Killer Kailey's Blog

just because...

2008-09-24T12:12:00.000-07:00

I feel the deep guilt of being a very bad blogger and a newfound hunger for posting things!

I have no Ironman Race shots yet - except this finish one -

but here are a couple of pics from the National Capital Tri in Ottawa at the beginning of August.

Note: I was not racing against the children - there was a kiddie race going on at the same time - and I behaved and did not push the kids out of my way to shave off a few seconds when running down the finishing chute! :-)

Post Season

2008-09-24T11:10:00.000-07:00

So I know I haven't actually writting a pre or during season blog yet this year... but I will.

To sum it up - May to September - VERY BUSY - trying to race and trail my way to a fast and fun Ironman Canada 2008.

Now I am in the glorious thing called an 'off-season' and am heading into Algonquin Park for 4 days of paddling, camping, relaxing and escape with my sweetie! (it is his FIRST canoe trip as well - so a very big milestone there!)

Keep your fingers crossed for warm weather and lots of sunshine!

KK

Sunny Skies

2008-01-23T08:20:00.000-08:00

I just got an email from my girlfriend Ali telling me that she is heading out for a run! She is still a student - and therefore has time during daylight hours to do fun things like run! It is a gorgeous bluebird day - and I am jealous!

However, I have to remind myself that I too got my fresh air and exercise today - at 5:45am on my xc skis! Natalie, Chaughan, Jane and myself checked out the ski trails at Mooney's Bay. They are great - fun loops - super close to home - and even a little hill that I climbed up and managed to get a few 'powder tele-turns' in!! So even though I am now on coffee #7 of the day and had a headlamp on this morning - it was still a treat to have a big dose of fresh air before work today!

Coming up: a busy weekend of madness - schedule as follows:
Friday Night: drink wine with girlfriend

Saturday: attempt the 10k 'Hilly Course' of the madtrapper snowshoe race. Maybe the 5k if I chicken out as I have never run on snowshoes before.

Saturday Night: More wine and Cranium Showdown with Michael and friends

Sunday Morning: Hypothermic Half Marathon at the experimental farm (Note: my running mileage since IMC is about 31km total!!!)

Sunday Afternoon: EAT and NAP!!

So stay tuned for race reports and photos!
kk

Happy 2008

2008-01-17T08:40:00.000-08:00

Ok - I admit - I am a terrible blogger... I guess I think that unless I have something huge and amazing to say/report that I shouldn't blog... the problem with this is that I never seem to have time to write anything huge and amazing... my half finished IMC 2007 report perhaps... so instead of having drafts in my blog box waiting to be written - I am going to start off 2008 with lower expectations for myself a la blogging...

SO - I'll just give you an update for today. (good start right?)

I am FREEZING COLD - it is 11:45am and I am still chilled from a way too early xc ski this morning in the gatineaus. I am determined to get the Rudy Award in 2008 so I need to complete the 53km Keskinada Loppet, the Winterlude Tri, Rideau Lakes Tour, a Marathon and an Ironman (all in this calendar year)... the Keski is coming up fast and I have not been skiing at all!

This morning Natalie and Chaughan picked me up at 5:15 and we met Jane a half hour later at P8... once we actually got there and got going - it was shockingly fun to be out with headlamps and many layers of clothing... but man did I get cold!

I also realized that the Keski is going to be Hell... 53km is a long way to ski - esp for me who does not really ski at all!
Oh well - it can't be as bad as an Ironman Right?

- ok back to work I go - talk to everyone soon!
and yes - one day there will be IMC 2007 photos and a race report! (I'm getting internet at home this week - so that should help!)

Cheers,
Killerk

The Summer of Triathlon Part 1...

2007-08-22T12:10:00.000-07:00

Ok - I have been a TERRIBLE blogger - I realize this... and as I am leaving for the airport - to fly to penticton - to race IRONMAN CANADA in 13 hours... and I have not packed - AND I am still at work - I don't think I will actually get caught up on my blogging today... shocked? not me!!
BUT I do have my race pics saved from the summer and lots of stats!

In short - amazing season - one sprint tri - two olympic distance tris (my latest - second female overall!!), on half ironman - FIRST FEMALE OVERALL, and lots of training, recovery, ART Massage and fun... I have met so many amazing people along the way - I would not have been up at Meech for 6am swims without them!

As well, I've managed to keep some balance in my life this summer - which I will probably kick myself over while suffering away on sunday - BUT I have no regrets - Bluesfest was amazing, escaping to the cottage for a couple of days, patios, red wine, girlfriends... new relationship - what a way to impress a guy - 4:45am wakeups for swimming!! :-)

All in all, an amazing summer and I can't imagine a better way to end it than with Ironman Canada this Sunday! For all you Ontario Folk - 10am ontario time start (7am BC time...) THINK OF ME - and send me strong survival thoughts please!!!

Ok - must start clearing off my desk - then to ART with Geoff Outerbridge at the Holistic Clinic - then back home to try to figure out how to pack my bike into the bike bag I rented. I also must find a strategy to convince Air Canada NOT to lose my bags in Toronto, or Vancouver... oh - and then they seem to recommend that pre-ironman you sleep - so I should try that as well!!!

I promise to blog next week when I'm back - and provide a link to my HUGE online photo album which I will have collected from my time out west!

Cheers everyone - next time I will (hopefully) be reporting to you as an IRONMAN!!! (no ironman tatoo though - don't worry - mom is coming with me :-)

ps: a couple of pics...
National Capital Olympic Distance (first race with wetsuit - LOVE IT!!)

Also - first race with NEW SUGOI tri suit - amazing haida art pattern - super comfy - and FAST (more about Sugoi news Post Ironman)

First - Quest for Cure Adventure Race...

2007-07-13T08:05:00.001-07:00

... until I actually write race reports (which are all in 'draft format on my computer)... I'll post some fun photos of the couple of month's adventures...Yeah - training for Ironman/New Job/Crazy life - not an excuse - but def. keeps me busy!!!!

