So, I had to book an appointment for next week to get some new makeup. At shoppers they do a makeover type thing and show you how to do your make up as long as you buy some, so I called to book an appointment for before the wedding (since I am clueless with makeup and all mine is pretty much from the free gifts that you get when you buy foundation at clinique during bonus days). So I called and tried to make an appointment for Sept 1st, and the girl goes "so i'll see you next thursday," and I replied "OMG I'm getting married next week!" It has oficially hit me, I am going to become Mrs Rendle next week. MRS! seriously, that makes me seem sooo ooold! I remember called all my friends parents Mrs ____ when I was little.
Anways, 2 posts in one day, I'm on a roll. But now back to getting everything ready for ironman and the wedding!
Monday, August 22, 2011
Pre race reflection
So here we are, 6 days out from the race. I can hardly believe it. I remember a year ago, we were getting ready to go volunteer at the race and sign up. I remember driving the course and it seeming impossibly far. I remember voluntering 10 kms from the finish line and seeing some people in true agony but still going. I remember convincing Ben to sign up with me that morning. I remember starting our training on November 28th. I remember going to the gym at 5 am only for it not to be open. I remember going to the gym on christmas eve and christmas day.. that is dedication. I remember our first run outside in March when some of the snow/ice had melted enough for there to be a small shoulder on the road, and how amazing it felt. I remember getting pnuemonia and not being able to train for 6 weeks in May. It has been quite the journey, and it all comes down to this Sunday.
Crossing that finish line will be amazing, however I am quite nervous about the other 14 hours before I get to cross that line. I know that there will be moments where I will just want to quite, I know there will be moments when everything hurts and it feels like I can't take another step, but I also know that I can do it. I know I have trained and I am prepared mentally and physically to finish this thing.
We are leaving right after work on Thursday, and only going as far as Revelstoke where we'll spend the night. Then we'll get to Penticton around noon on friday and go pick up our race packages. We are going to try and stay out of the hype as much as possible since that will only make the nerves worse. Between now and thursday there is quite a bit to do. When we get back there is only 2 days before people start arriving for our wedding, and wedding stuff starts so I am going to try and get as much done this week so that I don't have to worry about it next week. In the meantime, we are just going to try and enjoy the next couple weeks and take in every minute since we've got a whole bunch of life experiences coming our way.
Crossing that finish line will be amazing, however I am quite nervous about the other 14 hours before I get to cross that line. I know that there will be moments where I will just want to quite, I know there will be moments when everything hurts and it feels like I can't take another step, but I also know that I can do it. I know I have trained and I am prepared mentally and physically to finish this thing.
We are leaving right after work on Thursday, and only going as far as Revelstoke where we'll spend the night. Then we'll get to Penticton around noon on friday and go pick up our race packages. We are going to try and stay out of the hype as much as possible since that will only make the nerves worse. Between now and thursday there is quite a bit to do. When we get back there is only 2 days before people start arriving for our wedding, and wedding stuff starts so I am going to try and get as much done this week so that I don't have to worry about it next week. In the meantime, we are just going to try and enjoy the next couple weeks and take in every minute since we've got a whole bunch of life experiences coming our way.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Montana
Well we just got back last night from a great trip to montana! My mom, sister, and I went down there to do some shopping and we had a great time with alot of laughs and of course some adventure. On the way down we stopped in Fernie so that my mom could see the lodge where we are getting married in 2 weeks! ahh! It was good, we got a better idea of where we are going to put all the tables and what not. Then we kept heading south and ended up in polson montana. According to the website we were supposed to be staying at a nice hotel on the lake, but in fact it was quite the opposite. There was smoking allowed in the casino which was right in the main lobby of the hotel and so the hotel reeked like smoke. After changing our room because the sink didn't work and it wasn't clean we moved to another room which was better but still stinky. It was late, we were tired so we decided to stay there for the night and find a new place for the next night. We had a great mexican dinner and lots of laughs. After surviving a night of my mom's snoring we drove to kalispell to go shopping, and on the way we found a great bed and breakfast called the outlook where we wound up going back to for wednesday night! Shopping was successful, I needed some real clothes for my new job and ben needed some new work clothes so we stocked up a bit. It was fun, we also picked up more beer for the wedding because it was SO CHEAP! like seroiusly, half the price of Canada. Back at the bed and breakfast we just enjoyed the view and the lodge. It was beautiful and overlooked the lake. There was a honeymooning couple there so we had a fun night visiting with them (anc crashing their romantic hot tub time).
