We are going on a road trip! Saturday, July 11th is the2015 Kincardine Women’s Triathlon. This is perhaps our favourite event, certainly the one we talk about the most. Why? For both Sam and I (Tracy), it was our very first multi-sport event. Kincardine is a small town on the Ontario shore of Lake Huron, about halfway up the lake. It’s got a beautiful harbor, excellent sunsets, and pristine beaches.
The Kincardine Women’s Triathlon is a well-run, relatively small event (they cap it at 300) that fills up quickly. We mean super-quickly. This year, it sold out within two hours of the on-line registration opening at 10 a.m. on January 1st. You have to be ready, at your computer, at 10 a.m., or you can pretty much forget it. That’s how much women love this event.
This year we’ve got a kick-ass group going. Some first-timers and some more experienced. Some of us registered for the triathlon (and are crossing our fingers that the water is warm enough!), others the duathlon. We’ve rounded up some of the group to post about their feelings before the event. Sam put three questions to everyone:
What attracted you to the event? Is this your first triathlon, duathlon or your 50th? What do you hope to get out of it?
Here’s what we got back:
Nat (friend and regular weekend guest blogger):
I’m super pumped about traveling with Anita and Kristen for my third ever triathlon. Having volunteered last year I have a pretty good idea of the traffic flow. I’m not loving the idea of renting a wetsuit but the water temp is not looking promising. I haven’t really trained but hopped back in the pool last week and can do 500m non-stop so I won’t be winning any records but it will be in my comfort zone. As for the cycling, I’m super pumped having just completed a 100 km event. I know I have the endurance in the bank to do this mini sprint event. As for running, who am I kidding, I haven’t run regularly at all. It’ll happen, I’m not worried. My goal is to have fun, complete the race and eat a big meal after!
Anita (Sam and Tracy’s friend and Tracy’s running buddy):
I’ve been running for seven years now, with little to complain about. I am fine with my slow running pace because the camaraderie of practice runs and the collective joy at races more than make up for any individual personal bests. But I sense the same joy among my cyclist friends. In particular, there seems to be a lot of excitement around the Kincardine Women’s Triathlon. I got curious after a friend told me that doing a Duathlon at the event was also possible (thereby avoiding the dreaded swim portion). And this is a short race! 3K run, 12K bike, 3K run. I could ‘tri’ it, right? I signed up to experience something new in the company of some great women.
I am doing this in a very low key manner. No new gear at all, even when the guy at the cycling shop told me that my bike was too big for me. I don’t know if I’ll ever do a duathlon again, or a triathlon for that matter. What I do know is that right now I am loving the double workouts (bike ride followed by a run – Brick workouts, I’m told). I love the way they challenge my body in a different way than a long run can. I’m also amazed that I’m not as achy and sore as I usually am after a long run (duh, low impact bike rides!). And I’ve found pleasure again in riding my bike. I’m not fast – my bike is heavy, my legs are short– but that’s okay. Surprisingly I am also sort of enjoying the challenge of learning how to master of my gears; I still fall to the side on short, steep hills but I’ll keep trying ’til the day before the race.
Tara (Sam’s cousin in law):
I’m not a big cyclist. I commute to and from work inconsistently a few days per week but I do push myself to go fast – my ride is 8K each way. I have been quite vocal about my lack of interest in running anything more than 5K and I have the same lack of interest in doing long bike rides or races.
This will be my first duathlon and the Kincardine Duathlon allows me to do both a short run and a short bike race and pushes me to balance my inner rabbit so that I can perform each leg of the race strong….or at least that is my hope. I’m not sure what to expect yet. I have biked to work, run 3, 4 or 5K on my lunch and then biked home but I haven’t yet done a back to back 3-12-3 (run, bike, run) and am not sure how my body will handle it.
I enjoy being part of a large event and I like the energy and the camaraderie that these events bring. I want to finish strong (with a good finish time based on my personal goal), fatigued (knowing I pushed myself hard) and happy!
