Binbrook Triathlon 2013 Race Report

Ok, So I'm still behind on posting my Ottawa half marathon report and my Ride for Heart post, but I thought I would get caught up with my Binbrook Triathlon Race report today!  This past Saturday I raced my first triathlon of the season and it was an amazing day!

Barry and I left Toronto with plenty of time and arrived at the race site early.  I quickly grabbed a great spot on my designated bike rack and headed over to the bib pick up and body marking.

racked on the X-wing so I could just pull my bike toward me and the bike out was 8 feet away!

As expected with Multisport Events, everything was very efficient and I was back in transition getting set up before I knew it.  This was my shake-out race before Mt. Tremblant 70.3 so I just focused on setting up my transition in the best fashion I could.  I had lots of time to spare until it was time to move down to the swim start at which  point I had to ditch my flip-flops and the cold ground came up through my feet and I caught a chill.  My feel remained numb until 5km into the run!

Barry heading to the Du start line and I'm heading to the swim start

The water was chilly but not too bad.  I swam out about 50 meters and then back again for a little warm up and was reminded what a murky swim this would be.  First wave went off at 8:15,  I was in the third wave at 8:23 so I stood at the lake edge shivering uncontrollably.  I was ready to get in the water and get this race started.

Boom - my wave was off.  I felt like I had a great swim - I stayed on a straight line to the buoy and was able to draft off feet for most of the first stretch to the turn buoy.  Like every swim, it was a little hectic at the turn but really, this was one of the least crowded swims I have done.  I exited the water with quite a few people from the wave ahead of me so I felt like I had a good swim.  Sportstats says 16:25 and that includes the run up to transitions.  I don't swim with my Garmin so I'm not sure what my real swim time was.  I was 5th of my age group out of the water.

always happy to be out of the swim!

I got to my bike and there were still many many bikes on the rack - this is always an uplifting feeling.  I struggled a bit getting my wetsuit off and then getting my helmet on so my T1 was as quick as I would have hoped but given it was my first race of the season I'll take 1:34 and know I have to cut 30 seconds off for TTF.

Leaving T1 - being chased by a fellow TTCer!

I like this bike course (it's flat and fast) but I was confused because the course was different from last year and different from the course maps that I had seen.  There are many turns in this out and back course which of course slows you down.

Bike Course - 19 turns for a 30k ride!

I felt great on the bike, I passed many and was passed by only a few (and no one in my age group).  I don't remember passing anyone from my age group but I must have since I was 4th in my age group on the bike. I came into transition and again had the uplifting feeling seeing a very empty bike rack with only 2 - 3 bikes.

another turn - out of aero and on the breaks

My official bike split was 53:58 (33.4kph).  Again I had a bit of trouble in transition.  I had decided to wear my favourite Zoot racing flats, but I hadn't worn them since Muskoka back in September and I had some trouble pulling them on - and it didn't help that my feet were still numb from the cold.  I spend 1:06 in T2 - again lessons learned, kinks being ironed!

My legs felt a little wobbly as I made my to the run course but I was determined to run that 7.5km course the best I could - I knew there was a small chance I could podium and I also knew my run has been very strong lately.

starting the run - checking the garmin

heading up the trail - that's a real smile

 It was a bit painful as my feet were still numb and running on numb feet is not a nice sensation.  It was the same course as last year so I knew the start was on a rocky/muddy trail leading up to the top of the dam and then we would be on paved roads.  I made good work up the trail and onto the paved roads. I had forgotten the extent of the rolling hills but I was able to keep my pace up.

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	36:24.6	7.85	4:38
1	4:42.8	1.00	4:43
2	4:41.7	1.00	4:42
3	4:45.0	1.00	4:45
4	4:41.7	1.00	4:42
5	4:25.9	1.00	4:26
6	4:31.2	1.00	4:31
7	4:29.9	1.00	4:30
8	4:06.4	0.85	4:50

I pushed through the first 4 km, keeping an eye out on the women coming back and the women in front of me.  My feet were slowly coming around and the pins and needles came and went sometime before the 5th km.  Then, somewhere in that 5th km I saw a lady in front of me and I thought her leg read "44" so I started to push but when I got to about 10 feet behind her I noticed it was "34" so I settled down a bit.  I had caught up to a gentleman who I had chatted with earlier, he asked how I was doing and I told him what I had thought about the 34 on the lady in front of us.  He chuckled and said "she's not but that one up there says 44".  I started another surge and passed both of the woman. At this point I was pretty sure I had a good chance to hit the podium, but you never really know and truthfully I was just hanging on, I couldn't have run any faster at that point.  I came up on Mike, a club mate, and he asked how I felt and I said "like I'm going to puke".  But I only had to hold on for a few more minutes.

coming back along the dam trail hanging on - hadn't seen the camera man yet

Oh, there's the camera man - better smile!

