Pfitz with a twist, tri pics

Happy Hump Day!! Here are some pictures from the Huronia triathlon I promised:

Before the race





Transition stuff



Coming out of the water (although it looks like I am celebrating, I am really wrestling with my wetsuit!)


Leaving T1 all suited up. I omitted the less than flattering pics of me wrestling with my wetsuit!



Near the end of the bike


The Run (very hot -full Sun uphill!)




Thanks Hubs for taking these pictures!

I am really looking forward to my next one, and I am eyeing up a few more sprint distances and possibly a half iron man on Sept 13th. So, I need a training plan that will allow for both marathon (St. George Oct 3rd) and half iron training (Sept 13th). I have decided to use the 12week/55 mile per week Pfitz plan again. I liked it in preparation for the Shamrock marathon, and I think if I hadn't gotten sick, I would have ran a PR marathon. But I think this plan will be "Pfitz with a twist", since I need to be flexible. I am going to take the training week-by-week and really listen to my body. I may have to rearrange the run distances, but I will try my best to get everything in. Here is the plan for week 1 (this week July 12th -18th)

Monday
-cycling (off road Fly Gurlz)
-15-20 kms

Tuesday
-2km distance swim
-8 mile run w/ 10 x 100m stride

Wednesday
am-16K cycle (easy)
pm-track core workout (3 mile run- recovery)

Thursday
-am - 1km swim time trial with Nachos
-pm - 16.3K bike/3km BRICK time trial with Nachos

Friday
-off

Saturday
-60K cycle/8 mile run -general aerobic

Sunday
-13 mile run


Totals
Swim - 3K
Bike- 110K
Run -33 miles

I am a little worried about the Sat/Sun back to back days, but the group cycle is Sat am, and I planned a rest day Friday. If this doesn't work, I will switch up my long run next week.

Did I mention I am also trying to lose 15+ pounds?! I need to devise a fueling plan as well!

Hope you are enjoying your week. Thanks for reading!

Baking for a cause

Thanks everyone for your nice comments about my first tri. It was a blast, and I can't wait to do another one! I still have to post some pictures, but first I wanted to post about a bake sale that a blogger is having to raise money for a great cause.

Natalie from Lil Runner is hosting a bake sale July 20th, to raise money for her charity, the Dana Faber Challenge, which I believe raises money for cancer research.

Anyway Natalie needed bakers so I volunteered. At first I scoured my recipe books and cooking blogs for some healthy treats, but then I found a recipe I had to make.

May I present to you:

Caramel Apricot Pecan Tart

(click to enlarge to see the crunchy pecans and ooey gooey caramel sauce!!)

It tastes even better than it looks. Total YUM. YUM!! It has the perfect mixture of sweet and a touch of Fleur de Sel to give it that sweet and salty taste.

I stole this recipe from a most excellent cooking blog, Definitely Not Martha, and I think she modified it from The Wine Lover's Dessert Cookbook . She baked the tart in a proper tart pan, and is also a photographer, so I suggest you go to her blog to see even more tantalizing pictures of the tart. Hubs is not one for deserts, but he went back for seconds.

You can bid for this and other delectable treats at Lil Runner on July 20th, and if you are the winner, I will bake this for you and courier it to wherever you are in North America. How sweet is that. I leave you with another other tantalizing picture, thanks for reading!

Finished my first tri

And I loved it!

Me thinks I will have to change my blog name...

How about...

Ramblings of a Swimming, Biking, and Running Addict,

or perhaps

Ramblings of a Triathlon Addict. :)

What a blast these events are!

Here is a quick summary of my day. I will have to post pictures later, I am at Starbucks and forgot my camera to upload the pictures.

Swim
I have only swam a handful of time this year (well OK maybe twice), with one of those swims being on Monday, so I was very nervous about the swim. Even though I have swam a lot in the past, I knew that it would be an interesting experience. I was also nervous about wearing my wetsuit, and oh did I mention that this was my very first open water swim, not to mention first time wearing a wetsuit?!! I figured there would be lifeguards if I got in trouble :) :)

Well anyway, the swim was fun, I just tried to stay steady. I usually breath bilaterally alternating sides, but I found it easier to breathe every stroke, since there were so many people around me. I kept calm, but this would not be good for someone who is claustrophobic.

Swim time: 17:40 (2.22 minutes/100m).

Very pleased with the swim. I know I can improve on this with some training and also not veering off course so much. I am a bit of a zig-zagger!