Leslie (Tracy’s friend since they were 4 years old):
This is my first triathlon. I am excited to be sharing this with my long time friend Tracy, who inspired me to challenge myself for registering and training for Kincardine women’s sprint triathlon on July 11th. There have been numerous moments since spring that I have questioned if I can or even want to do this, but my ‘can do’ voice has won out. Regardless of the outcome, I feel it’s about showing up. I don’t care if I am last across the finish line, my goal is to finish. I have enjoyed the spin offs of increased fitness, better sleep, better fitting clothes, the ability to make healthier decisions. I now feel “unwell” if I do not do some sort of run, or cycle or swim every 2 to 3 days. Thanks to my friend Tracy.
Kristen (good friend of Nat’s who Tracy met at last year’s KWT and has been in touch with ever since — and she won a free registration!)
This year’s Kincardine Women’s Triathlon race will be my third triathlon and first of the year. I did this race for the first time last year and am thrilled to do it again. The whip cream on this treat is I happen to have won my entrance this year as part of their 10 year anniversary celebrations. The cherry on top of that is I think I’m finally healthy enough to do it.
I loved last year so much that I had my heart set on it for this year even before I left that day. However, this year has been one injury/ailment after another. January started with tendonitis in both arms, wrists and elbow so double whammy. Things progressed so badly I was not allowed to train and at one point I wasn’t even allowed to use my right arms – it’s a much longer story. The short version I was back to about 80% in May and could in earnest get active again, slowly. Then a groin pull and a brutal time with seasonal allergies. With almost no training by mid June I really started to question if Kincardine was even smart to still be thinking about it.
Truthfully it’s been talking to Nat and reading Tracy’s and Sam’s posts these last few weeks that I realize I’m healthy enough to complete each sport even it’s not the pace I’d wanted to do or even that I did it last year, there is no reason to throw away a fun day with friends and activity. My goal as always is the start line, the finish line, and anything in between is just bonus.
Tracy:
I love the Kincardine Women’s Triathlon. I like that it is a short sprint triathlon in a beautiful location on the shores of Lake Huron with tons of local support all along the course. I’m a huge fan of women’s events and don’t think I’d have tried it in 2013 if it hadn’t been for women only. In 2013 it was my first triathlon. This year will be my third KWT and my seventh triathlon in total. It’s super-exciting to be doing this with friends, including my childhood friend, Leslie, and also longtime friend and recent running buddy, Anita. What I want out of it this year is fun, fun, fun. It’s my only triathlon this summer (see why here). And I’d love to PR my swim and run. No comment on the bike (see why here).
Sam:
Like Tracy, I think this is a wonderful event. It’s lots and lots of fun. I blogged about my various attempts at the triathlon, the duathlon, and the relay here. I don’t have big running ambitions other than running rather than walking. I’ve been running-injured for most of the past year. (I hate knees.) But I plan to be speedy on the bike. I’d like to beat my past bike time which I did as part of a relay time. Given that I didn’t have to run first, that might be unrealistic. We’ll see. It’ll mean maintaining an average of speed of above 30 km/hr. I’ve done that on some time trial courses and this is pretty similar. No big hills.
For years road cyclists have complained that we don’t have mass participation events like the sort that are enjoyed by the running community, events that have something for both the competors and the completors. Marathons are tough but they’ve grown in popularity with many people now running them to complete the distance, not to win the race.
Why not something similar in cycling? Then the Gran Fondo movement got going with the motto, “let the racers race, let the riders ride.”
I’ve done two of the Fondo events, Niagara Falls in 2013 and Halton in 2014. And I loved them. But they involve travel and they are expensive.
I was super happy to see last year that Mountain Equipment Co-op was starting to organize local century events. I did the first local one in October 2014 with my friends Dave and David. For that story, see here. They’re terrific community events, reasonably priced, and a lot of fun. There’s still some tension between the language, is it a race or a ride? , but really the MEC centuries seem to have something for everyone. See MEC Century ride hits London.
This time I rode with my partner Jeff, and friends Eaton, and David. Natalie rode with her partner Michel. And there were two other local fitness bloggers there, Cheryl of Happy is the New Healthy and Zig of Three Zigs and a Dog.
