Pictures...ATB

The rain coming into Hamilton. Luke says '.....do you know what is go great about this rain...the wind!!" So not funny. Actually the wind died down and it was fine.

Pre race in Copps Colisum. Luke and I happy to have alone time. Funny story. So we are celbrating our marrage in the hotel the night prior and the fire alarm goes off. Seriously.

Chic race wear. Wore the bag for few km but then it the rain stopped and it was bothering me so I ditched it. Maya's old mitts. Threw them away as they got to wet to do anything..after the rain had started again.

Done..mad about my time.

Around the Bay

Goals, we all have them Some times we share them with people, and other times we just keep them to ourrselves. Not daring to hope that they could actually happen. In every race I do I have a 'puplic goal', and 'good lord please help obtain this goal and I will sacerfice my children to you goal'.
For the 30km ATB my public goal was 2:45. I really did not feel well trained for this race, only having two 25km, a few 20km, and several 15km. Some but not enough. No real hill workouts and a single track workout. However, I really liked the sounds of the gradualted metals.

For woman to obtain:
Under 2:15- Gold
2:15- 2:30- Silver
Over 2:30- Bronze
So my private, I will keep it so quiet until I hit the start line was 2:29:29. Based on GUN time- not chip.

My results:
2:32:34-GUN.
2:31:27- CHIP

Other stats
Overall-868/4917
Gender-168/2295
Age grouping-46/334


Can you feel my frustration? I worked soo hard that race, I made up the lag in gun by 10km, and was on task to finish by 2:28 right up to 2:12. That it wasn't so good. I made it up the big hill, and was ready to put it on, but there was nothing to cook. I had bilateral intense hip pain, and a shin pain so intense I and slightly worried I have a stress fracture. I wanted to hold onto 5min/km but just could not do it, it was all I could do not to walk. For the record I walked for ten steps around 24km. Mentally it was such a blow to have so many people passing me when they kicked it the final two kilometres- literally it had to be at least 50 people. When I was handed the bronze metal I just wanted to throw it across the room. I was ashamed changing in the bathroom post with women who had silver...and gold. I know I am hard on myself but damn I wished I had trained better. CAUSE I COULD HAVE DONE IT.


Boring below- written for my own memory.
Other notes on the race include the rain..lots of rain, dripping soaked to the bone,I will be warm again in June wet. I wore a garbage bag for the first two km, but then the rain let up a bit so i chucked it, and it started to rain two kilometres later. Felt like I was caring five pounds on each foot with the weight of water soaked shoes and socks.

• Really loved the course, actually did not think the hills were that bad. The one bridge REALLY scared me due to my aversion to bridges and open bodies of water. As well the traction was terrible.
• To encourage myself and to give myself a boost I sing to myself the songs on my ipod. Wonder if people think I am nuts. Ok with that. On and I couldn't get the sound to work at the start line for some reason. Got it going with seconds to spare. Another runner said the look on my face was pure panic.
• For the potentially windy, rainy, nine degree run I wore- thick carpi's, long sleeve tech shirt, and wind jacket. If I had a RAIN jacket that was breathable that would have been ideal. My running room jacket is too big.
• Saw a man running with a pink tank, pink tutu, pink shoes and was caring a wish wand. Wish I had a costume.
• The real hero's in this race are the 30km walkers. Seriously they walk it.... for fun..in the rain. Although, some of the walkers are much faster then the many runners.
• No chocolate milk at the finish line.
• Body guide would have been a good thing all around where my underwear lies. Serious chaffing. Have never had chaffing before.

So I feeling very ruff now, forgot to book a massage last week so will be making some calls tomorrow. Stairs are an issue, I even have pain in my wrist and who knows how that happened.

Installed

Ever was just chewing on the end of the iPod cable, of which the other end was plugged in.
The computer detected something and installed an "unknown Device"
I wonder if I can download programs for him now or change his settings...

Groves

I think I have a minor girl crush on Lauren Groves. She represented Canada in Triathlon at the Beijing Olympics...until a bike crash left her spending time in casualty rather then the podium.
I envy her life. Honestly I think I could be a pro athlete and train all day. What fun that would be! Dead serious.

