May: A "Challenging" Month

I pulled off a personal best 5K at lunch today ... running ... and am now sitting here wondering where the heck that came from. It's my first run in my second week on Nike Women's Half Marathon program, which I started with no particular half marathon in mind, but for which I will be ready sometime in July. So that's challenge one: maintaining a regular running schedule because, turns out, I enjoy it.

So every day I'm up running around at the crack of dawn, and as luck would have it, the new neighbourhood features rec trails almost as close to home as the Humber trails were to the old apartment. Meanwhile, while running I can't help but notice all the bits of mountain bike trail I recognize, which means in theory, every time I ride my mtb home from work, I could add in a Don Loop + Taylor Creek and probably accomplish 50% of the ride off-road. Wow! More investigation required, possibly tonight.

Challenge two: push ups. I'm helping out with a girls' soccer team -- the Wildcats! -- and they are the stars of my Saturday mornings. At 12-13 years old, they are just a great group of young ladies and I'm glad to be "part of the team" for the next six weeks. To keep them in touch with their training between Saturdays, I've issued the "Push Up Challenge" and today, we're up to 19! We started at one, and we add one every day. On our last session, we'll reach our goal of 50. I like to lead by example, so I'm determined to share the glory with my young champions.

For the next seven weeks I'm also "Living My Moksha" through the local hot yoga studio and their healthy challenge. Every week we focus on one of the "seven pillars" -- this week is "Be Healthy", so the challenge is to practice yoga every day, and also to cut out processed foods from our diets and our cupboards. So far so good (she said, on day two.)

And my spin class has embraced the famous cycling workout, 30/30s, aiming to complete an entire class's worth of the agonizing intervals. That challenge is nearing its conclusion, with the big day coming on Monday, so wish them luck, or better yet, join us! It will be my first class teaching at RPM's brand new location! Double exciting!!

That leaves only one more challenge, but since it's still under consideration, I'll just go ahead and leave you hanging.  Stay tuned!

Happy New Year!

I began the big job of planning my winter calendar yesterday and 24 hours later, pieces continue to fall into place.

Big change this winter over last is that now when I go to spinning, I face the other direction! Being an instructor has really been a huge benefit so far, and I look forward to helping even more clients at RPM this winter by adding Thursday mornings (6am) as well as part-time instructing through the usual 12-week Base Camp I've been a student of the past five years. A graduation of sorts! Add all that to my regular Monday evening (6:15pm) class and there's plenty of opportunity for me to see you there, I hope!

2012 is also the first year I will be forgoing my gym membership which is fantastic. Instead, Grahame -- a colleague and fellow cyclist -- and I have discovered a mysterious "Room of Requirement" deep in the bowels of our office. It's fully stocked with free-weights, mats and the like and so 2012 will also be the year of the training partner!

Grahame and I are also 4 days into #teampushup ... on January 1, we did five pushups and have been adding one every day since. Last time I challenged myself like this I made it all the way to 60 ... who knows how far we'll get this time?! Join in if you want! Today we did eight.

Speaking of training partners, Nathania and I continue our thrice weekly early-morning runs ... although with the impending arrival of "Bean" we have taken to power-walking to keep the mom-to-be in action, safely. For the second half, she usually insists I do something difficult like climb a hill 9 nine times as we did this morning while she does the same at her own pace. Bean arrives only three short months from now!

For 2012, I am also hoping to add more yoga to the routine -- potentially even taking on Moksha's famous 30-Day Challenge. We'll see how it all fits in.

Supported by plenty of help from my trusted helpers -- Henry the Chiropractor and David the RMT -- I suspect 2012 will be one of my best winters yet.

Which brings me to the most important part of any training program: Goals. While I prefer to keep my specific training goals to myself (mainly because I haven't really thought about them yet, tsk tsk), here are my top five 'philosophical' goals:

1. Travel with the bike more

As much as I hate packing up the pieces and paying the extra cost of flying avec bike box, the amazing adventures I've had on distant soil have steeled me to make such travel a more frequent priority.

One trip is already on the books: Dad and I will be tackling the French Alps this August with Trek Travel so getting into good climbing form this winter will be really important to me.

With Gerhard in California, I hope to also take advantage of some SoCal riding when I do my winter visit.

And of course, widening the scope race-wise would also be cool. For example, I just got back from Mount Washington for some holiday skiing and was excited to learn that the BC Cup Mtb Champs will be held there this summer. Options!

