riding my bike to work is one of my favourite parts of the day, so i thought it would be good to share with you since it makes me really happy. although i don’t bike in the super wintery months (dec-feb), i do bike in some pretty cold weather – so far the lowest has been -7°C (20°F) – and finding exactly the right things to wear has taken some trial and error. i’d say this wear is appropriate between -10 and +5. anything above that requires less layers. i’m not sure i’m hardcore enough to ride below that.

The Software

On Top

i don’t have a vest, which is really good for keeping your core warm while biking, so instead i wear a tight tanktop (this one happens to be biking specific – you can maybe see the little zip pocket on the back but i usually just use running tops) and a long sleeved shirt on top.

  
this is a cycling wind breaker, but i wear it around as my general fall/spring jacket. it’s got lots of reflective striping, goes down a little lower to cover your bum while biking (but not so low that it looks silly for just wearing around town), pit zips for extra ventilation, and good velcro closures around the wrists (sorry i didn’t picture those)

On the Bottom

  biking shorts and running tights underneath to keep my legs warm. i do not have special cycling leg warmers or knee warmers. so far my running tights are doing just fine. they are lightweight enough to not make me hot but solid enough to keep my knees and leg muscles warm. the biking shorts are a must if you are riding for more than 20 minutes. i could never go back to riding without padding! i’m on the lookout for a pair of biking tights so i don’t have to wear these layers (getting dressed and undressed is annoying) but i haven’t seen anything for less than $80 yet. i might have to just cave.

Accessories

  
these are a very recent purchase – lobster claw gloves! they are amazing. i have extremely poor circulation in my hands and feet and no matter how many pairs of gloves i wear, my fingers still get cold. lobster claws are mitts for a cyclist. they are super warm, plus since you group some fingers together, you can share internal warmth while still being able to brake and shift. they are fun. my only complaint is that i am unable to give stupid drivers the finger with these gloves

  
clockwise from top left:nike skull cap. it’s meant for running but it does really well in blocking wind under my helmet. it’s also got a nice ponytail hole.nike headband. for the extra cold days where my ears need more warmth than just what the hat provides.fleece liner gloves. for when it’s below -5 to wear under my lobsta clawsneck warmer. it’s like a scarf made out of tecnical fabric that won’t get caught in anything! best valentine’s day gift ever.  

woolen socks are a definite must for me and my perma-cold toes. when it gets really chilly, i will layer with thin running socks underneath the woolies for ultrawarmth.
and that is what i wear to ride my bike to work. it’s about 12.5km (almost 8 miles) and takes me between 35 and 45 minutes, depending which way i’m riding. (going into work is more downhill, coming home is more uphill) part II, hardware (gear) will be next!

i am sad the weekend is over. the party i went to last night wound up being pretty fun. we stayed in a hotel nearby instead of camping out in the backyard like we planned (that may have been too hobo like…

it was weird staying in a hotel so close to home (no one was in any shape to drive, public transit stopped running all the way to my house, and a cab would have been ridiculously expensive). the spare bedroom in the house was taken and sleeping on the couches would have been waiting up until the party died down and i was far too tired for that. luckily our friends had booked and paid for this room in a not entirely dodgy hotel that they were not going to be able to use, so we got to use it. there was even free breakfast with make your own waffles in the lobby! (i want my own waffle iron so badly. have i mentioned?)
we came home and i made two big batches of soup because jon is getting a root canal this week and i assume he won’t be able to eat solids. i’ll share recipes soon – a big soup post is coming!

back to work tomorrow! i’m going to a conference for 2 days this week, so that should be interesting. mix things up a bit.off to watch last week’s top chef. nighty night.

as my racing season for 2009 winds down and i transition from my “rest phase” into “base”, i have to look back at what i did this year and what i hope to be able to accomplish next year.

this year was pretty different from last year. in 2008, i ran 1 half marathon in may and spent the rest of my summer building, building, building up mileage for the september marathon. in retrospect, i should have included more mini-peak races and events throughout the summer to keep me rolling and motivated. i got a little tired by the end, and as a result, my marathon performance suffered. i plan to tackle this challenge again in the near future (some day!), hopefully a little smarter and more focused. 2009 included a few new things for me, which i really loved. doing something you’ve never done before is fantastic because it forces you to extend your limits, while still giving you the chance to achieve a personal best no matter what. i hope to do more of this next year.

