July Report Card

It's a few days late but I blame it on the long weekend and a brick workout that seemed more interesting to write about. Here's July's workout report:

Cycling
I have been making more time for cycling and am loving the quite early-morning rides. I cycled 8 times in July and covered 251km

Running
Running has been going well. It's taking a bit of a back seat to cycling at the moment which is fine since I'm not training for any long-distance races at the moment. I ran 9 times in July and covered 68km.

Swimming 
I did not set foot in a chlorinated pool in July which was fine by me. I did manage to get five open-water swims in and covered 7k. I'm much happier when I'm swimming with the fishes...so to speak.

Golf
Golf has been wonderful lately. I'm getting several games in each week and it's so nice to be outside and moving so much. I played 10 games in July and walked 77.5km.

I think this month may be the month where I covered the most distance...ever.

Four hundred and three kilometres!

That's crazy.

By the end of June I had covered 1382km in 2015. Add this month to it and I am now at 1785.5km.

So how far am I in my journey to Regina? Well I blew past Thunder Bay and have left it in my dust. I am now about 25km outside of Dryden and am closing in fast on the Manitoba border. Getting there!

En Route To Thunder Bay

It's May!

All those April showers, both the rain and the snow variety, are now supposed to translate into Mayflowers.

Or is that May flowers? 

It's all very unclear. 

Before we say goodbye to April, it's time to see how the month went in terms of physical activity and how much closer I am to my January goal of running, walking, swimming and cycling my way to Regina, Saskatchewan. 

Running

I ran exactly 100km in April. Not on purpose, it just worked out that way. I ran 10 times, some runs as short as 4k and some as long as 20. In total I ran for 11.5 hours. 

Swimming and Rowing

I swam only once in April for a total of 2000m (2k). It took me 40 minutes. It hurt so I stopped going. Until my elbow is better, I'm out of the pool again. No rowing machine at all because that was hurting even more than swimming was. 

Cycling

The fact that I have not been swimming (sigh) for a few weeks to let my elbow heal means that I've had plenty of opportunity for cycling workouts. In fact I managed to fit 9 of them into the month of April. One of them was even outside on real roads! 

I covered a total of 137km in 7 hours and 45 minutes. Doesn't seem like a lot considering I cycled 9 times but several of those workouts were Bending Crank Arms where I spent more time doing off the bike squats than I did increasing my mileage. 

Golf

I don't count every step I take every day but I do track how far I walk when I'm golfing. Golf season in back in full swing so I've managed 5 games (all 9 holes so far) and walked 19k in just over 9 hours. 

Total number of workouts = 25

Total time spent working out = 29 hours 

Total distance covered = 258km

By the end of March I had covered 547km and had made it to Sudbury Ontario and a bit beyond.

Add 258km to that and I am now 805km into my 2396km 'journey'.

Which brings me...to the middle of Northern Ontario.

Sault Ste Marie is 781km away so I've made it there and beyond. Thunder Bay is the next stop but it's over 1400km from my front door so that will be another few months I'm guessing.

So let's just say that I'm en route to Thunder Bay.

Sudbury and Beyond!

February, which feels like a long time ago now, was not a stellar month when it came to physical activity.

March, on the other hand, has been pretty darn good.

Wanna see what happened?

Running

Training is ramping up for the Niagara Falls Women's half so I've been adding a few extra kilometres every week. Plus I tossed in some speed and hill training to get my legs and my heart pumping. Things are feeling good and my running is going well.

Distance covered: 118km
Number of workouts: 14
Time spent: 14.5 hours

Cycling

My cycling went down a bit this month but for a good reason. I've added swimming back into the mix and, let's be honest, there really are only so many hours in a day.

Distance covered: 38k
Number of workouts: 2
Time spent: 1 hour and 48 minutes

Swimming

Yes my friends, I am back in the pool again. I hopped back in two weeks ago and have been trying to go twice per week. No Master's class. Just me and my little workout tucked into a waterproof baggie. I'm enjoying it much more than I did last fall and look forward to the workouts again.

Distance covered: 10,000m
Number of workouts: 4
Time spent: 4 hours

Erg'ing (aka rowing machine)

I've been going to my new fitness centre on Sunday mornings and doing a nice little workout. Thirty minutes on the erg followed by weight training. The distance is adding up and I'm getting a bit faster and a bit stronger with each session.

Distance covered: 31,822m
Number of workouts: 5
Time spent: 2.5 hours

Corefit and Weight Training 

I'm tossing any weight training I've been doing into one big pot. Whether it's an hour CoreFit class or an hour lifting weights, it's going here. Sadly I haven't figured out how to convert ten minutes on the bench press into distance so I'm only going to report on the number of workouts and time spent doing them.

Number of workouts: 8
Time spent: 6 hours and 15 minutes

Grand total for March:

Number of workouts: 33
Time spent: 29 hours
Distance covered: 196.8km

Where does that get me to?

I have covered a total distance of 547km in three months.

In January I had made it from my house to Barrie. By the end of February I was just north of Parry Sound. And now?

Well, I've made it all the way to Sudbury, Ontario with enough left over to turn west and head another 70km towards Sault St. Marie.

Just to remind you, my goal is to run, swim, bike, row and walk (on the golf course) my way to Regina, Saskatchewan by the end of 2015. The total distance is 2396km from my front door. In the first quarter of the year, I've covered just under one quarter of the distance (23% to be precise). Which means I'm well on my way to getting to Regina by New Year's Eve.

The challenge for April?

Where to fit in my Sunday morning erg/weight workout once it warms up enough for our Sunday morning cycling group to hit the roads again? The schedule will once again have to be tweaked.

February Roundup

I'm a few days late but here is what February looked like in terms of exercise and activity. 

February is a short month to begin with. Add a few snow storms in there and a two-week vacation and it didn't add up to as much activity as I would like. But it does add up which is always better than not adding up. 

So, for better or for worse, here's the report. 

Cycling

Because of all the snow I did have to sacrifice two runs and hop on the trainer instead. So I cycled 5 times in two weeks which is more than I usually would do. I covered a total of 83km in just over 4 hours. 

Running

I only managed to run 5 times which is a lot less than I normally do in a month. I ran twice at the beginning of the month but the constant snow made it too treacherous to do any more than that outside. I did run three times in Florida which was great but then didn't run at all during our second week of vacation. So the grand total is 52km in 6 hours. 

