Tired but Happy

What a weekend that was!

Last Friday I said that, if all goes well, I will get 63.5k worth of exercise done before the weekend was over.

Well, I got'er done.

I cycled 28k on Friday morning. It went well and I was grateful for the chance to move and get my heart rate up before a long day at the office that involved much more sitting than I would ever want.

After work, Doug and I enjoyed a wonderful evening on the golf course with friends we haven't seen in over a month.

Things have been going well on the golf course lately and every game I have played in the last two weeks has been better than the last.

I logged a 105 which, for someone who has been struggling to break 120 for months, felt pretty wicked.

Saturday morning, we got up early and I headed out for 14k. I was not sure what to expect because a) my shoes are probably 200km too old for long runs but the new ones I ordered weeks ago are in running shoe neverland so I had no other option but to try it b) the humidity was pretty oppressive and c) when I tried 12k the weekend before, I had to quit after 11k due to a pesky plugged ear low blood pressure drop like the ones that plagued me last spring.

All that being said, I headed out with a water belt full of Nuun, back up salt tablets and a goal to run at a pace that kept my heart rate down. I did, my shoes didn't cause too much discomfort, my ears didn't start plugging until 12k and I ran 14k without much of a problem.

A quick shower, coffee and lunch later we were back on the golf course for the afternoon.

The golf gods much have been feeling generous because I had an even better game than the day before. At the end of the game, the golf pro drove by and said "I heard you played a 105 yesterday". "That's nothing" I replied. "I just shot a 102 today".

That got me a big grin and a fist bump.

Sunday morning, we were up before the sun and en route to Toronto. I met up with my sister and we headed to Toronto Island for the Lake Swim event.

The lake looked as flat as a pane of glass and was 20C. I pulled on my wetsuit expecting a fun, easy, fast race. Which it was for the first 100m or so. Until I ran into the rolling waves that were not noticeable from shore but were surprisingly high and rolling when you were face down swimming in them. As someone who trains in very flat and calm open water, this was when things got a little hairy.

I quickly developed some swimming skills I didn't have before. After a few mouthfuls of water, I learned to breath only on one side so that I never turned into the wave to breathe. The were a few times when I turned to breathe and a wave rolled over my open mouth but, for the most part, my trick worked. I also discovered that I get rather nauseated in that kind of environment. Who knew seasickness was a concern in open water swims? I sure didn't. I learned that every time I raised my head to sight, the dizziness got much worse so I cut down on my sighting. I usually sight every six strokes. I was doing it every 9-12 instead, trying to space out the stomach lurching.

At one point I debated turning around to see how my sister was holding up and make sure that she was ok. I figured that, if I was struggling, she certainly was too. In the end, I couldn't stomach the thought and just kept moving with the goal to finish as quickly as possible. I just hoped she was doing ok.

All that being said, I finished 1,500m in 31:25 and, after stumbling over to a log and sitting with my head down for a few minutes, I felt much better. My sister finished a few minutes later and announced with a smile that it was the easiest open water race that she had ever done.

Guess there was no need for me to go back for her eh?

The weekend was over in a flash and roared by at a pace that I couldn't sustain for too long. But it sure was fun!

Monday, in case anyone was wondering, is most definitely a rest day.