Recap

a unique point to point cyclocross-style bike race, which mimics the style of the famous paris-roubaix. the actual race starts in paris, ontario and ends in ancaster. 60km through all kinds of terrain: road, rail trail, farm land, mud pit, gravel, single/double track, etc. since this was my first ever bike race, i opted for the shorter 35km race starting in st george. i got to wear the UW cycling jersey that i got for christmas (sorry no pictures!), which made me feel pretty cool. the race was a huge challenge- it was my first time riding in a big group (the starting stretch was paved road, and i tried my best to draft) and riding in my clipless pedals around a lot of other people! there was a ton of climbing and some of the terrain required more technical handling skill (or at least confidence!) than i had. i left my bike computer at home so i had no idea how far i was along the race, which was tough. i ended up finishing in 2:35 (which just a little bit longer than what it took jon to ride from paris to ancaster, almost twice the distance!). there was a very strong headwind. i did have to get off my bike and walk a few spots (and all three mudpits, mostly for logistical reasons though). if i do this race next year (i plan to!), i will try and do a lot more hill conditioning and aim to only get off for the mud.

Ottawa Half Marathon (May 27) Ottawa, ON

First running race of the season. I didn’t have any major goals, but i did hope to tackle the incline a little better this year because it was a total surprise to me (obviously, since they market it at a flat race, but the first half is downhill and the second half is up). while i don’t think i successfully conquered it (my splits were far from negative or even equal), i did better than last year. my time was not better than last year though. the temperature was screaming hot and the race course offers very little shade. additionally, i spent the day before helping out a friend with a bunch of manual labour, which in retrospect was a very poor idea. time: 2:20. this was the second year in a row that i ran this race, and i’m not sure i will do it again. it is poorly organized (there are far more people than the race area can handle) and it is annoying travelling the 5 hours east. i also don’t really love sleeping somewhere that is not a real bed the night before a race. in the future, i will spring for a hotel room.

Slainte End of Summer Downhill 10k (August 29) Hamilton, ON

all of jon’s office mates decided to sign up to do this 10k race together. unfortunately jon had a bike race the following day, so instead, i ran the race so we could still hang out with everyone before and after. it was a pretty fun race. i generally do not enjoy the 10k distance, and therefore have only even ran in one other official 10k race. the course was great- not exactly downhill as promised, since at the last minute, they lost permission to use the route originally planned, but still fairly flat and quite scenic. who knew hamilton was pretty! we ran on trails around the harbour. time: 56:37. i had no goals for this race. the last 10k i did was in 2004. it was my first ever running race and i was extremely ill prepared for it. i think my time was like 1:20 or something, so this blew that right out of the water. it was kind of exhilarating running that fast for an hour. my half marathons don’t give me that same feeling. the rest of the race was fun. we got souvenir beer glasses (that i now drink green monsters out of!) and free beer and food at the pub after, where a U2 tribute band played. i’d do it again. it’s these kinds of mini-events that i need to stay motivated through the summer, i think, since serious races are split into early spring and early fall, and nothing too long in between.

Scotiabank Waterfront Half Marathon (September 27) Toronto, ON

I have done this race many years in a row. Last year I did the full marathon version. It is flat and fast, and because it is such a big race, it attracts some super fast elites and has a really great entertainment/cheering scene along the way. My goal for this race was to not feel like crap at the end. I was supposed to stick to my nutrition and hydration strategy (lots of sips of Heed and a sharkie or two every mile). The weather was kind of drizzly and grey, which wasn’t super motivating for me, but actually was quite pleasant to run in. A huge improvement on the heat I experienced in Ottawa. Time: 2:16. I will probably do this race again next year. It is scheduled at a pretty good time of the year. It is pretty convenient to get to and I like the course (which goes right along the shore of Lake Ontario)

