The Krypt.

This year marked my first foray into road cycling, for no other reason than decaying joints and a whim.

Mostly the decaying joints whim.

I bought myself a new bike…a pretty little butterfly-light  Argon 18 Krypton (duly named the “Krypt” because I’m sure I’m going to die on it), some snazzy new clothes (helloooo, shopping opportunity!) and then looked around for a reason to actually get on it and train.

Enter the Whistler Gran Fondo.  122k (approx 75 miles) of mountainous riding from Vancouver to Whistler.

Yup, that’s a fun little goal for a beginner.

Well, hold on, my nickname may be Crazy Legs, but I’m  not that crazy.  I talked my friend Kim into signing up (because misery loves company and evidently, so does torture) to do the Medio distance which is only half.  Easy peasy.

Me out for my first ride...yes, I eventually got off the sidewalk and onto the road.

(Note to self, next time, pick the easy half, not the blimey mountainous half).

A bit of a running die-hard, I quickly found that I really, really like this riding thing. This was unexpected, but road cycling is not called “the new golf” for nothing…. I found it easy on the body (compared to running), fast (compared to running) and you cover wayyyy more ground (compared to running).

I still kept up my 3 runs per week but added in a few rides as well.  Contrary to dire expectation, my body did not fall apart.  Riding seems to complement running (yes, I’m a slow learner) and I didn’t feel nearly as worn out or tired as I thought I would.

The day of the Whistler Gran Fondo was stunning and hot, even by Vancouver’s wetcoast standards.  The race itself was extremely well organized (huge props!) and given it’s “new golf” designation as a sport, it was quite genteel as well. (Glass of wine at the aid station…yeah, baby.  Now we’re talking!)

Kim, right, and I share a glass of red wine. And all is right in the world.

With thousands of riders along with us for this sold-out little jaunt, Kim and I did get separated a time or two but found each other at the aid stations. There were plenty of people to talk to, jaw dropping scenery on the Sea to Sky Highway and a ton of food and fuel to keep us going.

I won! I won! Just like the 6,999 other riders!

Reaching the village of Whistler and crossing the finish line in my first road cycling event….priceless!  I may not win any medals but I sure had fun.  (Wait…we all get medals. Sweet!)

Brave road warriors that we are, Kim and I are already signed up for next year.  Since we did the hard half the first time, we figure the whole distance should be a piece of cake.

Right?

Well…doubtless it will burn off a piece of cake or two, anyway. And that will make all the effort worth it.

That and the glasses of wine.

Last week I started the P90X program (upcoming post).  I also did the Grouse Grind, tried kayaking (post upcoming Sunday) and continued to run.  All in the summer heat.

Turns out (no surprise, right?), it was too much for my body.  This I found out on a hot, muggy run. In retrospect, I could have just sat on the deck with a Corona and thought about it, but some of us learn the hard way.

The run wasn’t hard, but the day was a boiler.  I had just finished a hill that I’ve run many, many times before with no problem. It isn’t that steep and it isn’t that long.  But this time I got to the top and had that yucky feeling I’ve only experienced once before on a run – at the end of race, that time – that yucky feeling that everything in my stomach was screaming to heave back out.

At first I didn’t take the feeling seriously so I fought it for a minute before I realized that I was actually going to throw up.  I hastily looked around and ran behind a tree.

And….well, I’ll leave the details to your imagination.

Later that day, with my Corona in hand, I Googled the whole messy situation and found out that vomiting on a run isn’t anything new.  As a matter of fact, some trainers – as well as unqualified hacks – actually encourage runners to work that hard.  (Is it just me, or is that insane?)

And I found out that regular people like me are actually wondering if they should train to puke.

I did find one race where I guess vomiting is pretty much a given (not a race I’d volunteer for clean up duties):

Tell us, have you ever thrown up after a run or workout?

Spill! (sorry)

So excited!!!  I’m still training for the Canuck Place Adventure Challenge, (5k kayak, 20k mountain bike, 5k trail run) and while I was hanging with the family at the lake I took some much needed me-time and hopped in the canoe for a little paddle practice.  It’s not kayaking, but at least I’m still getting an upper body workout, right?

BlackJack – my impetuous toy fox terrier – decided he wanted to accompany me…

Yup, he wanted to be there. At least until he realized that "there" meant surrounded by water.

….until – too late we’d pushed off – he remembered he was afraid of water.

But BlackJack’s a brave little guy and he soon found his lake legs.  We had a great paddle!

Me (and BlackJack) in the Green Monster at Shuswap Lake.

The langorous hills of the Shuswap area were great to practice 25k mountain bike rides on and the occasional dump truck zooming past me on the road really made for some exciting peddling!

However, with the little bit of training I did at the lake, I also did way too much of this:

Yup, lazing around on the boat - again. In between cocktails on the beach. Lots of arm workouts, there.

Now, finally back home again from the lake (I can’t believe summer has gone by this quickly) the girls and I on the Fitness Town team got together this morning for a photo opp for a local newspaper:

Pimping ourselves in the local newspaper, for a great cause: the terminally ill kids who visit Canuck Place Children's Hospice, pictured in the background.

