Real or fictional, can you think of someone who you totally admire and want to emulate?

I have a list a mile long, but at the top of it has to be Lisa Osborne, the New Zealand born program director for BodyAttack. Not far behind Lisa would be Sheryl Sandberg (the COO of Facebook, and the author of “Lean In”, a book about women, work and the will to lead which I haven’t been able to put down since I bought it). If you asked me to keep going, I would list off Ray Zahab (ex-chain smoker and pub-crawler turned ultra marathoner and social activist for clean drinking water), Tosca Reno (author of The Eat Clean Diet, cancer-widow of Robert Kennedy and ex-editor in chief of Oxygen Magazine), my mom, for facing the diagnosis of one of her children with a nearly terminal cancer, and handling it with the grace and strength of a marble statue.

The world is full of heroes, all you have to do is look around, and you’ll find one somewhere.

What struck me tonight though, as I sat on my couch devouring Lindt chocolates with my injured foot up on the couch (grumble, grumble), was the key message delivered to us this quarter by the woman at the top of my list; Lisa Osborne.

At the beginning of this particular BodyAttack release, the key message that Lisa asked us instructors to take back to our classes was this one: Be Your Own Hero. The funny part is that as I sit here on my couch, feeling kind of sorry for myself, worrying endlessly about my classes and my marathon, and stuffing chocolates in my face, I couldn’t feel further from a hero.

Something in Lisa’s message got me thinking a bit about what qualities I admire most in the people that I listed above. Kindness is number one. Hard work is number two. Strength of character and physical strength is number three. Courage is number four. Intelligence is number five. Resilience is number six. I could go on and on.

Today’s post is short, but I really wanted to share Lisa’s message about Being Your Own Hero with you. My goal for the next little while is to carry that message with me through everything that I do. If I was watching myself from the outside in, what would I think? Would my actions, thoughts, words be something that I admired if they were coming from someone else? If not, maybe I need to think about those actions, thoughts or words a little bit more.

What do you think? What if at the end of the day, we looked back at ourselves with the same sort of admiration that we look at those incredible people that we idolize? I think that would be pretty cool. I hope you do too.

Happy Tuesday all – hope you’re having a fantastic week.

-Sara xo

 

 

 

 

I feel like I’m sitting down with a crisp piece of paper, a brand new ball point pen, a mug of hot chocolate and hours on end of free time to write a long, lazy, newsy letter to an old friend that I haven’t seen in over a year.

(That’s you by the way, you’re an old friend!)

While it’s only been 46 days (but who’s counting?) since my last post, as usual, with the way that things move around here, I feel like I’m a completely different person from the last time that I wrote. The real question, is where to begin my newsy letter to my old friends.

For starters: my brother is doing phenomenally well at home! He’s started working afternoons at my dad’s office doing IT related work, he’s put on about 6 or 7 pounds (moment to hate on the guy for literally struggling to put on weight…seriously, WTF), he’s hanging out with his friends, staying out late, taking shots at the bar, and otherwise acting like a normal 21 year old. Sometimes I get this frisson of fear that runs all the way through me because I just can’t believe that it’s actually happened. Like at any moment, someone or something might swoop in and take it away from us. Did we actually live this miracle? Has it actually happened for us? And if so, the question that keeps me up at night sometimes….why? Why us? Of all of the people suffering in that hospital, why were we chosen for the miracle? I rest my mind with the thought that for now, we are all happy, healthy and looking forward to what comes next. Worrying about what could come in the future is like worrying about the weather, or what might happen on the flight that you’re on. Useless and counter productive. You may as well sit back and enjoy the ride. Or so I’ve been told.

On the fundraising side of things, I cannot tell you how fabulous things have been going!! I’ve had a flurry of support come in from my friends, family, even perfect strangers have jumped in with both feet for my cause, and I am SO grateful. We held a fundraising event last Thursday evening at a local yoga clothing store (Lolë Atelier for those who may know if it – big ups to Lolë!!). I’ve been working on it for months, all with the looming fear that 4 people would show up, and it would be a big fat flop.

My fears were put to rest within about 5 minutes of the event starting. I have the best friends and family in the entire world. End of discussion.

The store was packed, filled to the brim with all of the people that I love and cherish most in the world. To say it was a special evening just doesn’t cut it; it was one of the best nights I’ve ever had. People shopped, did yoga, ate baked goods (including this demon fudge that my friend Lindsay and I were up until nearly midnight trying to get right the night before), and just celebrated my brother and everything that he’s accomplished.

We raised nearly $2,500, but that isn’t what really matters to me. I think in the world that we live in, the absolute most precious thing that a person can give to another person is their time. I know that I cherish my time more than I cherish any money. Finding an hour in the day feels like finding a $50 bill sometimes (or so it feels!!). For so many people to take the time to come out on a Thursday night just to support my family….there just aren’t any words. I’ll let the pictures below do the talking!

The last picture is my brother and I. Can you see the stem cell resemblance?

Sorry….that one will never get old 😉 😉

On the running side of the coin, it’s been a horse of a different colour. And the colour is baby puke green. Everything was going really well with my running, I had a couple of crazy beast runs on the treadmill while I was overseas in Lebanon (yes – I went overseas to Lebanon since the last time I wrote….jeez….this post could be 15 pages long…..), and in general, I was feeling fit and ready to rock for the Chilly Half Marathon on March 2nd.

Ready to “rock”……how ironic….

On the Friday before the race, I kicked a mother-effing rock. Sorry for the swearing, but I wrote that sentence without the “mother-effing”, and it didn’t really come across with the venom that I wanted it to. So “mother-effing” stayed in.

We’ve had this big decorative rock sitting with it’s butt-end jutting out just into the path of our driveway ever since we’ve moved in. I’ve dropped my iPod on it and shattered the screen, I don’t even know how many people have tripped over it on their way up the drive…but that son of a gun messed with the wrong person this time. The exact instant that the ground thaws, that rock is going off the highest cliff I can find. Or into a rock crusher. Or maybe an incinerator or a meat grinder………..whatever would be most painful for it…..*insert evil cackle here*.

I was innocently walking up the driveway, fresh off my massage, feeling like I was ready to run the half marathon right then and there…..and BAM. Rock to the top of my bare foot (I was wearing my flat work shoes at the time). I knew I was in trouble right away, not from the big cut and blood on my foot, but from how bad it actually hurt, and the way that it puffed up right away.

Sure enough, my foot bruised up like crazy, and there was a big and quite deep gash on the top of it that bled for a good hour straight.

(Sure, when I needed to donate stem cells to save my little brother’s life, my blood thickens up like gumbo. When trying to stop the gash in my foot from getting blood on my brand new couch…….it flows like water).

I instantly freaked out because I was concerned that I wasn’t going to be able to run the race on Sunday. I got through my Attack class on Saturday, but it was painful to have the running shoe on my foot. We came to the (expert) conclusion that my foot wasn’t broken because I was able to walk around barefoot with minimal pain…..I went to bed freaking out, not sure what the heck I was going to do.

Race morning was a disaster. I was all over the place, forgetting things here, there and everywhere. My bib wasn’t on my shirt, I couldn’t decide what I wanted to wear, couldn’t find my iPod headphones, hadn’t charged my iPod up in the first place, and my foot still hurt like crazy in a running shoe. I literally made the decision as I was walking out the door that I was going to do it, and be damned if I was going to let the rock win.

