tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53751371729422879632024-02-19T15:26:39.384-08:00You have to decide that you want it, more than you are afraid of it...Living life with passion and purposeDarin Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09215503806055860575noreply@blogger.comBlogger348125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375137172942287963.post-69973828194752075482015-10-20T13:45:00.003-07:002015-10-20T13:45:42.844-07:00An Incredible 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well it turned out to be an amazing year of training and racing and although I'm definitely not as fast as I used to be I'd say I did pretty well this year incorporating training, racing, work and family into my very busy life. All 3 half Iron distance races I competed in this year were within 2 minutes of the same finish time and that is pretty incredible considering they all had very different challenges. IM Florida 70.3 was a slow swim, very fast bike, and hot, humid and hilly run, I struggled to a 4:36 finish. IM Calgary was a messed up long swim, cold and hilly bike, and always a challenging hilly run, again I struggled but pulled out another 4:36 race. Challenge Penticton 1/2 was a fast swim, very windy, hilly, difficult bike, and a fairly fast run but the bike knocked me on my ass for the run and I struggled to a 4:38 finish. All in all I loved racing 1/2s this year and I think I'm going to continue it next year. I don't think I'll drag the family to a destination race this year (IM Florida was a lot more expensive than I thought) but I'm excited to try the new 70.3 in Coeur d'Alene this year in June, continue to race IM Calgary 70.3 and I'll attempt the ITU Long Course in Penticton in August to see if I may be able to get close to Ironman shape again. <br />
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I had a tough time keeping the body healthy even sticking to the 1/2 distance but if things go okay next year, I may consider IM in 2017 or 2018. For now I'm happy to keep training and racing and it's very inspiring to see everyone out there wearing the Speed Rev colors. To know that it's something Amber and I started years ago and to see so many people embrace the lifestyle is amazing, I hope it continues for many years to come. <br />
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Darin Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09215503806055860575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375137172942287963.post-76665600224988377272015-08-04T12:33:00.000-07:002015-08-04T15:15:53.878-07:00Calgary 70.3 2015<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm tired but thankfully my biggest fan was there to greet me at the finish</td></tr>
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I think I might have been in a funk during my last post, it's true that I've had some tough times training and racing this year but that doesn't mean I'm not enjoying my life to the fullest. Amber said I sounded depressed after reading my last post and I think after twisting my ankle badly and knowing that I wasn't going to have the race I'd hoped in Calgary I probably was a little down. The ankle is healed, there is still a little lingering stiffness but that's the least of all the injuries I'm dealing with this year. I have to say that I've had an amazing summer and just concentrating on the 1/2 distance was the best decision I could have made, I'm not sure if I ever want to do another full IM. <br />
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Calgary was going to be my 'A' race but after the injury it became a 'B' race and Challenge Penticton moved into the 'A' spot. I was definitely good with that as I knew I'd need at least another 4 weeks of run training to get in the 4:30 range I was hoping for. I love the race here and it was so nice to be close to home and see a lot of friends out there on the course. The Speed Revolution team is growing and although the momentum has slowed a bit I expected that with our move to Calgary. Everyone is definitely excited to get together in Penticton and race their hearts out. <br />
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The swim was the usual mess but after a few hundred meters I found some space and settled into a groove. I headed in the direction of shore after what I thought was one of the last buoys then two volunteers turned us in the direction back into the bay. I didn't think anything of it at first, they did the same thing when the race was at Lake MacKenzie and I just followed the feet in front of me but then on the way back I swam through about 20 guys treading water asking a volunteer where they should be going. I knew I didn't cut the course so I kept swimming but then I looked at my watch at T1 and saw 35mins! What! It should not have been any more than 30mins if the course was right for the effort I was putting out. I tried to just shake it off but it did bother me a bit on the bike. <br />
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The ride was amazing, I love that bike out to Bragg Creek but you really have to be patient. I knew I couldn't get frustrated with my pace going out (it's a slow steady uphill) but it's hard to ride 50k in 1:30 when I know I've gone a lot faster. That being said I made up a lot of time on the way back and was okay with a 2:28 over the 87.3k. The week of focused bike training really paid off and although I couldn't really push hard like I'm used to I'm pleased to have not gone into the run with my legs cramping the entire time. <br />
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The run is fantastic through the weaselhead trails and being that I grew up around there and have done a ton of training around that reservoir I knew what was in store. Even though I knew what to expect I honestly hoped I would have the legs for the final 5k but things played out much like I thought they would. The first 7k were the 'warming into' the race pace, the next 7k were the 'try to hold the pace' part of the race, and the final 7k were the 'oh my God why didn't I run more' part of the race. By 14k I knew it was going to be tough to maintain my pace and I just ended up doing what I did in Florida which was run as long as I could, walk and get the HR down and start running again as soon as possible. It worked for a while but by the final 3-4kms I was really walking a lot. It was tough to take but I raced as well as I could for the entire time and I have to be happy with a 4:36.27 final time. <br />
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I really love this race and will most likely do it again next year, it's so nice to be able to eat your own food, sleep in your own bed and use your own washroom in the morning. Almost made the 4:30am wake up bearable. Next up is Challenge 1/2 and I'm going to break 4:30 there!Darin Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09215503806055860575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375137172942287963.post-19708695468452498222015-06-29T09:23:00.000-07:002015-06-29T14:47:52.743-07:00A Lingering Question<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enjoying some park time with the little man</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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It's been quite a while since I felt this way but I find myself starting to ask some important questions about continuing to train and race. Since October of last year I've been dealing with a painful calf injury and I know that all it needs is a season off but I stubbornly told my physio, 'that's not going to happen.' I'm willing to take the time off after Challenge Penticton but I refuse to give up another season of racing to heal. Now I'm starting to think about how ridiculous that is... My main goal with racing is to give myself a target in order to keep myself fit and in shape. I'm not a professional, I'm not earning a living doing this so why do I need to wake up every morning feeling like I've been hit by a truck. <br />
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Yesterday I went for a little trail run thinking it would be nice to get off the pavement and just do some easy off-road running. I started out having pain in my calf, knee and back and I probably looked like I was running very akward. I got into a bit of a grove on the trails but then 5kms into it I twisted my ankle badly.... argh!!! I hobbled back home and started to evaluate if I really want to continue to race in 2015. Nothing has been easy, taking the time to train constantly causes stress between Amber and I. My body is not responding as well to the training as it used to, I know I've run a lot faster at a lot less effort in the past. Finally Ryder has been extremely tough to deal with when I am home, of course Amber has to deal with the majority of his tantrums but hearing the screaming all day every day is emotionally draining. <br />
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I realize there is still a month until Calgary 70.3 and two months until Challenge Penticton but it's looking more like this year is not going to turn out as planned and I have to just be willing to accept that and move on. I'm going to try to workout more instead of 'train' and treat it more like a reward then work, I've only been able to get in 2 workouts a week in each discipline anyway so I may just be a participant then a racer in my events this summer. No worries things change in life and I have to be willing to accept that fact and just be happy that I'm healthy and have a loving family. Darin Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09215503806055860575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375137172942287963.post-88432282487034362172015-04-21T14:32:00.001-07:002015-04-21T14:32:16.076-07:00Everything I HadWell I gave it everything I had on the day, the only real issue I had was dealing with the heat on the run. I knew what to expect so I shouldn't be surprised but it's next to impossible to train in Canada for a hot and humid race and not fall apart on the run, for me at least. The race itself was fantastic, there were too many turns on the swim which was terrible when I started running into the other swim waves in front but for the most part it was really exciting and amazing to be in an Ironman atmosphere in mid-April. I'd prepared really well, getting in quite a bit of training leading up to it but still suffering from a calf injury and not running a lot leading up to this one. I still managed to get in 5- 90km rides and 5- 21km runs and a ton of other shorter stuff. I felt good about my swimming and riding it was just going to be tough to run like I'm used to without a proper run build. <br />
