Tireless....

...that is what all the volunteer's at the triathlon are!

Unbelievable!!

The support, humour, organisational skills, caring and thoughtfulness was incredible, they are....tireless.....

Thank YOU!!

So, without further ado, here is a mini tri report....

Yup, I'm in there somewhere!

Nope, that's not me!!

Neither is this!!!

This is definitely NOT me.....

That's it for now!! I had an absolute blast, but I'm off to a Woooo Hoooo Birthday party....

Shhhhh, it's a surprise!!

More later!

Life's fun if you don't weaken,

Lily

A common topic amongst us...

We seem to all be fascinated with bodily functions!

Mostly because we are up at ungodly hours to get to our events, we are use to our "certain routine's", we eat a plethora of healthy bowel stirring foods, and we are "athlete's"...who are out on the road for hours on end.

I came across this article from the new Canadian Running magazine, which I thought would appropriately fit into my upcoming weekend....having the "jitters" per say.

So, happy reading, have a great weekend everyone!

Best wishes to all of you running, racing, tri-ing and cycling....

Oh, a special shout out to Xenia, who is running her very first Half on Sunday in New Hampshire....YOU GO GIRL!

also,

a very special thanks to Wes, Vickie, JT and to all the rest of you who have been so wonderfully supportive while I get ready for my first Tri....

Have a great weekend everyone,

Life's fun if you don't weaken,

Lily

Mountain out of a mole hill

Not too sure why I'm stressing over Saturday's Try-a-Tri, you'd think from my sleepless nights I was attempting my first Iron Man.

Sweaty palms and all, I've already packed my "after the event" bag and have started laying out my little bitty transition bag. The bike rack is on the car just waiting for Ruby Red Rose.

I don't even have bike shoes, so I'll be using my Saucony's and riding pigeon toed so that the heel base doesn't bump the bike frame. Or if allowed, I'll bike in my Mephisto's. Not too sure how kosher that is.

I mean holy crap, when I was a flight attendant and was heading off for a 10-day round robin, I packed the morning of the flight, it probably took me 10 minutes. Nope, not this, I'm packing and unpacking as though I'm heading off for a stint in SingSing.

My friend Vickie offered sage advice about the swim part of the event.

"Just be sure to relax, especially on the swim. It will be easier if you aren't panicked before you start. And if you do panic some, just tread water until you get your breathing under control. Or hang on to something if available. It should be a fast workout!"

Yup, that gives me a ton of confidence. Just kidding Vickie, I do appreciate it, really.

It's the bike that is absolutely freaking me out. My major concern is impeding someone who really is in the game, not someone who is just trying.

After last weekends practice tri and 16K run on Sunday, my legs are still trying to recover, its never taken me this long to recover from any event. Even the marathon.

Today is Thursday and I'm still super tired. Mind you it has been NUTS at work and the overtime is piling up. After a stressful day, my workouts have been going by the wayside. No biking, no swimming done this week and tonight is suppose to be an 8K run in town.

Would I like a little cheese with all this whine....??

Yesterday we received another email from the race director, more changes yet again. Even though my run distance is only 3K, this new newsletter advised that there will be no route markers for any run under 8K. Okay, am I to guess when I get to turn around to head back to the finish? If it was left up to me, I'd leave the stadium, stop and turn back in to the finish line. JUST KIDDING!

So I go over to my trusted Triguyjt blogsite for some more much needed Tri information and he has a link to Rainmaker who has just completed the Iron Man Canada. Holy yikes, what the hell am I worrying about? If Rainmaker can complete an Iron Man with bee stings, aggressive swim chicks, rain, wind and mountains....this little Lion Heart will zoom through her Try-a-Tri without a hitch!

Two more sleeps, my very Canadian expression Nitmos, two more sleeps....

Tomorrow we pick up our race kits, I'll be studying every single inch of the course and Saturday morning the alarm will be going off at 3:30am.....