2. Switch it up

2012 could be the year of the marathon. Or at least the half-marathon. And I mean on my FEET. I am allowing myself to succumb to peer pressure and will hopefully be adding the Goodlife Half Marathon to my schedule, May 6. Anyone else?

3. Stay on top of strength training

Skipping the weight room a few too many times last season made for a noticeable lack of power come race day. I think it is also partly to blame for frequent trips to see afore-mentioned Henry the Chiropractor. Room for improvement in this area, as always.

4. Keep it real

I do this because it's fun. I do this because I like it. I do this because it makes me feel good. Time to turn down the intensity a notch because I was definitely close to making my healthy hobby a stressful chore in 2011. In fact, I'd argue I was successful in that. So this season, worrying over results or missed workouts won't be on the agenda. As Matt P often reminds me: everything in moderation! Balance! And we'll get there either way and it's up to us if we want to stress the whole time or just relax knowing it will all work out. (I'm paraphrasing ... )

5. Socialize

Did I mention riding bikes is fun? In 2011 I found out it's even more fun when it's social. So this season (as you can already tell from my training plans) I am making it an official goal to get out more with the amazing people in our little mtb/cycling community.

Hope to see you on the trail -- skiing, running, or riding.

Happy New Year!

Mother's Day Weekend

This weekend started off with a surprise trip to Charleston Lake. Couldn't have worked out better. My mom texted me around noon on her way East via Toronto wondering if I'd like to join her. Already, I'd been mulling over the idea of going home for Mother's Day weekend, but was a little daunted by traveling alone.

So this was perfect! After work, we packed up my bike and drove out to Charleston, joining my aunt and uncle, and of course my grandpa who lives in the area was around as well. Always great to get a chance to visit with family!

Saturday, after an amazing sleep in the quietest, darkest place to catch some z's in Ontario (seriously -- the sleeping there is worth the three hour drive, every time), I woke up and got myself organized for a quick little skills ride to check out the riding in the back of the house my mom grew up in.

The woods and fields back there were sporting a spring carpeting of trilliums. There are some great farm roads and lots of rocky features to practice riding up and down. Very enjoyable appetizer before heading back to the house for lunch.

After lunch, I headed back out again, planning on just spending some time on miles and endurance. Since I had the mountainbike for a whip, that meant I could be free to explore some roads I travel less often (in Leeds/Grenville, sometimes the pavement stops abruptly and turns into gravel, so a road bike is best used on trusted routes only).

The second installment of the day's training turned into an unexpected epic ride*.

*rides are billed "epic" if they include one or more of the following features: long hours/miles, water crossings, 2+ hours climbing, muddy conditions, above-average danger, long hike-a-bike sections, questionable directions. Feel free to add criteria in the comments

I meandered around, letting my iphone maps app guide the way. However, I can't believe what passes for a "road" on that thing. Before long, I found myself leaving the pavement, riding some gravel, and then that too gave way to what can only be described as double track.

Also, here's a law of nature I discovered the hard way: if there is a puddle covering the 'road' of questionable depth and integrity, then FOR SURE, the sides of it will be lined with hawthornes. Luckily, this was only a problem for a few "crossings" because it didn't take long for me to lose my balance and fall in, thus negating the need for caution on future water traps.

And so I continued. The ride also included snarling packs of dogs keen on taking a bite out of my ankles (two packs of four, actually) and I'm fairly certain that at some point around hour 2, the black flies hatched, making stopping impossible.

Even with all the unexpected obstacles/hazards, it was a great day on the bike. I got home safely and treated both bike and rider to a good hose down, and then for a recovery drink, white wine spritzer with some of my favourite ladies: my mom and my aunt.

Needless to say, I slept well that night, no thanks to the Canucks however.

The next morning, we all had breakfast together again and packed up our things to head into Gananoque for a Mother's Day lunch with Grampa. I had some training I still wanted to do, but with my bike shoes still wet from the day before, it was a great excuse to head out for a run. Absolutely perfect weather for it too.

So I headed out ahead of my mom, and she picked me up in Lansdowne after a personal best on my ten k time. I think I have her to thank for that actually, because about half way through, she pulled up and said I'd better run faster or we'd be late for lunch. And when you're dealing with Hortons, you don't want to be late for lunch!!

We picked up my grampa, and then dined at the Champagne Bay Grill which was super yummy and a spot I'm sure we'll go back to in the future.

Perfect weekend! Thanks mom, and Happy Mother's Day! Glad I got to spend it with you.

Royal Heat Wave!

