Christmas Finery

 I call myself a thrifter. A person who likes to shop thrifty. Used, disguarded items, and shopping for them is my speciality. A particular item that I am always looking for is the coveted Christmas sweater. I don't wear them socially, but to work. Thus when the theme of this years Christmas party was revealed to be tacky Christmas sweater, I had a bit of a problem. What is a girl to do when all of her Christmas sweaters have been seen by the party attendees, potentially while I was also being bled or vomited on while wearing said sweater. 

It called for a new outfit!!

Now I must admit, in the costume department I am a bit of a overachiever, but in the money department I remain, in the bargin basement department. Thus, the twenty dollar rule. 

Impulsively, as most of my desions are, I went into fabric land with the thoughts of making an skirt for the party as long as it cost me less than $20. 

So I bought a discontinued pattern and on sale fabric the skirt for $15. The zipper dosn't quite match, but 50cents at the Salvation Army is to good to pass up. 

Then I realised I needed a top to go with. The black tops I had just didn't match, then I remembered the curtains I had gotten from a friend, and another highly discounted pattern for $1.50 was bought. 

Then I realised I to also dress Luke. Being that I  have an odd love of us dressing to match and fabricland tends to sell me to much fabric, and the curtains were free and the pattern was only 25cents, Luke had a good look going for less than a buck! 

The day of the party was chilly, so I set about looking for a cardagin, and again my closet came up empty. As I was tidying the children's dress up I came across this smart looking velvet jacket and skirt... And at 4:30, the afternoon of the party I decided the skirt had to become a Santa hat. And wouldn't you know, I just happen to have a real rabbit pelt to trim the hat. And wouldn't you know I had just the right amount of left over fabric to make Luke a hat too. 

And that is how Luke and I ended up

Being the most glamorous at the tacky Christmas party. 

The benifits of being a puplic sector worker

At the hospital I work we pay into a  recreation committee, which acts to fund employee sympathy and birth gifts. As well as the annual Christmas party. To put plainly we pay for our own party. My friends will talk of the 'company party', and Christmas bonuses, and how would I respond......?

Well I get a frozen turkey.

Yep, the hospital board always found money in the budget to give employee's a turkey, and I have always been grateful for that little show of thanks.

This year there has been no mention of a turkey.
No Turkey.

Sadness

Body Rock

So I was going to post a picture of me in a bikini, but that didn't happen.
Instead, here is a picture of me in medium underwear from Marks Work Warehouse which went back due to the Nana effect. We call large underwear in this house 'Nana underwear' due to the unfortunate episode of Luke accidently seeing his Nana in her underwear. Not exactly a highlight in any teen boys life.

Anyways, this was back in March of last year. Was in a bit of a fat patch there for awhile. Not that I am amazingly different now, just a bit slimmer and a bit more toned.... and my lulu tights don't budge anymore.

What happened? Well training for that half ironman burned a few calories. Then in October I was feeling a bit down about lack of fitness goals, coupled with our rainy month, I was ready when a friend suggested The Daily HIIT 30 day Real Time challenge.

Basically, the Bodyrock people put out a video a day for 30 days. Well some were rest days. The host Lisa Marie combined strength training with cardio intervals for 45-75 minutes of sweaty muscle building fun. Prior to this I actually could not do a single push up, nor had I ever done squats. Seriously, I had sports doctors telling me I desperately needed to do core work... and I didn't. It wasn't easy. I lie panting on the floor quite often. I also worked an obscene amount of nights this month, so I did the videos at work at 3am on my breaks. It was so much fun thinking outside the box at work for solutions. I used hip protector mats as floor matts, x-rays sandbags for heavy weights, and the awesome part was it was in physio so I could use parallel bars for an equalizer. If I couldn't do what the host was doing, coming up with something else quick was key as not to miss a minute of the workout.

Seriously, I am changed. I completed the challenge yesterday, and today I just did older videos posted on their Youtube station. I just want to keep on doing the workouts. I feel a need to buy more weights.

The funny thing is, the challenge was issued to several people and I was the only one, including the issuer to complete it.

Anne Wins!!!!!
 

Water Baby

 When it is cold, when we  all have had our fill of splashing, and playing in the waves. Maya alone remains in the water. She is a self proclaimed water baby, as such one might assume that she swims like a fish......Not quite.
Maya likes to play. Which gets in the way of my plans.