and finally,

The Goodlife Toronto Half Marathon (October 18) Toronto, ON

I decided to do this race pretty late in the season. I was originally planning to end later in November with a very small half marathon at a local golf club. I decided that this race would be a little more exciting. unlike most of my other races, this was a point to point race. we started in uptown toronto and ended downtown, at queen’s park, where the ontario provincial legislature sits. this posed some logistical challenges (where to park the car? how to get back?), but in the end, it worked out great. the start was only 20 minutes away from my house, and we found free parking! i took the subway back to our car and jon rode his bike back up. the course was alright- not super exciting, but not too boring either. some parts of toronto are a little smelly, which is never good when you are pushing yourself this hard. i had studied the maps pretty thoroughly the day before, so i was quite prepared. this was my first race using my new garmin 305, which i absolutely adore. Time: 2:13. I was a little disappointed that I was unable to push myself for the 2:10 but still happy with my performance. I was most pleased, however, with how good i felt at the end. I stuck to my drinking water and eating sharkies every 15 minutes (auto alert is soo useful!). we walked a few blocks to a poutine restaurant where i rewarded myself with smoked bacon poutine. yum! i would consider doing this race again.

Looking ahead

Next year I plan to try and incorporate more new things while working to improve my targets from this year. I’ve already got the March 30km race lined up. I will likely do St George to Ancaster again. I’ll probably fit a couple half marathons in. I also hope to maybe finally get to do a sprint or olympic triathlon and maybe a beginner cyclocross race. I hope to finally break the 2:10 barrier for my half marathon. My other goals are to finish strong and have fun. My base training throughout the winter will likely include lots of time on my bike (attached to my trainer). I plan to get out and do at least one or two runs outside each week, weather conditions permitting. There will be lots of yoga and strength training work for flexibility and solid muscles. I haven’t put together a formal plan yet, but I’ll be working on that with jon’s help over the next few weeks. We’ll see how it goes!

What’s your plan for staying fit this winter?

for the first time ever, ecto has betrayed me! i just wrote an awesome post about a crazy thing i did and then i decided to get all fancy and try and insert my newest favourite song and poof! all my pictures and text gone. just like that. i seem to also be having server issues. double boo!

bah.

i am not a spontaneous person, generally, but here is the crazy that i decided to do this week:

oh yes. march 28. thirty kilometres. in hamilton, ontario (home of dofasco). it will probably still be snowing here at that time! i do not belong to a gym, so i will be doing many outdoor runs this winter. hello, project snow. this is the oldest race in north america! i started 3 years before boston, in 1894. i’m pumped to be part of the history. jon’s office mate has also signed up, but she is a lot faster than i am. i’ve never done a 30k before so as slow as i go, it’ll still be a personal record. (i guess i did run 30km in my marathon, but then i had to run 12 more! i hope that my time next year is at least a bit faster)

the week turned around. surprisingly, the christmas decorations that are popping up everywhere are making me excited about the holidays (more on our plans to come!). i had to pop into babyGap to pick up a few things for some new (and not so new) babies. holy crap the cuteness. i nearly died. few things are as cute as teeny tiny baby sleepers.

happiness project is progressing. i cheated a bit on yoga tonight (only did a 5 minute class!) but i got a huge organizational task out of the way, so i’ll give myself a break. 5 minutes of yoga is better than no yoga! i found this awesome song that i love. it makes me want to dance around. you should listen. it’s called merry happy and it is by kate nash. and it is fun fun!

time for bed.

cyclocross!