When it's this hot I'm more inclined to just rely on existing fitness rather than go out and try to collect more. However, Gerhard and I still managed to sweat out a great preride at Buckwallow on Sunday evening. Man, it's going to be a hot one there. We rode in the evening in an attempt to wait out the traffic, and it was still brutal. Course is super fun though, and I'm looking forwad to a decent race on Sunday. Although touring around my usual blog reading list, it seems like the usual suspects are more often than not opting out! Hope there's a good turnout. If not, oh well, less of you to clog up the 400 on the way home I guess ;)

The weekend was a great trip ... guess I'll get around to posting about it now. We decided to hit up Hardwood (instead of battling the traffic all the way to Buck) on Thursday and enjoyed an awesome Canada Day Ride on favourites like "Serious" and "Radical". Gerhard and I think we need to get some friends up there for a day of fun riding (Nancy, Jules, Birke ... we're looking at you).

A quick beer in the parking lot and then it was off to Bruce County. We arrived in time for a BBQ at my sister's before heading down to the fireworks at the flagpole in Southampton. The rest of the weekend was a wonderful rainbow of outdoor eating, beers, bonfires and "testical toss" (otherwise known as "horse nuts", "scroats and ropes" or just "ladder ball").

Thought I would do more riding than I did, but changed it up instead with a smaller-than-planned hike up at the National Park on the Bruce Penninsula. It was full, so we had to wait our turn before finally opting for a lesser known trail-head further down the Bruce Trail. Not the Grotto, but still fun (and still full). Something rubs me the wrong way about waiting in line for nature, but we had a great day nonetheless. Although I think the boys were all K'd* out by the end.

Ever since getting back to Toronto it's been tough to find the will to train ... maybe that will change tonight ... maybe not. It feels like interval work just to walk between Whitney Block and Main Building so maybe I'll just call it done.

Hope everyone's staying cool!

PS - I saw the Queen today!!

*K'd out: refers to the fatigue incurred after spending the day with me and Kim in top gear.

Winter Training with World Cup DH-ers

Trek tweeted this little video about their DH-er Tracy Moseley ... interesting. Cross training on a dirt bike?! I'm in the wrong discipline. ;) PS - the soundtrack is an awesome song on high rotation on my ipod. So I'm also tagging this post a RACE TRACK. ("Home is where the heart is" by The Sounds)

And ... for a lighter look at the off-season, check out a day-in-the-life with World Champion, Steve Peat.

Keep your pants on!

Last night, before setting out on a glorious afternoon ride in the spring sun, I posted a quick status update on Bookface: "Riding! In knee warmers!". I'd meant it to be an hallelujah chorus that the temperatures had risen enough to forgo tights, but a friend quickly lambasted me for being overdressed, citing his own hard-man style commute in the winter in "-15" wearing "only jeans".

A debate was sparked, and this blog post is my official rebuttal.

My rule of thumb (er ... knee?) is knees and the big quad muscles that are doing all the work must be kept covered until it is at least +15 degrees celsius (about 60F). I usually follow the same rule for arm warmers.

Why? Because an amazing, well-respected coach once told me that was what to do.

And there are tons of reasons you should consider doing the same. Especially this time of year when it's so tempting to jump into shorts and jersey riding after a winter on the trainer. For your own good, don't rush mother nature.

1.) Keeping your knees covered will reduce your chance of developing a knee injury. And the kicker is you might not even feel it right away, so you think "oh, I'm good to go!" But really you risk slowly adding unnecessary wear and tear to your joints. I for one don't want to wake up with arthritis when I'm 50. Besides, everyone knows keeping your muscles warm will help to prevent strains and pulled muscles, as well as torn ligaments.

2.) If your rides are longer, even if you start out and it's ten degrees and sunny, after about 2 or 3 hours, your extremeties are the first to cool down as your body prioritizes your survival organs -- heart, lungs, brain etc -- for the fresh, warm blood. Best to have versatile layers like knee and arm warmers on hand so you can start and finish with them on, and maybe get some tanning time in the middle by shoving them in your jersey pocket. That way, you won't have to cut your ride short for being cold!

3.) Tendonitis: By definition, tendonitis means that your tendons are inflamed. The tendons around your knees and at your Achilles tendon are especially vulnerable when cycling in cool weather because there is not much blood in these areas to keep them warm and injury free. Tendonitis can be quite serious if not taken care of and could possibly lead to a career ending injury. Some riders are more prone to this than others but you don't want to find out the hard way so it is best to take precautions to prevent the problem from developing in the first place. Many riders with tendonitis can often trace it back to one particular day of cool weather riding without proper protection.

