Run, Run, Run!!!

Today was my first day actually incorporating multiple elements into my training regime. I pushed myself for a pretty grueling 30 minutes on the stationary bike and then moved over to the treadmill where I walked 2 minutes/ran 2 minutes for 30 minutes (but really running - like 'OMG there is an axe yielding madman chasing me' running), all with Stacy and Clinton's sarcastic, egomaniacal humour to distract me. I must say; it went pretty well. I may have had to engage my hands and knees in the process of climbing the one set of stairs up to the ladies change room after; but I didn't want my upper body to feel left out of todays workout!

I have also been working on constructing a high energy play list, that I was planning to put to good use with some outdoor running. (At least that was my plan before it got all wintery and snowy.) This exercise has taught me one thing about my taste in music. That is; nothing I listen to makes me want to get up and go for a run. My music is really more...hmm...I'd love another cup of coffee, but that would require that I put my book down and get out from under the covers; not really move yo' booty material. So, I am currently going through a modern, urban music crash course and I have settled on the following:

Please hold all mockery and judgement until you occupy the treadmill next to me :). Here goes:

1. Hey Mama - Black Eyed Peas
2. Right Round - Flo Rida
3. Pon de Replay - Rihanna

And la piece de resistance...

4. Jump Around - House of Pain (How awesome is that!!??!!??)

This adds up to just under 15 minutes of huff and puff, so I will definitely need to beef this up. I am open to suggestions...

Bonne Weekend mes amis!

Lap of Luxury

The madness of a triathlon starts with the swimming component. This is the part that intimidates me the least, as I am actually a pretty strong swimmer. The part that gets me a bit nervous is that not only is the swim in open water, but you start off swimming in a tight pack. When the weather warms up, I can practice swimming in open water, but I have no idea how I'm going to get used to swimming in the middle of a pack. I may have to ask you all to come along to practice one day!

When I started seriously planning to start training for this I quit my stinky broken gym and joined the fancy club across the street from my work. I have already told you about the cable TV and is if that wasn't enough...they also have unlimited towels and a ridiculous amount of free toiletries in the change room. I don't have to take anything with me! It's glorious. But the best part...are you ready?...wait for it....I get unrestricted access to the pool at the Royal York Fairmount right across the street. Which is beyond awesome. It has a lovely hot tub, a steam room, sauna, unlimited towels (and theirs even cover your bum, unlike the ones at the gym!) all the fixin's of a hotel bathroom in the change room and lemonade. Yeah, that's right; freshly squeezed lemonade. And the people are all friendly and walk around making sure you don't need anything. I'm doing laps in luxury! My only complaint is that it's only a 15 metre pool, which means I have to be really careful not to push off too hard because I find myself doing two strokes to get across. I always add an extra 4 laps to however many I'm supposed to be doing to account for my glide time. I am usually the only person in the pool, which is also a big plus.

All these amenities are making working out actually a treat. I don't miss the smells like foot, broken equipment, pre/post prison work-out gym in the slightest.

In Memory of Peter E Harrison

My Grand Dad died on a Sunday. I turned 29 the following Thursday. The 12 days in between were a time of reflective thought for me and I don't know why exactly, but loosing my Grand Dad has impacted me as I would have never imagined. I thought a lot about the young man that he was, a man I knew virtually nothing about. I imagined the challenges that he encountered as a boy and young man. I pondered the significance of his time at war. I considered the immense sacrifices that he made for his family over the years. I agonized at the thought of rampant sickness taking over his body. My Grand Dad was the strongest man I have ever known, in every sense of the word and the last time I saw him, he was merely a shadow of himself. As I thought about these things in grief I started to analyze myself and my life. All I could think about was the one thing that my Grand Dad told me more then anyone else, " you can do whatever it is you want to do.' The more I thought about this, the more I actually started to believe it. That's when I decided that I have to do something.

Cancer is what ultimately took my Grand Dad, but Parkinson's Disease is what debilitated him over the years and stole him little by little. That is why I am participating in this event as a member of The Michael J Fox Foundations Team Fox. Here is the link to my Team Fox page. I haven't spent much time there and it deserves some attention in the near future. I will keep you posted as I update it.

http://www.teamfox.org/siteapps/personalpage/ShowPage.aspx?c=pjJ0J8MHIoE&b=5594023&sid=lvK1KcPQIbIYIiMUJsF&elid=3176764077

I loved my Grand Dad dearly and I feel the need to find some good in all of the sadness.

I will resume the happy entries tomorrow, but I wanted to give you some background on this project and where the strength is coming from...because it is amazing where you can find strength when you are pretty sure that there is none left.

Progress...

Me. Treadmill. Running. 14 minutes. Thank you very much.

After sharing my running woes from early this week it has been brought to my attention that I was perhaps attempting to run at quite a ridiculous speed. Who knew!?! I turned that sucker down and was able to go almost 5 times longer! YeYay! The fact that the lady next to me had her machine set at a higher level and was walking comfortably is not relevant!