Thursday we went to whitefish, explored a little, mom shopped a little, and then we headed back to canada. All in all it was a great trip. It was fun to go away so close to the wedding. Monday last week I was starting to get stressed, and this trip was just what I needed. I can hardly believe there is only 9 days until ironman and 15 until the wedding! I have no idea where the time has gone~
have a great weekend!
Jen
Thursday we went to whitefish, explored a little, mom shopped a little, and then we headed back to canada. All in all it was a great trip. It was fun to go away so close to the wedding. Monday last week I was starting to get stressed, and this trip was just what I needed. I can hardly believe there is only 9 days until ironman and 15 until the wedding! I have no idea where the time has gone~
have a great weekend!
Jen
Friday, August 12, 2011
Final Push
Well this past week has been the last push before the 2 week taper before our race. Last weekend we were in fernie to meet some of our vendors for our wedding. On Saturday we planned on riding for 5.5 hours on highway 3 from fernie to cranbrook. The ride went really well, or as well as 182 kms can go. I can`t really explain what it is like being on a bike for that long, but it really messes with your head. On our way out, I was feeling really good, and at 2 hours and 45 minutes we hit a sign that said 10 kms to cranbrook (and in fernie we started at a sign that said cranbrook 101 kms). I felt really good having biked 91 kms in 2 hours and 45 minutes! We finally bought salt tablets and those really helped the leg cramps on thew ay out. Then things took a turn on the way home, I realized that we had had a strong tail wind going out and now we were facing a strong head wind. It was miserable. Even going down hill we had to pedal because we were barely moving. When the wind gusted it would throw us around. Cars passing would throw us around. I was getting frustrated. And it was hot. 30 degrees hot. We also only had 1.5 liters of water/gatorade for the fist 4.5 hours which was not the smartest thing. As I started getting tired and dehydrated, we approached a major hill, and as I neared the top I proceeded to have an asthma attack. I was scared, nothing is worse than not being able to breathe. But thankfully I had my emergency inhaler on me. Once I calmed down and got my breathing under control we kept going, and I proceeded to have another small asthma attack but got it under control without my inhaler. We stopped in Jaffry for more liquids and inhaled a bag of lays regular potato chips (seriously the best thing for endurance events). Feeling a little bit better we pushed the rest of the way home. In the end, our ride turned into 6.5 hours. We were hungry and exhausted, but we were pretty pumped to have gotten the ironman distance in! We proceeded to fall asleep at 9 pm that night and slept 11 hours. But we woke up surprisingly fine and not sore!
The rest of this week we have been pushing. My legs have felt like lead, but I keep reminding myself that this is it. This is the last effort. Come Sunday we have to rely on all the hours and effort we put into training. There is nothing more we can do, except fuel our bodies and try to focus on this race. In 2 weeks from tomorrow, the 8 months of training will be worth it. We will {hopefully} be crossing that finish line. All the training, sickness, exhaustion, will be worth it!
As for the wedding, I cannot believe that it is only 3 weeks away! I am getting very excited for our big day. Hopefully the weather is nice so we can be outside. I can't wait to marry the love of my life. My training partner, my best friend, my everything. And with all the craziness of the last few months, we cannot wait to go away to mexico for a week! I've never been to an all inclusive, and I think after the ironman and the wedding we definitely deserve it!
