Friday, January 30, 2009

Back in the Heyday

A lot has happened in the couple of weeks since my last post-- which is why I haven't posted in a while. That, and I'm not supposed to use my company laptop for anything personal, even in non-work hours. (They monitor it and even block sites-- I could get around it, but don't want to risk it.)

This week, we've done a lot of training since Sunday:
  • 2 hours in the pool on Sunday;
  • 1.5 hours swimming on Tuesday;
  • 1 hour bike and half hour run on Wednesday; and
  • 1 hour bike then 1.5 hours swim on Thursday.
Today (Friday) is an off day. Planning a longer run on Saturday, possibly a short run on Sunday if I canfit it into the travel schedule. I'm in Dayton, OH all next week so I'll be logging a few miles on the road with my most portable equipment: my running shoes.
--
A few weeks ago, we went for dinner with some friends, some of whom are on the ball hockey team, but none of them "do triathlon". We were talking about the team, and I was saying how much I suck, and was happy to get my first shot on goal a the end of the second game. The rest of the conversation went something like this (well, actually, this is an almost unfair retelling, but the gist of it was pretty close. And this version is more entertaining.):

"It doesn't matter how good you are, as long as you're out there running hard. At least you're in pretty good shape." (one of the guys on the team)
"Oh, I don't know... I don't think I'm in very good shape at all!"
"Oh my god, you were in SUCH great shape last summer when you did your marathon!" (one of the ladies)
"It was a triathlon."
"Well, I could never do that. It was SO amazing! We watched you, and you were really fast. You must have been in really good shape."
"I still don't think I was in fantastic shape, even then. Let me give you some perspective. In High School, I played basketball or had practice every day. Before that, at one point I was on three basketball teams. I played a lot of different sports- I was about 50-60 pounds lighter, and had way more endurance. First two years of University, I was snowboarding every day-- and walking up and down the hill. Compared to any of that, I'm not in very good shape."
"Oh."

When I say "a lot of different sports", that includes: basketball, fastball, snowboarding, hiking, skiing (cross-country and downhill), waterskiing, badminton, volleyball, soccer, climbing, football, mountain biking, and ultimate frisbee. It's much easier to do all that when you're in school, have summer vacation, or even when you're working at what is considered Not A Real Job (as in "when are you going to get a Real Job?).

And that's why I love triathlon. I can get three sports out of it, training with the same group. Now if only I can keep doing it consistently for more than 6 months...



"Whatever

Friday, January 16, 2009

Not Exactly Easing Into It...

Wow, I can't believe how exhausted I am. I'm actually glad I was late for the bike spin last night; traffic was brutal on every route, so we were half an hour late for the 5:30-6:30 class. But then came the swim workout. I've done a little spinning, and some running since Chaparral, but that was the last time I've been in the water. August.

Don't know what my distances were, but it sure was hard to get out of bed today! Thankfully, not too sore, but I'm sure that will come tomorrow.

Day off today, then going running on Saturday, because the mercury is supposed to be in the positive for the 3rd or 4th consecutive day-- in January! Knowing that a Chinook could roll in at any time is what makes the sometimes brutal cold in Calgary bearable.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

The Hiatus is Officially Over

It pretty much ended almost two weeks ago at the first ball-hockey game. Yes, that's right, the guy who has never played organized hockey is on a ball hockey team. (And as of this post, we're 2-0!) More on that in another post.

After being out of work for the entire fall, my program and routine fell to pieces. So did Nicole's. So we decided we needed some structure, and that UCTC would be the best way to get it with our budget. It's a bit of a commute in the evenings, but it's what fit both our schedules. (I could have done the Shawnessy Y program again, but it didn't fit Nicole's schedule, and we would have never seen each other.)

Last night was the first training session with the Tri Club, and it felt great (1 hour spin, 30 minutes running) but it was tough.

Last week when I was out of town for work, I brought my running shoes (and all the cold-weather running gear I could find, including my new Adidas tights). I ran in the freezing rain for 20 minutes one day, and in a bitterly cold wind for 30 minutes another. Not bad, and probably the only reason I didn't die during ball hockey monday or training last night.

Definitely feeling much better-- partly because the new job is starting to make sense, but mostly because I'm finally back into a routine of excersize!