After running my 14 minutes (and learning that the hairstylist from America's Next Top Model now has her own show - really some of you are going to loose a lot of respect for me as you learn about my complete garbage taste in TV - but this is why we don't have cable at home...)...anyway, where was I?...oh yes...after running my 14 mins (note; I'm not given you distance achieved for a reason) I moved myself over to the stationary bike for another 15 minutes (I really wanted to see the end of the show and couldn't go another step on that blasted treadmill) and I started to wonder if the Triathlon organizing committee would take issue with me completing the bike portion of the race on my own bike, which looks something comme ca...



Beauty, huh? Okay, that isn't the exact same model. Mine has a hibiscus stenciled on the seat and big white basket on the front.

Maybe Ara will let me borrow his bike. It least his has multiple gears. Ah whatever, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

Seeing as I wasn't actually able to complete the training components of week #1, next week will be week #1 (take 2). Tomorrow is a day off and then I hit the pool on Monday.

Hope everyone is having a splendid weekend.

3 minutes

Running. Is. Really. Hard.

I was all geared up to run for 20 minutes at a nice pace. My laces doubled knotted. Water and ipod within reach. And I was off. When the sweat started to pool excessively in unmentionable places and the burning in my thighs started to become unbearable, I looked down at the clock to see that I had been running for all of 3 minutes and 10 seconds. Oh dear. This is going to be a little harder then I thought.

I slowed to a rushed walk (elbows high and bum out...you know the walk). Now that I wasn't running I was able to actually play with the settings on the TV attached to the treadmill. That was when the most beautiful thing happened. I learned that the TV's at the gym have cable. As in The Food Network, Discovery and my all time favourite...TLC. I almost teared up when I learned that What Not to Wear is on from 5pm-6pm everyday. And all I have to do to watch it is show up at the gym and plug myself into some exercise contraption. This is going to be good!

I'll work on the running thing and let you know how that goes. Maybe by next week I'll be able to go for 5 minutes!

Cable. Television. Sweet.

What's the definition of "triathlon" anyway?

I can't believe the swarm of support and motivation I have received in the last 24 hours. I sure do know some pretty amazing people. So, now that I've had a full day to soak in the admiration; I guess it's time for me to come clean...I am not really going to do a full blown triathlon. That was my original plan, but then I looked it up. Do you know exactly what is involved in a triathlon??? Well, let me tell you. First you have to swim 750m, then bike for 30km, and then if your legs are still listening to your brain signals, you must run for 7.5km. And that my frineds, is not even the Olympic distance!

No, I will be participating in the "Give-It-A-Tri" series (get it? Tri! Witty, huh?). These races are designed for first time racers (me!) and are slightly more reasonable. First you swim 400m, then bike 10km and then run 2.5km. Baby steps!

Thanks to the trusty interweb, I have located a 10 week training guide that I will be following. Here is what I have in store for week#1:

Day #1: Bike 30 mins
Day #2: Run 20 mins
Day #3: Day off :)
Day #4: Bike 40 mins
Day #5: Run 15 mins
Day #6: Day off :) :)

Okay...this is a bit modified to accomodate the fact that I started on a Tuesday. I eliminated the swimming, because I figure that I can make that part up. (Slacking already...I know, I know)

30 mins on the bike and I kept it above 85 RPM the entire time and travelled 7.58 something or other. The bike I was on didn't actually stipulate whether it is kilometres or miles or what. I'm going with miles because I was peddling really fast and sweating a lot! I guess I'd better figure that out for next time.

Tomorrow...I RUN!

Well, here we go...

Project Action, is just what it sounds like. I am ready to start taking action. It is time for me to start actually doing all of the things that I have eluded to doing in the past. I want to stop thinking about what I could do and figure out what I can do. First and foremost I would like to embrace the most literal meaning of the word action. I am going to get moving and get fit. For all of you out there that know me, brace yourself for what's coming next.

ACTION #1: Starting tomorrow February 16, 2010, I am going to start training for a Triathlon.

I realize how completely insane this sounds, believe me! It has actually taken me almost 3 weeks to commit this to writing. Which brings me to action #2.

ACTION #2: I am going to start writing. This is something that I have always talked about doing and short of the on-again, off-again journal writing, I have always excused myself from putting pen to paper for one reason or another. Well, now I have a topic and an outlet. I am going to document my daily efforts and struggles on this blog as I work towards my goal. And yes, I fully intend and wholly expect that you will all laugh at me along the way.

ACTION #3: I will write about this in more depth as we carry on, but I am not just doing all this for myself. Project Action 2010 was actually born out of grief and a feeling of utter helplessness. The loss of my Grand Dad in January 2010 and his truly brave battle with Parkinson's disease has inspired me to...well...take action! I will be asking people to sponsor me in my triathlon and with the help of Team Fox (The Michael J. Fox Foundation), raising as much money and support as I can for Parkinson's research.

There is a lot to digest here and I have a lot to tell you about if you choose to follow and support me in this journey. I hope you do.