Reminders of Our Strength

Like many other fitness/endurance/adventurer enthusiasts, I confess to loving my active wear.

If you need to borrow a pair of runners, I have you covered.  Dress shoes not so much.  It would be really hard for me to find more than 2 "dressy" combinations of clothing from my closet.
I have embraced the fact that I am a jeans wearing, hiking boots, leggings, wicking shirt kind of gal.

My favs come from many different companies.   I will try to put together a post of my favourites.   I love looking at what other people can't live without.

While we were in California a couple months ago and my husband and I were engaging in our favourite pass time-  riding south on the PCH and stopping for coffee where ever we please.  One day, I stumbled upon a new brand of active wear.  I noticed this business a couple times riding past and today was the day to stop in and check things out.

I enjoy knowing the beginning of a company and especially how the name was chosen.  There have been a lot of new and interesting retailers I have discovered in California; Coeur Sports, De Soto, Wattie Ink, Oiselle, Betty Designs, and Soas to name a few.

GRACEDBYGRIT is a company started by 2 women who wanted women to feel empowered and safe.  What I love the most though is this quote that comes directly from their website.

"Every woman has experienced that difficult moment that she thinks might just break her. How we make it through those moments defines us. We have realized that our grittiest moments give us our grace. Every woman has been GRACEDBYGRIT." 

Does that hit real close?

You hear a lot about having a mantra to get you through tough times.  I don't exactly have 1 mantra that follows me wherever I go.  Most of the time, I get my encouragement from the things surrounding me right then and there.  My GRACEDBYGRIT delicious tank helped me muster up some grit and determination at mile 18 while running my marathon last month.

Or how about Oiselle.

"But perhaps most powerfully, it's been about celebrating a sense of freedom. And thus the name Oiselle (pronounced wa-zelle). A French word for bird, it alludes to that feeling of weightlessness that most athletes know and love. That sense of flight - when the legs go fast and the heart goes free."

When I wear my Roga shorts, I remind myself when my legs are tired that they are free, not tied down and they can fly.  I see myself running with high legs, barely touching the ground as my feet fly.  I swear, I find new energy.

My most favourite tri/biking shorts are from Coeur Sports.  They are just plain awesome.  

"Coeur is French for heart & the root of the word courage. And that’s what we put into our collections and our sport. As an athlete, you know that athletic performance is about so much more than genetic talent. Its also about heart. Heart is about digging deep and being mentally tough. Heart is what gets you to the finish line when all the body wants to do is lay down.  Heart is at the center of the community and the friendships you find in sport. Heart is what makes you give back to the community that has given you so much. Everything we do at Coeur - from our designs to how we play a role in our community - should reflect our values and how we aim to conduct ourselves. "


Most miles during an Ironman triathlon need a reminder to be courageous and brave; to have heart.

These are just a couple of my favourite companies that produce awesome athletic wear that don't just perform well and fit right, but they make me feel empowered, strong, brave and remind me that anything is possible.

This is what I need to reflect on when I am in tough moments.  This is what pulls me along when I want to slow down; what helps me get up when I stumble;  and what keeps me thankful for the strength of my body and what it can do.

What are your favourite reminders of strength?

Randomness

Hello warm temperatures!😊

and I guess hello mosquitoes😞

Hope everyone had a great long weekend.  May long weekend is the official kickoff to camping in Canada.  All you lucky people that got to enjoy the great outdoors, camp fires and smores, I am so jealous!  I hope to get to the lake one of these days to get some cleaning done before summer so we can really just go enjoy ourselves when we are there.

#farming2017 has been in high gear getting our crops in the ground, harrowing, picking rocks and such and we couldn't have had nicer weather.

Filling the seeding tank with seed and fertilizer

Me taking a water break while picking rocks and boy did I need it.  

The "baby" of the family got her learner's license.  So proud of her but also sad for me for the reminder that I am getting older.

She was also involved in a huge high school drama production of "The Lion King".  What an amazing job they did and what a huge undertaking it must have been for those organizing.

This drama and farming is what conflicted with our tentative plan to attend Spruce Woods Ultra.  It was the right thing to miss the ultra this year.  Really still hope to run it sometime.  Need to get this body of mine on the right track first.

On that note, the training has still not been going well.  Thankfully, I am kinda past the point of pure and complete exhaustion.  The kind where it is so very difficult to get myself out of bed so obviously have no desire, energy or ability to do much activity.  I have had a few short bike rides and a longer ride on gravel on Sunday.  I was feeling a bit better but as per our usual, we get exploring and the miles tick along until I pretty much hit bottom.  It was a day that was meant for riding all day- warm temperature, few bugs, not much traffic, low wind and a chance to unwind and spent time with my husband.  I felt very unwell the rest of the day as a result of my overexertion though.

