Exercise Blahs

As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, I had to stop running.  Since then, I have done about 10 yoga poses and 40 crunches.  That's it.  I'm feeling completely un motivated to lace up my sneaks and go for a walk.  I want to run.  But I can't.

So, I need a plan.  A new, non running plan.  First, I am going to swim.  I must swim.  I will do that by going to the pool and swimming.  (There, that's a plan, right?)

Secondly, I will do at least 10 minutes of yoga every day.  I will do that by following a couple of different pre-natal podcasts.

Third, I will do a very modified version of the FitBlog AB challenge, 3000 in 35.  By no means am I going to have rock hard abs and a flat stomach, but stronger abs will help me deliver, and make me a little stronger for post baby, so I'm on board.  I'll listen well to my body and just push myself a little.  I checked it out and I know it's ok for me to do whilst knocked up.  We'll see how it goes!  Also, I just like to do whatever my big sister does.  That's what annoying little sisters are for!

So that's what I'm doing.  And I will try my best.  Help.



*I was totally going to put in a picture of a big ole belly beside that nice abs one, but after google image searching "pregnant belly", I am way too scarred so you can just imagine it.  Man there are some nasty bellies out there.  I really hope mine doesn't turn into one!

Finally

I have FINALLY found a dress to wear to an upcoming wedding.  I have probably tried on 30 dresses.  I'm not even kidding.  Today, at my second store of the day, I put this on, it wasn't too long/short/unflattering/revealing/hot/casual/dressy, so I bought it.  It happens to make my boobs look enormous, but otherwise it's the best I've found.  Thank god I can stop looking.  Now if only I could find a swimsuit.

Almost 6 months gone

That is insane.  I can NOT believe how the time has flown by.  I just can't believe it.

We saw our midwife this past week, and a few things have developed.

First, Matt has positive blood, while I have negative blood.  This means I have to get some kind of shot in order to not have my body attack any future babies to be.  I'm not really so knowledgable on the subject but I'll roll with it.

Second, my belly measured exactly the size it should be for how far along I am.  That's good, I guess? Not sure if it really matters.  I've also gained about 12 pounds so far.  I think that's alright.

Third, no more running.  I've had some pressure and pain in the under side of my belly when I've run, and she said "just stop".  I asked about the support belts, and she said "nope, stop."  Considering for most other issues, she has said "whatever feels good" or "you can try this or that" and has never been super firm on anything, I decided she meant business on this subject.  It's a bit of a bummer, but I can still walk vigorously and work out in the gym, just no high impact stuff.  I'll just have to figure it out.  The day after this verdict my cool new interactive road ID came in the mail (courtesy of my sis)!  I can't wait to use it... in months!  I'll wear it while I'm walking just for fun.

This past week was the first time I have felt any real negative pregnancy symptoms.  Sunday night I had the worst heartburn I've ever had.  I was up all night, sweating, and with acid reflux to the extreme.  I stayed home from work that day to recover and catch up on sleep, and felt fine that evening.  After I went in to work the following day, I started to feel really nauseous and funky in the stomach.  I went home (since I actually thought I was going to be sick, for the first time my whole pregnancy), and had a 3 hour nap, something I pretty much never do.  After the nap, I felt a lot better.  Over weeks 22-24, apparently the uterus moves around a bunch and it's common to have weird internal issues since all the organs have to shuffle.  I still have a lot of heartburn, but I've been taking a spoonful of apple cider vinegar every night before bed and I carry gaviscon with me in case I get anything in the day.  On Friday, I woke up with a wicked cramp.  I felt like it was my time of the month, but then I remembered that pregnant women don't have a time of the month, so I got a little worried.  I was quite uncomfortable during the drive to work, I just wanted to stop sitting.  Driving doesn't work so well in any position other than sitting, so it was a bit of an issue.  Luckily I had an event going on so I didn't have to spend my day at my desk.  When the cramp was still there after lunch, I decided to contact the midwives on their emergency pager, something that I hadn't done and was a little nervous about.  Was my issue and issue? Was it normal? I just didn't know.  After her asking me all sorts of questions and making me twist and turn and press here and there, she decided it wasn't an issue.  Because it wasn't coming and going, it wasn't a contraction. Because I could still feel the baby move, it wasn't a big sign of distress.  She gave me a few instructions and made sure I knew to call her back if it went away and came back, if it got a lot worse, or if my water broke (!!).  I'm glad I called her, since it really reassured me that it was most likely a normal pain.  She also stressed that I was right to call and that I shouldn't hesitate at all to call again.  It hurt for most of the next day as well, but it got better.