Zig even blogged about the event right away. She wrote, “Today I did my first 100 km century ride at an event organized by MEC London. I had been eyeing the event for some time, but was worried about my ability to complete that distance, and do so in a decent amount of time. After chatting with the staff in the store, I decided to give it whirl.
Well, I did it….and lived to tell the tale. It was a terrific event that had a big impact on me (a full recap/review to come in a couple of days). As a bit of a newbie road rider, I have been nervous to ride distances on open roads. Today, I got a lot of practice that left me feeling more confident in my riding abilities. And tonight, I am celebrating my thick thighs, instead of cursing them. They carried me far, and in better time than I thought. Tomorrow, I might be back to cursing them when I can’t walk, but tonight I will sleep well with this new adventure under my belt.”
My gang had a fun ride, we rode for three hours and fifty minutes (moving time) plus a couple of short pit stops. My favorite bit was the lap of the Delaware Speedway. I wish we could race bikes there. I also really liked that the organizers separated out the 60 km and the 100 km starts. For the 100 km pretty much everyone had a road bike and seemed comfortable with the mass start. No crashes or low speed collisions. The atmosphere near the front was happy, calm, and controlled. My least favorite bit was getting out of the city on the multiuse pathway. (I’ve written about my woes riding on the multiuse pathway here.) Too many people going too fast, amid geese, skateboarders, runners with ipods, and casual cyclists, for my taste. But I’m not a fan of riding on the path at the best of times.
Beautiful roads and great people out there. We all suffered a bit in the heat (my suffering was “extreme” according to Strava’s heart rate analysis, see below) and with managing to eat enough while riding. That’s hard too in the heat. The last 10 km were tough and we all appreciated the lemonade and frozen yogurt at the finish. I skipped the bar where the event ended as I don’t drink but it looked like people were having a lot of fun on the patio.
Instead, I opted for a soak in the hot tub and time on my back deck with Nat, Michel, David, and our friend Rob who helped make the day possible by driving teen athlete son to Waterloo for rugby practise.
I’m hoping this is the start of a more participatory bike culture with racing and riding at all levels. Lovely to see so many people out there. Let’s do it again MEC London!
My Strava “suffer” score…based on heart rate zone analysisSweaty and tired post ride selfie!Bikes at rest after the 100 kmThe start!
These days, seems like several of the Fit is a Feminist Issue bloggers are engaging in a variety of summer water-related activities. Natalieh just blogged about her love relationship with swimming here. Samantha, too, is testing the waters of her local pool. Her recent blog about her relationship with swimming is here. Tracy has blogged about the sheer joy of swimming here.
I agree with Tracy about how swimming can bring back those childlike feelings of freedom, a time to “shed or at least park my worries”, as she said in her blog. For me, swimming feels like a way to defy gravity—when I was younger, floating or swimming underwater, I pretended I was flying. And these days, floating in the middle of Walden Pond, looking up at the sky, I feel like I’ve stepped outside of time, suspended in a moment of pure satisfaction.
But in practice, I’m not a great swimmer; my breathing cadence is not as easy and regular as it should be, and although it can get better with practice, I’ve not yet done the work to get to that point. Sometime…
But right now, my attention has been caught by kayaking (again). I blogged here about some experiences with kayaking years ago. Thanks in large part to the efforts of my friend Janet, I’m back in the cockpit again! We signed up for a 2-session intensive sea kayaking course that includes navigation, sea rescues (less dramatic than it sounds), and techniques for handling kayaks in the ocean. It starts in a week and reports will be forthcoming.
