Barney, among other momentous occasions ;-)

First off, I wrote this post back in December, but just getting around to posting it now ?!! Anyway, here it is:


I had the best surprise ever last night !!

"Hey Carolyn, do you want to go out for dinner with Jen, Simon, Jenny, Pippa, Steve and Vanessa?" Yeah I do! So off we go for a nice dinner but before I know it, the bills are arriving and people are up, putting coats on. Being polite, I put my coat on, glance at my half full glass of wine on the table, and leave. In the car Brent says Simon wants to see some band playing out in Brentwood Bay. I love music so I am game but again, I am reeling in my head as to why there is this incredible rush to get there, but decide to just 'go with the flow'.

We get there, walk inside and there are quite a few people. I was looking at everyone trying to determine what KIND of music this was going to be. I had no idea. Then, we walk into this private room and the very first person I see...Barney Bentall !! I almost ran out ! My face flushed red as I remembered a 'brief' conversation I had with Simon half a year ago about his trip to Italy and jamming with Barney. I told him how I LOVED Barney and when I was younger, went to see him probably no less than 10 times. Some of my favorite memories are nights going to see him play !!!

So then Barney strolls over, strumming his guitar - OMGoodness !! wow. My face, now a completely new shade of red, is glowing like a beacon in the middle of an ocean...long story short, there is a little chit chat; some of the most inspiring music I have heard in a long time; a signed copy of his greatest hits AND a hug. I remember sitting in there feeling so happy and so thankful. When people take the time to do something for someone, no matter how big or how small, it always feels amazing. Thank you Simon and thank everyone else for playing along ;-)

In other news...............I am done !! I finished my last day of classes in my five year Elementary Education Degree !!!!!!! Talk about amazing ! I am so proud of every single girl and the two guys (I know !! lol) that were in my program. We have all been together for a very long time and it was nostalgic and bittersweet saying goodbye to everyone. We will all do a two month practicum in January and then come back together one last time for a three week course in March before we officially graduate. It has been an amazing journey...



Happy New Year !

Royal Victoria Marathon - 1/2 for me !

Wow !! So many people and such energy in the crowds ! It always amazes me to see so many people in one place and so many FIT people in one place is even better ;-) Everyone is there to showcase what they can on the day but the fact remains that every one out there is doing it ;-)

I ran the half marathon and I went in feeling relaxed. I haven't been running a lot the past few weeks and was feeling unsure about how it would go. Brent threw together a training plan 7 days out (!!) and I followed that. I have to say though, the best advice came from Bill...he said to just go out as hard as you possibly can, that way you'll be way ahead of where you would normally be and then you can just relax the rest of the way in !! This coming from the guy who sat on a bike trainer for 12 hours straight !!! I thought, sure, I've never tried that before. It's always the same: Go out controlled and pick it up the second half...time to switch it up a little !!!!!

My last half marathon was in Kona back in May. At that race I ran 8 minutes faster than my previous 1/2 marathon which was a year and a half earlier. I was happy with that ! So I wasn't sure how I would go on Sunday, having not many miles in my legs. But I went out faster than normal and when I looked at my watch at 10k in, I was shocked at the time -but I seriously suffered after that :( I'm not sure if it was because it registered how fast I just went and that I still had 11.2k to go, or that I just had hit a wall.

Whatever the reason, from 10k to 12k I hurt. It was really tough and thankfully my parents were there in between that point to push me on. Then it was down the hill back onto Dallas, up the hill and then the part that I dislike the most !! All those corners and you think you are almost done,,,but you're not because there's another freaking corner, and oh another one and another one and...you get it. I decided to put myself at the 6k marker at Elk / Beaver lake and visualize where I was on THAT trail rather than those corners !!!! It totally worked ! I really have little memory of that last part and it went by so fast. That is also the time in the race that becomes the most mentally challenging and I really didn't struggle at all. I did, however, struggle when I looked at my watch and saw that I had 45 seconds to make it under 1:45 and I still had the whole stretch left to the finish line. I pushed hard and made it to the line in 1:44:42 !!! That's EIGHT minutes faster than Kona !!! So that is also 16 minutes faster than two years ago ;-)

I am very happy with my race and happy to see that I can push myself and not die !! It is all about pushing your personal limits and sometimes somebody will say something to you that will tweek something in your mind that ends up making a difference...

So thanks Bill !!!

Subaru Sooke Triathlon

Raced the last race of the season this past weekend in Sooke - part of the West Coast Subaru Triathlon Series put on by Lifesport. A great turnout this year and again the weather was perfect and the new course was even better than last year !

I had a great race and managed to take 2:44 off my time from last year. That's two races in a row with just over 2 minutes off. I placed first in my age and third female overall.

Happy with that but also looking forward to next year to see what I can do ;-)

Thank you Lifesport !!

Nationals - Kelowna, BC

Third place again, but this time two minutes and 22 seconds faster than last year !! I thought I would be a lot faster on the swim and bike, as this year I have not just been focusing on running like I was last year. Surprisingly, there was not a lot of gains made on the swim and bike (a combined total of 1:09) and it was on the run that I took over a minute off of last year's time.