CoreFit and Tabata

2 sessions. That's it. Just two. Two were cancelled due to weather and then I missed two weeks while I was away. Sad. I did do a bunch of weights on the weekend when we got back and was shocked to see how quickly things fall apart. Oh well, March is a new month! 

So my total distance covered this month was 135km. 

In January I covered a total of 216k which, when you string them all together, took me from my front door to Barrie. Add February's distance and I'm now just north of Parry Sound, Ontario. 

Regina, Saskatchewan is still 2,396km away but, with half marathon training coming up, golf season almost here and outdoor cycling fast approaching too, I'm pretty confident that I can cover that distance in the next 10 months. 

Gently Taking the Bull by the Horns

I'm standing on the edge of 2015 looking into the fog, trying to spot any clues of what the year might hold.

My ability to read the future has never been particularly strong so there is no point assuming that it will work this time.

And, to be honest, I prefer to think that life is what you make of it rather than what it makes of you. Don't waste time waiting around for life to do things for you. Just make it happen yo!

So let's grab this 2015 bull by its proverbial horns and steer it in the right direction shall we?

In 2014, I decided to try a new online program to help me keep track of my activity. It's called Training Peaks and, after a full year of use, I can say with surety that I do like it. I have not signed up for the full version but even the watered down free edition has enough to keep me happy and on track. Getting to see weekly, monthly and annual totals for each activity is ridiculously satisfying and I will be continuing to use it in 2015. 

A few days before the beginning of this new year, I decided to try another new program. This one is called My Fitness Pal. I know I know, I'm a little late getting on this bandwagon. After only a few days, I have already come to appreciate the value of this wee app. 

I had several reason for trying this app but the main one was to get a better sense of the type and amout of food that I consume every day. As someone with Type 1, I'm pretty good at figuring out how many carbs I consume in a day but I am also pretty abysmal at knowing how much protein, iron, calories, vitamin A or B12 I consume. And, let's be honest here, the fact that I am 5 pounds heavier than I was this time last year is another good reason for me to pay a little more attention. 

I've been logging my food and activity for one week already and I have learned that: 

1. I easily consume enough fibre every day for two people

2. I don't eat enough protein. In fact I did not eat enough protein even once during that first week. 

3. My diet is naturally low in sodium but also naturally high in sugar, most of which comes from all the fruit I eat, especially with breakfast. My Fitness Pal usually starts warning me by lunch time that I am over my sugar quota for the day. And that's before my evening baklava treat. 

4. Exercise makes a big difference in terms of the number of calories I can eat in a day. When I run or cycle, the number of extra calories that translates into makes it easy for me to stay within range. When I don't, I have to be more vigilant to avoid going over. 

5. Avoiding lows is a great way to avoid overeating and spotting incoming lows early enough to treat them with something nutritious like an apple or a banana is much better than taking in empty sugar calories. I now wince when I have to add two packages of fruit chews to my daily total. 

6. Wine should really come with a nutrition label so that I know how many calories in each glass. Once I looked it up I realized that I had better really want that second glass before I pour it. And I had better have gone for a run that morning too.

So 2015 looks like it's shaping up to be a year of paying closer attention to what I eat in addition to paying attention to what I do. Stay tuned as I am sure I'll be nattering on about all the stuff I am learning.

Other goals?

Find my swimming mojo again and get back in the pool.

Be able to call myself a triathlete again. Last summer I did not do one triathlon and I mean to change that this year by doing several.

Two half marathons - minimum.

Do more speaking engagements in the type 1 diabetes world. I did two last year and would love to do 5 or more this year. They are a wonderful way to help others and inspire myself at the same time.

Lose those five pounds I put on last year - slowly, safely and without sacrificing my health or my sanity to do it.

Get my damn golf handicap below 35 by the end of the 2015 season.

And, by adding up all the kilometres I run, walk, swim and bike, I want to make it all the way to Regina, Saskatchewan, via Thunder Bay of course. That's 2747km, 300k farther than last year.

My Year in Review

Hi kids!

Happy 2015.

Now that 2014 has drawn to a close, I'm tempted, as always, to reflect on the year that was. Twenty-fourteen was a year filled with more than our usual share of things. Travel adventures, important family moments, personal challenges, illness and injuries made it a year to remember as well as one that I'm glad in some ways to wave goodbye to.

I am, however, grateful for the lessons as well as the opportunity to see how strong and brave we can really be in the face of adversity.

Carry on.

Also, as a reminder, I do tend edit my life a bit when I write Running on Carbs. Not edit as in make stuff up but edit as in make a conscious decision as to what I will and what I will not share with the world. In that spirit, let's look back on the year that was as seen by Running on Carbs.

Fitness-wise, I think I did quite well depending on what sport we are talking about.

Running
In 2013, I logged 888 km so I set a goal of breaking 1000km in 2014. After I completed my last run of the year I logged it and then did the grand total. In 2014 I did not run 1000km. I ran 1104k! Also known as I ran for 123 hours (not in a row of course). And despite all of that extra distance I have had no running injuries to speak of. So I'm proud as punch about that.

Swimming and cycling
I didn't actually set any distance goals for these two but here is the final report:
I logged 830km on the bike (or 40 hours of riding) and I swam 129km in the pool (or 57 hours of swimming).

Those numbers are nowhere near those of 2013 but, when I consider how little cycling I did this summer and how I haven't been swimming in 3 months, I'm not too disappointed.

Golf
I tracked all the walking I did this summer on the golf course and it turns out that I walked 340km (or 136 hours) on the golf course alone. Carrying, yes carrying, my golf bag every step of the way.

CoreFit and Tabata
A new activity for me in 2014 were my evening CoreFit and Tabata classes. I started them in mid-September and, after the first few classes that nearly killed me, I grew to love them. I was able to complete 24 of them in 3 1/2 months and have the arm and ab muscles to prove it. In fact I had to start bringing my own weights in the last two weeks because the ones in class were no longer heavy enough. Look out!

To recap: in 2014 I did 380 hours of physical activity and I logged 2,403km of movement.

To put it another way: I ran, walked, swam and biked the distance from our home in Southern Ontario to Brandon, Manitoba (via Thunder Bay of course). Or, for my American friends, I made it all the way to Miami and then had enough left over to swim to Cuba.