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The swim was pretty rough, the course is shaped like an M so there were 6- 90' turns and the smashing and thrashing was terrible. I was right in the middle swim wave so there was no where to go but forward, it wasn't a wetsuit swim so I was okay with a 32:22. The ride was amazing, I drove the course the day before and was a little worried with all the turns but being at sea level really helped and I felt like I was flying! I was pleasantly surprised with a 2:21.15 time and thought I would be closer to 2:30 based on my training but the turns didn't slow me down too much and it broke up the monotony of the course. So I was starting the run in under 3hrs which was my goal and I still felt fairly fresh, I took in lots of calories on the bike and didn't push too hard. I had to deal with the stabbing in my quads for the first couple miles but I managed to run it out. My issue on the run was I just couldn't get my temperature down no matter what I tried, I was dumping ice, water, ice, water and I just couldn't hold a steady pace. I'd run for about 500m then have to walk a couple steps and start running again, it was very frustrating but I knew if I didn't walk for too long I could still pull out a decent race. It was 3- 7k loops with 3 big climbs each loop so there was 9 really hard points on the course and by the final loop I was really struggling. I did a lot of hill climbing in training but nothing in 28'C weather. I still managed to shuffle to a 1:38.32 half marathon but I know I'm capable of at least a 1:24 in a half IM so I'll be working for that for Calgary 70.3.<br />
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Darin Hunter<br />
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Overall Rank: 34<br />
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Div Rank: 4<br />
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Gender Rank: 34General Info <br />
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BIB 1159 <br />
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Division 40-44 <br />
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Age 42 <br />
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State AB <br />
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Country CAN <br />
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Profession --- <br />
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Points 3315 <br />
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Race Summary <br />
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Swim 00:32:22 <br />
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Bike 02:21:15 <br />
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Run 01:38:32 <br />
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Overall 04:36:29 <br />
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SWIM DETAILS <br />
Division Rank: 13<br />
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Split Name Distance Split Time Race Time Pace Division Rank Gender Rank Overall Rank <br />
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Total 1.2 mi 00:32:22 00:32:22 01:40/100m 13 85 96 <br />
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BIKE DETAILS <br />
Division Rank: 6<br />
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Split Name Distance Split Time Race Time Pace Division Rank Gender Rank Overall Rank <br />
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Total 56 mi 02:21:15 02:56:05 23.79 mph 6 36 36 <br />
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RUN DETAILS <br />
Division Rank: 4<br />
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Split Name Distance Split Time Race Time Pace Division Rank Gender Rank Overall Rank <br />
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Total 13.1 mi 01:38:32 04:36:29 07:31/mi 4 34 34 <br />
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Transition Details<br />
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T1: Swim-to-bike 00:02:28 <br />
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T2: Bike-to-run 00:01:52Darin Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09215503806055860575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375137172942287963.post-1602189799144710282015-03-23T12:53:00.002-07:002015-04-06T15:22:34.311-07:003 Final Weeks<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Coach</td></tr>
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It's hard to believe that winter has seem to have come and gone, I remember thinking about this race in October and feeling like I had all the time in the world to get ready for a 1/2 Ironman. Add in a high maintenance 2 year old, a job move, a house move, an injury and time seems to have flown past. Amber says I've been training really well and I'll be as ready as I can be for an early season 1/2, it's hard to go into it knowing that I'm not in my 'peak form' but I have to admit that what I think is 'peak form' probably only exists in my memory. No longer can I run out my door and bang off 4:00min/kms for 21kms and feel good afterwards, now I'm struggling to get to 4:00min/kms and not feel like I'm in a full on sprint. At least it seems like the calf is under control, I've had to adjust the number of times I run a week but at least I can run. I did a 1:30 21.1k yesterday and didn't feel too bad, I'm hoping with the warmer weather and less layers I'll be able to run faster.<br />
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I've done 4- 21km runs and a bunch of shorter stuff and 4- 90km bikes with a lot of other rides so I'm hoping I have the fitness, the trouble is always going to be the heat. I guess I've done what I can do, layering up with no fan, but it is extremely hard to simulate that hot sun burning you into a shriveled mess during that 1/2 marathon. This race reminds me a lot of training for Puerto Rico back in 2011, very early season training all inside but the difference there was Amber and I were doing the training together and didn't have a toddler to take care of, major, major difference... Regardless of the result I'm going to treat it as a fun holiday with my family and just be grateful I can do this sport and remain healthy and fit. I haven't been to Florida since I was 17 and I remember it being so beautiful and temperate, so nice to just walk around in shorts and a t-shirt all the time. I'll have the first couple days thinking about the race but then I just want to spend a week and enjoy the holiday. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr_Sh987Jao3peDhKRURjEEM4sRkOXBcHE7UdS2sBmm3v-81h9DMdg1BS65AKvETMO8pmLHKRoLU_gkTfY6088GDq0UJkvVpC0D9FEOCCDvSdBZYAMPE8e0FEyC_hQ6v62B3Azj3Gl3Tk/s1600/Outside.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" closure_lm_689579="null" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr_Sh987Jao3peDhKRURjEEM4sRkOXBcHE7UdS2sBmm3v-81h9DMdg1BS65AKvETMO8pmLHKRoLU_gkTfY6088GDq0UJkvVpC0D9FEOCCDvSdBZYAMPE8e0FEyC_hQ6v62B3Azj3Gl3Tk/s1600/Outside.JPG" height="320" tta="true" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">March 7th and riding outside, nice!</td></tr>
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Darin Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09215503806055860575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375137172942287963.post-37283402681048274522015-02-23T09:35:00.002-08:002015-02-23T17:37:56.256-08:007 Weeks and Counting<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi41rXpR5K9qSn2MjsDzOd9rz4k44tPh6hYnRsdZbkbXIjWHRb3xGbQaJi8aCOEfuPrZY8X1XH8bqUFKXoeFve5QiYFOqVzRh9jdIZQJxR7zZf98DgLykRxsN8TOfa2jAa0DxnC-_yblC8/s1600/IMG_1166.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi41rXpR5K9qSn2MjsDzOd9rz4k44tPh6hYnRsdZbkbXIjWHRb3xGbQaJi8aCOEfuPrZY8X1XH8bqUFKXoeFve5QiYFOqVzRh9jdIZQJxR7zZf98DgLykRxsN8TOfa2jAa0DxnC-_yblC8/s1600/IMG_1166.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amber and I out for a chilly Feb Mountain Bike</td></tr>
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It's been quite the transition from GP to Calgary, things at work are a little slower than I usually prefer but I know it always takes time to develop the business so I'm practicing patience. The move to Calgary was definitely a good one for my family, we all love being closer to grandparents, especially Ryder and my folks love having him close. Training for a 1/2 Ironman in the early spring has always been a challenge but with a 2 year old it's even more challenging then you would imagine. I can't complain Ryder is 10 times easier then he was last year and Amber has had time to go to yoga 3-4 times a week which is fantastic but he is a very high energy kid and I'm glad I'm only doing 1/2 IMs this year because trying to train for an IM seems impossible given the energy requirements of IM training.<br />
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I'm starting to get the areobic engine going again, I was training consistently in December and January and it's starting to pay off. An hour ride in December was absolute hell but now I seem to comfortably bang out a 2:30 ride on the Computrainer and run for 20mins with no problems. It's helped that the therapy on my calf is working and I'm not in absolutle pain after every ride or run. It's been a very long healing process but I'm now starting to feel like I'm going to be injury free before the race, if you ever start to feel pain in your foot don't assume it's plantar facititis and have it taken care of.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First 13.1M in 2015 and it wasn't easy</td></tr>
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I completed a 21.1k run yesterday and although I'm a bit sore the injury is okay and I feel like I can train properly and will be ready for April 12th.