Transition to bike
I don't have my T1 time (I wish sports stat would provide this), but I can tell you it was a wee bit rough. I came running out of the water and I felt a bit like a lead balloon. I had trouble getting my suit off, I felt clumsy coming out of the water, like I might trip and fall. I then had to run with my cycling (tap) shoes until the bike mount point. I felt a little dizzy at first on the bike, and had trouble clipping in. I finally had clipped in and then there was a huge hill. I grannied down and pushed up the hill, but my heart was racing, and I decided to dismount. Not a great feeling, but it really felt like the right thing to do since I felt dizzy. I waited a few minutes, the dizziness passed and got back on the bike. I think it was just inexperience with the transition swim to bike - I must practice this in the future!

Bike time: 58:47 (21.9 kph).

I know this time can be improved. Just this past week I biked a BRICK time trial with the Nachos, and my 16.3K time was 34:01 (28.5 kph), and it was because of the dismount, but I still felt happy that I pushed through and this was about experience, not trying to kill myself, and just going through the motions was enough.

Transition to run
This transition was much smoother. I decided to keep my cycling shirt on, and was off without much fuss, although I forgot my handheld water, and Hubs caught up to me with a cold bottle of PowerAid. Thanks Hubs, you are a sweetie! Again the legs felt funny, but the BRICK workouts I have done (well one on Thursday) prepared me for this feeling. It was hot, but I just ran it, walking occasionally to take quick sips of water

Run time: 27:31 (5:30km/min)

I felt pleased with this time, since I felt like I was going much slower, I think alot of it is heavy legs after the swim/bike.

Overall time: 1hr 43 min 53 seconds. Not too shabby, and I guess I blew away my 2 hour time goal. Still I think I can improve, especially if you add up "race times' (86 minutes) to total time (100 minutes). Yep, almost 14 minutes, but I think some of that is running to the transition from beach, to bike mount, from bike dismount. Or of course I could just be a high maintenance girl, which is likely true too!

Thoughts for next time:
-less is more I will ditch the cycling top for a onesie tri suit under the wetsuit
-practice swim to bike transition
-practice swim in open water

Other than that, I loved it, and can't wait to do another. I think I will sign up for the Ironman 70.3. First I have to develop a training plan that will allow me to train for both this Ironman and St.George in October.

Anyway, thanks for all your well wishes. Some of you mentioned that you were hoping to try one to and I say go for it!! You can do one with not much training, just try one for fun and see how it goes and if you like it!!

I will try to catch up on your blogs before my 2hrs free at Starbucks expires (on holidays with no wifi!!)
Thanks for reading!

This tri stuff is complicated!

I was packing everything for my first sprint triathlon tomorrow and I discovered how complicated this tri stuff can be, so I thought I might share my pre-race packing list/thoughts with you. I am in Parry Sound right now, but we are driving approximately 1 hour to get to the race in the morning, so the plan is to be packed and just to get up and go in the am.

Wearing to race (travelling in the car)
-sports bra
-comfy shirt
-triathlon shorts (like bike shorts but with less padding, I'm guessing it will feel less like a wet diaper than normal cycling shorts when I get out of the water. Ewww...
-sandals

Once I have set up in the transition area, I have a long two hour wait for my swim heat. I will get my body marked, make porta potty trips, and watch the kids participate, which should be fun. The transition area closes at 8 am and my heat departs at 10:05am! Maybe I should pack a lawn chair and a book...

For the swim over my sports bra and tri shorts I will wear my wetsuit (Zoot Women's Synergy Wetsuit)



Plus
-goggles
-swim cap

Then...

SWIM 750 meters

In the transition area, I need the following items for the bike

Strip off suit, goggles and cap

Transition One Items
-road bike
-camel back water backpack
-bike shoes
-socks
-helmet
-bike shirt with race bib attached and GU in the pouch
-Sun screen
-body glide (just in case)

BIKE 21.5 km

-strip off bike shoes, helmet, possibly cycling shirt

Transition two items
-running shoes
-hat (I'm a sure I will look like Chuckie's bride by this point.. :) )
-tank running shirt (If I'm boiling...)
-handheld water bottle with GU

RUN 5km

Hubs and I went today to pick up my race kit and the water was choppy, but the race volunteers assured me it will likely be calmer in the morning. Lets hope so...

The triathlon is taking place in a picturesque little Ontario town called Pentetanguishene which is located on the Georgian Bay, which is part of Lake Huron, one of the Great Lakes. Its very beautiful, and quite cold, so thank goodness for a WETSUIT!