I think I'm getting to the part of pregnancy where I really FEEL it.  My back is sore, I feel pressure in my lower belly a lot, and the baby is moving around like crazy.  Sometimes I can see my belly move when it kicks.  I'm walking a little differently too.  So strange.  I'm getting a little closer to being able to picture myself with a baby, but not quite.  It still doesn't exactly seem real.  I know I've had such a great pregnancy up until now, and I can only hope things will stay the same.  I had a few blips this week, but still nothing major.

I've decided I need to start preparing myself for labour a little by reading some books.  I'm hoping to have a natural childbirth, but I know I need to learn some coping skills to get me through it.  I also think I might plan to wear my 70.3 shirt for the delivery (or the part of it when I can wear my own clothes... I don't know how long that is).  Since it's an enormous oversized cotton t-shirt that I wear to bed, it should work great for when I'm huge.  When I'm having a tough moment during labour, I can remember how much I suffered and overcame during my race and maybe I'll find some strength to overcome the pain.  Who knows.  I've borrowed a couple of books from the library and so far the first one is a whole lot of cheese and a few great tips.  It involves a lot of drawing, and I'm just not into it.  I'm glad I didn't take the class it was based on.  I think I would roll my eyes a lot.  I normally can jump in to hippy dippy things and embrace the cheese, but this one is a little much.  Hopefully the next will be a little more down to earth but still enough hippy dippy for me.

I took another iPhone picture... I don't think I'll ever get good at them.  In it you'll see my new iPhone 4 with my fancy dancy case.  I was so paranoid that I would drop it so I'm relieve to have a little more protection.  It also looks like I'm not wearing pants, but I am.

Almost 24 weeks!  6 months!

That's about it! For now anyway!

A little bit of bad luck

There has been a little bit of drama in the Brillington household these days.

First, a week ago on Sunday Matt dropped his iPhone on the sidewalk and shattered the screen.  After learning that both of us had to wait until October to get an upgrade, he decided that packing tape would do until then.  Surprisingly, despite the crazy shattering, the screen still works perfectly, so he was willing to suffer until the rumoured iPhone 5 comes out.

Matt's sad iPhone

The following Friday, I was at work working and event for work purposes and my iPhone got stolen.  It was in my pocket for 9 hours straight, and I took it out to use the washroom (so that I didn't shatter the screen like Matt did) and it got stolen.  Barf.  So I had to get a new phone.  I looked into buying a crappy phone, but I would have had to pay around $200.  Knowing that a) I would be livid every time I looked at it and b) I would just go spend the money and get an iPhone 5 when I was eligible in a few months, I decided to bite the bullet, pay to get an early upgrade and get an iPhone 4.  (I still saved significantly over buying it outright, but spent more than I wanted to.)  (Come to think of it, I didn't want to pay anything because I DIDN'T WANT TO BUY A NEW PHONE).

My new iPhone that I feel guilty for owning

So Matt has a crappy old thing that he can barely see and I have a shiny new iPhone that I have mixed emotions about.  I am happy I have a new phone, but I wish I didn't have to have it, and I wish Matt had a new phone too.  I'm also mad that someone else has my phone.  (And in case anyone was wondering, I have gone through ALL the steps I can to recover/find it, including calling it, believe it or not*)  My work is looking into it much deeper than I expected, so that's nice.  There's a chance we will be able to figure out who took it, in which case Matt can use it in the interim.  

Another little piece of drama?  Our roof is leaking.  Oh bother.  Luckily it's the condo building's fault, not ours, so we won't have to pay for any repairs.  We will have to get repairs, but at least our insurance premiums won't go up.

In other news, I'm feeling almost fit as a fiddle and I can feel the baby moving around like crazy these days!  

Taken two and a half weeks ago.  RIP old iPhone.

*This comment is in reference to a suggestion I got a day after it was stolen.  Why yes, believe it or not, I DID call it.

*And I'm saying it out of a place of love.

Unexpected Vacay

My sister wrote a great post for my grandfather recently, and you can find the whole story here.  I don't think I'd be able to say anything as well as she did so I'll leave it at that.  On Thursday my mum and I flew to Montreal to meet my sis and Jordan and the following day we drove down to Vermont.  As much as I don't really care for road trips, the drive down to Vermont is incredibly beautiful.  I was reminded the whole way that a lot of it is thanks to my Grampy who made a bill or law or something making it illegal to have billboards in the entire state of Vermont, so the lush green countryside always looks extra lush and green.

I learned a lot about him this trip, and I wasn't aware he had such an environmental focus.  He helped create the first ever "green-up day", which is a day where everyone picks up garbage and litter and leaves it in these green bags that get collected.  It happened that his funeral was on this year's green-up day, and my aunt, uncles and father had all participated in the first one many years ago.

