My First Triathlon - age 39

The challenge: 750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run.

The times: 24, 55, 36 = NOT LAST! 

When I signed up for this back in January, I had already started my training- I had started taking swimming lessons to correct my layperson swimming strokes. I went from gasping for air and burning lungs after 50m swim to decently pulling off over 1 km! My goal: to finish the full trace in 2.5 hours or better, if I could manage it.

Anyway- so as the day approached I started to feel excited and nervous, not really knowing what to expect, but confident that I could get through it. My biggest fear being hitting a wall at 2hours and not being finished, then having to drag myself through the last part of the run walking.

The day before:

My trusty friend Bill and I (and his dear wife, Nadine, who was our moral support!) headed over to the site to pick up our race packets and we were allowed to try out the water (the Olympic rowing basin, for those who don’t know). The weather was a million degrees of humidity, so we figured it would be good to get a swim in anyway J

The water:

Oh. My. God. For those of you who are lake swimmers, you would have been like, “meh.. it’s murky, but it’s pretty warm and calm, so I am good”. For us pool swimmers though… What a shock. I got in thinking “eww.. I can’t even see through the water.. and there are lots of plants” then I dove in to try a few strokes. PANIC!!! Total panic gripped me!  As in: can’t breathe, heart-pounding, gripping panic! I could see nothing under the water but brown-grey nothingness, a total abyss, I assume that the bottom had gotten all stirred up by the swimmers, but it was like my eyes and brain could not compute at all.. Jesus- I flipped onto my back and tried to get myself under control.. “Meghan, you gotta pull yourself together lady.. Jeezz.. you can’t let this get to you! C’mon, a little at a time. 1 stroke.. another.. stop panicking! Honestly… you can do it!” Anyway, with Bill talking me through it (a lot) and me trying to not drown (also a lot), and a lousy 300 m later I had hacked my way back to the shore with a sense of “holy sh*t, this is a new obstacle”.

Race Day:

Woke up with a sense of dread and foreboding. Good start to the day! Then I looked out the window: Rain and wind; excellent. That did nothing to lessen my feelings of “help!! I am crazy!” and my stomach was in lava knots- I couldn’t sit still. I ate, quadruple checked my bags, yelled at the kids a bit (I was stressed! It’s not my fault) and got picked up promptly at 11.

Once we were there and set up all I had left to do was wait for my wave time to start. In the pouring rain. I was getting soaked and cold and I was in the grips of fear and trepidation as I looked out over that damned water.  I knew it would be murkier than ever due to the weather. They announced that anyone who didn’t feel 100% about their swim could don a silver cap so that the staff in kayaks could keep a special eye out. I got one right away! That made me feel the tiniest bit better.

The Swim:

The starter goes off. Jesus. What am I doing here? This is crazy, no one should pay to do this! I wade in after all the yellow caps go ahead… Well at least the water is warm. And I have long sleeves to ward off the plants. Ok.. let’s do this (pushes self into the water).. panic! PANIC!!No.. no panic, breast stroke, breast stroke, you can do it.. A bit of freestyle? Hmm? You know.. the DAMNED STROKE YOU HAVE BEEN PRACITICING FOR A YEAR?? A few strokes, PANIC.. no, no.. you can do it…oh look, the first marker! .. don’t quit, you got this. Stroke, stroke….WEEDS! PANIC!! Ok.. breast stroke, breast stroke, back stroke… Oh finally, the white marker! Halfway there!!! Jeez this is long…  I wonder if I can clear 30 minutes! AAAHH! Lots of plants!! Ugh.. panic! No, no… swim, swim, you are ok, look only about 200 meters to go, you got this! (makes up silly song to keep myself company) Oh.. there goes the next wave passing me.. hahahahah!! (delirium setting in, clearly).. The sand! THE SAND!!!I did it! I FRIGGING DID IT!!! Whoa.. a bit wobbly on the exit, but I am still standing and really happy I didn’t quit out there..

