Meandering along

So, my training has been there, but nothing super stellar. I've officially taken a backseat to Jeremy's training, and that's fine. However, I still need my own goals. I think I have that goal figured out now. I want to be a Spartan. I am going to tap into my inner warrior and try a race totally outside my element. I am willingly choosing to get muddy and dirty and do obstacles that could include barbed wire and fire. Totally new, totally different and something I can train easily for while Jeremy works towards his ironman... So he might become an ironman, but I'll be a Spartan, so there!! hahaha

The best laid plans...

So imagine for a moment, if you will, the rough long range plan for our triathlon goals. Both Jeremy and I always had it in the back of our minds that we might some day like to do an ironman. I mean hey, we've done a marathon, and have been starting down the triathlon road, so really, it's a natural progression, right?

Since I am slowly getting on in my years, I was kind of thinking it might be something I'd like to do when I'm 40 or before I turn 40. I was figuring aiming for 39, but Jeremy suggested perhaps I might want to plan for a year earlier, just in case injury or something else happened and it wasn't possible. So, with that in mind, we had loosely planned that this year we would go out to Penticton for Ironman Canada, and I would volunteer. That way, I could sign up in the volunteer line the day after the big race. Then, he would volunteer the year I was doing it, and do his ironman the year after, since, realistically, with 2 young kids, both of us training for such a big event would be too much and a little unfair to them.

Last week, Jeremy was busy retweeting a Sugoi tweet to win an entry into Ironman Canada. Once a day he entered and was convinced he was going to win. He reasoned that odds were pretty good and he truly believed he was going to win it. And then... he did!! He was all excited and simultaneously super nervous. I mean, seriously, it's a pretty big task. Swimming 4 kilometres, biking 180 kilometres and then running 42 kilometres. Just something to do one day, hahaha.

So life has changed in our house. A lot. It's now all about Jeremy for the next 139 days. However, and he better realize this, it's not only about Jeremy. We still have our family and I still have my training. My races might be taking a bit of a backseat right now, but I'm not packing things in because of this, but I am willing to help find the time to let him train etc. It will be a big commitment on his part, but hey, it's not every day you get the opportunity of a lifetime like this, so we have to make it work!! And besides, he only has about the best running partners ever (between his wife and his dog!!).

So good luck Jeremy, train hard and do your best to balance training, family and our household!!

If you want to follow his journey, check out his blog!!

http://www.triplesportdad.blogspot.com/

My love affair with Eminem

So, I should probably start by saying I've never met Eminem, don't even neccessarily like him, and listening to too much of his music in a row is a bit much for me, but wow, he has some very powerful songs.

For many years now, my all time favourite has been "Lose Yourself". There is just a certain amount of anger and rage in that song that just makes me run harder and faster than I normally ever would. I love it. When the song comes on, I just give it my all. It's fantastic.

Next up was "Love the Way You Lie", which features Rhianna along with Eminem. I've never really looked into the meaning of the song, but it seems very domestic violence like in its words. Since I am often running on my lunch breaks at work, it somewhat fits in with my job and I just power through my runs along with it.

After that, one day while running at work, someone was playing their exercise playlist and "Not Afraid" came along. I instantly recognized it was Eminem and the song just clicked with me. Had a nice beat, all that good stuff, so looked it up and it became part of my running playlist.

And most recently, I was reading the Healthy Tipping Point blog and came across a post where Caitlin was talking about a song she played that kept her going. I liked that she played it over and over again (I often do this, especially when a song just keeps my motivation up), and so I felt compelled to check it out. It's "Till I Collapse" and once again, Eminem has delivered another song that just really works for running. It truly is perfect, with a great beat, great lyrics and just enough heart to keep you working. I love it.

So, thank you Eminem, for the incredible beat of your songs. Thanks for the anger and the rage you put into your lyrics. Thanks for phrases that just fit in with a running mantra and make me want to push just a little bit more. I will continue to look out for more songs that you create that fit into my needs, because you are good at it, and I like that sort of music when I run!!