At the race start, I realized that I had forgotten my running jacket at home. #EpicFail. I decided to run in just my long sleeve top and my puffy winter vest. Anyone looking at me probably thought it was my first time running in my life, but that’s cool, I deserve the judgment for my sheer stupidity.

I ran into one of my class participants and chatted with him for a few minutes. It’s always nice to have a connection back to my classes when I’m at races for some reason. It calms me down a lot to see people from the gym for some reason. Maybe because they always seem to have this absolutely unfailing faith that I can do absolutely anything. God bless their hearts…if he only knew the morning I had had!!!

We finally got off and running, literally. It was cold. Let me repeat that one more time for effect. It. Was. Cold. It was also wet. My feet were soaked within about 45 seconds, but I was pleased to note that once my feet had frozen solid, I could barely feel the top of my foot anymore.

Hurray for silver frozen linings.

At kilometer 5 my iPod died. I actually laughed out loud when that happened, because I just couldn’t imagine anything else going wrong for me that particular weekend. Little did I know.

At kilometer 8, I realized that I was developing a blister on my left foot. A big blister. I could feel the skin rubbing raw on my inside arch and I thought to myself, oh boy. Here we go. I muscled on until I hit kilometer 10, where there happened to be a Saint John’s Ambulance tent. Pushing my “Mental Matt” out of my head, I stopped and asked the kind folks for a Band-Aid.

*Insert moment of zen breathing here before you read the next sentence*

They didn’t have a Band-Aid.

Saint John’s Ambulance. At a half marathon. Seriously. WTF. In front of my very eyes, there was a defibrillator, an intubation kit, a stethoscope and a little light that you shine in people’s eyes. I could have collapsed of cardiac arrest right there on the gravel and been in perfectly capable hands. But god forbid I get a blister.

I carried on, and made the executive decision that I was going to get there no matter what. I talk in my classes a lot about not giving up when things get tough. I’ve been fortunate enough in my running and my triathlons that I have never really had to suffer too much.

Okay, okay. I suffered a lot in the Half IronMan, like a LOT. But let’s forget about that for now 😉

Anyways, I’ve been pretty lucky that I’ve never had to suffer too much. I’ve not really been tested too strenuously to put my money where my mouth is and “not give up” when things get difficult. Damned if I was going to walk off a course and land my first ever DNF because my feet hurt. As the kilometers ticked by, I realized with a  sinking heart that I had developed an equivalent blister on my right foot. I could feel the blood starting to ooze inside my shoe. At one point, I wondered if it might actually soak right through my shoe.

I should mention that while all of this was going on, I was powering through kilometers like it was my job. I felt so super strong running. I just really, really wish that I could somehow wave a magic wand and eliminate the blisters from the race, because I really wonder what I would have been able to do had I been in tip top condition.

I got to the finish line really pleased with my race, despite the nonsense with my feet, the iPod, the cold, the wet and my less than ideal running attire. When I stopped running, I knew that I had hurt myself pretty badly, but just focused on getting home to get my shoes off.

When I finally did get my shoes off at home, the entire sole of my left sock was soaked in blood, and the right one had a pretty sizable stain as well. I had taken all the skin off about 2 inches of the inside of my left arch, and shredded up the right arch pretty decently as well. I couldn’t put any weight on either foot….which made walking interesting….;)

Long story (sorry, I told you it was going to be a long, newsy, lazy letter) short, the blisters have been so extreme that I haven’t been able to wear shoes for about 6 days. I missed an entire week of my classes (horror of all horrors), and am only just now (9 days later) starting to ease back into running shoes (still with pretty significant pain).

Back to the title of this post, what I learned from a pair of blisters. I learned that I’m a lot tougher than I think I am. I learned that even when things fall apart and everything is working against you, the only person that ultimately gets the final call on whether you give up or whether you don’t, is you. Don’t blame the blisters, or the cold, or the iPod. It’s you that gets the final call. You can’t always control what happens to you. But you can control how you react to it.

On the flip side, I learned a bit about race preparation, and what it can mean for your race. My iPod should have been charged, if I wanted it. I should have been wearing blister-preventing socks (since I know that I’m prone to blisters because I over-pronate). I should have been wearing the proper race gear.

I am now three weeks out from Around the Bay. My feet are just starting to think about healing a little bit, but I am hopeful to be able to run a little bit this weekend, and to do another big run next weekend to prepare. Is it ideal? No. But I’ve learned to roll with it. I’m starting to develop a little bit of faith in myself: I’ll get it done. It feels good. I look back at the girl writing this blog at this very moment last year, and she is hardly recognizable to me.

Anyways – that’s what I’ve been up to my friends. Please, please won’t you update me on what you’ve been doing the last couple of months?! I just know that you’ve been up to amazing things, and I want to hear all about them.

Lots of love – and I promise to check in before too long!

Work hard – train hard, and never give up. Least of all on yourself.

xoxo

 

 

Ahh Friday – the undisputed Gold medalist in every event it competes in. T-Minus 2 hours to the weekend folks….we made it!

I want to start off today’s post by wishing the happiest of birthdays to my Matthew!! 28 years young today, and still looking like a spring chicken!! Happy Birthday my love!!

I know I’ve taken quite a detour from my regular blog training chatter the last couple of months. The holidays followed immediately by my 25^th birthday got me in kind of a reflective mood, and a bit of that kind of spilled over onto the blog. If that kind of stuff isn’t your cup of tea (and you prefer to read about me touching old people in appropriately in swimming pools)….you’re in luck, because it’s time to put the hammer down and get serious about training again!! Time is ticking!!

I’m freaking out a bit (what else is new) because if I look back at my blog posts from this time last year, I had been swimming for nearly three months, and attending spin classes on a weekly basis. This year, as of today, January 23^rd 2014, I’ve done absolutely squat nothing for the Half IronMan.

Hmm……

I don’t know if I’m labouring under the notion that completing the race once (by the skin of my teeth) gives me the luxury of half-assing training, but I’ll tell you this: I can paint a pretty vivid description of my race day for you if I carry on the way that I am now. And the picture is one that may or may not scare your children. If you catch my drift.

I’m struggling a bit with trying to ramp up my running as well. I’ll give myself the credit of saying that every Sunday for four weeks in a row now; I’ve gone down into our basement and run for a minimum of half an hour on the treadmill.

*Insert high five for Sara here*

The longest run I did was about 10K, the shortest was 5K. I’ve been feeling good running, but I know that I need to get my distance up way beyond 10K; and I also know that I don’t have an abundance of time to do it.

I’m trying to stay focused on my first “stepping stone” (side note – I’m so glad that I wrote that post – I refer back to it so often in so many aspects of my life) which is the Chilly Half Marathon on Sunday March 2^nd. To be honest with you, although I’ve run several half marathons (6 to be exact – how that happened, I’ll never know), standing at the start line, I’ve never really truly feel prepared for the race. I always find a way to get through it, but I think some of that is more “oxe-like stubbornness”, and less actual athletic ability.

The first “stepping stone” for me in achieving my goal of finishing the San Diego marathon is to stand at the start line for the Chilly Half knowing that I’ve trained properly, and that my body is 100% ready and prepared to run 21km strong all the way to the finish line.

And THAT seems totally manageable.

Part of the struggle with running (as it always has been for me) is keeping my joints healthy while I’m running on top of the classes that I teach.