The Bike:

After sitting on my butt in a puddle to get my socks and shoes on (still raining, in fact, it’s raining a bit harder, just to show us who’s boss I guess), I grab my helmet and bike and head out to the track. I get on and get going. First lap is slow as my legs are having an unpleasant conversation with me that goes a bit like this “um.. we can’t be biking now- we usually sit and have a nice morning coffee after we swim.. so.. let’s just go do that, ok? Hey? OK??” But by the second lap I seem to have found my rhythm and am back to making up silly songs to myself and grinning at all the nice people passing me.  By the third lap (1 more to go after this one!) I feel like yelling at people “look at me! I am doing this! And it’s pretty neat!” but I don’t want to scare people, so I just keep singing away to myself. As I hit the final lap I am grinning away like an idiot and happy to come to the end of the biking portion. That was way better than I had expected! Yay!

The Run:

Reminding myself to not forget to remove my helmet, I walk over to the run starting line (my left hip having decided to not cooperate and seize up for a few minutes) then I figure.. well- this is the last bit. Let’s get going! And I start to run very slowly (the legs are having another unpleasant conversation, but I manage to shut them up and find a bit of a groove).  Hunh.. look at me! I am running! Like for real! AFTER all that crazy stuff! Feeling pretty awesome I start grinning away at the people passing me on the run, then I see the 1 Km marker.. It cannot be only 1Km? Surely this is a joke? We MUST be at least at 2 km… oh man… better start singing again. Or at least chatting with myself to pass the time as my legs start burning. Oh look.. 2km! Cool… Humming and running, that is what I am doing.. humming and running (slowly, but never giving up!)…  Oh! Is that 4 Km? Really?? OMG! I am going to pass someone! FOR THE FIRST TIME TODAY!!! OOOHHHH… As I get closer I see his age: 70 (we all have it written on our calf), I peek at his race bib it says “Esprit Olympic”. I give him a huge smile and a thumbs up and say “way to go!” (he probably thought I was nuts, but that is ok) since he has just done twice what I have, yep.. his Olympic distance at nearly twice my age is twice everything I had done that day. And that was damned inspiring…

The Finish Line:

I know you are supposed to sprint that last 100 metres, but It was all I could do to complete the race at all.. so I just kept up my snail's pace run, sweating, feet soaked from all the rain, and crossed that line, knowing that I had accomplished a huge and wonderful thing. And a really cool part was hearing my name over the loudspeakers as I crossed (my chip registering on some laptop near the announcer) Meghan Corbeil, from Pointe-Claire! And I had a teary moment…

The Thanks:

I have lots of gratitude for those who have helped me get to this and get through it! My sincerest thanks go to:

·      - Catherine So and family for lending me gear and being so supportive of my crazy ventures.

·      - Nancy Wood, for gear lending, solid advice and actually being my inspiration to do this thing in the first place!

·     -  Ken Wood, for lending me a bike! A proper bike makes all the difference!

·      - David Wood for never doubting me, helping me carve out training time in our busy schedule, and for listening to my excited tiny advancements in swimming each week (and he biked over 50km one morning so I wouldn’t get lost biking to work!). I love you!

·     -  My whole for putting up with me J

·      - Bill and Nadine for helping me so much on race day and the day before, just the damned detours to get to the site would have done me in! I appreciate their mental support sooo much on race day. I don’t know if they realize how much they helped me get through it. 

Thank you all for believing in me and being so supportive J 

Transformation from passive observer to active participant

Wednesday found me running back and forth to Play it Again Sports 3 times as I bought and tried on equipment for my first EVER ringuette practice / experience. I had to trade in my skates because they were too big (who knew?), got as much of my equipment second hand as possible (there are a LOT of pieces!), and got my stick cut and taped it myself – thanks youTube! I traded my plastic face guard on the helmet for a cage style one so I would not be bothered by fogging of my face guard (not that I had ever experienced this- but since I am such a beginner, I thought I would take all the help I could get). By Wednesday night I had packed my bag – borrowed from Jac along with a few pieces of equipment ;) and was ready.

Thursday came along- and I got into the car, heading off to Beaconsfield Arena – I had never been there before- and my nerves started mounting. The What-Ifs started to get to me: what if I am the ONLY beginner? What if I can’t even skate? What if I am so bad no one wants me on their side? What if? WHAT IF??? So it was with a certain amount of terror and trepidation that I rolled into the change rooms at the arena at 630 Thursday evening.

