If I Had a Blog This is what I'd say...

I haven't biked much, but I ran on Wednesday and Friday last week, and Sunday morning, after a shitty sleep, after clearing my eyes of the lovely pink eye crusties, and with a sore throat, I set forth in the pouring rain and ran longer than I have in seven years -- for 60 minutes. And it was twice around upper Thetis so it wasn't a mamby-pamby flat run either.

I rock.

Saturday I went for my longest run in a while -- 7.5 km -- and Sunday afternoon I rode the trainer for 30 minutes (even though I would have MUCH preferred to have a nap). But I've done nothing since then. It snowed. I got a cold. Work was busy. School and daycare were cancelled. I still feel sick. There is still snow on the ground.

It's only a few days missed, but I was doing so well that I feel a bit disappointed in myself. I guess in a way it's a good thing that the snow coincided with my cold. Next week there will be no snow, I should be feeling better and I'll get back into it.

12 days into January...so far I've done two rides, four runs (one of which was in the pouring rain, and two more of which were in sub-zero temperatures) and one swim. I'd say things are going well.

All of my runs have been with a woman who lives in my neighbourhood, and I can say with certainty that I wouldn't have run four times in the last week had it not been for her. When my alarm goes off at 6:10 in the morning the LAST thing I want to do is get out of my warm bed, go outside and run. Ick. But knowing I have to meet someone gets me moving, and once I start I enjoy it. She's a slow runner like me, and much as I say I like running alone, it's been great having company.

On Tuesday night I woke up with some pretty severe pain just above my right knee, enough pain to wake me up. Wednesday morning we had planned a run so I dutifully got out of bed and limped downstairs. And still went running. This is how I've dealt with all my running injuries over the past few years. None of them are major and I just run through them. It's probably pretty stupid but it seems to work. By the end of Wednesday's run it was feeling better, then I ran again this morning. It was still a bit painful, but it gradually got better throughout the day and I don't feel any pain now. One day this method's not going to work, but I'll keeping doing it until that day comes.

I've got a ride planned for Sunday and I should get a run in as well, but we've got a pretty packed weekend so I'm not sure that'll happen. Just the first weekend of many where I'll have to juggle a few too many things and something will fall. Makes me feel even better about how much I've done in the past 12 days. There will be good weeks and bad weeks, and that's okay.

Last year I briefly contemplated doing the GoodLife Fitness half marathon here in Victoria. Several friends were doing it, I haven't done one for a while (6+ years), and I was fresh off my high from completing the Tour de Victoria. Then I started training. Very lightly. I don't know if I was tired of training, just not into doing any runs longer than 30 minutes, or if I was too busy with life, but whatever the reason I was not enjoying it. At all. And during one morning run I just decided to screw it and be a (really good) spectator. Yes I exercise more regularly with a goal, but I'd just achieved my Tour de Victoria goal and I wasn't really into doing anything else at the time.

Actually, after re-reading the previous paragraph I think I remember the real reason. I hate doing half marathons. It's a freaking long way to run for me, I'm a slow runner so it takes forever, and every one I've done has been very painful. After I completed my last one, I told myself the only reason I'd do another is if it were a destination race. And doing Victoria for a third time certainly didn't fit that bill. So I continued through the summer running once or twice a week, riding occasionally and keeping in moderately good shape. In October I proudly watched my friends do the half and had no regrets.

But then these same friends started talking about doing another race, the Rock 'n' Roll half in Portland in May. And I found myself seriously thinking about it. It's a destination race (no, it's not exotic, but it's still not a bad place to visit) and there is live music every mile. My kind of motivation. A complicating factor was that I'd already signed up for the 2012 Tour de Victoria, but that almost made it more appealing -- training for both at once would be a great goal for me for 2012. So I took the plunge and decided to go for it (theoretically, any way...for the record I haven't actually signed up for the race yet).

There will be some barriers that I need to navigate around, time being the biggest. I've got this mother gig going strong and taking several hours out of each weekend to train for both a ride and a run is going to take some work, especially when Greg is also training for the Tour. My ideal schedule will probably not be feasible and I'll have to accept what I can do. I also have another two week Saudi trip tentatively planned for the end of March, and I'll have to figure out how to do some significant exercise in the confines of a hotel room. But the point isn't to win, the point is to have some fun, get back into shape and feel challenged.