As I came back across the dam I could see and hear the finish line.  I just held on - it wasn't pretty - but I got her done.  It was so nice to see a large group of Toronto Triathlon Club Mates, including Barry, cheering me on as I rounded out the run into the finishing chute.

I told you it wasn't pretty!

Finished!  They didn't capture my feeble attempt to jump across the line

Sportstats  says I did the run in 36:05 with an average pace of 4:49 not sure why my Garmin splits are so different.  I had the 3rd fastest run split in my age group!!!    Of course when I finished I wasn't sure what the results were going to be.  Initially I looked on the duathon results and was disappointment to see that there had been 3 finishers in my age group and my results hadn't been posted yet.  But then I was informed I was looking at the wrong results.  I was elated when I checked the results and saw 3/15 next to my name!  I didn't even bother to see my time or my splits - I was just overwhelmed with joy - because while I have won many awards in my life - I have NEVER won, or even come close to winning, a sporting event ever!

First place beat me by nearly 7 minutes, second place by 5 ... I've got work to do!

So I shaved over 4 minutes off my results from last year (you can read about that here) and got my first podium.  I finished 117 out of 298 overall, 20th out of 109 woman and of course 3rd out of 15 woman 40-44!  I fumbled a bit in the transitions but felt great about all three events.  I would say the day was an all around success and I hope to race it again next year!  Many thanks to John Salt and his crew at Multisport Canada - they always put on a great race!  And to the many volunteers (especially the kids!) - Thanks so much - these races wouldn't be possible without you!

 Next stop - Mount Tremblant Ironman 70.3!

And just as a note, I have purchased the digital download of all the My Sports Shooter photos, they just haven't arrived yet!

My First Training Camp!

I'm very behind on my blogs so this will be short recap of my first Triathon Training Camp (Victoria Day Long Weekend - over 2 weeks ago!).  This is my third season in Triathlon, my second season hanging with the Toronto Triathlon Club, and the first season where I went to the Collingwood Training Camp and now I'm just dying to plan another trip up to Collingwood to ride!

We left the City late Friday morning, with 4 bikes and 4 athletes, we made pretty quick time up north to the Blue Mountains Chalets.

yeah!  All the bikes made it!

We got ourselves unpacked and settled and then ready for ride #1!  It was just an easy 40km with about 140m of elevation gain.  The scenery was breathtaking and I was so excited about 2 more days of riding.

Saturday morning we headed out for a 90k ride and it was amazing.  With over 1,000 meters of elevation gain and topping out at 65kph on the amazing descents!  This was a kind of riding I had never experienced before.  While I felt great on the ride, I did struggle on one of the huge descents as I went into the decent in my aerobars and was unable to get out of them to get my hands on my breaks because I was going so fast and the crosswinds were blowing me around.  I won't lie, there were times I was scared and thinking a crash at this speed would be life altering.

The club heading out on Saturday

I don't have a great way to show you the elevation so here's a screen shot from my strava account.

Saturday afternoon was spent in major recovery mode, eating good food, talking all things triathlon, soaking our legs in the freezing cold pool and a yoga session with my awesome new TTC friend Duncan Parviainen.  BEST YOGA SESSION EVER!

inversion after cold soak

BEST YOGA EVER

Sunday morning Barry and I opted out of the early morning drive to Wasaga Beach where we had a 7am pool time.  It was nice to sleep in and have a quiet morning in the chalet.  The swimmers returned and we headed out for our ride up Pretty River.  I had been anticipating something horrible and was happy to know it wasn't nearly as much climbing as the Saturday Ride.  The last kilometer of the Pretty River climb was a time trial which was being used for our little team triathlon challenge (more on that later).

almost everyone from camp heading out to climb Pretty River

Pretty River Climb and the Amazing Decent on 91

According to my Garmin site I topped out at 73kph, but strava says 71.6kph (so bizarre given they both grab the data from my Garmin 910) ... in any case I was FLYING down that decent and with lessons learned from the day before, I was much more confident and steady on my bike.  

