Sunday, January 1, 2012

Fine Finish to 2011...

I had such a great week on the fitness front!  I spent it recreating with some incredible people and my body feels really strong, is recovering well and ready to 'offically' start training for my goal of 6 ultras in 6 months this year.
Monday was boxing day and I scheduled myself to teach a class at Global Fitness Centre.  So I headed down to the gym just after 8am and taught a spin class to those dedicated folk who couldn't wait to burn off some turkey, stuffing and pie and beer and wine and .....  I took no mercy and put them through a hard 45min interval session.  A great way to start the week!!

Tuesday I connected with 'fitness' on a different level.  I had to work at the club until 3pm and then I spent the remainder of the evening gearing up for the ultra seminar I was hosting the following day.  So although I wasn't physically active, it was just as much fun putting the last minute touches on the content for this event.  Plus it was my one rest day of the week!
Wednesday morning I headed out into Crawford with my friend and fellow PACE teammate, Ian Tanner.  We wanted to do a long, slow run.  2.5-3hrs.  We ended up hooking up with friends and PACE athletes, Karen Christie and Erica Abbie for the last hour of our 2:40hr run.  It was a beautiful, bright, sunny day in the snow and near perfect conditions!!  Such a great crew to spend the morning with and these three can run!  They're a tough bunch, let me tell ya.  We logged almost 20k and 2000 feet and my body felt really good.  This was the longest run I have done since TransAlps.

The Ultra Seminar went really well that night.  Despite the fact that I had a few 'public speaking' moments in the beginning and couldn't find my words... suddenly started to sweat... felt my face get hot... (deep breath) and just had to settle into things.  Despite the fact that I have been talking in front of people since I was 18 didn't seem to factor into just how nervous I was in the beginning.  It was settling to know, however that everyone in my house was not only my athlete but my friend.  I had 16 keen, fit and eager people in the room... ready to challenge and conquer the 'Ultra'.  It was a very inspiring night!
Thursday lead me back to the club for another full day in the fitness industry.  Lots of exciting stuff on the go at Global and my day breezed by!  It helped that I knew Trent and I had a 'date night' planned at Knox Mountain at 3:30pm.  Nothing says 'love' like hill repeats!  Evano and his dog joined us for the 1hr 15min hill session and then Trent and I went for Thai food before meeting our son, Carter and having a mellow movie night.


Friday was another amazing day in Kelowna.  The skies were blue... the sun was shining and it was FAMILY SKI DAY!!!  Trent, Carter and I headed up to Nordic for a x-country ski.  With our pockets full of gummy bears we enjoyed a great 11km ski and visit out in nature.  It really was a perfect day!



Saturday was New Year's Eve and I really wanted to get in another long, slow distance run.  So Karen and I made plans weeks prior to run 'early' so our husbands could ski in the afternoon and Jay & Carter could play.  Saturday was a cooler morning at -5 but still a really pretty day to be out on the trails.  We ran from my house again and headed into Crawford.  I really wanted another 2.5-3hr run and hoped for approx. 20k because I knew combined my three runs this week would be the equivalent of Chuckanut 50k which would be my first Ultra in March.  And voila!  2hrs 45min later we were home and close to 20km.  Best part (besides the awesome company - thanks Karen!) - again, my body felt amazing and my energy level the rest of the day was 100%.  All very positive signs heading into another heavy ultra training year for me. 


Today I will be busy working as a coach off the trails and will be writing out programs for my athletes.  I hope to get on the trainer for a spin and do some yoga as an active recovery day before heading to the movies with Trent and Carter.  Mission Impossible here we come!!  If this last week is any indication of how amazing my year will be in 2012 than I am one lucky gal and in store for a year of gratitude once again!!

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