Life's fun if you don't weaken,

Lily

Wordless Wednesday

Exhausted, Exhilarated, Ecstatic

Saturday's alarm clock went off at the usual 5:30 a.m., I was up and raring to go for my try "Try-a-Tri".

Bags were packed, cooler was loaded, bike was racked and off I went.

My Half Iron friend Anne had graciously donated and dedicated her day to get me "Tri ready", even if it meant that she gave up her 80K bike distance to plunk around with out of shape me.

Of course, we started with "the swim",

Try-a-Tri distances are:

200 metre swim,

15K bike

3K run(they've just switched if from a 5K)


(*here we are just Goofing around*)

We hit the water and swam 300 metres.....front crawl, OMG.....I did it, then, up a huge hill from the Madawaski River to our "transition area".....hahahaha, note to self, this in NOT what the real transition area will be like...I think I'll need to bring my lounger chair!

(*yes, that is my Ruby Red, Second Hand Rose, who will be affectionately known as RRR*).

Glam shot before 34K

After the 34K bike, we headed back to "transition" and got ready for the run...I'm sure if I could ever stop laughing, I'd not be half bad! (that's a joke folks).

Run completed, back to the river for a swim!!

*coming to ketcha*

Today, Sunday, was our 18k LSD, however, this Chickie was a little tired and I have to admit, with the heat close to high noon, I did feel a little woozy when we got to 16K. That was enough for me, since I have over 45 minutes to drive home. Sixteen out of eighteen kilometres was good enough....

This weeks agenda, Monday and Wednesday swim, Thursday run.

I would just like to say a GREAT BIG THANK YOU to all of you for your comments in my last post! Thank YOU so very, very much!! You have no idea how much your support and kind words mean to me, all of YOU, thank you.

I'll close with a comment that actually made me cry (I know, I'm such a wimp).

"yes..there might be tan lines...yes, the feet might be white, but inside the shirt that smells of sweat and probably smells like bike grease beats the heart of the lion...", Thank you John.

Saturday the TRI! Woooo Hoooo!

Life's fun if you don't weaken,

Lily

Starting to get excited here!

Yesterday, while I was dropping off my FedEx packages, there was a young woman standing waiting at the bank of elevators in the office where the drop off box is. She was in office attire, a very nice form fitting shift dress with matching high heels and sporting a current coif.

As I blew past her, because I'm always in a hurry lately. I'm looking at her thinking, I remember when I dressed like that. Now a days I'm in my Mephisto sandals, because I just can't imagine wearing heels anymore....a pair of capri pants or some sort of elasticised waistband skirt and I've got my hair in some sort of disarray. Have I turned into some sort of slob, or just going for the comfort factor?

Is this what happens as you get older? Is this what happens when you have more Saucony, New Balance and Zoot in your wardrobe than Halston, Tristan & America, Jacob? Have I replaced Jimmy Choo with Saucony? Do I wear my hair longer so it'll fit into a Stay Put elastic and running hat more easily?

My tan lines are something too, (not that I saw young things tan lines), mostly my legs are tanned below my running shorts hemline and above my sock line, so, very attractive (or not) white feet stick out of my sandals. What have I become? Some sort of running freak, have I totally lost all my hormones and don't care what I look like?? Well now throw in biking and swimming (I'm learning just how crazy you tri guys and gals are), I smell of chlorine and bike chain grease, I'M LOVING IT!

So, back to young thing in the dress, she was coming in from having a smoke, gah, I'd sooner smell of body glide and sweat rather than cigarette smoke. I don't know about you fellows when you see an attractive young thing who is smoking, but for me, when I'm out and I see a very attractive man, I think to myself hmmmm, maybe, wink, wink, but as soon as he lights up a smoke, game over.

This morning I'm re-reading the course for the 2008 Canadian Iron Triathlon, Duathlon, & Run - September 30 and I'm getting pretty excited. Who knew at my age I'd be trying a Tri.

