Off the wagon

I have sort of fallen off the wagon this week. While this should be my highest mileage week for this training plan, a series of events have created a perfect storm and provided with an easy excuse to put my training aside. There is not much I can do about the amount of work that I have to do and the extra hours that I'm putting in while this is busy season at my department. I also have little control over my dad's health and wanting to be there by his side to support him. The wet and snowy weather does put a damper on any outside run but I could have toughed it out or just found a treadmill, indoor track or gym somewhere to fill in while the street is not appealing. Truth be told I did not have the dedication to get back out there and pound the pavement after an almost perfect 12 weeks streak of training. I welcomed the excuses with open arms.

The comforting factor in all this? It's only been 3 days without a serious workout and I feel guilty as hell. Guilty enough to write this entry, kick myself in the butt and find the motivation to salvage this week while there is still time. The 38k long run this weekend won't run itself and it will be real painful if I don't get a few short runs in between to loosen up.

Quiet week + C4C

It's been a very quiet week on the running front. The busy schedule early in the week combined with the snow storm in the middle of the week forced me to move my workouts indoor. It's funny how I was claiming I don't need a treadmill a few days ago. This week surely felt like I could use one! Hopefully I can find some time today to get out there for a short run.

Last week's Cans for Comments (C4C) yielded an impressive 9 cans (7 online comments + 2 offline). I cheated a bit and got some Nutella in place of a can. I'm sure no one will complain :)
My good friends at foodiePrints were kind enough to donate their own cans based on the number of comments on Saturday...

Let's see if we can do better this week. The rules are the same, for every visitor that leaves a comment on my blog, I will donate one can/food item to the Stittsville Food Bank. If you want to share the love, remember that Marlene is also doing Cans for Comments on her Mission to a(nother) marathon blog.

Saturday race?!?

Usually, races are on Sunday. It makes sense. It gives you a break between the work week and allows you to focus on resting and hydrating. Well, not for me. The race is tomorrow! Saturday!!! As I am heading to work today, I wonder how I will hydrate myself properly between meetings and if I can find somewhere to stretch once in a while.

At least it gives me plenty of time to recover after the event since I don't go back to work until Tuesday because of Labor Day. Will I be able to ride in to work triumphantly???

If anyone is there tomorrow, please say hi before or after the race (and feel free to cheer when I swim/cycle/run by!) I don't know my bib number yet so I can't post it but if you comment / tweet me for it, I'll make sure to get it to you asap. My start is at 8am and if everything goes according to plans, I should cross the finish line between 10:30 (yeah right?) and 11:00 (hope not!).

Much better

I am doing much better after a long weekend of resting and relaxation. Maybe it helped that summer is finally here in Ottawa and I took the opportunity to indulge in drinks and treats I don't usually allow myself when training and did not train one bit (unless you count planting those 15 shrubs as training ;)
My leg doesn't hurt at all anymore. Still a bit sensitive when I stretch, but I don't think it's anything out of the ordinary. I will try to ride to work tomorrow if the weather is good.

Hope everyone had as good a weekend as I did. I can't wait to hear all the reports of the national capital triathlon. Congrats to Marci who was participating in the event.

Downtime

My leg is still feeling pretty sensitive today :( I'm not sure I'm ready to call it an injury yet but at least it's a sign that I definitively need a bit of downtime and enjoy the sun as @spoonsie suggested. While the sensitivity is going down, it's not quite going down as fast as I would like it to go away.

So I decided to call this long weekend a much deserved break and just enjoy the weather without worrying about training. I feel ready for my next race so there's no reason to cram with the training. I'll keep you posted early next week about my progress.

Recovery Update

It's Sunday morning, I've been resting from training for a few days now and I'm coming up with a game plan to get back into training. My knee seems to be doing much better. It doesn't feel sensitive at all today, even if I spent most of the afternoon yesterday walking around the museum and the tulip festival.

So my plan is to go for a short run tomorrow and see how it feels. I will probably ramp up the runs until I get to my regular running schedule while taking it easy on the bike, until at least my race in 3 weeks. Then we'll see how I transition the training into full time triathlon.

Restless Resting

It's hard to stay put and wait for my body to heal. Getting out there and pounding the pavement has become such an important part of my day that when I find myself unable to enjoy the sports I like so much, I grow restless. Not only am I denied my endorphin buzz but also I lost an important stress relief. I also have to watch what I eat because even if my appetite hasn't changed, there are now 1,000 to 1,500 less calories being burned everyday by the fantastic engine that is my body.

