shoulder

September 22, 2010

xrays came back and i've got a slight tear in my ac joint.  nothing too serious but it's causing pain while running, especially on longer or more intense runs.  dryland training is also out of the question, and something as simple as getting out of bed creates much discomfort.  a few weeks of physio should take care of it, but until healed it's light runs only.  riding seems to be ok and i hope to have my bike training back in full swing as of next week.

14 stitches and lucky to be alive

September 05, 2010

made it

August 31, 2010

getting to edinburgh was probably one of the least complicated and painless international flight i've ever made.  i was in the air less than an hour for my connecting flight, had an amazing 4 hour sleep on my second flight, and made it to my accommodations without any complications.  i hooked up with one of the team canada team managers at the airport and the two of us got to hang out while we were waiting to check in.  we did a quick tour of the city, had some lunch and took some pics.  i'm in my room getting settled and am hoping to get a run or ride in tonight before dinner.  and maybe a nap.  that's sounding pretty good right now.

off i go

August 30, 2010

off to the airport, luggage, race gear, bike and bike pump in tow.  of all the things i've had to pack for this trip, this last item somehow seems the most ridiculous.  i never thought i'd lug a bike pump across the atlantic ocean.

all packed up

August 29. 2010

i've never packed up a bike for travel before and have been feeling a little anxious about it over the past couple of weeks because i've been imagining disastrous scenarios in which my bike shows up in scotland damaged and unrideable.  but packing it was surprisingly easy and it feels safe and secure.  i'm just about ready to fly out tomorrow, and all that remains is one last trip to the health food store.  i learned a valuable lesson about packing food when i was in richmond in april of this year and i'm in no hurry to repeat that mistake.  i'll bring what i can but my first priority once i've arrived in edinburgh will be to locate some fresh, healthy food and stock up for the week.  i'm sure it's a wonderful substitute for any meal, but a week's worth of eating haggis already feels old.

worlds bike set up

August 28, 2010

here it is.  my pimped out ride for the worlds.  wheel selection for edinburgh is crucial, and after giving it a lot of thought and weighing out the pros and cons, i've decided to go with front and rear 808s.  i typically ride with a front 808 and a 900 rear disc, but a disc wheel just won't cut it for such a hilly, technical course.  i was thinking or racing with front/rear 404s, which would be great for the hills, but i'm going with the 808s because they're light and stiff enough to deliver power on the climbs, but they're also deep enough to give me an aero advantage on the flats.  the key to edinburgh will be recovering quickly in preparation for the next climb, and i'll take every advantage that the 808s will give me.

starting to feel better

August 27, 2010

yesterday was the first time in a long time that i can remember actually feeling fantastic at the beginning of a run.  i'd sort of assumed that my legs were supposed to feel heavy and slow and had forgotten what it felt like to be light on my feet.  my cold seems to have sorted itself out and with some downtime over the past couple of weeks i'm finally starting to feel better; i'm finally feeling like i'm on track for a great race in edinburgh.  i had some of my best times ever at the track yesterday, and what a relief it was to see improvement.  and to feel it.  to actually feel it.  it seems so counter intuitive but it turns out that what i've been needing more than anything is some rest.

orillia

August 26, 2010

last year when i qualified for the world championships my attention turned immediately to the difficulty of the course in edinburgh, scotland.  i'd read and heard reports about how tough the cycling portion of the race will be, and when i saw the elevation profiles those rumors were confirmed.  that race will be 5 laps around holyrood park, and each of those laps includes two tough ascents and one ridiculously tough ascent up arthur's seat, a mount everest-style hill/mountain/death climb in the middle of the city.  the descent of these climbs are steep and technical, so i've decided to take my road bike because it's much better suited to such a course.  if the course were not so hilly there would be no debate... i'd take my P3 in a heart beat.  so before i head over to scotland i wanted to finish at least one race on my road bike with its race set up, and orillia has some tough hills and technical turns so i figured it would be the ideal candidate.

