Just Keep Swimming....

Andrew is definitely the speedy swimmer in our family. There have been a few little breakthroughs to quicker swimming on my end, but they often seem to be short-lived and hard to repeat. This fellow and I would get along well most days....not going anywhere too quickly in the water.

But something REALLY cool happened this Saturday. We were supposed to be out riding lots over the long weekend, but plans changed due to weather and the fact that we'd both been fighting off a head cold since Wednesday. We headed off to the pool with "50 x 100m" being the goal... 10 x 100 free; then 10 pull; 10 free; 10 pull/paddles; 10 fins. The sets with toys would be fun, I knew, as toys are my buddies in the pool. I've been attempting to sever the ties with my buddies a bit more this winter, knowing that "just swimming" would help with both technique and confidence. Still, I was NOT looking forward to the free sets. But then the really, really cool stuff happened. Normally, holding 1:40 pace per 100m is acheivable. 1:35 can happen for a couple of hundreds but not consistently. Today, I swam every 100 of straight free on 1:30 - 1:33 with nicely controlled effort. WHEEEE!

Now the trick is to do it again....and then string them together for 1500 meters or more! But, I've come up with a set of rules to follow that may or may not have contributed to Saturday's success:

1. Don't train for 3 days prior due to a head cold.
2. Wake up at 3:30 am thanks to a thunderstorm and cat fight outside.
3. Don't fall asleep. Instead, get up and write an e-mail.
4. While still awake, watch an hour of Giro d'Italia coverage on the interweb.
5. Go back to bed at 6:30, when everyone else is getting up for the day. Sleep till 10.
6. Wake up. Take Lucy doggle for a rip in the country.
7. Lunch at 2 pm - LOTS of sushi. Mmmm....sushi.
8. Go shopping with Andrew for a really cool tea kettle.
9. Swim! Follow Andrew and try to keep him within 5 - 10 meters. Relax, think "long and smooth," and just DO it!


Maybe I'll stick with the pre-swim sushi part of the plan, anyway. The rest could be hard to replicate! Besides...sushi = fish, and fish are good swimmers...even the little dude in the fishbowl. Faster swimming by meal osmosis? And maybe, just maybe, at some race one day I'll get out of the water a bit more "in the mix" and not have so much work to do on the bike :)

A Snail's Pace

One of the biggest challenges in my life is finding balance. It seems as if it should be easy, but then my tendency to rush here and there; to fit just a little more in; and to feel almost guilty for taking "me" time kicks in. One of the many things I admire about Andrew is his ability to maintain a pretty good balance (well, most of the time!) and not waste energy worrying about things that it doesn't make sense to worry about. For me, this is harder. But, after several years of stressing about this whole "balance" concept rather than acting on it, I think I'm finally learning :) Learning to look after my spirit, because that is the most important part of my being. That work is a part of life but shouldn't dominate it. That there is only so much energy to go around. That it is OK to take an unplanned day off from training if my body needs it. That a cup of tea and a good book are great friends. And that yoga is a really, really, really good idea!

In a world where we can microschedule every moment of our day; can be tracked down by cell phone almost anywhere; and can have so many demands on our time from so many sources, it can be hard to slow down and just "be." But the energy we can gain from those moments is huge! When life starts to get too busy, I try to think of this little dude whom we met while hiking the West Coast Trail last year. Okay, so he's a slug, not a snail ("A Slug's Pace" just didn't work as well for the title!)
I suspect that in his little world, life is more about the journey than the destination...'cause it might take a really long time to get there! This little guy is a great reminder for me to just slow down sometimes; to smell the flowers; to "keep up with Lucy" when she is taking a nap (as that will make for faster running later!); and to enjoy every aspect of the journey.

Racing fast is great :) But sometimes it really is OK to move at a "snail's" pace.

Thank you to our Amazing Moms!

Andrew and I are so blessed. For so many, many reasons...a big one being the fact that we both have super-awesome-fantastic moms! We love you guys every day, but today is the day to give a special shout out to you and say "thanks" for all that you are and all that you do!

Our moms have supported us through years of successes and not-so-much-successes; loved us always (a challenging task at times!); and always been there for us. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts! You rock! We can't wait to share our wedding day with you :)


One of the things that has been so much fun for me the past few years is that my mom and I have grown into not just a mom and daughter but also really close friends. Which makes living across the country from her hard....thank goodness for phones! There are so many moments that would be great to share in person...but then again, we have managed to share a huge number of amazing times in the past few years and learn a lot about one another along the way. Like the fact that my mom has an AMAZING cheering screamy voice at triathlons! To look at her, you wouldn't think that such a great cheer could come out of her little body :) I remember the first time I heard it....at the 1/2 Ironman in Stony Plain, AB....I think everyone in transition took note! And that she is a fantastic "doggie grandma"....I know all about those pots that you let Lucy lick out after dinner :) Thanks for EVERYTHING, Mom.

PS - Our Dads rock too....but your official day isn't until June :)

Of foxes, racing, and summer treats

It's official....we have a neighborhood fox. He (she?) made an appearance again around the same early morning time as last week in the same spot. The "squirrel breakfast" today was grey, rather than black, though :)

Sunday was the first go at racing for both of us in a little while. We headed down to Milton for a visit with Mike and Anna, a bit of riding, and to run the Sporting Life (Sporting Death?) 10 km in Toronto. The visit was great as always, and the run....well....painful :) Neither of us has done a huge amount of speedwork or tempo since last year, so we had relatively modest expectations. We wound up being fairly happy once all was said and done (39 min and change for Andrew; 43 and change for Heather) given the lack of true prep work. But man, did it hurt! We both managed to go out a bit too fast and weren't able to hold onto the pace. On the bright side, I (H) set a new 4 km PB of 16:05! If only there were a few more 4 k races around :)

Summer is just around the corner in this neck of the woods, so it is time to start making some yummy "summmery" recipies. We discovered a really great ginger ale recipie (adapted from "The Thrive Diet" by Brendan Brazier) which is SUPER refreshing, especially post-workout, and full of healthy stuff. Apparently ginger is quite a potent anti-inflammatory. Just mix everything in a blender and store in the fridge:
- juice of 2 lemons
- 2 cups water and 2 cups coconut water (can use 4 cups water instead)
- 2 tbsp agave nectar (a natural sweetener)
- 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
- sea salt to taste

Happy week to all...

Keeping up with.....the local wildlife

A wise man once said that the success of a run is judged not by time, distance, or effort, but by how many critters one encounters along the way. Maybe we've got the quote a bit muddled, but oh well :) Two very cool "wildlife runs" to report:

The time: Friday morning, 7 am
The place: Komoka Provincial Park
The objective: Trail run
The critters: two deer, one racoon (unceremoniously treed by Lucy), and one very cool wild
turkey in the middle of the trail!

But, even cooler was yesterday's encounter....

The time: Thursday morning, 6:30 am
The place: Byron (our subdivision, in the city!!!)
The objective: Hill repeats
The way cool critter: A gorgeous red fox, carrying a squirrel, trotting down the sidewalk.
WOW!


Happy weekend to all!