Taper

Actually this whole summer has been a taper of sorts. I mean, I have been training, but not to the extent I did before the Oliver Tri in May, or even to the extent I did last summer. I feel fairly fit but really have no idea where my fitness level is at because I haven't been doing any of my 'test' rides this year. I didn't even ride up Anarchist when we were there last week. I was a slacker I guess, but there just didn't seem to be any point to killing myself up that climb so I didn't do it.

It rained off and on most of the week were camping down in Osoyoos but the sun came out every afternoon except for Friday when it poured all day. Jesse and I were playing in the water as soon as the sun came out but it never got really hot all week, staying in the upper 20's at best.

So to pick up where I left off last post, I did get up early on Sunday the 9th and did a 5.75 km run that morning, even after my wakeful night. Then I headed up to Mabel Lake with the girls for 2 days. When I got home on Monday afternoon, we packed up the van and were set up at our site in Osoyoos, 2 hours south of Kelowna, by 7:30 pm.

Didn't do any training on Tuesday, but Wednesday morning I got up and went for a 6 km run. I felt great and thought I could have run further but decided to quit while I was ahead. That afternoon I rode for 90 minutes, heading to Oliver and back. I went fairly hard going out, but got a bad pain in my side and had to ride home slowly. I was happy to have made it because that happened to me once last summer and Erik had to get the car and pick me up. Anyway, I felt fine again 15 minutes after getting off the bike - I have no idea what it was from. 42 km bike ride.

The boys rode Anarchist on Thursday and I bailed, choosing to hang out by the lake with Jesse instead. And no, I wasn't swimming - the water in that area is murky and weedy. Ick. A storm came up just as the boys arrived back to the campsite and we were inundated with wind and rain for the next 24 hours.

I got up at 7 am on Saturday morning and did a brick before we packed up and came home. Did a 20 km bike ride followed by a 3 km run. Overall I felt good, but the run was rolling hills and that slowed me down a bit.

Sunday - didn't do anything.

Today - I rode downtown and then did the tri route to refresh my muscle memory. Good thing too because I forgot a lot of what I learned last year - like when to shift, and when to push hard or ease off, and even where to turn. OK, I know that the route will be marked on Sunday but I was still surprised when I rode right past one of the turns. :)

I couldn't get a true test of my time because I had to come to a complete stop several times for road constructions and traffic lights, and there are at least six stop signs along the way that won't be an issue next weekend. Still, I managed to pull off just under 22 minutes for one 10k loop and I wasn't killing myself so cutting another 2-3 minutes off that time should be close to doable.

Tomorrow, I WILL go down to Gyro and swim. There, I've said it and typed it so it will be done.

Bad news - likely no wetsuits again this year. Crapola. I like wearing my wetsuit. Also, it means I need to come up with an alternate clothing plan again. I refuse to wear my swim suit and pull on bike shorts this year and the tri top I wore in the spring is not feeling that comfortable right now so I took my $100 gift certificate down to Fresh Air and spent half an hour trying on every tri top they had.

It is a truly humbling experience trying on tri tops and shorts at my age. I mean, I really don't look bad in street clothes, I know that. And I'm certainly not what you'd consider to be over weight. But every one of the tops made me look fat. They invented rolls where there are none (or at least where I pretend there are none). I tried large, medium, and small in 6-7 different brands and styles. Sometimes the size large fit, sometimes I disappeared in it, sometimes the small fit, and once I had to get Erik into the change room to help me get it off again. Sigh. There is a HUGE hole in the market for decent, comfortable, well fitted, tri clothes for regular human beings.

That being said, I ended up buying a new top. I bought the small because that's all they had left, although I suspect the medium might have been a tad more comfy. The upside is that it is really really cute! Haha, and I'm not a cutesy-clothes kind of girl as you probably know.

And I will be able to wear this top with my black 2XU shorts alone in the swim, or with my wetsuit, depending on the water temp on Sunday morning. Cross your fingers. I just won't eat anything between now and then... ;)

So my weight has been steady at 121.5 for the past week. I'm extremely lucky I didn't gain anything while I was away and gorging myself every day. So lucky. Still, I'm up 2-3 lbs from this time last August. Not a huge deal, but it's there.

Plans for this Week

Tues - swim, easy run

Wed - tri bike route if I can fit it in. Have to go to Summerland that day.

Thur - swim again? or run? or bike? Pick up race package.

Fri - rest day

Sat - swim the tri route at 1 pm while it's open.

And that's all she wrote folks, ttyl.....