My plan for the children is for them to progress through swim kids and eventually qualify to become life guards. My logic?
-Guarding jobs are more lucrative then the typical cashier/ food service job that is popular among the teen set.
-Sitting in the sun watching children frolic about seems like it might be a tad bit more fun then sweating it out in a camp kitchen for the annual summer job.

Thus, when I went to watch Maya's swimming lessons I was dismayed to see her lack of progress in actual swimming ability. SO I offered her the opportunity to practice at public swim. The opportunity passed her by as no amount of coxing could get her to focus. So I offered her lane swim.
There would be no open slide, no other children, and no fun Daddy to distract her.

I grilled into her lane swim etiquette. There would be no reason for somebody to declare that their admission money was worth any more than hers. I put her in the slow lane, and I went beside her in the medium lane, I knew that I wouldn't get a good swim in as I would be too focused on her.

Then while being trapped behind the same women repeatedly in the medium lane, it occurred to me....
Why was I so worried about Maya? 1/3 of all lane swimmers have absolutely no manners in the pool. They are in the wrong lane, they do not look to see who is coming up, do not allow passing, or have such poor form fellow swimmers have to be on alert for flailing limbs.

Maya felt a little awkward being the only kid there, especially on a four to a lane night. However in the end I am sure she did around 500metres which I am impressed with.

Numbers

 I thought Octobers numbers were kinda interesting.

Swim- 1K
Bike - 105k
Run- 103k

Bodyrock Videos- 19
Daily Extra Exercise- 10( Completed prior to starting body rock)

Muskoka 70.3

First off the numbers...

Total time- 6:16:09
Swim- 45:08
T1-6:08
Bike-3:29:29
T2-1:47
Run-1:53:19

Second off, I am actually really happy with the numbers. I estimated times were 60min- 4hours- 2hours. Loved the distance.

Thirdly, doing the swim/ bike/ run is considerably easier than doing a 50k.

The Day
I had gotten the last room at Hidden Valley so we were able to stay as close to the race site without actually forking out a arm and a leg for Deerhurst as possible. Woke around 5:45 feeling like I had actually slept well, despite Luke saying I tossed and turned all night. Heated some water in the coffee maker for my morning oatmeal/ maple syrup/ hemp hearts/ Chia seeds/ almonds/ pumpkin seeds. Then ran my Tim Hortins coffee purchased the night prior though as well to warm it up. In fact our entire room did just that. Smelled like we destroyed the machine but we were all sipping on coffee walking over to the race site.

The all important question was what to wear. Single digits to start the day but was to warm up to a high over 20. My plan was to wear just my bra and tri shorts under my wetsuit and put on my tank, jersey and arm sleeves in T1. I debated leaving old runners at the swim exist to slip on my feet, but as there were so many pairs I decided against it, knowing it would be more of a waste of time looking for them.

I was in a later swim wave which was all good. Got in the water and was somewhat calm. Really wished I could have swam with my friend James who was in the last wave being as he was a relay. The sun was rather bright which made sighting difficult. I would say I was under control and didn't panic until at least 750metres in. Then I saw one of those party boats with people just staring at us and I swear it was making a wake so I was getting mad. I also felt like it was getting choppy. It helped a bit actually but I would have rather liked smooth waters. There was also a old man in a kayak yelling repeatedly 'stay left' or something of that effect and all I wanted to do was tell him to shut up! Once I turned to the straight away into shore I felt much better. I school of little fish swam beneath me, and I could see the bottom. My horrible sighting also led me to think that I had a long stretch left, in actuality I was at the swim exit before I knew it.
Used the strippers.. will not do that again. I have my own routine and I think it wasted more time. Completely regretted not having shoes, by the time I got to my bike I could not feel my feet. As I ran past Luke,  he didn't recognize me as he thought I was a old women. Admittedly, I always look a little shell shocked coming out of the water.. but I looked that bad.. really?!

Once in T1 I made the flash decision to not wear my jersey and just my tank and arm warmers. Which was fine. Another big decision I had been debating was putting my bike shorts over my tri shorts for the ride. It is a long way to go on a thin piece of felt for padding so I had planed to put on the diaper like bike shorts in T1..... but they were not there. Ahhhh I had left them in my bag against the fence. So on my way out I dropped my bike on the ground and retrieved my shorts and put them on, must have looked....odd.