on saturday, we went to go watch our friend jeff in a cyclocross race at a local conservation area. i’ve been wanting to go see a race for ages, but we just haven’t had the time. when jeff told us about a race in the city (at one of our favorite hiking locales) on halloween, i knew it would be fun times.cyclocross is kind of a crazy sport. the bikes are road-like, but much more rugged. they run knobby tires because the majority of the course is grass or dirt (with only the occassional bit of paved area). the courses have run ups and barriers, where you have to dismount, throw your bike over your shoulder, and keep moving. races in ontario run from september to beginning of december, with 1-2 races per weekend (insane! i can’t imagine racing that much). cyclocross was originally designed to extend the roadie season into the fall in europe. it’s quite big in belgium. the ontario cross scene is still small, but it seems to be gaining in popularity.
when i was shopping around for my commuter bike last spring, i was looking at road bikes and hybrids. jon pointed out that a cyclocross bike was exactly what i was looking for. i wanted the sleekness of a road bike, with the drop bars for going fast down hills, but something a little more heavy duty. the average hybrid is just a mountain bike with 26″ wheels that are slightly slick- wouldn’t be useful for doing much offroading or racing (in tris or distance cyclocross races like paris to ancaster). after a few test rides, i found that indeed, the cyclocross was light enough to be fast (i mean, you have to be able to pick it up and run with it) but still durable enough to deal with the runaround of potholes and poorly paved toronto streets, so that’s what i bought. i never actually had any intention of doing any *real* cyclocross racing – races are about 1 hour long, on a course of a few kilometres. you do as many laps as you can. the winner is the first person to come in at the end- i see it as similar to a 10k run effort. now that i’ve been to an actual race, i might just be reconsidering! it’s much less dangerous than i thought – especially on slower courses like this one. the field is more spread out and there isn’t the same potential for crashing as in road racing. granted the race we went to, on halloween, costumes encouraged and prizes for winners in the form of beer and cash, was a little more laid back than most, it seems like a fairly casual, not crazy competitive sport. i think i like it. there is a lot of getting dirty though. you can see one of many mud puddles in the below pictures. i took a bunch of video of the riders splashing through which i will eventually find time to edit. maybe next year i’ll find a fun beginner race to do, since i already have the gear!

the course was very tight. there were tons of really sharp turns, but other than that, it did not seem like a super technical race (which is what keeps me away from mountain biking). the costumes were great and it was nice to see people getting into the spirit of halloween. jon and i squeezed in a quick hike up part of the niagara escarpment before the start.

it’s been a busy few weeks here, north of 44 (well. 43.39° really) let’s see:

i ran a half marathon the weekend before last. it was cold! we accidentally slept in 70 minutes, waking up just about an hour and a half before the race started. luckily the start was only a 25 minute drive from my house. there was a whole lot of scrambling going on! it was also my first race with the garmin (that i have named kenneth, after kenneth the page) which was pretty awesome. i am such a data nerd and being able to access so much information on the fly is pretty great. i managed to take off about 3-4 minutes from the half marathon i ran 3 weeks earlier. i’ll take it! running season is officially over, but since i’m having so much fun with my garmin (and i signed up for pile on the miles!), i’ll probably keep at it until the snow flies. i am hoping jack frost holds out until late november, though i am excited for snowshoeing season (not so excited for shovelling the driveway)!

left: right at the halfway point, where i switched bottles and handed off my gloves (which i immediately regretted when my hands got cold again) right: the end! sweaty, tired and ready for some POUTINE! (my post race treat)

i went to a conference put on by the ontario association of impact assessment. (environmental impact assessment is what i do at my job). there were a bunch of students from a nearby college (niagara) that has a pretty good diploma in environmental management (and also winery and viticulture studies!). the kids were told to network with the professionals. it was so weird being one of the professionals because it still really feels like i am a student. anyway, i talked to lots of them (many of them did the same undergrad program as me and went on to college after university to get a more hands on education) and told them what i do and how i ended up where i work, and then one of them told me she wanted to be just like me when she grew up. hahaha

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i made a lot of pie. my pie crust has improved immensely! last year it was just kind of meh and this year i am actually getting compliments. i owe it all to martha stewart and alton brown. (and use real butter and bella eats, bien sûr). this weekend i will break out the cranberries for the cranapple pie i have been planning, where i will work on my lattice top and use tapioca flour. it’s exciting for sure. this is one of my rustic apple galettes. i accidentally forgot to add some flour to the sugar/butter/spice topping, so it was a little juice, but still extra delicious.