I think the next 3 weeks are going to zoom by! Next week I'm headed on a road trip with my mom and sister to montana. They haven't seen the lodge so they wanted to head to fernie to see it, and fernie is only a stones throw from the boarder so we're going down for some shopping. I definitely need some fancy work clothes for when I start my new job on Sept. 12! It will be a great time! and i can`t wait for my mom to see the lodge. It is soo beautiful! She`s going to love it. Then it`s the week before ironman, then it`s the week before the wedding! Lots to keep me preoccupied (and perhaps a little stressed).
Anyways, have a great weekend! It`s going to be a busy one for us. We`ve got our last loooooooong bike before the race on saturday, and a looooong run on sunday. Then we have my cousin`s 18th birthday party, and my bridal shower thanks to my mom and sister!
The rest of this week we have been pushing. My legs have felt like lead, but I keep reminding myself that this is it. This is the last effort. Come Sunday we have to rely on all the hours and effort we put into training. There is nothing more we can do, except fuel our bodies and try to focus on this race. In 2 weeks from tomorrow, the 8 months of training will be worth it. We will {hopefully} be crossing that finish line. All the training, sickness, exhaustion, will be worth it!
As for the wedding, I cannot believe that it is only 3 weeks away! I am getting very excited for our big day. Hopefully the weather is nice so we can be outside. I can't wait to marry the love of my life. My training partner, my best friend, my everything. And with all the craziness of the last few months, we cannot wait to go away to mexico for a week! I've never been to an all inclusive, and I think after the ironman and the wedding we definitely deserve it!
I think the next 3 weeks are going to zoom by! Next week I'm headed on a road trip with my mom and sister to montana. They haven't seen the lodge so they wanted to head to fernie to see it, and fernie is only a stones throw from the boarder so we're going down for some shopping. I definitely need some fancy work clothes for when I start my new job on Sept. 12! It will be a great time! and i can`t wait for my mom to see the lodge. It is soo beautiful! She`s going to love it. Then it`s the week before ironman, then it`s the week before the wedding! Lots to keep me preoccupied (and perhaps a little stressed).
Anyways, have a great weekend! It`s going to be a busy one for us. We`ve got our last loooooooong bike before the race on saturday, and a looooong run on sunday. Then we have my cousin`s 18th birthday party, and my bridal shower thanks to my mom and sister!
Friday, July 29, 2011
A Career? .. I must be a grown-up
Well, big news over here. I got a job! and this time it's not just any job, it is a career! Starting september 12th, I will be working downtown with scotia bank as a personal banking officer. From there the sky is the limit, especially since there will be alot of opportunity coming up in the next few years because of the baby boomer generation starting to retire, which is good news to my generation.. I will have to dress like an adult, and actually put more than 5 minutes into getting ready in the morning, but I'm kind of excited about that. I'm also excited about working downtown. When I was down there for interviews, I was amazed how different downtown is during the weekday than it is in the evening and on the weekends. There is so much comotion, there are street vendors, it is a colorful and vibrant place to be. On the weekends, it is DEAD. I mean half of the restuarants aren't even open because no one goes down there. The thing is I will for sure be downtown at the main branch for the first 4-6 months but then I could placed anywhere in the city, hopefully it's not to far away from home or else we'll have to look at getting another car.
Getting the job was a relief, but it's been complicated since I need some time off at the end of august/begining of september so they decided that my start date would be after I get back from my honeymoon.... the day after I get back.. actually 12 hours after we get back! SO I have the next month off! I struggled with this a bit because I am the type of person that needs to be busy and feel like I have a purpose to my day. It kind of feels like my whole life is on hold while I wait for all these big life events to happen; ironman, wedding, honeymoon, new job. That's a whole lot of life changing events to cram into 2 weeks!.. and a whole lot of stress both on my mind and on my body. But i am excited. And in the meantime I am going to try and keep my day busy, and really focus on training, I mean who is lucky like me and gets to train all day and not have to work? I guess that is what the pros do.. so I'll pretend I'm a pro triathlete for the next month! ha! But there isn't much time left, there are only 2 weeks of hard traning left and then tapering and resting up for the 2 weeks leading up to the big race. EEK! It's already been 8 months of training! only one more!