Next Week

Next week at this time I will have completed 30km in Around the Bay. I hope.....
My longest LSD is 25ish km, and it was slow, and torturous. Pain in my right knee, bilateral hips, and spams in my left foot. Slightly joyous as I took Brew the dog to keep me company. I really do not know why I do all these solitary sports as I am a social person. Really need more running friends. The best I can hope for is 2:45 for the amount of training I have put into it. A combination of crappy weather, Luke working late and me losing my motivation and some sickness has definitely slowed me down, and prevented me from completing the base I wanted. I have toyed with the idea of doing a spring marathon just for fun.. but again the time commitment puts a damper on my plans. Realistically I think I am looking a three hours. There is ALOT of hills. I think there actually may be some walking.

I was concerned about the state of my shoes so I got a new pair of Saucony Paramount's. Got them for free as I am a run leader for the learn to run clinic here in town. Also slowly trying out superfeet. They did wonders for my skates and are cheaper then seeing a foot doctor. Oh and just now looking at the web site I can put them in my bike shoes.

For the Record

Tim Horton's - Nine wins.

Anne McCutcheon- Zero wins.

The domination continues. I really do not know why I keep throwing my money at them. This is gambling for non-gamblers.

Ticket

A few days ago I was driving to work for a hour long education session, simply was not paying attention to the speed I was driving and....you guessed it..lights and then a police man was walking up to my window. The thing about this ticket was I didn't try to talk my way out of it, just calmly accepted my fate. I was curious to see what would happen.

He drooped it from 118km to 108. Around $240 to a $90. Which is good I guess, although part of me just wants the opportunity to drive fast sometimes. There were no kids in the car, the roads were bare and dry. I know what I can handle and never go beyond my limits.

Although I wonder if I can get off on the fact he wasn't wearing a name tag, and frankly if he would have taken off his sunglasses it would do much to instill a bit of trust.

Took a few pictures of Maya eating a strawberry the other day when I feeling creative. I like this one.

"I just wish Courtney was my sister"

One Hour

For some unexplained reason my watch decided this afternoon that it liked standard time and thus set itself back. I thought the afternoon was going long, and wasn't it odd that so many children were out of school early. We had been out for a walk and all the locks were different then my watch I clued in.

I Like to eat eat eat...

Entire oranges, peels and all.

Cat food.

Can you guess which member of our family has such interesting tastes?

This is what is wrong with the world...

I am reluctantly sending the funds to cover the cost to bus my child from Dawnview public school to the Hanover regional recreational complex for swimming lessons. A distance of 750 metres. A distance the could easily be walked in 10- 15minutes. Frankly I think that is ridiculous. I could could go on about rising childhood obesity rates, or the environmental cost of busing children less then a kilometre, but really it has all been said before, and nobody is listening so why am I bothering. Perhaps to be the single voice of reason??

I am thinking of sending this to Maya's school teacher, principal, school trustee and school board. When I mentioned it though Maya started to cry and essentially in her own way begged me not to rock the boat. I hate to be labeled as one of those parents BUT IT IS 750 METRES!!!!!!!
Perhaps we could op out of the transportation and we could save the $14.

The score

Tim Hortins- 4, Anne- 0.

I wrote a complaint letter about the service to make me feel better about my loses.

The Mathof a Happy Marriage

An article on a happy marriage resenly caught my eye. It pointed out the following as keys to having one.....and follows is how Luke and I are doing.

• Say I love you daily- Yep do that. Actually it causes fights cause Luke gets mad if I do not say it EVERY SINGLE TIME we end a conversation.
• Share two hobbies. Hmm we both like to read, sleep, cycle, Luke is going to try running cause I did soccer with him. Problem is we can never do any hobbies together.. at the same time.
• Sex three times a week. With a child that has trouble sleeping, and my habit of working nights we are lucky to even share a bed three times a week.
• Converse three times day during work hours. Actually yes. But it always me calling Luke....hmmm. But if I don't say I love you when the conversation is done...
• Two romantic meals a month. Is anybody aware of how much that would cost?? There is the cost of the meal, the babysitter, the gas to get to a town with a romantic locale. Again, even to share meals together is hard due to my work, and I often make dinner then run while everybody is eating, and I eat alone later.
• Four kisses and three cuddles daily. Ummm Ever pushes Luke away when he gets to close to me. The above mentioned not sharing a bed. Sometimes we kiss when Luke gets home, but honestly I am touched out. Between breastfeeding Ever and making an attempt to be affectionate with Maya so she isn't dysfunctional like me.. it is hard.
• Get aways three times a year. Is this with or without children?

For the record RUTR

Tim Hortins - Three wins

Anne - Zero wins

Question.... who is winning this stuff anyways?