Love this old barn

I captured this picture on Mother's Day- who could ask for more?

Any safer suggestions on how to get magpie's to pack their bags and move out?

And finally, a really nice evening in the back yard with the dog.

With seeding soon to be complete, hopefully, I will posting a bit more frequently.  I am planning to share what has been happening to me health wise and the plan I have for the near future.  I hope that if anyone else has also been on a lost train of confusion (in terms of weird health issues) that I can share my story with the goal of helping one of you.

Have an amazing week.

Rocky's Motivational Punch

I hate to start anything out on a negative note because I am a really positive person but I need to get this off my chest.
I have been pretty discouraged.
In the dumps in fact.

The stomach infection that took me YEARS to figure out and then months to get rid of is back.
 Insert big, heavy sigh.  

This is way more complicated than a 2 week dose of antibiotics.  It affects my entire body in so many ways and takes a ton of effort in a lot of areas to get back on track.  It will change my training and affect my day to day life in pretty big ways.

I wasn't going to bring this up.  I thought I would just bide my time until things starting feeling better and my emotions were a bit more in control before I shot out a blog post.  Like who really wants to spend their free time reading a blog post about someone who is scraping the bottom of the barrel?  Heck, I don't think a day goes by that we all aren't faced with some conflict and negativity.  No one wants more of it.
I changed my mind about staying quiet about it when I realized there is more to this story than me being a debbie downer.

I have a challenge to face, a mountain to climb, a demon to fight, a wall to bust down.  And I will do it one step, one stone and one brick at a time.  With that will come a soul that will be empowered,  a new sense of awareness, more strength, courage and determination.  I will find more pieces to my puzzle.  This part of the journey might not be of my choosing but I am confident that there will be many gains along the way.


In 2016, I had the most amazing year as I could train, race and live "like a normal person" having energy, health and a body that did what I wanted it to do.  For the first time in a long time.  And it was awesome.

Some of my recent discouragement was thinking that would be gone.  I love adventures and have a few of them planned for this year and I was already mourning the loss of them or maybe what they could have been.
Don't do that. It's stupid to mourn something that isn't dead yet.  There is time and things can change.  It might not but it might.  I need to remain positive and concern myself with things coming up when they come.

Life doesn't come to us without obstacles.  I sometimes used to wish for that red easy button you see on the Staples commercials and could just push it and everything would be good, done, just how you want it.  It would be that easy.
But life doesn't always deal cards fairly and add to that a mixture of genetics, environment, stress, relationships and other factors and you sometimes get the perfect storm.
A storm that changes it's appearance steadily; to some it is a physical storm like an infection, autoimmune disorder, cancer, or heart troubles. To others it may be a relational storm that leads to divorce, estrangement, issues with your kids or troubles at work.  Or it may also manifest in an individual as unhappiness, anxiety or depression.

A few things through all this tie us as together as people;
1. we are not alone, people everywhere are experiencing difficulties (even if it looks like they have their crap together) so take strength and comfort in number.
2. we all have the same questions to answer- "Will I let this ______define me?  I may fall but am I getting back up? Am I going to remain positive and thankful or become jaded and bitter?"
3. the journey continues and our choice in how we live will influence and affect countless numbers of people

My favourite words of encouragement have always been from Rocky.



I have watched the Rocky movies years ago.  I can't remember that much about each movie and I it has been my plan to spend some winter trainer rides re-watching. It hasn't happened yet but will someday.  He can pack quite a motivational punch (no pun intended) about the tough moments in life, about choices in life and about being a fighter.






 

Weekend Roundup and a Weird Anniversary

Hello May! and holy mackerel where did April go to?

We had a smashing good weekend.  Had all 4 kids home together for a few hours, celebrated my husband's birthday, went on my first road bike ride this year early Sat morning, did a bit of relaxing and made a good dent in the yard/house spring cleaning.

It was fantastic to get back on the road bike again.  It was only a month ago while away on vacation that I rode it almost everyday.  In fact, I rode 500 miles in the 2 weeks while I was away.

My bike missed me I could tell.

The ride was a bit cool with temp just over the freezing mark but with little wind.  I wore gloves instead of mitts- bad decision but I survived and still have all 10 digits.  Toes got pretty cold on the way home even with toe covers  but they survived too.  I have 2 black toe nails from my marathon a couple weeks ago so maybe they are toughening up.