We are headed to kokanousa this weekend which should be fun. For the last 4 years my dad has headed there in the summer. Ben and I are planning to do lots of training, focusing mainly on swimming but we'll also do a fair sized ride (4 hours) and a couple of good runs. Then we just plan on lounging in the sun. It is supposed to be really nice this weekend and it will be nice to get out of the city!
Hope everyone else has a great long weekend!
Getting the job was a relief, but it's been complicated since I need some time off at the end of august/begining of september so they decided that my start date would be after I get back from my honeymoon.... the day after I get back.. actually 12 hours after we get back! SO I have the next month off! I struggled with this a bit because I am the type of person that needs to be busy and feel like I have a purpose to my day. It kind of feels like my whole life is on hold while I wait for all these big life events to happen; ironman, wedding, honeymoon, new job. That's a whole lot of life changing events to cram into 2 weeks!.. and a whole lot of stress both on my mind and on my body. But i am excited. And in the meantime I am going to try and keep my day busy, and really focus on training, I mean who is lucky like me and gets to train all day and not have to work? I guess that is what the pros do.. so I'll pretend I'm a pro triathlete for the next month! ha! But there isn't much time left, there are only 2 weeks of hard traning left and then tapering and resting up for the 2 weeks leading up to the big race. EEK! It's already been 8 months of training! only one more!
We are headed to kokanousa this weekend which should be fun. For the last 4 years my dad has headed there in the summer. Ben and I are planning to do lots of training, focusing mainly on swimming but we'll also do a fair sized ride (4 hours) and a couple of good runs. Then we just plan on lounging in the sun. It is supposed to be really nice this weekend and it will be nice to get out of the city!
Hope everyone else has a great long weekend!
Monday, July 25, 2011
and more of that training thing....
In 5 weeks from today I will (hopefully is all goes according to plan) be a ironwoman, and in 6 weeks from today I will be married to my best friend and we will be in mexico! ahh! I'm SO excited!
On the training front, we had a pretty productive weekend. Last week after getting home from the lake I felt like I was getting sick. You know the achy, feeling crappy feeling. So I took tuesday, wednesday, AND thursday off.. whoops. But I think it did my body some good. On Friday we hit the pool after work (it was a short workout though because we had tickets to harry potter!). Then Saturday was THE day. We got up, and and we got a longish run in... seperately of course. Actually I really dragged my butt and didn't get out until an hour after ben. But we both got 2 hours and 15 minutes in... Although ben of course ran like twice as far as me. But i felt really good. It was the first run in a while where I felt strong and focused. I think those days off did me some good. I got home around 11:30, we ate breakfast and then headed to canmore to climb ha-ling peak.
We motored up it, and we were back at the car within 2 hours. Starving, we went into town and had some lunch/dinner. When we got back to Calgary, we were pretty tired and we both had a solid 2 hour nap. It was awesome.
Sunday, since we had our 2 hour nap on saturday evening we didn't fall asleep until late (well midnight... but that is really late for us!). So we let ourselves sleep in on sunday. Then we drove out to highway 22 to polish our legs off on the road to nepal. We started biking at 10:30 and well, lets say I suffered through it. Despite my sore legs, being exhausted, and starving I did make the whole 60 kms loop. I jsut kept telling myself that i have to get used to keep on pushing despite being axhausted. But lets just say Ben had a very very grumpy Jen to deal with until she ate all the contents left in the fridge and had a peters milkshake later that day.
We have 3 big weeks left to push, and then 2 tapering weeks and then it's game time. I am already feeling pretty nervous for the race, but I know we will do great!
On the wedding front things are coming together nicely, and I just can't wait for the big day!
Have a great week! We're headed to Kokanousa this weekend to hang out at the lake with my dad!.. and of course do some more of that trianing thing.