taking a step back

August 20, 2010

i'm tired. and exhausted. and still sick. with a half marathon august 8th, a 10k august 14th, and the toronto islands duathlon august 15th, i've been pushing myself in the lead up to the worlds. i've been having an awful year that just seems to be getting worse, and i've been racking my brain trying to figure out what's gone wrong. last year was great... each race was better than the last and i improved as the season went on. then a stress fracture put me on the sidelines for three months, and once i'd recovered i was back on my feet. that was the end of last october, and since then i've been training up to 7 days a week every week. this season started off strong and i felt great at the US nationals in april. i thought that was the beginning of what would be a great year, but it's been the complete opposite.

finally something exciting

August 06, 2010

the last two weeks have been hard and tiresome. i'm just getting over a bad cold that's left me on the sidelines and have missed a number of workouts. my struggles with running continue, and having a headache and coughing fits are no motivation to move any faster.

scratch that

July 31, 2010

this weekend was supposed to be a long ride but the bike is staying home. i'm sick and exhausted and need a break. even though i was feeling rough this morning, i got through my long tempo run but pushed myself too hard and felt like ass afterwards. some meds got rid of the headache, but what my body needs is some downtime. and a few cold drinks on the dock.

i ♥ these things right now:

July 29, 2010

i ♥ my new aerobars

they're lighter, leaner and lower than my previous set. and they somehow make my bike look faster, too. which is super important.

i ♥ endurosport

the same day i ordered the new aerobars i booked a bike fit with dan from endurosport. as soon as the bars were on the bike (literally) dan and i adjusted my riding position to accommodate the new hardware. i now have a much more aggressive position.

i ♥ muskoka rides

two days after the bars were on the bike i was testing everything on a long ride. there was definitely a significant change in riding position which took a bit of getting used to, but after about 20k or so i'd settled right in. my shoulders and upper back were a bit sore because i had to hold my head up higher, but it's nothing i won't adapt to. actually, the biggest adjustment was my hand position. because of the shape of the new bars my wrists were a bit sore at the end of the ride because of where i had to place my hands. but no big deal. i have a hilly 3 hour ride this weekend to try it out again and am hoping to be just as comfortable on the new bars as i was the old bars by the end of the ride. another great thing about the new bars is that because they're lower, climbing is more comfortable. it feels like i'm climbing on my road bike.

i ♥ track workouts

i've had a couple of track workouts over the past couple of weeks, and although i'm not getting the times that i was hoping for this far into the racing season, i'm consistent. which is good. and i'm hoping this consistency will lead to improved times on race day, because so far this year my running splits have been sucky. i ♥ not sucky runs.

time to reassess

July 20, 2010

saturday's loss was painful, both literally and figuratively. the course was tough and the heat was practically unbearable. some athletes suffering from heat stroke collapsed in a disorientated trance in transition while others were attended to by paramedics. as soon as i crossed the finish line i painstakingly made my way over to a shady area and lay on the grass until my head stopped spinning. i was forcing fluids down but it took me several minutes to be able to stand up again. i couldn't think straight and my mind was cloudy. as soon as i was capable i hobbled over to one of the retail tents on site and bought some salt pills and had one every 30 minutes for the next couple of hours. i'd severely underestimated the heat today.

gravenhurst cheat sheet

July 16, 2010

i can't guarantee the accuracy of this, but if you would like to, go ahead and print it. if you've never done this bike course this will show you what you're in for. notice how there are no flat sections? welcome to muskoka.

eight weeks out

July 14, 2010

last week i was looking at my calendar and realized that sunday marked 8 weeks to go until the worlds. eight weeks to go. unbelievable. it feels like it was only yesterday i qualified.

a day of firsts

June 30, 2010

that's more like it.

June 09, 2010

i didn't taper for last week's race in milton, i didn't do any of my usual pre-race preparation, nor did i lose any sleep over how i might finish. this race was just another workout. early last week when i opened my log to see what workouts my coach had given me for the week, sunday was a race simulation. it was a heavy week of training and as it came to an end i felt strong and made a last minute decision to do my race simulation workout at an actual race. does that make sense? maybe not. but it was a way to psych myself into not thinking of this as any more than a regular workout.

Ride Your Bike To Work Day

May 31, 2010

as part of bike month here in toronto, today is Ride Your Bike To Work Day. to celebrate i wanted to share a pic from yesterday's crit race at st. lawrence market. happy riding!

also, a shout out to my friend suzanne who won yesterday's toronto women's only half marathon. awesome race, z!