Estela is home again, at last

The parts finally came in. Not sure what the issue was, but it's all done now. Just in time.

It's still raining here so I hopped on for a quick trainer spin to remind my feet and legs how to do it, and see how things feel. What a difference a new drive train and shifter cables makes! I can't wait to get out for a ride outside tomorrow. It's supposed to be nice. That will get me all tuned up for the bike. Then I'll get packed up and ready to travel. Most of the stuff is in a heap in the basement.

I think I'm ready as I'll ever be for the race.

Think I need new cleats?

What shiny cogs you have, Estela!

What pointy teeth you have Estela!

My tree grew roots

Monday and Tuesday I was dragging my butt. For some reason I was getting crappy sleep. Tues was really bad, but at least I slept well and today was much better.

Lots of drill in the swim and some fast intervals. It's been feeling stronger and stronger lately. Even breathing 5 is getting to be normal. So much so that I forget sometimes during regular lengths. It was kind of fun watching Mr Outboard dodging a couple of really slow swimmers in his lane. I had a couple people that swam just about my speed depending on exactly what we were doing so all was good. 1 hr.

The short run started with very light rain, went to very heavy rain, and was back to light rain by the end. All in 50 minutes. I overdressed by one long sleeved tech shirt and was soaking inside and outside my rainshell. 1 min hard and 1 easy x 10 was the highlight. I tried to start easy on the hards and build on each one but as well all know, I suck at slow builds, and by about the middle I was getting up to the retaste zone so I backed off a bit. For a few of them I got the lean right and my legs picked up, and I felt like I was flying! That was easy on my legs and really hard on my lungs!

I was really excited during yoga, since my tree grew roots for the first time. Mostly my tree waves around like it's in a strong wind, but today it was strong and stable. My hands/branches waved lightly in the breeze, but the trunk was strong. It really makes a difference when you work the abs.

The race is coming up quick. There is a small pile of stuff accumulating beside the Zoot bag of many pockets. The big stress right now is Estela. She is still in the shop. The guy says they had a bit of trouble getting the SRAM parts needed, but how hard can it be? They have confirmed the parts will be in Thursday, and my bike is the first one on the list. I need to pick up some Gu, and maybe some tri shorts if I see something in basic black that I like. Any thoughts on the bib shorts? I know Darryl likes them. I'm not working Friday so I hope to get out for a quick ride to make sure everything is as it should be. It's a bit nervous making to be riding a bike fresh from the shop in a race. Maybe I should have planned better and got her into the shop earlier, but whodathunkit would take that long?

Getting tore in.

Picture it. There I am, wandering out onto the pool deck, half awake, smiling hello at the lifeguards. I know I need a pull buoy so I take the long way around to start at the deep end. This has become normal. More than half the pool is full of floaties. In the two lanes that are left people have arranged themselves sensibly. There are three swimmers in each of the lanes that are left. 3 slower, and three faster. By some miracle they have segregated themselves correctly. I know I have a zillion 200's to do, each faster than the one before, with the last 3 at 90+% effort. So I get in with the faster swimmers.  I know I can just keep up with them if I work it.

The warm up was timed so I didn't have to go full steam right away. That got me tuned into who was slightly faster or slower. The first set of 200's wasn't bad, strong effort, trying to swim well. I swim slightly faster than two of the guys, and slower than the other guy. We're all good about passing at the ends. I think everybody is doing intervals.

The second set I got tore in and worked it hard. I was leading the pack at one point and trying to stay ahead. Fast guy passed me anyway. I don't think it's Mr Outboard since he can pass me without any problem and this guy looked like he was working a bit. I slowed down a touch so we'd both have room to turn, then I hammered it to stay in the draft. That lasted one length. Did I say he has a fast flip turn? I was nearly seeing stars on the last one.

The third set I was trying to be very strong, but also really thinking about technique. By now the two slower guys had left. We thrashed up and down the lane. I was getting pretty tired at the end but timed the last one and went all out. The other guy passed me anyway though it took more than a length. Coach gets the time, but I'm pretty happy with it.

Both of us were doing cool down and cruising back and forth. Still passing the people in the slower lane. About this time Mr. Elegant showed up. Chatted with him very briefly and he took over the lane when I left. My lungs had that hollow feel they get when I've been working them hard. My arms were tired. One hour.

The run was 45 minutes. Not sure how far. It took maybe a K to settle into a pace near the bottom of zone 3, and ran well there. A couple light rain showers happened during the run but most of it was sunny. Feet and legs feel good. Walked to warm up and cool down, stretched after.

I'm starting to get my stuff together for Wasa this weekend. The idea of getting the Zoot pack and keeping all tri stuff in it when I'm not actively using it has turned out great. I found some tubes I'd forgot I had and a few other goodies. It's going to be a busy week.