Here are pics from the 48 hour Quest for a Cure Adventure Race at the end of June... SUPER FUN and as the only team of all women - we kicked ass!

Gear Madness

John and Gina

Loading up the bins

Army boys - we loved them!

Amazing volunteers

Long Run - the boys are coming

Ropes - super fun stuff!

Ropes again...

Fav Boys

Gear Chaos

Carolyn and Camera guy - he kindly turned it off while we were changing!

Divas...

Divas in TA

Divas at another TA

Divas - the blading champs!

Divas 'running free...' :-)

Blading...

Blades...

Blading - car shot!

Crazy Ropes

Almost Finished...

Finish Line

Post race chaos

Awards...

Team SRS at the awards!

SPEECH!!

sleeping beauties!!

NEWSFLASH!!

2007-06-21T13:21:00.000-07:00

Ok - there is another blog posting in the works that did not get done - updating you guys on Rudy Lakes Bike Tour AND my first Olympic Tri of the season last weekend at Westboro Beach (short version - 5th female overall and first in my AG!! WOOHOO!)

BUT more later, I promise!
I am running out the door to race in my only Adventure Race of the season - the Quest for a Cure 48 hour adventure race! We start tomorrow at 4pm and finish sometime sunday... for those who know me... there is a whole special day lost in there - MY BIRTHDAY!! we start the race the day before my birthday and finish the day AFTER... BRUTAL! But I am racing with the coolest team ever - Carolyn Connell, Nicky Cameron, Denise Ripsole and ME! That's right - the DIVAS RUNNING FREE - is the only all female team and we are going to kick ass!!
I think you'll be able to track us live on the web
wish us luck - see you all next week!!
Killerk.

The Last few Weeks....

2007-06-15T09:04:00.001-07:00

I tell you - it is hard to keep a high training volume when I am recovering from things such as marathons and concussions (yes - you read that right - more to come later!)

First - I was pretty sore for a couple of days following the marathon. The stairs at my house - brutal!! Walking to work - hilarious for all to see....I was swimming and riding by mid week but it took me until thursday to be able to run at all again.

Hmmm... what happened after that? Oh yeah - the weekend after the marathon was a wicked weekend of training and fun...

Friday night went to see the movie Away from Her - written and directed by Sarah Polley - it was amazing - but I honestly cried for the entire two hours!

I went up to the Gats with Martha on Saturday morning (so early saturday morning - 6am pick up... grrr...) and met up with the running room ironman training group... we rode a few loops of the parkway and then Martha and I went over to Blanchet Beach where we did a 30min run and then a 1500m swim in the Lake. It was a gorgeous day - but HOT - so the water was amazingly refreshing... esp for me who didn't have a wetsuit!!

Saturday night was insane - first hockey playoffs... the sens were amazing this season and 100% responsible for the fact that my pants fit a bit tighter due to large amounts of beer on every game night!! :-) So - we watched the hockey game and then went downtown to celebrate Linda's Birthday, Kim being home, Dawn leaving us for Alberta, and Linda going to BASIC TRAINING!!! (as she joined the reserves... crazy girl!)

Pre-Hockey - pre- drinking at Linda's....

Everyone at the bar - which one? not sure...

Much random madness occured as it always does with Linda and co... but it was totally worth the killer hangover I had the next morning when I had to get up and go trail running with Carolyn and Nicky. Although they said they couldn't smell the booze on me - I am sure they could - BUT I was a trooper and hammered and it was a wicked 2 hour trail run... we even went for a swim after as a reward... but a fun swim - not 'triathlon training swim!'

That afternoon - lazy and relaxing - getting ready for football that night... I ended up playing two games as Eric's other team was missing girls... the first game went great - I think I even got a TD... the second game...
this is where the concussion story comes in...
I got TOTALLY taken out by a teammate when we were running a man defense... it was brutal - he slammed into my jaw and my head snapped back and bounced off the astro-turf. I was an idiot and kept playing the game - but it turns out I had a grade 2 concussion and was pretty out of it for a couple of days...

So - the workouts - not so amazing the week of June 4th... but that's ok... wednesday I tried swimming - I got super dizzy so backed off - but I ran thursday and felt great... friday swam and then it was RUDY LAKES WEEKEND!!!

Stay tuned for a posting on Rudy Lakes...

National Capital Race Weekend

2007-05-28T09:24:00.001-07:00

Ahhh Monday morning and I can't get out of my chair without much pain and groaning... but the pain - so worth it!!

My official statement to the press is that I no longer hate road running!

I ran the Ottawa Marathon yesterday morning - my second ever marathon - and first one at home. My family was amazing - they all came out to support me - it meant the world to see them cheering along the race course and at the finish line. My mom and step dad stayed up late at night planning their 'race strategy' to zoom around on their bikes and see me go by as many times as they could! They were amazing - and gave me such a boost each time I saw them cheering away!

Dad, Jennifer and Kristina came to the finish - they waited in the pouring rain - and even stuck it out to find me in the crowd after I got through the finisher's corral! The past few years I have raced away from home - so amazing having family cheering me on!

So - the race... I was DREADING the race going into it - the last week my body has been achy, tired, lethargic and I was terrified it was going to fall apart after 10k. I also had a tiny secret - that my longest run of the season was the half marathon that I ran over a month ago. (YES - I know - stupid stupid stupid - as I am sure I am paying for it way more today because if it!)... but such was life...

The weather was marathon perfect - cool and overcast - but still warm enough that I was in shorts and a tank. I swear - I LOVE my sugoi tank tops - I own three of the same one - all different colors and that is all I run/bike in... at least the tan lines will be consistent!

The start was EARLY - 7am - I guess b/c last year's race was so hot... so I was up at a stupid hour trying to eat breakfast and then I headed over to the start for 6:30... nice that the start line was a 10 min walk from my house!

