Well once again it has been a while since my last post. Apparently between kids, work and travel I have not had much opportunity to sit at my computer for more than 5 mins. Since I last posted I personally had a complete melt down and was ready to quit except for the fact that I refuse to allow myself to do so. The thing about sport that I love most is that just when you least expect it, and often most need it, someone comes out of the crowd and says just the right thing. Thank you Lana and many others that picked me up at this time and encouraged me to keep on going. I was convinced at the end of may that after struggling to swim 500 meters (pool) for the Try This Tri that there was no way I would ever be able to complete the 1.9K (open water) that is required for the half Ironman in August.
June started with more training in the snow and a chilly swim in Lake Sundance. My first ever experience in swimming open water. I chose not to follow the crowd and stuck the to edge until I felt I had my confidence. After swimming roughly 1/4 of the way around I decided to give it all I had and swam out to the middle, as I could not stay in may safety net in the upcoming months. I swam until I could see fish and kept going until I could see nothing at all and managed to find my way back to shore. It was not a long swim but I had proven to myself that I could swim in deep, open, cold water and live to tell about it. It was certainly the confidence boost that I needed.
Following this experience I hooked up with Dan Fraser from High Altitude hypnosis ( http://www.highaltitudehypnosis.com/ ) in order to try and overcome my fear of deep water, something I would never have considered doing years ago. After being asked 3 times in one week if I had ever considered hypnosis I took it as a sign and looked into it. I had no idea what to expect but Dan made sure I was comfortable and has successfully brought me to a point where I am still aware of what I am doing but overall more relaxed in doing so, allowing me to finally focus on my swim stroke rather than dealing with the panic of not being able to touch the bottom. Thanks Dan!!
I have continued working with Amanda on my swim. She has offered unending support and was able to convince me that I could accomplish my goals before I was able to really believe it myself. I still need a ton of work but with Amanda's patience and skill I have been able to bring up my swim distance and can now swim 1500 to 2000 meters consistantly. Yeah, another confidence boost!!
On June 20th I had my biggest test to date. I competed in the Chinook Oympic Triathlon held at Lake Midnapore. My time was not great (Amy I have a lot to learn from you!!!) but most importantly I FINISHED. My swim was far from pretty as I discovered the importance of sighting while in open water, a skill I had neglected to learn prior to competing. In my first 150 meters of the swim I swam so far off course I crashed into the boat docks. As I was thinking about what I should do, and yes quitting was one of the options being tossed around, my next hero in life arrived...Thank You Jay the wonderful guy in the red kayak. He explained about sighting and stuck to my left side for the remainder of the swim. I still successfully swam way off course several more times but did manage to avoid any more collissions which I was thankful for. Thankfully the second lap went much smoother as I finally figured out how to actually swim and watch for the buoys on a regular basis. Instead I developed a major cramp in both calves something I had never experienced before. I was definately in pain but could not bring myself to stop (yes I did briefly consider it again) but with Jay's encouragement I made it the full 1500 meters. I came up on the beach and was greated with a large ovation - there are some perks to being dead last! - I had my own personal stripper who successfully stripped off my wet suit before I had recovered from the dizziness I felt upon standing up right after an hour in the water. The race crew were great as they escorted me from the lake to the transition zone and assured I was okay before leaving me to tackle the bike and run. The bike was disappointing but I was afraid to push too hard knowing I still had to run 10K. I learned I should have pushed harder and definatley should have drunk a whole lot more water. The bike was certainly the loneliest portion of the race as I was miles from anyone and did not really recieve much of a confidence boost by passing anyone as I had in the Try this event in may, as I simply did not see anyone to even try and pass. I pushed on knowing that regardless of how long it took I could finish this race. I took off on the run a little faster than I should have but managed to settle into a steady pace for the first 7K. By 8K my lack of water and the heat from the midday sun caught up with me and I gave in for the first time ever and walked for a minute. I knew I was close to the finish and definately could not even consider quitting at this point so I forced myself up the hill and pushed hard across the finish line. I had done it!!!
The Chinook event was a wonderful learning experience in what not to do in a race. Sighting, pacing and fluid intake were all important lessons. Although the last thing I was looking for in my schedule was another race I decided to sign up for the Coral Springs Olympic event so I can try it all again in July and hopefully improve upon my faults before I have to endure my ultimate test in August. I was thrilled that I was able to actually finish a 1500 meter open water swim and am now more confident than ever that with continued training over the next 5 weeks I can add the required 400 meters in order to finish the half Ironman event.
In amongst all of this my Dad unfortunately has taken a turn for the worse and is struggling to keep his confidence up. Fear of course is his biggest enemy, aside from the obvious that is. I wish there was a simple strategy available to help him face his fear as I have struggled to face my own. I'm determined to cross the finish line in my next two races in order to help encourage him and reinforce the idea if you believe you can do it anything truely is possible!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Update McLeod
It has been a while since I have written so here is an update on the last couple of months
April
My running was going to be put to the test in my first "running race" . I had entered the Canmore Women's Run last year and while I had enjoyed it apparently my brain forgot that this is one hilly run. I contacted Laurel and asked her how I should approach this race and she gave me some great tips. I was not anxious at the start of this race (usually I stress so much about the race that I pretty much psych myself out). The horn blows and off I go. Relax I remember that I need to stay focused. I tackle the hills and manage to take about 7 minutes off my time from last year. One race down and more to go.
