My intention with this blog is to do a wrap up/summary at the end of each month.  I have NEVER been good at logging my triathlon workouts.  Last year I swore I would keep my totals so that I could review what I had done at the end of the year.  I bought a day planner, some beautiful pens, and logged my workouts.  For approximately 4 days.  Needless to say, my year end totals for 2014 were a bit off.  Anyway, one month down in 2015 and I have the stats to prove it!!!

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As an aside, I would like to add that my mother is following my blog.  She may possibly feel forced to do so, I can't say for sure.  So far, as expected from a retired teacher of 36 years, her feedback has been the following:

BLOG  #1:  "read it   god sentence structure good spelling"
BLOG  #2:  "the word is anyway    not ANYWAYS IN SECOND BLOG   OTHERWISE ENGLISH IS OK"

MOM:   #1:  You don't have to mark my blogs.
              #2:  I think you meant "good" not god.
              #3:  It is possible to punctuate while texting and e-mailing.
              #4:  I stand corrected on the "Anyways" mishap.  CAP LOCKS = YELLING.  Not required.
           
Mr Chapman:  #1:  You are my only former teacher/run coach who is following this blog.
                         #2:  Feel free to correct anything running related.  I promise to never stop trying to recruit you until the day I die.
                         #3:  I apologize now for the horrific math miscalculations that will, in all likelihood, be contained within said blog.

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OK.  My January totals are as follows:

SWIM:  48.4km.  Death by swimming was a 4500m swim.  The main set was:  50 x 50m.  10 @ :55, 20 @ :50, 10 @ :55, 10 @ :50.  Looks easy on paper, but the last 10 fifties were hideous.  I am certain the lifeguard was laughing at me.

BIKE:  12hrs on the computrainer.  It was my first month back at it, so time on the bike will really start to increase.  Death by biking was a 1.5hr computrainer ride with 6 x :45 sec at 280watts.  I am certain my dog was laughing at me.  My testing with coach Chris was no walk in the park either.  I was down 5kg from my last test date which was April of 2014.  My numbers were slightly better overall.  For January, I have to be happy with that.  But, of course, I'm not.  I always want more.    

Selfie of Coach Chris and I after the testing was complete.

RUN:  109.94kms.  There was no death by running workout this month.  My achilles tendinitis is finally cleared up, and I had no business, whatsoever, doing a death by run workout.  However, I am certain that Ann Hughes Frost laughed at me when she missed a turn and tacked on a bonus 2km on our Runner's Choice "long run".  And if she wasn't laughing at me, I am certain I heard the squirrels laughing when I rolled my ankle on the treacherous snow and ice covered sidewalk.

FEBRUARY RACE:  Really Chilly 5k road race.  I can promise you it won't be pretty.  I have not been able to run "hard" since August due to the "achilles tendinitis/stress fracture X 2 trifecta", so the 10k was simply out of the question.  But I LOVE TO RACE and I am thankful to be back at it.

http://www.reallychillyroadrace.com - sign up if you are free.   See you on the road!!!

January 30, 2015

I have two fears in life.  The first is flying.  Anyone who has travelled with me knows I can be a handful on the plane.  I have gotten much better over the years, but I will never love it.  I find the take-off, landing, and any turning of the plane highly offensive and disturbing.

My second fear is injury.  Sadly, if you participate in any sport long enough, injury is inevitable.  Over the years, some of my notables have included, but are not limited to, the following:

Sprained ankes, torn ligaments, torn plantar fascia, plantar fasciitis, broken hand, perforated ear drum, broken orbital bone, ongoing neck injuries (a marked improvement here since my boxing retirement), scratched cornea, IT Band issues, 3 stress fractures and achilles tendinitis.  Lost toenails do not count as  sports injuries.  FYI.

2014 was a complete gong show.  I had a fantastic race schedule planned and paid for.  My first big trip was going to be Challenge St. Andrews in New Brunswick.  Approximately a week before my departure date, I was told that I had a stress injury to my right talus.  The doctor said that additional testing could confirm his diagnosis.  I took him up on the "additional testing" only to find that my left talus was in the same boat.   Needless to say, I cancelled the trip and lost my first of several race entry fees that had been paid in full.  My summer holidays began three days after I got this diagnosis.

