Nearly There

Wow...I am absolutely knackered. I have logged 49 hours of overtime working on reserves so far, most of it within the last week. Finally I had the "there's a light at the end of the tunnel" moment today at about 2:30. That isn't to say that all of my work is done - not even close - but I can fathom finishing everything in time for my Friday deadline. I am so happy that Finlay is at his grandparents' right now. I definitely made the right decision.

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On the running front I kind of felt like a wuss this weekend as I heard that a bunch of people I knew ran outside. I was freezing on just a 5 minute walk to the mall yesterday so serious kudos to my friends who braved the cold weather here. However, in my defense, I had a 45 minute run with strides to do, and who wants to run strides on a snowy, slippery surface? So I hoofed it to my Y to run inside instead (feeling ever so grateful that I did decide to join a gym this year). The track at my Y is pretty tiny...15 laps equals 1 mile. I got a little dizzy after running 71 laps yesterday. I ran at a warm up pace for 10 minutes, then ran a 30 second stride followed by 4:30 of regular ol' easy running to finish out the 45 minutes. I loved the striding part. I felt so speedy and I definitely got the heart working.

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So...the bad news is this cold snap seems to have no end in sight. Temperatures for the weekend aren't looking like much of an improvement. Coach has told me that it is downright insanity to run 35 km (or 21.75 miles) indoors. Thank goodness, because I would have a hard time trying to mentally suck it up for 155 laps (or 326 laps depending on which track I went to). And I'm not even sure if I could run and count that high. If I can't run outdoors then I'll most likely aim to run on December 24th when I'm in Kelowna. So if anyone in Kelowna can suggest a nice 35 km route for me, I am all ears. I looked at the running route maps on the Running Room website, but it sends me through the park on the same route that I got lost on this summer. So apparently I need something that is extraordinarily simple - i.e. doesn't involve veering off on to trails.

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I'm not one to make an official announcement about anything until I've financially committed to it, but it seems like everyone wants to know what I meant about Lake Stevens being good prep for my future plans. It's true, I want to race Ironman Canada in 2010. The seed was planted in my head way back in June. I met and chatted with Ray Fateaux at the Footstock race expo. He's the author of Ironstruck and we talked about his decision to go from zero fitness to racing an Ironman. At this point in time I was still throwing around the idea of just entering my first triathlon! I specifically started looking for a coach because I wanted to go from 70.3 next year to 140.6 in 2010. I almost signed up for IMC in 2009 when I heard that spots were opening up for online entry...but I knew 2009 was not the year to attempt it. I will be in Penticton in 2009 though, cheering on my friends and teammates and getting ready to commit to 2010. While Penticton is a tough course (with plenty of hills), it is supposed to be one of the most amazing. The entire town really supports the race. It isn't too far from where my folks live so it helps out with logistics, plus they will be able to come cheer me on when I toe the line. So there we go folks, I have a plan all of the way until August 2010. This is definitely one evolution...