On the bike just really focused on staying positive and enjoying my day. I ate every 10 to 15min. A bite of a power bar or a chew/chomp sweet thing. In total I ate three power bars, one package of chews and two salt tabs. I would have had three but I dropped it. I drank about 1500 ml H20. Lost one of my bottles in Dorset just before the bridge, which really sucked cause I had just got it. I would have a tad drank more but was slightly fearful of running out. I would have loved to eat on course, but it was all Honey stingers and I still don't quite know if I have a sensitivity to honey, but during the race I wasn't going to try it.
Initially, I tried to play it all safe and stay out of draft zones but by Dwight I had been blocked and had to put the brakes on too many times. I really do not know what is so hard about staying right?? Did a lot of leap- frogging with a few other people. Dropped my chain on the hill into Dorset. Made a friend with a guy who had done the Ottawa iron the w/e before- insanity. We really worked together to push each other, unfortunately he also encouraged me to not waste a minute getting off my bike to pee, but to do what all the cool people do and just pee on the bike. Yah don't do that. Worst chaffing EVER. Seriously, raw and bleeding. Just don't do it.
There was a bit of a wind once we turned away from Bayfield, but I love the back end of the course so I really didn't mind. Around 75-85 were the worst. I had no more food to eat to distract me, my vagina was completely numb and I was just done. Once I got to the turn onto stick it was the final grind and push back in. There was a van behind me, and I was quite paranoid it was going to try to pass me unsafely so I gestured for it to stop and went to the center of the right lane so there would be absolutely no passing.. and when it could safely pass it did so. It was a race vehicle. I felt stupid.

Into T2 and quickly put on my race belt, shoes and headed out......right out of transition. Then it hit me. I was still wearing my bike shorts, my pee filled bike shorts. I had seen Luke coming in, and expected him to be at the same spot when I ran past, but what if he wasn't??  I wasn't taking that chance, so my poor dear friend spectating got to watch me ( along with several hundred people) whip off my shorts and had to endure my pee shorts until she saw Luke.

By the time I was starting the run the pros were done. What with the fact they started a half hour before me, oh and I am slow. Disappointed I didn't get to see my good friend Mirinda Carfrae. I mean I have tweeted to her that I could take her old bike off her hands if needed, and I am sure she is about to get back to me, but with Kona and her wedding coming up, I know she has a lot on her mind. I like to give my friends space and not smother them.
 Anyways, just focused on getting the job done, enjoyed people watching and looking out for friends running. Really wanted to beat the relay team from our club but Matt caught me around 15k. I admit I held back a bit. I kept on waited for that death feeling to over take me, like when I am running long distances. I took water at every water station, and two gels. I attempted to drink coke, but it was pepsi and it was warm so I spit it out. I was really glad I had run the course and knew what was coming. My only issue with this course is the HWY 60 section. It is just so much pavement and straight. Mentally draining. Tons of water stations, but alas only one had music. Painfully quiet out there. One minor event that soured the day was another women in my age group being passed on foot by her coach for the last 5k of the race. He stuck with her until the second and she stuck with me until the last second and passed me in the final stretch. Officially she beat me by three seconds, but I hung back so I could break the tape by myself. I ran my race, and she didn't run hers. Or at least that's what I think.

All and all I feel really good about the day. I see now that I could have pushed it faster on the run. I also know that going into Mt Trembant I will definitely want to get longer bricks in.  Swimming, it is enough if arrive at the exit alive. Oh and I want a new outfit.

 

I spent like an hour or more talking to this guy on Saturday, cause I will talk to anybody and say ridiculous things.. like the how old are you game. I guessed wrong. Very wrong, 15years wrong.  This of course was after I had said I was very good at this game. I think he got a laugh out of it. Apparently he got my age for him for his body marking just to add to my insult.

 

Some of the tri club and our bracelets. I wore mine for over a week. Even to the next race, just cause I am that person. It is now on my car keys. I did restrain myself from spending big money at the expo.

Ridding

Went for a ride today.
The wind picked up, and changed direction.
When trainning, i would would be joyful. It would be hard training day. Pushing me to the edge to make me stronger.
Today, I am not training. The hard ride was in vain. Perhaps character building. I think I have enough though.

Currently listening to Emerald Isle by Whitehorse on repeat. I even bought it on iTunes.


 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iq0sTOssg00

September 28, 2013

 

 

Today the boy is six, which apparently, according to him means he can sleep alone tonight.  He is having a sleep over tonight at his best friends house... I hope his mother enjoys the snuggles.

A snoopy little boy found his present of a scooter yesterday. But I totally lied and told him it was for a poor little boy in Hanover. I made him cry. It was in his room when he woke up. I am 100% the best mother EVER. He told me he knew it was a trick but that's what you get for snooping!