I felt good on the run the whole way and was able to pick it up with a final km or so to go. Although the times aren't reflective of how I felt in the swim and on the bike, I certainly felt stronger this year ;-)

With this result I have qualified for World's again, which next year, will be in Hungry. I've decided I am going ! Saweeeeeeeeeet.


Photos: MarathonPhotos

Hornby Island, BC

Whaling Station Bay Beach - amazing !!!!

For those of you who have never been to the island, stay away. Just joking !!! Goooooooooo, it is so beautiful and the beaches, omgoodness. Brent rode his bike to Nanaimo and I drove up and picked him up on the way. Then you drive to Buckley Bay and take a 10 min ferry to Denman, drive across the little island and take another 10 min ferry to Hornby. We stayed at Tribune Bay Campsite (make a reservation) which is located on the eastern side of the island, about a 10 min drive from the ferry terminal.

Helliwell Provincial Park cliffs

I love camping mainly because I love sleeping in a tent, usually on an air mattress WITHOUT a hole in it, haha, cooking on a camp stove and eat lots of yummy food...


We slept, we laughed, we played, we ran, we ate, we kayaked, we explored...

It was a really good trip ;-)

My First EVER 1/2 IRON Race !

I did it. I DID IT !! Am I gloating? Yep. Did I mention, I did it ?!!

Ok, enough of that, now here is the day as it unfolded...but first let me back up a little to the night before...


I was in the hotel room and opted out of the all-you-can-eat-carbo-loading-pasta-parfait and ordered room service and watched the Tour de France instead. It was a good night - I was organized and ready to go...race numbers were on my bike and helmet and I had copious amounts of gels and bars all organized into pre-race / bike / run order. Details baby, it's all in the details. So I felt good and ready to go, although I'll be honest, I really didn't know what to expect - how can you know when you've never gone 113.9km all in one go, right? Right, so that's why you do these things - to challenge yourself and to see what new levels you can reach. I love sport and exercise because no matter what level you are at at any given point, you can always get better. If you are too busy with life and you become slightly less fit, well, you can only get better. If you're super fit and feeling great, most likely you enter a race only to be spurred on to go faster next time. It's a win win situation. Yes, there are those days where you feel like crap, but hey, if you feel like crap, it can ONLY get better, right ?!!!


ok, where was I...

So race morning I woke up and shoveled some hot oatmeal into my body. I don't normally eat anything on race morning but I figured this morning I would need a few extra calories :) I filled all my water bottles with the prescribed amounts of maltodextrin and salts that Brent told me to, and I got in my car and headed over the Burrard Street Bridge to the race site.

For the past two years I have not felt nervous before a race. Now I am not sure if this is a good thing. If you are not nervous you don't have that extra adrenaline that seems to push your personal limits, however, for a race such as this, I wasn't too concerned. My goal for this race included finishing and that was about it, so there really wasn't a lot of pressure.


I set up my transition, headed out for a warmup run with Heather and then put on my wetsuit and headed out to the beach. The race took place on beautiful Jericho Beach in Vancouver and I was worried that the water would be cold.


It turned out the water wasn't cold at all and my swim got off to a great start !!! I settled into a good steady pace and focused on my catch. I came out of the water for the second loop and felt relaxed but on task...

It was a two loop swim for a total of 1.9k and then it was onto the 92 km bike !!! Yeaaaaaay !! Side note: 92 km is the longest I have ever biked, ever at one time. EVER. Soooooooo, nice and steady was the mantra going through my head. It was a four lap bike course with one climb per loop, but truly, I didn't find it that bad at all and I just made sure to eat and drink and the further I went, the better I felt !!


Into T2, and for the first time in my life, I put socks on and tied my shoe laces !! Grabbed my trusty gum that I like to chew while running and headed out. About A MINUTE into the run, I look up and see none other than NICK !!! He rode his bike over from home to the course and there he is, in front of me !!!! The only problem was that at that time, I was seriously doubting being able to run a half marathon. I had a moment where tears were starting to come to my eyes and I imagined myself breaking down sobbing and crying to Nick that 'I just couldn't do it' !!!!!!! Five steps closer to him and I found myself muttering a barely audible "hi" and that was it. I was past him and I didn't look back. It was one of those moments similar to when a child hurts themselves, then takes a look at a parent, and instantly starts bawling. But if they don't see their parent, they just suck it up. I'm not sure why I sucked it up, but I am glad I did.

It was slow going at the beginning and I just kept putting one foot in front of the other. That was all I could do. Then the mind games began...the good mind games. I want to run this whole thing without stopping. That's a good goal I thought. The first loop went well but I still couldn't help thinking I had to do that whole loop all over again. Ok, next mind game was turnover. Turnover, turnover, turnover, turnover...it was good, I just kept getting faster and faster and feeling better and better the longer I went.