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the boy went back to his parents’ farm last weekend for a quick visit (and a funeral ), and came home with a giant cooler filled with delicious grass fed free range beef from his uncle and bags and bags of veggies. i had to remove my ice cream maker bowls from the freezer to make room for all the cow! peppers got sliced and frozen into quart bags for later use in soups and stews, broccoli was turned into soup, beets were also turned into a soup i submitted for megan’s BSI: acorn squash, and carrots have been snacked on. i never forget how lucky i am to have such easy access to so much good, honest food. jon also brought home a quart of raspberries, which picked after the first frost. we had to eat them quickly!

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the soups live on in my freezer and fridge. i seem to have no less than 3 different types of homemade soup on hand at a time life is good. the beet soup was awesome. i don’t like beets much much but i needed to use them and they are super good for you. my strategy for not getting the flu this season is 4 fold: 1) i will eat crazy well, all the vitamins and everything 2) i will exercise lots (but not too much to wear myself down) 3) i will dress properly when outside and 4) i will get enough sleep. i’m not messing around. skipping the flu shot this year and not getting the H1N1 vaccine either (i keep hearing terrible things about it!) so hopefully my game plan works. i have so far avoided the first round of bouts of sickness at my office.

this is one of my secrets. beets + squash cover a lot of vitamin bases and are fiberific. candied bacon makes everything better!

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this past weekend, we finally got some nice weather (october has been cold, dreary and wet!) so we hit the trails and went for a hike. i love how the forest glows in the fall. we ventured off the trails for a bit, considered fording a small stream (the idea freezing cold water convinced us that this was not a good plan) and did a lot of climbing. sunshine and fresh air are so good for the soul.

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i’m working on getting my life organized and on track. i live in a pretty large house, and even though i live by myself during the week, i somehow manage to easily make lots of messes that are not so easy for me to straighten out. living by myself also makes me accountable to no one: no one who will say anything if i leave my folded (or even unfolded!) clean laundry in the basked for a few extra days, or if the dishwasher remains unemptied. no one says anything when there are piles of paper on my desk. i’ve finally reached the point where i can’t really deal with it anymore though, and i am taking it one step at a time, with the help of nerd kerf. i organized my online life a few weeks ago (gmail) and am now working on using google tasks and my calendar to tackle the rest of my life.

because i hate cleaning and after a long day of work and a hard bike ride home, all i often want to do is curl up with some tv shows, i am working hard to keep things manageable. in addition to little day to day things that i have to do (like empty the dishwasher after i run it, or take out the garbage on garbage day, etc), i have scheduled one or two medium chores per day: laundry, cleaning bathrooms, vacuuming, floors, dusting, etc. so far it’s working quite well, but i am only on day two! this week i plan to take care of the cleaning and next week i will work on the clutter. (desk, closet, dresser, etc) i love the feeling of being neat and organized, but sometimes i let things fall to the wayside. google tasks has been excellent for keeping me on top of things. i’ll be sure to show you some after pictures (yes, i am too ashamed of before shots to share!)

i also plan to work on this regular posting thing. here’s to a november filled with blogging!

blogging has been pretty poor lately (no post in over two weeks? WEAK! i should have my license taken away) but i’ve been busy. quick photo recap, more stories to come.

a week and a half ago, i ran the first half marathon of the season, in ottawa. it was ok. the first 2/3 were awesome and i was fast! and then the sun started to make me wilt and i couldn’t drink enough fluids. the last 5km were brutal and i didn’t make my goal or even beat my last year’s time. i am fine with that – this wasn’t an important race for me, it was more of just a “get things started” kind of day and a test to see where i’m at and what i need to work on more. that would be: running in heat, drinking and eating more while i run (somehow when i get to the last few miles, the thought of anything other than cold water is repulsive to me. this is not healthy) and hills. i was a lot better prepared for the hills after last year’s battle on this course. the race is marketed as “flat and fast” but since the majority of the run is along a canal with a big set of locks, there is quite a bit of steady incline as well as a few steeper hills sprinkled around. i ran through everything, which i am happy about, and i beat my last year first split time by over 3 minutes. my whole race was 3-4 minutes slower, which gives you an idea of how much slower my second half was! 14 weeks till my next race. you can bet there will be a lot of speedwork and a lot of hills between now and then!

