Building the village.

When you are in the decision making phase of this process, coaches, athletes, magazines, training literature and the internet will tell you many things, but the most interesting thing is something you’ll find in all five information sources. This is the idea that the one of the most important aspects of a successful Ironman campaign is having the support of your closest friends and family as you go through your training, your mental preparation and the all important “what am I going to wear on race day” anxiety. OK, so maybe the fashion problem is a stretch, but the point I’m trying to make is that whoever “they” are, they’re right. It takes a village. Yes, I know there was an article in one of the tri magazines recently that describes this is great detail, and I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment and ideas therein.

A supportive spouse/significant other is necessary to keep you on track, make sure that you’re well fed, that you don’t leave the dog outside when it’s -40 and most importantly, to kick your tail out of bed when the alarm goes off at 5 a.m – if you’re lucky enough they will continue to love you even when you head to bed at 10:30 every night.

If you’re like me, your Mom will miss the impromptu visits and shopping dates, and instead will give you really great hugs when you see her, and your Dad will ensure that when you come over, there will be enough food to keep your engine going. Regardless of if you’re hungry or not

Your friends will need to be understanding when you tell them that you can’t see them because you haven’t been home in 14 hours and you’re really just looking forward to some downtime on the couch with the PVR, the hubby and the dog. But, you will also count on them for laughs and support throughout the season, squeezing in weekday lunches, or planning for beer and barbecues following events on summer weekends. You might even convince some of them to swim, bike or run with you…. Just not at 4:45 in the morning, that’s simply insane – keep that to yourself.

From my perspective, having been working on this campaign consistently for almost four weeks (actual Ironman directed training, workouts previous to this are deemed pre-IM), I find that the biggest challenge is getting through the first half of the work week, having trained through the weekend. By Wednesday evening, I’m pretty much sapped. To counter this, I’ve put together an alternative work schedule with my boss, which will afford me a three day weekend every second week. I count myself lucky that I’m able to do this, and I’m already relishing the idea of Monday mid-day swims where I don’t have to squeeze my workout into an hour, coupled with some extra relaxation to add a little bit more juice to my batteries.

Training this week has been interesting, I’m trying out different pools, and it turns out that I favour one over the others, my workouts there seem more consistent, and I’m able to find my pace very easily. It’s worth the commute through Little Italy to get there at least twice a week. I’m anxiously awaiting the reopening of the city pool near our humble abode though. It will feel like I’m swimming in my own back garden, it’s so close.

The weather in Ottawa last weekend made for some chilly outdoor workouts. I ran with a group prior to our spin session last Saturday and within 8 minutes my sunnies had fogged up and frozen over – this was compounded with a slight tear in the leg of my tights, discovered only as I was getting out of the car at the studio. I opted for the treadmill for Sunday’s long run, and in some ways, the mental challenge of running in place for that duration made the workout that much more fulfilling to finish. The deep freeze seems to have broken in the last couple of days though, so I’m hoping to be back on the road both Saturday and Sunday.

Week five starts on Saturday, let's go!

Are you going to eat that?

I became to be involved in this sport innocently enough, it was one part of the pursuit of a healthy and balanced lifestyle, eating right, with a balanced exercise regime, primarily to stave off the stresses of my job. The idea of working toward a goal was much more appealing to me than spending hours in a gym, working up a sweat without direction (the opinion expressed is that of the participant). Races became milestones, participation the rush, and results became reward. The science behind nutrition was a bit of a mystery though, carbohydrate requirements, proteins, and limit caffeine and alcohol? Well, I beg your pardon, I belong to a tri club with a long standing relationship with a great local coffee shop, and many of our races have a great pub right on the bike course. And what about now? Well, the times, they are a changin'.

I have to tell you, with three weeks behind me, I find myself hungry, like, ALL THE TIME. That may be a stretch, it is not truly a 24/7 thing, but I find myself panicky in the morning if I haven't got enough time to pull together a reasonable lunch, usually a medium/large size salad, protein of the day (read: can of tuna/chicken breast/sliced turkey breast ), and some healthy snacks. Without planning, I tend to be a little bit lost, foraging for food in downtown Ottawa, usually faced with some sort of pre-made sandwich/soup or sandwich/salad combo - with the ever present danger of some kind of over-sweetened caffeine powered mochasugar cup as a chaser. We all know that those sandwiches and salads rarely measure up to the healthy options we can pack from home. And without pre-planned snacks, all bets are off. Hello ginger molasses cookie, how I've missed you.

So I supposed the more appropriate description is that I'm not hungry all the time, rather I tend to be pre-occupied with meal planning alot of time, particularly in the morning when I'm negotiating with myself for those extra few minutes of sleep, using all my power to convince myself that I can pull together some decent food ideas for the day in no time flat. So I will finally admit that the coaches are right, the key is really in the planning. None of this willy nilly stuff anymore!