On the training front, we had a pretty productive weekend. Last week after getting home from the lake I felt like I was getting sick. You know the achy, feeling crappy feeling. So I took tuesday, wednesday, AND thursday off.. whoops. But I think it did my body some good. On Friday we hit the pool after work (it was a short workout though because we had tickets to harry potter!). Then Saturday was THE day. We got up, and and we got a longish run in... seperately of course. Actually I really dragged my butt and didn't get out until an hour after ben. But we both got 2 hours and 15 minutes in... Although ben of course ran like twice as far as me. But i felt really good. It was the first run in a while where I felt strong and focused. I think those days off did me some good. I got home around 11:30, we ate breakfast and then headed to canmore to climb ha-ling peak.
We motored up it, and we were back at the car within 2 hours. Starving, we went into town and had some lunch/dinner. When we got back to Calgary, we were pretty tired and we both had a solid 2 hour nap. It was awesome.
Sunday, since we had our 2 hour nap on saturday evening we didn't fall asleep until late (well midnight... but that is really late for us!). So we let ourselves sleep in on sunday. Then we drove out to highway 22 to polish our legs off on the road to nepal. We started biking at 10:30 and well, lets say I suffered through it. Despite my sore legs, being exhausted, and starving I did make the whole 60 kms loop. I jsut kept telling myself that i have to get used to keep on pushing despite being axhausted. But lets just say Ben had a very very grumpy Jen to deal with until she ate all the contents left in the fridge and had a peters milkshake later that day.
We have 3 big weeks left to push, and then 2 tapering weeks and then it's game time. I am already feeling pretty nervous for the race, but I know we will do great!
On the wedding front things are coming together nicely, and I just can't wait for the big day!
Have a great week! We're headed to Kokanousa this weekend to hang out at the lake with my dad!.. and of course do some more of that trianing thing.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Goodsoil
The past 5 days I have been in goodsoil saskatchewan. For those of you who are not my family (however limited that may be) you may be asking where the heck is goodsoil saskatchewan. Well :
It's pretty much a very small farming town up in northern saskatchewan... and it is a long ways from calgary. You may ask why the heck we go to such a place in the middle of now where? well because:
there is an amazing lake there... and because when my great grandfather immigrated from germany, he was given land there and was one of the founding fathers of this small piece of paradise Canada. We have been going there since I can remember, and my mom has been going there since she can remember.
We had a great time, but, sadly, I had to leave Ben behind. Since he is working and it is a 7 hour drive he couldn't even come up for just the weekend. So I got to be the 7th wheel all weekend with my mom and murray, my sister and her boyfriend, and my brother and his girlfriend. Actually we had a great time. I went for a longish run on saturday morning. The day day started out promising with not a cloud in the sky which lead to a very hot run. But, by the end of my 2 hour (22 km) run, the sky had started to cloud over and it proceeded to be a cloudy/windy day. So we set up the campsite, made pie irons for lunch on the fire and just relaxed. That night we had a couple of surprise visitors in the middle of the night, as a mama black bear and her two cubs decided to visit our campsite. It was quite the excitement at 6 am, but murray managed to scare them off before my siblings in the tents had a heart attack.
Sunday we were going to head to church, but after the bear excitement we wound up sleeping in. I was planning on going for a long bike, but I had forgotten about how TERRIBLE the roads are in saskatchewan. Like seriously, there are parts of the highway that are just gravel. In fact, 2 years ago I broke the suspension on my old car when I crossed from Alberta to Saskatchewan. SO, the bike stayed parked all weekend. It was a beautiful day, and we maneged to get a few hours down at the beach. However, the drama did not end with the bears. When we launched my mom's old boat it died in the middle of the lake. Like seriously its completely dead. Paul had to paddle the boat ashore. I was planning on swimming the 3 miles across the lake, but I needed a boat to follow me, so thankfully some relatives (thank you to chelsea, cassidy, feron, lisa, and michelle) followed me in their pontoon boat with my mom and murray tagging along for the ride. I have swam the lake before 10 years ago when I in grade 9 and it took me over 2 hours. However, that was kind of a sput of the moment thing. I thought, I could swim across there... so I did. Then we tired 2 years ago, because ben and my brother wanted to try but the water was tooo cold. This year I came prepared. I brought my wetsuit, and after squeeezing into it I was ready to rock. I made it in 1 hour and 25 minutes! I guess this ironman training thing is paying off. I spent the rest of the day lounging on the beach. Monday morning we woke up to pouring rain. But by the time we finished breakfast it had cleared up and turned into another hot beautiful day. I got a quick 10k run in then headed down to the beach to enjoy our last full day at the lake. My brother, his girlfriend, and I had to leave the hot weather and started the long trip home on tuesday.