So what do I do then instead of running? I live the excitement through others thanks to their wonderful race reports! And I hope that I have a similarly exciting report to share in 3 weeks. The knee is doing better today. It was really sensitive this morning but got better after I did my stretches and lunges. By mid afternoon I almost forgot about it.. I think I'll try to stay put until next week just to be on the safe side.

Secret Sauce

I'm home alone today and despite the beautiful weather, I don't feel like training much. I'll be biking to work the rest of the week anyways so I better keep my strength for that.

So I decided to take the free time and work on my special spaghetti sauce. Most runners like to have a heavy carb load before a race even if the science no longer justifies it. I feel it gives me a good boost and it's a celebration and mental preparation at the same time. I like the store bought spaghetti sauces but I feel that my special sauce is better and more nutritious. So here is the recipe.

I start out by cutting up all my vegetables:

• 1 celery diced
• 2lbs of carrots diced
• 3 onions diced
• 1.5 lbs of mushrooms, sliced

I then cook my ground beef (5 lbs) with a clove of garlic that I previously chopped finely.
While the beef is cooking, I cook and slice hot italian sausages and then pan-fry them so they are crispy.
Once the meat is all cooked, I add in the onions and cook for a while longer, seasoning with some oregano, basil, savoury and garlic salt. As the onion mixes in, I add the tomatoes. You can use fresh tomatoes if they are in season. I used a mix of canned crushed tomatoes (1.5L), diced tomatoes (750ml), tomato paste (700ml) and tomato juice (1.36L). Keep the stove warm until it starts boiling, at which point you throw everything else in there and mix vigorously. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer all afternoon. I add hot peppers, tabasco sauce and basil leaves to the sauce to give it extra taste. I mix every now and then and add salt, pepper and other spices to taste.

After a whole afternoon of simmering, all that is left is to boil some pasta and serve:
You can have this with some garlic toast as in the picture. I also add freshly grated cheese (mozzarella and parmesan).

This makes a whole boatload of sauce so be prepared to freeze most of it unless you are feeding an army. If you know me personally and are curious to taste this, let me know. You can either come for dinner or I'll bring you some to try at home.

I am now ready for my pre-race meal in a month and a half :)

Rain Day - Target Setting

Today's rainy so I'm using the weather as an excuse to let my lazy side win the day. As I rest and get my body ready to go back at it tomorrow, it's time to take a step back and plan for how high I want to reach.

As you may already have seen on the left, my next race is the Ottawa Half Marathon (21.1km). As I approach this race, I feel excited with the possibility of reaching further than ever before. I've raced the Ottawa Half Marathon a few times in the past:

• 2008 - 1h50
• 2007 - 1h43
• 2006 - 2h08

Last year, I was recovering from a bad case of plantar fasciitis so my objective was merely to finish without injuring myself. And my next race after that was a marathon, so my training focused on building my endurance instead of speed. I had to manage all this training while also tackling a new challenge: cycling to work for a total of 250km a week. That summer I biked on average four days a week and ran once (only on the way back, I would bus into work!).

This year should be fun as I add swimming to the mix and try to get my speed up. My challenge is a new PB at the half marathon with a hope of finishing under 1:40 (yeah, right!). I know I will regret having announced this already but I think it sets a target at which to throw everything I've got.

Off Day

My bike was at my friendly local bike shop for a spring tuneup yesterday. I was hoping I could pick it up on my way home so I didn't go for a run at lunch time. Unfortunately it wasn't ready when I left work (turns out they got it ready just as I got home after a rather trying bus commute). I was too tired to try the pool at 8:30pm so I decided to call it an off day.

I have to use this space for a rant at my local bus company OC Transpo. They claim that all bus service is now back, however they have removed the bus I regularly take. I don't know how many other people are affected by choices like this but I face a decision of leaving home 30 minutes early in the morning to catch the bus or changing my work schedule or leaving later and eating away at the little "us" time we have at night with my better half. Thanks OC Transpo.

I guess that bodes well for my resolve in biking to work everyday this spring, rain, shine, freeze or else. I should have legs as big as tree trunks by the time summer rolls around. I'm already way ahead of my usual easter start date for biking so I'm happy.

Also, I just found out that the previous title sponsor of the may marathon in Ottawa pulled out. So I guess it's only the Ottawa Marathon this year. Organizers say its too late for this year, however judging by the new color scheme, I think I know who will be sponsoring next year and I welcome our new sponsoring overlords.