Lampwork Bead Market Giveaway

Every week on the Lampwork Bead Market we have a different artist do a giveaway, and this week it's me! I'm giving away this nice springy selection of daisy beads ad my Daisy Bead / Garden Bracelet tutorial AND some penny charms. Head on over, join the page and enter!

Less than a week!

Less than a week till my very first Triathlon, Yikes! When I registered for the TriStart program months ago I actually though "the time will fly by" and boy has it! I've enjoyed learning some new sports (kept swimming, swimming is still NOT my friend) and really enjoyed the other athletes and coaches. 

I'm still really struggling with swimming, I found out at transition practice yesterday the slowest swimmers go first in the heats *gulp* I'm not sure how I'll get through the 500m but I know I can. I cannot wait to be out of the pool and done the swim, it'll be a big milestone for me.

Excited and anxious about the coming race on Sunday!

Run Away

Less than 2 weeks!!

I think this is what I look like every time I realize how close the Tri for MS is. Less than two weeks away! This sunday is the transition run through, YIKES!

As far as the run (4 K) and the bike (20K) I am feeling pretty confident. The swim (500M) not so much. Tuesday night was a graduation to the big pool at Commonwealth. As soon as we were told we'd be going into the big pool I felt ill, then panicked, then faint, ill again, then my inner voice said RUN AWAY….repeatedly.

I really thought about going back to the teach pool, I turned around a couple times. Though, I cannot do this, I just cannot. Turned around again, felt ill, felt like crying, felt faint as I watched my team mates get in, felt ill, turned around……….and finally just got in.

I hung out in the corner for quite a while, people who CAN swim went by, I watched anxious at the numbers of people in the lane, the speed at which they were going, the waves (yes WAVES) in the pool. Finally inched my way to the wall, and finally with the help of coach Connie and some team mates, managed to push off the wall and attempt to swim.

It wasn't pretty and it wasn't fast but I made it the 25m to the other end, had a minor panic attack when I realized there is no ledge down there you just kinda hang on. Took a deep breath and tried to settle my erratic heart rate, and swam back.

I did this 3 or 4 times, until my brain stopped screaming at me to run away. And while it never was pretty, nor fast, nor a proper swim stroke I did manage to survive a swim in the big pool.

Tonight we are in the big pool *shudder* again and I will survive it again. It won't be pretty, it won't be fast and it'll likely still not be a proper swim stroke BUT I can do it.

24 Hours

Lampwork Bead Market

I'm a part of a new FB page for lampwork beads. It's called the Lampwork Bead Market and has loads of talented bead makers offering bead for sale. There is a weekly give away contest so make sure to  check back and see what it is every week. Stop by and have a look it's growing pretty fast!

Treadmill running and intervals

Sticking to my weekly blog post about my Triathlon experience today is all about treadmill running. Yuck right? Not my favourite thing to do, I don't think any runners like using a treadmill. But when you live in a rain forest sometimes the weather doesn't co operate.

Today was one of those days, to top it off I found myself short on time. So I decided to try sprint intervals on the treadmill. 1 min of slow running and 2 min of hard running, no walking for 30 min. I'll be honest I started it thinking there wouldn't be a hope of me getting through the whole thing. Usually I do a walk run combo out on my runs, in my mind I didn't believe I could run for 30 min straight. Well, wrong! I did it and felt great after. I do think the mixture of swim, run and bike affects each one. I'm pretty sure all that biking and those kicking drills swimming have improved my leg endurance and my running.

So there you have it, treadmill and sprints conquered today.

Fantasy

A month away

Less than a month until the Tri for MS.

Went to the Sooke pool twice this week, friday went great, monday not as great. But I went and I conquered! I need to get used to other people swimming in the same lane as me, the wake (choppy water) bothers me quite a bit. It's startling to suddenly have small waves in a pool!

I did try the backstroke and *sigh* it's so much more comfortable than freestyle for me. The swim coach there approached me, I guess it was obvious I was struggling. We chatted for a bit and he asked me, "where's your happy place in the water". My reply, "OUT of it". So he suggested finding a stroke that does not stress me out, and the backstroke is it for sure. While I'll be working towards getting better at the free style it's nice to know I can do a stroke that makes me relaxed (somewhat) and still keep moving.

This weeks bike ride clocked my first 40K bike! One very long hill, and we all got it done!

Laughter and Love

Sooke Pool

This morning I begrudingly left my house at 7:30 to go swim at the Sooke Pool. We had no swim last night in the Tri Start group because of a swimming competition at the Commonwealth Pool and I figure I really need to listen to everyones advice and try and get a couple days of swim practice in on my own.

Well was I surprised! What a lovely pool. To start the salt water combination they use is lovely, my sinuses didn't sting when I got water up my nose. The pool is quiet, I shared one very wide lane with another lady and we never met up once. Friendly staff and helpful life guard.

I did 30 min of practice on my own and actually felt positive upon finishing. It's 20 min from my place in busy traffic and it's open Mon - Fri 6:30-9:00 for lane swimming AND three days a week there is aqua fit right after for NO extra charge! I have no excuses, this I can do!

Swimming continues

Swimming is not my friend. Going into the triathlon journey I probably really didn't give much though to the fact that I've had a life long fear of swimming in open water. It's a mental thing, I can't really put my finger on why it terrifies me but rocks, weeds and dark spots make my heart rate go up just thinking about them. In the pool while I don't feel as anxious as I do in open water I'm definitely struggling. Breathing air in is really a struggle.

Last night I met with Lindsey Millar a triathlon coach and we talked about training programs, struggles and food. It really helped my confidence levels to have someone to sound my concerns off of. She helped me realize I just need to persevere, my goal this week is to get to the pool at least once on my own to practice. As much as I dislike it, I'm not going to master swimming unless I try harder.

Lindsey also gave us a running clinic last night and it was really interesting. She talked about cadence and how it affects running. After trying it I realized it really does feel like less work when I get my cadence levels up higher. How your foot falls, body position etc all really do matter. I'm also sure it's time for new runners so that's something I'll have to get to soon. I really do appreciate her taking time out of her schedule to meet with me and do the running clinic.

One thing I realized this week is how different it is to not have a horse added into the mix. A bad day on horseback can be made even worse by your horses energy, be it good or bad, added into the mix. With swimming, biking and running it's just me. I sink or swim on my own.

While I enjoyed my time in the world of competitive riding I don't miss the days of trying to channel a wiggly and sometimes opinionated horse to do what I needed to get done. Annie (photo above) was a good example of an athletic and talented horse but a horse the you had to ride each and every step of the go round. Wiggly left, duck right, speed up, nope wait maybe I'll slow down, what's that over there?!, OH look maybe that jump over there is better, wiggle right again……….. you get the picture. I find it a bit of a relief to just be me for a change.