I am not putting any expectations on myself other than to have fun, maybe aim to finish in less than two hours, but if I take more, so be it. Even without the time pressure I am still nervous, but I think more so about the transitions and forgetting something.

I will report back tomorrow with a race report! Thanks for reading!

I have a dream...

Happy fourth of July to all my American blogging friends. I thought about you guys today when I was watching Regis and Kelly and a poor woman from SC missed out an awesome vacation to St. Martin after she failed to know that Canada's birthday was July the 1st. I bet all you guys knew that!!

Thanks for the well wishes for my five miler. It went well I think, I finished in 42.3x, not bad since I have taken a little running break the past few weeks, so this is an OK start point. It felt hot, and it was rolling hills, and I wanted to puke as usual, which is why I generally avoid short distances..
I have signed up for my very first sprint tri.... this weekend.

750 meter swim
21.1 K bike
5K run

Should be fun, although since I have not trained specifically for this event, but I want to see it as a gage for a HUGE dream I have, and ofcourse to finish for fun since it is my first one!

My dream (be prepared for a pretty inspiring video)



I know, I know.. This is a HUGE goal... and its a little over two months away, I am not entirely convinced I can do this (plus train for the St. George Marathon three weeks later), but I love challenges. I spoke to a mentor of sorts today who knows a bit of my running/swimming/cycling history and he thinks I can do this. I am still on the fence. I have plenty of running swimming background, but my cycling has not gone much beyond 30K, but if I start now, I should be able to build it up.

Anyway, I'm not saying I'm 100% sure, but I am still dreaming, obsessing, etc. We will see if its in my cards, but I need to make a descision quickly since this one is almost sold out. This is also close to where my Hubs grew up (40 minutes), and it is one of the most beautiful areas of Ontario, so it would be a very special place to become a 70.3 IronWOMAN!!

Anyway, thoughts would be appreciated, especially by you triathletes!

Thanks for reading!

Schools Out!!

Wow, I can't believe its been a whole month since I posted last! I apologize to you guys, but now that its summer and I have a whole glorious two months off, I promise to keep this blog more up to date!

I have been lurking on most of your blogs, commenting occasionally, but I promise to get caught up and start commenting on your blogs again soon!

I have some updates which I'll share by bullet points:

- I completed my 4 marathons in 5 weeks, so I am now a Gold Status Marathon Maniac, which was one of my goals for 2009!

-I bought a mountain bike a few weeks ago, a hardtail Cannondale, which I love. I have been doing lots and lots of off road biking, and joined this off road biking group, which I absolutely love!

- Although marathon running will still be my focus, I have been bitten by the same bug as Mel, thanks to FL and Nikemom's inspirational posts about completing a half iron man race. I am thinking of joining a triathlon specific swimming group offered near to my house. I may try a Sprint distance tri this weekend, just for fun, although I haven't practiced any open water swims. I am loving all of the cross training!

-I have a 5 mile race tomorrow. It will really be just a for a good lactic burn since I haven't been able to properly prepare, but I am still looking forward to it.

That's it for now, I have alot of backposts, so hopefully you will hear from me in the near future!

Thanks for reading, and Happy Canada Day to all my Canadian blogging friends!!

Something New

As soon as my marathon streak is over (South Bend Indiana up next), I plan to slowly get back into marathon training, with St.George Marathon likely being my next goal marathon (unless I can swing a Cali trip to visit my dad and run SF).

Even with all of the running I have been doing, I feel terribly out of shape. I need to mix things up with some new cross training. I will likely go back to incorporating more yoga and bootcamp, but I am also thinking of joining this off-road cycling group Monday nights called the Fly Gurlz.




It should be a perfect Monday night after long run activity. I love that it is an offroad club, I having been craving trails lately...

The only problem, I need a mountain bike. I have a road bike, but it wouldn't for this off road terrain. If you have any tips please leave them below if you don't mind. I hope to shop a little tomorrow for one, and I want a good bike, but don't want to spend a fortune!

I think (well I hope) the popup banner thingy is fixed, but if you are still getting them let me know. I hate POP UP banners, and I'm sorry you are getting them visiting my site. I will make it my mission that they go away!

Tomorrow is the Toronto Women's half marathon. I am running it just for fun, maybe in around 2 hours, maybe more, we'll see, I want to rest up for my last full of the season.

Thanks for reading and good luck to tomorrow's marathoners!!!