4.) Finally, circulation. I'm no expert, I just have what I've experienced and what I've been coached. But basically, the engine room is in your torso, and your legs are the pistons. Your engine -- heart and lungs -- are busy pumping blood into your legs, brain, and hands to keep up with the lactic acid exchange that happens in a hard workout. The last thing you need is for your engine room to be pulling double duty to keep your extremeties warm. You'll see your heart rate drop, and your "zone" work will become totally artificial. To get the most out of your workouts, you should help it along in this department, until the temperature rises above that magic 15 degrees C.

And so with that, happy trails, and wear your knee warmers!

So ... How was the Bike Show?

Where did this weather come from? Traditionally, the Bike Show weekend is the last blizzard of the year, but it couldn't have been further from the truth in 2010. There was no way I was going to spend the weekend looking at bikes when I could be out riding them.

So I prepped the road bike right up to the point of swapping out my trainer skewer, but I didn't want to jinx it so I rode with it in. Secretly, I'm wondering if my trainer days are over ...


Saturday, I decided to ride right from my house via the new house! That's right, a new place in my future. Gerhard and I are moving to the west end as of May 1 -- maybe more on that later. I continued west past our new amazing grocery store and onto Dundas West. Then it was a complicated maze of city streets (mostly with bike lanes ... some without) until finally, at last, the city ended.

Every year it seems to take a little longer to get to that last house or shopping plaza. Sigh. I rode along Lower Baseline for a bit, making sure to ride over my favourite old wooden bailey bridge, and past the curvy river that will be filled with fishermen soon enough. Can't wait for the summer -- that spot gets so green and the sun comes through the trees all golden-like. It's hard to imagine the city just a concession away.

I came home via the College Way/Mississauga Road and the Lakeshore, stopping for a restorative Dr. Pepper, and wishing we lived in the west end NOW, because I would have been home that much sooner. My neck and shoulders definitely weren't ready for 4+ hours in the saddle, but my legs held up great, so I'm happy for that. After the Olympics I was afraid I'd be starting from zero again.

With a great ride under my belt, what more was there to do besides make a healthy dinner, and watch a movie?

Sunday, our spin instructor has decided to take himself to Cuba (whatever!) so the 7am spinning session was to be "self-led". I decided to self-lead myself on another epic solo mission.

I was a little later getting started (blueberry pancakes take time, y'know), so my ride time ended up bumping into sunset, but it was all good. That, and an unepxected training partner decided to join me -- Head Wind. What a re-introduction to riding outdoors. This time, I decided to drive to basically the same place I left off the day before and continue from there, skipping city roads, lack of bike lanes and traffic lights for a more consistent workout.

I saw a few funny things -- like snowmobilers out in the 7 degree sunny afternoon. I don't think I've ever waved to a snowmobile from my bicycle before.

The GPS did most of the driving, but I did manage to get lost anyway. I thought I was on a bikely.com route, and then all of a sudden while we were on our way to Belfountain, it started chirping "U-turn" at me although I know I was going the right way. Just as well, because I think I was about as far as I ought to have gone at that point.

By the end, I was so happy to see the van where I parked it. I hopped in, cranked the heat and drove home ... and pretty much went straight to bed.

All told, the weekend total was about 190km. Stoked.

Weekend? I'd like another one of those ...

Where did this weekend go? Can hardly believe it's Monday again already. Didn't even get anything into the slow cooker! BUT -- it was fun nonetheless.

On Friday I watched the English Patient and tried to unwind. Had a great chat with my sister on the phone -- she's excited because she got a new fridge. I also heard that Emily Batty has been signed to Trek World Racing! Huge congrats to her -- what an opportunity! If you don't already know it, Emily's is a name you should learn because she's going to be a Canadian mountain biking hero in the 2012 Olympics.

Saturday I went up to Brampton to see Baby St. Jacques digs, and chat with his parents who are patiently awaiting his arrival. Everything looks great there, and it must be so much fun to get ready for your first baby. Think of all the toys you get to pick out!

Then it was off to North York for a visit with family. It was supposed to be "girls night" but somehow it expanded and there were at least ten of us for dinner -- boys too. Awesome catching with family but I'm sure they were happy to see me go because I couldn't stop talking about the amazing benefits of raw food. Yep, I was that girl.

Sunday I went to spinning and rolled out some more individual leg drills, spin ups and then some muscular work for an hour after that. Base miles are so glamorous.

Then mom came down and spent the day with me, took me out for lunch and other mom stuff before we had to say "so long". It's nice in the winter when family comes to me, because it's so hard to drag myself away from spinning class.