The next 6-7 weeks are going to be key to being ready for IM Florida 70.3 and I'm really excited to do this race, the training reminds me of Puerto Rico; in the basement with no fan and 6-7 bottles of Gu/Water, and 3 different sets of bike gear but I have a good plan in place and I'll be as ready as I can be for a spring race. I know I won't be 100% in shape and my Calgary 70.3 and Challenge 1/2 will probably be a lot faster but I'm just excited to be doing a 1/2 distance again and I really enjoy the training. There is one thing about endurance racing that makes you feel more in shape than ever before and I'm happy to be back at it. My body responds differently then it did in my 30s but even with more needed recovery time I feel like I'm going to have a good race. Darin Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09215503806055860575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375137172942287963.post-14584323857351095742015-01-11T15:28:00.001-08:002015-01-11T15:28:50.877-08:00Bike BingeIt's normally pretty tough for me to get on my bike with the little man around but I managed to get in some pretty good rides over the holidays. Although I only had time to ride twice this week I managed 7 rides in 14 days in Calgary, not too bad considering it was the holidays and I'd normally just be drinking coffee and laying around. It's easier when you aren't running at all, my foot is still an issue and now I'm starting to worry about Florida. I really need to start getting in some long runs soon and I can barely get in 30mins without pain. I've never had Plantar Fasciitis and I hope I never do again but it really sucks. It's over 3 months and I've done everything I can think of, I just have to be patient. I'll get back I know it's just going to take some time.<br />
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Swimming has been going okay, I'm not fast but I feel good in the pool and the bike is about the same. The speed will come later just need to keep working on that base, did a 2hr 30min ride with some guys today and it amazed me how quickly the time went by, I didn't think I could ride that long but it wasn't a problem. Darin Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09215503806055860575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375137172942287963.post-54248252708409699222014-12-04T11:29:00.001-08:002014-12-04T11:29:46.455-08:00Dreaming of Summer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKnguAzyznpfHICZokxtFwyV-d8juyqqu7OTzVEIKYMJoWtsL5H2HEQaK0-sC3LS9wvoFNxMqLFeQosnY3Kku0tvzkw-xWSI1MCmd_KHqcW2i_j_a1XSguu5woroBLzaPxAnASjxj4CZw/s1600/Summer+Bike+Route.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" closure_lm_355493="null" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKnguAzyznpfHICZokxtFwyV-d8juyqqu7OTzVEIKYMJoWtsL5H2HEQaK0-sC3LS9wvoFNxMqLFeQosnY3Kku0tvzkw-xWSI1MCmd_KHqcW2i_j_a1XSguu5woroBLzaPxAnASjxj4CZw/s1600/Summer+Bike+Route.JPG" eta="true" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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I know it's probably not healthy to be thinking about summer vacation plans at the beginning of December but I need some sort of 'event' or goal to be excited about. We are right in the middle of packing and making the move to Calgary and it's a lot of work so I'm thinking about all the things to look forward to in 2015 with the family. The highlight of our summer is definitely going to be our 'Tour BC' type bike trip through SE B.C. and SW Alberta, 7 days of camping and riding with the family in an RV doing some excellent training and having fun with Amber and Ryder. I have a lot of great 1/2s planned in 2015 too so getting back into swim-bike-run shape is going to be a challenge but one I look forward too. The only thing that was missing in our lives in GP was having family close by to watch Ryder for a while. It's very hard for a couple like us who need time to ourselves to just decompress from the day with training to always have at least one of us taking care of Ryder at all times. I think with my parents nearby it's going to make things a lot easier, Amber could take an hour or two during the day to train and I could take some time after work and we'd still all have time together as a family. <br />
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Tentative schedule for me next year is; Florida 70.3 (registered), Calgary 1/2 marathon, Chinook 1/2 IM (possibly), Calgary 70.3 (registered), Challenge 1/2 (registered)<br />
Darin Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09215503806055860575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375137172942287963.post-62939990173854247372014-10-30T10:17:00.000-07:002014-10-30T12:57:19.487-07:00The Mental RaceAll of us who have raced for a number of years know the importance of preparing for a race mentally as well as physically. The physical preparation for a race seems rather easy and straight forward but what does it mean to prepare mentally? Being prepped for a race mentally means not letting all of the issues in life that are designed to throw you off your perfect race from derailing your plan on the day you need to be ready. Most of the excuses I hear from athletes are completely preventable, even some of those that athletes feel are out of their control. Of course when we have a bad race we look for reasons why, I ate something bad the night before... Why? You should know exactly what type of foods are going to cause you issues and stick with the ones that won't, controllable. I got a flat on the course... This happens to everyone and although it's unfortunate you should know exactly the perfect tire pressure for you and your bike that will let you go fast while being able to handle a rough course. There is never going to be a course that doesn't have some debris and your bike should be able to go over most of it, flats of course happen and you should be able to change it quickly and efficiently so as not to ruin your race. I couldn't get in the amount of training required to race to my potential. Ok why? Did you choose a race that didn't take into account your work, family, life outside of racing? You are in control of when and how often you race and you should be the one to critically evaluate what races are going to be your "A races" and what if any are going to be your "B or C races."<br />
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Things always happen in life and in racing and we have to be honest with ourselves as to what our expectations are. When I flatted in Prince George this year and I knew I couldn't continue because of a shredded tire, sure I was disappointed at the time but I after thinking about it for a few minutes I realized that racing is a privilage and getting a flat in one race is not the end of the world. Most people would love to live the life of adventure that training and racing brings me and I need to be happy that I am 1. physically able to do what I do and 2. have the mental discipline to continue to keep myself fit and fast at my age.<br />
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Mentally preparing for your season is as important as physically preparing and I think too many athletes focus on the physical and just think the mental part of it will take care of itself on race day. Visualizing your perfect race, going through your race plan before, dealing with issues as they come up quickly and efficently as well as keeping your cool are all things that are going to help you have a great race and a great season. Most of the excuses we come up with boil down to things that we can control and for those that we can't we should have a plan in place so that we know how we are going to deal with them when they happen. Darin Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09215503806055860575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375137172942287963.post-62954762232622385832014-10-24T11:52:00.000-07:002014-10-24T11:52:07.481-07:00Loving the Off-Season<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_OBZKWuSRLBwMlgUz1bdGaPW4whhmEukHIz6DuPdmxWctifoAoZ9pp7OjONt-tO-vwMiWoJcH5evq5yK9ivo82Ozk3XLkOwT-0mlxTsOKAr8ByDe8rUVQt5t9K4zHrqbR15SxbjChJGA/s1600/Off+Season.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" closure_lm_820457="null" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_OBZKWuSRLBwMlgUz1bdGaPW4whhmEukHIz6DuPdmxWctifoAoZ9pp7OjONt-tO-vwMiWoJcH5evq5yK9ivo82Ozk3XLkOwT-0mlxTsOKAr8ByDe8rUVQt5t9K4zHrqbR15SxbjChJGA/s1600/Off+Season.JPG" fua="true" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ryder enjoying our time at the Fairmont Palliser in Calgary</td></tr>
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It's been a nice couple of months I've been running when I want to run, swimming occassionally and haven't been biking at all. I don't feel stressed about not training and I know I needed a break, even though I didn't do a lot of racing last year the racing I did was very intense and it took some time to recover. I've been able to spend more time with family and my back injury is finally starting to feel a bit better. I went out for a little trail run this week and all of the sudden my foot starts hurting, nice thing about this time of year though is I'm not stressing about getting it fixed and I'll just rest it and it will heal itself. <br />
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Ryder's been lots of fun but quite a challenge, he's in this 20 month sleep regression and has kept his parents up a lot recently. I'm looking forward to a time when he'll sleep in his own bed but I don't see that happening anytime soon. For now I'm going to take another week off, wait for the time change and hopefully that will help me get out of bed earlier so I can finally get to the pool on time. I've been sleeping in every morning because of a crappy night's sleep. Darin Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09215503806055860575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375137172942287963.post-63179722427742252462014-10-03T12:52:00.001-07:002014-10-03T12:52:05.026-07:00Time For a Change<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj35oD6k-eFnVn84YeKcWSZ4RVwpXBktc6coJQ-Sp4csDDbm0EbfaI2WunrdEOyuVw89r4lw4DohIPOtiNAbgtClaovOnrUhOsBgSDBVQ3ScLY2zNCGN-D_PgF47pzqmJ8tS41renY5pis/s1600/R+and+Dad.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" closure_lm_966614="null" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj35oD6k-eFnVn84YeKcWSZ4RVwpXBktc6coJQ-Sp4csDDbm0EbfaI2WunrdEOyuVw89r4lw4DohIPOtiNAbgtClaovOnrUhOsBgSDBVQ3ScLY2zNCGN-D_PgF47pzqmJ8tS41renY5pis/s1600/R+and+Dad.JPG" fua="true" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Feeling the cold weather coming</td></tr>
