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My Wednesday At The Olympics |
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Written by melanie
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Thursday, 25 February 2010 09:44 |
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On Sunday I finished the last of three build weeks before I was scheduled to take a rest. I was starting to show some cracks but when I compare this block to the first one I did in January, there was monumental improvement. I managed to hold the same kind of volume with some higher end aerobic intensity so my fitness has gone up quite a bit. However, I am still not fast. This was fully evident when I was dropped when it got hard going up the Malahat and I got dropped in the first kilometer of Hatley Castle 8km. Although I am sure I am better than both of those performances, they were both good reminders that you can't do volume and be fast and be Melanie all at the same time. I was on struggle street by the end. I was still pretty stoked about the overall picture though: I am swimming a lot better and have appreciated some positive feedback from Ron even when I have pushed the bar up and gotten disappointed with some days. Small victories people! Don't overlook them - as I so often make the mistake of doing when I decide I can be even better than I thought. Also, although Magali took a ginormous chunk of time out of me in the first kilometer of the 8km, essentially running out of sight in 1000m, I did manage to claw back some time in order to see her again at 6km, only to lose probably the same again up the last hill when she probably had a kick and I decided to cruise it in.. alone... as another guy sprinted past me -haha! She is a very quick runner and I was just happy that I could see her during the race, something that would not have been possible a year ago, fresh or not. And the cycling... well, my riding is okay/good but I am doing a lot so when fresh people fresh-leg me, what can you do? I got in some awesome training while I parked my ego solidly in my back pocket. The awesome thing about Victoria is there is this insane wealth of talent so no matter what you do, a group ride, a local run race, a dip in the pool - there is someone with a big giant trophy on their mantle at home waiting to kick your butt. I love it. This has been a good winter of training and not only because of the weather.
So because I had a rest planned, when my friend Alan from USANA invited me to go watch the 5000m women's speedskating finals I happily packed my bags to head to Vancouver. I was treated to a night in a hotel so I would have time to do some shopping, run in the Capilano Dam trails, eat breakfast at the Elbow Room and go to the oval to enjoy some skating in amongst the people watching. The most fun were the Dutch fans (I almost wanted to sit with them given my Dutch heritage but I could only admire from afar because I was going to be a Clara fan!).n Unfortunately, my camera is junk and every single photo is garbage. Time for a new one.
It is amazing how emotional the Olympics are. I have raced at numerous World Championships events but none have had the weight of a country on an athlete's shoulders like the Olympics do. It would be so incredible/stressful/powerful to experience that. I had so much fun cheering for the Canadian girls: Clara, Cindy and Kristina and all three were classy, fantastic and powerful. I was proud to see such sportsmanlike and poised women kick some ass. Very cool. Way to go girls! Especially Clara. Wow - class of her own in terms of sports history.
Now I am back and getting ready to join Houshang's group for a four day training camp (http://pacificcyclingcentre.ca/news/article.html?d=news/2010/02/12/140/). This should be just the added boost I need to get my riding up to where it needs to be. Although I am inching closer I am behind the amount of riding I did last year. That was necessary to effect the changes in the swim/run that I needed to do to get here. This is why I am not racing until later. I wanted to do the most enormous body of work over the off-season possible, push my start to late and in so doing, race at another level. Hopefully it all works according to plan.
Happy training!
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Written by melanie
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Monday, 15 February 2010 11:15 |
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As published for Triathlete Magazine in my column "Singletrack Mind" as Getting To The Heart Of Hemp- I have been enjoying hemp hearts in my morning smoothie... so I thought I would let ya in on my little "secret" 
I am normally not the one who discusses food in her columns. However, if anyone has the street cred to talk about hemp, I guess it might be the chronic, tatted, pierced mountain biker, right? Well, not so much. I don't really have any credibility in that regard. However, I was introduced to EATING hemp hearts years ago, so introducing you to the latest fad in hemp-eating will be a pleasure.
Here is how the conversation went two years ago in regard to the food I am introducing you to:
Guy in the bike store: "Yo, Melanie. You heard what Ryder's (Hesjedahl) secret diet food is?"
Me: "No?"
Guy in the bike store: "Hemp hearts. He eats them for breakfast and says he stays fuller for longer so he doesn't need to eat as much."
Me: "Really?" (thinking that it might be a stretch for Ryder to have had this conversation with this person and does Ryder honestly ever need to think about weight?)
