I wish I was writing about a new PB on the track. A good time for camp funding. But I'm not. Today the goal I was going for was 11:15 for a 3000m, which is 15 seconds faster than my PB from High School Track Provincials last June. I had Riley M and Ben pacing me, which really helped. They were great with holding 45s per lap (thanks guys). Unfortunately after about 1600m I couldn't hold on anymore and fell off the pace. I finished in 11:36, with km splits of 3:43, 3:55, 3:38. In a perfect race I was going for 3:45 for each to get my goal time.
I finished completely exhausted, without even much of a finishing kick. I tried but it wasn't there. I was disappointed that I hadn't gotten the PB I was hoping for. Gary still said it was good. I didn't exactly agree because I thought I was faster than I had been in June. He told me that yes, I am for sure faster than I was then. But that had been a race instead of a time trial, it had been an outdoor track, and I probably wasn't properly recovered for this one today. I will have another chance at the Boeing meet, and after that we will be starting to go for 5km times, which he is sure I will get a PB in. Also, today was still a heck of a lot better than that indoor meet earlier this season. By about a minute, even though I hate to compare anything to that crappy day.
Anyways, I know Gary was trying to make me feel better about it and there was definitely some truth to what he was saying. But I hate excuses. Of course I am going to be hard on myself when I don't do as well as I like, because I hate it when people make tons of excuses as to why they couldn't do it. I don't believe it ever helps. Just do it.
That being said, I am still kind of frustrated and would like to explain another thing I was struggling with today. Sorry for being a hipocrite. We had originally said the time trial would start at 4pm. So there I was warming up by myself at about 3:20. Maddy shows up around 4 and I am confused. She told me no, we were starting at 4:30. What the heck. So I call Gary and he tells me 4:30 as well, didn't I see the email? (When I got home, sure enough, there was an email, about 20 minutes before I left the house. I had not seen it on time, figures.) Anyways, here I am perfectly warmed up with another half hour to go. Darn it. So not only was I trying to just stay warm and loose, I was completely thrown off mentally. I was really frustrated and annoyed with the situation, It was hard to try to force my head back into the right place. Yeah, not the greatest mood going into a time trial.
Considering all the less-than-ideal circumstances, I guess I should admit I still pulled off a decent time and maybe shouldn't be so hard on myself. Next time...
Monday, 30 January 2012
Sunday, 29 January 2012
Triathlete Humour Part 2
Ok there seem to be some more triathletes getting on the bandwagon of making videos that poke fun of ourselves... Figured I'd share some more, and if you missed the first couple check out my previous post!
I think this first one is my favourite. It also helps that it was filmed at TriSports in Tucson, which I thought was cool. "You can read about my runs if you follow my blog." Um, do I say that?
Ok she overdid it on the Fartlek. Yes, triathletes know how to put that strange word into everyday conversation, but not that much! "I didn't recognize you with your clothes on" wins for this video.
Yes, I have also tried accupuncture, physio therapy, athletic therapy, massage. That's normal right? But if you're a triathlete don't lie, everyone's said "I just trained right through that race." But I disagree with the part about kicksets, love them!
Anyways, sorry if those last two weren't as funny. Hope you got at least a laugh out of all this! Anyways, I'll be doing a 3km Time Trial on the track tomorrow so you can look forward to a post about that soon.
I think this first one is my favourite. It also helps that it was filmed at TriSports in Tucson, which I thought was cool. "You can read about my runs if you follow my blog." Um, do I say that?
Ok she overdid it on the Fartlek. Yes, triathletes know how to put that strange word into everyday conversation, but not that much! "I didn't recognize you with your clothes on" wins for this video.
Yes, I have also tried accupuncture, physio therapy, athletic therapy, massage. That's normal right? But if you're a triathlete don't lie, everyone's said "I just trained right through that race." But I disagree with the part about kicksets, love them!
Anyways, sorry if those last two weren't as funny. Hope you got at least a laugh out of all this! Anyways, I'll be doing a 3km Time Trial on the track tomorrow so you can look forward to a post about that soon.