By the time I passed Nick for the last time, I had 4km left to go. One km at a time and with three km left to go I decided I felt really, really good and was able to pick it up quite a bit. I was thinking the whole thing would take me 6 1/2 hours and was happy when I crossed the line in 5:47 !! It's not super fast, but it was a great experience and one that I will work on for next season. I remember thinking when I finished how freaking hard a full Ironman would be...but one day, that will be a post on this blog !!!

~ all photos courtesy of SIPhotography

Kona, Hilo, Maui, Hilo, Kona, Hilo, Kona

There was a LOT of traveling on this trip !! But with travels come good memories, amazing new sights, familiar old sights, and most of all, GOOD PICTURES !! haha.

I arrived in Kona and took the shuttle to the car rental place. When I walked in, the lady asked me if I had a friend named Jessica...'ummmm, yeah?' Well, she is waiting for you at Starbucks in Waikoloa Village. Oh sweet !! Jess rode her bike from Hilo to Kona to come meet me so we could drive back to Hilo together. I hopped in the rental and went to see Jessness !! Pulled up and there she was - food on the table, bike behind her - it was so good to see her !!!!!!

We drove the coast road back to Hilo in the dark and arrived just past midnight, about 3am my time so it was off to bed pretty quick. Jess worked the next day and I took the car rental and went to Richardson's in hope of swimming with some turtles again. It was not to be that day, but it was nice to be back on that beautiful black sand beach. I went for a 30 min run on an evacuation route road that was quiet and pretty.

The next few days were spent running, swimming, and eating - Thai food in Hilo is crazy good and Jess and I made sure to hit up a few different ones but this is a picture of our favorite one.


We also went to the Hilo market, ROSS - where I didn't 'NEED' another dress, but got one anyway - and even got silly drunk one night (off two glasses of wine) and had a fashion show for each other...lol

Before we knew it, Nick was arriving !! We didn't give him much time to settle in because a day later we were off to Maui...

...to see Aaron and see parts of Maui that I have never seen before. It was Jess and Nick's first trip there so it was cool showing them around. We swam one morning with Aaron's swim group (way to knock 4k out after not swimming much in the past month !!). We drove around the west Maui mountains through Papawai Point to Kahului Bay - the road and sights were outrageously beautiful and outrageously dangerous !!! Crammed in to this winding road are lookouts, valleys, tiny towns offering amazing local treats that tempt you to stop...



...but with every corner came something new for our eyes to gaze at in awe and we just kept going, and going, and going, and 'when does this freaking road end !!!???' Let's just say by the time we hit Airport Beach we were pretty happy to float around for a bit ;-) We were also lucky enough to go stand up board paddling at Kam One, play in the waves at Makena and had, HAD to go to Sushi Paradise ;-) Aaron rocks, not just because he takes us to sushi paradise, he just rocks, on so many levels...


From Maui (sniff, sniff) it was back to Hilo and then pack up the Jeep and drive over to Kona for the Kona 1/2 Marathon the NEXT DAY !!! haha. Flying by the seat of (Jess') pants, we characteristically drove blindly to Carlyn's home. We found it, albeit an hour or so later, but we found it !!! Not too much changed the next morning at 5:30am when we were searching for the race start - lol - it's ok Jess, we made it, and that's all that matters !! We all had good runs that day and for the rest of the day, we went to Lava Java, the Kona market and some other shopping around town.

On our way back to Hilo, we drove the Mamaloahoa Highway which takes you south around the back side of the island through amazing roads and wide open expanses of amazon type terrain. I spent a whole whopping day in Hilo where at the end of the day the three of us spent three hours bobbing in the hot ponds, taking ridiculously funny pictures before I had to drive back over to Kona for my flight back to Canada. Booooo.

What two things remind me most of our trip? Let's just say 1) Island Naturals food buffet and 2) "Nancy, Nancy, that's not Nancy!!!"



Thanks be to two wonderful friends,,,happy memories last a lifetime ;-)

Kona 1/2 Marathon

Race start: 6am
Time I arrived: 5:52

I jumped out of the Jeep and ran and got my race number (thankfully there were no lineups at this time !) and my warm up was the 100 or so metres to the start line. I felt fine, I was not uptight about it and was just so excited to be there, on Ali'i Drive, surrounded by the ocean and a sea of fit people cheering for the race to start. Frank Shorter, the 1972 Olympics marathon winner was handed the microphone and said that it was "a no excuses day". I decided I liked Frank Shorter and what he had to say, not to mention his grass skirt he was wearing !

... 3, 2, 1... I was off, and yes, I did get goosebumps !! I just felt so happy to be there, so excited for what I was about to push my body to do and the fact that I was on the legendary Kona Ironman run course was a little overwhelming at the time ! (Jess, quit calling me a nerd !). The first 20 mins I used to mentally prepare, aka warmup, and then I picked it up a little and settled into a good steady pace. Jess and Nick were just behind me as they were running the full marathon but it was nice knowing they were there,,, probably comparing my legs to every other runner out there or something like that ;-)

At the turnaround 6.1 miles, the sun seemed to be getting a little hotter but the legs still felt good and the same with my head. Oh how quickly things can change though ! About 20 mins later, my legs started to feel like cement posts. I had my eye on this one girl the whole race. She had passed me at the beginning but I kept her in my sights. So I decided that this was going to be my new diversion !! I wanted to reel her in and pass her. Two gradual hills coming,,,I can do it. I dug in and found a new gear and rhythm and started to gain on her. Within the mile, I passed her and was feeling great again, knowing that I had put my mind to doing something and following through with success.