I heard lots of stories that I had heard before, and when they were told, both around the kitchen table and at the funeral, I could hear them in my grandpas voice, who loved entertaining us with his tales from when he was younger.  I also got to read a letter he had written to my grandmother shortly after their first date.  He was working as a journalist at the time and he typed out a letter describing his weekend (washing his car,  telling her that he had a whole heap of fun and that she was real swell.  It was one of the sweetest things I had ever read.

One thing I think we all knew about my grandfather was that he loved my grandfather with all his heart.  He always wanted to make her happy, and it was clear that he just loved her to bits.  It's an inspiring thought to know that someone can love another person so much for so long.

Another nice thing about the weekend was getting to see my eastern family again, now the fourth year in a row.  I didn't figure I would get to see them again before the little bambino is born.  One of my uncles is a little grandbaby crazy I think, so he was very happy to know a little one is on the way, even if it isn't his own grandchild.  My cousins were all excited and it felt nice to know they are all there supporting us!  We took a family picture and I could just hear myself telling a little kid "that was before you were even born!"  Kind of a neat thought.

All in all, the unexpected trip to Vermont, even though it was to say goodbye to my Grampy, was very nice.  I could spend all day just sitting on my Aunt and Uncle's porch reading, listening to the wind chimes surrounded by green.  I'm glad to have gotten the chance to be there.

Office Life

Since I haven't ever worked in an office except for four months in university, these last few months have been interesting.

A few items to note:

• I'm lucky to work in such a beautiful building.  It's very light, there are lots of windows, every floor has a little kitchen, there is a Starbucks, a Sunterra Market and a gym in the building, and it's full of friendly people.
• There are ALWAYS treats.  It's either someone's birthday, some kind of campaign, someone went on a trip and brought back chocolate, or it's been easter.  Regardless, there is always something sweet around.  Luckily I can only eat about 30% of treats, otherwise my baby bump would be an all over fat fest.
• I don't like non apple computers.
• I need to pee a LOT.  I never would have noticed at home or on the plane, but since I have to lock my computer and get up from my desk to go, I feel like I go all the time.
• I'm lucky to have a pretty nice team of co-workers.  I haven't found office politics to be an issue.
• My butt hurts from sitting all day.
• I don't like having to dress nicely every day.  Actually, it's more that I don't have enough nice clothing that fits to dress nicely and not wear the same three outfits over and over.  Oye.
• The Jays wear a lot of make-up for men.  Oh wait, that's a noteworthy point from America's Next Top Model, not office life.
• I hate driving to and from work every day.  It's the worst.

And there you have it. My thoughts from the office after three months!  Is your office life like mine?

The joys of photographs

Lots of people post belly pictures on facebook when they're pregnant.  I'm not too sure that's exactly my style.  I generally don't post pictures of myself un-shirted at the best of times, so when I'm continuously getting fatter, it doesn't seem any more appealing.

BUT, I have decided to take belly pictures.  I feel like it's a way to remember the journey into motherhood. (I think that's the cheesiest sentence I've ever written.)  I'm also trying to keep a little journal that I will eventually give my child, just like my parents did, but I'm finding it a little tough.  I don't know what to call myself, and the one time I wrote "your mum", I felt like I was talking about my own mother, not me.  I also have a hard time knowing exactly what to write, and I don't want to be too cheesy like my dad was! (He's just so emotional!)  I just blather on like an idiot for a page or two and hope for the best, really.

Back to the belly pictures.  They are WAY harder to take than you might think.  First, taking them after a haircut you hate is terrible.  Exhibit A:

Bangs belly pic (5 weeks)

Taking them when there are two people laughing at you, and one of them is saying "stop sucking in!" isn't much fun either.  Exhibit B:

I'm NOT SUCKING IN! (10.5 weeks?)

Taking them yourself is pretty much impossible.  Exhibit C:  (ps: HELLO baby bump!  Nice of you to make an appearance!)

DIY belly Pic (13.5 weeks)

Having someone take one of you with you iPhone at a race seemed to work ok!  (And this was one day after the previous picture.  Maybe the all black had it's slimming effect on me!)  Exhibit D:  

Too bad I'm not facing the other way!  (13.5 weeks)

The next impossible thing is having your loved one take a picture after you've been crying over nothing.  (For example, why isn't there any more cereal?!?!?!??!.  It happens more often than I'd like to admit).  Also, telling him that he's terrible at taking pictures and then pretending to smile doesn't work well either.  Exhibit E:  

I think I'm thinking "kill me you now!  (14.5 weeks)

Then, taking one right after a workout really just isn't flattering, if you can call any picture where you pull up your shirt and stick out your belly flattering.  Also, can you believe this is three days after the first one?  I think I may have just eaten, but still, I feel like I'm growing every hour!!!!  Back to the pictures.  Exhibit F:

I need more concealer.  (15 weeks)

Common themes?  Pimples.  Oh god, the pimples.  Also, I hate taking belly pics.  Hopefully we can get this down to a science before the baby comes.  Otherwise, it will be an album of pictures I would like to burn.  Oh, and now I'm sharing them with the internet.