I'll be back tomorrow with some of my goals for 2015.

The Medusa

In January of this year, I set a goal to learn how to do my hair.

Do my hair as in move beyond ponytails and messy buns (thank heavens for those!) and try to learn to do lovely braids and twists and other things. Take it a notch up so to speak.

I am happy to report that I have mastered the French braid.

I am sad to report that this is all I have mastered despite having 11 months of practice.

I have watched youtube videos of ladies with lovely tresses transform themselves into Katniss-like braided sphinxes in two minutes using three bobby pins and nimble fingers.

I have watched "it's so easy anyone could do it!!" videos of first timers learning how to do updos, lovely side braids and twisty braided ponytail thingies.

All look simple.

All apparently require mere minutes and three magic bobby pins to complete and no more than one try to master.

So what the eff is my problem?

I have the bobby pins. The tiny elastics. The ability to braid.

And yes, no matter what I try, I end up looking like a tussled mess and the entire 'do begins to fall out five minutes after I finished doing it. I'm the Medusa, not the sphinx.

I admit that I do have rather silky hair which doesn't help since most braids slide right out. I have learned to embrace the every second day hair wash when possible which helps a bit to keep things together but still.

I can honestly say that learning how to golf was significantly easier than learning how to do a ponytail with a braid woven in.

Anyone want some hairstyle supplies? I have enough elastics and bobby pins to start my own hair shop. If I had the patience to start my own hair shop. Which I now realize I don't and never will.

In the meantime, I'm learning to embrace the ponytail and moving on to bigger and better things that don't drive me bat shit crazy.

July Roundup

How is it possible that it's August already? How is it possible that it's now dark when I get up to go swimming? It wasn't dark a few weeks ago but now it is. We've turned the corner folks. Time to start sharpening our pumpkin carving knives and pulling our sweaters out of mothball storage (that is if anyone actually does that anymore?).

August first means that it's time to report on how July went in the exercise department. 

Here's what the numbers looked like: 

Cycling

I cycled once. Very embarrassing but true. I blame it on wedding showers (still!!) and rain. Anyway, I've cycled a total of 1.5 hours and covered a whopping 32.5k. Sigh.

Strength

I have added that strength training workout I wrote about last week. I've done it three times so far. I'm not sure how to report on strength training other than to say how many times I've done it and happily report that each time my muscles were less sore afterwards. 

Running

I ran 12 times. I covered 85k in 9.5 hours. I did two interval sessions (both 6x800m), two hill training sessions and one unexpected tempo run on Tuesday. My Saturday long runs have been 9-10k. I'll be adding distance to those in August but I'm very happy with how things went in July. 

Swimming

I'm back in the swimming groove. I swam 7 times and covered 23450m in 10 hours. I've done distance sets, 75m sprint sets, 100m repeats until I can't remember my own name sets and have loved them all. Best moments? When I managed to somehow do 100m in 1:35 and this past Wednesday when I had to do 16x100m on 2:00 and kept all of them between 1:44 and 1:47 (pretty fast for me and very consistent which was the whole point of the workout). 

Golf

I golfed 8 times in July. Some 9-hole games and a bunch of 18-hole games as well. 8 games translates into 21 hours of walking (while carrying golf clubs) and I covered 52k worth of manicured lawns on my own two feet. All the walking had me a little worried about how my cranky shins and once-broken foot would hold up but they seem to be doing just fine. If fact I went for a massage this week and was told that my legs felt better than they have in years. 

Grand total

I did 30 different workouts in July. I had six days off but every other day I did at least one thing. My body was active and moving a total of 43 hours and on feet, wheels or in the water I covered 190km. 

My body seems happy with all the exercise and seems to respond well to the variety. 

Looks like I'm not a 'put all your eggs in one basket' kinda girl. 

August goals 

Find more time for the bike and try to get 10 of those strength training workouts in. Everything else I'm happy with as it is. 

Workout Report - First Quarter

The first quarter of 2014 is behind us already.

Some people I know have already started Christmas shopping. I won't be included on that list until we are well into the fourth quarter of 2014. 

Curling is finished...until it starts again. 

And golf may start up by the end of the week if the warmer spring temperatures hold. 

Time to report on how March went in the ol'fitness department and how this year is shaping up so far. 

I ran 10 times in March for a total of 101km.

I cycled 6 times for a total of 112km

I swam 5 times and managed to finish 15.5km. 

I missed two runs due to bad winter weather but I got two more bike sessions in so that kinda evens out. 

I missed two weeks of swimming because the Masters classes didn't run during March break or the week after. 

The grand totals for the year so far: 

Run 265km in 29.5 hours

Bike 297km 15.5 hours 

Swim 47km in 22.5 hours

I'm well on my way to running 1000km this year and April will be pretty heavy mileage-wise as I up the distance for my June half. 

I'm very happy with all the time I've spent on the bike - especially considering the fact that the weather has been too cold to be outside. Fifteen sessions on the trainer is only going to help once we're back on the road again.  

I am a little disappointed by the lack of swimming but April is a new month and I fully intend to pick it up in the pool. No vacations planned and Masters has resumed so there are no excuses. 

Let spring begin! 

January Goal Update

It's February!!

The month of red roses and chocolates. The month that starts off cold and dreary but with a promise of spring by the end. The month when I start seeing the sunshine again during my early morning workouts. February holds so much promise.

It's also time to look back on January and see how the first few steps towards meeting my 2014 goals have gone.

Running goals

I've set my sights on the Chilly Half Marathon the first weekend in March and so far so good. Despite a frightfully cold January, I did manage to get all of my long runs in and logged the oh so important 14k, 16k and 18k runs. For some reason, the worst of the weather always seemed to happen on weekdays so my shorter runs suffered but my long runs did not.

Swimming and triathlon goals

I'm keeping my training up for the summer triathlon season but obviously I haven't met any of those goals yet. In fact, I have yet to even register for a triathlon, let alone compete in one. My little sis is getting married at some point this summer but has yet to firm up the date. Until that happens I won't be registering for anything beyond March to ensure I'm not double-booked. Stay tuned, I should know more by the end of February.

Other goals

Learn to braid my hair - I'm getting better at French braids and I make myself do them at night while we're watching golf or at work instead of an easy ponytail. Someday, I may actually post a picture.