The first 10k of the race were super smooth - I didn't even really think about my pace until the 5k mark when I looked at my watch and realized I was running under 5min km's... which put me on a 3:30 marathon pace - this was insane to me as I was hoping to just scrape under 3:40... if I was lucky... but the pace felt great, so I kept it up...
Sadly my stomach was not loving the marathon - and it seemed like each time I had built about a minute of bonus time - I would dash into a portapotty and lose all my hard earned seconds... then I'd dash out - and hammer for 500m trying to make up some time... then I'd bank a minute - porta potty again... ahhh good times!

There were three big french guys that thought I was insane as I am sure I passed them four times in the last half of the race! grrr... stupid body.

But - regardless of pit stops - I stayed on a wicked pace - at the halfway point I felt pretty good and really didn't think about how much I had left to run... I just took it km by km... I didn't feel like eating and only took in one gel the whole race... as well - probably did not hydrate enough... Have to work on that for IMC.

The last 18k were LONG as a lot of it was on the canal - a route that I know all too well... but the last 10k were the worst. My quads had seized but my time was still good - I think I hit 30k at about 2:30 so I had an hour to run 12k to make 3:30 and tons of time if I wanted to make 3:40... I thought that as long as my legs and stomach held in there - I'd be fine...

My body was amazing - and totally sucked it up... the last 5k hurt so much - but the crowds along the canal were wicked - esp from pretoria on... Peter (my step dad) even ran along the canal path cheering me on for the last few km ... that was amazing... I knew I was going to be SO CLOSE to breaking 3:30 so I was trying to hammer the last 2k... according to the race clock - I was just over 3:30 BUT according to my timing chip and watch - I made it!!! 3:29 and change... (it took me a while to cross the start line after the gun went off).

I was so pumped to finish with such a shockingly amazing time!
After the race - I felt terrible so went home and passed out for a couple of hours... then woke up and played my first touch football game of the season. I joined a co-ed league with a few friends I know. It was so fun to be playing football again - although it was pretty painful runnign patterns last night. I did score a touchdown - which made yesterday even better!!

Today - you will recognize me by my hobble/limp... I am definately feeling the race... other than the quads... I am just really tired, dehydrated, achy and sore... but it is all very worth it!

Boston here I come - BOOYEAH!
ps: I will post pics as soon as I find some online!
pps: Thanks to everyone who was out there cheering us on - nothing is more energizing that amazing cheerleaders!

Early Bird Triathlon and May Long Weekend...

2007-05-22T13:21:00.000-07:00

Transition area - so many sexy bikes... whew!

Eric Collard - amazing race director - now he gets to start his racing season!!

This weekend was wicked! It started off with the Sommersault Early Bird Triathlon on Saturday morning. The weather was perfect - bluebird day - but cool/warmish temps... it was a 500m swim/34.2kbike/5k run... there were seven different events going on at once with 700 participants so a HUGE KUDOS to the race organizer and volunteers... (there were duathlons, sprint tri, tri a tri, etc etc... and the Long Sprint which is what I did)

The swim was in the Carleton pool which was a little strange - but very fun. It was a staggered start - so we guessed our swim times and one swimmer went off every 15 sec... it was like swim practice on crack! :-)

I had a great swim and managed to pass three people in the pool which made me feel good about my swim.

I blasted out of the pool, tried not to run on the swim deck and ran outside where I threw on my trail runners I had stashed under a tree and ran the 500m to T-1 (it would have been brutal in bare feet!) The transition was quick - just putting on bike shoes and helmet and taking off. The bike was three loops on the Colonel By Driveway - super fast and fun - my fav part of the race for sure (oh, and LOVE THE BIKE!!)

I hammered on the bike though and the legs sure felt it on the run! I came off the bike - had a super quick transition and ran out for the 5k run.
Half of the run was on the grass along side of the parkway (as there were still bikers going by). This made it hard for me to settle in - but we were all in the same boat - so it didn't really matter. The run was brutal for me - I still managed a 21min (ish) 5k so that was good (for me) but it hurt a lot! Must do more brick workouts!!!

I finished with a smile as Eric announced Killerkailey crossing the finish line!:-)

in a time of 1hr 37min 57sec. I placed 14th overall and third female! Given - the field was small as many of the 'hardcore tri folk' were doing other races.. but I was still proud! A great way to start the season!

My family was amazing as Mom and Peter were there all race snapping photos and cheering away, Dad was at the bike turn around for my first two loops and Jenninfer and Kristina showed up to see me finish! (so fun racing close to home again!)

Dedicated early morning fan! :-) Mom - you rock!

That afternoon I went for a road ride out to Orleans to see Dad and Jennifer and then watched the SENS WIN their way to the finals!! WOOHOO!!!! Martha and Nicky had a wicked party at their place - to thank the Early bird tri volunteers and to welcome Nicky to the house. Sunday - was pretty 'tired' from the party the night before so was totally lazy all day - but went for a wicked 2 hour run on sunday late afternoon and then headed up to the Blacksheep Inn in Wakefield that night with some friends.

Monday - the most boring solo 120k road ride EVER!! But good mental training - and wicked that 20km from being home I could make a pit stop at dad's house for a bathroom break, to refill water bottles and grab some brownies from the fridge!

All in all - a wicked weekend - lots of workouts and lots of fun! (and new tanlines as a bonus!)

Post tri 'social' pic!

Next up: NCM Marathon this sunday - not looking forward to that as the IT bands are pretty unhappy these days.... the marathon is going to be treated as a long training run - not a race... really ... I swear! :-)

Next up....

2007-05-18T12:57:00.000-07:00

Hi again, can you tell that I am in race mode now - maybe b/c I'm doing my first tri tomorrow - and am super excited to see how it goes... Ironman is looming - and I am terrifed... but in a good way!