I was careful to remember the order of putting on the equipment, tied my skates nice and tight clicked on my helmet, grabbed my new stick and wobbled out to the ice with all the other ladies. The ladies has all seemed to have done this before as they started skating around the perimeter of the ice to warm up, so I followed suit (slowly and very wobbly of course- I was clearly the least experienced skater), then the rings came out and one by one the ladies grabbed one smoothly and started warming up with them by continuing the perimeter skating while passing the ring out to the side boards and catching or “spearing” it as it came back to them. So, after studying it a few times I wobbled over to get a ring and give it a shot. It took a few tries (ok, ok, more than a few) but I started to get the hang of it. At this point I actually got a little thrill and a smile. I started to feel less “ohmygod!” and more “awesome!”

Then the instructors came out and divided us into 3 groups- beginner (I wasn’t alone!), intermediate and advanced and split the ice into 3 stations. Luckily, even though I was the least experienced, the other beginners wanted to start right at the beginning- with a few basic skating skills. I got the hang of doing “bubbles”, “C Cuts” and “backward Bubbles”. But I never really got the hang of “stopping”…. I guess it will come.

About halfway through the 50 minute session, I realized something was trickling down my face! Sweat was actually rolling down my face, you know, like in the cartoons! Whoa.. then once we got into our scrimmage (this was tiny, it was 4 on 4, across the centre of the ice and only between the blue lines). I actually had sweat drips on the end of my nose! What a work out, who knew? I was completely drenched. I tell you, I have even more respect for our little girls who sometimes play 3 or 4 games in a weekend..

Scrimmage time: the drill was to pass at least 3 times before shooting for our make-shift nets. It took our little beginner group a bit of time before we got the hang of it, but then we did! And I found myself being more aggressive in going for the ring.. and I even got 2 goals! 2 GOALS!! Imagine that? We all laughed and cheered for each other (even the other “team”) and had a lot of fun. I still can’t stop properly, but I have discovered a “go-get-‘em” side of me I never noticed before, and I felt amazing for hours afterwards. The only downside was that I was famished at 10pm after I had brushed my teeth and got into bed J

So, we will see what next Thursday evening brings, but I know that I look forward to lacing up again with the ladies and seeing if I can keep on improving at this game called ringuette. Never know, maybe Jac, James, David and I can get on the ice in the park this winter for a bit of a family game.

The road to the Spartan Warrior and beyond - 1h 52m 46s

As y’all know- last year my really late new year’s resolution (aka pouting over clothes that no longer fit- in the negative sense) led to me joining Weight Watchers and shedding almost 20 lbs. I have kept it off mostly (give or take 3 lbs) for about a year now and I still can’t believe how good it feels or that I did it. During a bad eating week, I wonder if I will wake up and boom- it’s all back. But no, I seem to have found a happy balance between portion control and wine and chocolate J

Then this year came along (rather quickly I might add) and I thought “Well, it’s all fine and dandy to lose weight, but what about some fitness? Girl, you are *seriously* lacking in the fitness department.” Again I thought of my kids, and how I wanted them to see me. How I wanted to be looked up to in a sense of living the life I am trying so hard to foster in my children. What good is it to tell my kids to be active and healthy if I wasn't able or willing to do it myself?

As I cast around for something to really challenge me, something un-Meghan like to pull me out of my comfort zone and give me a good reason to put my mind to it and get ‘er done with a sense of pride and accomplishment; I remembered something.. A race that involved mud and a bit of insanity.. Something a dear friend of mine once said she’d be into trying. I googled the Spartan Race, found that there was indeed a sprint (5k) in Montreal and I had 5 months to get into race mode. Hmm.. but how to make sure I don’t chicken out? I know! Get others to do it with me! Over the next while, the Spartaculars were born and I was now equipped with a motley crew as hell bent on accomplishing this as I was J

Now, when I say this Race was un-me, I am not kidding. I even said “ew” for the first 10-20 minutes of the race, until I hit the barbed wire section. Then it was “aw.. what the hell”..  anyway, I started to train, lightly at first.. trying to get my cardio up with dance classes, sledding, snurfing (well.. only sorta-kinda) and running. I met with a trainer who gave me weight exercises to work on and I embarked on a horribly erratic and nowhere near often enough training regime.  But I was optimistic.