There was about 4 miles left to go and I was using everything I knew to keep my legs turning over at the same pace. At about 3 miles left I got another wind and picked it up slightly. Then, I could here the finish line announcer although I had NO IDEA where the finish was because I arrived too late to figure it out (or realize that where I picked up my race number WAS the finish). Either way, I felt like I had a good push left in my legs, but then that girl that I had reeled in just a few miles back, passed me !!! WHAT ?! No way was I going to let her go, so I stayed right on her shoulder, stride for stride and then when I knew I could sprint and hold to the finish I let go and flew past her all the way to the line. I felt great !!! I ended up finishing two minutes faster than my last fastest half, so I was pretty happy with that.

The girl behind me that pushed me HARD to the finish

Nick and Jess had amazing days too and we all felt happy, satisfied and proud.

Yep.

Great day.

Hot Ponds and Hawaiian Time

the drive to Pohoiki

Ahalanui Park Hotpond ! So beautiful

Yesterday Jess and I drove into Pahoa and after ravaging a local used clothing store and then the hot bar at the local health food store, we carried on to Pohoiki where there is a huge natural ocean hotpond. I've been to the hotpond once before with Jess and Brent and it brought back some good memories ;-)

The hotpond is volcanically heated by sulpheric steam vents to about 90 degrees in areas and if you sit your back against the rock wall, you can feel heat coming out of them. It's basically like sitting in a giant bath of salt water - so relaxing and because it is salt water, you are very boyant in the water. We floated on our backs like leaves and then we curled up into balls pretending to be kukui nuts. Yeah, we're a couple of nuts, we know, we know.


Nick should be arriving any moment now...Jess and I are dressed in hula skirts, have Hawaiian music playing...pina colada's, etc. It's 10:45pm...lol.

Whoooaaaaaa Hilo

It's been just over a year since I was here in Hilo, and my third stay with Jess since she moved from one island to another. Hilo is one of those places that is so remote and so surreal, it makes you feel like you are seeing the world for the first time. Everything is alive around you; unspoiled rain forests with waterfalls, papaya trees, giant bamboo trees and Tarzan ropes hanging down waiting to be jumped on ;-)




I've had good runs since arriving, my favorite was Onomea Bay, which is just north of Hilo Bay. We parked at the Tropical Botanical Gardens and ran an out and back in either direction for a total of 7 miles or so. There are some good long hills and we stopped a couple of times to look at waterfalls below ...


We finished the run by hiking the short 'donkey trail' down to the ocean. It was getting a little late and so we started to hike out and just then this guy appears with a walkie talkie and asks if we are driving a red Jeep. Ummm, yeah, what did we do ? Apparently you aren't supposed to park in the Botanical Gardens parking lot if you are not a paying customer... So, like a couple of scolded kids, we were escorted back to the parking lot ;-) The guy was super cool about it and we were all laughing by the time we reached the car, mainly because he was so out of shape and kept going, 'whoooaaaaaaaaaa, whoooaaaaaaaaaaa, I got work out more, maybe hike dat donkey trail every day kine, lose sum weight ya'...he was hilarious.


Lots of fun to come, especially knowing that Nick Hastie guy is coming soon !!!!

Shawnigan Lake Suburu West Coast Triathlon

Saturday morning I went up to Shawnigan Lake to help set up for the third annual Shawnigan Lake Triathlon put on by Lifesport. Perfect day, no clouds and set up went fast and easy as there was a good number of volunteers this year. I always laugh at things like this because the majority of the volunteers are total type A's and so what ends up taking so long is trying to make everything perfectly straight, everything tucked in, clips cut, clocks hung straight, finish shoot and transition lines perfectly measured, etc. You get the point. The entire set up looked perfect, literally.

I ended up racing the Sprint distance, yep, a little too little training. That's alright, it went well all considering and the water this year wasn't nearly as cold as it was last year. The canon though, I'm not sure I will ever get used to that blow - it ricochets inside your chest walls and then you're off. Of course I screamed and then dove in, lol.

The swim went as good as it could and I came out of the water and had a good transition. Out onto the bike I felt strong !!! I took advantage of the hills and dug hard for the climbs. Coming into T2 I was confident and looking forward to the run. The first climb out onto the run is a kicker and for me, it is the toughest part. It felt better than last year, and hopefully next year will feel even easier !

I had a nice pat on the bum from my boyfriend Brent as he ran past me on his way out for his 1/2 marathon. Watching his effortlessness put me into a good space and I just envisioned his stride the whole way to the finish. I ended up first in my age category and fourth female overall.


Photo by K. Light

Thanks Lifesport for another amazing race !!!

