Running in the 'Peg...

Joy here...It's the start of a new week (the last in October, the first in November), and I can look back on last week and feel like I'm back on a program.  Here's what I wrote in one of last week's blog posts:
After running last Friday, doing a trainer session on Saturday, heading out to ride outside on Sunday, running on Monday, resting on Tuesday, doing an indoor TT on Wednesday, and doing a trainer session on Thursday, I now find myself on Friday morning after a week of getting back into my groove feeling much more energized than I did during all my weeks off the bike when I was sitting on the couch and gaining those extra 5kgs or so around my mid section. 
So with a solid week of working out under my belt, I was feeling good...but...then...I...had...to...go...to...Winnipeg.

If you've come over to this blog from the one I used to co-write with my friend Nomi in Malaysia, you'll know that I've whinged about travelling to Winnipeg (and the havoc it wreaks with my training) before (for example, as early as September 2010 and again in the summer of 2011).  Essentially when I have to head to Winnipeg usually my time is not my own.  I get sucked into someone else's plan--meetings, conferences, family obligations--and it is remarkably hard to find time to both eat well and workout according to my schedule.

Click here to see a site with more on Air Canada's suckery.

Knowing all this, The Man and I got up early for our pre-dawn flight to my home town, and planned to eat on the plane so that we'd be fuelled and ready to run as soon as we landed.

But we were foiled.  Air Canada didn't have any breakfast options for flights shorter than 3 hours (even though ours was over 2 hours), and the one granola bar that they did have as a potential for us, was all out!  F--k you, Air Canada!

So we arrived at the airport hungry.  And realized that there would be no food at my dad's house.  So TGIF at the Winnipeg airport became our breakfast stop.

Me looking like a "condom head" in my running hat as I
stand waiting for the train to pass.

While not the most healthy option of all times, what it meant is that when we got to the house, we were able to drop off our luggage, change into our running gear, and head out the door without any further delays (because delays then turn into workouts cancelled).

Out we ran into the chilly Winnipeg air...hoping to warm up as we ran...and warm up we did.  Winnipeg has a nice running trail that runs down the middle of one of its prettier streets that is lined with mansions fronting the Assiniboine River, and so that is the route we ran, admiring houses along the way, nodding and waving to dog walkers, and feeling slightly self-conscious about how my running hat makes me look like a loser.  But with temperatures 17C in Ottawa and a mere 3C in Winnipeg, I wasn't about to take beauty over comfort.

And afterall, looking like an idiot in a stupid running hat but getting out there and running, is better than not running at all!

Over and out,
Joy

Run stats:
Ran for a total of 55minutes for around 8.5kms.

Winter is Coming

Frozen leaves..."winter is coming"...

Joy here...It was a cool Sunday morning, when I awoke to find that the autumn leaves had all fallen off the trees and turned crispy in the pre-dawn frost.  But given my new sense of commitment to my training program (and to losing the extra 5kgs that have somehow attached themselves to my buddha belly), I pulled on all my winter weather cycling gear, put air in my tires, and planned to head out for a ride with The Man and our friend who has joined us on rides every now and then, often in the early or late season (he's a hard man of the sport!).

In fact, he's from my hometown, and he moved to Ottawa the same year that we did, and he and his family live in the same neighbourhood we do.  So over the years, we've become good friends, and it's great to head out for a ride with him when we can.

All dressed up for winter riding!

He's a little bit retro and a little bit rock and roll, and a whole lotta fun.  He loves old school retro bikes, has a penchant for original Brooks saddles and retro woollen jerseys, and just when you think he might have been happiest had he been living in mid-century Europe or something like that, you realize that he's a die hard motorcyclist and hard core dude.  Talk about the best guy to have with you when you head out for a cold, Sunday morning ride.

So we all met up, bundled up, and rode leisurely towards the Parkway where I did my Time Trial efforts throughout the summer.  Summer is, of course, fully gone now, and to quote the mantra of my favourite Song of Ice and Fire family of Winterfell, "winter is coming."  You can feel it in the chill in the air and the bite to the breeze.