And I've started the year off right. On January 1st I went for an hour ride, and this morning, having slept only four hours due to a sick dog, I dragged myself out of bed and went for a 30 minute run in the PISSING rain. And enjoyed it.

As I was finishing my run, I had a surge of positive energy, and I had the thought (as Elliot would say): I'm SO going to do this. Let's see if I can hold on to that for the next five months.

From a fitness perspective, I do better when I have a goal. Not the "I'm going to run three times a week" type of goal, but the "I'm going to do something that kind of freaks the shit out of me" type of goal. Ok, it's only a bike race, and not even a race at that, but seeing as it's a good three times longer than anything I've ever ridden, it does kind of freak me out. Plus it'll be with hundreds of other riders. That in itself freaks me out.

I signed up for the Tour De Victoria today. It's a 140km or 90km ride (I chose the latter) on Ryder Hesjedal's "favourite roads that he uses to train for the Tour de France."

There are several reasons why I did this. One, when I read about it, it got me excited about getting fit again. Something that hasn't happened since my first couple of years of doing triathlons.

Second, I've been wanting to buy a road bike for years, but there's not really a point unless I'm going to actually use it. This will make me use it.

Third, it's something Greg and I can (sort of) do together. He signed up as well, and although we won't be able to train much together, we will be training for the same goal, and we'll be able to do the actual ride together.

Fourth (and not the least important), I'm hoping training for this ride results in me being able to once again eat what I want without having to think about it. Lately with my couch potatoness I've been experiencing some guilt (and other obvious side effects) over what I eat post dinner.

And as an added bonus it'll give me some blogging material.

So...now I need to buy a bike, build up some callouses on my butt, and start getting my cycling legs and lungs. Also I should probably figure out how to pronounce Ryder Hesjedal's last name properly.

I halfheartedly tried to break my running date with kaptaink this afternoon, but she was my conscience and got me out there. We decided to run around Cedar Hill golf course. We finished up a lap, and were both feeling pretty good, so we went around again. We didn't run the whole second lap, but I'm pretty sure we did at least 5 km. Longest I've run for a while.

Upon arriving home, I basically turned around and went out the door again, pushing my 20-pound toddler in her 10-pound stroller for a half hour walk with Yoshi.

When I squatted down to grab something off the floor this evening, there was a moment where I thought I wasn't going to make it back up again. My legs are certainly feeling it.

Last night I casually mentioned to Greg that I might go for a run tonight (my first run in over a year). Now it's tonight. And I'm trying to decide whether to get my butt off the chair and go for a run, or get my butt off the chair and go get a Strongbow from the fridge.

I should be at yoga right now. It's my last class for the session, but I just didn't feel like going tonight. I haven't been enjoying it as much as I thought I would, so it's hard to get my butt out the door. Plus it starts at 7:30 and goes until 9:00. Too long, and too late.

So I went for a short walk instead, which was pretty good. I'm trying to decide whether to sign up for another yoga session or not. If I'm not enjoying it, then why do it. But I'd like to do something active at least once I week, so I'm thinking I might switch to swimming.

My face feels like it's been pelted a million times over with tiny needles, my back hurts, my legs feel like lead, I'm tired, and my ankles have bruises from my new boots, but it was a great day!

It snowed HARD all day and it was very windy at the top of the chairs, but the snow was nice. West coast powder, and hardly any ice. The visibility was pretty brutal at times -- a bit like skiing blind. But it was a great day, honest! :)

It was good to get up on a hill after a three-year hiatus. I went up with S and A, and S was a trooper in the weather. When I was her age, I wouldn't have been out skiing, that's for sure.

And Elliot had lots of fun with Gramma. That was the longest I'd left him with anyone other than Greg, and when I got back to his Gramma's house, he smiled at me, came over for a hug, and then promptly went back to playing.

Sprout had his first swimming lesson tonight, with Greg. I tagged along to help in the change room and to do a swim myself. I did 500 m, which I was pretty proud of, seeing as I haven't swum since I was about seven months pregnant, and my 'pregnant swmming' was pretty relaxed.

The lessons are Mondays and Wednesdays and Greg's going to take him both days, so it looks like I'll be able to swim twice a week. Yay!

And as an added bonus, the rec centre only charges a dollar when you swim during a swimming lesson for your child. I thought that was pretty cool.