Learn how to make proper Israeli hummus - I bought the dried chickpeas. And that's about as far as I've gotten in that department.

Improve my golf game - well, you can rest assured that, if it's too cold to run, it's too cold to golf. While I haven't actually held a golf club since October, I have found three other friends who are interested in forming a weekly ladies golf foursome once the weather improves. I also bought my first pair of proper golf shoes (note: they are wickedly cheap in the middle of January!). Finally, Doug and I are heading on a two-week road trip on Saturday (more on that later) that involves several golf games at some pretty sweet courses. So I'll have a head start on the season.

Diabetes Advocacy - well, I announced in January that I wanted to do more in this department and moments later I was asked to be the keynote speaker at a diabetes conference in April. I'm super excited and will start working on my presentation in the next few weeks. Who knows where it might lead...?

Twenty-fourteen is starting off just swimmingly.

Goals 2014 - A Work in Progress

The start of a new year is always a good time to try new things. It's not the only time to try new things of course, but when the calendar switches over to a new year and a blank page, the timing just feels right.

On December 31st I entered my last run into my 2013 running log and saw the grand total appear.

Eight hundred and eighty-eight kilometres.

Not the 1000k I had hoped for back in January 2013 but a very fine number nonetheless.

On January 1, 2014, I did not start a new running spreadsheet. Instead, I registered online at a website that allows me to upload my Garmin results and track all of my workouts (bike, run and swim) in one handy location. Doug has been using it for a while now and talked me into it back in November. I, being one who likes things to be neat and tidy, decided to wait until the new year to start. And I did.

On January 1st, I logged my first session on the trainer. On the second I logged my 2000m swim, on the third, I logged another bike workout and, on the fourth, a 10k run.That ended the first week and I was able to see a pretty graph and weekly summary that told me the total time and total distance I worked out as well as the total time and distance for each of the three activities.

It also tells me fun facts like calories burned and, if I decide to upgrade beyond the free version, lets me enter all sorts of other information like meals, training plans, pace goals etc. For anyone interested - the website is trainingpeaks.com

Speaking of goals, I guess it's time to set some 2014 goals down on paper isn't it? Last year, I had a list of them and did a little monthly report on how things were going.

This year, I'll still do that but some of my training goals will have to unfold as they get closer. This year there are a few important family events (a wedding! and some milestone birthdays (hello 40!)) that are making it a little tricky to pick which triathlons we want to do this summer. Wedding dates and birthday celebrations must be booked first of course and then triathlons can be chosen on weekends that don't conflict.

So I have a pretty good idea what I want to do - I just can't officially do anything about it quite yet. In the meantime I'm tossing a few goals out there to get me started and will firm them up as we go. Everyone ok with that?

Running goals

I'd like to run the Chilly half marathon on March 2nd in Burlington. I've never run that race before and I figure it will keep me honest and force motivate me to keep training through the worst of the winter.

I'd also like to run the Niagara Falls Women's half marathon again on June 1st.

A fall half marathon would also be good but I'm not sure if I want to do Niagara Falls again or try a different one. I'll decide as it gets closer.

Finally, I want to race on Boxing Day again. It's such a fun day and a perfect post-Christmas workout. Having so many running friends there makes it even more enjoyable.

Swimming goals

I definitely want to complete a few more open water races this summer. The schedule isn't up yet so I'm not sure the dates or the distances but I'll aim for two and see if I can squeeze any more in.

Realistic goal is to race two 1.9k races. Ambitious one is to try a 3k or a 5k race.

Triathlon goals

I'd love to do four tris this summer. I'd love it even more if two of them could be Olympic distance. There aren't too many of those 5150s around so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the family events don't conflict. I have already compiled a list of all possible triathlons within reasonable driving distance so, once dates are set, it's a matter of deciding what we're doing, signing up and figuring out a training plan.

Other goals that have nothing to do with physical fitness

I want to learn how to make proper Israeli hummus. The kind made with dried chickpeas and drizzled with high quality olive oil that I enjoyed all over Israel last year. I've already bought the dried chickpeas and I have a traditional Israeli recipe (as well as a sister with lots of experience in Isreali cooking). I also want to serve it with properly warmed pita bread.

I want to learn how to braid my hair properly. I taught myself how to French braid but I'm not very good at it yet and the braid slips out because I can't seem to braid it tight enough. There are so many fun hairstyles with braids and my goal is to figure out how to do one of them nicely...before they go out of style again.

I want to continue working hard to pay down my debt. I made a lot of progress last year which I'm proud of. I also renegotiated my loan in December and, by increasing the payments, cut the remainder down from three years to two years. My credit card survived Christmas with a manageable balance that I should be able to pay down within two months and get back to zero again. I want to keep it there. Doug and I have two big trips planned this year and saving has already begun in earnest. Ideally we can save enough to not come back with any extra debt.

I want to improve my golf game this summer. Last year I played with Doug as well as a few girlfriends who were all at my level of skill. Let's see if I can build up my courage to perhaps join a women's league or other regularly scheduled golf game with people I don't know who can push me to get better...and help me get over my nausea of playing in front of strangers.

I want to do more things related to diabetes and advocacy. Last year I did a presentation to a group of local diabetes educators and loved it. I also wrote an article about how to support someone with diabetes and loved writing that too. I'd love to do a few more presentations this year - those really jazz me.

Goals I haven't yet decided if I actually want to do or not

Buy a wetsuit. Jeff, I know what you're going to say about this one but, as the time approaches for me to start seriously thinking about getting one, I'm getting all heebie-jeebies about it again. I feel like a little kid who prefers to run around without a diaper on rather than be constricted in layers of padding and clothes. For the record, I do not swim in a diaper, nor do I swim naked (at the local pool anyway). What I do at the lake at the cottage when no one is looking is my own business. 

Increase my running speed. Of course I want to do that - I always want to run faster than I do. I'd love to run a half marathon in under 2:15. I'd love to knock another minute or two off my Boxing Day run. I just worry that, if I set this as a goal, I will push too hard and get injured...again. For now, I'll focus on running well and running strong.

I'm sure I'll add more as the year unfolds but that's what my goal list looks like at the moment.

Here's to another year of setting goals...and reaching them.