Tri-aining

Lifesport Crew with our shirts on backwards...hmmmm

The past month of training has been less than stellar to say the least. With classes finishing and papers and assignments due and preparing for my practicum, there had been little time left for anything else. I had managed to get in at least one workout a day but the effort on those days always turned into EZ...EZ run, EZ spin on the bike. The swims with Lifesport had been good though...when I could make it ! Having to adjust from a school schedule to, hmmmmm, another school schedule means that I have to be organized and I think it is just a matter of getting into a routine and then following through.

I ran the TC 10k this past Sunday and all considering (lack of training and an ongoing IT band) I was ok with the day. It was slow but I had a great time - the weather was unreal, sunny and warm. I swam after the race and then went out for a quick ride on Monday (which I am sure was the reason my legs weren't sore) ;-)

So, that brings me to today...I had a run workout this morning with the group - we did our usual warm up and drills / strides and then it was into 5 x a mile. I started off a little fast (but what else is new) and settled in by 2-5, the last one being the closest to my split time I was given by Coach Dan. Not the way you want to run those, but I got it done and Coach Dan was PROUD OF ME !!!

Teaching a unit on Japan

With two more weeks left to go in my practicum, I am going to get myself as organized as I can so I can HAVE TIME to get my workouts in. Why didn't anyone tell me teaching was going to be work ?!! I thought, hmm, kids, check (I like them), summers off, check (duh), done at 3 - no check here !!!! I cannot complain though, my kids (grade 6) are amazing, they think I am amazing, and I am seriously loving every second of it...

Focus: Shawnigan 1/2 iron and then the Kona 1/2 marathon. I'll let you know how that unfolds !!


Lata !
C

Earth Hour is TODAY

Saturday 28 March 2009
8:30PM local time
Wherever you live on planet earth.

- throw a glow in the dark frisbie around outstide
- do homework by candle light (which is what I will be doing)
- pretend it's 1848, lol
- check out how many more stars are in the sky

Whatever, just do something with the lights out. Make it something fun or different - it's only one hour and it makes a difference ;-)

Game On

Signed, sealed, now I just have to deliver...

Jess and I are officially registered. So, game on, time to get going. June is going to come around sooner than not and considering I will be 'working' full-time for a month during my practicum, time will need to be managed well !!

There is another race prior to this one though, one that I am not quite ready to state aloud here,,,er, well,,,that involves a half marathon and perhaps a swim and a bike thrown in for good measure.

So yep, game on, 2009.

Well it's ladies night...

Trek Bicycle Store had a great Women's Night on Friday. There was a good turnout - about 60 women - and lots of wine, a chocolate fondue (these guys are good) and live beats courtesy of 'Hot Sean'.

Hot Sean making life goooood

There were also a bunch of draw prizes and a gift bag as well ! It's always good to see girls you haven't seen in a while and to meet new ones too. Thanks Trek for a good time...I also managed to get a sweet Pearl Izumi t-shirt !!!!

Troy and Bill

These two guys are always there to help and make your bike look hot (or geriatric, in my case ;-) Thank you !!

On Maui Time

Sooooooooo, Maui was great, how could it not be ? Aaron rocks - he converted me into an LSU fan on Valentines Day...they were leading, we went for a swim, got out and they were behind, then sat in the car screaming for them to GO ! GO ! GO !! They did - what was it, 72-69 final score ? That was all it took.

The training was good, the shopping was good, the food was great and the company was the best. I must say, it was hard to leave and even harder to be home, in the cold, albeit no rain (yet). I miss the air, the scenery, Orion's Belt, Macy's, the cruiser bike, the Serengeti's, the threshold walk/runs, the cane clams, Kokua and Sakamoto pools, the street name 'Puunene' (hehe), Ed Hardy galore, American Idol and '24', Mana's spanakopitas at Makena, and B-toe jan...

Baldwin Beach

My read

Baldwin on a very windy day

Kokua Pool

Mmm, although the vegan one was way better !!

Bike path riding toward Haleakala

A dorky self-shot

Aloha !

Horses in Makawao

Driving down from Makawao to Paia

Team Ed Hardy at the best sushi place in Maui

Until next time, Mahalo and Aloha !!
C

Friends

I was thinking the other day about friends...

How amazing and meaningful they are. I am so lucky to have so many different friends because there are some days that I feel a little empty. Depending on how that day goes, there is a friend that will make me feel better; understood and loved.

Then there are friends that just up and move out of town. Then to add insult to injury, they fly halfway across Canada to spend the holidays with their family. Humph!

Just kidding, Nicholi ,,, I just miss your pretty face and wanted to wish you a Merry Christmassssssssss you ;-)

Love Cooperstar

A Gump Kinda Day...

As in Forest Gump. I had one of those days today where you feel like you could run forever; those days when everything feels perfect. That's what I call a Gump kinda day. We all know those training days are far and few between and even less likely to occur on a race day, but when they do happen, oh man, they are goooooood.

I hopped on my bike and did 1:05 trainer ride starting with 15 mins w/u, then 4x60 single leg with 45 between. Feeling pretty good. Next, 4x15 sec spin ups with 60 between. Main set: 5 minutes each gear build to big chain - last one standing. Felt good which is nothing too unusual for a bike trainer ride. Then spin 10 minutes and then I hoped off the bike, threw on my runners and headed out the door for a 30 minute tempo run.

