It's All About The Bike - Weekly Wrap

Happy Sunday and Happy Early Fourth of July to my American readers!  I hope you're all enjoying a glorious long weekend.   We also had a long weekend this weekend.  It was Canada Day on July 1st.   The studio also happens to be closed tomorrow so I don't have to go back in to work until Tuesday.  It's been a nice long vacation as I've been off for over a week.  It seems like a lot longer.  That's definitely a sign of a (mostly) good vacation .  I feel well rested and ready to get back at it.

My 3 favourite weeks of summer started yesterday:  the Tour de France is on!   This will be the only thing I watch over the next three weeks, ha ha.   For me, it signals the real start of summer.   July is always all about the bike and this year will be no exception, given the fact that I'm still not really running regularly.  I went out earlier this week and there was still a bit of discomfort but it's much better than it was.  I don't know that I'm ready to start building things up just yet though.  Since I'm not spending time on two feet,  I've been spending more time on two wheels.  I haven't swam in over a week but I'm going to get back into the pool tomorrow, which is not going to be pretty.  Watching the US Olympic swimming trials has inspired me to get my butt back in the water, ha ha.

I've also made a pact with myself to get back into the gym on a regular basis.  I'm not loving the way my clothes are fitting these days (a little TOO tight around the waist and thighs!) and my arms have become toothpicks again so it's time to put some muscle back on them!

I've go no races on the horizon so I'm just being active for the sake of being active.  Which is a refreshing change of pace for me.  I don't need to follow a plan or watch my power numbers or anything like that right now.  If I don't feel like doing something, I don't.  Like on Saturday morning, we drove up to the Quarry, thinking we'd do an open water swim but it was cold and windy out.  So, we didn't bother.  We hung out with some friends that were there, had our coffee and then got ready to ride.  I probably should have just slept in but whatever.  I got this cool shot and I got a big hug from my friend Irina so it was worth it.

So given I've gotten back into a bit of a workout groove this past week, I'm going to link up with Tricia and Holly for their weekly wrap.

Monday:  OFF  - spent a fair bit of time walking around Mont Tremblant, played mini golf and did some shopping.

Tuesday:  61km ride in Tremblant with the hubs.  I can't believe he rode all the hills with me two days post half ironman.  If that's not love, I don't know what is.

Wednesday:  OFF - Drove home from Tremblant

Thursday:  4.2km run followed by 45 minutes of strength work at the gym (!!!)

Friday:  50km ride out to Mississauga and back.  We literally sprinted home to beat the rain.

Saturday:  62km in the wind on my tri bike.   I felt REALLY good which was a nice change of pace!And I got to ride with some friends I haven't seen in a while.

Sunday:   76km around the 'burbs in the wind, again.  Just G and I, which was nice.  I was pretty happy to get 3 decent rides in over 3 days.

Total time: 10 hours 8 minutes.  Whoa.  Nice to know that I can still have a solid week of training!  It's amazing what you can do when you don't have to work, ha ha.

This week I think I'm going to join the Morning Glory crew for my first ride with them this year.  I hadn't been feeling very strong on the bike but I think a lot of that was in my head because of my injury.  So, I'll see how my legs feel on Tuesday and see if I can hang on for one or two laps with the MGCC Crew.  Friday will be the BIG test as to how much I love my bike, ha ha.

How was your week?  How did you celebrate the long weekend? 

The Ultimate Coffee Date - July is Here

Howdy!  I'm linking up with Deborah,  Lynda and Coco for the July edition of their Ultimate Coffee Date.  I promised myself I'd get back to regular blogging this month so here we go!

If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that I've actually adjusted to NOT having running in my life.   Do I miss it?  Of course.  But I don't feel LOST without it like I did a couple of months ago.  Probably because I've gotten on my bike more.  And probably because I no longer have a goal race on the horizon.   I did my first run in over 3 weeks on Thursday and while it wasn't pain free, it was pretty close so, I think I may be able to reintroduce running back into my life soon.

If we were having coffee,  I'd tell you that this whole selling the house business is STRESSFUL.  We staged the house so there are all these lovely things around that we can't use.   Which means we are  kind of living in a museum.  We have to put everything away, make the bed in the morning so it looks perfect, use different towels than the ones that are in the bathroom and generally keep things shoved in the cupboards or closets.    I DO love the way the house looks when everything is put away, but that's just not how we live.

Our bed NEVER looks like this!  

If we were having coffee,  I'd probably say that this time off is exactly what I've needed.  I feel relaxed, I'm sleeping well and my head feels clear.  I definitely needed this break. The best part?  I don't have to back to work until TUESDAY so I still have a few more days of vacation!  WOOHOO!

If we were having coffee,  I'd confess that I'm a little unhappy with my body these days.  More specifically with how my clothes fit.  I've lost a lot of muscle in my upper body and my hips and thighs have gotten very "soft".  I can tell by the way all my pants and shorts fit.  I've also lost a fair bit of power in my legs.  I know I'm not out of shape but the shape of my body has changed and I know it's because I've stopped lifting regularly.   So, as part of my rehab, I'm making a point of getting back into the gym.  I'm going to work at getting my muscles back!  Cause it's summer and when the suns out, the guns should be out.  Except that right now I have no guns, ha ha.

Moving along....

If we were having coffee, I'd let you in on a little adventure that I'm going to be taking on next week. A couple of my friends and I are planning on riding from Toronto to Hunstville next Friday "just because".   For those of you that aren't familiar with Ontario, it's roughly 250km (155 miles) from Toronto to Huntsville and it's pretty much all uphill going north.   The farthest I've ever ridden is 180km (112 miles) so this should be interesting.  We're not in a rush and we plan on stopping to refuel.  The end goal is to volunteer at Muskoka 70.3 on Sunday so we thought why not ride up on the Friday, lie around on the Saturday, volunteer on the Sunday and head home in the afternoon after the race.   G will drive up on Friday afternoon with all my stuff so when we get to Huntsville at some point in the early evening (hopefully), I'll have clean clothes and most importantly, my pjs.  Because I'm pretty sure I'm going to shower, eat all the food and pass out.  This will definitely be documented in a future blog post.


What things would you share if we were having coffee?