This season is looking like it is going to be busy though - tomorrow the Sommersault Productions Early Bird Tri at Carleton (500m swim, 34ish km bike, 5km run) a great warm up to test out gear, work on transitions and test out the NEW BIKE!!! (which I am trying to take to Ian at Cyclelogik to get properly fitted - as there are some tweaks to be made!) I hear he is the master bike fitter - so I will keep you posted!

So - tri this weekend, marathon next weekend, weekend off (going paddling which will be a fun change of pace), then 'Rudy Lakes' (like rideau lakes but low key and longer), Rideau Lakes the next weekend (maybe), Qust for a Cure 48 hour adventure race on my birthday weekend, an ironman training camp, Peterborough Half Ironman Race, and then a weekend at the COTTAGE where I will do nothing. whew - when you look at it like that - I will be a busy girl! But think of all the money I'll save as I will have no time to shop or drink red wine (tiny vices of mine... tiny...)
BUT I promise to take pics, post pics and blog...

as well - I joined a touch football team - so that should be hysterical - one night a week of football and beer - I love it!

ok, almost time to go and play in the sunshine - Happy Long Weekend Everyone!
killerk

Lots of New Stuff....

2007-05-18T08:26:00.000-07:00

The last month has been super busy, productive and fun!

First - I finally moved into my house - I'm renting a wicked house in Sandy Hill (out of the student ghetto and right beside a gorgeous huge brick school) -with a wicked roomate - Marie - Josee... The house is the top two floors of a three storey place - has a back deck, front sunny balcony, huge high ceilings, big bedrooms and lots of room for the bike and shoe collections! First - two girls in one house - do we ever have shoes - but amid all the fun sexy sandals that are coming out of the closet - there must be 10 pair of running shoes in my front hall, and at least three pair of bike shoes! My mom was worried about what MJ would think of my two bikes that were coming with me - and just laughed when I told her that MJ had three bikes and that I was buying another one!! So we have no couch at the moment - but do we ever have bikes! (we even have a set of rollers - so guests could get a workout in if they really want to!)

Second - the 'new bike' - got purchased!! That's right - I am the proud and deliriously happy owner of a tri bike - I went to Tommy and Lefebvre and they took unbelievable care of me there... Al (wicked bike manager who knows so much about bikes and bike fitting) put me on a Specialized Transition Bike. It is sexy, light, and fast as hell! I can fly on this bike - and love the aeros!!

And what girl can go anywhere and not buy shoes? Al also hooked me up with some amazing new bike shoes - the Specialized Trifuel women's shoe... it is so light, comfy and super quick to get in and out of!! LOVE THEM!

So these two small items, as well as a new helmet, a couple of bike computers and pedals have rendered me broke - BUT whenever I feel sad about having no money - I just take my new baby out for a spin!!

And just for fun - some random pics... first night in my new house - no roommate, no furniture, BUT a clean floor (thanks mom) and camp mat (thanks again mom!)

Nights out with the girls...

La familia - so fun to see the siblings again...

Easter Outfit at the cottage...

Hockey Game with Dad - yes I am the coolest daughter with the coolest presents EVER!!

Let the Racing Season Begin!!

2007-05-18T08:07:00.001-07:00

Hi Everyone,

Here is the bright and cheery startline of the Run for the Reach Half Marathon on April 15th - what a way to start the season!!

This was the first race of my (turning out to be busy) race season! Run for the Reach Half Marathon on April 15th. It was a cold and fairly miserable rainy morning - the course was a double out and back along the canal in Ottawa and I had been out at the Ottawa Gala the night before. The Gala - wicked times - lots and lots of red wine was consumed - was out way too late dancing the night away and actually shed a tear when my alarm went off at 6ish am and I realized that I had to run a half marathon in a few short hours. I managed to get a couple of spoonfulls of Nutella into me and headed off to the start line... I was not a happy girl AT ALL!!! I think because I felt so terrible, I was seriously motivated to run fast - and fast I ran... My first 10k clocked in at 46:13 (probably my fastest official 10k actually) and my final time was 1:37:38 - so I managed to stay fast and strong in the second half. After the 10k turn around I realized I was third female overall - but also knew there were some fast women behind me. This motivated me to keep booking it - as I had no idea how far back the next female was and turning around while running required way too much coordination for my physical state! The last 5k were deadly - the last 50m I was on the verge of puking - but I managed to hold my own and finish first in my age group and third female overall! All this on a hangover! :-) sadly, the minute the adrenaline wore off I fell apart and spent the rest of the day passed out in my hallway in front of the bathroom door... real pretty! :-)

So next up - Carleton Early Bird tri and the NCM Marathon! I will actually post again SOON! Maybe even today with more fun stories!

Killerk.

Winter... Ottawa Style...

2007-03-09T13:14:00.000-08:00

So, as I got on the airplane to move back to Ottawa, many people were shocked to hear that I was moving East. And I quote ' who the hell moves East? Are you mental?' And I very much agree after this a nice long run of weeks of frigid weather - this past tuesday was -40 with the windchill (seriously) - I am very much missing the temperate winters of the Kootenays. (On top of missing Red, Rossland, skiing, my friends, etc....) ;-)

BUT - life in Ottawa is going great - busy as always - which for those of you who know me well - would expect nothing less. I am training hard - getting excited to actually be able to train outside. I DO NOT run when it is colder than -15 degrees... sorry... I am a wimp. I am surviving swimming with Technosport at Ottawa University - it is a wickd Master's swim club that kicks my ass two night a week. I am spinning lots and trying to build in a couple of 2-3 hour rides a week, and I am trying hard to get outside and run as much as I can, as I truly hate the treadmill.