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There are certain times in your life when you know you need to make a change and for us the time has come. After nearly 7 years in Grande Prairie and experiencing all of the highlights of my life I know it's time to make the move back to Calgary, it's the best for me and my family. When Amber and I originally came up here we had the intention of staying 3-4 years, but life was so good here and we had so many close friends that it was tough to justify changing. Well now I feel like we are in a much better position than we were when we came up and we can handle a lot of the challenges that we will face by making the move. I'll be very excited to be close to my Mom and Dad and I know they are over the moon happy to be closer to Ryder. I've gotten the approval for a new Financial Planner position in Calgary and we bought a house in Tuscany. <br />
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I'm really going to struggle with leaving all my close friends/training buddies behind and they are all really sad that I'm leaving but I know this is the right move for us long term. I'll look forward to training in all the old familiar places again, Powderface climb, Cochrane to Bragg Creek, Calgary to Banff rides and some amazing trail runs in Kananakis. I have 3- 70.3s planned for next year so it'll be my year to get back into 1/2 Iron shape again and of course spend lots of quality time with Amber and Ryder in an amazing city.Darin Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09215503806055860575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375137172942287963.post-23084647712363573642014-09-19T11:28:00.001-07:002014-09-19T11:28:47.574-07:00End of the Season<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtB_Fnrvloq5BS_iQjKinStn5hr53LDDIBj8PagN7BD7hCPTETfIri3wvEiXEpTV8gMP65LgiGZ5HYfx6NK1QeR-Uj95f4pBIVG1N3LjQskdygwAz6yotCt8BFbzxuEX8BTurv5XvF5Gg/s1600/Ryder.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" closure_lm_650796="null" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtB_Fnrvloq5BS_iQjKinStn5hr53LDDIBj8PagN7BD7hCPTETfIri3wvEiXEpTV8gMP65LgiGZ5HYfx6NK1QeR-Uj95f4pBIVG1N3LjQskdygwAz6yotCt8BFbzxuEX8BTurv5XvF5Gg/s1600/Ryder.JPG" dua="true" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ryder getting ready to run with Mommy</td></tr>
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It's always a little sad when the weather starts to shift and the mornings get darker and cooler but 2014 turned out to be a fantastic season for me. Even though I didn't get to race as much as I would have liked I won every race I entered (aside from a mechanical in Prince George) and had lots of extra time with Amber and Ryder. Focusing on short course racing this year was the right thing to do and even though I wasn't training very long, the hard intense training really broke me down to the point where my body knows that there is no more racing left in it. I did want to cap off my season with the GP Fall Classic 10k but I've been struggling with a back injury for the past couple weeks so I know it's time to stop, rest and recover. <br />
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I'll take a good month off all training of any kind and then later in October or early November I'd like to start hitting the weights again, at my age doing some really good strength work in the off season is critical to staying injury free during the race season. It's absolutely amazing how unforgiving my body has been after turning 40, if I don't eat, drink, sleep, or recover right I really struggle to stay healthy and keep training and racing. I only did 4 races this year and I'm not sure I could have done any more, I would have liked to do maybe one more Olympic but the thought of travelling to Banff or Vancouver with Ryder was just not appealing. <br />
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The little man is becoming more independent though, he's incredibly fun to hang out with and to watch him grow and change so quickly just blows my mind. We are throughly loving being parents and had him at the perfect stage in our lives, sometimes we wonder why we didn't do it earlier when we had more energy but I think things worked out the way they were supposed to. Ryder and I will cheer on Amber as she races the Fall Classic this Sunday and she has been so devoted to her running that I know she is going to have a great 1/2 marathon in Calgary on October 19th. For me it's time to rest and do some off-season work when the time is right. <br />
Darin Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09215503806055860575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375137172942287963.post-26675661990101672382014-08-27T10:38:00.001-07:002014-08-27T12:36:47.087-07:00Peace River Tri 2014<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUGMhAROEo6S4yHn0dDAuBdMOlUQmJ-kVzqSiQuAsUxd1-6fNq0yFmdFiv4risrmx3um01lO11oHvlcV8LRP0BR_aeOgU_Z3isTwfzppQRXqV0RxV_v1gUd0BgA0wz1f9qlmPDmkzAxXM/s1600/Ryder+and+Dad+PR.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" closure_lm_611233="null" cua="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUGMhAROEo6S4yHn0dDAuBdMOlUQmJ-kVzqSiQuAsUxd1-6fNq0yFmdFiv4risrmx3um01lO11oHvlcV8LRP0BR_aeOgU_Z3isTwfzppQRXqV0RxV_v1gUd0BgA0wz1f9qlmPDmkzAxXM/s1600/Ryder+and+Dad+PR.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ryder and me pre-race enjoying the atmosphere</td></tr>
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This is the 3rd time I've competed in the Peace River Sprint Tri and I have to say it was the best conditions yet. Normally it's too late in the season to get nice weather to race in but although it was cool, by 9:30am it had warmed up to a comfortable 13'C and it made for a great day. It's nice to attend these smaller, faster events to keep the training fresh and different- I wasn't expecting to PR here I didn't have Joe pushing me on the bike but Richard and I were doing our best to keep each other honest. I don't think my HR got below 160 all race except for the first 700m of the swim. <br />
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Having only 3 SR athletes there was a bit different, last year there were 8 of us and we all placed in the top 10. This year we placed 1st and 2nd males and 1st female with Liz there. I love the short course races for the fact that it doesn't break you down for days afterwards but I have to say that my body is probably more adept at longer distances now. It's very, very painful to hold that effort for an hour straight. The swim was pretty straightforward, I was the last to start and given Richard and I swim at about the same pace I drafted off him for the 1st 700m and when he started to get tired I took the lead and put a 30sec gap on him by the end.<br />
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The bike was a lot more comfortable this year with milder temps but I just cannot seem to push any more watts no matter how specific my training is, 254W is what I averaged. It was great having Amber and Ryder there cheering me on but Ryder is not typically up at 6am and he was a bit of a bear all day. Coming off the bike my legs felt like I had just finished 2000 squats and I almost collapsed but I eased into the run and managed to have an excellent one- 17:43, my fastest run on that course. All in all it was a fantastic race and great season, I only have the Fall Classic 10k later in September and that'll be m season. Pretty low key this year but I'm glad I took a 'down year' to spend more time with Ryder and it's such an incredible feeling to go undefeated all year, 4 wins is more than I could have hoped for at the beginning of the season. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPH5N-8br-12I-V5jk-cqJ3uUAsYPJc1VwLbItodhGEC3eYFCmSijzLjhumKQbPEad4FadCZ-7K1DOnhAno25s7wtsJ572mLA27iggr9MTTJ-zVCiL70pP6NRlbhiuf5ocmCxeKp11U4U/s1600/Run+Start+PR.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" closure_lm_192354="null" cua="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPH5N-8br-12I-V5jk-cqJ3uUAsYPJc1VwLbItodhGEC3eYFCmSijzLjhumKQbPEad4FadCZ-7K1DOnhAno25s7wtsJ572mLA27iggr9MTTJ-zVCiL70pP6NRlbhiuf5ocmCxeKp11U4U/s1600/Run+Start+PR.JPG" height="320" width="250" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Running to the win and a 17:43 5k</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKiTd5UcpVoWR2G-AcCefBKl6bAcgut-1AyC0C1mzgs3Pfx0t4qPpa9LwF3voPiM8v4J-9bc1GgDBUqs8LsPCYQXJblhgBWTdrF2k1D7nexc0O-9DYs2v6XRMeQZV8EfMC12OYakAPyRk/s1600/Peace+River+Finish.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" closure_lm_192354="null" cua="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKiTd5UcpVoWR2G-AcCefBKl6bAcgut-1AyC0C1mzgs3Pfx0t4qPpa9LwF3voPiM8v4J-9bc1GgDBUqs8LsPCYQXJblhgBWTdrF2k1D7nexc0O-9DYs2v6XRMeQZV8EfMC12OYakAPyRk/s1600/Peace+River+Finish.JPG" height="320" width="267" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finishing in 1:01.10 just 13sec shy of last year </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Speed Rev Crew 1st, 2nd male and 1st female</td></tr>
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Darin Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09215503806055860575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375137172942287963.post-83427922654668877872014-08-21T12:53:00.002-07:002014-08-21T12:55:07.568-07:00Summer's End<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ryder and Dad hanging out in the park</td></tr>