Right away, I felt good but kept on saying, hold back a little - it WILL get hard !! So, keeping that in mind, I decided to focus on form and breathing. At the turnaround - 15 mins out - I still felt great and decided to pick it up and hold. Still feeling AMAZING, even better than in the first 15. "It's a Gump kinda day!" was running through my mind...feeling light, feeling fresh, feeling...AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH, OUCH, WTF ?!!! All of a sudden I had a sharp pain on my left ankle. I stopped my watch, of course, and bent down to find a bee just under the flap of the tongue of my shoe. I've been stung ! Ok, no big deal right ? Yes, but I have NEVER been stung before !! I have lived (well, lets just say, a long time) and I have NEVER been stung. So, today, October 3, 2008, I've been stung. Cool ! Kind of happy and excited about it, I swear once more for good measure, then restart my watch and continue on home.

Then I started to panic a little (if you know me, you are probably laughing pretty hard right now) and wondered, what if I am allergic ? How would I know,,,I have never been stung before ? Calm down Carolyn, there are houses EVERYWHERE, just knock if you start to feel funny.

Body check: I still feel fantastic !! Ok, so I put in a little harder effort for the last 10 minutes and arrive home with a 52 second negative split ;-) Happy with that and happy that I've been stung, I run up the stairs, into my house and straight to the freezer for a piece of ice...

xo
Caro

Dearest Jessness...

WE ARE WOMEN, WE ARE TREE

A saying I used to say a long time ago...

Translation:

We are the roots of the earth and are free standing, tall, beautiful and independent; save water, earth and air.

Embellish it.

Love ya !
Coops

Happy Birffffday Jenny - OOOOOOOO !!!!!!!

A tribute to you Jenny-O...when I saw this I almost fell off my chair ! And the fact that you freaking LOVE turkey too !!! lol

Love Coops
xo

Sooke Triathlon

Hi !!!!

I raced today in the Sooke sprint triathlon put on by Lifesport ~ the scenery was beautiful and the race rocked ! The swim started in Young Lake at Camp Bernard and went well - although I was not prepared when the gun went off - it was so loud it scared the crap out of me and then I realized that that was the start ;-) Sooooo, dove in and found a good rhythm quickly...I started on the far right side and I think it was a good spot.

Start of swim

I had a clear path to the first buoy and hung on to someones' hip the whole way. Around the first bouy was a little rough and narrowly avoided being kicked in the face twice. The rest of the swim was good and I was (trying really hard!!) to keep the pressure on.

Out there somewhere

Coming to the last buoy, I pushed forward and saw once again that I was in the gap - too far behind the leaders to make it up and no one with me to draft. So alone into the shore and I quickly ran up the hill into T1.

T1

We had two transition zones for this race so I needed to remove my wetsuit/goggles and put them into a (super strong, really great) bag...that ripped (along with everyone else that had theirs rip too). I was a little aggravated by that and the arms and legs kept popping out...over a minute has gone by now and I am still struggling. Managed to get most of it in there and grabbed my helmet and bike, did a quick glance around at how many bikes were still there and headed to the exit. High ho'ed and was off on the bike.

The bike was the best. I had heard that there was a section that, quote "was so steep, people fell over last year" !! lol. Soooooooo, with that in mind, I went out with an attitude to attack some good hills. The first part of the bike is good and rolling and then levels off with some undulating road. I love the fast descents and managed to pass a few boys too :) Then came the hill. Yep. It was freaking steep. It's about 2km long and just as I started it a group of guys came by - they were struggling too and I just decided to dig and keep them in my sight. I'm not going to lie - it was slow going at some points - noooooooooo, I didn't FALL OVER, but it was a good push ;-) I was going along and all of a sudden I hear "nice ass" lol and I look over my shoulder to find Mark - gave me a good chuckle...and maybe a little inspiration ? Thanks Markus. haha !! After the steep part it was back onto Otter Point Road and lots of good descents.

T2

Into T2, rack my bike, put on my runners, grab my hat and race number and of course, head in the wrong direction !! I wonder if I will get that right in ANY race I do ! So, I backtracked the 10 or so feet and then was out onto the run feeling great. I felt light and full of energy. Got back onto Sooke Road and onto a nice long slow downhill that I took advantage of. Felt great all the way to the turnaround and then I started to hurt :-0 Coming back up I could see the runners that would be coming up behind me and sure enough there were a few ! So for the remaining 2.3k I ran scared, basically lol. It didn't feel good. I started to get cramps in my legs just above both knees which I have never had before. Felt like my legs were going to give when I was coming down the hill towards the finish - with no one passing me !! Yeah ! Finished first in women's 30-39 category and fourth female overall.

Good day, great race venue and good swag ! Thanks Lifesport !

Coach Paul, Shelly and I post race

Thanks for reading...and thanks Coach Dan for the photos !