I started a new job this week - working for Sustainable Development Technology Canada - an amazing private sector company that works to fun and development sustainable technology. (www.sdtc.ca) I think I am starting to figure out the direction I want to go in career-wise, which is comforting... I want to help create policy for environmental sustainability - whether that is through climate change, e-waste management, carbon trading, etc... we shall see... but this job is a great foot in the door into this industry! And hopefully this fall I will be at Ottawa University doing my masters - looking at the effects of climate change on international relations and security. (but who knows!)

Between work, applying for school and training hard, there is not much time for much else. BUT last week I managed to go see David Suzuki as he wrapped up his "If You Were Prime Minister Tour" - It was in the grand hall of the Museum of Civilization and it was AMAZING to see him speak and to be 8 feet away from Bruce Coburn as he was the surprise musical guest and played MY FAVORITE song - Lover's in a Dangerous Time (although the Barenaked Ladies version is on my ipod!)... it was wicked - the whole night was pretty cool!

I've been going to lots of seminars looking at environmental and international intelligence issues - there is so much free stuff to go to in Ottawa (e-waste management, the ethics of intelligence collection, sustainable development, food sovereignty...). AND for any of you who have not seen this - the documentary film Manufactured Landscapes is incredible - and for those Ottawa folk, is playing again at the bytowne on march 20th I think. Really makes you re-think every aspect of our consumption.

Hmm... no pictures to post right now.... it is too cold to use a camera ;-)

I just thought I'd drop the world a note to say hi and to let you all know that as much as I dearly miss my Rossland life and the people there, life in Ottawa is starting to move in a positive direction!

Killerk.

ok: picture update - for my Dad's birthday - Jan 13th - we went up to Mike Caldwell's place in Low Qc and did a hilarious and fun (yet kind of freezing) snowshoe race. It was a 10k, there was no snow - so we didn't actually have snowshoes - just icers on our trail runners! It was great to see the whole Adventure Racing crew again - I missed them all so much - it was a big reunion for me! AND a party for dad as we had a wicked lunch after the race - and a surprise BDAY cake for Jim - it was a Dinosaur Cake - excellent choice Mike!

I ran hard - first time really 'running' since NYC - and I sure felt it the next day - but I did well - I think I came second female in the race... not bad for my re-introduction to the OTtawa race scene!

freezing race start....

birthday boy at his best!

KillerKailey's Ottawa Racing Debut... woohoo!

Major Update...

2007-02-16T07:09:00.000-08:00

Ok, so this update is a LONG TIME COMING!! I know I have been a terrible blogger... my brain has been frozen I think. So, I now live in Ottawa again (I know... I moved EAST to Onterrible - who does that??) and it has seriously been -20 for the past month... how I miss Rossland winters!

I moved back to Ottawa right before Christmas - I am going back to school in the fall - grad school at Ottawa U or Carleton - and figured that I needed to get out of the glorious Rossland bubble if I was ever going to figure out what exactly I want to do with my life. So, big changes there... I am working as a research assistant while hunting for a good ol' government contract to tide me over until september. This also means I have to parler le francais again - so I have been studying like a mad person!

On the more fun side of life, I signed up for a whole new challenge for this summer. I figured I'd be less homesick for Rossland if I had something hard to focus on - so I chose Ironman... Yup, that's right, I registered for Ironman Canada 2007- AUGUST 26th in Penticton - YES I am insane! (I realize that I have only done one tri and one marathon - but that's ok - I sure am good at suffering - so that will carry me through!)

I have been swimming with Technosport at Ottawa U a few times a week - and totally killing myself in the process. I think it has been one of the more humbling experiences of my life. (I had not been in a pool since swimming lessons in grade 11) I've also been spinning a ton - which I LOVE - and trying to run outside anytime the temperature gets warmer than -15...

Sadly, I have not been out in the snow much - although I am going to attempt to skate on the canal this weekend - using my step-dad's way too big skates! This could give me a fun story to post on monday!

I"ll post some pics one day soon as well, and promise to be a much better little blogger in the future!!

Happy Weekend to all - I am off to SPIN CLASS!!!
killerk.

NYC Marathon background

2006-11-23T15:27:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone,
I am still alive - just out of blog land for a while - I have been having to eat the words of my last post over the past few weeks - it hurts... :-)

Here is an update of what has been going on in my athletic pursuits - this past summer my friend Brenda Trenholme asked me if I would be interested in joining her and two other women in raising funds for Multiple Myeloma Cancer research and patient care. Her husband, Roger Crisfield, had battled this disease for 5 years, and finally lost that battle in August. I never met Roger, but I have never been more inspired than when I was at his memorial. The way he lived his life - to the fullest with work, family, the outdoors, friends, the community and adventure, is what I aspire to do. It was an honor to be able to help Brenda raise funds and run the NYC marathon in his memory. Here is a photo of Roger loving life as he did every day!

In the end, we raised almost $30,000 - Thank you everyone who supported us!! We all ran strong in New York and had a wonderful experience. Stay tuned for the race report of my FIRST MARATHON (next time I will actually train!)

The Spanking Begins

2006-10-05T12:31:00.000-07:00

Well, last night it began again... the battle of Ontario and already it is apparent that the leafs are going down!! At least Pat Quinn's new job won't end in April :-)

I have a quote - from a hockey insider who says... "It's going to be a long winter in Toronto...and a short spring" That is right all you confused Leaf Fans... GO SENS GO!!!

Neil has no teeth - but that doesn't mean that he can't give out a good spanking!!

Bringing in October with Style

2006-10-03T15:51:00.000-07:00

So, this past weekend was also a fun and busy one. On Friday night, Keelan and I went to an 80's themed party for our friend Katie's birthday. It was hilarious seeing the outfits, the dancing and the boys in their neon bike shorts!! :-)

I have to say that I loved seeing Keelan in all of his purple glory here!

Saturday I had planned on doing a long trail run, but woke up pretty hungover and tired again... around noon - Keelan and I decided that going to Castlegar for sushi would be way more fun! It was a perfect fall day - warm in the sun, a cool breeze and gorgeous fall colors everywhere. After lunch I decided that my body needed a break from its daily pounding, so I went for a glorious 2 hour walk around Rossland. I explored all sorts of new little streets that I never knew existed.