Then all of a sudden; it was May. 3 weeks to go, then 2, then I was wondering; what in god’s name had I signed us up for?? Then.. It was May 25. A cold and dreary day after 2 weeks of cold and rain, and I was really starting to panic. What was I thinking? What if hypothermia sets in? What if I fall and break a bone? How the hell was I (little, not really active, me) going to pull this off? But I had my team. And that helped more than anything else, I felt more sure of myself with them, felt better when they admitted they were nervous and unsure of it all themselves.  And to be honest, I felt like if I could get through this, really do it and finish it… man, I could do anything.

Now, you’ve seen the pictures of a good handful of the challenges (thankfully there is not one of me being lifted off the ground by a cement block on a rope rather than me being able to lift it). It really was as cold and wet and difficult as it looked. But we kept at it, and for some reason almost all of the pictures have me smiling in them (the others have me looking terrified, but you know…), and I think it’s because I could not *believe* I was doing this crazy harebrained thing I had mentioned in an email over 5 months ago! I could not believe I was actually achieving my own personal challenge, and doing it with the 3 best ladies ever!  And really, what else can put a genuine smile on one’s face than that kind of accomplishment?

I have to say, the icing on the cake was when I tucked my little girl into bed that night and as she rolled over she said “mommy, it was so cool seeing you run up and down the mountain”.

And that right there, folks, is what it is all about.

A Note on Habits..

A Note on Habits..

Habits. Sigh.. It always seems like I have all the bad ones and none of the good ones.  Why is it we have to consciously try to keep good habits (eating well, exercising, going to be early- ok, well I got that one down pat), but bad habits just slink in and take hold almost before you realize it? (bad food and drink habits- I call those “yummy”, staying up late, not getting one’s rump out to exercise).

Just over a year ago, I was getting dressed and realized I would need to buy new clothes if I didn't change my eating habits. My epiphany (like so many others for sure) was “well, hell, if I need to buy new clothes because of my changing physique, then why not make it buying smaller sizes rather than yet again a bigger size?” Actually- in reality it was nowhere near that civilized. I think I threw a tantrum that would rival the most stubborn 2-year old and in tears said “I am NOT buying a size 12! Screw that!” and promptly signed up for weight watchers. So- a year later, I have managed to keep 17 lbs off for the most part (and in a size 6 pant! Whoo!)since June. All because I was forced (by logging food and drink every day) to CHANGE MY EATING HABITS. Omg.. it was really hard at first. But now I think I mostly have it all figured out. Some weeks are better than others and I still drink my wine and eat my chocolate (because let’s face it- any new eating regime that wants me to give that up is just not going to stick. No way). But I think I am mostly on a good path.

So: How do I make regular exercise a habit? That is a good habit I would like to take on- but it is such a struggle! I was not a very active kid. Well actually that is not true- like all kids, I played outside, had my beloved roller skates (the ones you buckle to your shoes!) and my aunt got me a bike when I was 10 (a 10 speed! It was red..) I lived on that bike. We all did really, all the kids in the neighbourhood did. But I did not do organized sports, ever. There really weren’t any that I know of at school (a fine arts school downtown) and coming from a single-parent family there was never money or time for such things. Only when I was in grade 9 did I discover the wonders of dance class (then I went all out in my obsessive way- taking every class I could possibly fit into budget and time. I think I spent grade 11 and 12 permanently in dance attire, with a sweater thrown over for when I attended academic classes between dance classes J). Then as an adult all activity ceased.. I never joined any sporting group because I frankly had no skills to offer, having never done that stuff, ever. And now I am too old and rickety to join any kind of serious dance class.

This all makes me realize just how important it is to instill good exercise habit in kids! Start when they are young! Then they will be active in some capacity forever. I see it in my friends who were active as kids and my in-laws.

My Spartan training has come to a grinding halt, simply because I am so damned busy being: mom, wife, employee, etc. etc. and also because I don’t have the HABIT of making my own exercise a priority (and let’s face it- I am no natural at any of it, so it is a grind for me to run, lift weights, or any of that stuff- just ask my dear friends who have seen me skate and snurf! I look a little like a fish out of water to say the least!). So as spring is springing I will once again kick my butt in gear (possibly I can race train with Jac since she is training too) and strap on my runners and hit the pavement. Sigh.. I just wish it was something I was driven to do instead of something I need to get me to do.