But today was all about the kinder, gentler side of kayaking. My friends Janet and Steph and I rented kayaks for a lazy trip down the Charles River on July 4th. I packed a picnic lunch, and we set off. There was no agenda other than a bit of forward progress and a lot of idle conversation. Much of it involved pointing out the many ducks, geese, herons, egrets (and one swan) whose routines we were rudely interrupting. We didn’t even bother taking many pictures, although Janet snapped this one of Steph and me:
The Charles River twists and meanders its way throughout greater Boston, so much of our 8-mile round trip was by parks (both municipal and trailer) and also alongside wetlands, industrial areas and people’s backyards. We saw a Dunkin Donuts on our way back, so pulled the boats ashore at a park across from it for our picnic lunch, a pit stop, and quick caffeine hit. This was not exactly an experience of nature at its most pristine. Still, urban outdoor experiences have their virtues, among them that they are easily accessible to lots of people, many of whom we greeted as we paddled.
When we returned the boats a scant 4 hours later (the time had floated lazily by), the kayak outfitter pointed out to us that IF we purchased a season pass, then if we booked this trip here, we’d break even on the cost of the pass. And we could use it for as many times as we liked, taking out single kayaks, double kayaks (thus bringing more friends into the mix), canoes, and stand-up paddle boards (an activity I’ve yet to try).
In our post-trip, floaty, holiday euphoria, how could we argue? We all three ponied up and duly purchased season passes. And I’m happy to report that no buyer’s remorse has set in—in fact I’m psyched to get back out there on the water.
In case you’re interested, here’s a short article on some of the health benefits of kayaking. This is good news, of course, but today, it was all about the kayak love.
Yoga feels really great and I have nice lateral flexibility that makes it fun. I’m a bit better on my bike and feel good in the saddle. Running, well, I run because it is an effective way to meet some goals. I mostly tolerate it. I enjoy walking but I LOVE TO SWIM!
It’s the deep breathing, the muffled sounds, the splashing, all of it. I’m lucky enough to live in a city with several outdoor pools and the ripples of sunlight across the bottom are mesmerizing, the epitome of summer.
The past week I got out 3 times. Last night with Sam, Mallory, Terry and Phyllis. We each did our own thing in the lane and it was fun to see us bobbing along in the leisure lane.
It’s just a week away until Kincardine and I can’t wait to get out with my friends!
Catherine Womack made the case here recently for riding in the ride. She even manages to make riding in summer rain sound fun.
Of course, each person has their own idea of fun. I’ve written about each cyclist having their own limits when it comes to bad weather. (For example, when commuting, I’ll happily ride home in the rain but I don’t like to ride to work in the rain. I hate arriving all wet and soggy though I’m okay landing at home that way.) Tracy, on the other hand, when she rides her bike, is an unrepentant fair weather cyclist.
But there’s a good reason for getting used to riding in the rain and deliberately doing it some of the time. What’s the reason? Some time you have to ride in the rain and it’s good to know how to do it and see what your challenges are.
When do you have to ride in the rain?
Here’s four scenarios:
First, you get caught out on a training ride and it starts to rain. It happens.
Second, you’re doing a bike tour and have no other way to get from place a to place b. It’s raining but you have to ride. See my post on the rainy bits of the Bike Rally here.
Third, you’re racing in the rain. You show up and want to go fast but it’s raining. The photo above is me in the Kincardine triathlon, racing in the rain. It was cold and wet.
If you don’t know how to ride in the rain you might be in trouble.
Here’s sad footage of triathletes wiping out in the rain. “When conditions change suddenly in a triathlon then anything can happen. Here is a selection of bike crashes from the 2012 Auckland World Triathlon Grand Final when a torrential downpour made cycling conditions very challenging.”
Fourth, you plan an event, in Cheryl’s case the Farm to Forks Fondo, you register, you pay, you drive there and then the day of, it’s pouring rain. What’s a girl to do? Ride in the rain. She blogs about it here. Cheryl and I are friends and we have the same cycling coach. Today she showed up in different bike shoes. Why? The Fondo shoes were still wet!
I make sure there’s less air in my tires when riding in the rain. It’s nice to have a bit more rubber-road contact. Cornering is definitely not the same. See crash footage above! And allow more time to stop.
My personal challenge is my glasses. You can see from the pic above maybe. I’m not wearing them. It’s pointless. Rain streaming down the glass is worse than no glass at all. Also, running after in wet shorts was no run at all.