Coops

Classic

Kelowna Nationals

Ok so it was not a stellar race but I still managed third spot. Pretty happy with that. I started off on the far right side, thanks to a little insider tip from Craig Taylor, and had a clean start. Once into the water, I quickly found a rhythm and hopped on a pair of feet. Someone else apparently had the same opportunity behind me but latched onto my calves !! I am STILL looking for the girl in the red suit !! Honestly, she rode my calves all the way to the first buoy. I tried just about everything but nothing worked until I came to the first corner and gave and good boot around it and dropped her. There were about 115 women all starting together and I was a little worried about it but it turned out to be a good swim. I have this habit of not pushing on the swim and just getting and staying 'comfortable' and I still think I could have pushed more. I will need to work on that.

Off onto the bike, I had a great transition, grabbed my bike and ran out...saw the mount line and hopped on and put my left foot into my shoe. Two seconds later my right shoe caught the ground and shot of the back of my bike like a bullet ! Great !!! haha. So, I stopped my bike, still on it, walked backwards, collected my shoe (meanwhile, everyone on the side is saying, 'it's ok') and got going again. I was a little frustrated but I quickly forgot about it as the hill was approaching. I rode it the day before with Brent and watched him leave me in his dust so today I wanted to leave a few in my dust. Not too sure if there was dust coming off the back, but I did pass three girls and came to the top feeling it. The bike then descends and has some good fast corners that I love. The rest of the bike went well and I hopped off and ran into transition.

The run was not meant to be today. But that's ok. I was hoping at some point it would start to feel better but it just didn't. I had a pretty slow one and came into the finish shoot a little disappointed only to find out later that I finished third.

All in all, a great trip, lots of Olympics to watch, good company, and good food too !!! oh and did I mention that I qualified for Worlds ?!!!!!!!!! Yep !

Love Coops

p.s. Nick, the town of Tollbooth has a new Chief of Police ;-)

Splash N Dash N Pasta Bash

Arrive at 6pm, in the water at 6:30. No time to double check anything and certainly no time for a warm-up ! Felt THAT when I hit the water and began sucking for air on every stroke !! I rode on some guys' feet for a bit but managed to sneak past him on the first buoy turn as he went wide and I took the inside line. I then found myself alone with a gap of about 10 feet to the next group but I wasn't able to bridge up. It was then out of the water, a short run along the beach and back in for the second loop of 500m. I dove in and found feet pretty quick - not sure where they came from and wasn't sure if I had caught back up to the group in front or not (my goggles were fuzzy because I had no time to clean them - grrr). The second loop was going great - the person I was drafting was sighting well and keeping a good, solid pace. My plan was to sprint past them at the end and I made my move on the final leg as we were heading in. I felt great and then I looked to the side and it was Jenny !!! Hi Jenny-O !

Then onto the FAST 3k and it was FUN ! I loved every second of it. I went out as I normally do a little too aggressive but I was just so excited - I actually recognized that I should probably pull back a little and when I did, my breathing returned to a nice steady rhythm. The run went to the 1k marker at the top of the hill and I didn't even feel the hill !! Before I knew it I was done and was happy and already looking forward to the next one. This race was for a great cause - Cops for Cancer - and they did a great job of everything - thank you !

After, Jenny's brothers Tom and Dan, et al, were there with their Mom and had brought a ton of food including a huge bowl of pasta. Jenny and I were starving and came up with some pretty cool food alternatives - seriously you have to try this at home:

Pasta on top of a Sun Chip

Sooooo good

Stellar Run Group

Photo Courtesy of Bree's Blog !

Our Lifesport group run on Saturday mornings are always a lot of work but most importantly, a lot of fun. I showed up this past Saturday to find the group slightly larger than normal and including the likes of Olympian (!!) Lisa Mensink, Ironman Winner Bree Wee, Top Amateur Female Ironman World Championship 70.3 Caroline Smith, Professional triathlete Eileen Swanson, Legendary Janet Nielsen, Kick-ass Sam Mazer, Hard-core Lindsay Williamson - and that was just the females - talk about inspiration !!! Of course there was Coach Paul, Coach Dan (who was just fifth overall in the Vancouver Subaru Half Iron - congrats !), former Olympic rower John Wallace, Eileen's boyfriend Reid, and Lyndsay's exceptionally tall partner in training, Chris !! There were others who ran too but left before the photo op !

Now that the introductions are through, here is what the workout was: 12x 2min with 90 seconds between as a fartlek. A fartlek is a Swedish word meaning 'speed play' and simply put, it's when you vary your speed throughout a run, never stopping but going at different intensities throughout.

We did a loop of the lakes and started as a group that quickly broke into smaller packs. Leading the pack was the Olympian, the Ironwoman and Coach Dan. They took off pretty fast and I could see them ahead for the first two pickups and then I didn't see then again until I finished !! I held on to the second group but started to tail off as the workout went on - ended up finishing with a 1.5k cool down and joined up with the rest of them for another short jog and then some stretching.

Great day, great motivation, great atmosphere and most importantly great people !!