Hubby's birthday cake was a peanut butter cup pie.  It was the first time I made this particular recipe and I was skeptical about the filling but after licking the spoon and then the bowl, I knew it was a winner.  I will be making it again.

On the training front- I have to confess, things have been pretty sporadic.   I feel like I am just not on my feet again and recovered from my cold.  I am still blowing my nose endlessly and just feel so tired out a lot of the time.  It has been just over 2 weeks and quite frankly, I am getting tired of being tired.  I need my energy back.
I had some nice runs and bike rides but they have been easy and I have stayed pretty close to home.

I was pretty darn serious about running in the Spruce Woods Ultra held on May 13th but my daughter is in a major drama production "The Lion King" at school and they are performing that weekend so we will be opting out of the ultra this year.  I was a bit unsure about it at first but was truly disappointed when I found out the date of the drama and knew that I couldn't run.  The drama is typically the 3rd weekend in May so I had not even thought about it interfering.  Oh well.  With the way I have been feeling, sometimes things just work out the way they are supposed to right?

A couple days ago marked the anniversary of my daughter having her wisdom teeth removed.  Normally, this isn't really an anniversary to remember but later that day (2 years ago) after the extraction, she lost consciousness and suffered a concussion that has had lasting effects.  The worst of these effects has been chronic migraines.  She has had a headache everyday since her concussion and usually about once every month or so, suffers with a severe migraine that takes up to a week to break.  Interesting enough, she is in bed as I write this, waiting for the migraine to break.  It has been painfully hard to see my child suffer and have to rearrange her goals and plans for post grade 12 and her future.  We have sought out medical assistance in every imaginable way to find few answers and no solution to her headaches.  Last year alone, we travelled almost 11 000 kms to attend various appointments.  Only to really be told to give it time.
A weird anniversary to think about and when she reminded me of it the other day, I told her I didn't want to talk about it or think about it.  It was a horrible time and I still can't think of that 24 hours of stitches, ambulance rides, testing and her unbearable agony without getting really upset.  I try to forget and here she is asking me to remember.  I began to understand that in her mind and those who have also suffered injury, loss, rehabilitation or other life changing event, the anniversary marks something very special.  She has had to fight really hard.  Lots of appointments, constant road blocks and dead ends.  Not to mention the loss of friends (who don't understand), the loss of her planned future and the loss of the the joy of young adulthood.  It has been a real roller coaster.  And somewhere deep inside, she has had to dig real deep, many, many times to stay positive and upbeat, to have patience and faith.  The burden has been many times overwhelming and in her words she said "I have had a headache for 730 days but I have also been courageous, shown perseverance and been tested to my limits in those 730 days and I have survived."

So for those of you who are in the trenches and those fighting along side their loved ones- don't give up, stay strong and celebrate the victory of courage and determination.  I think I will take her flowers and a Dairy Queen blizzard tonight and tell her how proud I am of her.

Hope you have a great day!

My Happy Place

It is April 24th and it is snowing here today 😩 and it is really windy and cold and it's Monday and I am really tired from a long weekend of cleaning and moving furniture and ......

It's not only during events that I need to dig deep and show determination, be positive and thankful and take each moment as it comes.

Sometimes life feels tough and you need to say your mantra a few hundred times.

So I go to my happy place.  A spot that makes me feel free, content and alive.  A place that makes me smile.

I have a few "happy" places. Some just in my memory and some in picture form.

So despite the external factors surrounding me today, this is where I am in my mind.

And I smile😃

Recovery and What I Don't Know

Recovery is a tricky thing.  Everyone's body reacts in different ways so how do we know exactly how to recovery properly from endurance activities.
This is what I noticed, what I did and what I don't know about recovery.

Friday
-marathon from 7 am-11 (UCAN, NUUN water and a bit of gatorade)
-drank gatorade, chicken noodle soup and had a protein bar immediately after run
-slightly swollen fingers part of the day
-slept for an hour 12:30-1:30 (the real definition of tired and gross when the sleep happens before a shower)
-protein bar and water right after nap
-compression socks on the rest of the day
-legs didn't feel sore but just a bit tired
-supper of ham, potatoes and green beans

*My thoughts- I didn't drink enough water or fluids of any type or maybe it was that I was getting sufficient water but didn't have the correct electrolytes to be able to utilize the water (before, during and after event).   Probably  took in 32-40 oz when it should have been double that.  The nap was good. Compression socks a good idea but could have brought compression tights.  Should have ate more but didn't really have an appetite.

