At spin class last night I decided to do something fun! I decided to lead a 12 Days of Christmas theme complete with some holiday tunes! It was so much fun! And I'm not going to lie, it was tough! But what I love about spin classes is that no one ever gets dropped. We ride as a group and you adjust your own tension so you get as much as you give!
To those that are curious to what kind of class I led, here is the skeleton of the workout:
12 min warm up - 6 min spin, 6 min single leg drills
11 X 11sec hard, 19sec easy
10 X 10sec sprint, 20sec easy
9 X 9sec hard, 21sec easy
8 X 8sec sprint, 22sec easy
7 X 7sec hard, 23sec easy
6 min climb
5 min standing climb
4 min rolling climb
3 min climb
2 min standing climb
1 min all out sprint!!!
The playlist included a mix of holiday songs and my regular workout songs. It was actually quite the mix:
The Chanukah song - Adam Sandler
Christmas kiss - Meaghan Smith
Glad you came - The Wanted
On top of the World - Imagine Dragons
Barracuda - Moby
Wish Liszt - Trans Siberian Orchestra
So Happy Together remix - Poogie Bear
Paradise City - Guns N Roses
On the Run - Sam Roberts
Shake Senora remix - Pitbull
Wizards in Winter - Trans Siberian Orchestra
Mad Russian's Christmas - Trans Siberian Orchestra
Loose yourself - Eminem
Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24) - Trans Siberian Orchestra
Do they know it's Christmas? - Band Aid
Happy Xmas (War is over) - John Lennon
If you like what you see, come on out to my classes Thursday nights! I promise a good time, a good sweat, a good workout, and good tunes!
Friday, December 23, 2016
Friday, December 16, 2016
Torture Thursdays are back!
If you were following my blog before or if you look back, you will see that I coined my Thursdays as "Torture Thursdays" or TT. Back then, I was running with the masters track team before going to masters swim practice! Thursdays were tough! Since my string of injuries, I can no longer do track workouts, but I found a new way to bring back TT! Now I teach spin class at Striation 6 from 6:30-7:30pm and then ride my bike downtown to make it to masters swim practice for 9-11pm! Yep! Thursdays are back to being tough! So tough that last week my left hamstring completely seized up on me in the pool! Oops! Not exactly fun and I was almost brought to tears! Haha! I do need to figure out my nutrition so that doesn't happen again. I did manage to recover and complete the swim set though.
On another note, I was able to escape on a mid-week 3-day girls trip to celebrate a couple of birthdays! We had some delicious meals and spent half a day at the spa including getting a massage. I even manged to go out for a 5km run one morning in the beautiful snow. Today we went snowshoeing! So fun! I did some running and boy it's quite the workout! I think I went out for about 5km. Maybe a new cross-training winter sport?! Too bad it's not as accessible in the city!
On another note, I was able to escape on a mid-week 3-day girls trip to celebrate a couple of birthdays! We had some delicious meals and spent half a day at the spa including getting a massage. I even manged to go out for a 5km run one morning in the beautiful snow. Today we went snowshoeing! So fun! I did some running and boy it's quite the workout! I think I went out for about 5km. Maybe a new cross-training winter sport?! Too bad it's not as accessible in the city!
Saturday, December 3, 2016
One foot in front of the other!
In order to keep this blog alive, I need to be putting in some mileage. So....what better way than getting myself out there and finally going out for a run! I am not a runner, I do not always enjoy running because it is hard work for me, and lately I have been avoiding it because I know I will be slow! This is in addition to being afraid of realizing my injuries haven't completely healed yet. But I have no choice but to start from ground zero and that means I have to get out there. This was only my second run since my last IM in August and my last run was in October...not exactly a good track record. However, for me to be ready to start serious training in January with my new coach, I need to get myself into some form of run shape. I missed out on the beautiful fall weather we've had and I finally went out on a cold and windy December day. But hey, I went out! And I enjoyed it! I wore my Garmin to track time and distance but I ignored it during my run because I knew I would just get frustrated. So I just went out and ran. And check out my colourful run attire!☺
I plan on getting out frequently for short runs to get my body back into running mode. Baby steps will be my motto for this month! Just one foot in front of the other!
I plan on getting out frequently for short runs to get my body back into running mode. Baby steps will be my motto for this month! Just one foot in front of the other!
Sunday, November 27, 2016
Let's bring this back to life!
I have been away from the blogging world for a couple of years now. I guess it was a combination of life, time, and injuries that distracted me from keeping this blog up to date! Excuses! Excuses! I am planning on making a full return to this blog and post about my triathlon and training adventures once again! Hey, I have some things on the go and a new outlook on training and racing. I've got a new coach, am hoping to make a full recovery from past injuries, and although not 100% confirmed yet, I plan on going to the grand race of all Ironmans through the legacy program - Kona!