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The last race of the season is always a little bittersweet, on the one hand your body is relieved to have a bit of a break from the training regime but on the other hand you realized the warm summer weather doing the things you love is coming to an end. It's been a great summer, I've been focused on short-course training and although it doesn't take as much time it seems like my body has been breaking down with all the hard-fast efforts. My final tri is this Sunday in Peace River, a little sprint race that I've done twice before and it's always a fun affair with a lot of local athletes coming out. This year many of them have other commitments so only Richard and I are racing but Amber and Ryder are coming out to cheer me on so it'll motivate me to race hard and fast. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiACe7QQJKht0K9yN_TeYUaJ44A6o6KChn1nv-dyBOBVJdYCbRXm4nI7m7guZmKlxwOoIEivhbDEJFBp6ErmkorNy-MquX6yQBirPvMjbPG3Wbcpyhl59oO_qJ6WY1a9XMckzJjKZV8muw/s1600/Family-+Calgary.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" closure_lm_533886="null" cua="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiACe7QQJKht0K9yN_TeYUaJ44A6o6KChn1nv-dyBOBVJdYCbRXm4nI7m7guZmKlxwOoIEivhbDEJFBp6ErmkorNy-MquX6yQBirPvMjbPG3Wbcpyhl59oO_qJ6WY1a9XMckzJjKZV8muw/s1600/Family-+Calgary.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Speed Revolution family cheering at the Calgary 70.3</td></tr>
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I've been trying very hard to keep my workouts hard and fast- interval style to keep my speed up but after a couple weeks of training like that my body was really hurting. I needed a full 4 days off just to get back to normal and fortunately this week has just been some light running and swimming. I did a 'sprint tri' with the boys on Saturday and was okay with my swim and run but a little disappointed with my bike, I was pushing as hard as I possibly could and I could barely hold on to the wheels in front of me. I haven't done as much biking as I normally would have this time of year so I shouldn't be surprised but I hope I have better legs on Sunday. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNBsMe3VL6jK-aolvW1Qxa4qANFXE6k4vmDsfBCnzchpBRFDUvARQ_M3_sXoz0SgMazY47EHw8P0KFYpg-ic3tP1oJlrduzFiUkuQPeVTLC80N0t_xy75nosMEk2qhUEg2Ay5HnZ6w5tE/s1600/Bike+with+Race+Wheels.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" closure_lm_533886="null" cua="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNBsMe3VL6jK-aolvW1Qxa4qANFXE6k4vmDsfBCnzchpBRFDUvARQ_M3_sXoz0SgMazY47EHw8P0KFYpg-ic3tP1oJlrduzFiUkuQPeVTLC80N0t_xy75nosMEk2qhUEg2Ay5HnZ6w5tE/s1600/Bike+with+Race+Wheels.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Selling the HED3's is heartbreaking</td></tr>
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I've also decided to sell my tri-spokes, these H3's are the fastest wheel set I've ever owned and I'm a little hesitant to sell them but after getting flats in two races and having it cost me two wins I think I need to admit I just don't have good luck with them. My current wheel set is still fast and better on a hilly course but on a flat TT style course the HED 3s cannot be beat, I'm sure it adds at least an extra 1-2kms/hr. They will find a good owner I'm sure and someone that knows how to put the tires on properly! I'll update on how the race in Peace River went, I'm very excited to do it we'll see if I can pull out another win!Darin Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09215503806055860575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375137172942287963.post-64404118899866865122014-07-21T10:55:00.001-07:002014-07-21T11:01:20.244-07:00Sometimes You're the Hammer, Sometimes You're the Nail<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCUMQcaOEo5tR7yw-0UG8hQ7lsxOTHROmPXQObF6F5FeP-lODLZpLiA5LylfkTQkdsgQmpv8KXzdIqWPf9sscZ5no5rSAYHsFiskA_WV6cAchM-L9ebrsXW-uOptzgFjHtcN9wbzy7iRQ/s1600/Prince+George+Tri+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" closure_lm_947600="null" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCUMQcaOEo5tR7yw-0UG8hQ7lsxOTHROmPXQObF6F5FeP-lODLZpLiA5LylfkTQkdsgQmpv8KXzdIqWPf9sscZ5no5rSAYHsFiskA_WV6cAchM-L9ebrsXW-uOptzgFjHtcN9wbzy7iRQ/s1600/Prince+George+Tri+3.JPG" height="240" vua="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The GP Boys trying to show the PG athletes how it's done</td></tr>
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The title of this post was supposed to be 4 for 4 being my 4th race of the year and 4th win but unfortunately sometimes things don't go quite according to plan. I was super excited to go to Prince George and race again there, I did the race in 2008 and I remember it being one of the TOUGHEST tri's I've ever done and it was the same this year. Bart agreed to come with me so we made it a short weekend road trip and represent Speed Revolution in PG. We left early Saturday morning and two hyper-hydrated athletes driving 6hrs made for a lot of bathroom stops. We got there and immediately went to the bike check where I pulled my bike out of Bart's truck filled up the tires and heard the dreaded pushhhhhhhhhhhh come from my rear wheel. Ugh, well at least we were at a bike shop where I could get it fixed. Went through the bike check and package pick up and headed out to check out the lake. We previewed the bike and run and Bart was a little deflated seeing how tough it looked, the bike is constantly climbing (or at least feels like it) and the run was a 500m flat, 2k uphill, 2k downhill, 500m flat, repeat. Well we weren't going to set any speed records on this course but it is going to sort out who has been training and who hasn't. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVbF89CNuHA9ll60kleNzLxvVql2f5Y253m1wKYrp3v1erqE3CKw-rzqQLjUPnf94Jl4utUWwjoyVyhcFKEgSTRaT5oSTEmVdTi8DEaZoHTdhsSIH1ZdKOmjJ1xIh8GFJNc6vFih4Xnm4/s1600/Prince+George+Tri+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" closure_lm_947600="null" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVbF89CNuHA9ll60kleNzLxvVql2f5Y253m1wKYrp3v1erqE3CKw-rzqQLjUPnf94Jl4utUWwjoyVyhcFKEgSTRaT5oSTEmVdTi8DEaZoHTdhsSIH1ZdKOmjJ1xIh8GFJNc6vFih4Xnm4/s1600/Prince+George+Tri+2.JPG" height="320" vua="true" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bart getting ready to rock! Placed 8th in 2:44</td></tr>
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The morning of the race was fantastic, very casual we got there at 7am (which is 8am our time) and the race didn't start until 9am. There was plently of room on the bike racks, there was an announcer for the entire race (amazing for a small race), there was electronic timing where your time showed up on a TV screen as soon as you crossed the mat, and the lake, volunteers, and other racers were great. It was my first and only open water swim this year so I was hoping to have a good one in the wetsuit. There was no one around me the entire swim and with only 30 people in the Olympic there wasn't anyone to draft off of. I just maintained my rythmn and tried to stay in a straight line and was absolutely amazed to hear the announcer say I was the first 'non-team' athlete out of the water. Wow nice, well that was my weakest discipline and I just swam a 21:34, I think the course must have been a little short because even with a wetsuit a 23:00 1500m is really good for me.<br />
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Now on to the ride where I could build my lead a little. The climb out of the lake was absolutely brutal, I was in 1st gear and griding away for 2kms my heart rate was in my throat and I was thinking this is not a good way to start but you really had no choice. Finally getting on to the main road (which I never saw a car on) we decended for about 5kms, turned around and went back up past the lake and continued climbing approximately another 13kms. I passed the team swimmer that was in front of me and noticed there were still 2 Duathletes I could try to close on. As I made the 180' turn to come back to the lake I heard it again, pushhhhhhhhhh, ugh no, not now!! I pulled out the change kit and changed it quickly there were about 3 guys that passed me but I was pretty confident I could catch them on the run. I replaced my change kit before the race an was trying a new CO2 adapter and unfortunately it didn't fit in the valve cut out and I ended up wasting the 2 cartridges I had. Well the win was over for me but a bike support guy came by and filled up my tire with a pump but immediately it blew again. At that point I noticed the bead of my tire was completely shredded to pieces and I could do nothing but get a ride back and call it a day.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU_-H61Okbi3-HrT9oIe6c7ThS0UIxigyyrRepNPH4rb06qYUMTwDnK0Zal0jeEmADbvxmlZbp5m-jueVWE5aETGtwfmANcdXEe4nd65vvCftXdKekPMSWPIcQTYnqYvW0cfUEp31zDE0/s1600/Prince+George+Tri+5.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" closure_lm_947600="null" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU_-H61Okbi3-HrT9oIe6c7ThS0UIxigyyrRepNPH4rb06qYUMTwDnK0Zal0jeEmADbvxmlZbp5m-jueVWE5aETGtwfmANcdXEe4nd65vvCftXdKekPMSWPIcQTYnqYvW0cfUEp31zDE0/s1600/Prince+George+Tri+5.PNG" height="320" vua="true" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's some tough riding</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEienI0OX0vP94z1nNhkYngjd4Z8Ccxf1C0jgIQhFO40Mn-1jJF16PZF5J3PeaWuBG8Y6Ij6HZGKUaY_JMeNNjto3-YoyyJwXycjNJ_rs0ZGYpQUBs6y0U4duPDTTnOc33Nqw9HeLmH1hDQ/s1600/Prince+George+Tri+4.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" closure_lm_947600="null" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEienI0OX0vP94z1nNhkYngjd4Z8Ccxf1C0jgIQhFO40Mn-1jJF16PZF5J3PeaWuBG8Y6Ij6HZGKUaY_JMeNNjto3-YoyyJwXycjNJ_rs0ZGYpQUBs6y0U4duPDTTnOc33Nqw9HeLmH1hDQ/s1600/Prince+George+Tri+4.PNG" height="320" vua="true" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">31km/hr over 25k, wow that's a hard ride</td></tr>
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It's not normal for me to see numbers this low but given the course and where I was placed I'm not too surprised. I was in the perfect position for a great run but never got the chance, oh well it's all apart of racing just learn from it and come back to hopefully go for the win at the final race of the season, Peace River Sprint August 24th. Darin Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09215503806055860575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375137172942287963.post-9809602829695300872014-06-18T19:32:00.001-07:002014-06-19T07:02:46.827-07:003 for 3Anyone who tells you that winning a race is easy- is dead wrong. It doesn't seem to matter how small or how remote a race is, when I get on that start line I'm giving it absolutely everything I have. The Grande Prairie tri is our local race and I decided to line up finally after sitting out for 2 previous years because of injury in 2012 and Ironman in 2013. There were only 30 people in the Olympic distance but you never know who is going to be there and if a speedy triathlete from Calgary or Edmonton is going to run away from everyone else. That being said I had no real concern about what place I was going to finish but I did want to try to race to the best of my ability.<br />