If “Les Mills fitness classes” and “Running” were both on Facebook, they would not be friends. In fact, they probably would annoy each other so much that they would have blocked and deleted each other by now.

Without fail, as soon as I start adding on a regular run to my weekly routine, one of my knees goes down for the count. I can’t predict which one, it changes all the time. This time has been no different, and I’ve been nursing a really sore right knee all week.

It doesn’t at all help that it’s Release Week at the gym and I’m teaching 13 classes this week, but hey, what can ya do.

I guess my struggle is knowing how to handle aches and pains like this one. Do I push through and run on it anyways? Do I take the week off running and try to just make it through my classes? My fear with the second option is that there is always going to be something nagging and aching, and if I responded to every one of them by taking the week off from running, then I would never run!

I’m guessing that (as usual), the right plan lies somewhere right in the middle of the two extreme options. I probably can’t take the week off running completely, and I probably shouldn’t be doing a full blast sprint workout either. Maybe a bit slower, more relaxed run would be the right thing to do. Followed by a whole lot of TLC for the knee of course.

I wanted to wrap up today’s post by giving you a quick update on my fundraising efforts for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society! If you remember, part of my BHAG is to cross the finish line of the marathon in one piece, but the other part of my BHAG is to achieve my fundraising goal of $5,000 for the LLS.

I’ve been completely and totally blown away by the generosity of everyone that I know. So far, with very little effort on my part, I’ve raised $1,315 towards my $5,000 goal, and I have some plans in the works for making up that remaining $3,700.

First of all – I’ve planned a shopping party to take place on Thursday March 6^th at a local yoga clothing store in my hometown. The amazing store (Lole Atelier) has agreed to give all customers that night a 30% discount, and I’m going to be bringing in catering as well for shoppers to snack on. I’ve been working on gathering as many amazing prizes as I can for a silent auction, with 100% of the proceeds going towards my fundraising efforts for the LLS.

I’m really excited for the shopping party, and am really hopeful that it will bring me a big step closer to the ultimate goal.

My brother by the way is doing fantastically well! He’s at home, and needs to put on about 40 pounds (oh if I only had that problem…), but otherwise is right as rain! His bloodwork is good, and initial screens show no signs of Leukemia. Hurray!

I’ll leave you today with the link to my fundraising page for the LLS, if you are looking to start your weekend off with a good deed, then here’s a wonderful opportunity to donate to a cause very near and dear to my heart!

CLICK HERE TO DONATE NOW!!

Thanks for your support – and have a great weekend everyone!!

 

I don’t normally give a hoot about my birthday. I’ve never really been one to throw a big birthday party, or go out to a bar, or really do much of anything, at least for the past couple of years anyways. Call me crazy, but from about the time I turned 21 onwards, I’ve always looked at birthdays as “another year older” and another year of lost youth that I would never be able to reclaim.

A couple of months ago, I stumbled across this quote, and I only wish that I could find who it was that said it:

“Do not regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many.” – Unknown

Unknown, whoever they were, was very wise with what they said. And I’ve taken their words to heart.

In so many ways, my 24th year was the best year of my life. In so many ways, it was also the very worst year of my life. There were so many amazing, uplifting moments of love and laughter that I cherish and hold close to me, and also so many black moments that I wish that I could sew away into the folds of time and pretend never happened.

I learned so much in my 24th year, but this year, I am ready to move on and to move forward. I’ve decided that my 25th year is going to be the very best year ever, and it’s going to be that way, because I’m going to make it that way!

I’m a lucky, lucky girl. I have an amazing family, a wonderful boyfriend, strong and meaningful friendships, and an overwhelming passion that I get to live and breathe every single day.

Really….what more could I possibly ask for?!

And so, I’ve decided to live each and every day of my 25th year with the intention to soak as much joy and as much happiness out of each and every minute that I can. I have no doubt that there will be hard moments, maybe even totally miserable moments. But I’ve learned from my 24th year that life is too short to be miserable. Even for one minute.

I’ve had the best birthday weekend I’ve ever had, filled to the brim with all of the things that really and truly make me happiest (including a massage, laser tag, cheeseburgers, hours and hours of group fitness, an animated movie about squirrels, time with Matt, sleeping in and shopping), and I can’t wait to see what the rest of my 25th year has in store for me!

This is going to be the best year ever. And it all starts tomorrow. WOOHOO!!

I did float the idea by Matt that perhaps I shouldn’t have to do a 12km run tomorrow because it is my birthday after all…………….

Suffice to say; it did not go over well. Sigh 😉

The happiest of weekends to you my friends, and stay tuned next week for some more running/training specific talk!

-Sara xoxo

Hi Everyone, and Happy New Year!!

Sorry for the long hiatus, I guess I was taking a bit of what you might call a ‘digital detox’ over the holidays, and although it did feel (really) good, I’ve really missed writing and all of you terribly! It’s good to be back!

This Christmas may have been the lowest key holidays that I’ve ever had. Normally we are traveling somewhere north (either to visit my mom’s family or Matt’s family), or at least all over the GTA visiting different friends, but this year we just kind of stayed put and breathe easy for a few days, which was nothing short of a miracle. In 12 days, Matt and I probably got more sleep then we got in the previous 4 months combined, and got to spend some time on our own around our house, which was also really nice.

[Side note – Matt got us the most incredible king sized mattress for Christmas, seriously, how did I ever sleep on anything BUT this thing????]

That being said, by the time January 1st rolled around, I think that both of us had had enough of lounging around the house and were ready to get back into our routines and our crazy daisy lifestyle. It’s amazing what a few weeks off work will do for your perspective. I’ve set a goal for 2014 to be religious about taking more time off across the whole year, rather than saving it all for the end of the year. By the time December hit last year, I was feeling really bitter and short-tempered and frustrated about work. 12 days later, while all those stressors are still right there where I left them in December, I just felt a whole lot better equipped to deal with them. And less likely to throw my stapler at someone’s head and tell them where to go.

Just sayin’ 😉

So here we are on January 2nd, and I’ll bet that if you follow lots of health and fitness blogs, that you’ve seen a lot of chatter about goal setting, New Years resolutions and challenges upcoming for the brand new year. So have I.

I’ll tell you a little secret, between you, me and the Internet. I set New Years resolutions every single year (even the years that I wave my hand at them and say that I won’t bother this year, I still do, just secretly so that no one knows about them) and I fail at them every single year.

Usually my New Years resolutions are about weight loss. “This year, I lose 20 pounds by cutting out chocolate and junk food and strictly reducing carbs.” “This year, I fit into a size 8 pair of jeans.”

One time, I actually bought a size 8 pair of jeans and hung them on a hanger over my closet door so that I could look at them every day for inspiration. I never did fit my big ass into those damn jeans!!

Anyways, this year, I thought I might try a new approach to New Years resolutions and New Years goal setting, and I thought I would try it in a totally different way then anything I’ve ever done before. Rather than setting “goals”, I’ve created a “To Do” list for 2014. The criteria for an item to make it onto the “To Do” list is simple. It has to elicit some sort of physical reaction from me. That’s it.

One thing I’ve learned from the past year and a half of crazy BHAG chasing is that sometimes you just have to trust your instincts. I think that sometimes you can only mess things up by thinking too much about them, because really, if you think too long and hard about anything, I’m pretty sure that you can find a way to talk to yourself out of it. Too much money, too long of a distance, too different a sport, too risky, not enough vacation time………

Enough.