Saturday night, we watched this insane documentary about a guy who lived with Grizzly Bears in Alaska for 13 years before one ate him. I think it was called Grizzly Man - it was an insane movie - this guy was insane! (but there was some wicked footage)

Sunday I decided I wanted to run the 7-Summits Trail - no one else wanted to run with me (and Keelan didn't want to hike it) so I got him to drop me off at the Nancy Greene Summit and I ran on my own. When I got to the 18km mark at the top of the ski hill, I ran down a cat trail to the mountain bike bike, ran down the mountain bike trails, through the red parking lot and back home to Rossland on the Centennial Trail. It was probably a 30km + run once I got home and it took me just under 4 hours. It was amazing to get such a long solo workout in when I wasn't in race mode. A first for me in a long time.

Of course, being the graceful person that I am, I fell and scraped and bruised my knee - as usual. So again on monday morning, the whole office got to check out the rock rash on my legs! I am like a five year old with perpetual bandaids on my knees!!

Sunday night - Keelan cooked me dinner!! (this is a rare enough occurance that I was pretty exited especially because dinner was AMAZING!!!) - so it was the perfect way to end a gorgeous day of adventure!

I am exited to see what the upcoming long weekend has in store for me. During the week, I only really have time for short trail runs or rides (stupid short fall days), so the real adventure happens on the weekends.

The Past Few Weeks...

2006-10-03T15:27:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can't believe how quick the summer came and went - and now we are already into October! I am not ready for cold weather and snow yet... (although I am pretty stoked to rip it up in Red Mountain Powder!!) But not yet!! There is still so much wicked trail running and biking to be done.

About 3 weeks ago I committed to running in the New York City Marathon on November 5th, 2006. I am running this with two of my good running friends from Rossland. One of them, Brenda, just lost her husband to a five year battle with Multiple Myeloma Caner. In order to honour his memory, and to raise money for an incredible cause that is close to our hearts, we (Brenda, Cheryl and myself) have joined forces with Team Continuum to raise money for the International Myeloma Foundation. Each of us have committed to raising $2500 for this race. In return we get a spot in the marathon (but still have to pay the entry fee and our expenses to get there and stay there). Team Continuum will match every dollar that we fundraise - so in essence, each of us will be raising over $5000 for Myeloma Cancer Research. I am terrified at the prospect of having to run an entire marathon on pavement - BUT it is for such a great cause and I am proud to be a part of it. If any of you would like to donate to this cause, go to the team continuum website and select me out of the list of runners to sponsor!

As well, I have always wanted an excuse to check out NYC - oh the shopping!!!! :-)

September 16th Weekend

2006-09-21T15:34:00.000-07:00

I found this post saved in my drafts - I guess I should post it!

So, last weekend should have been a period of solid recovery, but it was gorgeous and sunny outside and there was much fun to be had. Saturday I ran a 16km road race - which was the dumbest thing I have done in a while - It is called Assault on the Bombi - and it was 16km of running straight UP a highway - over 2400ft of elevation gain. Not very fun - esp with my legs feeling wickedly dead.
I had not been able to run the week before (after Whistler) because the legs were still pretty swollen, so it was a rude awakening on saturday when I realized that I would be running UP pavement for at least 80 minutes. Well, I felt strong for the first half, then blew up at about 8k... it took me 90 minutes to run it - I came 4th out of woment, but was wicked pissed when Brenda passed me to take me out of third place. I just wanted to quit right there, but I didn't!! It was a fun social event though, and I will be back (with fresher legs) to run it again next year!!

Sunday was going to be my 'be lazy on the couch' day - but it was gorgeous out. My buddy Dallas and I were planning on running the 7 -Summits trail (I know stupid to run more) but we were both pretty hungover from a Trailer Park Boys themed party the night before. At the last minute we bailed on the run and met up with 8 of our friends for a wicked 100km road ride down into the states. It was beautiful and reminded me of the country roads around Perth and Westport back in Ontario. The leaves were started to change color and it was a warm sunny day. We had a blast - although the last 90 minutes of the ride was a wicked slog back up into Canada, then Rossland. I am hoping I forget about that part before our next ride!!!

It was a great weekend - full of adventure, exercise, partying and friends - what could be better!!

Here are shots of Rita and Dallas - who both hammered up the Bombi - Dallas was actually crowned the King of the Bombi!!

A few more pictures

2006-09-18T14:12:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures off the Sea2Summit website - thanks to Dave Silver and his amazing photography...

First - the man behind the magic... isn't he a hottie?

My other two favorite boys of the race - Keelan (my very favorite boy) and John - his new buddy (and a wicked S2S staff member) - they had WAY too much fun!!

Ok, some race pictures... for those who want to know more about the concept of 'hike a bike' - not fun in BIKE SHOES!!!

more hiking...

carrying the bike... even more fun than pushing it!

Some actual biking - mostly straight up in the Granny Gear!!

And why I was thankful there was a hose at the finish line!!! Oh, the poor suspension!!!

Sea2Summit Whistler Race Report

2006-09-14T14:40:00.000-07:00

The Whistler Sea2Summit race was a perfect way to wrap up another adventure racing season. It was a two day race, this past weekend, staged out of Whistler Resort. The race was pretty tough for me, as again I went at it solo, but I finished strong… not amazing overall, but the first solo female to finish, so that was exiting!

Keelan (my amazing partner and support) and the wicked Red Mobile, and I left early Friday morning for Whistler. Because of all the forest fires, we drove north (through Merrit, etc and down through Pemberton) to avoid all the smoke.