Oh, and I will definitely take an "after" picture of my tattoo.  I REALLLLLLLY hope it's still pretty leaves and not giant blob leaves.

Soooooo......

So lots has happened in my life recently.

I stopped liking Reece's Peanut Butter Cups or anything related to them, which is a tragedy.

My love for strawberry milkshakes has been rekindled.

My running pace has dropped like a hot potato.

And I'm pregnant.

Woah.

I'm pretty excited, scared, nervous, and all the other feelings that go along with having another human growing in you.  Speaking of feelings, there are lots of them, all the time.

Luckily I wasn't sick at all during the first three months, just very tired all the time.  I also drastically reduced my caffeine intake (from two a day to less than one a week), but since reaching the second trimester, I've allowed myself one small one a day or so.

I'm still running, but not quite as much as before.  I'm keeping under a certain heart rate (as directed by my doctor) so my pace is dictated by it.  I ran "the baby's first race" last Sunday and it was very hard to keep it casual and not "race".  We had fun, but it was a struggle to cross the finish line a good 11 minutes slower than I did last year at the same race.

Baby's first 10 km!

I'm also not flying anymore, instead I'm working in the office for a great team that puts on events.  Unfortunately, my job isn't as glamourous as event planning, and more about printing labels and stuffing envelopes.  BUT, I get to be safe and sound and get a good night's sleep in my own bed every night.  I'm thankful that I get to put my semi-risky job on hold and get to do other duties and still get paid!

What else?  I'm having a hard time finding maternity clothes that don't make me look like a doily.  I'm also consumed with the decision of whether to buy an infant car seat or a convertible car seat, don't ask me why.  I'm also avoiding thinking about transforming my second bedroom aka the place where we store EVERYTHING into a baby's room.  I can't even think of where to begin.

So that's that!

Granola

I just love granola.  I love oats, nuts, a little bit of sweetness... it's just all delicious.  Unfortunately, since discovering I have celiac disease and going gluten free, my granola choices have gone from plentiful and delicious to slim and gross.  Most GF granola doesn't have any oats, since most oats are contaminated with wheat and only a few select brands are certified wheat free.  Also, most GF granola has cereal (NOT good in granola or with yogurt in my opinion) or crazy random clusters of weird.  They also normally contain a large amount of fat.  From oil, not nuts.  Oh yeah, and they all cost about 10$ for a tiny package.

A while ago, I made my own granola.  And it was delicious.  I haven't made any since then.  I have been granola deprived!  So yesterday, just because, I decided to make some more.

I didn't have 12 cups of oats though... I had something more like 6.  So I used the 6 cups and decreased the liquid a bit.  And instead of grapefruit juice like I used last time, I used Happy Planet Abundant-C smoothie.  And I didn't add raisins.  Oh, and instead of flax, I used chia seeds.  I'm not sure if you're supposed to bake chia seeds, but I did.

It's just delicious.  I've had it twice today.

If you'd like the recipe, just click the link! A healthier, cheaper, modifiable and did I mention delicious granola!  Enjoy!

Accent Vlog

I've seen a few accent vlogs on some other websites, and I thought it would be fun to add in my two cents! I'm born and raised a Calgarian!  It's weird to see myself on film.  Also midway through, my eyes start to water because I'm embarrassed.  They ALWAYS do that!!

If you want the list, here it is!


Aunt, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught

• What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?
• What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball?
• What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?
• What do you call gym shoes?
• What do you say to address a group of people?
• What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped
• body and extremely long legs?
• What do you call your grandparents?
• What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry
• groceries at the supermarket?
• What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?
• What is the thing you change the TV channel with?

Deep Breaths

I know that complaining about the weather really isn't an efficient use of time and energy, and that a lot of places around the world are getting it worse than we are.  BUT, I have to say, this hot cold hot cold hot cold thing is getting PRETTY old.  I know it could be cold all the time, and that would be awful, but the hot melts all the snow and makes it slushy and gross, then the cold comes and freezes said slush and it's impossible to walk anywhere.  Please decide, and lets keep the temperature variation to about 10 degrees, shall we?

End of rant.

2011 goals

Where has January gone??