So that's all folks! Yoga tonight :)

Outside Ride!

Not sure where Winter went, but today, it wasn't here! Hopped on the bike around 2pm with a teammate. Our plan was to visit the horses up at Sunnybrook. However, despite the dry, amazing conditions on the city streets, the rec paths were not faring as well and since my training partner today was on a road bike (while I opted for my mtb since the road bike is all trainerized) she vetoed any further attempts at exploration.

Thus, we decided to head down to the CNE and see what could be seen. The boat show, I think! Or at least that's what I'm guessing from the blue Yamaha bags and a dude walking out with a sweet wake board. Ah, dreams of warm summer days!

Since the CNE was kind of a zoo, we decided to just keep on riding the "Blue Edge" ... ie the waterfront trail. I lost my training partner to cold hands and feet at the Roncesvalles bridge. Since it was such a nice day, I continued solo.

Not long after her departure, I met a man who was playing with his RC car in one of the parking lots. I was going to challenge him to a race, but thought I'd be embarrassed: that thing was quick. I think I missed a good photo opportunity. Oh well.

The next interesting pause came when I met Peter. By the time I'd arrived he'd only been there for about an hour and already he had an army of balanced-rock formations. I stopped to take a photo of his masterpieces, and got to meet their maker at the same time. When I got home, I looked him up online, and he's done some pretty amazing stuff. A Toronto treasure, for sure. He rocks.



Today was the first time I'd been that far west on the bike trail in a long time and I was happy to find it was just a little bit longer! On the way back, I turned off to get a photo and found the Humber River Trail (Number 15, people). I'd come down it once before, but never up. I figured I'd give it a shot. A bit snowy/icy in spots but totally navigable on the Trek and a really lovely ride. As I was exiting "The Old Mill", a man rolled down his car window beside me and said he'd "never seen a cyclist take on this hill!" which kind of made my day. (Although, caveat, it wasn't a particularly nasty climb or anything.)

After a quick street ride down Jane, I was back on the waterfront path. I decided to go see what was happening in Ashbridges Bay. Mostly, people were out doing the same thing as me: enjoying mother nature's little gift! I saw runners, rollerbladers, other cyclists, some tennis players (for real!) and even the skaters were out at the skate park.

With the sun going down, it was time to head home. Although most of the roads were dry, some weren't so nice so I had to figure out a way to clean up my girl so the salt and grit didn't do too much damage. I've seen it done ... but never had the guts to try it myself, seeing as I live with two others. So shhh, don't tell them but ...



After I cleaned the bike, I cleaned the tub and then I had a shower too -- one of those ones where the warm water makes your frozen toes feel like they've had too much hot sauce.

A snack, some stretching, a flop on the couch and that's a day folks.

Time for bed now -- spin class bright and early! ... and I'm cooking this in my sleep:



Here are some other shots I snapped along the way ...

From left to right (click to enlarge): 1. "And I thought my feet were cold!" 2. The Humber footbridge 3. Peter's people 4. A gull over the skyline from the base of route 15 5. The Humber 6. Bridge over frozen water 7. Tennis. In January. 8. Sun going down over Ashbridge's 9. A pile of kids were at the Ashbridges Skate Park.

Gravity.

I had to work late on Wednesday, so I missed the workout I had planned to do, thus decided that I'd try one of RPM's Gravity classes before our regular spin Thursday night.

OMGithurtsomuch.

Gravity machines are cool because they use your own body weight and ... um ... gravity to give you a full body workout. The first thing we did was legs: squats, lunges and hamstrings. My quads felt like hot butter: it was intense. The second half of the work out we did abs and upperbody.

Best of all, it kind of feels like a carnival ride at first. That slide board can be a lot of fun.

After Gravity with Trina, it was time for spinning with Daffyd. He didn't have such an easy ride in mind so with Gravity and a morning ride already under my belt I was worried I'd really be digging deep. Sure enough, on our third of four 3 min efforts, I exercised my gag reflex.

But to be honest, a little bit of tummy upset and a celtic-slash-heavy-metal song was all the discomfort I encountered -- either I wasn't working hard enough, or I'm in better shape than I thought! Good legs.

This morning I slept through my alarm, and as the day goes on I'm only getting more sore. Ah, the gentle hum of recovery.

Can't wait to get home and spin out some of this junk.

MOM: You Go Girl!