Goal Planning

My favourite multi-sport series just announced the dates for the 2014 triathlon season.

I have already been asked several times if I'm doing the Niagara Falls Women's half marathon in June 2014.

There are a few half-marathons early in 2014 that, if I sign up for, would keep me running when the weather gets nasty.

Around the Bay 30k is at the end of March and I need to decide if I'm willing to risk my stress fractures and my ear plugging to tackle the distance.

I want to focus on becoming a stronger and faster runner in 2014 which means I need to change how I train in order to see if I can get my half marathon time a little closer to 2:10 rather than 2:20.

I want to focus on becoming a stronger cyclist since that's my weakest of the three triathlon sports and yet it's the sport that takes the most time during a triathlon. So I need to get more focused on the bike and need to get more cycling in to my training schedule.

I want to do some open-water swim races, at least one 3k and perhaps (perhaps!) a 5k.

I want to do some sprint triathlons as well as a few Olympic distance triathlons in 2014 because I loved that distance last year and want to do more of it.

I seem to have a lot of goals for 2014.

I'm guessing the first goal I need to actually accomplish is to figure out what my goals are going to be eh?

September Goal Update

This may be my last official goal update of this year?

Why?

Wait and see..

Here is my goal list from wayyyy back in January.

- complete the Tel Aviv half marathon
- stay injury free
- complete three triathlons, including an Olympic distance
- pay down debt
- log 1000k of running this year
- complete two events in the Aktiv Swim Series this summer
- play 10 round of golf
- play the baby steps golf course until I can do it in 50 rather than 61.

And here are the updates: 

Tel Aviv half marathon - done! 

Stay injury free - that goal went flying out the window after I stress fractured my foot from, of all things, walking. 

Complete three triathlons - done! I completed four, including one Olympic distance. The season is over so that's it until next June. 

Pay down debt - done! Well, not done done but it's been a good month. Last week, after one year of waiting, appealing, waiting, and more waiting, I received the reassessment of my taxes based on the fact that I was approved for the Disability Tax Credit. A lovely sum of money made its way into my bank account. With that money I did the following: 

- I payed off all credit card debt

- I put money away for a trip that Doug and I are planning for next year

- I earmarked money to go into a Retired Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) (I just need to make an appointment at the bank to open it).

- I put money into savings for unexpected things like car repairs and new tires. 

I still have a car loan as well as another loan. The car loan is finished next June (hurray!) and the other loan still has three years on it but, once the car loan is paid off I will take the money I was putting on my car payments and apply it to my loan which should knock it down in half the time. So, while my debt is not yet paid off, I am in a much better place finally and that huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. 

Log 1000k of running - I managed to run 105k in September. That ties my biggest month of the year (February). I'm pretty happy that my foot has withstood the increase with very little whining. My year to date total is now 599k. I don't imagine I will be able to run 400k in three months but I may get close to 300k. Not bad after two months off to recover from my broken foot (see above). 

Complete two Aktiv Swim Series events - done! I managed to complete two events (both 1.9k swims). There are no more this season so that number won't change now. 

Complete 10 rounds of golf - done! I was able to get out on the course a lot more in September than in August. I have now played 14 rounds of golf as well as one 'tournament'. It wasn't really a tournament - just a bunch of foursomes playing at the local Golf and Country Club. We did end up coming in second and we won - wait for it - four golf balls. 

Not four each. Four total. Doug gave me his though so I totally scored. Plus the golf balls had the Giant Tiger logo on them which makes they way more fun to play with. Neither have ended up in a water hazard yet. 

Play the baby steps golf course and get a score of 50 or less - I've played this course six times now. The first time I played, I got a 61. Since then, I've scored 50, 50, 49, 47, 45 and 43 (which I scored last night thank you very much!). So I consider this goal officially met - six times. 

There isn't much left to work on. 

I will obviously keep running and we'll see how close I get to 1000k by the end of the year.  

I will obviously keep paying down my fixed payment debts and I will certainly NOT be putting anything on my credit card other than things that I cannot pay in cash (like race entry fees) but I will no longer be carrying a balance. I have money in savings. My financial house is in much better order than it was in January. Whew!

Now do you see why I said this might be my last official goal update for the year? 

I'll keep you posted on the running totals and any other significant advancements in debt reduction. And I guess I'll have to start planning next year's list eh? 

August Goal Update

Hi kids!

We're back from 6 days at the cottage where we swam in the lake, ran down cottage country roads, watched hummingbirds, listened to loons and ate surprisingly healthy meals. It's always nice to be home but I do miss the peace, quiet and absolute stillness of a cottage night.

I'm a few days late on my monthly goal update but we were without wifi so it couldn't be helped. Because I'm a stickler for rules I will update as of August 31st even though I already have a run in the books for September and it would make my running goal total so much prettier.

Here are the goals I set back in January as well as a few more I've added along the way.

- complete the Tel Aviv half marathon
- stay injury free (no longer a goal as I managed to develop a stress fracture in my foot)
- complete three triathlons, including an Olympic distance
- pay down debt
- log 1000k of running this year
- complete two events in the Aktiv Swim Series this summer
- play 10 round of golf
- play the baby steps golf course until I can do it in 50 rather than 61.

Here are where things stand as of August 31st. 

Complete the Tel Aviv half marathon - done! Ran it back in March which feels like a lifetime ago now. I do have the medal and t-shirt to prove it, as well as a few horror stories of the heat wave that threw a pretty big wrench in the whole event. 

Complete three triathlons, including an Olympic distance - done and more. I managed to complete four tris this summer. Welland, Gravenhurst (Olympic distance), Belwood and Toronto Island. I'm pretty proud of having finished four and even prouder that I got better and better with each one. Tris are definitely a favourite of mine and I'm already planning my 2014 season. The 2013 season is finished for me now and I'm going to spend the off-season working on my running, swimming and cycling skills. Oh, and a hint at one of my 2014 goals: buy (and actually use) a damn wetsuit!

Pay down debt - this goal is a lot like cha cha. Two steps forward, one step back. I have good months. I have bad ones. In August, I increased my debt by a measly $42.00 but it didn't go down which is frustrating. I did look back to January 1st however and I'm happy to say that my debt since the beginning of the year is down by $4,300. So it's getting there but slowly. We're entering the birthday and Christmas season soon and there will be curling fees and new tires needed for my car so it's going to be a tight few months.