What if instead of thinking too much, we started to trust that little voice inside us that used to guide everything that we did when we were kids? It’s rarely wrong, and it’s still there. I think that it’s just that as we grow older, the stern voice of reason becomes so much more loud and over-powering, that that meek little voice of passion and excitement fades away or becomes secondary. This is my best effort at reviving it!

And so before the voice of reason over-powers the decision to even post this ‘To-Do List’ for 2014, here goes nothing. A list of things that make me excited, that I plan to get done in 2014:

• Run a full marathon
• Eat a cheeseburger at Webers restaurant on Highway 11
• Go sky diving (I know….just…..I know)
• Organize our storage room (yes, this excites me…I live a sad, sad life….;))
• Ride Leviathan at Canada’s Wonderland
• Go on a weekend getaway with Matt (not involving a race or any sort of athletic endeavor!!!)
• Start and finish writing a novel
• Do Edge Walk at the CN Tower
• Take 50 yoga classes
• Read at least 4 new novels
• Complete the Muskoka Half IronMan bike course with a smile on my face
• Share the link to my blog on Facebook (yep, I still haven’t done this almost a year and a half in. Talk about a chicken)
• Improve the organization and functionality of my blog
• Buy a DSLR Camera and start to take pictures more regularly
• Put up an “inspiration wall” in our basement beside the treadmill
• Take 50 dance classes

And there she be!! I can’t wait to get started on making this stuff happen!!

Before you leave today, I want to hear at least one item that’s on YOUR “To Do” list for 2014. If you could turn off the voice of Reason for just a minute, and listen to that inner-child, what is one thing that you really WANT to do this year, if you could do anything?

Happy New Year to all – and happy listing!!

-Sara xoxo

I’ve dabbled in and out of Hot Yoga so many times over the past several years that I guess you could call me a “wannabe yogi”.

Unfortunately the membership at these hot yoga studios is enough to make even me (the most frivolous money-waster you could imagine) cringe. Seriously, what the heck? I guess it’s all those crazy energy bills that they must have to pay to heat the studio to 50 degrees Celsius and keep it there all day every day, but still. I thought yogis were supposed to be low maintenance, chill, inexpensive???

ANYWAYS, all that to say that about a week ago I scored a Groupon for a hot yoga studio in our area: 20 classes for 40 dollars. Now that’s what I’m talking about! This studio is the fifth one in the area that I’ve tried out on one of these introductory offers, and I was eager to check it out and see how it stacked up against the others that I’ve been to.

On Sunday night, after a totally disastrous attempt at cooking pulled pork in the slow cooker (I bought the wrong cut of meat and ended up cooking the crap out of a ham in the slow cooker for 7 hours before trying to “pull” it….#pulledporkfail), I headed out to give the 8pm Yin/Yang class a try. Whatever pulled pork, I don’t need you anyways.

This yoga studio is in a really interesting part of town. There are some really gourgeous old buildings and lots of really cute little shops with lots of character. Everything was closed on the street except for the yoga studio which was lit up like a candle because the walls exposed to the street were nearly floor to ceiling windows. It was very cool.

As soon as I walked through the door, I kind of smiled to myself because every single hot yoga studio I’ve been in as a lot of the same qualities about it.

#1 – You always have to take off your shoes immediately upon entering (and I mean immediately), or risk a very reproachful look from the yogi at the front desk

#2 – Every single one has the identical smell to it. I spent a good solid 10 minutes of the yoga class trying to put my finger on what that smell is, and I’ve still got nothing. I can try to describe it to you as an earthy, woody smell, kind of musky and herby. (Is herby a word?). It might be some kind of incense that they all burn, or maybe in a less idyllic vision it’s just all the sweat from 30 people doing yoga in a 50 degrees Celsius room with wooden floors, but anyways, it’s totally a Hallmark of all hot yoga studios I’ve been to.

#3 – There’s always kind of a strange looking Buddha statue of some sort. This particular one was wearing a very nice decorative headdress.

Once I had gotten myself registered and ready to go, I went into the studio to lie down on my back like a corpse and chill for a bit before class started. Or as the yogis call it “Savasana”.

Although I’m really, really no good at it (nearly 10 years of high impact , plyometric fitness classes have not been kind to any of my joints or my flexibility), I love going to yoga classes and trying out different yoga studios for so many reasons. One of the biggest reasons is that I love getting the opportunity to see inside a different world of fitness.

I’m fascinated by the world of yoga, because it stands in such stark contrast to the loud, bustling, noisy world of fitness that I call home. I love to look around at the people that come to class, and I love to guess at who is there trying out a class for a workout or something new to add on to their fitness routine like I am, and who really lives and breathes the stuff the way that I do with Les Mills. You can usually tell, not by a person’s yoga ability or how they look or what they’re wearing, but by their whole demeanour, body language and how comfortable and at home they are in the studio.  I find it really interesting.

We had two instructors, one very nice man and one very sweet woman with a French accent and the longest legs I’ve ever seen who was wearing very cool zebra print yoga tights. I could so NOT have rocked those tights.

As promised, the first half of the class was a little more athletic with more movement, and the second half of the class was more restorative and we got to hold poses for a little longer. I kind of struggled with both halves of the class to be honest (especially with some soreness in my shoulders while holding Downward Dog), but I definitely enjoyed the second half of the class more than the first.

In the second half of the class, the woman with the zebra pants asked us to try to do a “shoulder stand” where you kind of prop yourself up on your elbows and support your lower back with your hands so that your shoulders are the only part of your body really touching the ground (apart from your head and elbows of course, because I don’t think that would really be possible unless you were decapitated).

At first I failed miserably at the shoulder stand, but the instructor actually came over and helped me to get it at least kind of right, which I really appreciated. Once she was done helping me, she went back to her own mat and proceeded to do a headstand and split her legs so that her toes actually touched the ground on each side of her body. I think I actually stopped even trying to do my lame little shoulder stand and just watched her. It was absolutely incredible what she was able to do with her body.

We finished with about 10 minutes of Savasana, which I just loved, and then just like that we were back into the chilly world and I was sprinting and shrieking across the road back to the car in my flip flops because it had turned into a torrential downpour rainstorm while we were peacefully doing our thing in the yoga studio.

Back to reality eh? 🙂

I’m planning to go back to the yoga studio this weekend for another class in some sort of effort to get myself on the injury prevention train BEFORE I even start to really train for my marathon.

I hope you all have a great weekend planned, I’m headed to see the new Hunger Games movie tonight and then to the States for some Christmas shopping on Sunday!

Before you leave today, I implore you; you must read this article about Surviving Whole Foods. It’s got to be the funniest thing I’ve read like….ever.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kelly-maclean/surviving-whole-foods_b_3895583.html

Namaste friends!

Happy Friday Night!!

Although it was a short week, it’s been an insane one and I’m sure glad that the weekend is here. I’ve got high hopes for this weekend in terms of getting ready for Christmas, including buying our very first set of Christmas lights and putting them up (enter stage right: Matt with a ladder), doing some baking, finishing off my Christmas cards and maybe if there’s time, getting into the mall to start my Christmas shopping.