Kudos to mom who's using her retirement to get fit! She's rocking the trainer (complains it's boring though ... psssshaw), stretching and even got a strength plan from a PT at the gym. On top of all that, she's test driving a bunch of classes to see which ones will fit into a regular routine. I'm so proud!! Dad's been in on the fun too, since they picked up memberships at the local gym, Fitness Corner. I hear they offer "Movie Night" spin classes there, too: spin and watch a movie with all your training buddies! Imagine all our theatres were outfitted that way. The world would sure look different.

As for my own fitness efforts, I'm happy to report that the rhythm has been found. Lots of trainer this week, and I have finally got comfortable with the idea of the "home gym". And let me tell you, there are some serious benefits to doing strength training in your living room.

Thanks to Santa's elves, Kim and Gerhard, I have a pair of dumb bells and a fitness ball. Turns out, I think that's actually all I really need. The ball came with a guide showing all kinds of exercises and the dumb bells are the right weight to get most things done properly. Maybe I'll move up next month, but for now, I'm rockin and rollin. I could get used to this!

The best thing about the home gym is not having to wait for equipment! There are no line ups! There are also no distractions, such as "gym chat", to knock me out of focus. And I got to watch TV at the same time.

However, a word of caution. On top of gifting me dumb bells, Kim also loaned me "P.S. I Love You" which I decided to watch last night since it claimed to be a romantic comedy. Ahem. Do not under any circumstances attempt to ride a trainer while watching this movie. There is nothing funny about it. I cried through the whole damn thing and when you cry with your heart rate in the 150s, guess what! You hyper-ventilate.

Super excited for Spin Class which starts this Sunday as well. But they changed the start time so that will be a challenge for the next 12 weeks: 7 o'clock Sunday morning! The TTC isn't even up at that hour. There's still space I'm told, so if you're interested in the best spin program in town, give Mike a call at RPM. Even with the painful start time, it's totally worth signing up. I don't think I'd make the progress I've made if it wasn't for RPM.

I also picked up a five-class-pass at Moksha Yoga Danforth so I'm all set in my hot yoga habit. I was there on Wednesday for the 75 minute class but I found it wasn't for me. I'm all about the full 90 minutes. It just seemed like everyone was in a rush there, and it wasn't as wholesome (for lack of a better word) an experience as I'm used to -- it was nearly impossible to focus because people were laughing and talking in the studio (what?!). So I think Monday night is the winner -- great time, great instructor and the full 90.

In other news, looks like Blue Mountain is a GO this weekend. With spin class so early in the morning, no longer will I have to rush home and out the door again. I'll have time for the nap I'll need!! Sunday Night Snow Club will officially kick off this Sunday Night! Night passes are $39. Let me know if you want a lift in the mini-van!

Oh, and just finished "Sleeping Naked is Green" by Vanessa Farquharson of the National Post. It's about a twenty-something woman who decides to make one green change to her life every day for a year. Since she chose a leap year, it ends up being 366 changes. She kept a blog at greenasathistle.com even after the challenge, but I think she's since abandoned it. Anyway, the book was entertaining, and has really got me thinking about changes I can make in my everyday life. I think what stood out the most is the constant catch-22 going green entails. For example, do you choose the organic apple from New Zealand, or the regular-pesticides-included apple from Ontario? Check it out, it's an easy read and a great place to start if you're thinking about what you can do to green your corner of the universe.

Now ... if only I'd remembered the book I was supposed to be reading for book club ...

Oh boy oh boy oh boy!!!!

I guess I was a good girl this year because Santa brought me the best thing EVAR. My very own Garmin Edge 705, the most amazing cycling computer in the world. It is GPS enabled of course, but also has a HRM, cadence and speed sensor and is fully compatible with third party power meters. You can store your favourite workouts, save courses, put lap markers wherever you train for automatic lap times ... and the list goes on and on. What more could you want?!

I took it for a little "test-run" today, literally. I haven't got a bike to mount it to at the moment while away for holidays, so I just held onto it while I went for a run around St. Catharines. I thought heading to Port Dalhousie along the waterfront trail would be a good idea, but some of those sidewalks go super close to the water and by then, I was so in love with my new gadget my HR was up five beats just from the stress of imagining a poorly-timed trip, and the Garmin (which I have nicknamed "G") flying into the cold, deep water.

Well never fear, I held on tight and we made it back to Grampa's house dropping virtual breadcrumbs all the way.

I am so stoked on this thing I can't even tell you. Stay tuned for future route-postings as I slowly learn how to make it do all the wonderful things it knows how to do.

PS - Dad got a matching one, so we're all set for our training leading up to the Ride To Conquer Cancer.

Christmas morning! Mom and I inspect every single piece in the box.