The rest of my New Year's Eve was quite uneventful.  I went to bed at 10:30, and Matt woke me up at midnight, gave me a kiss and a piece of toblerone (seriously, I think I got 20 different toblerones as christmas gifts) and I went back to sleep.  I woke up in the morning with chocolate still in my teeth.  Don't tell my dentist.

This month has been interesting.  My step-dad had a big surgery on the 5th, the same day that Matt started school (part of his electrician's apprenticeship).  The surgery went well, and Matt is half done his school already and is doing well there too.

My dad took some big healthy steps towards some weight loss, and I'm trying to support him by taking a few yoga classes with him when we can fit them in.

I made some goals for 2011, as did most, but I decided to share them now and tell you how I'm doing.

I split them up a la healthy tipping point into three categories:  Personal, Health, and Financial.  And a la the things i know I will update these periodically.

Personal:

• learn Italian - haven't even started.  Oops.
• communicate better with Matt - this is up and down.  The start of the month was bad, recently has been better.  We try.  It's hard at times and I love being right.
• pay and file bills and letters immediately - 50% better than I used to be.
• clean the house on a more regular basis - epic fail.  I can't see this being an easy one to achieve.

Health:

• run 100 km per month - So far I've run 52.81 km this month, so unless some MAJOR running is happening for me in the next 5 days, I think I lost this one.  BUT, 52 is a lot of kms, so I'm still proud of this.  There were 8 days where I honestly flew, got to a hotel, had 9-10 hours of rest and flew again.  Working out just didn't happen.  Sleep barely happened.  Eating happened.  
• run a great half marathon in April - stay tuned.
• run a speedy 10 km in september - ditto
• do yoga 3 times per week - I think I've done an average of 1.5 per week, so not there, but better than zero.
• drink more water - enh.  
• eat dessert less frequently - much better at this.  I seemed to have gained some weight over the holidays (whaaaaaa?!?!?) from perhaps a little more alcohol than I'm used to, so I would love for it to go away.  I'm actually going to try to cut out alcohol except for special occasions, so we'll see how that goes.

Financial:

• buy less coffee out - I have cut down.  Sort of.
• put more cashola on debt - not yet.  we have one pay check at the moment (because Matt's in school) so this be a little more promising in a month.

 Those are them for now.  I think I will add some more soon, but these seem good for the time being.  Some are exciting and I want to do them (like running and yoga, oh right and the communications with my husband one), and some are terrible (like cleaning and bill filing), so obviously I'm putting time and effort into the fun ones and not so much into the terrible ones.  I should make a new goal of putting effort into the stupid goals.

I'll leave you with a couple of fun professional wedding pics!

An Amazing New Year's Eve

Though it's still early evening, I've had a pretty cool New Year's Eve already.

I headed down to Cochrane to run Martin Parnell's last 10km of his 250th marathon this year.  He is raising money for Right to Play, a children's charity, and I thought it would be cool to participate in his last run.

This is me and Marathon Man himself!

He is inspirational, to say the least, and I was so grateful to get the chance to run with him.  I asked him if he was looking forward to tomorrow, and he said "more than anyone can know.  I can't wait to do anything but run!"

He had 400m left to run before the final 2 km, so he told us all to wait while he ran up this parking lot and across a bridge and back!

The next time I feel like I can't keep going during a race, I'll be able to think about this experience and I'm sure I'll find the strength to continue!

Update

I have been absent again!

I don't really have an excuse this time... I didn't get married again or go on another honeymoon.  Ooops.

I've been running a little more than I was before, I've been yogaing a little more too, which I'm enjoying.

I've been living with my husband AND his brother, which is interesting in a small condo.

I've been flying, sometimes to Maui, which is a great escape from the cold weather.

I also bought a new winter jacket, which I love.

What else?  I took Matt to Vancouver for his birthday, and we went to the Vancouver Aquarium.  We also ate some delicious sushi for a lot less money than Calgary's sushi.

Soon, it will be Christmas and Kristen and Jordan will be here!  Hurray!

Wedded Bliss

I have been absent, but busy.

I got married.

 

Went to New York City on my honeymoon. 

And ate lots of Gluten-Free deliciousness.

And loved it!!!

Hot Hot Heat

Bonjour!

The time is ticking, and the wedding is getting closer!  Three weeks today at this time I will probably be drinking coffee on my deck with my husband to be before the madness of the day starts!  If it's too cold, maybe it will be coffee in bed. (which, coincidentally, is what we were doing when he proposed!)