And no, the title is not a mistake or a misprint. It's an actual phrase. I learned it from a book, but anyone from a particular background might know it. Any guesses?

The stupid and the oblivious

Way too many of them on the bike path today.

The best part of the day was hanging out with Cath and Jase this morning drinking coffee and chatting. They dropped in last night. After they left I got ready for a ride in a day that was much nicer than anticipated. Cloudless, warm, and sunny. A great day for being outside. Though by 5pm when I fired up the BBQ it had clouded over and looked like rain.

Last week coming back from yoga I got a glimpse of the bike path just north of the bridge where Deerfoot crosses over the Bow near Anderson. A few years ago it had been closed, leading to a long detour. Now it looks open. Today I decided to ride the hybrid and visit. Sure enough it's all nice paved path now, leading into the garden of doggie heaven. There is a huge dog park, but it's such a class operation they have the bike path fenced off. There are periodic gates that open inward to allow people to cross the path. The bike path has speed bumps. I kid you not. Speed bumps on a bike path. I laughed at one dog so frantic to get at me that it was flinging itself against the fence. If I hadn't been on a schedule I'd have slowed down to encourage it. The signs clearly say that the paved path is a leashed area, but some people weren't doing that. Grrr.

It took 45 minutes to ride from the very west end of Fish Creek Park to the very north and east end. It's a big park. There's a lot of changes near where the Chinook half IM course is run, but not so much I got lost. Just before the hour mark I was over the pedestrian bridge at Southland, and heading south on the east side of the river. From there, once I got back to Bow Bottom Trail I headed south on the west side of Sikome "Lake". I've seen bigger puddles, and it wasn't open yet. South of 22X then turned around and headed home going around the east side of the "lake". The ride ended up being 2.5 hours. Tried to keep the rpm up and the pace steady.

Took a few minutes for a cookie and to change shoes, then out for a 30 minute run. I never really found a good pace. My legs were tired and things got a bit sloppy at the end, but it worked out ok. Walked and stretched.

During the ride I was appalled at how many people were out on the 3B's without a helmet. (board, blades, bike) Frankly, I think you're stupid for doing any of those without a helmet. I saw one teenager with his helmet hooked over the handlebars. It won't do him much good there. One girl was on blades and given her unsteadiness I could believe she hadn't done it much. The roller blading. Yet she was wearing cut offs and a tank top. And the skates. She won't look so pretty if she crashes.

But worse than that are the people on the path that are oblivious to their surroundings. They don't seem to grasp that other people are using the path to actually move. Most people get the idea that we all have to share the path, young, old, fast, slow, walkers, runners, or whatever kind of wheels you're on. Most people get the idea that "keep right" is a good rule and generally obey it. Most people keep an ear tuned for bike bells or people saying "on your left" or "passing left" and move over a bit. Most of us appreciate that little kids are still learning those essential motor skills and need to be given some leeway.

But not everyone. I lost count of the number of times I saw people stopped on the path for whatever reason. Blocking traffic. Or people walking in a big herd on the whole path and not moving over. One romantic couple holding hands walking down the middle of the path and they didn't know whether to shit or go blind when me and another cyclist appeared at the same time, ringing our bells, bearing down on them at about 30 Kph each. In the end they huddled in the middle of the path as we zoomed past on each side.

People that don't keep their dogs under control or let the leash stretch out across the path. Or people moving down the path in a very erratic manner. There was one kid on a skateboard that had his eyes locked on me, and yet was maintaining a collision course. Until the last second when I guess he finally figured out how badly he'd lose given the resultant vectors of our masses and speeds. Strollers. Don't get me started on strollers, particularly the double wide models. While I mean the strollers that also applies to the people pushing it too. Some people should not wear snug pants. Though the cute girl on blades (with a helmet, elbow and knee protectors) pushing a single stroller at an impressive pace can be on the path in front of me all she likes.

Ipods or similar technology are their own issue. One guy was all over the path waving his arms and ignoring people ringing or calling to him. I heard the music from a person behind me for a little while. I think it was Rush, but I couldn't hear the bike at all. Eventually they dropped back. Walkers in their own little world shambling down the path and flinching when a bike goes by. After the rider had chimed their bell.

It's nice to see so many people out enjoying the fine day, but I was actually a bit grumpy at the end of it because a few people made things much more difficult than they really needed to be.

I think acupuncture is better than massage. At least for what gets done to me. Sometimes she does some shiatsu which is a form of massage. The needles are tiny tiny tiny and don't hurt at all. I went to sleep after she put about 18 needles into me and the put the heat lamp on my tummy.

