The Exercises of the Rich and Famous

Week 3: March 16-22

Ski: 11 km (plus 2 glasses of wine)
Bike: 3 hours of spinning and no kilometers on the road!
Run: 11 km
Swim: 3000 m

Week 4: March 23-29

Bike: 22 km in the snow and 30 minutes on the spinner
Run: 30 km
Swim: 3250 m

The latter part of March was not as dedicated as the first part. This was in large part due to the fact that I had the pleasure of visiting my Grandma in Colorado. I find in exceedingly difficult to work out while traveling, mainly because I am almost completely unmotivated. This lack of motivation was exacerbated on this trip by the fact that any small athletic endeavor left me completely out of breath and thinking I might just keel over and die. It's also made me seriously consider altitude training before my next big race!

The most fun exercising I did while in Colorado was on my visit with Heidi, my little sister. Heidi decided to take me cross country skiing Aspen style. The day we went was absolutely gorgeous, with the sun so nice and hot that we managed to ski sans shirt for part of the afternoon. This alone would have made the skiing memorable, but the real treat came after the shirt came back on. Apparently when you are in Aspen, home of the millionaire ski bums, cross country skiing actually means skiing 2 km to a beautiful wooden lodge where you are fed 5 star food and drink 15 dollar glasses of white wine. You don't get much better than this:

I felt guilty (and slightly drunk thanks to the increased elevation) after our "pit stop" and we did a few tours before heading back to the car and upscale Aspen life. This may have been the highlight of my Aspen experience, but later that day we sat with Cindy Crawford for dinner. By sat with - I mean that I spotted her at the restaurant and stared at her while she tried to enjoy a quiet meal.

In Denver I had lots of fun opportunities to run around while my Grandpa played Tennis and before the daily crossword regime started in the morning. It was funny to run on bare sidewalks in a city where daffodils and tulips were already poking out off the ground.

My trip back from the States was made slightly more exciting by missed connections and an unexpected overnight in Vancouver, but when I returned it was back to slippery runs and snowy mountain bikes. The next week was slightly more diligent, especially because I had a bike trainer at my disposal. I can't think of anything more boring that biking on an indoor trainer, but I also can't think of any other way to train for road biking when the streets are covered in fresh snow.

I've realized that the best part of my Ironman training is that I get to do all sorts of cool athletic activities with my friends. Whether it is jogging. swimming or biking, I'm pretty effective at recruiting someone to come along. For my friend Princess (aka Alexis), who once told me that she didn't like to sweat, dragging her (kicking and screaming) on my athletic adventure has been particularly satisfying. This weekend she decided to attempt her first ever push-up:

Garden updates will be happening soon, as I am starting to think about seedlings...

Sierra posted this on Mar 31, 2008 from the gym | | permanent link

All Om-ed Out

Week 2: March 9-15

Sun salutations: 50 (although it felt more like 2938478329)
Bike: 42 km (on a trainer...so technically 0) and 28 km on the trails
Run: 13 km
Swim: 3250 m

Last September I did Sabu's intensive yoga class for a month at Shanti Yoga. Yoga is not the kind of activity that I would naturally pursue. But, after last year's knee injury, the physiotherapists suggested that I start a daily stretching routine to help ease my stiff joints. At first, yoga was not an activity that I particularly enjoyed; even the small stretches were uncomfortable and there is nothing more painful than trying to relax. But, after almost a year, I can touch my toes and bend my back and contort myself into odd positions - unfortunately, I still can't relax.

Sabu's yoga class means waking up at 6:00 am every morning to bike to the 7:00 am class. Most days, I can't even touch my toes on the first sun salutation on account of being so stiff in the morning. But, by the second or third round, my muscles are awake and I can actually get my hands around my feet. This is much better than last September when it took me 2 or 3 weeks before I could even touch the ground.

My big yoga accomplishment to date is my ability to do a headstand. I'm not sure how this is going to help me in life, but I secretly giggle to myself every time I manage to get upside down.

Aside for morning yoga classes and evening swims, I'm running on the packed snow trails of Whitehorse. It's the perfect time of year for winter running. The trails are packed hard, but not too slippery and it hasn't gotten warm enough to reduce the tracks to slush and mud. Besides my faithful running partner Starbuck, I've been actively pursuing Mingus and Jennifer as training partners. On Saturday, Juneau joined our pack of bikers, runners and canines on a tour of Hillcrest. I couldn't ask for better training companions. Although, I do have to wonder if Mingus' poop-sicle eating is the best nutritional strategy.

Sierra posted this on Mar 16, 2008 from the gym | | permanent link

1.5 Years To Go

Only 18 months until Ironman 2009 and if I have any aspiration to complete Ironman Canada the training will need to start now. As such, my blog will undergo a slight modification, with more about my training and triathlon attempts. I use the term attempt because with a year and a half left to go, there are a million different things that could go wrong. Despite this realization, I figure that advertising my intent to cyberspace may be enough of an incentive to get my butt off the couch and on the trail/road/pool.

Week 1: March 1-8

Ski: 57 km
Bike: 1 hour (inside on the trainer) and 24 km on trails
Run: 14 km
Swim: 3125 m

The big event of this week was the Northwestel loppet. Because it was the 25th anniversary, they decided to do a "special" 35 km course up and down Mt. McIntyre. In a moment of complete stupidity I decided to try this course. Normally, this would not have been such a horrible idea, but for the entire last week I've been resting because of a aching knee. I decided that since I was resting, I might as well do a cleanse. This meant eliminating sugar, flour, dairy and preservatives from my diet. Apparently, doing a cleanse then climbing a mountain is a bad idea. I learned this at kilometer 20 when my calves and thighs started to cramp up. It sucked, but I learned my lesson and won't repeat the error. Thankfully the pain of the loppet was mitigated by the good company of the Mulloy clan and the large flour and sugar filled buffet that followed.

Week one is a success...Ironman here we come!

Sierra posted this on Mar 12, 2008 from the gym | | permanent link