Log 1000k of running this year - I managed to run 86k in August which is the most I've run since the height of my half marathon training back in February. My foot is holding up well to the increased mileage and didn't even whimper when I ran 14k on it at the cottage...on a road that had more rolling hills than flats. My year to date running total is 494k which is so close to half that I was tempted to round up. I have four months left and, if all goes well, September will be a mileage heavy month as I train for the Niagara Falls half. I don't know if I'll actually make the 1000k but I'll be closer than I thought I would be back in April when I was limping around on a stress-fractured foot. 

Complete two events in the Aktiv Swim Series - done! In fact, I would have loved to do a few more but only two out of the six actually fell on days I was in town and able to race. I can report that I competed in two open water races, both 1.9k in length. The first one I finished in 36:53. Three weeks later, I did my second one in 35:56 (1:53 per 100m). They are a great way to train for open water swimming and triathlons but they're different because I can push hard the whole way knowing I don't have to hope out of the water and onto my bike. I will definitely do more next summer. Plus, there is another open water race weekend in Welland that I may look at in 2014. They have a 1k, 3k, 5k and 10k race. Three kilometres is totally doable so I'm thinking maybe the five? No point in reaching for the low-hanging fruit right? 

Play ten rounds of golf - golf, my latest athletic pursuit, is not on a set schedule the way running, swimming and cycling are. Some weeks I play two games. Then I play nothing for three weeks. It's up and down but I love it and want to play more. To date I've played 8 games and I have one booked in September already so I'm guessing I will meet my goal of ten. Ten games felt like a lot when I first set my target but I'm actually wishing I had more time to play and more games under my belt. Maybe I'll be able to squeeze in 4 more before I trade my golf clubs for my curling shoes? 

Play the baby steps golf course in 50 rather than 61 - the baby steps golf course is the first course I played with Doug. It's a 9-hole par 3 course. I've played it three times now. The first in 61. The second in 50 and the third in 49. (Insert polite golf clap here).

There are still four months left in 2013 and I still have things to work on. Like make it through Christmas and birthday season with less debt, not more. For the most part though, I'm on track and happy with everything I've been able to do to this point. 

And my list for 2014 is already forming in my head...

July Goal Update

This is the first year that I have done monthly updates on my goals. So far, seven months in, I have noticed two things:

1. knowing I have to be open and honest about how I'm doing keeps me focused and helps me make good choices...most of the time.

2. the year feels like it's flying by and it is always a bit of a shock when I discover that it is already that time again.

I'll assume that none of you have memorized my goals so here's the quick recap of the goal list (including updates that I've made along the way): 

- complete the Tel Aviv half marathon (done!)

- stay injury free (no longer a goal as I managed to develop a stress fracture in my foot)

- complete three triathlons, including an Olympic distance
- pay down debt
- log 1000k of running this year
- complete two events in the Aktiv Swim Series this summer
- play 10 round of golf
- play the baby steps golf course until I can do it in 50 rather than 61.

And here is where things stand: 

Complete three triathlons, including an Olympic distance

Done! I completed the Welland sprint triathlon in June and then I did the Gravenhurst Olympic triathlon followed by the Belwood sprint triathlon in July. (psst! I also signed up for the Toronto Island sprint triathlon in August so I'm actually going to surpass my goal. This is particularly exciting considering I didn't even know if I'd be able to do any races this summer due to my stress fracture) 

Pay down debt

I have to be honest. Debt reduction didn't go well in July. We went away to Gravenhurst for five days. I signed up for two triathlons. We hosted friends for a weekend. All fun things to do. All pretty challenging on the pocketbook. So instead of paying down debt, I actually increased it by a rather horrifying $700.10. Not good. 

Log 1000km of running this year

This goal had a pretty major setback after my foot injury but I'm still holding out the hope that I'll at least get close. I logged 73 kilometres this month bringing my annual total to 409km. Considering I missed all of April and most of May, that's not awful. If I can log between 90-100km a month for the next five months I can do it. That sounds kinda crazy at this point but I'm taking it one day at a time and this goal is not worth my getting injured again for. (It does, however, encourage me to add that extra kilometre or two in the mornings when I want to pack it in early.) 

Complete two events in the Aktiv Openwater Swim series. 

I completed one 1.9k swim race in July and I have every intention of competing again on August 9th. So hopefully this goal is in the bag. 

Play ten rounds of golf this year.

Well, I managed to squeeze in three rounds of golf in July bringing my total for the summer to five. It seems that a friend and I may be meeting for a weekly game (we both play pretty miserably so we're actually pretty good company). Add a couple of games with Doug and I may yet reach ten before the snow flies. 

Play the baby steps golf course until I can do it in 50 instead of 63. 

This goal is kinda up in the air at the moment. See, I had set it when I thought Doug and I would be playing the same 9-hole, par 3 course for most of the summer. Turns out that we play at different courses and my friend and I play at yet another course. So perhaps at the end of the summer I'll head back to the original course I set this goal for and see if I am up to the challenge. At this point I have nothing to report. 

And that, my friends, is the July goal update. 

June Goal Update

Twenty thirteen is half finished already. People keep warning me that time will fly by when I get old.

I must be getting old because my goodness it's flying by.

It's time to report on my goal progress for 2013. Just a reminder that things have changed a bit since January. I've crossed one goal off my list because I accomplished it (run the Tel Aviv half). I removed a goal from my list (stay injury free) because I broke my foot (oops!). And I added a few extra goals because I took up golf. 

The updated list is as follows:

- complete three triathlons, including an Olympic distance
- pay down debt
- log 1000k of running this year
- complete two events in the Activ Swim Series this summer
- play 10 round of golf
- play the baby steps golf course until I can do it in 50 rather than 61.

June Report; 

Complete three triathlons, including an Olympic distance

I completed the Welland sprint triathlon in June. I'm booked for the Gravenhurst Olympic triathlon in July and I have two more looming on the horizon if all goes well. So I may meet and even exceed that goal by the end of the summer. 

Pay down debt

I was planning to report that I had made a bit more headway in the right direction and managed to pay down another $500 in June. But then I found out that I was deemed eligible for the Disability Tax Credit and I received my tax credit for 2011 and 2010. So, um, I didn't pay down my debt by $500. I paid it down by $3800. Woohoo! 