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It's been a long time since I'd done an Olympic distance race and I wasn't sure how my legs would respond after a hard 40k ride. I'd done a few tough 40k rides in training but the one time I tried a brick I think I was fighting something because I only lasted 1km before I had to call it a day. So the morning of the race everything was going perfectly, I brought my trainer and warmed up for 20 minutes in transition and completed all the necessary pre-race rituals.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHvQNTKJFiOJm_lSN84TsBYBeBMoyk5MekyTiy_dmjxEhp2o9Rh17wX-1Tt_PlxsC2NLGa9AXNyU8IC5NCJAcUMMR4QJVtYFL53fftmvt-3102Dkk3L0CNgHGmnfFy4JIbjXqsQtffd9U/s1600/IMG_1440.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHvQNTKJFiOJm_lSN84TsBYBeBMoyk5MekyTiy_dmjxEhp2o9Rh17wX-1Tt_PlxsC2NLGa9AXNyU8IC5NCJAcUMMR4QJVtYFL53fftmvt-3102Dkk3L0CNgHGmnfFy4JIbjXqsQtffd9U/s1600/IMG_1440.jpg" height="152" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paul and I coming into transition</td></tr>
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The swim went absolutely perfect, there was a female swimmer in front of me and we traded drafts on and off for about 700m until she started to fade and I just held my own pace. I was shocked to see at the end I had the fastest swim but I guess getting up 3 times a week at 6am to swim is finally paying off. It wasn't a stellar time from a swimmer's perspective but for me doing a 23:49 in a 50m pool is very good. On the bike I felt like I just couldn't get any speed for the first 10k and I knew that it was a slow steady climb with a slight headwind but I just tried to maintain my rhythm and get to the turn to head south. I passed a few people who were doing the sprint in the first 5k but after that I didn't see anyone until the turn around. I knew I was riding fairly well but after a hard initial 10k I thought that my chances of setting a PR today were over. I kept pushing while not going completely anaerobic and now I was seeing the 44-45kms/hr I was expecting during the first 10k. I felt really good during the rest of the ride and when I got to the sprint turn around I was elated to start passing other riders again. At the end of the ride my legs were dead but it was a race and I just needed to block out the pain and have a fast transition. I was thrilled to see Amber and Ryder there cheering me on and it got me going for the run.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb1jCSyaOoyHtYOHpcMvm3uK3OMlaGz9yU3pKZuaeFRVmBcD_U5BqeJVVTgorjxmG2qtOfdziAxQ7koB1JYxFQ3yoTUZCecE4BLn6Pt8KJlLBK_XiGx1OJLHzRwr4JNgNleLorTVa3SCs/s1600/IMG_1444.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb1jCSyaOoyHtYOHpcMvm3uK3OMlaGz9yU3pKZuaeFRVmBcD_U5BqeJVVTgorjxmG2qtOfdziAxQ7koB1JYxFQ3yoTUZCecE4BLn6Pt8KJlLBK_XiGx1OJLHzRwr4JNgNleLorTVa3SCs/s1600/IMG_1444.jpg" height="320" width="312" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trying to get my shoes on after a hard 40k is tough</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5dAxCwBWYJVVQXIiQnY6klvpWWE468M5mDz7FjC2aWr_T7FWsBEpXLiUNCLgIQYT9RMvBwkXbGKxXVUpgriZlak-a2fNjTwesVnOe-F_WqIOOhEstTW5XXhqhmgyD7UFULuFCy3qgfRg/s1600/IMG_1446.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5dAxCwBWYJVVQXIiQnY6klvpWWE468M5mDz7FjC2aWr_T7FWsBEpXLiUNCLgIQYT9RMvBwkXbGKxXVUpgriZlak-a2fNjTwesVnOe-F_WqIOOhEstTW5XXhqhmgyD7UFULuFCy3qgfRg/s1600/IMG_1446.jpg" height="320" width="245" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chasing after Paul</td></tr>
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The run was very painful, I normally don't think the Musko trails are that big a deal even though they are gentle rollers but today they were sucking the life out of my legs. I passed some more sprint racers and saw a lot of the fast guys at the sprint turn around. After that it was pretty lonely out there and hard to stay motivated but I kept telling myself to keep my rhythm and maintain my pace. The turn around was completely unprepared and they didn't have any water ready... ugh. The run back was painful, I wasn't prepared for 2 hours of racing and my body was breaking down. I felt like I was shuffling and didn't have much left to finish the final 5k but when you see the other athletes running toward you, you suck it up and keep pushing.<br />
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I ran through the finish completely thrilled to win and was ecstatic to find out later I set a new Olympic PR by 9 seconds with a 2:05.20! All the other Speed Revolution racers were doing the Sprint distance and everyone had a great race. It was an incredible experience and one I'll remember for a long time, winning is always rewarding and winning 3 races out of 3 is beyond all my expectations. I hope to do the rest of the Pomeroy series races in Prince George and Peace River, it's going to be a great summer.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD0eGowtPkKuQUOYsxZIIW_mwGXhbvvbPMVV_peH00LFsEBX5aeNK8Xaw5TBsi9noM2DHiQQFusW3vrH0689_ORD3ACezESWieCikdCWZjRiykBSfmQjt40clmlMOE0CGGkNunovvUzCo/s1600/IMG_1436.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD0eGowtPkKuQUOYsxZIIW_mwGXhbvvbPMVV_peH00LFsEBX5aeNK8Xaw5TBsi9noM2DHiQQFusW3vrH0689_ORD3ACezESWieCikdCWZjRiykBSfmQjt40clmlMOE0CGGkNunovvUzCo/s1600/IMG_1436.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">$150 Gift Card for the win!</td></tr>
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<br />Darin Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09215503806055860575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375137172942287963.post-31167629080002093892014-06-10T13:08:00.001-07:002014-06-10T13:19:24.645-07:002 for 2<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvg3IE0LtQHTVcPPXUCNdQkZntclaS8n6goLG7ciMzvunCR50fhWa4UVkvapOTI69bLMXzbkJ_JqLdvKvawU5FMz7ww57cQKhjojK5AXb2O2gyiITFt7l5y1DNMo8lnslKfYwcE3r1gnA/s1600/Ft+St+John+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" closure_lm_544831="null" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvg3IE0LtQHTVcPPXUCNdQkZntclaS8n6goLG7ciMzvunCR50fhWa4UVkvapOTI69bLMXzbkJ_JqLdvKvawU5FMz7ww57cQKhjojK5AXb2O2gyiITFt7l5y1DNMo8lnslKfYwcE3r1gnA/s1600/Ft+St+John+1.JPG" height="320" tta="true" width="284" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Robert and I pre-race</td></tr>
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This weekend was the first Tri of the year, the Fort St. John Sprint. Having kids has definitely changed not only the amount and way that I train but also my pre and post race routine. Robert and I drove the 2+ hours to Ft St John the morning of the race instead of spending the night and bolted back home right when it was over. Of course our wives didn't want us to waste the whole day racing so it was okay with us to drive, race, drive and get home in decent time. <br />
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Racing with Robert is always a good time and we spent the 2hrs talking about how the race would go, what we wanted from the day but also the fact that no matter what the result we are incredibly lucky to still do the things we love at this stage of our lives. Although our Ironman days may be behind us we still are very fortunate to still be able to compete in some Sprint and Olympics during the year. I think things will change dramatically at the end of July for Robert (he and his wife are expecting their 2nd) but it is a great feeling to still be active and healthy in our early 40's (me) and late 30's (him). We had a few Speed Revolution racers with us and it was a great time had by all. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQECMFyOP7mHUYDr4V4Lx7h0pQcMZD3TFDRwq06lsmJwEXC9tspbxdIGmeLNCHyOeoTME3ToyB0qX-PKVPAlizk5JItk7GSV2Y-gEvBgOBjPBIK-kTuOCuzfOfw0h-cIq92rFvmfo9UoI/s1600/Ft+St+John+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" closure_lm_544831="null" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQECMFyOP7mHUYDr4V4Lx7h0pQcMZD3TFDRwq06lsmJwEXC9tspbxdIGmeLNCHyOeoTME3ToyB0qX-PKVPAlizk5JItk7GSV2Y-gEvBgOBjPBIK-kTuOCuzfOfw0h-cIq92rFvmfo9UoI/s1600/Ft+St+John+2.JPG" height="213" tta="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ross and Sonya coming out for some Ft St John fun</td></tr>
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A race this size is always a ton of fun and there is absolutely no pressure but you still get the 'pre-race adrenalin' rush- one of the feelings I love before a race. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A crowded swimming pool made getting out to T1 tricky</td></tr>
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I started at the back of the swim heats and it was in the format of once a lane empties, 5 of us fill up the lane. It was a 750m swim and I paced myself fairly well, passed Robert within the first 2 laps and once near the end and surprised myself by coming out with the fastest swim of the day at 11:15. Yes it's true the non-swimmer has actually trained into a 1/2 decent swimmer but if you do races small enough you are bound to get lucky once in a while. It's unbelievable to think about the fact that I once was just hoping to get through the swim without loosing too much time and now I'm actually seeing it as one of my strengths, crazy! There have been races where I wouldn't have won or placed as well if it wasn't for my swim, that just blows my mind. <br />
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The bike was a lot tougher than I expected, I've been training on fairly flat fast courses and I think I just wasn't prepared as well for the rolling nature of the course and didn't really have the bike I was looking for. Irvin was right behind me at the bike turn around and was closing fast, fortunately I barely held him off before the transition and as I started running out he was just riding in. He has been gearing up for a 1/2 Ironman this weekend so he is in incredible bike shape and I haven't had as much time in the saddle as I usually do but I managed to be within 40s of his time, 43:08 bike. Considering this is his home course I'll call that a victory, he also started racing with the Speed Revolution crew so it was okay with me to have the 2 fastest people in the race battling it out. <br />