For fun, we had  little team triathlon challenge.  We were randomly (there is some debate here) placed in teams of three.  The best swim (a 100m time trial taken at the Sunday morning swim), bike (the last kilometer of the pretty river climb) and run (the last kilometer of your run off the bike on Sunday) times were taken and  each member had to contribute.  I was on a team with Tara (the leader of the camp) and Dushan.  They had both swam that morning with great times.  Dushan killed the bike time trial and posted the faster time overall.  So that left me with the run - so after the ride on Sunday, even though I hadn't run in weeks and was struggling with a hamstring issues.  I ran 1 km - in 4:20.  So in the end, my team won the challenge!

Sunday night we had a team dinner in the Village of Blue Mountains to celebrate the camp.  That night we packed up and headed home.  We got home in the wee hours of the morning but it was nice to wake up on the holiday Monday morning and spend the day relaxing with the kids.

I loved the training camp and I cannot wait to go again next year and maybe even try to squeeze in a week long camp to Arizona or Mt. Tremblant next year!

Mid May Already?

Where is time flying ?  It's almost half way through May, though the temps outside would make you think we were still stuck in March!  I would hope that by this time in my training schedule I would be happily posting about my awesome swims, rides and runs, but unfortunately I've hit a bit of a bumpy stretch.

I think it all started back a couple weeks ago at the Toronto Younge Street 10k.  I ran my little heart out in that race and felt pretty darn good about it.  That following week I took a little downtime on the running, coming back 4 days after the race and putting in a solid 12k run at 4:40/km pace and according to my notes and recollection, my right leg was feeling fine.

That weekend we had our first outdoor ride and it was glorious   Windy as heck but fun to get out and ride outdoors with Barry.  We left from Angus Glen CC and rode up Warden 35k to the top of Ravenshoe Hill.  We met a nice guy on the way who gave us some great riding pointers.

Then two days later I hit the treadmill for some speed work and this is where the injury story picks up. 5 x 1,200m, each interval taking 5mins with 3 mins recovery in between - it's a work out I really enjoy.  Legs felt pretty good until half way through my forth interval when my right hamstring started pulling.  Instead of bailing on my fifth interval I pushed through.  And ever since I have been having an uncomfortable hamstring.   It originates up near my glute and runs behind the knee into the calf.  My Chiro's assessment is a tight right QL (those pesky lower back muscles that attach to the pelvis).

I took some time off from running and basically pulled back for a few rest and recovery days.  You would think this would be a great time for me to focus on my swimming, but instead I almost dropped swimming completely over the past 13 days.  I've hit the spin bike a couple of times and have put a 100k and 80k in on my bike.   A week ago  I tried to do a long run - by 5 km in I decided to turn it around and cut it short due to the "discomfort" in my leg.  I haven't run since.  It's been a week. I miss running.

So I've been stretching the QLs and trying to get mobility back into my hamstring through heat and stretching.  Aggressively stretched my QLs and legs last night and followed that up this morning with a hot Epsom salts bath and a good long core and stretch workout.  Now I'm currently sitting on 2 ice packs and feeling optimistic.

My training calendar looks pitifully blank for the next 5 days - I'm taking it day by day.  I hope to get to the pool tomorrow and Wednesday as well as do a couple spin classes to keep my fitness up.  We leave on Friday for our Toronto Triathlon Club Training Camp in Collingwood where I hope to ride close to 200km over the 3 days.  I'm really looking forward to getting away from home for a few days, hanging with some of my favourite triathlon friends, talking all things swim, bike, run and doing some seriously climbing on the bike.

Running might just take a back seat until I run the Ottawa Half Marathon in 2 weeks.  I had some high hopes of hitting a HUGE PR by running a sub 1:40.  While I'm optimistic that I will be able to run the race that pace might be out the window.  I need to remind myself that the Ottawa Half is not my "A" race.  I should be happy to run a sub 1:50 for a PR!

Happy Training and swift healing!

2013 Toronto Yonge Street 10k Race Report

On Sunday, April 21, 2013 I ran my first Yonge Street 10k and I cannot wait to run it again next year.  It was a great race from start to finish.  The organization,  the volunteers, the course, the post race - everything was pretty much exceptional.  To make this race a little more fun, I was running with Team "9 Drunks and a Runner".  It was my first time running with this team but the 10th and apparently final year the team will run.