Fortunately for me, I married someone who loves to plan, and relishes the opportunity to help me stay organized, and thus focussed, on every detail. Given the task at hand, I couldn't ask for better.

And as far as the plan goes, all is well, another solid weekend of training - Saturday brick and strength training and by far the most successful long run I've had in a while, despite the absolutely frigid temperature on Sunday morning. According to the schedule, I'm on a recovery week, but I'm not exactly feeling like it's less.... in fact my running intervals this morning and my strength training all added up to more! But, I'm committed to the process, so on we go.

199 days?

Early last week, I clicked on the Ironman Lake Placid website, which is equipped with the coolest little gadget, that counts down the days, hours, minutes and seconds to the start of the swim on race day.

It was at that moment that I came to the realization that I no longer had over 200 days to train - at that exact moment, there was the faintest flutter in my stomach. I think somehow, seeing that number click over to 199 made the endeavour all the more real, and it kind of consumed my thoughts during my first day back at the office.When I mentioned it to my colleague, she said, '199 days? That's not long at all, you know!'. Now, I don't know about the rest of you, but hearing that set my teeth on edge. In my heart, I knew I had a plan, but what I really wanted to say to her was, 'Oh yeah, well, we planned our wedding in 6 weeks flat, from engagement to 'I Do' and if I can do that, then I can do anything'... True story.

So by Sunday, I had successfully completed all of my prescribed workouts, seven over the course of six days.  In total, I logged approximately 7 km in the pool, several hours in our basement torture chamber, with my bike, treadmill and freeweights, capping it off on Saturday with a two and a half hour group workout involving a snowy (read: mucky/snotty) run, then an hour spin, on bikes with quite possibly the most uncomfortable seats known to man, followed by a spot of weights and stretching.  On Sunday morning, the plan called for a long distance run, just for good measure.

It seems kind of exhausting when you look at it all bunched together in a paragraph like that, but I can honestly say, I feel none the worse for wear so far, in fact, it was kind of a relief to start into the routine that I'd really been craving since the off-season began. I went to bed last night knowing that I had started off on the right foot, and while I had to be in the pool at 6am, I found myself looking forward to it, the start of week two.

No one told me, however, that the pool I'd chosen resembled the Don Valley Parkway at rush hour during the very early mornings. Given my workout plan, I had chosen the medium speed lane to start my workout, and rather than moving comfortably with the current of other swimmers in my lane, I spent the morning hitting the feet of other swimmers, and now and then feeling the odd graze of someone else's toenails at my elbow, and yes, 'Ew' is the right reaction to that. By the end of the workout I'd migrated into the faster lane, and was happily moving with the current, rather than risking impalement by toenail. Ok, I promise, that is the last swimming story for a while.

So now, with 194 days, and just over 8 hours to go, I'll see you next time.

Let the Games Begin!

Happy New Year!

I hope that the festive season was enjoyable, filled with family, friends, feasts and fun. Mine definitely was.

Although I had preliminary plans to spend lots of time hanging with friends, socializing and stuff, I found myself becoming almost fiercely protective of the time I spent with those closest to me, my hubby and our dog, and my family just being together. Boxing Day shopping, dinners, renting movies, skiing, going for walks, anything and nothing, I think in the back of my mind I knew what was looming right around the midnight corner on New Year's Eve. The kick-off to the next seven months of our lives, the first real and true step toward Becoming Irongirl. Workout number one.

Now, you might be thinking, 'but, you've been training throughout the fall, what makes this workout different to the others?' My answer is this, in my mind, the success or failure of this initial session will set the tone for the weeks and months to come, and while I acknowledge that true momentum won't come from a single workout, I believe that a training program is all the more successful if it starts on the right foot, or in my case, with the right stroke.

At 9:00 this morning, I started the ball rolling with a successful 3500 metre swim, fitting I suppose, given that it all starts in the water on race day. A mixture of small to medium sized swim sets, the warm-up alone took about 30 minutes, I have some difficulty with the kick that accompanies breastroke, so there were times when I felt I was being pulled backward, rather than progressing down the lane, swearing underbreath all the while. It's always at times like these when someone dons their 'knight in shining armour' cap and attempts to coach the random stranger in hopes of improving said kick in a matter of minutes. While I appreciated this gentleman's advice, I watched as precious minutes were snatched away from me on the clock, and my workout, which should have taken less than 90 minutes dragged on as a result. He did however make a few adjustments to my backstroke, which is now ten times more comfortable than it was. Thanks Mike.

By 10:40, it was all over, and I am quite satisfied with how it went. I have to confess, as far as volume goes, it presented a challenge, but the mix of different strokes, set distances, and some drills to finish made it all quite manageable. At no point during the workout did the words 'give up, you're tired' cross my mind, which is probably what I'm most proud of at this early stage of the game.

Tomorrow morning starts with a run and some weight training, and then it's back to the office after a 10 day vacation. Which do you think I'm more excited about?

Happy 2011! I hope it proves happy, healthy and prosperous.