Thursday, 26 January 2012
MRI
As promised, I would let people know how my MRI went. No results yet, it'll be a couple weeks I think. But I thought I would talk about the experience. Because I can. Haha no, actually because when I knew I was going for one I had no idea what to expect and was asking around. Not many people seemed to be able to tell me what it was like. So if anyone was wondering...
The reason I got it done was my shoulders. As you know they have not really been improving still and we are checking out all possibilities. X-rays showed nothing major and even though an MRI will likely only tell us what we already know about the surrounding tissue and stuff, it seemed like a reasonable next step. It may help rule out stuff as well. Anyways, there was no reason to really be concerned, it was just a bit intimidating because I have never done this before.
Leading up to an MRI you are not allowed to eat for four hours. For the average person this probably isn't a big deal, but I am not the average person and was more worried about this than anything else! I eat about every two hours. Haha but it wasn't actually that bad. Anyways, I got in a bit early which was nice. The woman doing it confused me though. She asked if I had ever done this before. Nope. Then she asked what I was getting it for. Um, shouldn't she know that...? I said it said on the sheet scan of chest but that I had shoulder issues and it was supposed to be scapular thoracic area, which is apparently the same for this. She didn't say much to this which made me a bit nervous. Weird.
So I was kinda strapped down to the table thing which is then slid into the big tube thing. I know, great medical descriptions right? They covered my eyes with a cloth but I could see out the bottom which made me feel better because at least I kind of knew where I was. Maybe for some people it's better not to? Anyways I could kinda see and feel my surroundings and could tell it was a pretty small space. On either side of me with my thumbs touching my legs I could stretch out my fingers a little bit and the sides were right there. I don't understand how a large person could fit in there. No wonder they check to see if you're claustrophobic. That would suck.
It takes about 20 minutes and you have to lie still the whole time. Kind of difficult of you are a fidgeter. And I wasn't supposed to breath deeply and stuff cause it was a scan of the chest and I shouldn't move much. Oh well, tried my best. It's also really loud. I was given earplugs and told it sounds like a jackhammer. Maybe it's not always the same depending on what type you get, but there were many different sounds. All loud and annoying, of course. Sometimes it was like two alternating alarm clocks. Sometimes like knocking on a door really fast and loud. Sometimes like a jackhammer I guess. Sometimes just a loud buzzing. And it would randomly go quiet for a bit. Oh and the table moves sometimes. It was kinda boring really. The excitement came when the sounds changed. Just kidding. I lay there thinking about how I could make a blog about it. When it was finally quiet the woman came back to tell me they were just going to check if it was good and I had to wait a bit longer. Good thing I could see a bit or else I would have been really freaked out when she grabbed my leg to get my attention.
So yeah, in conclusion if you have never had and MRI I can tell you that it is not really scary. Just a bit weird. And slightly inconvenient if you eat often.
The reason I got it done was my shoulders. As you know they have not really been improving still and we are checking out all possibilities. X-rays showed nothing major and even though an MRI will likely only tell us what we already know about the surrounding tissue and stuff, it seemed like a reasonable next step. It may help rule out stuff as well. Anyways, there was no reason to really be concerned, it was just a bit intimidating because I have never done this before.
Leading up to an MRI you are not allowed to eat for four hours. For the average person this probably isn't a big deal, but I am not the average person and was more worried about this than anything else! I eat about every two hours. Haha but it wasn't actually that bad. Anyways, I got in a bit early which was nice. The woman doing it confused me though. She asked if I had ever done this before. Nope. Then she asked what I was getting it for. Um, shouldn't she know that...? I said it said on the sheet scan of chest but that I had shoulder issues and it was supposed to be scapular thoracic area, which is apparently the same for this. She didn't say much to this which made me a bit nervous. Weird.