Creativeness was limited to a home made piñata, cause good parents make their own. It is a one eye alien spider. As a side note, paper Mache is best made with white flour. Whole grain spelt is go for tummies and not for pasting. Of course, I also made the snake cake. Ever ate the head.


I suggested birthday hair cut...

He had a little party, four other boys. Activities included water balloon attack on Luke, throw eggs at Anne's car, and see how far home made paper airplanes can fly off the roof.

There was a lot of junk food today, and he is rather grumpy, but he is at his other family tonight so it is good.

I just want to snuggle you!!!!

The boy is just about six.
The boy can not go go to sleep by himself.
The boy can not spend a night alone in his bed.

We have tried every which way to remedy the situation. NOTHING WORKS.  It is 1130 and he is screaming in absolute anger and frustration that somebody HAS TO snuggle him.
It is 3:32 and he slyly trying to sneak into our bed to wiggle between us and rub his feet so softly against our legs.

Not looking for advice, nor any told you so about 'spoiling 'him with the family bed, cause we are happy with how we parent him. It is just his affection quota is really high.

Really just want everybody to know that 12-15 odd years Luke and I will be going away to collage again. Might be a little crowded in his dorm room, and when he brings a girl home that might be rather awkward, but at least we will know he is getting a good nights sleep.

Ripped knees

Ever is a rough and tumble boy. He gets dirty and his clothes do take a beating, thus he is lucky boy when his clothes do not come from the thirft store. Thankfully I also have some sewing skills so his pants can be worn more than once. On occation he has been known to wear pants with holes in the knees before I have gotten a chance to mend. 

On Wednesday his pants were ragged in the knees, and one of the ankles had gotten caught in his bike chain, but they were clean, and making him change after he has gotten dressed in the morning is rather painful.

Today, apparently he went to school with navy shorts with a rip in the bum which quite nisly showed off his red underwear. Apparently unnoticed by his father.

And apparently a school volenteer gave him pants from the lost and found while he was out for recess an went home to fix them.

Unsure if I should feel grateful or offended. In any event Luke is to pay closer attention to what the children wear to school and I am to pay closer attention   to my meding pile. 

Pre- Race Muskoka 70.3

So lets start by saying I am more nervous then I have been for any other race in my life, and have not been this excited since Dirty Girls 12hr Night 2011.

 

I signed up for this race so I would have a long term goal to keep me motivated through out the summer to keep training and excited to compete  and not get fat. I wanted a big goal. Something new, with a new challenge and Muskoka 70.3 fit. After convincing some Saugeen tri peeps to join in, it was set, complete with some training Mondays in Muskoka. 

 

So sounds all good in concept right?? Except it is not all good yet. I did my best trying to get in swims- but really adult onset swimming self taught can only go so far. However, I did over come the fear of swimming open water by myself. Will do that now and just stick close to shore. The problem with swimming is just that it is just so damn boring. This is not Hawaii, I am not seeing any fishes and other amazing aquatic life, I see murky nothingness at Pearl lake.

As for the bike, yah it is hard to get in long rides. Lonely and slow if I go on my own, and frantic peddling when I go with friends to hang on to their rear for dear life.  I did commit to riding 20k to work and back every single shift except on my first night since I signed up and only missed one day.

The course is just so hilly and LONG 94k is long!! This past week I was up in Muskoka to ride the course and it was just to wet and thunderstormy to do it. I just wanted that last really good ride. I knew I would be riding with somebody slower than I so I was counting on getting 100k and at least 2k run post in. Yah but that didn't happen. As for my actually bike- I desperately need a new one. I feel like this past month has been a money pit. Sure a tune up is ok. But I bought a new wheel, tire and inner tube. Oh and my chain snapped- which was actually only a matter of time but I was trying to cheap out. Not to mention new bars, and tape for bars. Oh and new race shirt to match bars. Again, felt, cervelo, devinci, cannondale. swift, trek, orbea, quintana roo, blue... wanta sponsor a middle age grouper who is awesome???

 

Run, well if anything has gone to pot it has been my run. let just say I am not the fastest female in the tri club anymore. Often a week has passed and I realize I have not run. My mileage is the worst it has ever been and that includes the winter! Have I mentioned the run course is the hillest I have ever seen? Seriously, as a stand alone half marathon I would be 2hours. I figured I could let my run go a bit cause I already know how  to hurt but get it done on the run.

 

Training time will seriously improve drastically as soon I will be the parent of children who go to school full time... but a little late for this race. So right now I am trying to follow my training plans taper... but really how much can I  follow while working shift? Not that I want to quite shift but .... going slightly insane!!!

