No Rest for the Wicked

During my post-race euphoria I had to work very hard at convincing myself that going rollerblading almost immediately after returning home from my race would have been a very bad idea. I knew that I needed to let my body rest and ignore the adrenaline rush I was still experiencing hours after the race had ended. Nevertheless, less than 24 hours after crossing the finish line, I found myself biking 40km on the first  Sunday Bike Day of the season. For those of you who are not familiar with Ottawa’s Sunday bike days, they refer to a five hour period on Sunday mornings where several roads are closed to motorists to make way for runners, rollerbladers, and of course cyclists! It creates the ideal conditions for biking with a partner because you have room to bike side by side and can avoid the awkward backwards conversations. My Olympic distance training plan had me biking 1 hour and 50 minutes yesterday and that number will steadily increase week by week to 2 hours and 35 minutes before race day hits. Needless to say, I appreciate having some pretty wonderful company on these long rides!

I have also come to realize over the course of the last week that while my workouts intensify, my portion sizes will have to increase as well. I already feel like I am constantly eating, but to keep my energy levels up and my muscles happy, I will be increasing my carb and protein intake over the next few weeks. I wish that my parents didn’t live so far away so that I could borrow their huge crockpot to make a big patch of turkey chili (recipe courtesy of a triathlon/sports nutrition website called “The Core Diet”). I usually spend one afternoon a week cooking and prepping my food for the upcoming week. Breakfast is by far my favourite meal of the day and I currently have an obsession with oatmeal, fresh berries, and egg whites. I literally eat this almost every single day, although sometimes I have been known mix it up on the weekends and substitute oatmeal for a bowl of quinoa topped with strawberries, bananas, and sprinkle of chopped pecans and almond milk! Delish!

My staples for lunch and my morning snack include but are not limited to:

- no bake chocolate almond protein bars (thank you Michelle Fawcett!)

- vanilla protein pumpkin loaf (from “The Core Diet” with a few modifications)

- greek quinoa salad with chickpeas (I have Caro Mayo to thank for this obsession)

- Jamie Eason’s turkey meatloaf muffins (try them – they are delicious and so portable!)

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/video-jamie-eason-turkey-meatloaf-muffins.htm

I also recently found a recipe on Pinterest for Dark chocolate powercakes with strawberry chia jam which I plan to try sometime in the very near future!

As for my dinners… they have been kind of all over the place lately, but I really can’t complain about that. I have been thoroughly enjoying dinner dates, epic meal time with Emily, and catching up with old friends that I missed during my brief hiatus from Ottawa.

Now that I have one race under my belt, I feel refreshed and excited to continue my training. I couldn’t be more thankful for my flexible work schedule which allows me to make my own hours and to work from home from time to time. I often find myself heading into the office bright and early so that I can take an extended lunch break to fit in my workouts, especially those swims because: 

“If it’s important, you’ll find a way. If it isn’t, you’ll find an excuse”

I am officially a TRIATHLETE!

The big day has come and passed and I am incredibly proud to be able to say that I am officially a triathlete! I can't thank my friends and family enough for their words of encouragement and constant support in the weeks and days leading up to the race. The race was everything I had hoped for and more!

I was able to put my fears aside and replace my nerves with excitement thanks to a wonderful quote from a triathlon book that Jamie gave me for my birthday:

"You're out here to have fun and finish the race; you're not here to beat someone or see how fast you can go. Save that for your second triathlon. Look around and enjoy the experience today."

I truly did enjoy every second of the race (...yes even the horrible few minutes when my legs felt like bricks after the bike to run transition). In fact, the entire triathlon experience started a day earlier when I picked up my race kit and got my first view of the course and the transition zone. I could feel the adrenaline pumping as I walked around the grounds of Carleton University and imagined the hundreds of people who would be there the next day.

After picking up my race kit, I attended an orientation session for first timers and I am so glad I did! We had a chance to see the pool, the transition zone, and get a better idea of how the day would work from the President of Ottawa's Triathlon Club. We started at the pool and I could not stop smiling when I saw it. It had been years since my last swim race and I think that it wasn't until I looked down at that 50m pool that I realized how much I loved to compete or how great it has been to have swimming back in my life. After having my swim timed by Elise earlier in the week, I realized that despite this being my first triathlon, I could actually be a contender for my age group in the swim portion. This was another one of those defining moments when I became convinced that I could not only do this, but do it well!