So I was kinda strapped down to the table thing which is then slid into the big tube thing. I know, great medical descriptions right? They covered my eyes with a cloth but I could see out the bottom which made me feel better because at least I kind of knew where I was. Maybe for some people it's better not to? Anyways I could kinda see and feel my surroundings and could tell it was a pretty small space. On either side of me with my thumbs touching my legs I could stretch out my fingers a little bit and the sides were right there. I don't understand how a large person could fit in there. No wonder they check to see if you're claustrophobic. That would suck.
It takes about 20 minutes and you have to lie still the whole time. Kind of difficult of you are a fidgeter. And I wasn't supposed to breath deeply and stuff cause it was a scan of the chest and I shouldn't move much. Oh well, tried my best. It's also really loud. I was given earplugs and told it sounds like a jackhammer. Maybe it's not always the same depending on what type you get, but there were many different sounds. All loud and annoying, of course. Sometimes it was like two alternating alarm clocks. Sometimes like knocking on a door really fast and loud. Sometimes like a jackhammer I guess. Sometimes just a loud buzzing. And it would randomly go quiet for a bit. Oh and the table moves sometimes. It was kinda boring really. The excitement came when the sounds changed. Just kidding. I lay there thinking about how I could make a blog about it. When it was finally quiet the woman came back to tell me they were just going to check if it was good and I had to wait a bit longer. Good thing I could see a bit or else I would have been really freaked out when she grabbed my leg to get my attention.
So yeah, in conclusion if you have never had and MRI I can tell you that it is not really scary. Just a bit weird. And slightly inconvenient if you eat often.
Monday, 23 January 2012
Triathlete Humour
I don't have too much to share right now. We've finished 3 hard weeks and I feel like I made some breakthroughs on the track. I found out I can run faster than I thought, which is always fun! Except now I am quite exhausted. After hard running as well as studying for exams I have been fighting sickness for about a week, can never get enough sleep, and am starting to feel the old injuries coming back. I should be fine soon though. I finished my last exam today and we are into a moderate week. After that I will probably do a 3km time trial, instead of the track meet some of the team is doing. Also, tomorrow I am going to get an MRI for my shoulders. I'll keep you posted on how that goes.
On another note, I am not only happy to be done studying, I also know I did very well on my Provincial English exam! Not to brag or anything! For my long piece that took three days of writing, I wrote a memoir about a cross-country race. It was actually kind of fun, almost like writing a blog post. Although obviously much more formal, I don't think this would quite deserve the same mark!
Anyways, back to the original point of this post. Maybe you've seen the videos on youtube called $h!t Girls Say (sorry, that's what it's called!). Maybe not. But there are so many parodies of it now, for all different groups of people. I found these two very funny though, and after only a couple days these are spreading quickly. I can totally relate! So enjoy some triathlete humour.
Triathletes:
Cyclists:
Oh yeah, and sorry I lied. Of course I ended up having a lot to share!
On another note, I am not only happy to be done studying, I also know I did very well on my Provincial English exam! Not to brag or anything! For my long piece that took three days of writing, I wrote a memoir about a cross-country race. It was actually kind of fun, almost like writing a blog post. Although obviously much more formal, I don't think this would quite deserve the same mark!
Anyways, back to the original point of this post. Maybe you've seen the videos on youtube called $h!t Girls Say (sorry, that's what it's called!). Maybe not. But there are so many parodies of it now, for all different groups of people. I found these two very funny though, and after only a couple days these are spreading quickly. I can totally relate! So enjoy some triathlete humour.
Triathletes:
Cyclists:
Oh yeah, and sorry I lied. Of course I ended up having a lot to share!
Tuesday, 3 January 2012
Video of 2011 Race Season
Here's a little video I put together late last night. I had wanted to go through my photos of the year and find the best ones, and this seemed like a good way to do that. Sorry if it seems a bit cheesy and I know the quality isn't great. But I thought I would share it anyways, enjoy!
Oh and I didn't actually give credit in the video. The music is "Young Forever" by Q-Benjamin. The quotes are from Machine Gun Kelly's "End of the Road," Steve Prefontaine, and quickmeme.com.