 

I am told Muskoka is harder than Mount trembant and I will have more time to train for it, and it is sold out. BUT I am signed up. So I do have a second chance if Muskoka is bust.

 

 



#BPMR

Yes I am using a hash tag to title this post cause I am awesome that way. No really I am a media whore and thrive on re- tweeting and public aknologment of my wonderfulness.

Ok enough with the self affirmation. A race report.. 

Luke and I decided to the Bruce Peninsula Multi sport race this year to finally complete last years race which was tragically abandoned  due to thunder and lightening.

This year the weather was fantastic, not to hot, but sunny and clear. Made staying the entire race day on site a pleasure.

The race was slightly altered this year so we did not have to contend with a tandem kayak (Which BTW cost us a $70 rental fee plus $300 for a new side mirror on the car when we took it off) Instead we were able to rent a canoe for $20, which was ready to go at the race site. Score!!

Early on I mentioned using kayak paddles, however that was shot down as 'nobody else will be using them." Ummm yah soooo, some people were, so I was right

The 4k paddle took us 38 minutes. Which was one of the slowest paddles of the day, second slowest of all teams. Basically we did not work well as a team. Luke and I were working independently of each other. As I have no upper body strength Luke just powered through everything I was doing. Also, as we paddle less than three times a year, including the race it could just be lack of skill/practice. The best part about the paddle was we didn't kill each other and everybody was so far ahead of us they didn't laugh at our domestic dispute.

The mountain bike was just as I expected it to be. Mixture of double track snowmobile and ski trails along with some fields and gravel roads. A little rocky but our greatest challenge was passing people safely. We did a lot of passing. Luke lead and I did my best to keep up on the trail. On the road and fields he had to keep up. Super fun  and it went fast. The ride was only 15k, broken into two parts which we did in approximately 24 and 28min. Seems to be on par with other upper level teams in the results.

The run was from Colpoys bay to Blue water park in Wiarton. Approximately 5k, which we did in 32min. I had pre run the course the week before so I could lead and Luke would just have to follow. Typically Bruce trail field/ road/ single dirt track/ rocky sections. We had a little pit break while Luke adjusted his camel back and I went pee in-between some bushes.

This was the greatest challenge of the race for me; I took a look at my watch and knew a time I could make it back to Wiarton in, however as a team we had to stay within 4 meters of each other. At one point I begged Luke to just run harder, and he was going as hard as he could but cause another team was passing us, I went slightly competitive and just wanted to go but couldn't. Also, we ended up having to wait for somebody to climb the spiral staircase on the escarpment before we could descend, which drove me insane. If I was on my own I would have pushed past but Luke is a better person than I soooo......

Definitely want to do this race again next year, I need Luke for the paddle and he pushes me on the bike and we will just have to get more running time in next year. We won our mixed team category. Earning two pottery mugs... I give them until December cause there is a rule in our house. Every nice thing that Anne has gets broken.

My dog bite with a temporary tattoo to make me look all bad ass, hard core mtn biker.

The next race of the day was the kids race. Ever bravely contended against older boys in the 5-7 age grouping. Apparently the feed back from last years race was that it was too short. Thus this year the kids did multiple loops around a run and bike obstacle course, and I think the feed back for 2013 may be too long. Maya was out there for 25min!! They both did exceptionally well and earned gift certificates to the candy store which we promptly we to and made use of. Several times thanking the proprietor for his sponsorship. 

Life/Death

There

There are some nurses, actually quite a few who claim that patients always die on their shift. I seem to have quite the opposite, patients never die on my shift. If i am in the building you can count on at least 12 more hours to get your affairs in order. I seem to be the angel of life.

Barry's Bay 2013

2012- Swim-18:44, Bike-1:12:33 , Run- 37:19 Total- 2:08:34

2013- Swim-18:51 , Bike-1:11:25, Run- 37:38 Total- 2:07:51

Not an exhaustive race report just general thoughts.  Not a drastic improvement in time, in fact it is anything but, however I am pleased with my efforts. In 2012 i had a friends completing as a team and I was very motivated to beat them, which in turn caused me to push rather hard. In 2013 I just wanted a strong effort but really I was all alone there, and volunteers cheering only get me so far. I pushed but the next day rode my bike hard, and the day after that....and maybe I had a whole week of hard training to do.

It is not an easy course, the hills just don't stop but both the bike and the run are out and backs which I love. Not so much though when I realise I just can't catch as many females I need.