May
I competed in the Try it Tri on May 24 and was really pumped for this one. Last year this was the first tri I had ever done. So to do it this time I was so ready. Laurel was there to give support to both Heather and I. I felt so confident. The swim was good and I headed for the transition area to get on the bike, Laurel was right there and I was so full of adrenaline. I grabbed my bike and off I went LITERALLY! I fell at the start of the bike transition. After what seemed like an eternity I got back on I knew that I was going to have to dig really deep inside myself to get past this hurdle. Even with blood dripping off my knee, I felt good on the bike. Things where going well until I realized that my front tire was slowly getting flatter. I figured that with only one lap to go I could just make it. I got back to transition and pretty much threw my shoes and helmet and took off for the run. I crossed the finish line and had accomplish what I had set out to do
Last year I finished in 1:29 and placed 45 in my age group. This year 1:11 and finished in the top 30 and 3 among women of my age (44).
June
The above picture was take June 6th just before I left for a ITT (individual time trial). Thank goodness they delayed the start by two hours. We had just about every weather pattern you can imagine which added to the experience. What surprised me was how quiet this race was. We where on a road that had no cars going in the opposite direction. No people standing on the sidelines cheering. Just the sound of the wheel and the road. WOW
The next day I put on the dreaded wet suit and braved the waters of Lake Sundance. Yes it was cold and no, no one had a gun to my head to do it. This experience really surprised me as I am a swimmer but apparently not in a lake. With the wet suit and booties I was at a loss as how to swim. I swear the trees didn't move as I swam what I thought was 150 meters but when I looked back to the shore I realized that I had made progress. As I was leaving the water to put my feet back on Terra Firma , I seriously thought I was going to pass out. I suspect with the cold water and restriction of the wet suit my body just was not used to that kind of workout.
The story continues......
April
My running was going to be put to the test in my first "running race" . I had entered the Canmore Women's Run last year and while I had enjoyed it apparently my brain forgot that this is one hilly run. I contacted Laurel and asked her how I should approach this race and she gave me some great tips. I was not anxious at the start of this race (usually I stress so much about the race that I pretty much psych myself out). The horn blows and off I go. Relax I remember that I need to stay focused. I tackle the hills and manage to take about 7 minutes off my time from last year. One race down and more to go.
May
I competed in the Try it Tri on May 24 and was really pumped for this one. Last year this was the first tri I had ever done. So to do it this time I was so ready. Laurel was there to give support to both Heather and I. I felt so confident. The swim was good and I headed for the transition area to get on the bike, Laurel was right there and I was so full of adrenaline. I grabbed my bike and off I went LITERALLY! I fell at the start of the bike transition. After what seemed like an eternity I got back on I knew that I was going to have to dig really deep inside myself to get past this hurdle. Even with blood dripping off my knee, I felt good on the bike. Things where going well until I realized that my front tire was slowly getting flatter. I figured that with only one lap to go I could just make it. I got back to transition and pretty much threw my shoes and helmet and took off for the run. I crossed the finish line and had accomplish what I had set out to do
Last year I finished in 1:29 and placed 45 in my age group. This year 1:11 and finished in the top 30 and 3 among women of my age (44).
June
The above picture was take June 6th just before I left for a ITT (individual time trial). Thank goodness they delayed the start by two hours. We had just about every weather pattern you can imagine which added to the experience. What surprised me was how quiet this race was. We where on a road that had no cars going in the opposite direction. No people standing on the sidelines cheering. Just the sound of the wheel and the road. WOW
The next day I put on the dreaded wet suit and braved the waters of Lake Sundance. Yes it was cold and no, no one had a gun to my head to do it. This experience really surprised me as I am a swimmer but apparently not in a lake. With the wet suit and booties I was at a loss as how to swim. I swear the trees didn't move as I swam what I thought was 150 meters but when I looked back to the shore I realized that I had made progress. As I was leaving the water to put my feet back on Terra Firma , I seriously thought I was going to pass out. I suspect with the cold water and restriction of the wet suit my body just was not used to that kind of workout.
The story continues......
Monday, June 8, 2009
Morin File (round two)
Over the last several months training hours have been added and intensities changed. All the while Marc has had nothing but a giant smile on his face. His reaction to training stress has been remarkable. The last couple of weeks have truly been a test of our relationship, not the 'typical test' that relationships go through. But a test of how effective our training plan has been. This past weekend Marc ran the Calgary Marathon in a new personal best; 3:20:00 (20 minute pb), when I chatted with him the very next day on the pool deck he was grinning like a Cheshire cat. I shouted out 'new pb' as he approached with the usual bounce in his step. 'yep' he replied 'and I will go faster next time.' He has promptly singed up for the Victoria Marathon in October to qualify for Boston.
I been around athletes for most of my life and it is truly rare to see this level of enthusiasm and passion for personal goals. The next relationship test will come this weekend as Marc and I hit the Water with 600 other athletes at the Wasa Lake triathlon. Tune in for round three!
I been around athletes for most of my life and it is truly rare to see this level of enthusiasm and passion for personal goals. The next relationship test will come this weekend as Marc and I hit the Water with 600 other athletes at the Wasa Lake triathlon. Tune in for round three!
The Brave Ones
As you can see Motley Crue hit the open water this weekend at Lake Sundance! Good on you gang for getting out into the lake this weekend. Great Spiderman stances too gang!
Also a congratulations goes out to Liz Macleod and Marc Morin for taking part in their first ever bicycle race this past weekend. Both took part in the SpeedTheory Race the Ring Road 30km Individual Time Trial on Saturday June 6th.
The weather across Calgary was really mixed - as I drove to the race venue I encountered beautiful sunshine, then a snowstorm, then rain, hail, wind and finally gray but clear skies on the North East side of the city.
Both Liz and Marc gave a full out effort on the day and finished with smiles on their faces. The cold temperatures during the bicycle race must have given them a sense of being "hard core" which made getting into the water on Sunday much easier.
Way to go you two.
JVD
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