Saturday
-slept really horribly the night before
-legs hurt EVERYWHERE
-very puffy eye lids and face but not swollen fingers
-stairs were agony
-walked 4 miles in the morning and 3 miles in the afternoon and walked in between while doing errands
-compression socks again all day
-less than my usual amount of food consumed but still no appetite but what I did eat was very nutrient rich (protein, good carbs, good fats)
-drank water but didn't make a good enough effort to have the bottle right by my side always
-extremely chapped lips
-early to sleep

*Bad sleep negatively impacted my recovery but not within my control.  By the evening, my legs were tired from all the walking but I am certain that walking (gentle cycling would have been better) was very beneficial to flushing out the lactic acid.  Still didn't drink enough to offset the constantly running nose and the general fluid requirements of my body.  But also still sure the balance of electrolytes and water is not what it should be.  Not looking forward to how much I will be hurting the next day

Sunday
-better sleep but cold even worse
-amazingly legs not sore in the least, anywhere I squeezed had no tenderness, good range of motion, no tightness and good flexibility
-4 mile walk
-food wise same as Sat.: didn't eat much but choices were good foods

Good Recovery Tips for Me 
-nap the day of big effort
-fluid with electrolytes (I have to find the balance)
-eat within 45 min after effort
-nutrient dense food, lots of protein
-easy walking or cycling (active recovery) for next 2 days after big effort
-compression socks and tights for leg recovery
-more sleep than usual at night
-branch chain amino acid suppliment
-vitamin C



What I Don't Know
-why my eyelids get so puffy for a couple days after a big effort (has happened before to me)
-why my finger get swollen many times while I am exercising (imbalance of what specifically and how to find the right combination)
-why I seemed to be so dehydrated through the run and for days after (can blowing your nose a thousand times a day do that?) or was I over hydrated and my body couldn't utilize the water
-sometimes after a run or bike, my legs will ache, not hurt but ache; I need to figure out what they aren't getting that they need

I found this neat chart (encouraging the consumption of milk after effort) that shows the role and purpose of some micro and macro nutrients.  Thought it was interesting and gives me a starting place to find my balance.




I had hoped by thinking through what I did and felt I would be able to see what to do or not do a bit better but I still have some learning and investigating to do.

I tried Poweraide Zero when we were just recently in California and in the short 2 weeks of use, I had less swelling, bloating, aching legs etc and I did some long, pretty hard efforts many times. It seemed like it was a good choice for me to use for hydration.  I was planning to use it before, during and after this marathon but we couldn't find it anywhere in the city.  Maybe not available in Canada.  Very disappointing but will look at the label online and try to match the ingredients and their proportions.  

If you have any suggestions, tips, ideas or if this happens to you, please share.

Angry Gopher Marathon Recap

April 14, 2017

I was toeing the line at 7 am as a minority in my tank top, arm warmers and shorts.  Most people were wearing long sleeve shirts, pants, capris, jackets in some combination but a few others in shorts.  It was +8 with a cool, strong wind and a possibility of rain.  I know my run performance is hindered by my overdressing so I chose to try and dress appropriately for when I was warmed up running.  Yes that meant I would be rather cold for the first couple miles.

I was a bit concerned about the head cold I was getting and my leg had been acting up for a couple weeks, but I had mapped out a race plan for myself and was trying to think as proactively as possible.  I knew I could hold the paces I wanted.  It would come down to how things played out as the miles progressed.

I waved to my cheering husband as I crossed the start line and was off for the first out and back of 5 miles.  Not even a mile in I realized my hand held bottle of UCAN was still in his jacket pocket.  I was wearing his coat to stay warm until the start and forgot to take it with me.  Obviously, this was gong to mess up my (very professional) race plan but I figured out plan B and went with it.  I didn't need fuel until mile 6 anyway.  

My professional race plan showing directions to race start, morning breakfast, time schedule, nutrition plan and pace plan.  

Relax, stand straight, run, check my pace.  Over and over.  It is hard to get into your groove in the beginning because everyone wants to really giver.  Full and half marathoners started at the same time so a lot of different paces represented in the couple hundred participants.  

Just over 140 half runners, just over 40 full runners.


The Course:
The course started on the north side of Wascana park.  The first out and back was 5 miles in length and returned to the starting point to continue on to the second 8 mile out and back. Repeat. 

 

The Game Plan:
My goal was to keep my pace at 9 min miles for miles 1-3.  I was under my goal pace at each mile but not by a lot so I was happy with that.  The turn around for first out and back was 2.5 miles in.  There was an aid station w water and Gatorade.  I didn't stop. This out and back was toward and around the university of Regina.  Quiet streets, quite a few turns to keep things interesting.