It was a gorgeous drive with some scary switchbacks! Friday night we had some time to wander around the village, have a yummy dinner and then head to the race briefing. We had planned to crash with Dean (the race director) on the floor of his condo - but when we showed up around 10pm - it was a zoo and it didn't look like anywone would be getting much sleep for hours to come!! I decided that I needed sleep even more than I needed to save money - so we went looking for a cheap hotel. We got a great rate at the Coast Hotel, so stayed there, which was a VERY good decision - ahhh KING BEDS!!!

Saturday morning came early, as we had to be on the road shortly after 6am to make the drive out past Pemberton to the paddle start.

It was cool and overcast – which is a nice way to race. The paddle was 25km down a pretty quick moving river. The start was fun, with lots of boats going in all directions. I paddled hard, but again, I can’t keep up with the double kayaks… It was fun paddling in a current though, there were even some spots with little haystack waves to rip through. Some people weren’t as comfortable as I am in the water, and there were some wet and cold kayakers coming into the first Transition.

The first transition was quick, and after chugging a boost and stuffing a few more bars into my pack, it was onto the bike. Now – Dean had said that this 55km bike would take 5ish hours AND that it included 4-8 km of hike a bike. I think that Dean was mistaken or on crack. The hike a bike was more like 15 – 500km and the bike leg took me 8 hours. I honestly pushed, carried and hauled my bike more than I rode it (my Jamis bike was wicked for this – SO MUCH LIGHTER than the old clunker!!). And when I was actually riding the bike, it was slogging UP and Up and Up… But, there was some wicked downhill at the end – AND in retrospect, it was an adventure!! (Although the last two hours of climbing were breaking me down mentally big time!) There was also a downhill section that hadn’t quite been cleared yet, single track with alders that were totally grown in… it is always exiting to go ripping downhill when you can’t see anything!!

In the process of ‘hiking my bike’, I don’t even know how many times I kicked my pedals, had them slam into my shins and calves, or basically fell of small drops while trying to carry my bike up or down them.

Four days later, my legs are BLACK – it really does look like someone beat my legs with a pipe. Due to the ‘trauma’ (says the doctor), my legs and feet are wicked swollen… fun stuff.. and my lovely co-worker John says that I am hobbling around like a 90 year old with fat feet!!

BUT – back to the race. The first day ended at the base of Whistler Mountain. Because we had to ride through the village to get there, the clock officially stopped at the base of the downhill section and we had to make our way through the village at a ‘safe speed’. In order to make it ‘fun’, we had to do a little scavenger hunt along the way and pass by and identify certain landmarks. FINALLY, I got to the finish – where Keelan was waiting with warm clothes!!! I was the first solo female to cross the finish line and the ONLY one to make it through the full course – as other teams were re-routed along the highway as it got too late – read: they did NOT have to do the wicked climb from hell!

On the way back to the hotel- we stopped at a bike shop called Evolution to get my front disk break fixed. Within the first few km of biking, I noticed that my front disk was totally warped and rubbing… I truly hope no-one has to bike for 50 odd km UP mountains with their front break half on!!! The guy at the bike shop was wicked – he rebuilt my break as it was super messed up and only charged me 5$!!! Woohoo!

After a LONG hot shower, Keelan and I headed out to the Brew House, where we could use our coupons for free burgers and beer (thanks to S2S and the Brew House for that!) Keelan used his, and I decided to save mine for Sunday, as I was craving veggies… I had a huge salad and garlic cheese bread – YUM!! Then, to bed I went. I slept like a baby that night – but as always, morning came way too early (5:30 alarm)!

The next morning – 13 hours after I finished biking the day before – we got back on our bikes again (at the base of Whistler Mountain) and we headed UP the mountain and over to Creekside.

Again, I found myself pushing my bike up steep hills – not my ideal way to start the day… but, at least the sun was out and the views were gorgeous. The rest of the 30km bike leg consisted of technical, rolling cross country trails. A little too technical for my taste, but again, the bike was wicked and I made it through without any major wipeouts!! I love that I can fully lock out my bike – we had about 5km of road riding at the end of this leg, and with a flick of a switch, my full suspension bike was rigid and fast!!

The second day’s paddle took us down a windy creek and out onto a gorgeous lake.

We paddled to the end of the lake, checked in with a volunteer and paddled back to the TA – it was fun and quick – about 1:20 for me… I was having lots of fun, as I got to see all the fast guys coming back in from the paddle as I was heading out. My goal was to be on the water by the time the first place guy was coming off…

In my confused little head, I thought that the 10km trail run/orienteering section would be quick and easy (the last leg of the race). Well… the run started off great, as my legs were light and fast and I was just flying along the trails. Then, I was stopped dead in my tracks as I came to a checkpoint and Dean handed me my orienteering map with the location of the five controls I needed to find. Honestly, I was so disoriented, that I didn’t even know which direction to start heading in… I think I spent a good 30 minutes running in circles before I bumped into another girl (Shelly- she was doing the one day race). She was also lost, although less so than I was. We stayed together the rest of the time and were somewhat productive in finding our way. I am still mad when I think about this though, as my time on the trek/run was an hour more than it should have been… but oh well…

I still managed to hold onto the First Place Title for Solo Women, so that was exiting!!

After the race, I had a hot shower, Keelan and I went out for burgers and beer, I had a nap, we went out again to eat – this time for sushi, we went to the awards, then back to the hotel for a mini nap and some GIN and then out to the after party at Dean’s condo – where we whooped it up until the wee hours!!! (what a productive afternoon of eating, drinking and sleeping!)

It was a great weekend – I was proud to be racing for Red Mountain Resort and Jamis Bikes. It was wicked to finish my season with a first place result – now it is time to ice the legs and start planning my adventures for 2007!!!

check out a full photo gallery here!!

Holidays are over...

2006-09-07T13:28:00.000-07:00

Well, the long weekend vacation is long over... The Dave concert was awesome!! It was his third night at the Gorge and he never repeats a song during his three days there. This meant that lots of my favorite songs were not played on sunday night, BUT he did play some rare stuff that I have never seen live.