Again, i was amazed at the quality of athletes there, or rather the prise tags associated with all the bikes. It seems that this race attracts either a hard core triathlon crowd or the new beginner, no middle ground. 

Guelph Lake Sprint Triathlon

 

2010- Swim-18:39   Bike- 40:55  Run-23:53   T1- 1:34 T2-1:15

2012-Swim-18:30   Bike-38:28   Run-22:24   T1-1:40 T2- 1:11

 

Swim

 

I actually thought I was doing better in the open water swim department, that is until I got in the water and got going. The distance is just so far, and open water is so unlike pool swimming. As is there is a break every 25metres to push off the wall and there is no slighting involved. I had only been in open water once prior to the race and apparently that wasn't enough. Actually the real issue was no sighting.

I only breath to one side, sure all good swimmers can bilaterally breath, but I am not a good swimmer so that is my excuse. My rhythm is a breath every four and that doesn't lend itself to bilateral breathing either. So as I was saying, I breath every four- to my left only. The swim buoys were on my right. I was so focused on not stopping to freak out that I allowed the pink caps to my left to direct me, with only an occasional nod up to See straight ahead.  could hear a kayak saying to somebody 'you are going the wrong way', and of course I thought it was some other soul.

Yep there was a whole crowd of us who slighted the buoy on the opposite side of the course. Turned around so I would not be a cheater, but in the end I am sure I swam an extra 250metres and totally lost my nerve to keep going. Went into panic mode a few times, and when I finally hit ground with my feet felt very grateful. Ran up the hill, passing so many people. Surprised to see the amount of bikes left on my rack. Was sure I was one of the last pink caps to exit the water.

Bike
There is a rule with OAT that these little races are not draft legal. There is to be no hanging off other peoples wheels here.....unless apparently you are riding at Guelph lake.
There were around 900 people on the 20k course at once between the triathlon, dual, relay and swim/bike. I was riding four across at one point. It was truly like riding in a peloton. A peloton where there are people riding mtn bikes and do not shoulder check and are riding as a group but at completely different speeds. Frustrating to say the least. One should not have to apply breaks while going down a hill.
Regardless, the riding felt like it was quick and easy. Reasonably good gearing on constant effort. Played cat and mouse with a few other people. Two in my age group. The one girl I was not at all worried about because I knew I could catch her on the run, the other, the one whom after the race, whom I congratulated for having an excellent race, I knew could give me trouble.
The other funny thing about this race is I could not remember if it was allowable to take off shoes and jump off at the line. I am actually rather good at this and can do it fast so I agonized over it but in the end made an awkward dismount. Breezed into transition, even though it takes more time, I sat on the ground to tie shoes. I really do not know what people do in transition that takes sooo long.

Run
It is only five kilometers of running hard I always say to myself over and over while I am killing myself trying to pass people. Love, Love , Love out and backs so I can watch for all of the people I know. Had fun yelling to my fast bike friends to not let me catch them. People watched, dumped water on my head and ran. Honestly people say they have trouble running off the bike but I find it so easy, well at least for this distance. I was only about 30seconds off my 5kPB time so not bad. Had no idea as to placing, shortly after finishing, a friend told me I had gotten fourth in my AG- and as the metals went five deep in this race I was ecstatic. I have not gotten a placing in a while it felt. 

Fun race. Keep on thinking I would do some much better if I had a better bike. I try to remind myself it is the engine, not the car. It is not  working, however as there is a lack of $2000 for a new 'car' I will just be trying to put more work in one the engine. 

Cervelo, Trek, Aragon 18, BMC, Felt, Scott, Specialized are you interested in sponsoring a middle age grouper mother? I am awesome.

Instagramer

 

You know how everybody and their mothers are becoming photographers now? All the stay at homes are forgoing becoming pampered chef consultants to hang their shingles and develop websites that show case all their best baby pictures? Not one of those.

I have always wanted the smallest easiest camera out there. Who cares about all the setting, and why in the world would I want to lung around a huge camera bag? If it fits in my pocket and can zoom perfect!

What I do love is instagram, and other photo apps for my phone like snapfish. I can be snap happy and take lots of photos as I go, no endless setting up shot, and then later, like when I am sitting on the toilet play with the picture and it looks all to my liking.

I am still not a photographer but it makes me feel like creative type and such.

Cupcakes

Maya and Luke made cupcakes, I had nothing to do with this  tragedy. 

And there is nothing nice to be said now. 

Names

Ok, I am no missionary, however it is my understanding that when one decides to be a missionary they come calling to friends and family begging...er prayerfully asking those loved ones for donations.