Three more weeks until race day!  And I still have some significant fundraising to do.  Yikes!

If you care to support us in our race – and more importantly, support the kids – please click here to donate. If we all give up our coffee money for a day or two and put a smile on a sick kid’s face, we can warm our souls with something more than just coffee.

Fitness Town Freakettes team captain, Esther, sits in front of Deep Cove, where the Innovative Fitness Canuck Place Adventure Challenge will start and finish.

So uber volunteer and all around awesome chick Esther convinced me to tackle a super-worthy event benefiting sick kids and their families that visit Canuck Place.  Canuck Place Children’s Hospice provides specialized pediatric palliative care for children living with a life-threatening illness and support for their families throughout British Columbia.  I can’t think of a cause that is more worthy to support.

The event is called the Innovative Fitness Canuck Place Adventure Challenge and it consists of a 4k kayak race, a 20k mountain bike leg and finally a 5k mountain trail run.

Last year's Adventure Challenge participants. Watch out, 'cause this year's team is going to kick some @ss!

I bumped into Esther after she did the race last year for the first time, and she sounded so pumped about the whole experience – from the emotion of seeing the kids, supporting the cause, meeting the families and kicking butt at the race – that I quickly begged agreed to be part of Dai Manual‘s Fitness Town- sponsored team she was putting together.

Am I going to be raising money for this super-worthy event?  YOU BET! Please click here for more info or to donate.

Last week marked my first on-course training for the race.  Esther and I drove to Deep Cove to hike the trail section.  It was a GORGEOUS day and we had a lot of fun (deodorant and makeup – who knew they were a topic of so many giggles, LOL?)

Here are the pics:

We started our hike at beautiful and rugged Deep Cove, taking the Baden Powell trail.

Even with the day being hot and sunny, the trail was cool and wet – with a lot of rock it made for a slippery and muddy journey.  All the more fun!

Esther celebrates at the turn around point.  If you look carefully, you can see deep cove in the background. Sorry I didn’t get close enough to the edge of the cliff to take a better pic.  But trust me, it’s gorgeous!

Yup, that’s me.  Let’s just say our photography skills are a work in progress!

We’ll be doing team training and as well, some larger group training that the race organizers put together.  I’ll keep you updated, it’s going to be a great challenge!

If you care to support us in our race – and more importantly, support the kids – please click here to donate. Any amount welcome and MOST appreciated!

This week I joined our local (and newly-constructed) Steve Nash Sports Club. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous.  They’re still working out the kinks (air conditioning…what air conditioning?) but it’s only been open since the beginning of the month so I’m sure they’ll get things worked out.

It was actually a pretty big step for me to join a gym, because I love working out outdoors and hate aerobics classes.  I’ve mentioned before that I am the MOST uncoordinated person ever to attempt aerobics, all gangly and wild and dangerous.  Last time I tried, I was actually asked to leave before I hurt someone.

So you can understand my reluctance.

Recently though, I’ve discovered I actually do love spin classes (hard to hurt anyone) and the weight machines (gotta keep the jiggly parts from falling south). Combined with the fact that I keep injuring myself while running…I figure it is time to do some cross training and there is no doubt that I get pushed harder during a class than I push myself on my own.   If I can find a class with weights in it and very little cardio (since I still plan on running) and then cross train with spin class as well, then I think that will be a good balance for me.

So I bit the bullet…and today, along with Sian, I went to a class called Maxed Out.  (I actually thought we were doing a spin class, but Sian swears she told me it wasn’t.  I’m not sure if I believe her.)

I found myself staring at big roomful of skinny ladies who all look like they could kick my b*tt with little effort.  I slunk into the class and over to the far wall, at the back, behind a pole.  As unobtrusive as possible, and more unlikely that I’d hit someone.  Sian followed and set up in front of me.  Not sure that was wise…

The class started before I could have second thoughts and immediately I was plunged into some aerobic moves (hate HATE) which took my full concentration so I wouldn’t injure my neighbor. Before I knew it we’d picked up weights, then discarded them, then jumped on a bosu ball, a mat, weights again, and more cardio.  We were moving so fast I couldn’t even think about running out the door. And given that I thought my heart my actually burst through my chest, I don’t think I’d have made it out the door anyway.

I did save the tiniest little bit of energy to dart really evil glares at Sian, but for the most part she ignored me.  However, I’m sure she could feel them through the back of her head.  I hope they hurt.

The instructor kept yelling, “How are we doing…?”  which I thought was really evil of her.  I didn’t have the energy to answer her anyway because I needed every little particle of oxygen just to keep me upright.

Surprisingly, I found I absolutely loved the class. The instructor was FABULOUS and kept things moving so fast and intensely that I couldn’t get bored. To balance that, however, she also explained the moves very well which I found helpful.  Also, if a move was too complicated for me, it was soon over anyway.  I won’t say the hour flew by, because that sort of torture doesn’t pass the time faster but by the end I sure was proud I was able to walk out on two feet.

Since I love challenges that kick my butt – I find them so motivating – I think I’m hooked.  That was the first time I’d done Maxed Out, so it can only get easier, right?

But Sian, next time I’m getting our itinerary in writing.