So I left the store that day to check not the reliability of my source but more the reality of the tip. Sure enough, hemp hearts have a place in an endurance athlete's diet. Victoria's favorite tour rider is not the only one who may be tuned into the benefits of eating hemp hearts. The seeds of the hemp plant have no drug chemicals in them at all so you do not need to worry about any of the effects attributed to marijuana. However, these little seeds are packed with amino acids, essential fatty acids, vitamins and protein and thus are rapidly becoming recognized as a new superfood.
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Last Updated on Monday, 15 February 2010 14:10 |
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Lookin Forward To a Sweetwicked Weekend |
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Written by melanie
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Tuesday, 09 March 2010 18:24 |
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I think the whooping cough is getting ready to leave the building. I still hacked a little at swimming today but not so much that I couldn't finish before my sendoff to make the pace times. I think Ron couldn't decide whether to pile on the mileage or make me do less. In the end the last days have been heavenly and short... only 5.4 and 5.6km each. I remember back to when that wasn't so short. In fact, I was so devastated about not really being able to train last week and only got in 17km of swimming. Then I looked at my averages from last year at approximately 15km and it all seemed so silly to be worried. Of course, I still feel a bit crappy and I forgot how to run and swim and bike but it should all come back to me soon.
And it better because there is some SWEETWICKED racing this weekend here in Victoria. My favorite store, ProCity***, is hosting the first Island Cup mountain bike race this Sunday at 10am. Who needs to leave town to train?? Bring it on people, I am racing the "expert" division and we get to ride the funnest trails ever including your favorites like Shock Treatment, Little Face, Fire Drill and that one near that rock with the tree and the root.. you know, with the dirt? Registration is from 9-12 and the clocks change I think so be prepared for that. Beginner racing at 10:30, intermediate at noon and experts go at 2pm. Leisurely! More info on trails etc HERE.
See ya there people! Maybe we should all do a fourth lap on foot just for fun.... oh and Victoria triathletes out there on the interweb, XTERRA Canada is Sept 5th.. time to start practicing!
*** ya, I know, it's not a Specialized store but what can I say. The boys are cuter there :)
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Have you met my friend Jasper? |
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Written by melanie
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Tuesday, 16 February 2010 11:30 |
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Jasper Blake is a phenomenal athlete as well as the funniest person I know. In fact, I am pretty sure there is no one on the planet with a better attitude than he has.
He and his wife Jude just welcomed baby #2 (Ruby) into their lives and I thought I would say a big congrats publicly while sharing some of his best work with you.
Jazz is a legend. Please read.. you won't be disappointed :)
http://www.jasperblake.com/2010/01/a-recent-conversation-i-had-with-superman/ |
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Written by melanie
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Monday, 01 March 2010 15:49 |
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So I have been going mental with a cycling camp the last four days... once I do the swim tonite I will have 24 hours of training in four days. After very little bike volume for a number of months I was HURTING and GRUMPY and SORE today doing repeats on the back side of Willis Point. The boys did nine. I should bake them cookies for that. I have no idea how that would be possible. I was scribbled and did five. Very obviously, this will pay off for all of us so thank you Houshang Amiri (http://www.pacificcyclingcenter.ca) for putting this all together for us. I haven't ridden that long/hard for a long time. Ouchie. I would like to give a high five to Erinne and Nic, the two other girls who did the whole camp. Erinne did six repeats today. She is more manly than I am. I have a sore throat so I figured doing a tiny bit less might lessen the chance that I get the whooping cough in the next two days. My throat has been sore since Friday when I rocked up the fastest Willis Point time trial in my LIFE! Screw you, old cycling Melanie, I kick your butt! Then again my throat is raw from breathing so hard that day so I have been suffering for that asswhooping of myself for four days...who's laughing now?
Okay so the point of this entry is I was google alerted to Alan's recap of our day at the Olympics. So, so fun! I was stoked to be a part of Canada's historic haul of medals and I had a super day with Alan cruising around town and cheering at the Olympic oval. Even if I was the sole Canadian in USA Speedskating seats.. haha! Sorry guys! Gotta cheer for my girls :) It reminded me of part of my experience there that I will share with you after his recap.
So instead of me re-recapping.. here is Alan's version of events. If you have never been to the Elbow Room, you must go. The food is good too! READ MORE
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 02 March 2010 08:47 |
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