I cannot believe its November 15^th and I haven’t even started my shopping yet. Oh the shame. Normally I start shopping in October, and I’m pretty much done by the end of November, but then spend the rest of December picking up “extra” things that I see that I think people might like. This year I think I’m going to be one of those mad panicked shoppers bolting around the mall the week before Christmas….which I’m not overly disappointed about. I always kind of wish that I had more of an excuse to go to the mall in December (and all year long to be honest) anyways 🙂

Another thing that I’m really looking forward to this weekend is a yoga class at this new yoga studio in Oakville. I recently bought a Groupon for 20 yoga classes over the next three months, and I’ve been itching to get started ever since I bought it. Yoga is one of those things that I always wish that I had time to cram into my schedule, yet somehow it never makes it in. Don’t the yogis always say that the people that need yoga the most are the ones that can’t find the time for it?

True dat yogis. Point taken.

Anyways, I’m thinking about taking a Hot Yang/Yin Yoga class on Sunday night which is supposed to be evenly split between a higher energy, more athletic style of yoga for the first half of the class, and then a slower paced, more restorative and healing style of yoga for the second half. I of course am looking forward to the second half more than the first 😉

In all seriousness though, I know that cross-training is going to be a big part of my marathon training (how weird is it to not have the word “half” in front of the word marathon???? Guess that’s something I’ll have to get used to…) if I want to stay healthy throughout my training cycle. It’s going to be a real challenge to keep my body healthy because I’m going to be teaching high-impact classes on top of all the running that I need to be doing.

My friend Angela (who blogs over at www.eat-spin-run-repeat.com by the way!) posted a great article today from Running Competitor.com which outlines the four biggest problem areas for runners, and offers up some stretches and strengthening exercises to target these areas specifically.

The four areas (in no particular order) are: hips, glutes, hamstrings and ankles.

I’ve had injuries and issues with all four of these areas in the past, so this time I’m being proactive, and I’m committing to do at least one set of the exercises in this article before bed every night starting TODAY. Combine that with a regular yoga practice, and I’m hopeful that my joints and muscles will forgive me for the pounding they’ll be taking in the coming months.

Speaking of pounding…….I kind of made a bit of a mistake in my winter race sign-ups. Matt has been shaking his head at me and calling me a “silly goose” for the last week. I sort of double-booked myself for the first weekend in December by agreeing to do the 5km Santa Shuffle (in a full Santa suit) with my instructor friends from the gym on Saturday December 7th and also agreeing to do the 10.8km Eggnog Jog on Sunday December 8th. Throw in a BodyAttack class on the Saturday morning post-Santa Shuffle and I don’t know how much shuffling I’m going to feel like doing come Sunday night!!

Silly goose indeed.

Anyways, in the next week I’ve got to outline a bit of a training plan to get started on. Since I know that I can’t ramp up mileage quickly without injuring myself, it’s going to have to be a slow and steady process, and I know I’m going to have to start early. Stay tuned for the training plan!

Before you leave for the night, what are you up to this weekend?! What have you got on the go? Have you started your Christmas shopping yet??

Have a great weekend all!!

-Sara xo

 

Hi Everyone – Happy Wednesday!

It’s a big day for me on Going the Distance….I’ve got a new BHAG to share with all of you!

When I finished the Muskoka 70.3 IronMan, I remember there were a couple of weeks where I thought to myself: I really honestly don’t need or want to set another huge goal for 2014. It was so wonderful to have the pressure of the impending Half IronMan lifted, the waiting over, and to just immerse myself back into my class 150%.

I have to just put it out there that although I am slowly but surely falling in love with endurance sports as well, my heart is still firmly entrenched in the studio. I’m a Les Mills girl forever and always! The past couple of months have been some of the best I’ve ever had in the studio.

I’ve recently started going to BodyJam once a week, and am totally falling in love with dance and dance fitness. BodyJam is always something that I’ve wanted so badly to “be good at”, but never really had the courage to try. With my new found confidence from the IronMan, I made the executive decision that to hell with it if I don’t look good doing it, I enjoy it and I’m going to try anyways. Ironically (and of course), the exact moment that I stopped caring about how I looked doing it was the exact moment that I started to “get good” at it.

How simple the lesson always seems in hindsight, right?

Anyways, all this to say, that despite all of the wonderful things that have been happening in the studio, after about a month, I started to miss the long term vision of working towards a big goal. I watched Matt training his heart out day after day for the Chicago Marathon and watched his hard work pay-off with an absolutely incredible 2:50 marathon (shaving nearly 7 minutes off his previous personal best). I was beyond proud of him, and so inspired.

And so I got kicking around a couple of ideas. What do I really WANT to achieve next year? What will mean the most to me? At this time next year, what do I want to be celebrating?

I’ll spare you the dramatics any longer: I’ve decided that my big goal for 2014 is going to be to complete a full Marathon.

*cue the fanfare*!!!

A couple of reasons why I chose the Marathon as my BHAG for 2014:

1. I’m tired of being “half” an athlete. I’ve only ever really done “half” races in my short career, and I’m ready to drop the Half in front of my race names.
2. I want to drop the whole “I’m not a distance athlete” label. About 50 times this year, I’ve corrected people saying “Oh I’m not really a runner”. Enough is enough; if I run a full marathon then I’m officially “a runner”. End debate here.
3. The marathon is the ultimate pinnacle of endurance events. It’s the very last event of the entire Olympic Games each summer, and has the longest history of hard work and determination (Fun Fact Break: the first “marathon” was run by a Greek guy named Pheidippides who ran 42.2km from a battlefield near the town of Marathon back to Athens to deliver the message: “Niki!” (Victory!))
4. I want to prove myself wrong. Even after 8 hours on the course at Muskoka, I’m still holding onto this dogged belief that there is no way in HELL I could ever complete a full marathon, with any amount of training.
5. It scares the hell out of me. So I know I’m on the right track, and that I’m dreaming big enough.

With the BHAG set, the only thing left to do was to pick a race and put in place the stepping stones. I really enjoyed the Chilly Half Marathon last year, and Around the Bay holds a special place in my heart as well (ATB was the race that got me believing in myself last year. Until I finished that race, I didn’t think there was a chance in hell that I would even start the Half IronMan).

Around the Bay is scheduled for Sunday March 30^th this year. That puts me running 30km by April 1^st. I knew that I wanted about 6-8 weeks after Around the Bay to do another couple of long runs, and then start to taper off before the big race. So I was looking for a marathon mid-May to early June.

It turns out that there aren’t a whole pile of marathons in Ontario in May and June. The only two that I could find locally were early May (the Mississauga Marathon and the Toronto Marathon – both on the same weekend). A bit frustrated at the lack of options and the early time frame, I grudgingly decided to do the Mississauga Marathon.

2 days after making the decision, something just didn’t feel right. When I thought about the goal, nothing happened in my belly. Nothing came alive in me, I didn’t get excited or nervous or scared or anything. I went on the website, looked at the pictures, and tried to psych myself up…and nothing. Something was wrong. Matt says that the thing that was wrong was that it wasn’t expensive enough, but let’s ignore him, shall we? 😉

That night, as I was sitting in my brother’s hospital room trying to stay awake with my dad’s laptop (my brother and my dad both asleep in the room), I absently went online and started to do some more Google-ing (what a great verb, hey?) to see if I could find another option.

And there it was. Goosebumps, butterflies, heart racing, eyes wide. My race. My marathon.