I spent the next few weeks sitting on the couch, staring out the window, and hobbling around the neighbourhood with the dog.  Finally, my coach, Chris Helwig, called to inform me that the pity party was officially over.  I was told to get in the pool and get on my bike.  I told Coach Chris where he could go as well.  I considered packing it in and selling the bikes.  (OK I exaggerate.  I was never going to sell the bikes.)   But then something changed and I started to ride.  And ride.  And ride.  And pool run.  And swim.  And ride some more.  In the end, these injuries were a blessing in disguise.  I developed a deeper love of cycling.  I had many 160+ km rides, and several rides over the 200km mark.  I learned that a long run of 9km can get you through a half Ironman.  I learned that a long run of 23kms (and a truck load of pool runs) can get you through an Ironman.  CAUTION ... I don't recommend it.  Especially if you have picked an Ironman where the run course is predominantly on concrete.  But the mind is powerful thing.

Anyways, I am so pleased to report that several weeks ago,  I was kicked out of physiotherapy due to a clean bill of health.  Although I think that Martin Chisholm is a fantastic physiotherapist, I hope never to see him again.  Unless, of course, it's on a run course.  I have vowed to follow Marty's advice, and I am currently rotating through some shoes.  I'm #keepinitfresh.  (Still don't get the hashtag)  I gave my mom a pair that didn't feel quite right for Christmas.  I know what you're thinking.  But I didn't even have her name this year and the shoes cost $200.  I may add some Newton's to the equation as well.  I am undecided .....

So with reflection on 2014, I decided that the name of my blog would be "Where the Fight is Won." My former teammates all know exactly where the fight is won.  It is one of my all time favourite quotes:

"The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses - behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights."  Muhammad Ali

January 28, 2015

The thing I love about blogs is that no one is forced to read them.  Straight up, I will tell you that this is going to be a blog about my journey to Mallorca, Austria, and to Kona.  There will be other stops along the way I am sure.  So if you aren't interested in triathlons, or 70.3's, or 140.6's, or IRONMAN, or a shit ton of swimming, biking and running, then this blog is probably not for you.  To be honest, I think I am doing this blog for me.  If no one reads it other than my mother, I will be fine with that. 

This blog is about my future, but for you to know how I got here, I will speak briefly about my past. (Just in case someone other than my mother is reading this.  She knows the story)   In 2005 I retired from the sport of boxing.  I was a Canadian National Team member for a number of years.  I had 76 fights in total.  I travelled the world and made friends that I will have for a lifetime.  In 2002, I won a World Championship in Antalya, Turkey.  At that tourney I fought China, Finland, Brazil, Russia and Greece to claim the Lightweight title.  Boxing was pretty much a second full-time job for me for 9 years of my life.  In boxing, I found myself.  Boxing taught me many life lessons.  At the age of 35, I had to retire.  The rule at that time was that I could no longer compete Internationally.  In all honesty, I was fine with that.  I had achieved my goals and my body was tired.  But I needed to be passionate about something.  I had always been a runner, but I was never one to run 6 days a week.  Thanks to my bouncy and inefficient stride, I have never been able to endure that kind of pounding.  So I picked triathlons.  To this day I have no idea why.  I knew nothing about cycling, and my swimming background consisted of hours of marco polo, and swimming back to my beloved diving board - over and over and over again.

So why am I blogging you say?  The answer is simple.  I am so blessed and thankful to be where I am today, I want to LIVE and CHERISH every second of the year that lies ahead of me.  One of my boxing coaches (Bob Flannagan) once told me:  "Jenn, enjoy this while it lasts.  Your career will be over before you know it and all you will have are the memories."  Bob, you were right.  I remember walking into the gym like it was yesterday.  17 years later, here I sit.  So I am doing this blog for me.  I am going to Kona, but I am not delusional.  I am not an elite triathlete by any stretch of the imagination.  I am not going to Kona to win.  (Although I am competitive to a fault)  To be honest, the fact that I qualified for Kona before the age of 70 still shocks me to this day.  I will never accomplish in the world of triathlon what I accomplished in the world of boxing, but I am good with that.  For me, triathlon is about beating myself.  It's about performing better and better as the years go by.  It's about the constant sufferfest - in training and in racing.  It's about pushing my body to the limit and not quitting.  Boxing and Ironman are kind of similar in that regard.  And that's what makes me tick.  That is my passion in life.

So this blog is really for me.  It's also for my mom.  And it's for the friends that will travel with me, train with me, and enjoy this year that I can't wait to live.  And when this year is over, I will have many memories and a blog to help me relive it all.

That was then ....                                                                  

     

This is now ...