Saturday, April 20, 2013

The Westsyde Grind

Almost a week ago a good 90% of our Mudder ladies climbed up Westsyde Road.  This is a gravel road on the other side of Barriere, across the North Thompson River.

Because I was coming from Darfield I decided to meet the group at the bottom of the hill and the rest walked 1.5 kms to get there, along Station Rd and Hwy 5.

That was a climb!

Kudos to J and M who talked the whole way up (3.5 kms) and didn't break stride.  K and I lost sight of them about half way up. She and I mutually agreed that we wouldn't talk on the climb up.  It was a silent agreement because we both found it difficult to talk and climb.

I had to turn backwards and walk a few steps every little while to relieve the strain on my muscles.  But I didn't stop, although I enjoyed the 100 m straight stretch half way up!

The group is scattered this weekend so I'm going to do it again tomorrow morning with Peggy, who wasn't able to make it last week.

On another note, this week I started Week #9 of running.  Ten minutes running, one walking, ten minutes running.  I was easily able to do this so I am heartened. Next week my schedule says Week #10:  Fun Run, 10 minutes.

What?  That's like the easiest run since about week #5.  I think I'm going to make Week #10 a run 20 minutes run and see how I feel about it.  I wonder if I can eliminate the minute rest?

Chris, my husband, tells me that at some point in a running schedule the running suddenly just starts to happen. It feels a little like  that to me  in the last few weeks.  He has been training for a sprint triathlon for the last nine weeks and I've been watching him do 80 minute runs!  He's racing on May 5...so I hope his running is finally happening.

On the fitness side of things. I've stopped weighing myself. I'd lose five pound, gain it back, hear all about muscle gain, yada yada, so I ignore the scale.  I'm still noticing lots of toning, loss of a few inches overall and my cardio stamina is so much better. I can easily run 10 minutes and barely break out in a sweat (I make up for it in the next 10!)  I'm still concentrating on weights on my upper body and I'm finding hefting things (car batteries, groceries, wood, etc) much easier.

I'm actually looking forward to Tough Mudder just a bit.

On another note, our family has just reserved our spots for the West Coast Trail on July 3rd so Chris and I are really looking forward to that. The kids are a bit nervous, but they paddled the Bowron Lakes Circuit four years ago (when they were 9, 10 and 11) so I'm sure they will be fine.



Saturday, April 13, 2013

In the zone

I've been busy, so I've been very quiet here.

I think I just started Week #8 of my running schedule. Today I ran 8 minutes, walked 1, ran 8, walked one and then ran 2.

I just finished 6,1,6,1,6.

What I'm finding is that at the end of each week my heart rate is staying steady at 143 or 145 per minute from about the middle of the run to the end.

Every time I start a new schedule (like today) my heart rate jumps by the end. Today I clocked 153 by the last two minutes of running. I'm expecting by the end of this week it will have stabilized again. I like it. It means my cardiovascular system is much stronger and getting stronger all the time. My breathing is easier, too.

I feel pretty good. I'm not daunted by starting a new week and I'm actually beginning to think beyond week 10 of the schedule. I'm not sure what I will do then as far as running goes. It's still not my favourite thing to do, but for now it's been my favourite obstacle to overcome.

The group has started some endurance training and I think this will be a focus from now until June. There are some nice hills around here and the consensus is that we now have to start climbing them. (Mostly hiking, there isn't a lot of talk about running up them.)  Thank goodness.

Weight training is going well.  After running, I spend 20-25 minutes on a variety of stations. I'm concentrating on my arms as the obstacles at Tough Mudder seem to require upper body strength. I've noticed my muscles across my back feel much better.  We don't own a full length mirror so I really don't know what they look like. ;)  I have great biceps right now, though, and those I CAN see.  My legs are pretty solid, from the running and some of the weights I've been doing.

All in all I feel great. I'm looking forward to getting out for endurance activities. This will be where all our hard work through winter and early spring will pay off. 

Oh, and while I have the chance, I'd like to thank all my world-wide Facebook friends for posting Tough Mudder pictures on their timelines.  You can't scare me. :D

Well, o.k. Maybe a little.

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Wheeeeeelsssss!!!

Finally!  It is warm enough to cycle here in the North Thompson.

Yesterday I grabbed my bike, my camelback, my epi-pens (bee allergy) and my credit card, jumped on my $400 bike (I'm totally entry level when choosing my equipment) and headed north on Hwy 5.

Chris and I started cycling together shortly after we met in 1989. We bought two hybrid bikes in 1990 from a store in Rutland, Vermont, where his parents kept a ski chalet near Killlington.  They really looked like hybrids, too. Part mountain bike/part road bike.

Those bikes lasted us until 1997 when Chris bought a nicer mountain bike (Easton) from his sister-in-law's brother-in-law.

But the original bikes saw us through biking 3 or 4 times a week in Toronto (along the Lakeshore and through the city), as well as for several longer trips, most notably our week long trip from Kingston to Eden Mills, Vermont, through the beautiful Adirondacks of New York state.  I continued to use my bike until probably 2002 when I finally gave it to my dad as a spare for visitors.

For the six months in 1995 before we were married, I rode my bike once a week from Oakville, ON (where I was living with Chris' brother and sister-in-law while he was in Vermont helping is parents with their business for six months) to downtown Toronto. It took me about two hours each way and was exhausting, so I didn't do it very often. But it wasn't much longer thand riving the 60kms (which took me 90 mins, blech).

When we lived in San Francisco in 1997/1998 Chris would ride his bike from our home in Inner Sunset, to his job with a start-up company in downtown San Fran. Lots of hills!

Suffice it to say that we love to bike!  Since the kids were old enough, we've taken them on long treks. Once when I was working Chris and the kids cycled 38kms of backroads to Clearwater, just north of us. By the end of the day they called me to say they needed a ride home after they got ice cream!!

We are in the midst of looking for upgrades for our two youngest kids. Cyling will play a big part in our exercise routine for the next few months as we prepare the whole family for the West Coast Trail later this summer.

I digress...

Yesterday the weather was fabulous and I made it to Little Fort (13.5kms) in 40 minutes. I used the bathroom the general store and turned around and came home. 

I loved it, despite navigating the shoulders when the big trucks go by.  I was able to sustain an increased heart rate for an entire 80 minutes and while running affects different (and probably more) muscles, I prefer cycling....end of story.

I plan on cycling another 14K tonight during Helen's ball practice and hopefully a different 14 K on Sunday if I can sneak away from a 4-H event for an hour.