The following morning it was race day. I had set my alarm for 5am and true to form I was awake before it went off. I had my typical breakfast of oatmeal and berries coupled with egg whites and I packed from protein pumpkin loaf for the road as I knew it may be up to 4 hours before I would be diving into the pool. I had layed out everything I needed the night before and just needed to put my bike in the car. As I was busy double checking that I had everything I needed, I received a good luck text at 5:15am which reminded me just how lucky I am.

Once I had everything in the car and 6:20am rolled around, I headed over to pick up Elise. I could not ask for a better friend, cheerleader, and training partner and I am so glad I got to share the experience with her. She stuck with me through the whole thing and I couldn't be more grateful.

Upon arriving at the University, we parked my car and put my bike back together before bringing it to the transition zone. We had arrived early enough that I was able to snag a great spot to put my bike which would turn out to be easy to find and close to the bike and run start lines. The next step was to pick up my timing chip which was to be worn around my ankle for the duration of the race and to head to the body marking tent which consisted of a huge bin of black permanent markers. Everyone grabbed a buddy and proceeded to write on each other. You needed to have your race number on both arms and both thighs and then your age and event on the back of your calves. This allowed you to see who was in your event and/or age category and to simply satisfy your natural curiousity of wondering how old people are (for instance this allowed me to discover a 68 year old woman in the best shape I have ever seen!)

With the body marking done and the photo ops taken advantage of, we then grabbed my shoes and swim gear and made the walk down to the pool. I had learned the night before that there was a 500m run between the pool building and the T-zone so they advised us to leave shoes to run in at the back door of the pool. After dropping off my shoes, it was time for us to part ways as I made my way to the pool deck and Elise went to the upstairs observation area. On deck, the Try-a-Tri and Super Sprint competitors were lining up for the swim and the athletes in my category congregated at the back to wait for our turn.



When they started calling out estimated finish times for the 500m swim, I placed myself behind the 9 minute marker and got in line with the other competitors. I then looked around me and realized I was surrounded by a lot of very strong looking men and for a second I wondered "can I really keep up with them?" This moment of panic quickly passed though as I calmly reminded myself that I had timed my swim just two days before and that I was more than capable of holding my own.

The start times were staggered every fifteen seconds since it was a pool triathlon. You waited for your turn to be called onto the timing mat and for the official to give you the okay to dive in. The swim portion went by in a flash and I was soon jumping out of the water to Elise's enthusiastic cheers before I ran down the stairs and out the doors to ditch my cap and googles and throw on my cycling capris and shoes. Already slightly out of breath, I ran up the hill to the transition zone and quickly found my bike. I remember thinking to myself "Oh my god, I am really doing this!"

When the bike portion started, my legs felt pretty tired already. It took a few kilometres to really get my stride. I tried to look around and soak it the experience while admiring some of the intense triathlon bikes. I remember during the orientation session someone asking about "drafting" which is when you follow too closely behind another bike putting yourself in an aerodynamic position and is cause for disqualification for the race. In response to this person's question, our guide responded that while it is important to avoid drafting, unless your bike costs over $2000 chances are you aren't the one the race officials will be watching!

One of the most memorable moments of the bike leg was being passed by a member of the Ottawa Triathlon Club who having read my name on my race bib shouted "way to go Brittany, keep it up!" It was just the boost I needed to make it through the rest of the bike leg which included two loops around Colonel By Drive for a total of 23.6km. As you approached the final turn you had to go up a small hill, but the momentum you got going down was enough to drive you into the dismount zone.

As I got off the bike my legs felt like jelly. I clumsily ran my bike back into the transition zone praying that I would be able to find my spot. After a brief moment of disorientation, I quickly found my stall, dropped off my bike, and threw on my running hat. As I made my way for to the starting gate, I became painfully aware of why they refer to bike/run workouts as "bricks." My legs truly felt like bricks as I struggled to find my stride and convince my body that it could do this. Throughout the entire run I kept telling myself to just keep going and I was thrilled to reach the half way point and the water station (after which time my legs finally felt a little more like normal). I remember then reaching the 3km mark and thinking "Only two more km until I am a triathlete, only two more km!!" then when I rounded the corner to the 4km mark I knew that I could bring it home.