It doesn’t help that I feel like I start from scratch all the time- another downside to not being active my entire life. But I will get back in the saddle and do it. I wonder if I had a cheering crowd if that would help? J

I will wave to the old ladies and gentlemen that walk by me as I run J (this has happened- I hiked the Grouse Grind one year in Vancouver  with my father, and an elderly lady lapped me. I ran a race on Parc and along Pine – my first ever- and people were walking past me, but I never stopped!).

Get out and get active!

Exercise that makes sense to me.. The Mom vs. the Warrior

I went to the gym yesterday morning. And I was very happy to note that I did not die on my strength training and actually had that awesome running feeling at one point after the 5 minutes of oh-my-god-my-legs-are-going-to-explode bit at the beginning. The awesome “oh wow! What a cool feeling to be running! I FEEL LIKE A GAZELLE!” feeling lasted for a whole 4 minutes! (I honestly nearly giggled out loud).

I get the Spartan WOD (work out of the day) emails. And it’s really a bit of a joke. I can’t even do 1 burpee- never mind 30, with a 4 mile run and 100 crunches. I mean c’mon! besides the fact that I physically cannot DO that.. who the hell has *time* for that??? So..  I continue to get the emails because, hey, everyone needs a good chuckle in the morning.

That brings me to this question then:

How DO they find the time? If I had no family, no Hubby, no JOB and no house I might be able to devote the time required to do that level of training (again, a bit of suspended disbelief is in play here as I still can’t do a frickin’ burpee or a full push up..).

Clearly the above is not my case, and having highly active kids (yes.. We may do too much, but there are worse things you know!) begs the question: how do I find time to get into reasonable enough shape to a) complete the Spartan  that I have registered for in 5 months and b) not have a heart attack trying?

Well- by being a little inventive for one; and trying to commit to a certain time at the gym. I have decided that I can manage 2x per week at the gym. If I can get an extra in, that is even better. And the rest of the time? Gotta start being inventive.. Go sledding. Seriously.. real honest to goodness sledding is a work out (as long as you actually get on the sled- standing around chatting doesn’t count! J). The walk back up the hill 20 times in a row certainly counts as a work out to me. I am usually sweating and feeling it by the end of an hour on the hill.. Skating outside with the kids is another way- now that the deep freeze has passed I think I will start lacing up and getting out there with Jac and David (and bring James along too!) for some good old fashioned skating.

Other options: swimming. Not “I am off to do a billion laps” swimming. Good old free swim with the kids. IF you are playing with them, you are moving. That is better than sitting on your @$$ doing diddly… And the champion home-grown exercise in my house: the Wii.. yep. Just Dance 4 (or 3 or any one you might have) will give you a serious cardio workout in my house. We are very serious about our dancing- we get into tank tops and yoga pants,  and bare feet so you don’t  go careening into your fellow dancer (or a an innocent family member spectator). Water bottles are a must and you gotta crank the volume.

So while it may not be the Sunday version of the WOD “Long, aerobic run. 1-3 hours”, but when you are so many things to so many people (and you want to be the best you can for each of course) it is important to try to lead a healthy active life, not only to teach your kids, but so you can be around to be an active grandparent and – dare I say it? Even be a great-grandparent. But I have to do it in the way that makes sense for me. With that in mind- I will go sledding tomorrow with Beavers, I will try to get to the gym as much as I can- but I will not sacrifice my life that I love so much for exercise. I aim to incorporate exercise and a healthier lifestyle into my life, my family, and even my friends (it is contagious you know).

Be active, but do not give up your life to do so. and hey, why NOT get the family involved too? Isn't that part of what we are trying to teach, do and live? Ski, skate, sled, swim, play at the park.. go to the gym once in a whole too, if you can fit it in. But it is ok if you can't- as long as you are moving- right?

Maybe that is how I will start to see Mom the Warrior, instead of the Mom vs. the Warrior.

Inspiration in Surprising Places

So, as a parent (and I am sure you are all nodding your head as you read this), we want and strive to be an inspiration to our kids. I mean, who *doesn't* want to be looked up to? Who *doesn't* want to be able to feel like they have lived their life in a good solid way that makes their own kids into better people? Really- we all imagine that our kids will one day thank us for it all, right? RIGHT??

