4 Weeks to go!!!!

This has been a week of extreme ups and downs!! Damien and I went to Kelso for my 2^nd open water swim last week on Monday. I was feeling pretty good about it and we got in the water and just started swimming. I can always see the many years of ocean swimming that Damien has under his belt. He is so comfortable in the water and I can tell he enjoys it. I was trying to find my rhythm but I couldn’t seem to control my breathing. I think I had a mild panic attack in the middle of the lake. I felt like I couldn’t catch my breath and suddenly felt like my wetsuit was way too tight. I kept thinking that I can’t do this! I can’t swim 200m – how am I going to swim 3.8kms??!! I managed to get through 2kms of swimming but each time I reached the other end I would be gasping for air. I left that swim session very panicky. I wasn’t worried at all about the 180kms bike ride or the marathon run – it was 3.8kms that might stop me from doing this.

The next day we had a 120km bike ride in the hills. Tuesday was the hottest day of training so far – temperatures in the 40’s!! Between the heat and the headwind my hilly ride was shortened to 90kms and I was spent!! Again – not a great confidence builder. I think after the last few weeks of heavy training my body was really starting to get tired. We listened to the coaches notes and took some time off. Damien and I skipped the night of hill repeats and relaxed instead! Very very needed!!

Thursday night my sister had the boys for dinner and Damien and I headed out to Kelso again! I had spent the past couple days reading about open water swim anxiety and felt I had a few tricks up my sleeve!! Damien also told me that he changes his breathing technique in open water compared to swimming in the pool. Instead of breathing every 3^rd stroke I was going to try breathing every 2^nd. Realizing that it was panic that I was experiencing and not a lack of fitness made me feel better. We hopped in the water and off we went. I kept counting my strokes to keep my mind off things. I breathed every 2^nd stroke and I was so calm. I did it!! I swam 2kms straight and felt awesome!!! It was only 2kms of swimming but for me I felt I had conquered the whole race – I can do this!!! I will still be the happiest person in the world when I get out of the water on August 19^th!!!!

Friday was another huge win!! Damien and I rode 180kms and finished the ride with a 35min run!! It felt so good to complete the 180kms and know that I can do the distance. I ran 6.5kms off the bike and felt pretty good. Not sure how 42.2kms will feel but I’m expecting some major ups and downs!!!

With all this training we have been relying heavily on family to look after our boys!! At the start of the week we’ve been sending our training program to my Mom and my sister and we work out between the 2 of them the days that they can help. We could never be doing this without them and they are as much a part of this race as we are!! A huge thank you, thank you, thank you for all your help guys!!! You are amazing!!!

On Friday while Damien and I were doing our bike ride my sister had all the boys at my place!! They put up their lemonade stand to raise more money for the Brain Tumour Foundation!!! A big shout out to the boy’s first customer who only had a quarter on him for a drink but came knocking at the door later in the day with $20 for the boys donation jar!! He thought it was a great cause!!!

Here are the totals for the week. This coming week is going to be a lot of training again – but then we start our taper!!

So this past week July 16-22 totals:

RUN: 62kms (6hrs15mins)

BIKE: 270kms – (11hrs30min) – hills and longest ride – 180kms

SWIM: 4.3kms – 2 open water swims

Total training hours: 19hrs45mins

5 Weeks to go!!!!

This past week has flown by – and I don’t like that!! I feel like the secret to life is to slow it down but when I’m thinking about my next training session or the next time I get to sleep I stop enjoying where I am in the moment. That is actually part of our coach’s notes – racing in the moment. I’m trying to practice that in my training. Instead of dwelling on mistakes made earlier in the race – or dwelling on how many kms are ahead of you, just take the race moment by moment. So in training when my legs are burning and I want to stop - I just think about turning my legs over and over and over. Who knows how this will go in the marathon after 180km bike ride!!!! Just saying that gets me nervous!!!

This week my swimming got a little better – I managed to make 2 of my intended 4 swims. Not bad considering my past record!! I also did my first open water swim with the help of friends watching the kids to make it possible!!! Open water swimming does scare me but it is all in my head. I need to calm down and have the confidence that I can do it and I’m not going to drown J !! Big shout out to Dan who taught me about drafting during the swim. It makes a huge difference to hang behind someone’s feet and follow directly behind them. It also makes for a little game to find someone’s feet who you can draft off easily – the long 3.8km swim might go by a little faster!! After about 300m I’m hoping to get into a rhythm and just keep going. My mantra for the whole race will be the same as our race shirts “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” Phil 4:13.

I want to include some more pictures from the photo session we had at the bench during the celebration day for my Dad. Most of my Dad’s brother’s and his sister and my Grandma and Grandpa came for the day and we were able to get some wonderful photos – what a keepsake! We just got them this week and they are great!!

Here are the totals for the week. I think there is one more week of very heavy training – then we taper (maybe?).

So this past week July 9-15 totals:

RUN: 75.5kms (7hrs30min) – 1 session of hill repeats

BIKE: 304kms – (11hrs30min) – hill and flats with efforts (longest ride – 160kms)

SWIM: 5.5kms – one 3.5km pool swim and one 2km open water swim (2hrs10min)

Total training hours: 21hrs10mins

6 Weeks to go!!!!

Just writing that gets me nervous and very excited!! The preparation for this race started in December and now in 6 weeks I will be at the start line. It has been quite a journey already!! I’ve had weeks where I hit every training session and weeks where I miss a lot! I have runs where I feel invincible and runs where I feel every step. Bike rides where I love the time to myself and bike rides where I just want to get home to my family!! And swimming – don’t get me started on swimming!!! Swimming is my Achilles heel and the one area where my training hasn’t gone quite as well. I’m starting to wake up at night thinking about it so I’ve put a new plan in place – it’s called no more missing swim sessions!!! This week with 1 swim session already under my belt and 3 more planned I’m hoping to make up for lost time. When I’m out of the water on August 19^th I would have already accomplished a major goal. My biggest fear is not making the 2 hour and 20 minute cut off time – months of bike and run training out the door!!

Since my last entry we marked a year of my Dad’s passing which was on the May long weekend. We had our family come over to see the bench that we dedicated to my Dad and we also had a big BBQ with fireworks!! It was so nice being together to remember my Dad and it was a very special day! All 5 of my Dad’s grandson’s wore their race day shirts! They looked so cute in them and I can’t wait to see them wearing them on race day! They will give me inspiration!

The training this month has stepped up and from this point on I’m going to record our training weeks to keep a record. I’m not sure when we start tapering for race day but I’m looking forward to it already!!

So this past week July 2-8 totals:

RUN: 63kms (5hrs45min) – 1 session of hill repeats

BIKE: 315kms – 13 hrs – focused on hills

SWIM: nil L- instead of open water swimming with Damien one night - we went for drinks and dinner instead J

Total training hours: 18hrs 45mins

So after this week I’m feeling good about the bike and run training but swimming is stressing me out! Let’s see what this week brings!!! I’ll report back!

Heading out for a ride!