Recently, a couple in the church Luke attends has been sending us mail outs assuming we are friends and family and thus  a tidy envelope in a nice marketing campaign addressed to Luke and Anne Bellamy lands in our mail box.

Here's the thing, we are not friends and family because you don't even know what my name is!!!

Although,  I must admit my own mother has been recently been telling people my last name is Bellamy, she has had a talking to.

For the record, my name is Anne McCutcheon, and will always be.

A Jeans Post

Note: This picture is several years old, and quite literally the photo of me in jeans. Generally my photo is taken while I am in spandex. And none of the photos are good. I blame Luke for this as he is the one taking my picture, and that is rarely. He must not find me attractive. He will regret this when I die a Young death.

OK this post is about blue jeans, specifically this link. I saw it on Pintrest a little while ago, and wanted to share, I am a convert. I promise i will make an attempt not to wear Gap/ Old Navy jeans again. I also promise to take a hiatus from wearing male jeans which I am rather fond of for their lack of stretch. 

Do you know how hard it is to find non mom jeans that do not have stretch. Yeah, pretty much given up.  I currently wear Silver jeans, purchased from His in Hers her in town cause it is good to shop local.

Missasuaga Marathon

Well at least I had fun for most of it.....

Had initially hoped to qualify for Boston with this race. After what happened this year in Boston, kinda have a feeling it will fill up quickly with people qualifying with faster times. Then I heard the weather forecast for the day of the race... and lets just say I wasn't in the mental game to do it.

Started out in group of STCers. Ran together, having a ton of fun, until 30ish when I thought I was going to have diarrhea in my pants, was just a feeling and after sitting in a porta potty realised this and caught up with two of my friends.... but my momentum was gone. At that point I stuck with my friends for a few more km in the tree lined sections, but once we started running on Lake shore blvd I just wasn't into it. My hip was aching. Both of my legs were throbbing from the pavement and all I wanted was an ultra aid station. I was bang on with my nutrition and hydration but my legs were staging a protest against the impact of every step vs the relentless pavement.  As my BQ time came and went I just thought, what do I have to prove- nothing. Why but put myself through this torture and took it rather easy bringing it in. In all honestly I just shuffled across the finish line, hurting.

I was hurting for about half and hour but once an Advil kicked in and the pounding had stopped, I was good. How good? I went shopping at square one for a few hours later in the day. Usually, I try to avoid movement of any type post long races.

So marathon #2 is in the bag. I realise now that perhaps a month of training will not get you a Boston time. I also wonder if there is a market for a certified marathon run on gravel roads in this part of the world.

Oh and I made the video!

Little pond, Big fish.

I think it is good to do a 5k once a year just to see how fast you can go, but otherwise whats the point. Too short, but I admit to liking a 5 k better than a 10k.
Participated in the Grey Bruce Fun Run located in Walkerton. The route was surprisingly not too bad in the way of hills. Long gentle climbs and two short inclines. Started in the front- although it would be hard not to as there were only 57 participants. A young girl in pink started out in the lead but I had a feeling she would settle into a slower pace so just watched her go. 1k in there was three boys then me, I looked behind me for the next female but didn't see anybody and that is order I finished in. Felt strong and in control the entire race. Kept on thinking somebody was going to pass me, but nobody was there and I was first female to cross the line. Won a gift certificate for a massage- excellent, and then a group of us did another 10k for a final longish training run prior to next weeks marathon.
Oh my time was 21:49, not anything spectacular but it did the job.

Birthday Run

It was my birthday recently, and my birthday is celebrated with a run equaling my age in kilometres. I do this to release endorphins so I do not fall into a clinical depression. I am unsure if it is my birthday that causes the spring depression or if it is the absolute grayness and cold windiness of April.

Anyways, I chose the bay view escarpment as my destination. My birthday fell midweek and thus was venturing out by myself and knew that if I got into trouble my mother could always come and pick me up. It was to be a mix of trail and country roads with only minimal pavement. Complete unknown about the state of the trails. Made attempts to find out the state of, but all my Intel was inconclusive. In my option if I call a tourism office they should be able to answer on the trail conditions. I am sure they are well versed in snowmobile conditions. Stupid moter sports.

So the photo shows a rather nice section of the trail, most of it was knee deep snow. The trouble with the knee deep snow wasn't so much the snow depth but the fact it obscured the trail thus I spent a considerable amount of time just standing and looking in circles for the trail. There was also the issue of what lies beneath the snow, or rather what doesn't. Snow has a nice ability to create drifts where no land lies under. Thus, when vaguely following the trail one may accidental almost sink through a drift to a open crevice. Almost.