As I ran up the small hill to where I could see the sign for the "Finish Line" a huge smile broke out on face and I sprinted onto the timing mat and into the recovery station. Apparently they call out your name as you are running past, but I was too excited to hear it. I was officially a triathlete and it felt amazing!



I refueled with some gatorade and split my bagel and banana with my cheerleader and then proceeded to what I can only describe as prance around the vincinity with my finisher's medal. I felt on top of the world and told Elise to get on her computer because we were registering for the next available race! Elise then informed me that the results of the swim were posted and that I done great! We waited around for the rest of the results and I was thrilled to have beaten my own personal goal time for myself. All in all a very successful day!

I can't thank everyone enough for the good luck and congratulatory texts, phone calls, and offers to go out for ice cream. As I pulled into our back parking lot after the race and got out of the car, my neighbour's girlfriend was outside and said hello before turning to look at me and excitedly asking if I had been in a race. It was my first chance to really say "yeah I was! I just completed a triathlon". AMAZING!

A lot of people have been asking me if I will be doing another race and the answer is a resounding YES! I am definitely hooked. While I had already signed up for the Olympic Triathlon on August 4th and have been following a training plan for it, I have decided to do another Sprint distance one in June to help me prepare. Actually, in my post race euphoria which lasted for several wonderful hours, I registered for the next available race only to realize a couple hours later that it falls on the day of my French competency test! whoops! I blame it on the adrenaline and the euphoria. In any case, I will be switching my registration compete in the Smith Falls Triathlon on June 24th and I am thrilled to say that I will have not just a cheerleader, but a partner in crime this time around as Elise will be doing the race with me!!

Bring on the open water swim! ;)

The build up to race day

My life has been a bit of a whirlwind since my first post now a month ago. In this short span of time I completed my final practicum placement and walked away from my former high school with the confidence I needed to start my teaching career, I started my research internship and I competed in my first sprint distance triathlon (which truly warrants and will be given a post of its own).

In reality, a lot has happened in the past 8 months which has brought me to where I am today. Despite a hectic schedule during Teacher’s College, working part-time, and trying to fit in as any workouts as possible in order to be race ready, I knew that I needed to take a minute to stop and celebrate with my family and friends before returning to Ottawa. My parents are incredibly proud of me and I knew that it meant a lot for my mom to be able to throw me a graduation party on the night before my departure.

I found that once I was surrounded by friends, family, and a ton of food, I was able to take a minute to try and soak in the fact that I was now a teacher. I tried my best to make the rounds that evening and talk to everyone who had crowded into my kitchen and family room. Soon, it was time to cut my graduation cake and my aunts and uncles jokingly began calling for a speech…little did they know, I had written one. I knew that I wouldn’t have a chance to talk to everyone as much as I would like to, so I had prepared a little something to let everyone know what I had been up to.

Next thing I knew, it was 6am the next morning and I was hitting the road with Elise Quint on our way back to Ottawa. As I mentioned in a previous post, Elise is my early morning swim bud and a huge source of support. She is also a recent graduate from Teacher's College and a future triathlete so needless to say we had a lot of stories to share on our long drive back to O-town. We were both itching to get back into the pool and to continue our training after a 5 week long swim hiatus during practicum.

Although I was not able to swim while in Chatham, I was sure to get my bikes and runs in along with some classes at the gym with my mom. During my time at the Goodlife there, I managed to make friends with the guy from the front desk and a lovely old gentleman who was always at Body Pump with me. In spite of becoming a regular at the gym there, I returned to Ottawa unsure if I could really do this whole triathlon thing. I may have even had a minor meltdown on the phone with my mom about my lack of a road bike and considered changing the date of my triathlon to one a few weeks later.

