfully say that I don't buy into the concept.
Not that the swim was bad. It was decent, though my kick was moderately horrendous. It was like an hour's worth of pull work. Which is fun, but not necessarily the purest and most technically correct swim workout.
The main set was a 200m "wheel of death" - alternating kicks sets (yeah, right!) with either IM or freestyle. Needless to say, I had very little intention to complete the full workout.
I made it as far as the second 200 I.M., then decided I was done. The coach came by, saw me waiting around in the pool, and asked me if I was "on" the 200 I.M. I replied that I was thinking about it, but I was more thinking that I was done. Her response?
"You can do the 200 I.M. Here, I'll time you. Readysetgo!"
A less competetive or more intelligent person would have laughed, and gotten out of the pool. Me? I did a 3:50 200 I.M. Then got out of the pool.
I think the coach knows me too well.
I hurt all day.
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