So much has happened it's hard to even get it all out!  I had an amazing surprise shower thrown by the best besties in the world (a recap can be found here), and then I ran the canmore half marathon (which k did a great recap of as well).  Matt and I ran together, so there was no pressure and we didn't have any time goals.  We finished in about 2:15 and I was pretty sore.  Once I got past 16km, I could tell where my training lacked and my hips were toooight!  We had a good day, but next year, I think we'll drop back down to the 10km race.  It's a lot more fun to do with a group (Matt's cousin and her husband did it with us both years) and not quite as taxing... we can still have drinks the night before, not have to get up, eat and have a strict schedule. 

I've been doing hot yoga more since the race, trying to get a little more toned.  I still am doing some weights when I'm on the road, but in Calgary, I don't have a gym access so I'd rather pay to do yoga instead of pay to lift weights.  I've been going to hot yoga and I can definitely tell I'm working hard!  My arms today were shaking since I've been twice this week (when normally I go once a week MAX).  I'm enjoying the 60-90 minute sweat fest. 

Other than that, it's little wedding details and that's about it!  Time to relax and enjoy the time with all the visitors coming! 

Recovering

Life since the 70.3 has been great.  I am still in disbelief that I finished and that it's over, and it's strange to not have this HUGE ENORMOUS deadline looming over my head.

Oh wait, I guess there's our wedding that's in less than 2 months.  Most of the important things are done, but I'm still trying to get all all of the little details figured out.  Luckily there isn't anything so pressing that it doesn't seem manageable. 

I also signed up for a half marathon on September 12 in Canmore, so I still have to run and make sure I can finish that one well.  I know I can finish finish, but it would be nice to have a strong race.  I haven't been SUPER into running, though I just got a birthday present that should pep me up a bit!  Matt (and my parents) got me a Garmin 310XT!!  I took it out for the first time yesterday, and so far it's cool, but I just kept looking at it the whole time.  I can see how people rely so heavily on them, since they are just plain cool and it's interesting to see all sorts of stats, but I'll just let the "newness" of it wear off and hopefully just use it as a compliment to my training.

What else?  Matt and I have continued to go to hot yoga, which has been great, and I'm working on some strength training when I'm on the road (and have the use of free gyms) to tone up my upper body for the wedding.  I worked out with another flight attendant who does fitness competitions, and while that's definitely not something I'd ever want to do, it was fun to do a strength training routine with someone who knows what she's doing.  She is STRONG!  I've never been much into strength, aside for a few little weights here and there and some core stuff.  I definitely was out of my element.  One thing that she commented on was how determined I was, and how she didn't have to push me to finish a set or exercise.  I told her that even though weights were foreign to me, pushing myself and persevering is what my sport is all about!  Funny how two very different athletes have the same thing at their core.  Anyway, though I don't think I'll be sporting a spray tan, a string bikini and clear heels anytime soon, it was amazing to see her lifting 40 plus pounds doing tricep something-er-rathers (while I was lifting 8!)

And that's that.  How's everyone else doing?

Ironman Calgary 70.3 race report

So I finished.  And that was my only goal.

I'll start the day before, when my sister, mum and I went out to Cochrane to drop off my bike.  Nothing too noteworthy happened except I met a very nice volunteer who was very informative and helped me put my number stickers on my bike.  She told me how and where I would exit the water, grab my T1 bag, get dressed, and run out to the mounting line.  Nothing too crazy.  I walked down to the water and tested it out.  It was cold.  I wish I had gone for a swim, but I didn't.

Race morning I woke up at 3:30, made coffee and oatmeal, made sure I had all my stuff, and we (sister, Matt and I) left to go pick up my mum.  It was raining, and there were thundershowers in the day's forecast.  We arrived in Cochrane, and the line for the portapotties was already very long.  I don't exactly remember what all happened and it what order, but I dropped off my water bottle, pumped my tires, lent my pump to someone else, went to the bathroom, got body marked, applied sunscreen, re-marked my numbers since they came off with the sunscreen, got on my wetsuit, and dropped off my dry clothes bag.  Also, I got about 500 mosquito bites.  Then I waited.  The pros started and finished, the women started, the men started, and then I went into the water to "warm up".

As soon as I put my face under the water, I started gasping, breathing in (which you aren't supposed to do under water), and panicking.  I have never had any water "issues", I've never panicked, I've never freaked out, and I don't mind open water or cold water.  I'm not sure if this was nerves, temperature, or both, but I could NOT find my breath.  Of course, the fact that I was having these issues is making me panic even more, and all of a sudden, the horn went off.  I still couldn't put my face under without gasping in and out, so I just tried to swim some kind of front crawl without my face under.  It wasn't too effective, and before I knew it I was one of the last people.  I think I did the first quater or third of the swim like that.  In my head, I was thinking "ok, well this is it, I'm done the race, I can't do it, I'll just stop", but then I just sucked it up, tried to calm down, and eventually found my stroke.  I made up quite a bit of time, passed quite a few people, and finished the swim strong in 46:24.