Fortunately I have a very patient and understanding mother who was there to assure me that it was okay to spend the money on myself to buy a new bike and to remind me that I had been training hard for this. After this tearful conversation, I woke up the next morning with a profound sense of determination. I soon found myself at Bushtakah (an active lifestyle store) testing out a beautiful Trek Lexa road bike. After taking it for a spin, I was hooked and within an hour it was in my car and on it's way home. I was even able to take my bike for its inaugural ride that afternoon with Grant. I was starting to feel a bit better about my fast approaching race, but at this point, I still wasn't completely convinced that I would be prepared for race day.

My nerves were calmed bit by bit when I finally got a chance to get back into the pool. It's hard to describe what it felt like...almost like coming home again. The pool is one of those safe places for me and I was pleasantly susprised to discover that my strokes were still strong and my endurance was up. I followed up my swim by a 30km bike ride with Raph where he filled my brain with tips and tricks for surviving my first race. It was finally after I returned home from this bike ride that I had the epiphany moment that I so desperately needed - I stopped doubting myself and started thinking "I can do this!"   

....and it turns out that I could! (Details to follow)

A special mention to my Juno Beach Centre colleagues – Thank you for showing me how important it is to celebrate your accomplishments (even if that means your graduation cap is made of a paper plate and your gown in a repurposed raincoat!)

Why a triathlon?

After returning from France eight months ago, I experienced a lot of changes in my life. I had a lot more trouble readjusting to life in Canada than I had expected. I guess you could call it reverse culture shock. I had spent four incredible months working with 5 incredible people who I also lived with in a small two bedroom house. Needless to say, we became quite close over the months and I became accustomed to dinner every night with my "wifey" Caro, G&T nights with Emily, morning jam sessions with Taylor, chats on the beach with Maryse, and hockey games with Ben. There was always someone around. You were never really alone - even if you wanted to be.

Upon returning to Canada though, all of that changed. I said goodbye to colleagues that had become my family and to a job that I loved, I ended a relationship because we all deserve to be with someone who supports our hopes and dreams, and I returned home to live with my two former roommates who I barely saw due to the general crazyness of our lives. I suddenly felt very much alone. I was flying solo for the first time in six years and I have to admit it was a little bit scary. My parents have always referred to me as being fiercly independent, but in spite of this independence, I don't think I truly knew how to be by myself. Professionally, I had things figured out. Just a few short days after my return from France and still slightly jetlagged I began Teachers College and discovered how much I loved standing in front of a classroom full of students and getting to speak French everyday. Personally, however, I came to realize that I needed to do something for me. I needed to spend some time by myself and to figure out exactly what it was that I enjoyed and what I wanted in my life.

My first few months of Teacher's college went by in a flash as I became accustomed to my new workload and made new friends. I quickly found myself in my first practicum placement - stressed and a little overwhelmed! I desperately wanted to do a good job and found myself waking up at the crack of dawn to practice my lessons before school. Not only was I teaching history for the very first time, but I was doing so in my second language. Planning, preparing, and practicing began to take over all of my time and I decided that if I didn't get myself a hobby, I may just go crazy from the stress of it all. This is when I decided to return to the gym.

The gym became my stress reliever and I realized how much I had missed it. The idea of doing a triathlon one day had always been in the back of my mind from my days as a competitive swimmer, but the more time I spent biking and running, the more convinced I became that I wanted to take on this challenge. I knew that I needed to start small and dedicate time to training, so on January 1st I signed up for a sprint distance triathlon (0.75km swim, a 20km bike, and a 5k run) which I will complete on May 19th.

After talking with a couple good friends who had both completed triathlons themselves, I began to set my sights on the Olympic distance triathlon on August 4th. I told myself that if Raph could do it, so could I!

And thus the training began. After a few weeks of early morning swims with Elise and countless bikes and runs in the evenings... I was hooked! I am proud to say that last night, I officially completed my registration for the race on August 4th and tomorrow I start my 16 week Olympic training plan. This plan will have me running, biking, and swimming each two times a week with some strength training thrown in for good measure (all the while completing my last practicum placement and beginning an internship program which will have me travelling throughout the province 5 days a week).

It will definitely be an adventure that will test my mental and physical strength as well as my dedication and time management skills, but I couldn't be more excited to be able to say "I am a triathlete!"