In the beginning I made a noble attempt to keep my feet dry as my wool running socks are threadbare. Thus I was wearing regular running socks which do not do much for insulation. I made a bridge so I would not have to wade through this stream, although I was soon running though flooded fields, and in fact flooded sections of road. Pictured in very minor as compared to another section. 

This horned beast was waiting for me. I was warned that I was to give livestock a wide berth, but really. I wasn't getting any closer, cause that isn't livestock that is a trip to a trauma centre in a helicopter if I don't bleed out first. No thank you. Tress passed on another farmers flied until I saw the farmer who gave me permission to bypass the official trail in favor of his flied until such a time I didn't feel like my life was in danger. I might add, I grew up on a large scale beef cattle operation. I am very familiar with livestock, and again they are not livestock but horned beasts.

Overlooked on the trail and ran beside the tank range. Spoke to an employee who said if  wanted to run on the base all I had to do is ask. He spoke of a 48k loop that is run regularly. IN the future I definitely want to run it. Slightly conflicted as when the base was established lives were torn apart and it was instill into me that the base/ Military will do as they wish. Actually this may be a reason I am anti-establishment.

Marden Half

I really hate it when people refer to any run as a marathon. Sure I get most people are ignorant of any sport other than hockey and baseball, but people running an event that does not even contain a marathon and call it a marathon... ummm yep... no don't do that.

But I will do any race for less than $20 of which it was. The gas to get me there cost more.
As this is the year in which spring has not come yet, it snowed. Wore compression shorts and long sleeve with my tri club shirt as there were many from the club taking advantage of the rock bottom price.
Started out with a 4:50 pace and basically stayed there. Came into this race on 80k plus already in the bank this week so I knew that perhaps a PB wasn't in the cards. Ran the entire race on the gravel shoulder to save my legs  in fact. Would have been nice to go sub 1:40 but ended up with 1:43. Which isn't a personal worst, so I have that to be glad but basically i am pissed I am that slow. My personal worst is 1:45 and I know I am in better shape than when i did that. I usually run so well on tired legs actually. Maybe I just need to lose five pounds.

Realised when I got home that if I ran five more kilometres that day then my seven day total would be at 100k which would be more than I can recall doing in recent memory, in fact my distance levels have been rather embarrassing sooo I am working on actually being a athlete these days and doing some work.

Magic 8 Ball Does Hamilton

2013-2:38:42- Ran with a friend.
2012- 2:54:51- Paced a friend to sub three.
2011- 2:25:20- Raced.
2010- 2:37:04- Tried to race- crashed.
2009- 2:31:27- First timers luck.


The reason to train long in Canadian winter is this- Around the Bay 30k. Of course I didn't train. I did the opposite of train. I did alot of sitting doing nothing this winter. Seriously when my monthly mileage is around 50k- I am really doing nothing.

My prep for this race was:
-20k x1.
- A 10k leisure run in the morning. 15k collecting bottles in the afternoon. This was a week before the race.

I would like to say I have been cross training, but I do not think Yoga once a week cuts it.

My plan for this race which was formulated on the start line way back in the open coral. I bought a bib of a friend who trained even less than me. I decided to run the first 15k with my faster friends kinda. We ran together in the general vicinity of each other but I had music on and was doing my dance and sing along party of one.
At 15k I waited with a friend doing the relay and watched for a friend who I told had to go sub 2:45. I was looking forward to a leisurely wait and break. Nope, she came along quickly and I jumped back in and spent the next 15k trying to keep up with her. She had trained.
Had fun in my costume- I was a magic 8 ball with the words definitely yes on my back.  I kept saying to people they didn't want to get behind the ball.
I am definitely an abnormality as I take in so few calories. Just two gels. but I honestly didn't feel as if I needed anything else. I only actually thought to take them as I saw wrappers on the ground.
I used to say never again, but now ATB has become kinda a habit, and I think I could have far worse habits, although I really have got to work on the training thing, espicilly since I am doing 42.195 in six weeks. It would be nice to Boston it. Yep really got to start working on the training thing.... soon.

What I am teaching my daughter

Maya and I were having a discussion about what type of a man to marry the other day. Good qualities and bad. We talked about men she knew and why they would make a good or bad husband, and we talked about Luke and why he would make a good husband. All except one point, he can't cook. Obviously as seen in the picture food is up most importance to Maya.