Then channelling my inner Arya, full of spunk, energy, and a healthy disdain for norms and etiquette, I pulled away from The Man and Retrofriend to put in a bit of an effort out on that relatively flat stretch of road that is so very familiar to me after so many summer efforts.

I felt my legs move solidly and consistently, and while I tried to keep my speed at around 35km/hr during the summer Time Trials, this time, I just tried to keep my speed consistent at around 30km/hr.  At this point in my training cycle (when I'm just coming off an extenda-off season) there is no gain to be made by pushing it too hard.  I will have all winter to work through a program and emerge in the spring time with a whole lot of fitness thanks to a clear cycling program that I'm working.

The Man and Retrofriend under a cold sky!

So even though "winter is coming," I have no intention of rolling over and letting it wash over me.  The Starks are the only ones who are always prepared for and ready for winter...and in my heart of hearts, I'm a Stark!

Over and out,
Joy

Ride stats for Sunday's ride:
Rode for a distance of 41km in 1:44 for an average speed of around 24km/hr (that's taking in the to-and-from portion of the ride that just noodles along the bike path).

Feeling Energized

Yesterday's work out plan (and the sheet
underneath is the one with my wattage
effort zones as per Coach Andrew).

Joy here...The funny thing about working out regularly is that when you first start, you can't help but think, "but I don't have the energy for that," or "but I'm too tired after a hard day's work."  If you're anything like me, then you can't help but think that working out will sap whatever energy you have remaining.  But strangely enough, that's not true.

The more you work out, the more energy you end up having.

It seems strangely counter-intuitive, because you would think that all that sports activity would tire you out.  And, well, I suppose there must be some point along the continuum where you tip the balance and the more working out you do, the less energy you have, but I suspect you'd have to be a really elite level professional athlete before you hit that mark.  For the rest of us regular plebeians, its seems to me that if you can get yourself up and moving, you'll strangely find yourself with more energy than if you just sit on the couch and supposedly "recharge."

After running last Friday, doing a trainer session on Saturday, heading out to ride outside on Sunday, running on Monday, resting on Tuesday, doing an indoor TT on Wednesday, and doing a trainer session on Thursday, I now find myself on Friday morning after a week of getting back into my groove feeling much more energized than I did during all my weeks off the bike when I was sitting on the couch and gaining those extra 5kgs or so around my mid section.

Fancy post-ride drinks for me and The Man.

After yesterday's effort on the trainer--which included a 10minute section cycling up through all my wattage zones, an 8minute section holding steadily at the effort just below my TT effort, and two 8minute sessions of 4minute sections where I worked through some hard efforts and sweated all over myself--left me feeling proud that I had ticked off the workout when for weeks I haven't been able to, but it also left me feeling energized.

I got off the bike and out of my sweaty clothes, put two oranges and a grapefruit into our vitamix (which is the best super blender of all time...worthy of its own blog entry) and made myself some juice, and then added some perrier to it for a special, post-ride treat and then went off to shower feeling healthy and energized.

And now, if I can only keep that up maybe some of those unwanted kilos will get so energized that they run away and find someone else to attach themselves to!

Over and out,
Joy

Indoor Time Trial: Please Don't Suck...

Joy here...As I was training for August's Ontario Provincial Time Trial, I completed two indoor time trials on my trainer in the basement.  The first one was, well, an utter and absolute failure that beat my self esteem around the block and then kicked it to the curb for good measure.  The second one was better, if not as good as my outdoor time trials on Tuesday nights.

My workout details (courtesy of
Coach Andrew), outlining minutes
and wattage (note: the second-last bullet
is the 10 minute TT).

Well, as I've gotten back into the rhythm of training (slowly but surely) as I try to beat my body back into condition after its lengthy "rest" period, I was supposed to do another indoor time trial on Tuesday so that my coach could look at my numbers and interpret them for me (basically evaluating just how out of shape I am at this point).  But Tuesday came and went, and life somehow prevented me from getting on the bike at all; not to be daunted, I got up bright and early on Wednesday to do the indoor time trial before my workday started.