The San Diego Rock ‘N Roll Marathon to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. June 1^st 2014.

I knew instantly, I didn’t even have to think about it. Whatever it costs to get there, to stay in hotels, I don’t care (okay, maybe Matt was right). I don’t care if its $10,000 and it puts me in debt for the next 5 years. This is my race. This is the one that I was meant to do.

I know that I don’t need to tell you what the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society means to me and my family. My brother’s life is being saved as we speak thanks to a research grant that was granted to our hospital by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. If it weren’t for that grant, and for the research that is being done on haplo-identical stem cell transplants, my brother would not live to see his 25^th birthday.

How the race and support for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society works is this:

1)  Every person that registers for the San Diego Rock ‘N Roll Marathon or Half Marathon will be asked on their registration form to donate $15 to the LLS (last year there were over 30,000 people registered for the marathon and half marathon, so even if only 50% of the people say yes, we’re talking about over $225,000!)

2)  Once you are registered, every participant will be automatically set up with a “Make Cures Happen” personal fundraising webpage where we will be able to raise additional funds for the LLS USA Chapter by collecting sponsors and pledges leading up to the race.

3)  Team in Training (the leader in endurance sports training for charity) will again be sending a huge contingency of athletes to San Diego to participate in the races and to raise funds independently and specifically for the LLS Canada Chapter. Since 1988, Team in Training has raised over 1.3 billion dollars for treatments saving the lives of blood cancer patients. That’s a lot of freaking money!!

More than just completing the marathon, I plan to join Team in Training, and I’ve set an aggressive fundraising goal of $5,000 for the race between my work, friends and family support, and some bigger corporate sponsorship options that I’m still in the process of looking into.

It’s important to note that the LLS is a worldwide organization, with chapters running in each country that it operates. Funds raised through the marathon registration will go to support the LLS USA Chapter, however I’ve been told that funds raised for any chapter worldwide will ultimately benefit everyone living with blood cancer, since they share research, knowledge and breakthroughs worldwide. My way of feeling a little bit closer to home is to support the USA chapter through my registration and donation for the race, and to support the Canadian Chapter by joining Team in Training.

And there she be! My BHAG for 2014! I seriously could not be more excited, I can’t wait to get started on my training and fundraising, and WE ARE GOING TO SAN DIEGO!!! WOOHOO!!!

Here we go again…..;)

Before you head out for the day, I want to hear what your BHAG is for 2014?! What are you working towards?!

Have a great day everyone!!

I’ve started to write a post for Going the Distance about four times, and trailed off each time because I didn’t like the tone or the direction that I was headed in. I hope I’ve finally got it right this time.

The past month has been a bit surreal. My brother completed the lead-up therapy to get his stem cell transplant, got the cells transplanted on Friday October 18^th and it’s been a total whirlwind ever since then. He’s managed to pick up a couple of infections which have made him really really sick, and have really scared the crap out of us. The good amazing news is that he seems to be doing okay for now, my cells have grafted and they seem to have most of his infections at least under control (although one really pesky one is still hanging around).

There have been some moments (although I’m really proud to say not too many of them) where I feel like all of this is just too much to handle. Ever since he’s been in the hospital, I’ve had this dream in my head of him walking around in normal clothes, walking out the front door of my parent’s house and closing the door noisily behind him like he always did, drinking beer at the casino….and then when I snap back to reality and see the actual state that he’s in right now, it just feels like we’ll never ever get there. It seems like a lifetime away.

Re-reading my Muskoka Race Recap post the other day (yes, I do that often, don’t judge!), I realized how simple the solution to the overwhelmed feeling was. Ever since then, I’ve felt a lot better about things. Re-reading what was going through my head while the race was going on reminded me how I absolutely, steadfastly refused to let myself picture the finish line of the race until I was within 1km away from it.

I remember countless times (hundreds, at least) during the race my mind would wander to the finish line and picture the celebration that would take place there, imagine what the first thing I would say to Matt was, think about the medal and the Finisher jacket and the food we were going to eat and all of that wonderful stuff. Each and every time that my mind went there, I consciously (and sternly) pushed it away, and kept my focus like a laser beam on the smaller goal that I had in front of me (usually to get to the next aid station).

I think sometimes by focusing too much on the ultimate BHAG, we can really make ourselves crazy. When I set the goal to complete the Half IronMan back in October 2012, thinking about myself completing a Half IronMan was about as fictional as the idea of going for a unicorn ride. It was ridiculous, impossible, and a world of time away.

Starting with little things like the Eggnog Jog, the Chilly Half Marathon and Around the Bay started to make at least the run part of the day seem like it was somewhat achievable. Swimming lengths in the pool (and touching old people inappropriately – remember that?) started to make the swim seem manageable. Biking with Neil on the May long weekend in Muskoka gave me some confidence on the bike.

Muskoka was always the ultimate goal, but along the way there were so many stepping stones to it for me to focus my efforts on.

Cancer seems to be no different.

The ultimate goal (or the “Muskoka”) in this case is for him to walk out of the hospital in regular clothes, come home and start to live a normal life again. But at this point in time, that goal is about as far off as Muskoka was for me back in October 2012. We still have so many smaller goals and stepping stones to achieve before we can even let ourselves picture that end-state.

The whole perspective shift has gotten me thinking about goals that we set in other areas of our lives. How many things are we setting ourselves up for failure on simply by getting overwhelmed with the magnitude of the end-state?

I’ve been beating myself up for the past year or more about my total inability to cook and get myself eating “real” food. When I picture in my head what my ideal end-state is, it involves me doing a bunch of meal-prep on Sundays, portioning out food so that it’s sitting neatly in the fridge in labeled, organized containers waiting for us at the end of each day, grocery shopping once a week and getting all the ingredients I need, taking cooking classes, making a recipe binder, buying better Tupperware and labels for it……..it’s totally overwhelming, and I usually get exhausted and stressed out just thinking about it and resort back to my old ways.

Maybe my first focus should just be on planning meals for the week. Forget the cooking classes and the meal-prep and the Tupperware and everything else.

I invite you to take a look at the way that you’ve been compartmentalizing those big goals that you have in your own life. Do you get bogged down and intimidated by the big picture? If you’re like me and the answer is yes, then give the staged approach a try and let me know how you make out. It’s made a world of difference for me.

 

On the topic of BHAGs and staged approaches, I’ve just about nailed down my big goal for 2014, and it’s a big one! I’ll be unveiling not only the goal itself, but the stepping stones along with it in my next post, so stay tuned!!

Have a fabulous weekend – work hard, play hard and don’t forget to stop and smell the roses 🙂

Hi Everyone 🙂

In my big (massive) race summary yesterday, I mentioned that I was going to let Neil tell you about his experience on the Muskoka IronMan 70.3 course in his own words. Today, I make good on that promise.

Something that Matt’s dad Roy said a while back really resonated with me, and very nearly held true for Neil. Roy said that back when he was training for his full IronMan, something that he had to wrap his head around was the idea that even though he had done all the training that he could and taken all of the proper precautions, there was still a very real possibility that a) he wouldn’t even get to start the race and b) that even if he did start, something outside of his control could end his race prematurely. The thought hung over me the entire year.

Sometimes, as it turns out, the biggest challenge of the day has nothing to do with muscles or with hills or sweat or joints. Sometimes the toughest battle that an athlete can face in one of these events happens between their ears. When they would be totally within their rights and justification to call it a day and walk off the course, but something in their head just won’t let them give up.