Monday, 2 January 2012
2012!
Well first of all Happy New Year everyone! I hope it was great, as well as Christmas. Crazy to think another year has gone by. Not exactly quickly though, 2011 was so filled with with amazing experiences that I can't even believe how much has happened. I never thought I would get to travel and race so much, or meet so many awesome new people. For that I am very blessed.
The upcoming race season should be another good one. I hope to improve my overall rankings in the National Junior Series and pull off some solid races. Break-throughs are always fun! To do this I am hoping my shoulders will finally co-operate in order to start getting fast in the water. I will continue to improve my run as well, hopefully getting some time standards in both. Training camp will be a highlight to look forward to. Before my first one two years ago, I was told it is so hard and you push yourself until you are completely exhausted and then some more. But then as soon as you get home you can't wait to do it all over again. Approaching my third year of going to Arizona, I know that this is very true! As for racing, the season will likely start with the first series race in Saskatoon at the end of June. In July is Magog, QC on the course for the next year's Canada Games. August will be Ottawa, follwed by Nationals once again in Kelowna.
Another major goal for me has been to qualify for PATCO again. The Pan American Championships will be held in Edmonton again, in July. It was such a great experience last year and I look forward to kicking some international butt again! It also feels pretty cool to be rocking the "CAN" on my suit and knowing I've earned it. Anyways, I also love making friends at events like this and I'm looking forward seeing the people from last year as well as metting more. But first thing first, I sitll gotta get into this race!
2012 has also stuck out in my mind for quite some time as my graduating year. That's right, finally the year has come that I will be done high school! I can't complain too much, the experience has been alright, but I'm definitely ready for a change. People always warn me to enjoy the last part of high school; that university will be so much harder, that the classes will be huge and it will be harder to make friends. Ok, cool. Bring it on. I am just finishing up my application for U of M, where I hope to go this fall. I also plan on running for the cross country team there, which will be another exciting change. I am still undecided on what exactly I will be taking, but now I have a good enough idea of some courses in U1 I will do before figuring out what I want. I've realized it's ok to not have everything mapped out.
Anyways, there's a look at my upcoming year. Should be a good one!
The upcoming race season should be another good one. I hope to improve my overall rankings in the National Junior Series and pull off some solid races. Break-throughs are always fun! To do this I am hoping my shoulders will finally co-operate in order to start getting fast in the water. I will continue to improve my run as well, hopefully getting some time standards in both. Training camp will be a highlight to look forward to. Before my first one two years ago, I was told it is so hard and you push yourself until you are completely exhausted and then some more. But then as soon as you get home you can't wait to do it all over again. Approaching my third year of going to Arizona, I know that this is very true! As for racing, the season will likely start with the first series race in Saskatoon at the end of June. In July is Magog, QC on the course for the next year's Canada Games. August will be Ottawa, follwed by Nationals once again in Kelowna.
Another major goal for me has been to qualify for PATCO again. The Pan American Championships will be held in Edmonton again, in July. It was such a great experience last year and I look forward to kicking some international butt again! It also feels pretty cool to be rocking the "CAN" on my suit and knowing I've earned it. Anyways, I also love making friends at events like this and I'm looking forward seeing the people from last year as well as metting more. But first thing first, I sitll gotta get into this race!
2012 has also stuck out in my mind for quite some time as my graduating year. That's right, finally the year has come that I will be done high school! I can't complain too much, the experience has been alright, but I'm definitely ready for a change. People always warn me to enjoy the last part of high school; that university will be so much harder, that the classes will be huge and it will be harder to make friends. Ok, cool. Bring it on. I am just finishing up my application for U of M, where I hope to go this fall. I also plan on running for the cross country team there, which will be another exciting change. I am still undecided on what exactly I will be taking, but now I have a good enough idea of some courses in U1 I will do before figuring out what I want. I've realized it's ok to not have everything mapped out.
Anyways, there's a look at my upcoming year. Should be a good one!
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