Also, like most everyone else running on Sunday, I ran for Boston.

It was a cold start to the day - but not nearly as cold as I feared.  The race starts up north of Eglington and finishes a Fort York - it's a net down hill run with only 1 substantial climb and a few flats.  It is a fast race for sure!  I had signed up to run this race as a time trial for my pacing at my up coming Ottawa Half Marathon in May so I knew I wanted to run it hard and as fast as I could.  I was looking to break 45 mins, but like always, in my head I was thinking 42 minutes.

Course Map

Me, Barry and Carole at the start line - it was COLD

We got to the start with plenty of time but before I knew it, they were calling last call for checked bags.  I ran all the way to the back of the corrals and made it with seconds to spare.  I have to say, the bag check was so well organized!  I don't normally check a bag but since it was so cold I figured I would need something warm at the finish.

I made my way to the Red corral and luckily found my training buddy Chad who so graciously decided to pace me.  We made our way near the front of the corral and we were probably only 10 feet from the start line.  Next thing we knew we were off.  Running a 10k race is actually a crazy distance for me since I have been endurance racing for the past few years.  It's full out effort the entire way and when your lungs and heart are screaming at 5k you still have another 5k to go.

My coach had told me to shoot for around 43 minutes, averaging about a 4:15 min/km.  I clocked my first kilometre in at 4:16 and thought not bad.  However, my heart rate was pretty high and I knew I had to get it under control if I was going to hang on to this for nearly 40 more minutes.  The only real climb on this run happens around the 2nd km mark and I was huffing and puffing when I made it to the top.  It was nice to see a fellow Toronto Triathlon Club member at the top of the hill - I gave Graham a big wave but didn't have the talking ability to say hi (Our club was volunteering so there were quite a few familiar faces on the course).  I focused on my exhale and tried to allow the down hill to bring my heart rate and breathing rate down.  Listening to Chad chat was also very helpful but it was definitely a one sided chat!  We clicked out the first 5 km in 21 minutes (4:16, 4:09. 4:11, 4:03, 4:16) - my fastest 5km prior to today was 23:04.

By the 6th kilometre I was really feeling it.  My legs were fine, my heart and lungs were screaming.  I got horrible cramp right in the middle of my diaphragm and it became painful to breath.  This is where having a buddy pace you really comes in handy.  Chad said all the right things to keep me moving though my pace slowed to 4:16 and 4:17 for the 6 and 7th km.  We saw LeanneB (another TTC member volunteering on the course) and she gave us a big cheer and ran after us a bit.  That was uplifting because I was really starting to fall apart at that point.  Again, Chad continued to say the right things - "imagine we just got off a 80k bike ride and we are going for a 3 1/2 km run".

I continued to focus on my breathing.  Kilometre 8 clocked in at 4:06 and I though maybe I would sustain that for the next 2 but I was definitely losing steam.  I put my head down and ran.  Kilometre 9 was a disappointing 4:15.  We made the turn over the railway bridge and we only had 500 meters to go.  I knew this was when Chad would turn on  the burners as we had discussed.  He looked over his shoulder and said "just follow me".  I tried - I really tried - I turned on my burners and there was nothing left.  I pushed and I tried to pick up my speed but alas, I was done.  My 10th km clicked off on my garmin about 20 feet from the finish and it was a heart breaking 4:19.  I put my head down and ran that last 20 feet as fast as I could.

Chad was in the finishing shoot waiting for me.  The sun was shining and it was temporarily very hot.  I remember walking in the middle of the shoot and saying "guess if I'm going to puke I shouldn't do it in the middle of the road".  Luckily the puking sensation abated (hey, if you don't feel like you are going to puke then you didn't run hard enough right?).

Of course I forgot to hit the stop button on my Garmin so I wasn't sure of my time but I did see the clock and is was around 42:30 - later I found out my official time was 42:25.4. 10/370 in the F 40-44 age group, 49/3089 woman and 353/5610 overall.  I missed my 42 min by 25 seconds, but in the end, I took  almost 7 minutes off my one and only other 10k race I have done (Tanenbaum 10k 2011 - 49:22).

The finish area of the race is very well laid out.  I had no problem at all getting my bag. There were a couple of food tents so line ups weren't bad.  There was just the traditional post race food: bagels (not great for this GF gal), apples and bananas and plenty of  gatorade and water.  There were a few sponsor tents as well but I didn't really check them out.