Weekly Summary
Swim 3.0 hrs
Bike 3.5 hrs
Run 3.8 hrs
Walk 1.8 hrs
Total Cardio 12 hrs
Core 2.0 hrs
Total 14.0

Insert Title Here

Thursday the jungle had to be mowed. Had To Be Mowed. I'm counting that as an hour walking, between weed whacking it down to where the mower could deal with it, and pushing the reel mower around.

Swim and run migrated from Friday to Saturday. Friday I woke up and said no way. Friday evening was latish at work and then we went shopping for BBQ toys.

Swim was good, 1 hour. Doing 2 x 750m at race pace, with two other slower swimmers to dodge. At least she could swim.

Then acupuncture. She's never put so many needles into me at once. wow. At this point I'm not sure I'm feeling better, but I think a good nights sleep will help.

I was just getting ready to go for a run when the rain, hail, and thunder started. I put off my run an hour or so, and had a beautiful sunny run. 55 minutes, 30 minutes at 10K pace, or desired 10 K pace, or doable fraction of the desired 10K pace. Take your pick. Lots of funny little nigglies I haven't had. I'll put them down to acupuncture aftermath.

Estela's parts have not all arrived. They offered to check what had been installed, but they were pretty sure the old chain rings were off and the new cassette on. Plus it looked like crap weather for the weekend anyways. Bad to mix worn parts with new parts. They were reminded I have a race next weekend - Wasa Oly.

Oh, and I'm signed up for GWN. Hope to see some of you there.

I lost my mind during the swim today

Totally. Completely. I admit I wasn't particularly awake, but even so. Me and Mz Backstroke shared a lane while I warmed up. I probably should have warmed up more. Today was a bunch of distance intervals, swum as most hard, a bit easy. Well holy crap. I got through the first one ok, and I'm sort of working hard, and two more people join the lane. These two are pretty considerate, but they swim slow. All of a sudden I'm trying to keep track of 3 other swimmers, and I lose track of which laps are hard and which are easy. So I go mostly hard till I get tired, then go easy till I can go hard again. I have a strong suspicion that if you put a stop watch on me you'd have been hard pressed to tell the difference.

Next was paddles and pull. More of the same, though I think I'm getting the hang of paddles. Still not my fave. Meanwhile I'm passing these girls at the ends and trying not to flip into them. I wish they'd make up their minds which way they're going to go. One was going left, saw me, started to the right, realized I'd already gone right, and totally panicked. I got some accidental sighting practice done trying to decide if I could pass.

Fins were fun. These intervals were short enough I could keep track. Total was a hair under an hour. It was a bit of a slog getting there, but I was more awake by about half way through.

I got home early enough to head out for an 80 minute run. It was so nice out! Maybe 18C (64F) so perfect running weather. No fancy stuff on the plan, so I ran north to Glenmore and west toward Weaselhead. Turned around at 40 minutes and made it back to my starting place about a dozen steps short on the tick.

Settled in at the cusp between zone 2 and 3, breathing easy, but mainly concentrating on running well, my posture, my cadence, keeping my arms moving, trying to glide forward with no vertical bounce, trying to run light on my feet, all that good stuff. Cadence was 84 each of the 4 times I checked it. Walked 5 to warm up, ran easy for 5 and gently eased into the pace I wanted. After the turnaround I tried to run stronger and pretended my coach was videoing me. I'm reasonably certain she could run backwards faster than I can run forwards and do so while operating a video camera, AND while shouting encouragement and advice. In case you hadn't guessed, I'm impressed with my coach.

It was so nice running through the poplar fluff. One place looked like snow there was so much of it. I was really enjoying the run. No idea how far I actually went, but I was very pleased I stayed strong and had a good stride throughout. I could have run much further at that pace. Ran easy the last 5 minutes and walked another 5, then stretched.

Hustled a bit to get some dinner and a shower before leaving for yoga. There was lots of good stuff there. I nearly fell asleep 3 times. Once in feet up the wall, once in the meditation part, and once during Savasana. My breathing was just going rattley each time and I knew if I let it I'd be snoring in a couple more breaths.

No thunderstorm after all

The weather forecast for today looked crappy, but I was determined to get out there. And whaddya know, it wasn't bad at all, and got nicer as the evening went on.

Estela is still in the shop, so I was to take the hybrid on some hills. I wasn't going to RtN. Going down is too scary since I'm afraid the bike is going to vibrate itself to pieces.  Picked the same hill out of Bebo Grove. Up and down a bunch of times. I'm learning bad habits. Several times I spun my feet right out of the toe clips and ended up getting a mild cramp in my left calf. Bailed a bit early for an hour total.

Stretched a bit, then a half hour of core. By then I was feeling like a weak and feeble reed, especially for plank.