Mark McLaren & April Hichens | Team in Training » aprilhichens

April and Mark are Ready to Rock in Victoria, BC

ironmanbuzz — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 01:21:16 +0000

April (center) with our team captain and friends from TNT at a recent practice triathlon

Our Washington chapter Team In Training Victoria half ironman group, ready for a practice swim in lake Washington

Thoughts on “Friends Coping with Cancer”

April — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 20:26:15 +0000

I think this whole TNT business is so interesting on a personal level. There are so many life lessons encased in this experience. We constantly use our growing understanding of what “endurance” actually means, and I would venture that the mental aspect is about 80% vs. 20% physical. I know athletes know this, but I didn’t and not in this context. I’m sick at the moment and have felt crappy for a few weeks, now. I have limped along or skipped altogether my workouts, both team-based and the “OYO” (on your own), and am now one step away from pure panic. We’ve entered the training realm that goes beyond what we had to do for the Olympic distance tri last year (which is approximately half the distance demanded in a 1/2 IM). That makes me very, very afraid, I must say, and even moreso when I’ve felt unable to keep up with all the training demands the past few weeks.

But, with that said (and after having a conniption fit with Mark this afternoon), I think I can still complete the deed if I decide to keep my head cool and just do what they tell me. The trick, for me, is not to think about it too much. The numbers freak me out so much so that I convince myself it’s not possible to: ride my bike for 50 miles or run for 9 or swim for 1…

But, I have done the swimming leg of it regularly, now, for a month or so (1.2 miles); I have ridden 35 miles; I have run 8 miles.

Our old swimming coach from last year used to say, “If we could only unscrew that thing on top of your neck, we’d be able to do a LOT more than we ever thought possible…” Julie is right on that score.

Which is the perfect marriage for helping to raise awareness and $$ for LLS – the folks they are attending to are on their very own endurance competition, and one they didn’t have the absolute luxury to choose. Jonelle Horn, our Honorary Teammate, says that in order for her to get through her treatment, she just put one foot in front of the other, every minute, every hour, every day. She tried not to look too far down the road, but just continued with that very AA concept of doing it one day/step at a time.

Yep. That’s what I need to do. Thanks, Mark, for the reminder.

- April

Where is this New Balance Half Ironman Triathlon 2009?

ironmanbuzz — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 07:07:27 +0000

Those of you wondering where in the heck the New Balance Half Ironman Triathlon 2009 will actually take place – or, for that matter, be honest, some of you are probably wondering if this triathlon thing Mark and April claim they are going to do really exists – well, here is some evidence that it does.

The New Balance Triathlon is part of the Subaru West Coast Triathlon Series, which has a very snappy web site. So there’s that.

For now, I just want to share with you the location of the triathlon start line on this nifty Google map. The triathlon begins with the swim, and the swim portion of the tri takes place in Elk/Beaver Lake in Victoria, BC. On the map, you’ll see the beach, which is called Hamsterly Beach. The swim starts and ends in nearly the same spot on Hamsterly Beach. If you set the map to “Satellite” view and zoom in real close, I think you can see the hamsters.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t really care for the sound of “Hamsterly Beach” as the site for a triathlon swim. I was hoping for something like “Manly Beach” or maybe “Badass Beach”. Oh well!

Here’s a look at the bike course on MapMyRide.com. We go around this twice. New Balance Victoria Half Ironman 2009 bike course on MapMyRide.com.

For the run, we go around Elk/Beaver Lake. There’s a map of the run course below. You can download a copy if you care to take a closer look.

I’m sure we will see many Elk/Beavers along the way. See the photo below, with the human form inset for comparison. These are a majestic species of Humongous Beaver, native to Vancouver Island. The males have gigantic antlers, and, of course, very large, flat tails. Truly amazing!

Victoria Half Ironman 2009 Run Course - 2 laps

Training Update from April

April — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 06:19:40 +0000

Just received another donation from Mark’s mom, Elizabeth Forrest. Thank you!!!

With the exception of an odd little bout of vertigo (April) and the recent snow here in Seattle (today, Sunday 12/14), our training is going well. Mark is the competitor, I am the completer. He wants to win, I want to survive! He seems to derive an inordinate amount of pleasure from wearing his cycling/running tights, too, and nearly breaks out in song when he dashes out the door for his workouts. He is making great progress in all three sports.

I am really surprised and amazed at how easy it’s been to get back into the swing of things. I took the summer off after having completed the Olympic distance triathlon at the end of June, but taking the summer off just meant that I didn’t stick to a training regimen. I did, however, ride bikes with the boys, swim laps during their lessons and took a couple of runs on my old route. It wasn’t completely sedentary! I was under the assumption that I’d be starting at Square One at the start of this training, but it’s not been too bad yet.

We train for each sport twice a week, with three days spent with the team itself and the other three on our own. We’ve worked out a schedule of sorts, with the help of our great and kind friends here in Seattle, where we do the “big” training day together (and drop the kids off at said friends’ homes for the morning) on Saturdays. Typically we do the longer and usually more rigorous team workout on that day. We split the swim practices so that Mark goes one night and I attend another (we have two nights to choose from), and we take the boys along on the run night – it’s at an outdoor track – and they high-five all our TNT teammates as they pass with a “GO TEAM!!!”. Oz also prides himself in passing every teammate while running around the track.

Mark and I split the OYO (on your own) workouts with Mark doing the a.m. slot and my inhabiting the evening gig. We make the most of our membership at the YMCA, which is a couple of miles away, allowing us to either bike ride or jog there, if the weather and our desires permit. It’s dark early, these days, so I tend to drive, but come Spring I’ll jog there. We ride stationary bikes, do our strength training, and swim laps. Mark opts for the spinning classes, but after I he told me that the instructor yells at participants to get moving, I just do my own thing. I know things will become increasingly more time consuming and rigorous, but for now it’s all good. We have seven more months to go and by the end of it we’ll be running 15-20 miles, swimming a couple of miles and biking 60+ on any given workout. Crazy. What a weird thing to take up as a 47 year-old!

That’s it for now – thanks for stopping by! April