Ok, here is the reality in my house- while I am sure that I am very inspiring when it comes to trying to live well, be a good person, go for your goals etc. etc. and I am quite sure that all my complaining about manners at the table and no TV during the week and harping on eating fruits and veggies is teaching my kids good things (at least I really hope I am!), there is a section of our family life that has the inspiration thing backwards.

Here it is- are you ready?

When it comes to living an active lifestyle (and I mean living it, not just exercising for a day and then couch surfing for 6 months), it is my *daughter* who inspires *me*, not the other way around. Yep- my energetic, fireball (borderline hyper-active), wonderful 8 year-old Jacqueline has really inspired me to be more active.

She is involved in so many physical activities that I sometimes wonder if it is too much ( are we THOSE  parents?? Are we making our kids into those crazy over-busy kids?? These thoughts do keep me up some nights). But then a couple of nights ago, when she realized that it was back to diving for the first time in 2 weeks she was over the moon. When her ringuette team was eliminated from the finals this weekend- she was disappointed not to play on Sunday, even though she had played 3 games in 3 days already. She will happily rider her bike for hours, play soccer with any kid willing to join in, swim, climb, snurf, even shoot some hoops- and of course always try something new.

I showed her the Spartan Race on the internet, and told her I was going to do it. Then I showed her the Jr. one for kids ages 4-8 and asked if she wanted to do it- She said "ok", her only caveat was that she doesn't want mud in her undies! :) no concern about the grueling task ahead, she is full on ok with an unknown physical challenge (while I am totally terrified to be honest).

So- there you have it. I am inspired by my kid's willingness to try anything new, inspired by her unending energy and her push to be a dedicated athlete. She may not be the MVP in everything, but she is self-motivated and always happy to be out there, moving.

Maybe it's not actually "backwards", maybe sometimes it's a good thing to be inspired by our kids, it can help us to move forward especially when we are stuck in a rut. 

From Regular to Warrior!

I am a Spartan Warrior!

Ok, no- I really am not. At least not yet; but I hope to be!

Let me set the stage for you: It is Sunday morning- January 6, 2013. I am sitting at my make-shift desk in a make-shift office in a Toronto hotel meeting room. I have not been outside since Friday afternoon and I am feeling a bit ill after the rich eggs Benedict I ate this morning, and the wine from the cocktail last night.  It doesn’t help that my stomach is at total war with me since before the holidays- too much eating and drinking and not enough fruits and veggies, you know?

Anyway- so I am sitting here feeling a bit ill, missing the fresh air and I decide it is time to start doing something healthy for me.  I mean, I already started last year when, after months and months of sleeping sitting up due to indigestion, feeling like crap and just looking well- fatter and fatter, I decided to join the almighty Weight Watchers.

What a difference- in 6 months I had lost 17 lbs and was sleeping well, not taking tums every night by the handfuls. Really, that  sh*t works.

But I haven’t really upped my activity (and by upped I mean done anything active at all- in about forever). So; now what? How to get started? How to get motivated? And for goodness sakes- HOW TO FIND THE TIME???

Well- why not sign up for a Spartan Sprint in Montreal in May? Hey, my motto is: go big or go home. I don’t do anything small.  So- it starts today (well tomorrow really, since today I am holed up in a hotel “office” working…). I will take all my measurements- from my matchstick arms (sadly lacking in any muscle tone at all) to my, er.. non-matchstick thighs? And I hope to see some progress as I train for the event. Off to Zumba this week! Starting swimming lessons next week! Start some yoga at home! I will eventually be a lean, mean Spartan Racing Machine! Or at least in a bit of better shape and I will feel good for accomplishing something. Right?

So- I am not crazy, right? RIGHT?? (I have seen the pictures- they run throurgh fire. FIRE!)

I will try to keep track of my progress, training and general thoughts here. Good and bad! From flabby Mom- to Super Mom! No wait.. from flabby  Super Mom to Lean and muscley Super Mom! Or something like that.. Well, you get the idea ;)

Wish me luck! And I would certainly appreciate any words of wisdom or general encouragement.