In the past two years, since I started my PhD studies, my research has focused on osteoporosis and how modifiable exercise programs can prevent or slow down its progression. A requirement for PhD, before starting the actual thesis phase, is writing a literature review. Rading a high volume of research articles (up to 400-500) for a critical synthesis of literature would be the most daunting part. However, the review of literature helps the students to identify the strengths, weaknesses and gaps in previous work related to their own topic as a base.
Being at this stage, I read about osteoporosis from different angles to learn about facts, myths and contradictions.
To me, it has been very interesting to read about osteoporosis and how sex and gender differences attributed to bone structure can be addressed through a feminism lens.
So, apart from expanding my overall knowledge on osteoporosis, its symptoms, causes and treatment and assessing exercise programs, I have noticed remarkable feminism involvements in the language of research studies.
Let me start with some statistical facts on osteoporosis:
Of the millions who are diagnosed or at risk for osteoporosis, 80% are women.
Osteoporosis affects 1 in 4 women and 1 in 8 men over the age of 50 years in Canada.
Approximately one in two women over age 50 will break a bone because of osteoporosis.
Lowered estrogen levels in postmenopausal women leads to osteoporosis.
A woman’s risk of breaking a hip is equal to her combined risk of breast, uterine and ovarian cancer.
Women sustain more falls and fractures than men.
And, just by a simple search in PubMed database, entering the keywords “osteoporosis AND postmenopausal women” gives you a list of 11,104 articles while changing keywords to “osteoporosis AND elderly men”, narrows the number of articles down to 344. (it is not an advanced search, I just wanted to give you a comparison between number of studies in women and men)
Also, the figure below might help you to visualize the difference in sex and age prevalence of osteoporosis. As you see, the figure shows the age-adjusted prevalence of osteoporosis at femur neck and lumbar spine 16% in women compared with 4% in men. Also, the ratio of bone density loss at either site is 61% in women versus 38% in men.
Osteoporosis & low bone mass at the femur neck or lumbar spine, by sex in adults aged 50 years & over
Source: CDC/NCHS, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2005–2008
Now, imagine you are a woman (like myself), at the threshold of menopause, and have to read 50-100 pages about osteoporosis on average each day. How would it be? More probably, you think that you are at higher risk for developing osteoporosis because you are a woman. Or, you are at higher risk for falls and as a result, you have more fractures because you are a woman. You lose bone faster than men. So, being a pre or postmenopausal woman puts you at higher risk of broken bones. And not fun to conclude that, osteoporosis is just a “feminine disease” and a welcome gift for you who put your feet in the new world of menopause!
Fortunately, being a feminist reader and exposed to a large volume of osteoporosis research articles, I have noticed that something is changing from the oldest to the newest articles. and that something is the “bias in the language” used by the researchers. Although the language of many articles still needs sweeping revision.
But, not all my news about osteoporosis is bad news!
Looking into osteoporosis and searching through a feminism lens opens new door to the research world and I tell you how.
Recently, I read about a new research project called “Gender Innovations”. Gender Innovations is a peer-reviewed project initiated at Stanford University in June 2009, and aimed at developing practical methods of sex and gender analysis for scientists and researchers. Londa Schiebinger, the leader of this project is a pioneer in research on gender and science. She is well known for her writings on the impacts of feminism in the field of science.
In a case study called “Osteoporosis Research in Men”, she states that sex and gender analysis includes men in osteoporosis research, for having a better diagnosis and treatments. She states that osteoporosis had primarily been considered a disease of postmenopausal women, and as a result, this assumption has shaped its screening, practice, diagnosis, and treatment. She believes that more work is needed to “redefine diagnostic cutoffs” for both osteoporotic women and men.
So, based on what I have learned so far, this would be my argument:
There is a need for a feminist framework in osteoporosis studies, where osteoporosis re-definition would reveal the reality that risk factors are pretty much the same for women and men. For example, factors such as family history (genetics), taking steroid medications, sedentary lifestyle, smoking and drinking too much alcohol can increase or decrease the risk of osteoporosis in women and men. Or, malnutrition, deficiency in vitamin D and calcium intake can be risk factors of getting osteoporosis in women and men.