after a quick week of work, jon and i got on a plane to colorado. the mountains are breath-taking. so far we have hiked, gone white water rafting (!), and explored golden. i have also gotten to visit several nearby former mining towns, gone on 3 glorious runs, had a fabulous lunch at a super upscale hotel in denver and played tourist.

at the top of our hike on table mountain. behind us is the town of golden, home to Coors.

the raging creek we rafted in. class V rapids = scary and fun! i didn’t get thrown off the raft, luckily. i did have to pull a big guy that did go overboard back in.

some of the beautiful colorado flowers. i have seed packets to take home, hopefully i am not hassled at the airport

off to shop for a few souvenirs before our big day in denver!

whoa. that’s all i can say!!! too bad this is taper week for me because that looks like some awesome running weather. oh well. race day (sunday) looks fab, so i’m keeping my fingers crossed that nothing big changes. i’m not a big fan of downpours.

this past weekend was adventure weekend #5 in a series of 9 and boy was it crazy. the boy had a 24 hour bike race up at a mountain biking park/outdoor ed centre place, where we’d been for a normal mtb race, not too many weekends ago. the life$tyle$ of the rich and famou$ race is a unique 24 hour race where cabin accommodations, shower/bathroom facilities and food is all provided. (ordinarily at these events, you have to camp, bring your own food and have your own volunteer helpers to support you while you ride). we did it last year and it was a ton of fun. last year the boys came in #4, so this year, the determination to podium was like a fire on their rear wheels. they had 3 new team members (on a team of 5), including a girl, who threw them into the “mixed” team category, increasing their winning chances manyfold, as she has the speed faster than most other girls around.

we arrived on friday evening so everyone could preride the course and we could get ourselves set up for the race. the weather didn’t look great (cold and rainy with lots of mosquitos), but that didn’t stop us from drinking beer and rocking out to some tunes in the big bike tent we set up.

saturday morning after bowls of oatmeal and a general meeting to go over rules (no cheating, time penalty details, only one rider on the course at a time, etc), we headed back to our cabin to strategize riding order. jon was picked to be anchor, since his performance at last year’s le mans start (where the riders are all behind a line and their helmets and bikes are about 100 metres away. it is insanity) was awesome. this year, the organizers decided to go for a regular race start, with everyone on their bikes at the line. jon pulled out in 4th or 5th place out of the 135 riders, but after the first lap, he was in 1st. it was really exciting. 2/5 of the team were on single speed bikes and although people had a lot of doubts of team doppler effect’s awesomeness at the beginning, after the first few cycles through, everyone was talking about those fast university of waterloo guys on their single speeds. by nightfall, it was clear that there was no real competition and they were a shoo in to win, so team DE decided to see just how badly they could beat the next team, busting out hot lap after hot lap. their slowest times were faster than the next team’s fastest.

i had a great time as team support again. last year, i stayed up and outside for the entire 24 hours, but this year i decided that sleep would be good. i had the bunk above jon’s and i went to bed right after his first set of night laps and woke up just as he was getting ready for the break of dawn round. i headed out to the fire pit to hang out with some riders to see him come in before i went off on my long run, without music or any way to measure distance. i ran for an hour and a half so i could be back in time for breakfast. by 9:30, 4 laps ahead of the team behind them (our laps were about 40 minutes long), nearing the end of a rider cycle, we discovered that the 36 lap goal the team had set before the start was within reach. although we were 2 riders down, we did some calculations and figured out cutoff time points to see if sending a rider out for one final lap before the finish gun at 12:00. the second to last two guys each shaved an extra minute or two off of the times we estimated for them, which gave us a little bit of extra buffer for the 37 final minutes allotted for that last lap. at 11:21, jon was off! the countdown was exciting! we waited at the finish line with celebratory beers as we cheered for the final riders coming in. jon reached the finish with 5 minutes to spare!!