I was thinking about all the excuses, couch sitting, cocktail swilling, making myself "old" past life, then "waking up" after a major health scare and surgery to realise, you've only got one kick at this life....shit or get off the pot. Well, LUCKY ME, I choose to be healthy and happy!!!

September 30, here I come! I've been biking, swimming and running. This week has been crazy with aforementioned tasks and this weekend I am practicing my transitions with my Half Iron friend Anne. I can hardly wait.

Thanks to all of you who read my little musings, because believe it or not, you DO contribute so much to my life and to my enthusiasm for continuing this journey of being fit and active at an older age!!

Life's fun if you don't weaken,

Lily

Wordless Wednesday

Bikes, Babes, Bling ~ Wicked

Holy YIKES, what a wicked weekend.

Two and half hours at Sante's early Friday evening, sampling wonderful Asian fusion cuisine and sipping on Lillypilly, 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, Wicked!

I met up with some great friends and we of course laughed and talked, sampled and sipped our way through dinner until we realised we were almost going to be late for the curtain call of Wicked. We literally ran from the restaurant, (yes, we paid the bill, no dine and dash for these gals) to the NAC for the show.

Wicked was AMAZING!!! Many of you have already had the pleasure of seeing this fabulous play by Gregory Maguire with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, but if you haven't than by all means, when it comes to your city or town, GO! Fly, drive, crawl if you must, sell your first born child, make a deal with the devil, it is that spectacular!!

I'll say no more, I don't want to spoil it for those who have not yet seen it.......JUST GO!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now for the main event:

The Wooo Hooo Du

OMG, what a riot, I honestly can't begin to put this whole day into words!

David, we did manage to stay out of jail and the E.R.!!

So I'll try to say it with pictures...

setting up the bike corral....well, imagine what it is like when women park their cars at a a shopping mall when a sale is on!!

After the mandatory libation, we made it to the start line!

We're off!

10K to go!!

The speedy speedster's lost me on the bike route!

It's all about the BLING

GOLD MEDAL FINISHERS!

A little RnR at the beach

(that would be rest & relaxation)

We had a fantastic time!

I was hoping that the other Wooo Hooo's would have sent me their photo's today, but unfortunately they haven't.

Needless to say there was WAY too much food, way too much fun and way too many pictures, as always.

We were all still wearing our Bling Medals when we were loading up the bikes at 10:00pm. It really was a full day as Jen and I had run the 12K in town first thing in the morning!!

Next year it will be held on a Saturday, so there will be a sleep over P.J. party!!

We missed you Fat Albert!

Blue, please let him know!

Life's fun if you don't weaken,

Lily

Tonight ~ Wicked!

*will catch up with you all next week, this week has been wickedly busy*

**Full Wooo Hooo Du report on Monday**

Have a great weekend everyone. Good Luck to all of you who are running, cycling, tri-ing and *doing* something....

Life's fun if you don't weaken,

Lily

Wordless Wednesday

8 on the 10th

After much deliberating with the oh so wise monk, the garmin issue was explained, recharged and stripped of its information, ahhhh grasshopper!

The run was uplifting, exhilarating and more fun than one could expect. Runner's were excited that it wasn't raining and very excited that it wasn't 90 degrees Fahrenheit with 91% humidity.

The "ultra" run took us along Cat Tail Trail, (again) then we headed back towards civilization where we had a quick pit stop, adjusted ourselves and headed back out to the Trans Canada Trail, hey, wait a minute, aren't we suppose to be in Beijing??

Past Lily ponds and junks, (well, junky cars), we were chatting and laughing and discussing everything Olympic. Women's volleyball, men's basketball, on and on.....

But, alas, all good things must come to an end...our 8 miles or 12K run in 1:20 minutes was done, but we continued on to finish up our required 16K.

Upon completion of our run we stretched, discussed the benefits of Epsom salt baths, upcoming races, and then had our much needed rest....

Thanks Nancy for your wonderful race, thanks for all the fun and thanks for looking after all of us.