It was a long HOT drive down into the desert (as the Van we were in did not have A/C), but we were drinking cold beer in the back, so we could not complain so much!

We got back monday afternoon and tuesday morning it was back to business. A couple of long runs and some technical mountain bike rides on the wicked JAMIS were scheduled in for this week. They were great - but it has been hazy and smoky here, so less than ideal running weather. This morning, I just went for a long walk as I am tapering for this weekend's Sea2Summit race in Whistler.

This race is another 2 day adventure race, I am competing solo and am proud to again be representing Red Mountain Resort. Keelan and I will be packing up the Red Mobile tonight and heading out for the 9+ hour drive bright and early in the morning.

As with every race, the hardest part is getting to the start line - and this has stayed true. First, I have been scrambling to change my boat rentals - as we are no longer able to go through Vancouver (and have to drive up north and down through Pemberton). There are lots of forest fires, and the Hope-Princeton Pass is full of smoke! So, picking up a boat at MEC or in Abbotsford is out of the question. I found a boat this morning!!! and confirmed that we do in fact have a place to crash with Dean and the S2S crew! (Thanks Dean!!) This saves me much $$ so I am a happy girl!

Speaking of Dean, here he is, hard at work - plotting new and exiting ways to torture his little racers!!!

So, tonight is grocery shopping, mad packing and loading of the truck, and tomorrow we hit the road. Stay tuned for news and pics from wicked Whistler!! I can't wait - it will be a truly EPIC race - woohoo!!

mental break...

2006-09-01T14:45:00.000-07:00

The mind is an amazing thing. The number of times that I have wanted to drop out of a race - my body starting to shut down with everything in pain... all I wanted to do was quit... but I didn't. Why? Because I knew how angry I would be the next day, how I would not let myself get over it for a long time. I made concious decisions that my physical suffering was nothing compared to the mental regret I would have if I did not keep going. Normally, after a while, I would get a second wind and feel so much better.

I have gone into races much less physically prepared than I should be - but I have done shockingly well, despite the lack of proper training. Why? Because I would not let my head listen to my body - and I just pushed through the pain.

On the other hand, there have been races where I have never been more physically ready, yet I have had crappy results... Why? because I just didn't care anymore. My heart and my head were tired of racing, training and being on... i just didn't care.

How amazing that the one piece of my body that I don't really think to train for sports, has more influence than any other muscle in my body. It is a scary thing... but also I am glad that I am learning this.

I have had a busy summer of racing - lots of different and new events. I can feel that I am getting tired though - my motivation to work out is slipping... I find myself being ok with taking more and more slack days... this is NOT me!!

I have another wicked race next weekend - the Sea2summit 2 day Adventure Race in Whistler... I am so exited to race - but I also know that I am starting to be burnt out... So... plans for the long weekend - Not racing.... not training!!!

We - me, Keelan and a bunch of friends are going to THE GORGE in Washington to see Dave Mathews Band and OAR perform!!! I am SO EXITED!! As all of you who know me know... I LOVE DAVE!!! (Keelan has been warned that I might be embarrassing to stand beside at the show)... we are leaving sunday morning, seeing the sunday night concert and coming back monday. How HOT Dave in this picture??? (obsessed, i know...)

I am doing a wicked 4 hour road ride tomorrow with some girlfriends - which will be awesome... but that isn't really training... more socializing with the girls... ;-)

I will report back next week about the concert and how awesome it was!!!

I guess I can swim afterall...

2006-08-23T09:46:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I attempted my first Olympic Distance Triathlon (1.5k, 40k, 10k) in Kelowna. It was a hot and sunny day and the water was fairly calm off the start. Short version - 2h 38 m 4 s - 11/35 in my category.

long version:

Joanna, Rita and I left Rossland on Saturday morning and headed to K-Town. We spent the early afternoon shopping (obviously) and checking into the hotel. Then we headed downtown to register for the event and attend the briefing. We also dropped off our bikes in the transition area and had a wicked pasta dinner (also put on by the Apple Triathlon). It was an early night as we had to be at the race start before 7 the next morning.

All three of us were in the same wave start - at 8:10 - but we had to be out of the transition area an hour before that, as the first wave of racers went off just after 7am. We got there early and spent the time getting our transitions set up

and getting wetsuits on (everybody but me that is!)

Then we went down to the beach to watch the earlier waves take off - wow the swim course looked long!! Two laps???

So... the swim started for us, with a beach start and within the first 30sec I thought I was going to drown. Then I realised I should stop sprinting and get into a good pace. I also got used to getting kicked in the face and ingesting disgusting Lake Okanagan water. The first lap felt good - and the second lap felt even better! I came out of the water in 30:43 (slow, but not bad for zero swim training)... my transition could have been faster, but it wasn't bad. The bike was a four loop course and it was awesome. There was one "biggish" climb, which I thought was awesome and the rest was rolling hills and flat. I passed lots of people here and made up great time (the 40km in 1:15:25). The transition to run was a little slow, but I wanted to take some eload pills as it was hot out and I had been sweating lots of salt.

The run was two laps and the first one was quite painful (AND I was breaking in brand new running shoes that I bought the day before :-) The second lap was much better as I was almost done - I finished the run in 47:29 (not bad - speed work might help) and finished my first tri with a time of 2hours, 38 minutes and 4 seconds!! (according to others, this is a decent time.)

I ranked 11/35 women in my age group (25-29) and 58/189 women overall. This gave me a final ranking of 195/442 racers, which is awesome!!

top third in my group was beyond my goal of not being last! I love this sport and will train for next season... goal: REDUCE SWIM TIME!!!

PS: LOVED the sugoi tri suit!! It was not wet and gross after the swim (really thin fabric made it super quick dry), the padding in the shorts was just enough and it was wicked comfy to wear all day - even post race!!