You have to decide that you want it, more than you are afraid of it...

Saturday Hill Climb

2012-02-01T13:55:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday was the second race in our Speed Revolution race series and unlike 3 weeks ago this one was absolutely brutal. I told everyone before we started to make sure they pace themselves and don't blow up until they are in the final 2 miles. The race was 1 mile at 2%, 1 mile at 4%, 1 mile at 6%, 1 mile at 4%, and the final mile at 2%. It really felt good when I got to that final mile but that's when I was pushing the pace so I was hurting anyway. I was only a couple minutes slower than the last race (which was a constant 2%) so I called it a victory. I made sure I didn't kill myself in training leading up to it so I think that helped a lot. Far too often I'll go into a tough session like this having done too much during the week and really suffer but I made sure I was pacing myself properly during the first 3 miles and I had some juice to crank it up to 10-11mph during the last mile.

It may seem like it's a little too early to be doing these efforts for some athletes and that may be the case for you. However I can't emphasize enough how sessions like this just take my running to a completely different level. I have to be careful and make sure they are spread out over a few weeks but when you are running that hard for a short amount of time it just seems to push your threshold to an entirely new level. I already feel better during the second race compared to the first. I still need an afternoon nap and a good meal afterwards but that's to be expected when you're running all-out for 5 miles. I'm already looking forward to the third race of the series and to watch how much they are going to benefit everyone who's doing them. The first race we had 12 people and last week we had 10, I'm amazed to see some people hold 190+ heart rates! If you're going to do efforts like this make sure you have a couple easy days leading up to it and take a good few days to recover but they will help jump start anyone's running. Happy training!

Be Like the Water

2012-01-26T18:25:00.000-08:00

I think a lot of times in life you can find yourself constantly struggling to overcome, breakthrough, or tear down all the obstacles that face you on a daily basis. The more I observe people who are successful in training, racing, work, and life are the people who don't have that "win at all costs" personality. There is something to be said about good healthy competition and how it forces you to strive to achieve a level within yourself that you never believed was possible but the more I watch and learn from those who accomplish their goals the more I realize how much they behave like the water.

It's a bit complicated to explain but imagine you are a stone at the top of a mountain, you are strong, solid, unyielding, and are willing to break anything in your path to get to your goal. Now lets say your goal is to get to the bottom of the mountain, you start rolling and you are crushing everything in your path; smaller rocks and stones, trees, roots, branches, streams whatever is in your way you can get through. However eventually you hit a stone even larger than you are and it stops you dead in your tracks. You fight and hammer and pound against the solid stone but it's useless there is no force great enough that you can create to get through this wall. Now imagine you are a stream of water and your goal is to get to the bottom of the mountain, you move and snake through the same trees, rocks, stones, and even other streams. When you get to the stone you follow the edge until you find the easiest way around it and eventually find your way to the bottom of the mountain.

The people that I find that are successful in what they do are not the type of people who bully, push, and force they're way to success. They are the type of people who are the most adaptable and fluid in their actions and behaviors. I admit that I am a bit of a fan of Ultimate fighting and when I see a fighter that is extremely strong and powerful and forces his way through everyone in front of him it is extremely impressive! However eventually those fighters will meet someone who is even more powerful, more strong, and more capable then they are. When that happens they fold and their confidence is lost. It's the fighters that move like the water, the one's that are difficult to hit and absorb any punches and kicks that are thrown at them that are successful. They understand that the fight is not about overpowering your opponent it's about doing damage while not getting damaged.

I look at a long term training plan in the same way, when I first started training for triathlon I had the mindset that more training, more intensity, and more racing was going to make me faster, stronger and allow me to become better. At first it worked and I started to think that this is the key! But I had to be willing to change my approach as my fitness changed and at first I was resistant to it. I just thought if I do more of X I'll get the result Y, but the body doesn't behave like that. The body breaks down and time and recovery are what help it become a better engine. Slowly I started to realize that over the weeks, months and years of training I was training my body and mind to take on massive training sessions but eventually I will hit a stone bigger than I was and I had to be willing to change what I was doing to still be successful. I have to thank Amber for helping me realize that the key to longevity in our sport is not having the ability to do more but to be able to adapt and change what you are doing and to fully recover. She's helped me enormously in the aspect of nutrition, the one area I am weak on, and it's equated to better training sessions and quicker recovery.

Everyone has their challenges in life and my advice to you is to simply face the challenge like the water, the more you absorb, adapt, change, and move with it, the more successful you'll be.

The Training Season Has Begun

2012-01-18T13:33:00.000-08:00

It's always an exciting time when the off-season is over and I get back into some hard training again but I forgot how much it can take out of me. It's been a while since I've had to push myself in training and I'm starting to feel the effects of a couple hard efforts. I did an hour easy run with the boys and Harley last Saturday followed by an hour of "Drop the Hammer" Coach Troy session and I forgot how much that can take out of you. Fortunately Amber has been on a smoothie kick and has been blending up all sorts of fruits and vegies which is outstanding for recovery. I've feel like my body is just soaking up all the nutrients in one drink and it's so much easier to drink vegies and fruit than eat it. I know I'm guilty of buying all sorts of good food just to watch it go to waste because it takes a lot of effort to prepare and eat it all. Now Amber and I can just blend it all up and drink it down, it's awesome.