We wait for the rest of our team to finish and we ended up being the 4th mixed team out of 20.  And as I suspected, I was the runner of the group with the fastest time.

9 Drunks and a Runner (yes, we are aware there are more than 10 people on the team)

We grabbed a cab back to the start line - I will not go into the awful details of this very expensive cab ride (next year we will buy the shuttle bus tickets), and met up with the team for brunch and of course a few beers.

Sadly, it seems this team has run it's last Toronto Yonge Street 10k, though personally, I hope to change their minds next year!  I'm sure if I had been able to stick around while the group put down 14 pitchers of beer I would have succeeded!

Looking back on the execution of this race, I'm not sure I would have done anything differently.  I could have tried going out slower and picking up time along the way but with a 10km it seems like a constant effort is needed.  I didn't negative split, I was 25 seconds slower on the back 5km, but again, with such a short race does that really matter?  My next 10km that I run will be the last leg of the Toronto Triathlon Festival in July and if I can break 45 minutes on that day I will be happy.  But for now, I will continue to train for my next race - the Ottawa Half Marathon in May and of course Mt. Tremblant 70.3 in June!

To recap, I loved the course, the organization was great and the volunteers superb!  I would highly recommend this race to everyone and I look forward to running it next year!

Boston - I'll see you next year

Yes, I will run Boston next year and no I'm not afraid.  I'm not afraid to run Ottawa in 6 weeks,  I'm not afraid to spectate at the Toronto Goodlife in a few weeks.  And I will not be afraid to run Boston next year, or New York, or Chicago, or London ... the list can go on.

Yesterday I went through 3 huge emotional roller-coasters.  When I first heard the news from my husband, I was sick; I literally dry-heaved.  Then as I got sucked into the CNN coverage and the social media coverage  and I was overcome with a huge amount of sadness.  Sadness for those poor, unsuspecting spectators, for the runners at the finishing area at the time and for the runners being stopped in the middle of their biggest race of a lifetime.  And then I got down right angry.  Angry that someone, some group, chose a venue that offers nothing but good, to perform their act of terror for whatever sick reason they had for harming innocent people.   What happened yesterday in Boston will leave a scar the running community will never forget.

Of course now we hear talk about "beefing up" security at the large races or even the preposterous notion of cancelling races.  Might as well discuss cancelling every large parade out there if that is the case - there really isn't much of a difference between a race and a parade now is there?  What about rush hour in the big cities?  Are we to now avoid any circumstance where a lot of folks are gathered?  Do we make our world a police state?  We all should give our heads a shake.

As the news trickled out yesterday, I grew more and more angry.  Angry that many of those injured had their  legs amputated.  Angry that one of the murdered was an 8 year old boy.  Angry that my father sent me an email simply saying "This is where you want to run???".  Angry that the dreams of so many marathoners were crushed by such a senseless and cowardly act.

And it's so easy to place yourself there - to calculate your time and think, wow I would have just been finishing, to think of my husband who always climbs on top of things, notably garbage cans, to get a better vantage point for photographs, to imagine my children waiting impatiently to see me cross the finish line.  And then, in the pit of my stomach, the sickness comes back.

So today, I grieve.  I grieve for that poor father who lost his son, and has his wife and daughter in critical condition.  I grieve for the families of the others that were murdered.  I grieve for all those who lost their limbs, whose lives are forever changed by their injuries.  I grieve for all the children who witnessed and have lost their innocence forever.  I grieve for all of Boston as they pick up the pieces and move forward after an attack on not only their city but their beloved Patriot Day and their iconic marathon.  And I grieve for myself and my entire running community because our beloved sport is scared forever.

But I will not be afraid and I will continue to run.

Spring Cleanse Challenge

It's APRIL!  That means we are just under 12 weeks out for Mt. Tremblant 70.3 and under 8 weeks until the Ottawa Half Marathon.  While I haven't been keeping up much with the blogging, I have been keeping busy with my training and my diet, and trying to ignore the still freezing temperatures and flying snow!

While I haven't blogged about it, I have now been gluten-free since mid January - so that's about 2 1/2 months.  Have I noticed any thing different?  Besides my intense cravings for a big sandwich every now and again, I really haven't noticed much being gluten-free.   I have not lost any weight and maybe the tummy fat has gone down a tiny bit, but all in all, I'm pretty sure I'm not Gluten Intolerant, however, I am going to stay on this path as I feel it has helped with my healthy eating!