I ran up the boat launch, tried to get my wetsuit half off, then ripped off my cap and goggles, got stripped by the strippers, couldn't find my T1 bag, a volunteer found it for me, changed, took a Gu, and ran into the bike place and grabbed my bike.  I took some swigs of water and walk/jogged to the bike mount.  My mum, sister, and Matt were there, taking pictures and cheering me on.  I think I said "that was very hard" and then hopped on my bike.  I knew this was going to be hard.  And it was.

I passed a girl not two minutes into the bike who had already gotten a flat tire.  I said to her "terrible luck!!" and she replied "I know, right?!?" as if she couldn't even believe it.  I remember thinking "I hope I don't get a flat!" and kept on going.  I biked along, getting passed left right and centre, one guy saying "those beers are going to taste amazing tonight!" as he went by.  It rained a bit, making my feet wet and cold.  I tried to remember to drink, eat (I managed to eat my Gus without falling, which was great) and just kept cycling.  The course was devastating.  I felt awful.  The hills were tough.  I managed to speed down the hills, which I wasn't sure I'd be able to, only breaking when the officials told us there was a sharp turn coming up, and I tried to keep strong, but it was hard.  I couldn't get into aero position much during the first half of the race, since there were so many up and down hills, requiring me to change gears, and my aero bars don't have gear changers on them.  When the course was a bit flatter in the last third, being in aero hurt my crotch so much that I couldn't stay in for long.  My dad drove out to Cochrane and cheered me on with major gusto at two spots.  When he drove by me on a hill, he stuck his hand out the sunroof and cheered like crazy.  He really helped keep my morale up.  Coming up to the second aid station, I had finished my aero bottle of sports drink, so I decided to take my spare water, pour it into the aero bottle, chuck it at the aid station, and get a new spare water.  I have never really ridden with one hand for that long, so I was really going out on a limb thinking I could do it.  Slowly but surely, I managed all those steps, and when I was finished, I felt so proud!  How silly!  I even looked around hoping someone had witnessed it!  I got up to the aid station, called out for water, and my favourite volunteer from Saturday's bike drop off ran beside me and handed me a bottle!  She encouraged me, congratulated me, and told me to keep riding hard!  I found out later that she went to the finish line and even recognized my family and told them that she had seen me out on the course.  How nice!!  For almost the whole course, I was alone, only passing about 6 people total, and being passed here and there.  Anytime I saw the official vehicle drive by, I was scared there were going to pull me over and tell me I was too slow and I had to stop.  I saw a few people on the side with flat tires, and again hoped I wouldn't have to be in their shoes.  When I finally got onto Glenmore Trail, I tried to remind myself that I was supposed to be happy, since this meant the bike was almost over.  Instead I was mad.  I was mad because I thought I had been too slow and wouldn't get to run.  Then I was happy because the day would be over.  I didn't care that I couldn't run.  I just wanted to be done.  Then I was sad because I wouldn't be able to finish and would have to tell everyone I didn't finish.  I finally turned onto 37th street, (what a bumpy road!!! my crotch was KILLING ME!) powered down the road, and saw a group of people at the end screaming and cheering.  I heard my dad yell "YOU MADE IT!!!" and saw my mum, sister, matt, my friend katie, and her sister yelling and cheering.  I unclipped, got off my bike only to find that one foot was still clipped, almost fell, and walked over the timing mat.  I was sort of crying out of happiness, exhaustion, disappointment (that I had to keep going), and as I walked to my transition area, I heard my mum say "well, she doesn't look very happy!" and then I got changed.  My final bike time was 4:05:21.  Ouch.

