Victoria BC Cycling Day Trip

In preparation for the Victoria 1/2 Ironman this weekend, I took a day trip to Victoria a couple of weekends ago to ride the course.

Ellen, who is always up for cycling fun, was excited for the adventure.

We took a 7am ferry from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay. Parking at the Tsawwassen ferry terminal, we rode on the ferry. This is a cheaper option than brining the car over and much more fun. It does, however, require a bit more planning.

Waiting for the ferry in the holding pen. Yay, no rain!

We paid the extra $12 to sit in the SeaWest Lounge. Quiet environment, comfy chairs, unlimited Starbucks coffee, yogurt, fruit and cheese! Well worth the extra money.

View from the lounge.

I had the map for the route loaded in my phone but forgot the paper map. My concern was my iPhone running out of juice before we were done. A BC InfoCentre popped up at the perfect time on the Pat Bay Hwy so we stopped in for some info. After grabbing a map, we were on our way. We still managed to get off course more than a few times but most of the area looked familiar so I am confident in our ride.

I remembered Victoria being hilly but was pleasantly surprised it was not as hilly as I remembered. I will give St. George 70.3 credit for that. After that race, I should never be afraid of hills around here.

Here is our route: Garmin http://connect.garmin.com/activity/321383124# or Strava http://app.strava.com/activities/57713554

Strava screenshot of the route. We circled a few times to make almost 90kms.

Our day started at 4:45am by getting ready and being at the ferry for a 7am sailing. The sailing time is about an hour and a half. Around 9:30am we were in Swartz Bay and riding off the ferry. By 1:20pm we were done and back at the ferry terminal to go home. Too bad there wasn't a 2pm sailing. We got the 3pm sailing and were back at the car in Tsawwassen by 5pm. Not bad for a day of adventure.

Post ride recovery with Starbuck and Chocolate Milk (of course). #pbchocolatemilk

Happy Training!

April Fools 1/2 Marathon Plus 15km cool down

After my minor breakdown at work on Friday, I set off on Saturday for Sechelt. I have run the April Fool's Half Marathon two times and this was my third time. It never fails to be hilly and hard. Sunday morning I started off at in Gibsons ready to run to Mission Point Park. I took it very conservatively knowing that I would be adding another 15kms on at the end of the 'race'. I crossed the finish line, collected my medal, filled my water bottles, ate a piece of bagel and a bite of banana and kept running west. I do not recommend running your longest run before a marathon in Sechelt if you are not used to hills. That place is full of 12-15% grades both up and down. At the end of the day, I ran from 9:17am - 2pm with a few quick breaks to refill bottles, eat gels and take few rocks out of my shoes. After a shower and some real food, I was back on the ferry to North Vancouver. Reward: Whit...

Today I Cried at Work

Proof that my marathon training is effective. I cried at work today. I am emotionally and physically worn down.

Fully Cooked

With one week of high volume running before my marathon on April 28th, I am feeling fully cooked. After a rest day on Monday, I switched up my track workout day and my trainer ride day. We secured tickets to the second to last Canucks home game on Tuesday night so I couldn't do my track workout. I did my trainer ride in the morning on Tuesday and my track workout on Wednesday. Instead of going solo at the track last night I created a workout in Garmin and downloaded it to my Garmin 920XT. 10 min warm up 8 x 1 mile with 90 seconds rest 10 min cool down Let me tell you, this workout completely exhausted me. I came home after the run, showered and ate but I felt so drained. After a bit of rest on the sofa, I was able to feel better and went straight to bed. Today I skipped my 6am swim in favour of an extra hour of sleep. My mantra for the week is 'just one more week'. Just one more week of heavy volume ...

Elements of Erin 337

Search This Blog