This has been a tough week for a lot of people, it's been -30'c and colder and everyone is starting to feel the workouts take effect on their well rested bodies. I know of a couple people who have been sick this past week and I feel like I've been fighting something so I took two days off. I started to bounce back last night so I did 45kms of the Great White North course and felt fantastic. I'm still not in peak shape and I don't have my new bike yet but I managed to bang out the 45kms in 1:11.00, not bad for this time of year. Followed that up with a good swim with Bart and Robert this morning doing 5 x 5 sets of 50's going faster each set. It was good to get back to pushing in the pool again and 50's are a great way to jump back into some hard swimming. I'm swimming better than I have in a long time and I want to try to hold on to this fitness going into the spring/summer and hopefully not be so far behind everyone coming out of the water this year. This next week will be an 'endurance focused' week as I go into the next 5 mile Speed Revolution race. The race on the 28th is going to be a killer- Wapiti Hill Climb! 1 mile- 2%, 1 mile- 4%, 1 mile- 6%, 1 mile- 4%, and the final mile at 2%... yikes!

The First Speed Revolution Race

2012-01-08T17:31:00.000-08:00

Here's a little clip of the suffering that was happening in the Skyloft on Saturday. I put in a few sections of the ultimate running style, Crowie. It doesn't look like it but I can tell you with certainty that everyone in this video is hurting like hell!

Let The Suffering Begin!

2012-01-06T14:00:00.001-08:00

It's now 2012 and I feel like training for the season has begun. It's great to get back into a structured routine again and I've started a 5 mile indoor race series on treadmills for some local triathletes under the "Speed Revolution" name. I know none of us will be in spectacular shape now but the idea is to improve throughout the winter and be fast and ready to rock when the spring running races start. I have 10 people confirmed + myself and Amber so that's a really good start for the first race especially considering we only have 4 treadmills at Amber's gym. These 5 mile all out efforts hurt like hell but they definitely make you a faster runner. I'm excited to start suffering again and getting back into racing form again.

It was necessary to let my body fully rest and recover after Hawaii but now I'm happy that I can start training and go into 2012 feeling faster. I'm treating 2012 as a transition year, concentrating on 1/2's and shorter races with the intention of doing IM Coeur D'Alene in 2013 and hopefully Hawaii again if I qualify. It's hard to believe I'll be in the 40-44 age group in 2013 but I guess time doesn't stop for anyone and eventually you will move up into the next age group...

Jumping Into 2012

2011-12-29T18:53:00.000-08:00

It's finally time to start thinking about jumping into some serious training again and I feel like I haven't done a thing in months. I've kept up with my swimming but my biking and running are really poor right now. I'm okay with feeling a little out of shape but now that I'm fully recovered and rested I need to get some structure back in my life again. Amber and I have decided to start a 5 mile indoor running race series and it's going to be incredibly fun. There are quite a few people interested and I need to get myself back in that VO2 max zone to start improving my threshold again. I'm having a tough time dealing with the fact that I'm not in good shape but as I get older I'm accepting the fact that I have to get out of shape to have some longevity in the sport.

So 2012 is a 1/2 IM year and I'm planning on starting off the year with some tough running races and then Stony Plain 1/2 IM, Calgary 70.3, and hopefully Vegas 70.3. It'll be nice to not have to think about having long, long training swims, rides, and runs and just keep training fun and fresh. We have some plans to start a family and fix up the house so this is the transition year and we'll see how everything pans out. I'm really excited to start 2012 and I think it's going to be a fantastic year for both Amber and myself.

Happy Holidays Everyone

2011-12-21T09:00:00.001-08:00

It's a great time of year when training is on the back burner and rest is a priority. I've been spending a fair amount of time in the pool lately and it's great fun to just do workouts that I "want" to do as opposed to "have" to do. Yesterday Robert and I were kicked out of the Leisure Centre pool so we hustled to the Multiplex and got in a good 1750m with 25 x 50m all under 45sec with a couple sets going under 40sec! That's pretty good for a couple guys who aren't swimmers to be doing in the off-season. Training is fun right now as it should be but I am itching to get back to some structure again.

This year Amber and I have decided to host a 5 mile indoor running race series, on treadmills and we have quite a few people interested. It's going to be different to be doing a race on a treadmill but I want everyone to go into next year thinking more about achieving their own 'personal best' as opposed to racing and comparing yourself to other people. The idea is to slowly be able to see improvements in your own 5 mile race times from January to April and by the time May comes around we'll all hit the ground running (faster than usual).