I was thankful to have spare socks since mine were SOAKED (hehe just in case Leana!!), got on my runners, my hydration belt, went to the bathroom and peed for what felt like an hour, and set out on the run.  As I passed my family again, I said to my sister "don't ever let me do one of these again!!" and started running.  I think I took a Gu.  My quads were completely cramped.  When I stopped to stretch them, my calves would seize.  It felt terrible.  I ran, walked, walked, ran, and at about 4 km, I met my new friend Perry.  He had gotten four flat tires on the bike and cruised into transition one minute after me, being I think the last one to make the cutoff.  He said "we are pretty much at the same pace, if you try to walk as fast as you can when you're walking, we can still make a good time, so lets just run together".  So we did.  The course looped in such a way that we passed the finish line a couple of times throughout the run, so we got to see my family a lot.  When we passed them around the 4 km mark, the group had grown to include Kirsten and her three kids.  Kristen ran with us for a few kms, talking to us, telling us we were great, cheering for us, and being awesome.  She then left us and found someone to run up the weaselhead hill with who was on their last 5 kms of the race.  We ran, walked, talked, drank water, and before I knew it we were at the turn around, meaning we were halfway done.  I definitely wasn't running my fastest half marathon, but I didn't care.  My quads were sore, and I was mentally done.  Perry and I took turns being the strong one, making the other run a little longer.  He has done 35 triathlons, 6 of which were 70.3 and one ironman.  He had done this race last year and finished in just over 6 hours.  He was nursing a rib injury, making his race a tough one, not to mention all the flat tires.  About 9 kms to go, my mum's good friend Leah rode up on her bike and cheered us on.  She rode behind us for quite a while, chatting, telling us how great we were doing, offering us and anyone who came by some sharkies, granola bars, and water.  She was such a great moral booster, and we were happy to have her as company.  During the whole run, we passed probably 30 people, so that felt nice.  When we got to the bottom of the weaselhead hill, Kristen, Katie and her sister met us at the bottom and encouraged us to run up it.  My quads didn't like that idea, so we walked up.  At the top of the hill, we were met with cheers by an even bigger group, including Matt's cousin Kaitlin and her husband Jordan, and my friend Vanessa, who had worked all night and woke up to come to the end.  Also, my step dad Kevin was there.  It was amazing.  We ran some more, still with 4 km left of the race, walked, ran, walked, and I was really loosing steam.  It was so hard to keep running.  Finally, FINALLY, we had one km to go.  We had originally said we would run the last km, but I just couldn't.  I ran, then walked, then ran it in.  People were lined up, cheering, and it just felt amazing.  Perry and I crossed the finish line together, hugged, and then I just cried.  We finished the run in 2:24:32.

I got my finisher's medal, a belt buckle, a large finisher's shirt that comes down to my knees, a superhero cape (those metal blanket things) that I've always wanted, pepsi, water, and went over to find my family.  I just couldn't stop crying.  I was so glad it was over.  I cried and cried and hugged people and I was just so relieved.  My final time was 7:28:30.

My final thoughts?  I have an amazing group of family and friends.  I couldn't believe how the group just kept growing and growing.  My sister would have run the whole half marathon with me if she needed to.  Matt decided I needed to have a jacket (since I didn't buy anything at the race expo) so he, Kristen and my mum got one for me so I would have something to wear.  They cheered and cheered and just were amazing.  Also, the race was really really hard.  I feel amazing, but it was hard.

I did it!

It was very very hard.  But I finished in about 7:3something.  Wahooooo!

5 days

Because my race is five days away and I'm extremely nervous, I decided to post my list of required items for race day instead of writing about how I feel (TERRIFIED).  Also, if anyone sees any huge gaps in the list, you can help me out!

Swim:

• wetsuit
• goggles x 2
• swim cap
• race issued swim cap
• ear plugs
• watch
• tri shorts
• sports bra
• tank top
• body glide
• towel

Bike:

• bike (though it will already be there, so I shouldn't have to remember it)
• bike shoes
• socks
• helmet
• sunglasses
• race number belt
• 1 package of gu chomps
• 3 gu gels (plus 1 that I'll take as soon as I get to my transition station)
• 5 salt pills
• aero bottle filled with sports drink
• regular bottle filled with water
• extra water bottle to rinse my feet
• bike pump (a big one to pump my tires before I swim)
• co2 gun thingy
• 2 co2 cartreges
• 2 spare tubes
• tools
• sunscreen

Run:

• runners
• socks
• hat
• hydration belt with sports drink
• 2 gu gels
• body glide

Post Race:

• sports bra
• tank top
• shorts
• compression socks
• new runners
• FOOD (though I will rely on my race supporters to provide that for me!)

So most of that stuff I'll bring with me as I'm racing, though a few items will be left in transition (like body glide, sunscreen etc.)  I'm wondering if I should have two sunscreens, one for each transition, or rely on the sunscreen "station" that I've heard will be in the transitions.  Because this is a point A to B race, I won't have access to the things in my T1 bag for T2, so anything I'll need twice I'll have to have two of.  Kind of a pain, but no big deal.  Luckily there were a few body glide samples kicking around the shop, so I snagged one for my T2 so I won't need to buy another body glide (since I JUST bought a new one).  I'm bringing mainly sports drink with me since I like to have what I'm used to drinking, and I'll get my water from the aid stations along the way.  I'm really not sure how I'll do with the aid stations on the bike, but I'll try my best, and bring lots with me so if I'm too uncoordinated to use them, I won't be stuck without nutrition.

I hope that about covers it.  Definitely let me know if you see something missing!! 


AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!