I won’t say anymore, and instead will let Neil tell you his own IronMan 70.3 story. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!!

-Sara

Muskoka Ironman 70.3

September 8^th 2013

The event started the night before going over all my equipment; making sure I have all my clothes together as well as any food I would be carrying. I lined it all up on the floor and packed it into my bag. I filled up my water bottles and left them in the fridge overnight. Next I determined what tools I wanted to bring along for my bike; it’s the one element to the race where things can happen that are not in your control, being prepared for some repairs is how you can take back some of that control.

I decided on a couple Allen wrenches, the sizes that I used that day to make sure all my bike components were tight, and a tire removal tool. With all that taken care of I walked through my transitions in my head; wetsuit, goggles, cap, timing chip to towel, socks, biking shoes, cycling shirt, sunscreen, sunglasses, helmet, bike to running shoes, sunscreen, and bib.  I felt really good with everything and so with that I went to bed. I was maybe in bed for 30 minutes when all of a sudden I jumped out and went to my gear. I pulled out my biking shoes and an Allen wrench and made sure my cleats on my shoes were secure. So if you can imagine I was totally happy with my gear setup when I went to bed, and yet all I could think of was if I had everything and was it race ready! After that wake up I managed to get to sleep only to wake up at 5:45am.

Skip past the usual morning jitters and past my plain old oatmeal. I got over to the transition area where my bike was already waiting, as it had to be in transition zone the day before. I took time to look over it and checked my tires pressure. Everything looked great. I then began pulling all my gear, food, and tools out of my bag and setup my transition area. I’m not a big talker before any events especially a big one like this. However, I did manage to say “Hey” to another athlete. Once I felt good with my setup I went and got my body marking done, and was off to the bathroom one last time before the start. It was now time to get going as the start was getting close. I put on my timing chip and wetsuit, and began the walk to the lake for the start with goggles and swim cap in hand. We all got to the start area and so I said goodbye to my supporters and past them some last minute warm clothes and shoes. With that I was in the water for a warm up swim.

After a few minutes it was time, and so I said my good lucks to Sara, who was doing the event along with me, and I worked my way right to the front of the start line. I had a fair bit of room around me which was nice, I always have a slight worry about getting kicked in the face during the swim but I’ve done enough events to know how to avoid something like that from happening. 10 Seconds! 5 seconds! And what once seem so far away had begun, and I couldn’t have been more excited!

I swim using the front crawl and before I knew it I was in a good rhythm with strokes and taking breathes. Everything seemed to be coming together great, and I remember thinking that I should push myself to go faster! Of course I continued at my pace, knowing I was only in the first 500 meters of the swim. That’s when it happened! Just like that I could feel another athlete touching my feet, so I tried my best not to kick really hard. The last thing I wanted to do was end someone’s chances of completing the Ironman 70.3. However, this person kept coming up on me and out of nowhere it seemed, I felt the whole hand right between my legs pushing on my butt and crotch! It shocked me a bit and so I slowed up and let the person move past me. I never did see if it was a guy or girl. This threw me off my rhythm for a little while, but I managed to get back into it and continued on. The rest of the swim went just as planned; I felt comfortable and kept up a good pace. I was always looking to the next Dorito buoy, until I had past the last one and was almost to the swim finish! As I was coming up to the swim finish the water got very murky and seaweed was catching on my arms and face. This is when I began thinking about whether or not to take my wetsuit off myself or to let the strippers do it. I left it to a last second decision! I reached land and looked for an open stripper; I saw a girl that was looking right at me, so I ran towards her but at the last second I decided I would take it off myself! The run to transition was about 300 meters basically all up hill. I ran up the hill like it wasn’t even there, I felt amazing, and the crowd/supporters were great!

I got to transition and pulled my wetsuit off, my swim cap and goggles were off earlier, and dried myself off with my towel starting with my feet working my way up. I was then able to get my socks on, biking shoes, and cycling jersey with all my tools and food. I went to put on sunscreen but I couldn’t get the spray to work, dumb child locks, so I threw it down and put on my glasses and helmet. With my bike in hand I worked my way to the bike on section! I can’t stress enough how good my body felt at this point. The swim felt great and my transition was quick, I was well on my way to reaching my goal of 5 hours 50 minutes! However, an Ironman 70.3 is not just about how physically strong you are but also how mentally strong you are, as I would soon find out!

 

I was now on the bike, the part of the event I was looking forward to the most. I made the most progress on the bike during my training; as well I just got a new bike only a couple months earlier. Things started out great; I was right on pace, and climbing hills effectively. Once I got about 3km in I told myself I needed relax for the first 30km and make sure I get in the appropriate food and water. So that’s when I began using my gears as efficiently as possible, not getting too carried away going up hills, but maintaining an average pace of 30km/hr. At this point I would like to ask a couple questions. What would you do if your race plan was turned upside down? Would you be able to adjust your plan? Would you be able to overcome the fact that you would no longer be reaching your goal but instead just look to finish?

At kilometer 8 is when disaster struck, and one of those things that isn’t in your control happened. I was working my way up a steeper hill on the course and so I decided to switch to my smaller chain ring, thinking that I was pushing a little too hard up this hill and a couple previous hills. Everything shifted fine and I got to the top of the hill, at which point I went to shift back to my large chain ring. When I made the shift, all of a sudden I heard a horrendous clunking noise coming from my crankset and front derailleur.

Instantly I started cursing in my head, wondering what happened. I pulled over to get a look, and to determine if I could fix it. I pulled off my cycling jersey and laid the bike on its side. This is when I saw that my derailleur was too low and was caught in the large chain ring. I did my best to clear my head so I could focus on repairing the problem. The problem was that my head was racing out of control! I was mentally frying myself out, and couldn’t see a solution. At first I thought my race is over! Emotions started up and I stood up with my hands over my head. I was disgusted with my bike; I couldn’t believe it broke down, and that it was so early in the race.

A couple of cyclist yelled to me if I needed help, but I told them not to worry about me and to continue on. I didn’t know what to do for a few moments, so I went to my tools and pulled out the Allen wrenches, spreading them by my bike. I took another look at my derailleur and decided to try and move it anyway possible; I just couldn’t get it to sit properly. So I put my shifter to the lower chain ring and forced the derailleur over. I would no longer be able to use my large chain ring, which means no high gears, which also means I’m no longer going to be able to travel at 30km/hr.

I got back onto my bike and started out again. All I could think about is how I had finisher clothes waiting for me at the finish that would have to be burned, and would I be able to live with the fact that I couldn’t finish my first Ironman 70.3. I started thinking about what my supporters would think of me and how would I explain to friends and co-workers that I couldn’t finish. With all this running through my head, again all of a sudden, Clunk! Clunk! Clunk! This time I swore out loud, and pulled over. This was maybe 100 – 150 meters past my first stop. I had a look and this time it was my chain contacting my derailleur! Again I put my hands on top of my head and said “How can this be happing to me? At this race!”! I went to get my Allen wrenches from my jersey and realized that I only put one back in, I had left the others at my previous stop.

