On Tuesday night hubs and I attended a free open water swim clinic with the Trek Toronto Tri Team. It was our first time swimming in Lake Ontario, which is where our swim will be at this Saturday's tri. Hello waves! It doesn't look very choppy in this picture (and probably wasn't by Lake Ontario standards), but it was quite a change from our usual swimming hole!
In addition to swimming in waves and more weeds than we're used to, we did several drills in groups to practice mass starts, sighting, swimming in packs (we were encouraged to be aggressive!) and swimming around buoys. Now I know what it feels like to be a sardine!
2. Wind blows...
Yesterday morning I biked to work and took an extended route since I would not be biking home. It turned out that I was riding into a constant headwind of about ~30 kph (19mph) nearly the entire time. It was relentless, demoralizing and sucked the life out of me.
I pedalled and pedalled and pedalled and felt like I was going nowhere. Going uphill? Might as well have been standing still. It was my hardest and slowest ride to-date, but I made it - 45KM (28ish miles).
 |
| beautiful sunrise on the way |
 |
| but I couldn't even force a smile |
3. More cowbell...
Finally, a great big good luck to all the bloggers embarking on the epic Hood To Coast Relay this weekend! Can't wait to follow along on your 200 mile adventure.
21 comments:
I cannot tell you how many times I have had to ride in nasty wind. It sucks the life out of you! But it does make us stronger....
Weeds and waves?? Ugh, that does not sound enjoyable to me :p I guess the sardine life is not one of glamour!
Wind is nasty. So are weeds and waves!
I find I have to throw my pride to the wind when I'm riding in it. If I just gear down and stop looking at my speed, it's much better for me mentally.
It's still August, lets not talk about wind yet!!!!! Unless we're on the golf course......... HA
Ugg i just hate wind no matter what I am doing - running, walking, being outside. Hate wind!
oh now what to do -- a blot post with no Marlene smile....oh wait I have the Despicable Marlene pic handy.....there it is....OK we are back to where we need t obe.
Nothing like a headwind to tick me off. Actually, I've been in some cross winds that were so scary (like lifting my bike up scary) that I've come to appreciate the simplicity of the headwind :p
Wind on the bike is the worst. Your swim class sounds like great practice, that should help calm your nerves for the weekend!
Wind ticks me off as it NEVER seems to be at my back. Even at the race on Sat night, I made the turn at the lighthouse and thought: "Great! That breeze will help push me."
Nope...it just went away.
Wind is one of my least favorite weather factors for outdoor sports.
Oh boy ... don't you love a strong headwind. UCK! When I get that it always seems to be on the uphill portion of my ride - and usually when I'm already tired. Character building ride - right?
Thanks for your words of wisdom. Much appreciated.
Great job on getting use to the aggressiveness in the swim portion. I can't say I would enjoy it, but I bet it comes in handy later!
Oh way to bike to work! Sounds like it was tough, but proud that you did it. You are so much braver than I with all the swimming stuff. Glad you have a group to train with, I bet that helps a lot!
I love that the shirt works so well in so many contexts :rofl: Safety first!
I still remember one particular windy ride I did only later to find out a hurricane was coming. But I went nowhere near 28 miles that day. When I got home I took a nap - you went to work. Some day you will be doing an Ironman I have NO DOUBT!
Good luck this weekend :)
Wow ...thanks for the awesome shoot out girl!!!! Very cool :)
I don't remember the last time I swam in open water. It's usually just swimming pools for this girl! The waves and weeds would freak me out!
Have a great weekend!
Wind blows but it makes you stronger!!
Also, I want to thank you for being honest when training kinda blows. It's so much easier to pretend things are always great. The honesty is appreciated.
The springs here are so windy, and I agree... So demoralizing. Everything feels like a struggle and you can't hit your normal pace. But like the heat, I'm convinced it makes you stronger. ;-)
Post a Comment