36 laps over 24 hours = lots of fun and lots of super tired/sore muscles! i showed everyone some good yoga for cyclists poses (like half pigeon, downward dog with one leg to the sky) while they cleaned up for the awards ceremony. doppler effect came in 1st in the mixed category with 36 laps, the team behind them having 31 laps. even if they had been in the men’s category, they still would have been in 3rd place (winners had 38, 2nd had 37). the winning solo man pumped out 27 laps (can you imagine? 24 hours of almost straight riding only stopping to use the washroom and quickly eat?) and the solo woman had 23 or 24. both were on single speeds!

some highlights:

how many 11 year olds do you know who could handle a 24 hour solo race? this kid is TEH CUTEST EVAR. he rode with his mom and they did 5 laps, which is just as many as each of the women on the 3rd place women’s team did. did i mention he’s only 11?

you have to dismount, run to your next teammate and touch them before they get on their bike and start the next lap

team doppler effect: from the left, 4 people in strting with shawn, jon, jasmin, jeff and nick. champions! they’ll be getting leader’s jerseys in the mail. awesome job guys! i hope we get to come back next year.

yesterday was victoria day, and like proper canadians, jon and i did a bunch of yard work (after we did a lot of sleeping). we mowed the front and the back and got my vegetable patch ready for next week, when i’ll be bringing back my plants from the farm. back to work today (though i am working from home, waiting on mr fedex) and another super busy week! my race is on sunday, so we’ll be heading out to the odot on friday or saturday. i’m excited and a little nervous. my training got a tiny bit derailed in the last two weeks and i never got in a really really long run in, but i’m confident that i’ll be able to finish the 21.1km without a problem, and hopefully smoke my old PR. i’m hoping to shave off at least 7 minutes this time. we’ll see!

i was almost relieved that monday came after crazy weekend #3. i need a weekend from my weekends and although work is as far from relaxing as possible, it was a welcome change.

the boy and our houseguest arrived really late on friday night after going to see a fellow cyclists’ band play (i sadly had to miss this because i was in the wrong city). i woke up early for my weekly long run. 16km was the plan. the forecast said it wouldn’t start raining until “late morning.” i left the house at 7:30 and figured i’d be safe. i briefly considered taking my cellphone and decided against it.

8km in, at the halfway point, the sky opened up! i did my turn around and RAN. like the wind. i was seriously flying. and getting seriously wet. there’s nothing like thunder and lightening to kick your ass and make you faster. at the 13km mark, 3km away from home, i saw a familiar car pull over and stop for me. even though i didn’t really tell him where i was going to be, jon came and found me. i felt warm and fuzzy inside, even though i was cold and wet on the outside. it was a really good run anyway though. i’m almost sad i didn’t get the last 3km in (but not sad enough to not take my shining armour rescue). my ipod wasn’t as happy, though. i thought that after her first encounter with the h2o last fall (after an accidental trip through the washer that she miraculously survived) that maybe skye (or robin) liked being wet! i hoped for another miracle, but…no deal. i did manage somehow to get my run synced to the nike+ website though, which i am quite pleased at. replacement nano is in the mail, currently on a whirlwind vacation (started off the morning in lantau island, going to disney and checking out the pink dolphins and is currently in anchorage alaska, probably doing some dog sledding. i’m not sure what will be next!) we should be reunited by friday. apparently i manage to epically kill my ipods (first one went through the washer and dryer, then died. second one went swimming in the rain. i should take bets on how this next one will meet its end)

sunday morning was another early one, as we had to leave the house before 7 for jon’s 9:30 am race. someone miscalculated driving distances or maybe just forgot to account for the fact that 7am traffic on sunday morning does not exist, but we got to the conservation park at 7:40. it was chilly! by 10ish, it started to warm up and i enjoyed hanging out in the feedzone in my camping chair, giving jon fresh bottles and cheering him on. even though the course was pretty wet and muddy, he still managed to do awesomely in the single speed category, coming in 2nd out of 21.

that’s my boy! i was sad he took off his sweet jersey before the award ceremony. hopefully he’ll get some more podium action later this summer.

jon and i spent the rest of the morning/early afternoon chilling out in the sunshine, watching our friend race (and feeding him) and playing with our other friends’ adorable new puppy. we came home and bbqed, drank beer and ate some homemade ice cream. that’s what good days are made of. i did send my mother an email, but besides that we didn’t really do anything special for mother’s day, since both of our moms were far away. (i have gifts for my mom when she’s here next month). i cut myself a nice bouquet of tulips and other wild flowers from the garden because even though i’m not a mom, i do a lot of mom-like things and i like flowers.

just when i thought work couldn’t get any busier, BAM! insane doesn’t even begin to describe it! plus one of my coworkers is going on his early honeymoon for the next week and a half and my supervisor has been ordered by her doctor to only work from home (she has kind of a high risk pregnancy and the next few weeks are supposedly critical). i have a bunch of new responsibilities and the opportunity to shine. keep your fingers crossed that things don’t go the other way.

it’s only wednesday and so far my week has been filled with at least 14 days worth of awesome.