Photo shoot for blogging purposes ...

Maya Papaya wishing she could come running too ... maybe next time.

Where I went!

Joyride 150

The rumours are true ... Markham's new indoor mountain bike park is the shiz. Since I didn't have any Christmas appointments until dinner, I decided to check it out. A quick visit to their website confirmed they were open, and I was on my way, telling myself I'd just ride for an hour "to see".

Two hours later and I had to drag myself out of there.

They have a great XC track with berms, log-overs, flow and corners aplenty. There's also a pump track, skills section, and even a foam pit. Wish I'd brought both bikes!

Of course, I did have to "pay to play". Allow me to share my wipe out story: I had that masochistic thought -- just one more skinny -- that's up there with calling 'last run'. Never a good idea. I rode all of the skinnies on offer but my favourite (haha, they were all my favourite!!) was a real 20-foot log with a flattened top. It was teamed up with a ladder bridge ending in a cool little multi-line oval.

At the end of the log ride, there was a wedge-ramp. My back wheel hit it with a bit of oomph, it broke a small piece off, and I slid out, landing shin first into the neighbouring ladderbridge.


The skinny in question ...

So much for showing off! So off I hobbled to the change room and even despite a stinging lower-leg, I couldn't wipe the smile off my face if I tried. JOY ride indeed. And afterall, isn't Joy what Christmas is all about?!

Let me know if you ever need company for a trip to Joy Ride. I'm IN!

New Shorts!

A week ago, @Specializedwmn who I follow on twitter posted a call for captions on their BG Pro RBX shorts. I submitted "Your new training partner" and won myself a pair! Woo hoo!

Here's the victorious tweet:
specializedwmn: Congrats to the Women's BG Pro RBX shorts winners for their great captions: @walcottav @MCjunkie @kristenmlake @camille001 #RBXcap

They couldn't come at a better time either. A couple chamois are on their way out in a big way. And I'm back on the bike a couple times a day. Yesterday, I had a lovely spin with The Grinch Who Stole Christmas and an excellent snowboard video before work.

Last night I went on over to RPM for a little Christmas spinning. We donated our entry fees to the Daily Bread Food Bank and then did a fairly intense workout for an hour and a quarter. If this all sounds good to you, keep in touch with RPM because they'll be doing another Daily Bread spin in the new year so it's not too late!

This morning, I was riding with the Griswold's in the Christmas Vacation, but then my roommate came in to head out for the holidays with the PS3 so I had to watch Canada AM instead. Boo hoo.

However, I learned that egg nog is the more nutritous choice over apple cider. And if you are choosing between a gingerbread latte or a gingerbread loaf, get the latte. Save an extra pile of calories by skipping the whipped cream.

Merry Christmas to all!! Can't believe there's only two more sleeps!

... on Training

Dear Diary,

Am I doing my training right? Do I know what I'm doing? I hope so -- I mean it's been a few years now and I'm still seeing progress every year, so I must have picked up something by way of "lessons learned in how to train".

But for some reason, I have this fear that I'm behind. Or doing it wrong. Or not doing enough. Should I get a coach? Should I abandon my DIY home-gym plans and just suck up the membership fees down the street? Turns out dumbells and all that are pricey and the cost is holding me back from making purchases, which is holding me back from strength exercises, which is stressing me out.

Maybe I should take a cue from Nike (and Tiger Woods by extension) and "Just Do It" -- go back to the gym in all its routine glory.

What about the trainer? Do I ride it enough? What's a two-hour ride? Is it long? Is it short -- should I be doing three hour trainer sessions? What's a one-hour ride? Just a waste of time?

How is it that a whole day can go by without room for a work-out? It's closer to January than November, and it's high time I found my rythm. Where is it?!

A Bloggable Event

Trainer! Day one!! All set up in the warm living room while the temperature drops to the negatives outside. Got my movie, my smoothie, and all the other comforts for trainer-ing. By the way, I found Angels and Demons to be entertaining, but a bit silly. I guess it's sort of redundant to accuse Dan Brown of being over the top.



Before I started, I also made some time to get the new dehydrator working away on some apple chips. Healthy snacks all winter, courtesy of Gerhard on my birthday. So stoked.

First, core the apples ...

Then slice them up with the mandolin ...


And then a few hours in here ...

And voila! Apple Chips!

2010

The sun came out on Sunday. The temperature was up, too. It was enough to send me tail- spinning into a vortex of restlessness (and maybe even some guilt!) and that's how I knew the off-season was over.