I stopped everything I was doing, slowed down and took several deep breathes and cleared my head. This is when I was able to turn around all my thoughts and focus on my bike and getting it road ready. I sorted out that if I only used my 4 – 6 lowest gears that the chain would not touch the derailleur, and no damage would occur to any of components(I made the decision that it would be better for me to try and continue riding instead of waiting for the mobile bike support van). With that decided I looked at my watch to get a base time, to determine if I would be able to make the cut off time, and figured that if I could make it to the 34km aid station there might be a bike support station and I could get it fixed there. At the same time I would keep my eye out for the bike support van. So I started out back on the bike with 86km to go! This time though things were different! I said to myself that my race was not over just yet, and that they would have to take me off before I would surrender! I thought about the finisher clothes and felt that I deserve to wear them and I will wear them when I get to the finish! I knew all my supporters would be right there cheering me the whole way regardless of what time I came in at! This is when I decided that this would not be my last Ironman 70.3 and that I would return next year to conquer Muskoka in better shape and with a fully operational bike! I also thought it would be great to share my experience with my friends and co-workers, but it would be better if I started the story with I am an Ironman 70.3 Finisher! I began shaping together a new goal, that wouldn’t take full shape until the 34km mark.

I will tell you riding with only your low gears is not easy as I learned over the course of the next 86km. Your cadence is a lot higher, and well you can’t pedal down hills or even flat sections until you slow down to 20 -23km/hr! So I would pass a lot of cyclists up hills, but then on the way down they would just pass me right back. That took a while for me to sort out but I was focused on getting to the 34km aid station, while watching my watch for timing. 15 kilometers! 25 kilometers went by! I started thinking about where my supporters would be on the course. I knew a couple spots they might be close to so I started watching out for them. I finally got to the 34km aid station, where there was a time stamp so people online could track your progress. I asked and asked if there was any bike support, but no luck. I wouldn’t be getting my bike fixed at this point!

I continued on, getting into a bit of a rhythm with pedaling up hills but then coasting till my speed dropped to about 23km/hr. It didn’t take long for me to figure out that I wasn’t going to see a bike station at the 62km aid station either, and that I was in for the long haul with my current bike situation. I was feeling good physically, and mentally I was starting to feel more confident! At around the 50km mark is when I saw my supporters for the first time on the bike. I knew that they would be wondering what was going on with me, as I was way off pace. Was it bike mechanical problems or was I suffering? As I pulled myself up the slight hill and saw them I first felt embarrassed, because obviously things were not going as planned. However, I shook that out of my head, and then yelled to them that I couldn’t go into my top gears! I was hoping this would explain my situation, so people didn’t have to check in with medical tents. After that the kilometers just ticked away slowly, I checked my watch and knew by this time that I was going to be well under the cut off time. That lifted my thoughts and that’s when my new goal of finishing became solid! I started doing math in my head and came to the conclusion I would be finishing around 7 hours 30 minutes. I wasn’t totally out of the woods, but things were looking great. My next worry was my cadence. I was biking at an incredibly higher cadence than I was used to, and so I was really worried about my legs for the 21 kilometer run.

At the same time I was wondering if Sara was going to catch me, I planned out what I was going to say to her if she did and encourage her to continue riding! I was just going to explain my gear situation and that she should keep to her race plan and not worry about me and that I would meet her at the finish line as finishers! Turns out she was catching me but we never did end up meeting on the bike. As for my higher cadence issue I started really focusing on conserving my legs, which meant utilizing every hill to its fullest and using my gears efficiently up hills.

At long last I saw the bike support van! The only thing was that I was at the 85km mark, and so I didn’t stop for repairs, I continued on with what I had. I made it up the last few hills before the final turn to the transition area (Deerhurst). When I made that final turn to Deerhurst all the emotions of what I just went through came rushing back! I HAD MADE IT! There might have even been a few tears, but they were tears of joy! I just made it through the toughest section of any event I have ever been in. I didn’t care about how the run was going to go, because I knew that whatever the run threw at me I would be able to work through it.

I got closer to the bike dismount area and I started looking for Matthew, I wanted to let him know that I wasn’t sure how the run would go and that I would be slower than expected. I saw him not far down from the bike dismount area, and I yelled to him that things were going to be bad! I figured that would get my thought across in a few words. At that time I was feel good, I was just unsure how things were going to go. I racked my bike, switched to my running shoes, this time I managed to get the sunscreen to work, and started out for the run start. That’s when I was stopped by an official saying I needed my bib on! I ran back to my station and clipped on my bib belt, and then ran out of transition!

I got out onto the run course, and things were going well. I was moving along fairly quickly, I seemed to be close to my original goals pace! I passed a few people and the kilometers started dropping. I had an idea on where my supporters were going to be, and I was excited to see them! So much I even started planning out what I would say to them as I passed! At about the 8km on the run is when I did finally see my supporters, and as I ran by with a big smile, I yelled to them that I peed my pants like the professionals will do, adding in a hand gesture. I of course then declared that I was kidding! I actually had to stop a couple kilometers earlier to use the portable toilet.

I continued past them and this is when things got a bit more interesting. I was caught in an everlasting battle with several people who were doing a run walk. They would walk up the hills, where I would pass them running, but then they would pass me running down the hills. Déjà vu, anyone! That’s how my bike went! Anyway, this went back and forth all the way to Deerhurst. I passed my supporters for the last time before the finish; however this time I was no longer wearing the big smile as things were now getting tough physically. Just as I passed them and crested a hill is when I saw Sara. I was starting to struggle so there wasn’t much said but I told her she was doing great and to keep going!

At around kilometer 15 is when things really hit me and is when things flipped on me. I knew I could make to the finish by this point, so mentally I was feeling great but physically I was slowing down and my body was wearing down! I was now at the opposite end to the spectrum; I went from all mental, to all physical! I just kept my feet moving! I got to the final hill before the chute to the finish line, and I saw that the same athletes were going to walk it so I said to myself that I would pass them one last time and I would not let them catch me until after the finish line! We got to the hill I passed them and caught up to another lady just ahead of them. As I passed her she complemented me on completing the Ironman 70.3 for the first time and at the age of 25! I thanked her and continued on, only to have her pass me in the chute. I congratulated her as she passed as I knew I would not be able to catch her. However, the men that I said I wouldn’t let pass me were getting close and so when one of them just came up behind me I threw on the jets one last time all the way to the finish line! I crossed the line ahead of him, but that wasn’t the highlight! I FINISHED!

I am an Ironman 70.3! It took me a little longer than expected (7:18:03) but I couldn’t be happier with the outcome! I wear my finisher clothes with pride and I’m looking forward to the next one! I learned a lot from the event. I now know that even if the worst happens I will be able to adjust accordingly! In saying that I hope anyone that reads this can take away that you can overcome any adversity big or small, and that there are always supporters out there waiting to help/cheer for you! Thank You!

-Neil

Future Plans

Muskoka 70.3 2014 – Redemption

Ironman Canada Whistler 2015 – Next

*I have since fixed my bike, and it was a fixable problem I encountered. However I didn’t have the proper size Allen wrenches on me during the bike to fix things. You can bet I’ll be carrying them from now on!

*The derailleur mount had a loose screw.

Earlier in the weekend, Sara and I had been talking about what the absolute worst thing that could happen out on the race course was. Sara figured it was drowning during the swim, I figured it was keeling over and dying 4km or less from the finish line on the run. I’ve done some thinking about it, and I’ve finally come up with the right answer.

So what’s the worst thing that could happen during the race?

“Walking off the course and giving up”