I had a whole warm up regimen planned to get my legs (and lungs and heart and brain) ready for the TT effort, and as I worked through all the elements that Coach Andrew had devised for me I was beginning to feel like an athlete again (granted an athlete whose body is a little bit more smooshy than usual, but who cares?).  I felt the familiar burn in my legs, and I felt myself huffing and puffing and finding the rhythm of breathing in and out to get my body back into a sense of synthesis where breath and legs all move according to its own beat.  Then I looked at the clock and saw that it was time for me to start the 10-minute section of the TT...ready, set...GO!

And off I went, putting my bike into a bigger gear on the trainer, and pedalling consistently, but at what felt like the limit to me.

Nothing like the loneliness of an indoor ride.

I had covered up my wattage numbers (as per Coach Andrew's request, so that he can see what I can do when not staring at a particular target number), so I just went into my mantra as I pedalled...please don't suck, please don't suck, please don't suck...The words went over and over, around and around in my head as I pedalled.

I was dripping sweat on my bike; I was feeling like I was going to explode; I felt horrible; I felt awesome.

Then the phone rang.

I wanted to ignore it, but it was a work-related call (before 9am, mind you), and I couldn't not take it, so my TT effort was truncated to 6 minutes rather than 10 minutes.

And as much as I want to be disappointed with that, I kind of can't be, because at this time last week, I was still in "resting" mode...so something is better than nothing!

Over and out,
Joy

Truncated indoor TT stats:
Rode for 40 minutes working up to TT effort, then rode for 6 minutes with an average wattage of 189w, average heart rate of 156bpm, and average cadence of 88rpms.

The Times They Are a Changin'...

Joy here...My last two posts (some shocking 6 weeks apart) have both lamented the bad habits that I've developed and the distance between the me of right now (earning a high score of 63.7kg on our fatty meter--the way we refer to our scale) and the me of the summer (weighing in at around 58kg).  The good news is that I am not alone.

And since misery loves company, I feel better already.

In fact, one of the guys who was an Olympic-calibre runner who then took up cycling after a foot injury and who works at our local bike shop (the Cyclery...where we are serious regulars) and raced very competitively all summer (in fact winning the first and only race of the season that The Man was able to compete in back in April), has just blogged about his own vexed relationship to his own weight at the moment, and his words could be mine:  "hey I have like 4 months to get lean and mean, and there is nothing wrong with putting on a little winter layer."

Autumn is upon us.

I've decided to take him at his word and get into the spirit of this season.  While all the trees are losing their fresh green colours of spring and summer and getting ready for winter, fully comfortable with the change of appearance, change of pace, and change of season, I, too, must get myself used to the fact that summer is behind me and the fitness that I was able to glory in as I learned that I could ride a bike and even be pretty good at it even in not knowing what the heck I was doing is also behind me.

Now is the season of change.

And change is a good thing.

What's not beautiful in this season of change?

Change is a beautiful thing; change represents growth, and change brings out the best in us.  So as I headed out yesterday for a little run just to loosen up my legs after my first bike ride in ages, I thought about those changes (and the changes to my ever-increasing midsection).  If my extra padding now helps me to recharge, rebuild, and move forward, then, hey, I'm happy with that.  Or if not entirely happy with that (I am, afterall a woman shaped and conditioned by a society that is, to say the least, obsessed with body imagery), then I've at least made my peace with it.

I may not be in exactly the shape I'd like to be in.  And I may not be exactly as fast or as fit as I'd like to be.  But I'm exactly where I need to be at this particular moment in time in order to be able to build and move forward throughout the winter so that come spring and summer I'll reach levels that I had never been able to imagine with respect to sport.

The best thing about change is that when change is afoot, you never know what the outcome may be.  And I'm one who has always loved surprises.

So, body, surprise me...show me what you can do!