An update

Hey,

So I know it's been ages since I have posted anything !!! Anyway, I have been busy and things are going well... I raced a 10k back in April and then did a sprint at Shawnigan Lake in May. I also ran in the HBC 10k where I hoped to smash the Times Colonist time, but no such luck there !! I will continue to push and look forward to reaching that goal. Races coming up include the Subaru Vancouver triathlon and then the Kelowna Apple tri in August. After that I will start training the the Royal Victoria 1/2.


What else ? Well, I start at UVIC tomorrow, taking two courses M-F, morning to noon. It's crazy that you can complete a full four month course in just three weeks. I think I will be pretty busy but I am looking forward to it.

I got my hair hacked off today - I was a little nervous going in but now that it is done, I love it and wish I had done it sooner. Bye bye pony-tail !!! Here's a pic.......


Ok, another exciting blog post I know. I'll try to get better at this soon !! Thanks for reading, take care.

p.s. Hi Jessness xoxoxo

The post I started in Hilo but am posting from Victoria...

My week so far in Hilo has been so much fun. Aside from discovering Jamba Juice, we have managed to get in some good training and do a few really, not-dangerous 'spooky' things !!

I get up every morning and head out for a run around Jess' place. She lives in Paradise Park, and yup, it's paradise. Running along the gravel and red clay roads surrounded by amazing trees, birds and smells is the best. I am definitely the morning entertainment for all the dogs...thank goodness they are all behind fences or I am pretty sure I would be missing a few limbs...

We went to the Pahoa pool the other day and again - amazing !! AND FREE !! It's too good to be true swimming under the sun,,,I think I was daydreaming when I heard Jess yell, "hey Coops!" Yeah, I had swam right into her lane doing backstroke and just loving every second...


One morning, Jenny and I decided to bike into town and meet Jess at the Hilo pool for a swim. One hitchhiking ride was enough !! So we loaded up our packs and headed out the door. This picture was Jenny's 'clever maneuvering on the bike skills shot'. We got to the pool in one piece and had a great swim. We hit up Jamba Juice after for a break and then Jenny and I went to town...lol...Jenny-o !!!

Ok, so if you thought it couldn't get any better,,,ha, let me tell you. Sailing. Yes, sailing with Marcelo's Dad. It wasn't spooky or scary or dangerous or not windy or anything of that nature. Honestly, aside from being a little scared, it was a lot of fun and we got to see Hilo from the water - bobbing in 20 foot swells...It was swell !!


On my last day there, Jess, Jenny, Marcelo and I drove up to Volcano. Jenny and I headed straight to the shops, haha, and then headed out on our run. We ran along a path that lead us to ledges that overlooked vast ravines that came down to the crater. The day was rainy but it was so cool - it just felt so massive and so surreal standing on the ledges looking over into the huge crater. We had a good run and then met up with Jess and Marcelo and went to see the lava tubes...

Jess, Jenny, Marcelo - love you guys.
~ Coops

End of Camp

Peace and relaxation now begins !!!!!!!!


Well, the camp is over now and everyone has moved on, including me.

Time to relax and unwind after 8 months of school and practicum are now complete. I still have some work to do for the practicum by the end of the month but for right now, I plan on just relaxing.

I rented a car and drove from Kona to Hilo (about a 2.5 hour drive) and it was amazing. You drive down the Hamakuaa Coast and pass by botanical gardens, valleys, rainforest's, national state parks, and camp grounds. It is a spectacular drive and there was a huge rainbow right in front of me as I was driving into all of this. I was a little awestruck.

Yesterday I got up and went for a run around where Jess lives. I ran down the gravel road - feels like you're in the middle of a rainforest, it is beautiful.

Then Jess and I went into town and to an outdoor 50m pool. The pools here are free, it is crazy. Not to mention buses are free and movies cost a dollar. Hmmmmmmmm.

From the pool we grabbed a Starbucks and then picked up two hitchhikers going toward the airport. They looked nice !! They looked to be around 25 years old - a guy and a girl. So anyway, they were nice, but very high on something. Thankfully the airport was within 2 minutes of driving. Adios.

We then went to the beach and Jess went for a run while I swam with the turtles. Next it was off to a spin class - Jess was coaching but since it was new, no one showed up...so the next go is Wednesday night. I managed to buy something (I know, weird eh?) at the bike shop and then we headed off to the salad bar at Island Naturals. It was a little cold out so I ran over to Ross' (my parents keep telling me about this place) and I bought a jacket for $7.99. I like Ross.

To top off the day, we went to see 'Juno' at the theatre downtown. Pretty cute movie.

Jenny gets into Hilo today - yeaaaaah Jenn-y-ooo !! That's all for now...off for a run...Here's a picture of Jess' place !

This is me and my friend Jessica post race - Jess finished 3rd pro in the Lavaman race !! yeah Jessness ! All in all it was a great day - lots of people and lots of fun.

Since the race we have had a little bit of time to relax...
We are now into day two of the training camp and so far so good. We split into two groups yesterday, half rode Kaloko and the other half rode up Hawi.

Here's a pic of all the girls !!

2008 Begins !! (goosebumps)