I'm the worst blogger ever
But I did move. That's my excuse. Towards the end of March I moved from the apartment that I had lived in since I moved to Toronto (tenant since 1998!) into a really amazing, lovely house. It is a detached house with a main floor, second floor, and a partially finished basement. It has everything we were looking for (except maybe a jazzuzi). We are still renting, but that is OK as this city is really too expensive to consider buying. So, moving took a bit of time, and then, the worst part, unpacking. Things are pretty much unpacked now, but there will be some shifting going on as we discover what works and what doesn't.
The best part of the new place is that there is a great space in the basement for the Computrainer. Now, with a concrete floor under it, and no neighbours, I can finally ride early mornings if I want.
In training news, things are moving along. It is finally time to start getting outside on the bike, which means that the long rides are going to get LONG. I have my first metric century on the schedule for this weekend. I ran the Hartwell half marathon on Aurora on the weekend. My coach Derek met me there and paced me to a 1:56:27. That's about 30 seconds slower than last year, but much faster than I thought I would be this year. This is a pretty tough course, quite hilly and the hills are fairly constant. There isn't really any section that flattens out, but there are some 'false flat' sections that feel flat after all that climbing. It was fun to run with someone else. I have acted as a personal pacer for others in the past and I know it can be a hard thing to do. You are there to help someone achieve their best, but you have to also keep an eye on any difficulties they might be having etc. Thankfully Derek wasn't/isn't too rah-rah, sometimes when you are suffering, the last thing you want is a cheerleader. He just kept a good pace in front of me and offered small bits of encouragement as we went along.
So no racing now until the Ottawa Half Marathon. Hopefully this year won't be a heat-fest because I'm ready to have a really great race.
In the past couple of days the reality of another Ironman is starting to hit me. In the middle of the day, on the streetcar, or the subway, or sitting at my desk at work a wave of panic will come over me. On one hand, I feel a bit calmer than I did last year (probably because I know what the training entails) but the panic is still there occasionaly when I think about the enormity of it!
Hope this blog post finds everyone else healthy, happy and ready to get outside and enjoy the sun!
The best part of the new place is that there is a great space in the basement for the Computrainer. Now, with a concrete floor under it, and no neighbours, I can finally ride early mornings if I want.
In training news, things are moving along. It is finally time to start getting outside on the bike, which means that the long rides are going to get LONG. I have my first metric century on the schedule for this weekend. I ran the Hartwell half marathon on Aurora on the weekend. My coach Derek met me there and paced me to a 1:56:27. That's about 30 seconds slower than last year, but much faster than I thought I would be this year. This is a pretty tough course, quite hilly and the hills are fairly constant. There isn't really any section that flattens out, but there are some 'false flat' sections that feel flat after all that climbing. It was fun to run with someone else. I have acted as a personal pacer for others in the past and I know it can be a hard thing to do. You are there to help someone achieve their best, but you have to also keep an eye on any difficulties they might be having etc. Thankfully Derek wasn't/isn't too rah-rah, sometimes when you are suffering, the last thing you want is a cheerleader. He just kept a good pace in front of me and offered small bits of encouragement as we went along.
So no racing now until the Ottawa Half Marathon. Hopefully this year won't be a heat-fest because I'm ready to have a really great race.
In the past couple of days the reality of another Ironman is starting to hit me. In the middle of the day, on the streetcar, or the subway, or sitting at my desk at work a wave of panic will come over me. On one hand, I feel a bit calmer than I did last year (probably because I know what the training entails) but the panic is still there occasionaly when I think about the enormity of it!
Hope this blog post finds everyone else healthy, happy and ready to get outside and enjoy the sun!
posted by sweetpea at 3:46 PM
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