In addition, highlighting osteoporosis as a female disease can lead to a neglect and underestimation of this disease in the men population, specifically, the elderly men. This is another aspect lying beneath of many biased research findings and conclusions. So, it is really important to emphasize the fact that osteoporosis is not just a woman’s disease.
Of a more positive note, research proved that osteoporosis can be prevented and that exercise plays an important role in its prevention. Whether or not you have osteoporosis, whether you are a woman or man, regular exercise is beneficial in so many ways. Exercise improves physical and mental health, functional mobility, balance, strength and quality of life. People, who exercise regularly, can manage osteoporosis much better. Weight bearing exercises, resistance training, flexibility and balance exercises like Pilates, Tai Chi and yoga are good examples of dealing with osteoporosis. Higher impact activities like running, jumping and jogging are proved to be effective. However, they might not be suitable for everyone.
And last but not least, be happy if you are not thin. Studies show that small boned women are at greater risk for osteoporosis and it does not seem to be a myth!
I am a second year doctoral student in the Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at the Western University, and a certified seniors’ fitness instructor with so much passion about the elderly women’s health and fitness. Besides that, I am a grandmother and a full time babysitter of an almost 2 year-old awesome grandson. Being physically active has been integrated into my busy life since my youth. I used to be a strength coach, so that weight training is my first priority but running, mountain biking, rollerblading, ice skating and yoga are activities that I love to do.
Of the three triathlon disciplines, swimming is more likely than biking or running to be on the bottom rung of the training ladder, just tolerated rather than loved. If you’ve ever been to a race where they had to cancel the swim because of water temperature or rough seas, you’ll have seen that at least half of the competitors feel relieved. It’s not like they would have signed up for the duathlon in the first place, but they’re okay with their race being changed to a duathlon.
In fact, swimming is so not-fun for enough people that duathlons are a popular thing in their own right. These run-bike-run events are easy to find, often happening at the same time right alongside triathlons.
That’s not me. I love swimming and don’t love the bike. I like the bike well enough on race day. But I’m not into the outdoor training. I’ve got my reasons and I’m okay with them, as I articulated here. When I posted about my tortured relationship with the bike, I said I needed to reflect on my future as a triathlete. How can you really do triathlon if you avoid training sessions on the road bike?
Well, there are a few ways. As I see, I’ve got a few options (most of these are from Sam, who seems to have “solutions” to my “bike problem” percolating in the back of her mind fairly consistently):
1. Indoor bike training. I got into indoor bike training over the winter. That’s where you use your road or triathlon bike and put it on an indoor trainer. I did it with a group led mostly by Sam’s bike coach Chris, sometimes by Cheryl from Happy Is the New Healthy. Here you get the benefit of a coach and a group to keep you motivated. In the winter, I actually loved doing this. Training inside takes care of my first fear of cycling: the road. It also taught me to work hard on the bike, much harder than I’d ever worked before when riding on my own outside. And using heart rate zone taught me a few things about zone work that I hadn’t known before.
I also learned, when doing a few extra classes with an instructor and Ironman triathlete named Jody, that some triathletes do most, even all, of their bike training indoors and only ride outside on race day all the time. The reason is that you’ve got a controlled environment and can just work on developing power. No traffic lights, road delays, or compromised surfaces to deal with. You don’t need to worry about where you’re going, how to carry enough nutrition, or what the weather forecast is. Meredith Kessler, a multiple Ironman Champion, does almost all of her training inside, as does Ironman Champion Andy Potts. See more on this strategy here.
You can also do indoor bike training on your own. I’ve yet to try that even though I paid Sam’s coach to give me two further workouts a week through the winter that I was supposed to do on my own.
I replaced one of these with another type of class, led by my triathlon coach, Gabbi, on Computrainers. Again, you use your own bicycle but this time Gabbi supplied the trainers, which are fancy computerized do-dads hooked up to the computer. Your power output shows in watts (I think they’re watts) on a big screen at the front of the room, and the training program runs on that screen like a video game. Your job: to keep your power within the specified range. They are tough classes. A brutal test, taken periodically through the winter, helps to establish your baseline and also to track progress.