Life's fun if you don't weaken,

Lily

*no Jess, I didn't fudge the numbers, but it sure would have been easier, LMAO*

**pictures from travel china**

8 on the 8th, errr, No....

8 on the 9th, well, um, no....

8 on the 10th, well sort of...

Sunday the 10th, today, was my LSD run in town with the group. We were scheduled to run 16K today and I promised myself to keep checking my garmin for when I hit 12k.....MEMORIZE the time and write up a report for Nancy.

Well 12K came and went and when I did remember to check my garmin, it was off, the battery had gone kaput!

So, I am now waiting for the garmin to recharge so I can scrounge some sort of information off of it for the results.




I'm so sorry Nancy for my lackluster Olympic spirit....dang, I was going to get all dressed up and put together a really fun report....

My results are now in the hands, or tiny brain of the time keeper (garmin), who is, so to speak, recharging his batteries.....

brb

Lily

All sorts of news!

Thursday's run just didn't happen...yup, that's what you think it is....

hail, almost snow and the most fantastic thunderstorm I've ever seen and heard...

Saturday's swim didn't happen, the life guard didn't show up at 7:15 am., YUP, I was there at 7 am, no swim...


So far, this try-a-tri is being a little jinxed...



HOWEVER,

Welcome Second Hand Rose to my life!

Yup, she's all mine and she is in getting her manicure, pedicure and bouffant! *picture may appear a little different than the actual bike*

Oh, and I got a bike carrier for the car!

Yikes!

can you spell,

Ka

Ch

ingggggggg!!

The fellow that tuned up my Iron Horse gave me the lead on her and while we were having yet again another torrential rain and thunderstorm, I was ogling 'Rose' on the back of an SUV, while negotiating her price and availability.

Nothing better to get the price down than standing in the pouring rain querying tires, gears and oh, do I need to get new pedals???....lets just say it is not for the feint of heart.....

So, look out Fat Albert, I'm coming to "ketcha"

Hugs and Kisses, Lily!!

It is just the beginning Blue!

Life's fun if you don't weaken

Lily

*p.s., the Iron Horse is still active and going strong, and will not be sold nor retired any time soon, he has a long and useful life ahead of him still*

23 Days and counting....

... till August 30, 2008.

You may have noticed that the Canadian Iron Distance Triathlon and Duathlon is back on my Target Races.

Yup, I'm signed up, paid the bucks, will be getting the T-shirt!!

This is certainly the year to "Try" things, my first 30K race, my first Marathon and now my first Try-a-Tri.

My 88 year old father says "Tri is the beginning of Triumph"...

Now the pressure is on!!!

Yesterday after working late at the office, I ripped home, tried to load up the Iron Horse into the trunk of my car...gah, the chain comes off of the gear, well, not to worry, the fellow who is going to tune my baby up will deal with it!

Off I go to meet the fellow who is going to work on the bike, off to where they will tune my "hot wheels" up and end up in a construction holdup. Folks, I live in "Rural Phoodunk to NO where", I don't live in town! How do you have a road crew hold everyone up in both direction for almost 20 minutes in the middle of nowhere?

Finally I get to the shop and now have to fight to get my tank (ooops bike) out of the trunk...this is a heavy old bike I'm talking about! Done, run into the shop (good practice) and he has left for the day! Gone, didn't think I was coming so he left. That's okay as I do a little deep breathing exercise, this will get me ready for my swim.

Oh, did I mention swimming practices? Yup, Monday and Wednesday afternoon and Saturday mornings.

Off I go to the pool, swimming starts at 5:30 p.m., it is now 6 p.m.

Being new to this swim club I am already giving them a negative impression and that maybe I'm just not too serious about this adventure. I can't find a parking spot because Ice Hockey has started and every mother and her son is unloading their cars full of hockey equipment.

Finally a parking spot, I sprint (again, good practice) to the pool, run inside and check out the pool, Yup they've all been "in their lanes and in their zone" for over a half hour and I get "the look".

Quiet resistance for the new LATE person.

Okay, this is where my shyness kicks in.....