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When I started running my legs had the usual, holy crap what the hell is wrong feeling, but I looked at my 1st km split and it was 3:34 so I know it was just my mind telling my body to stop. The run went up this trail that was a little rise and single-track gravel so it got the heart pumping immediately and made it tricky when people were running at you as you were running out. The 6km run was a bit of a leg burner and not as flat as I've been training on but I still managed a decent run with a 21:27 6k. All in all a 1:15.49 was a great time and although I was hoping for a sub 1:15 I didn't expect the bike to be that challenging. Great start to the tri season and excellent way to shake the rust off for the GP Olympic this weekend.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">11:15 Swim, 43:08 bike, 21:27 run- Great Race!</td></tr>
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<br />Darin Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09215503806055860575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375137172942287963.post-61792044954777217832014-05-25T06:29:00.002-07:002014-05-25T06:29:34.327-07:001st Win of 2014Yesterday was the Grande Prairie Press Run 1/2 Marathon and I was very excited to get the win, especially considering the lack of long run training. It's been a tough few weeks leading up to the race work, family, travel have taken up the majority of my time by I've managed to squeeze in a few runs but only a couple 21k's outside. Most of my training runs were in the 12-14km range and it's a long way to race when you've been training 2/3rd's of the distance you are racing. Needless to say I felt great for the first 10k, heart rate was under control, legs felt really good, and pace was right on track at about 3:45mins/km. When I got to the turn around however I knew it was going to be tough to hold on. There are some small rollers at about 12 & 13k and they just zapped my legs.<br />
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I was really struggling when I got to the 14k mark and was just in damage control mode after that. The rest of the race was a real mental battle and I needed to take a couple short walks just to get the heart rate under control but the final 1/3rd meant I wasn't going to meet my goal time of 1:20 or less. I wasn't too worried about my time, I knew I was giving it everything I had and based on my training it's definitely what I knew was going to happen. I just held on the best I could and was glad I opened a 4min gap in the first 10k, the 2nd half I didn't gain any time but didn't lose any either. Finished with a great 1:21.05 and my 4th win at this race.Darin Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09215503806055860575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375137172942287963.post-5218010344325066902014-05-05T12:20:00.003-07:002014-05-05T17:52:20.753-07:00Balancing Act<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ryder in his new Speed Revolution Tech T</td></tr>
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It's really tough being a father and an athlete but I do my best to be good at both. I know sometimes things get out of balance but I make sure I have enough time in my schedule to do the things I love and spend time with my family. I came to a big realization last weekend, maybe I was getting a little too 'into' my training and I wasn't pulling the numbers I was hoping for but I finally had the slap across my face to give my head a shake and just be appreciative of the time I do have to train. I said to myself if this is causing you to be depressed or to have more stress in your life then why are you doing it? The truth is I absolutely love training and racing but I love my family more and if one causes stress on the other then just don't do it. I don't know if I can ever see myself not racing at different points in my life, but there are times when it needs to take a backseat. I do feel like I spend quite a bit of time with Amber and Ryder but it's tough when the day is filled with laundry, cleaning, yard work, repairs and chores. There never seems to be enough hours in the day. I want to keep this year fun and fresh, light and easy and that's why I made the decision to not race IM Calgary 70.3 this year. The truth is that I don't think any IM events are healthy for a relationship unless you can do it with your spouse, at least not for me.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ryder with the new Speed Revolution bottles</td></tr>
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I'm still hoping I can do some local races and get in my training and racing 'fix' but it'll be a lot easier not to have to worry about when I'm going to get in my 3hr ride and 2hr run. I just want to hang out with my family and friends and be active doing it. I put away my Garmin, heart rate monitor, and now I'm just going out and treating every swim, ride or run like it's my first one. Remember when you had no expectations about how your run 'should have' gone and you were happy to do the training and felt excited about getting it done. That's what I'm feeling again, it's nice to just put away my expectations and forget about hitting certain targets before IM and just feel active and healthy again. Darin Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09215503806055860575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375137172942287963.post-73829104394210112562014-04-15T11:36:00.001-07:002014-04-15T11:36:55.645-07:00Run Focus<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It was a fantastic week of run focused training, I managed to tick off 58kms during a week when the wind was averaging 40kms/hr and the snow returned on Friday and Saturday. I had to be a bit flexible with my schedule but Amber and Ryder were away from Wednesday to Sunday so I had quite a bit of free time. I missed them terribly but I fell into a groove of training and taking care of Harley and the time passed really quickly. This was the first time I felt like my run shape was starting to come back and I was really excited to see what fitness gains this would bring.<br />
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I started off the week a little conservative a 10k run with Harley in about 40mins, then 5k Tuesday with 2x1kms intervals thrown in there- it was extremely difficult with the wind blasting you in the face and that's why I kept it to 5k. By Wednesday I couldn't handle another fight with the wind so I did a tempo 8k on the treadmill and held 10.5M/hr so I was feeling pretty good about how things were progressing. Thursday I met Robert at his work for some more 1km intervals and he was doing the same run focus but instead of feeling stronger as the week went on he was starting to break down. We managed to bang out 3x1km at about 3:33-3:39 mins/km pace for a total of 7k and I was feeling so good I took Harley out for another 5k with a couple more intervals thrown in there. On Friday I couldn't believe how good I felt and I probably overdid it a little bit, seeing that the week was almost over I decided to do the regular Friday swim 20x50m, bike 40k at a tempo pace, then run 8kms on the treadmill. By the time I was done all of it, I was DONE... I laid around trying to think how I was going to recover for tomorrow's run. I was hoping to do a 13 miler but there was no way feeling like this.<br />
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Saturday I woke up still feeling a bit rough but decided to meet Bart at the Multiplex for a treadmill run at 8am. If I was still going to run I would rather get it over with early. I hopped on the treadmill and tried to ease into it but I could tell my legs were absolutely toast. I know it was from the bike the day before and I should have just kept it to running and swimming but my ego got the best of me and I caved to the desire to try to keep doing all 3 sports at once. I managed to slug out 15kms in an hour but it was not pretty and afterwards I felt like death. I laid around for the rest of the day and just recovered.<br />
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All in all however I'm really pleased with my week, I'll do one more run focused week at the end of April and hopefully that will get me into race readiness. I'd like to do a couple 'race pace' kms on the actual course so I don't go out too hard like I always seem to do. If I can nail down that 3:43 mins/km pace and hold it I should have an excellent result, if not it'll be another 10 mile sufferfest.<br />
Darin Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09215503806055860575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375137172942287963.post-3923930751902724402014-04-07T09:11:00.002-07:002014-04-07T09:11:54.505-07:00Back in the GrooveWell after the never ending winter, the weather stayed in the -20'c to -25'c for the entire month of March it seems like it's finally broken. It's starting to feel like spring again and the snow is very slowly melting away. Ryder and Amber were very sick for the past week and there wasn't a lot of sleep going on in our house but Amber's recovered and Ryder is just a little stuffy. Training has gone pretty well for me under the circumstances and I've had some solid swims, 1/2 decent indoor rides and some tough runs. The running is the toughest to take because I've been feeling invincible on the treadmill and did a 1:18.03 21k the last week of March but as soon as I got outside WOW, it was tough. True the trails are still icy and the wind has been howling but I thought running 4:00/km would feel a lot easier. It's not that I don't feel like I could do it but when I do have an outdoor run my legs feel like I just finished a marathon. I know I just need more outdoor runs and I'll adapt but it's tough to take mentally when I'm gearing up for a race in 5 weeks. I'll get there I'm very confident of that but I need to put in a couple run focused weeks to jump start it, that will be this week and the last week of April, first week of May.