So where have I been the last few years??? Here is a brief recap:
After my hamstring tear late 2012 and PRP treatments in 2013, I thought I would bounce right back in 2014. I participated in the Women's only EPIC camp in Lanzarote which my last post was about. I went on to race at Eagleman 70.3, Ironman Canada in Whistler, Niagara Falls Barrelman, and Ironman Arizona!!! Yep, a double Ironman year. I also raced at a couple of open water swims: FINA World Masters Championships 3K swim in Montreal and Toronto Island Open Water 4K swim. I wasn't fully prepared in June for an Ironman and that showed in my performance in Whistler. I was trying to get my running back to where I left off pre-injury but I just did not have the time! I had a good performance at Barrelman and was happy with how things were progressing. Later that year I spent a couple of weeks in Arizona training for my second Ironman. My cycling had really improved but I was still struggling with the running. I ended up posting my fastest ever Ironman bike split in Tempe but my run suffered. I was happy with the overall results though as it was my third fastest time. At this point I felt like I needed a break from Ironman but what kept me going was how close I was to qualifying for Kona through the legacy program. I did not want to regret not going for it in the future so I continued on. 2015 had me doing two triathlons: Muskoka 70.3 and Ironman Muskoka and the NYC marathon. The 70.3 did not go well at all, however, I was ecstatic with my performance at the Ironman. But injury plagued me again with needing to get a cortisone shot in my foot just days before the IM for a nerve injury. Then disaster hit on the injury front at the NYC marathon. I tore my tensor fascia latae right off my pelvis just 4km into the marathon. I managed to finish it through some unknown will power but at a very disappointing pace! My IM marathon was faster than my self standing marathon that year! So I was back to no running and had to lay off the training. Again, I wanted a break from IM but Kona was calling me so I committed to another IM for 2016. I was hoping I would get my ticket to Kona for 2016 but that was not in the cards, and looking back, probably for the best. This past year I only raced in a local Olympic distance triathlon and the full IM in Mont-Tremblant. My goal was to solely cross that finish line in MT to maintain my Kona eligibility and that I did. Life got the best of me this past year - it was a tough one! And trying to get my hip healed enough for me to get through an IM was a challenge. I went into MT very unprepared but I felt like I ended up racing a smart race to come out of it uninjured and in one piece. It was my slowest IM ever but I just had to finish!
Now heading into the last month of 2016 I am very much looking forward to 2017! A fresh new start! I am laying low until January when I will start to ramp up my training. I got a new coach and I am super excited to work with him. I was coachless the last couple of years mainly due to injury and being coachless does not work well for me. I need accountability! I am almost healed - I ended up badly spraining my ankle in September on a hike where the doc thinks I actually had an avulsion fracture. But either way the treatment is the same so I am trying to get it strengthened so it will be good and strong by January. My hip is almost fully healed and my hamstring just niggles every now and then. Right now I am just doing stuff for fun and to keep me in some form of shape! Lol! I am doing isometric strength training, swimming, and cycling. I am now also teaching spin classes at a local gym - Striation 6 and I am having a blast with that!
So that is my quick summary of the last couple of years in a nutshell! I plan on being more active on this blog and hopefully some of you will join me along on this ride! 2017 will be my swan song to Ironman if Kona is in the cards! And I am pretty excited about that!
So where have I been the last few years??? Here is a brief recap:
After my hamstring tear late 2012 and PRP treatments in 2013, I thought I would bounce right back in 2014. I participated in the Women's only EPIC camp in Lanzarote which my last post was about. I went on to race at Eagleman 70.3, Ironman Canada in Whistler, Niagara Falls Barrelman, and Ironman Arizona!!! Yep, a double Ironman year. I also raced at a couple of open water swims: FINA World Masters Championships 3K swim in Montreal and Toronto Island Open Water 4K swim. I wasn't fully prepared in June for an Ironman and that showed in my performance in Whistler. I was trying to get my running back to where I left off pre-injury but I just did not have the time! I had a good performance at Barrelman and was happy with how things were progressing. Later that year I spent a couple of weeks in Arizona training for my second Ironman. My cycling had really improved but I was still struggling with the running. I ended up posting my fastest ever Ironman bike split in Tempe but my run suffered. I was happy with the overall results though as it was my third fastest time. At this point I felt like I needed a break from Ironman but what kept me going was how close I was to qualifying for Kona through the legacy program. I did not want to regret not going for it in the future so I continued on. 2015 had me doing two triathlons: Muskoka 70.3 and Ironman Muskoka and the NYC marathon. The 70.3 did not go well at all, however, I was ecstatic with my performance at the Ironman. But injury plagued me again with needing to get a cortisone shot in my foot just days before the IM for a nerve injury. Then disaster hit on the injury front at the NYC marathon. I tore my tensor fascia latae right off my pelvis just 4km into the marathon. I managed to finish it through some unknown will power but at a very disappointing pace! My IM marathon was faster than my self standing marathon that year! So I was back to no running and had to lay off the training. Again, I wanted a break from IM but Kona was calling me so I committed to another IM for 2016. I was hoping I would get my ticket to Kona for 2016 but that was not in the cards, and looking back, probably for the best. This past year I only raced in a local Olympic distance triathlon and the full IM in Mont-Tremblant. My goal was to solely cross that finish line in MT to maintain my Kona eligibility and that I did. Life got the best of me this past year - it was a tough one! And trying to get my hip healed enough for me to get through an IM was a challenge. I went into MT very unprepared but I felt like I ended up racing a smart race to come out of it uninjured and in one piece. It was my slowest IM ever but I just had to finish!
Now heading into the last month of 2016 I am very much looking forward to 2017! A fresh new start! I am laying low until January when I will start to ramp up my training. I got a new coach and I am super excited to work with him. I was coachless the last couple of years mainly due to injury and being coachless does not work well for me. I need accountability! I am almost healed - I ended up badly spraining my ankle in September on a hike where the doc thinks I actually had an avulsion fracture. But either way the treatment is the same so I am trying to get it strengthened so it will be good and strong by January. My hip is almost fully healed and my hamstring just niggles every now and then. Right now I am just doing stuff for fun and to keep me in some form of shape! Lol! I am doing isometric strength training, swimming, and cycling. I am now also teaching spin classes at a local gym - Striation 6 and I am having a blast with that!
So that is my quick summary of the last couple of years in a nutshell! I plan on being more active on this blog and hopefully some of you will join me along on this ride! 2017 will be my swan song to Ironman if Kona is in the cards! And I am pretty excited about that!
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