Log 1000k of running this year. 

I was on track for this goal in the first three months of the year. Then I broke my foot and didn't run a step in April. I started running again in May but we're talking minutes, not hours. I ran the entire month of June and built up my running by a few minutes each day. By the end of the month I managed to log exactly 60k of running which I'm pretty proud of. That brings my year to date to 336k. It's a far cry from 1000k but there are still six months left and I plan on running more every week so I might get close. 

Swim two events in the Activ Swim Series

The Activ Swim Series is new this year. There are six events and they all take place in the Welland Canal. Each event consists of a 1.9k swim and a 3.8k swim. I'm all set to swim my first open water 1.9k swim on July 5th. The second will either be July 16th or August 9th. Either way, I'm all set to go. 

Play ten rounds of golf

Well, I've played two so far. They were both fun but I'll be hard-pressed to squeeze 8 more games into the summer. We'll see how close I get. 

Play the baby steps golf course until I can get a 50 rather than a 61.

The baby steps golf course, as I call it, is a 9-hole par 3 course that I've played twice. The first time I played I counted every stroke and ended up playing a 61. Then Doug informed me that I should stop playing a hole if I takes me more than twice par to play it (6 strokes). So the second time I got a score of  54 but only because I stopped counting at 6 strokes. Six strokes times nine holes equals fifty-four. So my goal is still to score a 50. Ideally, it would be nice to actually earn the fifty rather than simply score it. Baby steps. 

Well, that's where things stand halfway through the year. 

Looks pretty good to me. 

May Goal Update

I'm liking this monthly goal update thing. It keeps me accountable and I get excited when I am able to report progress.

In January I announced my goals for the year:


- log 1000km of running this year
- run the Tel Aviv half marathon
- complete three triathlons, including one Olympic distance
- stay injury free
- pay down debt

Then, as winter turned into spring, I had to make a few adjustments to my goal list due to injury.

My new goal list, as of April, is as follows:

- complete three triathlons, including an Olympic distance
- pay down debt
- log 1000k of running this year
- complete two events in the Activ Swim Series this summer
- play 10 round of golf

- play the baby steps golf course until I can do it in 50 rather than 61.

Drum roll please...

Complete three triathlons, including an Olympic distance. Well, I'm in the early days of my return to running after my second stress fracture program so I don't want to get to far ahead of myself but I think it's still possible. If there are no setbacks, I should be running the 10k distance I need mere days before the Olympic triathlon in July. I'm a little worried that I won't have had a smaller distance tri first to get into the swing of things but c'est la vie. And, if I'm in good enough shape to do that race, I'll be signing up for two more sprint distance triathlons later in the summer. So this goal is still very much on the table.

Pay down debt. I continue to cut corners and limit spending as much as possible and I continue to see my debt slowly but surely decrease. I managed knock another $400 off the pile in May and not add a single penny to my credit card. That's pretty exciting. I need to make a large insulin pump supply order in June but I'm waiting for my quarterly cheque to come in so that I can charge the order to my credit card and immediately pay it off. My goal for June is $500 towards the debt and no credit card purchases other than pump supplies.

Log 1000k of running this year. I was on track in the first three months of the year but April was stress fracture month and I didn't run 100m let alone 100k. I started my return to running program last week and can proudly add 20k (does walk/run count?) to my total. I've gone from 258k to 278k. Not much but more than I could add a few weeks ago so I'll take it. The goal still stands because, if the healing goes well and I can plan for a fall half marathon, there might still be hope. I solemnly swear not to work on this goal if it puts me at risk of re-injury.

Complete two events in the Activ Swim Series this summer. I mentioned this series in April. It's new this year and put on by a local triathlon store. They are organizing weekly open water swims for half-ironman and ironman distances (1.9k and 3.8k respectively). I thought it might be fun to try the distances out and see how they go. The spring in Canada has been on the cool side so there is no open water swimming yet for me as I do not own a wetsuit. Another two weeks I hope and I can test my mettle in the Welland Canal. I'll start with the 1.9k and then, when I'm feeling braver, try the 3.8k.

Play ten rounds of golf. Well, one down and nine more to go. I have three golf lessons under my belt and about 8 (I forgot to keep count) trips to the driving range. I need to book golf games but I'm so focused on getting better that I prefer to spend my time on the range. I guess a balance of both is probably a good idea. By the end of June I'd like to have played two games at least. And a shout out to my friend Erin who said she wants to brave a golf game with me. Just waiting to book the date...


Play the baby steps golf course until I can do it in 50 rather than 61. My first golf game was at, what I nicknamed, the baby steps golf course. Only nine holes and all of them a par three. My first time there I played rather poorly for a golfer but not to shabbily for a newbie and scored a 61. My goal is to play it 9 more times this summer and get that score down to a 50. Since I've only played it once so far, I have nothing to report. Ask me at the end of June.

Speaking of which, come back in a month for the next goal update.

April Goal Update

We're four months into the year and it is goal update time again.  My list of goals is getting smaller by the minute...for all sorts of reasons.

I may need to add a few more just to spice things up a bit.

Here is my list of goals for 2013 as it stood on January 1st.

log 1000km of running this year
run the Tel Aviv half marathon
complete three triathlons, including one Olympic distance
stay injury free
pay down debt

Here is the update: 

Log 1000km of running. By the end of March, I had logged 258km of running. One month later, I have logged exactly 258km of running. I did not run one step last month thanks to my foot injury which, according to my massage therapist, is looking more and more like a stress fracture than a bruised foot. So I'm four weeks into my recovery and probably four weeks away from my first baby run. My goal of 1000km this year is fading fast. 

Run the Tel Aviv half marathon - done! 

Complete three triathlons, including one Olympic distance. The first triathlon I was going to do this season is the last weekend in June. If I don't start running until the end of May, I may not be able to safely build back up to the required 7.5km by then. So I may be signing up for the swim/bike portion (swim 750m and bike 30km) but not the run. It would let me get back into the swing of doing multi-sports but it won't officially be a triathlon so I certainly can't count it towards my goal. 

I am signed up for an Olympic distance in July which, if all goes well with my foot, I should be able to do. The thought of doing an Olympic distance as my first tri of the season is a little daunting but doable I think. Then I will most likely do the Niagara and then the Guelph tris later in August and September, bringing my total up to three. So the goal is not met but it's still quite possible. I'll know more in a month as to how possible it really is.