Since the end of racing, I've put a stop to "training" and just kept up with "exercise" on a whenever-I-feel-like-it basis. Now's when you get to dust off your runners, hike with family and friends, and play in the woods with folks you don't normally get a chance to ride with. And it's so important to slack off, I can't even tell you. You must clear your brain of all the crap racing fills it up with and fall in love with bikes again or you'll never make it to your next race.

You'll end up a "Christmas Star" ... someone who is in great shape in December because they didn't bother to let their race fitness go to pasture, but who will not last until it really counts: April. Check out Joe Friel's blog on the topic ... his site is a good one to bookmark, and his book has always been a great help to me!

Last week, I started slotting in 'training'. I call this my "planning" phase. I mentally map out the kinds of activities I want included in the upcoming training plan, even going so far as to name a day and a time. But then I end up blowing it off completely. It's a process. Last week was about planning, this week will be about execution

So with a sunny Sunday to kick things off, I postponed the yoga idea so I could take advantage of the weather, and got G to agree to spin to see the horses of Sunnybrook Stables. The horses were awesome and were totally into raw food. I grabbed clumps of green grass for them to eat instead of the bits of hay and dried leaves in their pen and was soon best friends with all them. Even the biting one.

Earlier this fall, I read Brendan Brazier's book Thrive Fitness and his training philosophy is very close to mine so I'm going to give it a try and see how it goes. Plus, it includes his great information on diet, which is another area I've made some huge changes.

I used to be a completely different shopper -- I bought things that claimed to be "low fat" or "organic" based on how long it would take to make them. But even if something tells you on the box it's good for you, it's still in a box, therefore bad for you. I knew diet was important but until I started reading about where our foods really come from, how processed they are, and what they mean to the body, I was not a healthy eater. Even though I thought I was. I first started making changes at the beginning of race season this year and at the same time posted some of my best results ever. Coincidence? Maybe. But I'm running with it. I'll have more to say about diet in a later post but for now I'm just happy to have another arrow in my quiver.

And of course, I am looking forward to another round of Daffyd's amazing spin class at RPM Studio. The course, while not yet confirmed, usually runs from January to March and meets twice per week (traditionally Thursdays for 1.5 hours and Sundays for 2 hours). We go through the training periods together, working on single leg drills, hill climbs, endurance and intervals as well as testing. Working in a group on hard workouts is such a great benefit. You think, "well that guy next to me is really going for it, what's my excuse?" I find I get a lot more out of myself at RPM than I can on my trainer in my living room.

They also offer strength training through their gravity program -- an exercise machine that uses your own body weight as resistance. With new equipment on the lower level, like bosu balls, I expect to be spending a lot more time at RPM this season.

So with another year of training, on higher quality fuel, and a slightly tweaked strength routine I expect 2010 will be something to really look forward to. Happy Training!

So long, Metropass!

Today is the first day of April, and that means my days of avoiding city streets have come to a close. I'm once again a cycle-commuter.

Amongst athletes, commuting gets a bad rep. Hardcore cyclists call the ride between home and office "junk miles" -- because you aren't riding long enough or hard enough uninterupted to provoke a training response.

For the most part I agree and would never count the hours I spend commuting towards my weekly totals. But there are two ways to get a little more out of your morning ride than just conveyance from A to B.

1) Sprint off every stop light. This will work a system most of us rarely spend enough time on. I don't know what the technical term is but I know it's the one that mother nature gave us to optimize our chances of survival in a surprise sabre-tooth tiger attack. It means you can go as hard as you can for about 12 seconds without drawing on your glycogen supplies, and before lactic acid build up can be perceieved. **Please note this blog is not edited by anyone scientific, so any clarifying or correcting is welcome in the comments.

2) Ride nice and easy. They say that a ride in your recovery zone will do more to repair the strains of training than doing nothing. So spin your legs out, get your blood carrying that oxygen to worn out muscles and be that much more prepared to stomp your next set of intervals during your workout.

I recommend starting your day with option 2 and then going home using option 1. That way, when you get to work, you won't be a sweaty dirt bag.

And finally, if you're not among the lucky Toronto commuters whose employers appreciate the odd bicycle in the office, you'll need to remember the "Rule of 50". That is, bike + lock = 50 lbs.

So if your bike weighs 10 lbs, you need a 40 lb lock. If your bike weighs 40 lbs, you need a 10 lb lock. If your bike weighs 50 lbs, you don't need lock.

Amsterdam, 2004: a city all about bicycle-commuting.

A commute that I will always remember: Paris to Versailles with my sister, by bike