And finally, there are spin classes. I have access to excellent spin classes at the Y and there is a spin studio nearby where Cheryl teaches at least one class a week.
My thoughts on year-round indoor training: Trainer classes always end when the weather improves because the groups head outdoors. But spin classes go year round because lots of spinners aren’t really cyclists at all. I can’t imagine doing the trainer on my own, especially in the summer. But I can imagine doing the occasional spin class. Of course, occasional isn’t quite good enough. In order to really train on the bike such that performance improves, it’s necessary to commit to at least 3 bike workouts a week.
2. Train outside, but in very deserted areas.Sam does intervals once a week at an industrial park after hours. She says it’s a rare evening that she’ll see any cars at all, and even if she does, it’ll be one or two cars and that’s it. She’s extended an open invitation to me to do that with her. So far I haven’t taken her up on it.
3. Screw the training and just go out and have fun. This is kind of where I’m at this year for Kincardine.
My thoughts on the “no-training” approach: It’s one thing to go into Kincardine untrained on the bike, with it’s not-so-challenging 12K bike leg. But an Olympic distance 40K on the bike is another thing altogether. 40K is far for me, and to follow that with a 10K run is work. Not only that, the slower my bike leg, the later my run leg. When I did Bracebridge last summer, I ran 10K in the heat of the day, right through the noon hour. That made it brutal. If I’m going to do that distance, I need to do more than nothing.
4. Suck it up and get my butt out on the road despite my fear. There are all sorts of risks associated with everyday life, so why single out the bike as particularly dangerous? I could just force myself out there and do it anyway. I did that last year and I made it through the season.
My thoughts on “suck it up”: The thing is, it’s a phobia, and so is resistant to reason. But also, there is a difference, to me, between risk and necessary risk. Biking on rural roads doesn’t have to be a part of my life. It’s supposed to be a leisure activity that I do for fun. I know people do risky things for fun: sky-diving, motorbiking, rock climbing. Go for it. I get to choose where I want to put myself in harm’s way. And I hate that feeling in my stomach when I’m getting ready to go out on the bike, forcing myself out the door. It just doesn’t feel worth it to me.
5. Give up triathlon. This is the saddest option. I do love race day. Multi-sport is fun and challenging. There are other things to try, like aquathon (swim-run), but those are few and far between where I live. I know of one aquathon this summer and I can’t make it.
My thoughts on giving up triathlon: Like I said, it makes me kind of sad to think about giving up completely. I’m not scared on the bike on race day (even if it’s not my favourite part of the day) because the course is safer on race day than on any other day with regular traffic, or at least it feels that way to me. But I’ve not totally ruled out this option. And when Kincardine is over, the fact is, I’m giving up on triathlon at least for this year. Then, when winter comes, I’ll hit the indoor trainer again and see where that takes me by next spring.
I don’t know anyone else who loves triathlon but hates the bike. As I said at the beginning, the more common combo is loving triathlon and just tolerating the swim. If you’ve had experience as a triathlete with unequal feelings about the different disciplines, please share about that in the comments. Most especially, I’d love to hear how you overcame (or if you overcame) your feelings about that one part of the race that you hated (or didn’t love as much as the others).
She writes, “Ethical buying and consumerism. Its a concept that has grown rapidly and something we have probably been doing unconsciously for most of our lives as customers. I’m sure so many people out there already subscribe to an ethos when they purchase their clothing, but I must admit that whilst I do it with my grocery items, I’ve never done it with clothing – until now.
Today I have decided that I am going to buy ethically for Body Positivity.
As we all know, one of the major issues in my Body Positivity advocacy is to encourage sporting brands who stock sizes 14-up to actually feature athletes 14-up in their gear. As someone who has previously worked in fashion and retail for many years, I know that by doing this, they will not only have people running to their stores or jumping online to buy the product they now know will fit them, but brands become immediately more relatable.”
