Well it's finally here - Italy 2011. Our flight leaves tonight from Pearson direct to Rome where we'll be until Saturday. Saturday we take the train to the Tuscany region where we'll spend the week cycling, going to the beach, and eating wonderful food fresh from the local markets.
60 - 120km a day of riding is on the agenda that second week with lots of village stops for panini and gelato. A couple of epic days are planned including a 110km trip to Voltera (Twilight fans will recognize the name of this place) that includes LOTS of climbing.
I'm nervous and excited and will return in two weeks with lots of pictures. Until then - trilikemary out...
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Monday, May 9, 2011
97 Is Less Than 100
I just noticed my ticker today and it says 97 days. I'm less than 100 days from my first Half Ironman. Oh boy.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
The Most Fun I've Ever Had Getting My Ass Handed To Me!
My first ever team time trial was yesterday and ended up being one of the funnest days I've had on a bike so far. The local Bike Sabbath group organized it and eight teams of four participated. If you go to the link that's me in the white helmet at the top of the collage.
The weather gods were smiling on us because it was the most perfect day weather wise for riding. Sunny and clear, about 60 degrees at race start time and best of all, negligible wind! My team was one of two all female teams. My friend Dawn was the only other woman and raced on a team of boys (and held her own btw - they took second place).
We went all out for 60k and finished in 2 hours and 7 minutes for an average speed of 28.3 km per hour (or just over 17.5 mph for my US friends). That's pretty decent for newbies over the course of 60k and was certainly faster than we thought we'd go. We learned that next time we can certainly benefit from some proper pace-lining but we got it done! I must admit that the final 10k was a test of mental toughness for me and when we crossed the finish line I got off my bike on really shaky legs. Immediately following the race Sydney and I changed into run gear and did a 15 minute transition run because we're tough like that. ;-)
Even with a 20 minute handicap we came in last place but crossed the finish line strong which was really the main goal in the first place for me. It was a great day with friends riding bikes with the added bonus of some eye candy in the form of a skinsuit.
I hope everyone is experiencing the beautiful weather we're having here. I'm off for a one hour run (we'll see how the calves like that!) and then some gardening!
The weather gods were smiling on us because it was the most perfect day weather wise for riding. Sunny and clear, about 60 degrees at race start time and best of all, negligible wind! My team was one of two all female teams. My friend Dawn was the only other woman and raced on a team of boys (and held her own btw - they took second place).
We went all out for 60k and finished in 2 hours and 7 minutes for an average speed of 28.3 km per hour (or just over 17.5 mph for my US friends). That's pretty decent for newbies over the course of 60k and was certainly faster than we thought we'd go. We learned that next time we can certainly benefit from some proper pace-lining but we got it done! I must admit that the final 10k was a test of mental toughness for me and when we crossed the finish line I got off my bike on really shaky legs. Immediately following the race Sydney and I changed into run gear and did a 15 minute transition run because we're tough like that. ;-)
Even with a 20 minute handicap we came in last place but crossed the finish line strong which was really the main goal in the first place for me. It was a great day with friends riding bikes with the added bonus of some eye candy in the form of a skinsuit.
I hope everyone is experiencing the beautiful weather we're having here. I'm off for a one hour run (we'll see how the calves like that!) and then some gardening!
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
April in Review
It's that time again! Let's review how April went training wise.
Swimming - 14,950 meters in 8.83 hours (32.08% of my training time). That is 5,150 meters more than last month is 3.58 hours more time. Wow! That is a huge increase. March was a bad month for swimming though considering the amount of time I was sick.
Biking - 8.92 hours mostly on the trainer (32.38% of my training time). That's a couple of hours less than March. Why is that? Hmmm. I did manage two rides outside at the end of the month. Hopefully May's stats will include distances and average speeds.
Running - 87.96 kilometres in 9.78 hours (35.53% of my training time). That is almost 9 kilometres more than last month.
May should be an interesting month. I have a 60km team time trial bike race this Saturday. We will come in last, without a doubt, but were encouraged to enter a team by a good friend that is organizing it. There are no prizes and times are reported on the honour system so it's SUPPOSED to be a fun event. We'll see how it turns out. I'm hoping for decent temperatures and no rain!
I'm also headed to Italy for two weeks. The first week in Rome and the second in Tuscany for the cycling part of the trip. I'm a little nervous about missing two week's worth of swims but will certainly get my riding time in!
I hope you all had a successful month of April and that May is good to you!
Swimming - 14,950 meters in 8.83 hours (32.08% of my training time). That is 5,150 meters more than last month is 3.58 hours more time. Wow! That is a huge increase. March was a bad month for swimming though considering the amount of time I was sick.
Biking - 8.92 hours mostly on the trainer (32.38% of my training time). That's a couple of hours less than March. Why is that? Hmmm. I did manage two rides outside at the end of the month. Hopefully May's stats will include distances and average speeds.
Running - 87.96 kilometres in 9.78 hours (35.53% of my training time). That is almost 9 kilometres more than last month.
May should be an interesting month. I have a 60km team time trial bike race this Saturday. We will come in last, without a doubt, but were encouraged to enter a team by a good friend that is organizing it. There are no prizes and times are reported on the honour system so it's SUPPOSED to be a fun event. We'll see how it turns out. I'm hoping for decent temperatures and no rain!
I'm also headed to Italy for two weeks. The first week in Rome and the second in Tuscany for the cycling part of the trip. I'm a little nervous about missing two week's worth of swims but will certainly get my riding time in!
I hope you all had a successful month of April and that May is good to you!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)