1) two days totally off from work, and at least one but maybe two (or three) more days of nice, quiet empty office, perfect for me to get tons done.

2) booked vacation tickets to colorado and have a hotel room in a place that looks like a castle and also has excellent reviews on the interwebs. i plan to pretend to be a princess and be rescued from a dragon at least once.

3) extra extra good news at work. will discuss more later.

4) FUN package from marianne for winning the coconut BSI. not only did i get two lovely big bags of the absolutely amazing coconut mango lime biscotti (they will be gone before i know it – guess i’ll have to learn to make them myself), she also threw in an awesome bar of fair trade + organic chocolate (pineapple, coconut, banana & lime. how appropriate!) and a super cute card. thanks marianne! i have decided that the world definitely needs more mailed baked goods.

my tempo run this evening was good. i’m down to only being 2 seconds per km slower than my target pace which is completely negligible. i am happy about that. feels like i’m getting back on track, after the bike race. tomorrow morning, i’ll do a swim workout to give my knees a break before the weekend’s 11 mile run.

and before i hit the pillows, i will make note of a few more awesome things i found this week:

- yoga is yummy! *love* yogadownloads has a new rival in my life.

- live simple – bobbi’s challenge after my own heart for you to greenify yourself

and finally, the craziest bag that i absolutely *must* get for the biker in my life. i see it making our race mornings smooth and easy.

take good care!

it’s tuesday morning and i’m still at home! it’s awesome because i didn’t get that much of a weekend. we had to wake up early (5am ish) both days AND i was outside in the rain for a good chunk of sunday. all day i was wishing wishing that i didn’t have to go in to work on sunday.

someone was listening! i got a call from my manager on sunday evening saying that the crazy storm that blew through here on saturday did some damage to our office building and that it would be closed for a few days- wahoo!!

i’ve been taking full advantage of these totally free days. yesterday morning i got my speedwork run out of the way before it got *too* warm. (it was 28°C/~86°F yesterday afternoon!) this week was 3X 1 mile at 8min/mile. i was strong and consistent. then i had a funday monday. made a summer salad lunch to watch with lost, went shopping and picked up a few cute shirts + a new immersion blender (i killed my old ones trying to make rice crackers. bad call) and had a nailpolish party (cute fingers and toes!). a bit of cleaning, some laundry and email catch up – bonus PLUS a walk in the neighbourhood with my camera, capturing spring flowers and trees. it was a pocket full of joy. i came home to a fresh bowl of homemade raspberry fro-yo. it doesn’t get any better.

backtrack:

the weekend was super hectic. we had a houseguest AND a super early morning race to drive to, an hour and a half away. a lot of my time was spent preparing food and getting things organized. for the first time ever, though we had a start time 4 hours earlier than normal, that everything went REALLY smoothly. there was no yelling, no short tempers, no frustration. breakfast was ready to go, lunches and snacks were prepacked in the fridge, bottles were made + chilling, gear was set out and ready to go and bikes were cleaned and on the car rack. i hope we can keep this up for the rest of the summer!

jon got a new bike last year after his old racing bike fell off the car rack and got run over by the woman behind us (it was tragic). this one is single speed! i need all the gears i can get on my bike, so he amazes me extra these days. anyway, he did awesomely in his new category (against all the other guys on SS bikes) – came in 4th out of 30, missing the podium by only 40 seconds. i did a great job of waiting for him in the feed zone, handing off fresh bottles and cheering him on (he does this for me at my races too!). i’m looking forward to the rest of the summer. hopefully the other races are not as wet.