Her post provoked quite a bit of discussion about sizes, cost, and the ethics of shopping.
I’ve just spent a few days in Toronto–not a small city!–looking for running shorts that fit. Usually, especially when it comes to tops, I can wear a size 12 or 14. But with my cyclist quads, that’s getting trickier when it comes to fitted shorts.
There’s also, as Leah notes, an ethical issue about shopping. The average woman in North America is a size 14. But lots of athletic wear–here’s looking at you Lululemon and Oiselle!–stop at size 12. That’s clearly sending a message. And I say this as someone who buys Oiselle bras–they’re not padded and they’ve got lots of support.
Anyway, I loved the message in the video. Watch even if you disagree about the ethical push to buy size inclusive brands. Watch even if you hate kick starter. I gave them $35 b/c I want the #feminist tee and it it succeeds I’ll buy the leggings. The kickstarter campaign is here.
“We believe in the power of fitness to help women build strength and confidence to succeed in all aspects of their lives. We are committed to helping women feel confident and supported in their efforts with high fashion, high performance clothing designed to make them feel like superheroes.
But do we really need ANOTHER brand of activewear? YES! Most major active brands only make high performance women’s clothing up through size 12. The average American women wears size 14. Superfit Hero is a size-inclusive brand of high performance activewear for women size XS-3XL. Join us on our mission to make fitness more inclusive, body-positive, and empowering for women.”
I’ve been thinking about the Kincardine triathlon that’s coming up. It’s a short, speedy, fun race. And it’s probably the event I’ve done most often in all its many variations.
Here’s the distances, swim 375m, bike 12km, run 3km. For the duathlon it’s run 3km, bike 12km, run 3km.
Starting way back in 2007, I did the full thing! I swam, I actually swam, and I finished in 1:10:01. 29/34 out of my age group. Not great but it felt speedy to me. Last out of the water of the people who didn’t require rescuing. 🙂 I actually had to talk people out of rescuing me. I’m fine, just slow. And then I got to pass lots of people on the bike and that’s always fun.
Swim 15:57, Bike 30:58, Run 23:07
In 2008, I did the relay. My daughter Mallory did the swim, my sister in law Susan did the run, and of course, I biked. That was truly speedy. We finished in 52:57, coming in 2nd of 7 relay teams. To be clear, it’s such a short course there’s not much interest in the relay option.
Mallory’s Swim 11:18, My bike 24:33, Susan’s run 17:07.
Go us!
Note: There’s also much less time taken up with transitions in a relay. The cyclist and the runner are ready to go.
And then in 2013 I did the duathlon: run, bike, run. No swim. It took me 1:18:55.
Run 23:17, Bike 29:23, Run 26:16
Mallory also came in at 1:18, but she was faster on the runs, slower on the bike. She’d been planning on doing the triathlon but was disappointed when the event got turned into a duathlon for everyone due to water temperature.
This year I’m back for the duathlon. I don’t think my run will have improved at all. I’ve been injured running wise for most of the two years between. But my bike time should be considerably faster. My fastest bike was in the 24 minute range (though with no swimming or running before) and I averaged just under 30 km/hr. I think I should be able to average 30 now. I do some longer rides at that speed and while they’re with a group, they are longer.
I’m also getting speed laces for my running shoes to make the transitions easier. And I’ve done a little bit of running right after a bike ride to make that feel less weird.
I’ve been thinking recently too about what I like about this event. Why I am drawn to it? Like the Pride run, this event sells out. It sells out in hours. Partly it’s for similar reasons. There’s a great party atmosphere, lots of community support, all ages and abilities racing, and like the Pride Run it does a great job for all sorts of participants, striking a good balance between the competitors and the completers, between those who aim to win or place, and those who just aim to finish the distance. I feel like there’s room for me no matter how much I’ve trained, no matter how fast or slow I am.
I used to think I could do it an hour even as a slow swimmer if I did a 15 minute swim, a 25 min bike ride, and a 20 min run. But then there’s those pesky transitions to worry about…