From mile 3-18 I planned to pace at 8:45-8:50 min miles.  This was closer to what I seemed to be running anyway so I just kept it up.  Surprisingly as I turned the corner to run past the start/finish to start the second out and back, I saw Terry.  He ran with me a bit asking how things felt.  I told him I needed the bottle in his pocket and was glad he stuck around.  He brought his bike and was planning to ride around a bit and plan to meet me back at the start/finish when I started the last out and back at mile 18.

I was fueled up ready to tackle the next out and back of 8 miles.  There was a ton of corners in this part, some without volunteers so I tried hard to remember where I was going as I knew this loop included all the half runners so there would always be someone to follow but next loop would be very quiet.

I was feeling good at the turn around, 4 miles into this out and back.  It had been lightly raining since quite soon after starting and though I wasn't cold (though I was asked that numerous times) I was decently damp.  Thank goodness for the blister protect on the feet and body glide on the body.  
Terry then appeared on his bike, offered his encouragement and Nuun water or UCAN.  I finished my hand held bottle of UCAN and gave it to him to carry. 

 I carried on alone on the second lap of first 5 mile out and back with plans still to meet up for the last 8.  I continued to feel pretty good, held pace consistently and generally have no troubles.

And the wheels fell off:
I know any endurance activity will have ups and downs. It is to be expected to be riding waves one moment and sometimes in the next to be dragged down by the undertow.  And so it happened just like that.  Mile 16 was great, 17 was tough.  Just all of a sudden it felt like I couldn't breath, my chest was in a vise being squeezed.  I met up with Terry a mile later and was still really struggling to breath.  We kept going, hoping the rough patch would pass.  Mile 20, I stopped briefly at the bushes thinking I was going to vomit and by mile 22, I was weaving and unsteady.  I downed 2 cups of Gatorade at the mile 22 aid station, still hoping I would snap out of this mean streak.  There was emotion tucked just beneath the surface once I realized I was not going to make my goal time but now a finish was the goal, and I continued to run.

The last 1/2 mile stretch before the finish was a welcomed sight but the disappointment so strong, I could taste it.
Line crossed 4:07.
  Lap 1 time 1:55
  Lap 2 time 2:12.
Goal time under 3:55.
18 great miles pace 8:40-9:00 min mile
8 tough miles pace 9:00-11:00 min mile

A medal placed around my neck and we headed in to grab a drink.  I drank 3 glasses of Gatorade and 2 water immediately then had 2 cups of chicken noodle soup.  We sat for about 10 min then headed to the vehicle as I was now getting cold and I certainly didn't want to get chilled.  I changed shirts in the car, put on the seat heater and covered with a blanket.

Back at the apartment, I slept off and on for the next hour before showering and going out with the kids.

So what went wrong?  I have had a few days to consider this and my conclusion is 2 things.

1.  My cold was worse than I thought.  I have suffered the past couple days with a very tight chest, constant running nose, congestion, sneezing and a horrible cough.  My hope it doesn't get worse.  Running 26 miles didn't  help but considering NOTHING got me out of the rough patch leads me to believe it was something I could not control.  I wasn't mental, it was physical.

2.  From the little I have peed throughout Friday- Sunday, it appears I was dehydrated.  I thought I was well-hydrated going into it but the evidence points shows otherwise.


My husband asked what would have happened if he wasn't there for the final 8 miles?  I think he thinks I fell apart a bit because he was there and maybe if he wasn't I would have done better.  

I don't know.  

 I know my mental tenacity can improve but I also know I was very confident I could accomplish this goal and though I don't usually count seconds and minutes in my endurance events, I had a plan and was very determined. I was expecting to dig deep and I knew how I was going to handle it.  I was expecting a sore leg, blister, etc. not this kind is head swimming, chest squeezing stuff.

So all in all, I am proud of myself.  This wasn't my race to meet my goal but I did my best and being a person of faith means I know when the time is right, it will happen.  It feels to me like the things that caused the bus to lose its wheels were kinda out of my control.  Everything is a learning experience.  I yearn for adventure and I had one that morning.  

For the final few miles my husband kept repeating that the day couldn't be any better for him; a great run in a beautiful city with nice people with his woman on Good Friday.

We don't always reach our goals in our first attempt and I will be considering if I have the time, venue and physical capability to try again.  My first thoughts are to try in September (got venue and it's a good time) but I will see how the next few months go with my other events.