The Brian Harms 10 miler is on May 11th and it's a new course this year so I think I can break my 2010 PR of 58:45 and finish around 58:00. It's a flatter and faster course and I need the confidence for the upcoming race season, this year is shorter faster racing so to get a good start would set me up for a great year. A week later is the Jasper training camp and the following week is the Press run 1/2 marathon so if things go well and I prepare properly I should have an excellent May. I think it would be tough to break 1:16 in the 1/2 but to do a sub-1:20 would be a fantastic result for me, post injury. We'll see how training goes in April and if I can have some solid runs, paced properly then I'll have an excellent season. Darin Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09215503806055860575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375137172942287963.post-46245640243858722732014-03-22T06:59:00.001-07:002014-03-22T06:59:55.079-07:00March Training<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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Training in March was going so well during the first couple weeks, I was getting in some consistent (but short) workouts in all three disciplines. I had a fantastic brick on the 13th riding 40k on the computrainer in about 1:04 and then knocking off 5k on the treadmill in 17:13, doing 10m/hr for the first mile, 11m/hr for the second, and 12m/hr for the final mile. I was feeling so good about my progress and upcoming season that something had to bring me back to reality. The next day I started to feel that my glands were a little swollen after the swim I was struggling with so I decided to take the weekend off so my body could fight this thing. Unfortunately it was a lot worse than I expected, my throat was raw and sore so I went to the doctor on Monday. She didn't confirm that I had strep throat but Amber and I suspect it so I was put on antibiotics immediately. All this week it has been the worse experience I've ever gone through, I haven't eaten much all week because every time I swallow it feels like an electric shock through my body, if food is involved it's worse. After a few days of not eating much I feel extremely weak and tired and I can't even imagine training again. It's extremely frustrating but it's just something I have to wait out.
I have a few races I've signed up for but feeling like this it seems that being on the start line ready to go is about a million steps away. I know I'll get better I just have to wait this one out. With any luck I will get in some solid training in April and be ready for the spring running races in May. I've signed up for the Brian Harms 10 miler, Press Run 1/2 Marathon, Fort St. John Sprint tri, and the GP Olympic tri. That should get me motivated leading into Calgary 70.3 where I hope to have my best race.
Darin Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09215503806055860575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375137172942287963.post-13922056762745912452014-03-03T09:17:00.001-08:002014-03-04T10:02:01.868-08:00Bike Baby Bike<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I treated myself to a 41st birthday present and finally got a road bike. Found this baby for $2500 on Pink Bike and it's never been ridden, it was a demo bike for a shop outside of Toronto and it's amazing. 15lbs is under UCI regluation weight so I guess I won't be going pro anytime soon. I just wanted something I could ride in the early spring when it's wet and dirty out that I wouldn't mind getting messed up. Now that I have it I'm not sure I want to get it dirty but I'll have to get over that. I cut the seat post, changed the seat, handlebar tape, put speedplays on it and changed the stem and it's ready to go. It's an incredible ride now I just need the weather to change, one more week of this brutal winter and it should get back to normal for this time of year. <br />
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Training in February went surprizingly well, I was pretty consistent except for the week went I was sick. My swimming is feeling really good, I'm not quite ready to 'race' 1500m yet but I'll get there. The biking is coming back I've been consistently doing about 8-9 bikes a month but only for an hour. Yesterday was the first 90 minute bike I've done since September and I felt pretty good, I started to get a little bonky at the end but that is to be expected for this time of year. Running has been fairly good, I haven't been doing as much as I'd like to but a couple runs a week seems to maintain my run fitness and I need to be careful because I did a 10 mile run last weekend and my achillies was hurting again. I'll keep it short for the time being and slowly ramp up the distance again as I move outside. <br />
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I'm excited for the season to begin I've signed up for the GP Olympic race already and I heard Calgary is pretty much sold out now. If I can have a great start in June with a couple shorter races I'll work on the endurance I need to have a solid race in Calgary and hopefully qualify for Montreal. There are 5 of us Speed Revolution guys racing in Calgary so it'll be fun to watch. For now I'll watch that I don't get injured and keep building a good base, April and May will be a lot of speed work and June- July more endurance work. Darin Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09215503806055860575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375137172942287963.post-22263702150390960682014-02-17T06:55:00.001-08:002014-02-17T16:36:59.460-08:00Family Life- One Year Later<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Meeting Ryder for the first time</td></tr>
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Most of the people I talk to say the biggest change in your life happens after you've had a kid, that is probably the most accurate statement I've ever heard. However I never thought becoming a Dad would fundamentally change who I was, I would still love to train and race, accomplish big goals at work and have time for my family. When Ryder was first born he was very needy, just like any newborn, and there wasn't a lot I could do for him or with him. Amber's life changed immediately and she was now the primary caregiver but I continued to do my thing, all be it with a lot less sleep.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ryder at 3 months</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA03m181K_yx1hO0G7edfvGKCIY8L8eEjg2n4Yhubnbo19O7ZHRjGDFUk3HKRp6vLbWfb24KlOksjroV0XhFIX97lFLpPXn9VLEEH3D_JDWv_zG4E0PCkNqY6Oc1m_85agsxiJsPiNud8/s1600/IMG_0912.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA03m181K_yx1hO0G7edfvGKCIY8L8eEjg2n4Yhubnbo19O7ZHRjGDFUk3HKRp6vLbWfb24KlOksjroV0XhFIX97lFLpPXn9VLEEH3D_JDWv_zG4E0PCkNqY6Oc1m_85agsxiJsPiNud8/s1600/IMG_0912.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and the Little Man at the end of Calgary 70.3</td></tr>
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As the months went by I started to become more fond of the little guy, he was becoming a little less dependent on his Mom and a little more interactive. I loved the fact that he wanted to try to stand up at a very early age and I would try to teach him to walk any chance I could get. Amber would make fun of me because I would show him how to step before he could even crawl. Still I was having a little more fun with him everyday. During this time I was also training for Coeur d'Alene and it was hard on Amber to have to do almost everything. I had a rough Ironman but a very good season of shorter races after that, from there I realized that having a family and Ironman training are not compatible. I enjoyed the rest of the 2013 season, training enough to enjoy racing and racing an excellent 1/2 IM and sprint tri in Peace River.<br />
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Now I really enjoy spending time with Ryder and look forward to seeing him everyday, I still see myself training and racing in 2014 but it feels different this year than every other year. I don't really look forward to 6 hour rides like I used to and I'm not planning on doing any. This year I see myself training for 2-3 hours early in the morning and then having the rest of the day with Amber and Ryder. Having a family definitely changes your outlook on what you see as important and although I would still like to race well, having fun seems a lot more important this year.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy Family</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Darin Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09215503806055860575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375137172942287963.post-3822524015141073092014-01-31T12:58:00.002-08:002014-01-31T12:58:48.551-08:00Fun in the Sun<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Family Time at the Market</td></tr>
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After my last post people must have been thinking I'm getting depressed with this long cold winter and that was probably true, what was needed was a nice warm holiday where you live in shorts and t-shirts. Last week the family and I took a much needed vacation to Los Ayala, Mexico about 65kms north of Peurto Vallarta and it was fantastic. Aside from me catching a terrible stomach bug on Tuesday and wiping out one full day of holidays it was a terrific time. The flight took us from GP to Fort MacMurray to Puerto Vallarta in a total of about 8hrs including a 2hr delay in Ft Mac. not easy with a 1yr old who thinks he's a tasmanian devil, spinning in circles all flight long. It was soooo nice to feel the warm Mexican air and sun on our pale white faces that we didn't really care about the travel drama. <br />
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I was incredibly stoked to be able to run every morning but the first day I made the mistake of waiting until about 10:30 to go and it nearly killed me. I got home and was wasted after only 40 mins of running. After that I made sure I was back before 9-9:30 before it got too hot. The place we stayed with Amber's parents was fantastic in a little fishing village with calm waters and I managed to get in a couple swims as well. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mom and Ryder enjoying the Beach</td></tr>
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Unfortunately Ryder didn't like the sand or the waves but he had a great time in the pool, his mother was hilarous smearing sunscreen all over him but very smart because we didn't have to deal with a cranky baby. He slept better than I've seen him sleep in a long time and his days were full of fun things to do with us and the Grandparents. A great time was had by all and I'd definitely do it again but probably take something before to prevent getting sick, it's not that I ate anything wrong it's just that there is different bacteria there and us Northerners are going to get sick at some point. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Running Strong!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfTg7d6yIE-Z3F7u9362j9yiJKHohMFhcfm_8LFNbzz3uoU_bWGmP1jmUipmZJ_CcAKH7mcr4QZIWOPYAU-hEAv97SsxNKPhWyAqdfOKXORljNUwCyAbJwljL-m_U6FbQbGl5hO5tOax0/s1600/Mexico+Dinner.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" closure_lm_973056="null" cua="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfTg7d6yIE-Z3F7u9362j9yiJKHohMFhcfm_8LFNbzz3uoU_bWGmP1jmUipmZJ_CcAKH7mcr4QZIWOPYAU-hEAv97SsxNKPhWyAqdfOKXORljNUwCyAbJwljL-m_U6FbQbGl5hO5tOax0/s1600/Mexico+Dinner.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dinner Time</td></tr>
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Darin Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09215503806055860575noreply@blogger.com0