Stay injury free. Well, I think we can officially scratch that goal off the list. A stress fracture (or an assumed one anyway) qualifies as an badass injury. My new goal is to recover from my foot injury and be back running strong by the middle of the summer. 

Pay down debt. Well, I'm inching my way along with that goal but the numbers are moving down much more slowly than I would like. I'm proud to say that I survived my trip to Israel in good shape and didn't add anything extra to my debt by going. This month I was able to pay off another small chunk but then had to make a large credit card purchase because I needed to stock up on pump supplies. Sadly I needed to stock up on my Medtronic supplies (I had none left) but will only use 3/10 sets before I get my Animas pump in two weeks. So I will need to buy Animas supplies now. Anyone want to buy some Medtronic infusion sets and reservoirs at a discount? If not, I may get trained on Animas but then continue to wear Medtronic for 4-6 weeks to use up those expensive supplies. 

I'm thinking that I may need to add a few more goals to the mix just to make things more interesting. Goals like: 

- play 10 rounds of golf this summer. 

- play the baby steps golf course until I can do it in 50 rather than 61. 

- complete two events in the Activ Swim Series. Doug and I went to an open house at a local multi-sport store and discovered that they are planning a summer swim series where, on 6 Fridays this summer, they will be hosting timed swims at the half-ironman (1.9k) and ironman (3.8k) distances. I would love to swim 3.8k in open water. I've done it in the pool but never that long in open water before. So I think I'll add: swim a half-ironman and an ironman swim distance with the Activ Swim Series. 

Come back on June first to find out how May shaped up. 

March Goal Update

Three months into the year already. How DOES that happen?

How are those resolutions going? Still working on them? I am and it's time for the monthly update.

My goals that I set for the year are:

log 1000k of running this year
run the Tel Aviv half marathon
complete three triathlons, including one Olympic distance
stay injury free
pay down debt

Drumroll please...

1. 1000k of running

Well, I logged 66 kilometres in March. That is much lower than the 87k I logged in January and the 105k I ran in February. My 2013 total is now 258k and I'm still on track to hit 1000k but I was hoping to log closer to 100k in March which I did not end up doing. I blame it on a two-week vacation in Israel where I walked for 10+ hours every day but only laced up my running shoes twice during those 14 days.

2. Run the Tel Aviv half marathon

Done and done. It was definitely a memorable, and really really hot, experience. I have a medal and t-shirt to prove that, yes, I was there and yes, I did cross that finish line.

Showing some Canuck pride

3. Complete three triathlons, including one Olympic distance

Well, I've signed up for the Gravenhurst Olympic tri and have decided to compete in Welland in June. The third might be Guelph Lake2 that I did last September but I have still to commit to that one. Open water swim practice starts in May and I'm back on the bike already. So far so good. 

4. Stay injury free

Well...I'm not sure how that is going to be honest. I was injury free up to and including the Tel Aviv half. The next day, I still felt fine. The day after, not so much. The outside of my right foot began to ache and did not stop for the rest of my vacation. It went from aching to hurting to sharp pain. Walking every day for 10+ hours did NOT help. By the end of my trip, I was worried I had a stress fracture - it was that bad. 

Then I spent 18 hours traveling during which time I hardly walked. I stretched a lot on the flight but made a point of standing but not walking any more than I had to. By the time I got home, the pain was gone - completely. No pain at all the next three days. I tested it with a hike and a curling game on Friday. Still nothing. I then tested it with an 8k run on Saturday. No pain during the run but it hurt afterwards. I stretched and iced and it felt better again. So I'm not sure what is happening. Hopefully it's on the mend but, technically I guess, this goal is kinda over. 

I propose to change it to: heal my foot and have no more injuries in 2013. Everyone ok with that? 

5. Pay down debt

So far, so good with this one too. I started off the year with a set amount of debt. I knew it would increase a bit in January and February as I tried to save for my trip. As planned, I saved, I travelled, I got home to an income tax return which I immediately put towards my debt. I now have almost $1000 less debt than I did on January first. So I'm definitely headed in the right direction. Unless my car dies or the roof collapses, I plan to toss a few hundred dollars a month on the debt pile, chipping away slowly but surely. 

February Goal Update

We are now two months in to 2013. How are those resolutions coming??

It's time for my update and doing it on my blog helps keep my honest - and focused.

My goals that I'm working on are:

• to log over 1000k of running this year  
• to run the Tel Aviv half on March 15th
• to stay injury-free
• to complete three triathlons, including one Olympic distance
• to pay down my debt

My updates as of February 28th are:

• I ran 105 kilometres in February. If you add that to the 87k I ran in January I am up to 192k so far and well on my way to hitting 1000km by the end of the year. In February I had four long runs that definitely helped my overall total. I logged 18k, 20k, 22k and then 10k on my Saturday runs. That was 70k on weekends alone. 
• I am all signed up and ready to run the Tel Aviv half. I leave for Israel on the 11th and run at 7:15am (Israel time) on the 15th so, by the time most of you wake up, I'll have crossed the finish line and will be sitting by the Mediterranean sea sipping freshly squeezed pomegranate juice with my sista. 
• I am injury-free so far. It has been a month since my last massage (which sounds an awful lot like a confession) and I don't have one scheduled until next Friday. Five weeks is longer than my legs like to go between massages so they are feeling tired and tight. That being said, they carried me through the toughest part of my training with hardly a complaint. I'm very pleased with that and, without a doubt, my swimming has helped keep my legs in running form. 
• I have not yet climbed on my bike and trainer to begin triathlon training but I plan to add at least one weekly bike session once I'm back from Israel. That means that I'll be on the bike the first week of April. Plenty of time for my first triathlon at the end of June in Welland. 
• Pay down debt? Well it's obviously a work in progress and my goal for February was to not accumulate any more debt as I saved up a bit of $$ for my trip. I managed to save up enough to be able to enjoy myself (frugally) but did dip a little deeper into debt. Thankfully March means income tax returns and my quarterly cheque for insulin pump supplies so it's only a temporary slip. I know that it's a once in a lifetime trip but I hate going deeper in debt. I'm all about digging myself out. 

That's the update folks!