I decide to forgo the swim, not interrupt any one's Zen swim.

I sit from the side and watch....what am I doing?? I'm a grown woman and I'm too embarrassed to get in a swim.

Duh, how we revert to our childhood...and so easily.

Saturday will be different, I'll go and cannonball my way into the group, they are going to LOVE me.

After my swim on Saturday , I'll go pick up my Iron Horse and ride into the wind. Giddy UP!

Tonight is a Tempo run in town.

Swim, Bike, Swim, Run, Bike, Swim, Run....that's what I'll be up to for the next 23 Days!!!

Life's fun if you don't weaken,

Lily

*photo's from Flickr*

Wordless Wednesday

Tri training, losing weight & gaining strength

Holiday Monday!

The sun is shining, the birds are busy at the feeders and I'm deciding what to do with my day off.

Well, to start off, I'm going to get rid of some of the excess weight that found its way to me during the marathon training which was two months ago.....its been a long enough time for me to hauling this around so I'm signed up and ready to go with Quadrathon's weight loss challenge!

I've even gained weight from when I signed in with Quadrathon!! This is an issue!


Yup, I had lost a little bit with Viv's challenge, but now that I'm seriously (yes I said seriously), starting to get ready for the Try-a-Tri and have to put on a bathing suit....well, let's just say its not a pretty sight and in fact I'm rather chubby!

Middle age spread at its finest!!

The weekend has been GREAT!!

Saturday was spent all day with a friend of mine who is a Half Iron Triathlete, needless to say she got me pumped!

We watched the video's from Lake Placid Iron Man 2007 and 2008! Oh my gawd, it is amazing! I am signing up and will be volunteering for next year!!!

Bet You thought I was going to say "signing up for the Mdot!" Nope, it's already sold out!

Between the rain and thunderstorms we got in a lot of swimming.

I hadn't swam like that in 30 years. It felt great to get my rhythm and relax, I even sort of remembered how to breath both sides. (I use to compete freestyle when I was a lot younger). It was amazing!!!

We swam over to the island and back several times....with the next three weeks to practice, I'm confident I won't have a problem with the Try-a-tri swim....now the bike will be a different story!

I'm totally psyched out about the bike!

You are all very kind to tell me it doesn't matter what I ride to "try", but in all honesty, I'm a competitive snob....if you don't have the "proper" equipment don't do it attitude....

I know, juvenile right?

DEAR SANTA!

Sunday was our group run, 16K. This weeks run was really great, everyone was very chatty and running with ease. A few of the group had been to the National Capital's Tri & Du on Saturday and were so full of enthusiasm about their bike and run! It was amazing to hear the stories and of course adding fuel to my fire for the following weeks to come.

Today will be spent tidying up and then either biking 70K, well 35K to downtown and have lunch with a few of the Wooo Hooo's, look around at the Buskerfest and then back.

Or we go biking here at home and getting in another swim.**

The sun is SHINING! How weird is that???

So, I'm not going to waste another moment....hope you all have a great day!

Catch up with you later ~ gator!!!!

Life's fun if you don't weaken,
Lily

**the Wooo Hooo's are coming to my place for a bike and swim, I love summer!*

Virtual Olympic Race 08 - 08 - 08

Virtual Race Directions

• Run 8 miles sometime around the 8th. Non Runner Nancy our illustrious race director is easy with the time frame, any time between now and the 10th is fine.

Nancy also said, "I'm also easy in the event that you need to do two-4 milers. Just join us!! "

• Post a race report on your blog.
  
• Extra points for Olympic-type flair (but absolutely no pressure to do so!) - Nancy brought back some official Olympic stuff from Beijing for prizes!!
  
• Notify Nancy when your race report is up
  

Check back here for to document your full race report, Nancy always puts on a really fun run!

Strap on your kicks and make an Olympic effort to get out and run 8 miles on the 8th in celebration for our Canadian and American athletes!!!

Life's fun if you don't weaken!!!

Lily