Over and out,
Joy

Monday's run stats:
Ran for a distance of 6.7km for 40minutes with an average pace of 5:59min/km.

Habits, Both Good and Bad

Joy here...Okay, it's been 45 days since my last post, and that's the longest I've gone between blog entries since I very first started blogging with my friend Nomi back on our East and West Running site in July 2010, fresh after we had completed our first ever running race (a 10km event in Singapore).

It's not that there's been nothing to write about.  Since my last post, Lance Armstrong's career has gone into full free fall mode as the media and public have circled the waters like sharks amidst a chum-filled sea.  The feeding frenzy has been fierce, dramatic, and painful to watch.  Since my last post, I've also gotten fatter and lazier than I've ever been in my entire life.  I've stopped being able to fit even into my stretchy jeans, and so my body is definitely not my own.  Since my last post, I took a trip to the UK and enjoyed running around the East Sussex countryside and wandering the busy streets of London.  My friend Power Penna (from last year's cycling sisterhood) finally had her baby, a happy and healthy baby boy.  So a lot has happened and there's a lot that I could have been writing about.

A run in the English countryside isn't really enough to
make up for all the resting I've done!

But when my coach explained the "rest" I was supposed to be having right after my Time Trial effort in order to let my body rest and rebuild, I took him a little too much at his word.  He wrote:  "We actually want you to be out of shape at the moment," and I kinda took that a little too much to heart.  I'm very out of shape at the moment.

You see, since my last post in early September, I fell into some bad habits, which is remarkably easy to do.  Folk wisdom tells us that you can make or break a habit in around 3 weeks - anything from cutting out that cream in your morning coffee to getting over a bad break up - and back when Nomi and I decided to train for our first ever running race, I trained myself into the habit of running often during the week.  Then on the high from our first 10km race, we worked ourselves up to longer distances (a max of 30kms for me, but Nomi's gone on to do two full marathons) and then I took up bike racing.  I got into the habit of the bike, and all was good.

Then I was supposed to take some "rest" time in September.  And what happened?  Well, I got into the habit of being fat and lazy.

Then when October rolled around, and my "rest" was supposed to be over and I was supposed to get back into the building up phase of things, I found that the habit of being fat and lazy was pretty hard to break.

Running in the beautiful fall colours.

Now, to be clear, I never registered that I was being fat and lazy.  I just believed that I had gotten really busy (which I did), but the truth of the matter is that I had gotten into the habit of working and not having to work my work schedule around work outs.  So then when the "rest" was over, I was unable to make the switch back to having to juggle work and workouts.  As a result, well, um, workouts became secondary, and then almost nonexistent.

For instance, the week of Sept. 24th, I was supposed to do 8hrs of working out; I did 3.  The week of Oct. 1st, I was supposed to do 7hrs of working out; I did 45mins.  The week of Oct. 8th, I was sick, and then the week of Oct. 15th I was supposed to do 5.5hrs of working out, and I did 1.5.

This past week, I've decided to get back on track.  I did my workout as planned on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, mixing both the odd easy run in with getting back on my bike.

The man and our friend who accompanied me back out there
for my first bike ride since sometime in September.

And let me tell you, I had forgotten just how fun riding my bike is.

I had forgotten that sense of "wheeeeeee!" that a burst of speed can give; I had forgotten how even a little ache in the legs can actually feel good; and I had forgotten the rush of endorphins that make me feel happy.  I no longer care that I don't fit my cycling clothes and bulge out of everything I own; I no longer care that I have neither the speed nor the power that I did at the end of the summer.  Instead, all is right in the world because I made time to get back on the bike with my friends, and I'm going to do it again and again.

Because I'm sick of this habit I've fallen into that pushing working out to the margins of my life, and I'm going to make it a habit again to prioritize my workouts.

Because, well, I'm making a habit of prioritizing me...and in 3 weeks that good habit will be set in stone.  And maybe, just maybe, I'll start feeling fit again.

Over and out,
Joy