Since Ben couldn't come to goodsoil, he headed to fernie for some training and a visit with his mom. He biked 160 kms on saturday! I was so impressed. The furthest we had gone previously was 140 kms. Then Ben had a chance to go over and see the lodge where we are getting married and it is beautiful!
Despite some of the drama that happened, it is going to be beautiful and perfect.
In other news, I have a final interview with scotia bank today. This could be an amazing opportunity for me so hopefully everything works out. Actually, I have already turned down one job just because I really want this one. So with me luck!
We had a great time, but, sadly, I had to leave Ben behind. Since he is working and it is a 7 hour drive he couldn't even come up for just the weekend. So I got to be the 7th wheel all weekend with my mom and murray, my sister and her boyfriend, and my brother and his girlfriend. Actually we had a great time. I went for a longish run on saturday morning. The day day started out promising with not a cloud in the sky which lead to a very hot run. But, by the end of my 2 hour (22 km) run, the sky had started to cloud over and it proceeded to be a cloudy/windy day. So we set up the campsite, made pie irons for lunch on the fire and just relaxed. That night we had a couple of surprise visitors in the middle of the night, as a mama black bear and her two cubs decided to visit our campsite. It was quite the excitement at 6 am, but murray managed to scare them off before my siblings in the tents had a heart attack.
Sunday we were going to head to church, but after the bear excitement we wound up sleeping in. I was planning on going for a long bike, but I had forgotten about how TERRIBLE the roads are in saskatchewan. Like seriously, there are parts of the highway that are just gravel. In fact, 2 years ago I broke the suspension on my old car when I crossed from Alberta to Saskatchewan. SO, the bike stayed parked all weekend. It was a beautiful day, and we maneged to get a few hours down at the beach. However, the drama did not end with the bears. When we launched my mom's old boat it died in the middle of the lake. Like seriously its completely dead. Paul had to paddle the boat ashore. I was planning on swimming the 3 miles across the lake, but I needed a boat to follow me, so thankfully some relatives (thank you to chelsea, cassidy, feron, lisa, and michelle) followed me in their pontoon boat with my mom and murray tagging along for the ride. I have swam the lake before 10 years ago when I in grade 9 and it took me over 2 hours. However, that was kind of a sput of the moment thing. I thought, I could swim across there... so I did. Then we tired 2 years ago, because ben and my brother wanted to try but the water was tooo cold. This year I came prepared. I brought my wetsuit, and after squeeezing into it I was ready to rock. I made it in 1 hour and 25 minutes! I guess this ironman training thing is paying off. I spent the rest of the day lounging on the beach. Monday morning we woke up to pouring rain. But by the time we finished breakfast it had cleared up and turned into another hot beautiful day. I got a quick 10k run in then headed down to the beach to enjoy our last full day at the lake. My brother, his girlfriend, and I had to leave the hot weather and started the long trip home on tuesday.
Since Ben couldn't come to goodsoil, he headed to fernie for some training and a visit with his mom. He biked 160 kms on saturday! I was so impressed. The furthest we had gone previously was 140 kms. Then Ben had a chance to go over and see the lodge where we are getting married and it is beautiful!
Despite some of the drama that happened, it is going to be beautiful and perfect.
In other news, I have a final interview with scotia bank today. This could be an amazing opportunity for me so hopefully everything works out. Actually, I have already turned down one job just because I really want this one. So with me luck!
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