Currently, I'm on day two of a little 5 day Spring Cleanse Challenge put on my a tri-friend and nutritionist I know, Tara at Healthy Eating Active Living.  The challenge is to eliminate caffeine, sugar, wheat (gluten), dairy and alcohol.  Well, if you know me, the first is out the window - I will take it black, but I must take my morning cup of coffee.  Besides that however, I'm sticking well to this little challenge and after the amount of sugar and artificial colouring and flavourings I had over the Easter Holiday - I need it.   I really missed my chocolate milk this morning as my refuelling option, but I'm managing pretty well.

Breakfast Energy: kale, spinach, cucumber, lime, mint, chia seeds and Vega-1 Natural

Desert Last night accompanied my a few almonds

Yesterday's lunch juice: beet, carrot, green apple

last night's supper: brussel sprouts, quinoa with black beans and a little beef tenderloin

So you can see, the cleanse isn't too brutal - though 5 days without wine - that is going to be a challenge!

Training is going ok - last week was a recovery week and I had a twitchy hamstring so I took it easy.  My running is going fabulous and I'm really feeling fast and strong.  We have purchased a used computrainer for Barry's birthday and as soon as we get a computer strong enough to power the darn thing, and the right cables to hook it up to the TV, and get it all running, I'll be hitting the bike harder than I have been.  While everyone I know went out for a ride this weekend - it was still too cold for me!  I'm still training hard on the spin bikes at the gym and feel very confident in my bike strength so I'm allowing myself to take liberties with the numbers on my plan when it comes to riding!

Finally, I purchased some new running kicks ....

These are the Nike Flyknit One - the upper is made from one piece of continuous yarn.  They are amazingly light while still providing almost the same cushioning as I'm used to in my Volmero's.  I'll be hitting the treadmill in them later this week to see if they are keepers!

I hope to get back to updating the blog with more interesting training - but until then - clean eating and happy living to you all!

2 weeks in: Getting into the swing of Training!

Here we are, 14 weeks out from MTB half iron and 10 weeks out from the Ottawa Half Marathon - Im training for both officially, though I seem to be favouring the Ottawa Half plan over the half-iron plan.

I'm sucking up my dislike of getting wet every Monday and Wednesday night and hitting the pool for my master's swim class.  I find the practices very challenging and I either leave thinking "WOW I really nailed that" or "crap, I'm never going to be any good swimming".  I figure if I just keep at it, it's got to be good for me.  I'm longing for the days of open water swimming and ditching the eau de chlorine.  But the sad reality is I actually need to add another day of swimming into my plan at some point and it will not be warm enough to be in Open Water!

Now, let's talk about running!  I am LOVING the run right now!  After smashing my huge PR and BQ at the Ft. Lauderdale A1A Marathon, I have decided I like being a fast runner.  I am sort of following my coaches plan - as well as I can that is.  I was supposed to do a LSD (long, slow, distance) run yesterday at a 5:33 min/km pace - and I came in with 19km at a 4:57 min/km pace (hey, it was cold and I wanted to get through it!).  I've sent the good coach an email asking if this is good or bad.  Fingers crossed it is a good thing.  I don't like getting in trouble for going too fast - wait, I've never had that problem before!  I have really embraced the treadmill for my mid-week intensity, steady state and fartlek runs.  I cannot wait until the weather allows be to run freely outdoors!

My first run out the Leslie Spit of 2013!  Cold but beautifully sunny day!

Anyway, running is my highlight right now and I'm even considering applying to be a part of the NUUN Hood to Coast Relay.  I'm sure my blog isn't read enough to qualify, plus I have to get my editing skills going to produce a video to convince them that I would like to spend 24 hours in a van with a bunch of other girls and run down a mountain to the ocean.  AND I'm not even sure they let Canadian's do it (though, you know I'm an American by birth so I'm sure I can figure something around that!).  But one thing is for certain - I do love NUUN and I drink enough of it to put me as a front runner if that's a metric they are using!

And finally, back to talk about training.  I'm not really embracing the bike portion of my training as of yet.  My bike is still not completely together and isn't even close to be put on the trainer or the road for that matter.  I am, however, making great use of the awesome new spin bikes at the gym and I'm hoping that my high intensity, mega power pushing sessions are keeping my cycling legs strong for when I do decide to get my but back into the Cervelo's saddle for the season.

So that's the update on the training, slow and steadily working my way through my plans!