So have a great Christmas and New Year and I'll look forward to hurting with everyone in 2012!

Enough Rest Already!

2011-11-30T11:40:00.000-08:00

For someone like me who loves to train and race it's tough to HAVE to rest after a hard year of racing. 2011 turned out to be a fantastic year, especially after a disappointing 2010 when I was sick at least once a month. However I started training pretty hard in January this year for Puerto Rico and it just continued through to Kona in October. The toughest time was after Ironman Canada when everyone was pretty much done with their season and I had to keep training. I didn't have the same motivation going into Kona as I did going into IMC. I'd love to do Kona again some day but I think I would try to qualify at an earlier race like St. George or Coeur d'Alene.

The past couple of months have been pretty nice, training when I want to train and resting when I want to rest. I've started to look at rest, recovery and nutrition as the 4th discipline in being a successful triathele. I realized in 2010 that I was 'getting away' with a lot of bad habits and now that I'm a little older it's no longer easy to let those bad habits continue and still be a successful athlete. I know that if I don't eat such and such at this time, I don't get this much sleep, don't spend this much time with weights and I don't take vitamins everyday then I'm going to feel like crap and I won't be able to train the way I need to to race the way I want to. It might sound like I'm living a military lifestyle but I'm not that strict, especially in the off season. However, if I don't have some reasonable order in my life then I don't feel like I'm making forward progress and I'm not growing as an athelte and essentially as a person. One thing about being an athlete is you are always striving to be at your peak potential and be the best person possible and that translates into everything you do; work, family, friends you name it.

So the time since Kona has been great, I'm a little fatter and happier which I'm beginning to realize that it's okay to gain a few pounds in the off season. All of the nagging injuries I've been struggling with are slowly getting better and I'm feeling again like I want to get back into some structured training. I'm going to just keep things relaxed for December and try not to do too much but now I don't feel like training is a second job, it's something that I love to do and I'm eager to get back into come January.

I've also thought about my 2012 race schedule and I'm going to try to keep next year closer to home. Other than the Vegas 70.3 Worlds all of my races are going to be in Alberta next year, it's exciting to be doing GWN and Calgary 70.3 in the same year and I may even organize a team for the Death Race.

No Ordinary World

2011-11-20T21:04:00.000-08:00

Time to Start Getting Our Priorities Straight

2011-11-20T14:21:00.000-08:00

Kona Memories

2011-11-03T19:01:00.001-07:00

There were some great memories in Kona this year, here are a few images from Robert and Annette.

Don't Let Anyone Tell You- "You Can't"

2011-10-26T17:09:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the reminder Nadine;

IM World Championship 2011

2011-10-16T18:39:00.000-07:00

It's hard to describe an experience that you feel you will remember for the rest of your life, for some it's the moment when they look back on their life and realize "yeah I did that." For me it was treading in the water at the start of the Ironman World Championships in Kona on October 8th 2011. I've never really thought that doing Kona was a big deal, it's just another Ironman; swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, and run 26.2 miles. Yes doing an Ironman is a huge accomplishment but to me one Ironman was just like the other, that was until I did this race.

Amber and I arrived in Kona on Wednesday eager to start our vacation, she had been working 70hr weeks and I was traveling quite a bit for work in the weeks leading up to the event. I had suffered from a post-Ironman flu after Canada and had to take a good two weeks off training. I had one solid week and then I started to get sick again, so I was going into this race knowing that I was not going to set a PR but I was just going to soak in in the experience and have fun racing with all the professionals and best age groupers in the world. Being in this event is unlike any other sport, it's playing in an NFL, NHL, MLB, or NBA game in the same arena as all those sports heros you admire but in this event you are suffering for 8-10 hours right along with them.

The weather was not even close to what the weather network was stating that it would be the week leading up to the event. It was between 28'and 30'C everyday with high humidity, not ideal race conditions for someone from Grande Prairie. I stayed relaxed and calm going into the event almost too relaxed, I didn't feel that fear that pushes you to a place of adrenaline and forces you to push harder compete stronger. However I went there for Ironman Canada and I wasn't sure I had another one of those efforts in me only 6 short weeks later. It turns out I was right but the journey over the 10:25 I was out on the course was incredible and I'll remember it for the rest of my life.

The 4 hour time change for once turned out to be very beneficial, I was up at 4-5am every morning (8-9am mountain time) which meant that the 4am wake up Ironman day was not a problem. Amber and I got a ride down to the race start with our friends Robert and Annette and it was great to have a small cheering squad for me. The pre-race run through was amazing; drop off your special needs bags, get personally body marked by two markers and no line up, get weighed at the medical station, drop off the pre-race clothes, sunscreen, body glide, vasoline, go through the bike set up again and hit the washroom one more time before coming back to watch the pros start. It's an incredible feeling to be there at the start line and know that the eyes of the endurance world are on you right at that moment.

I jumped in the water 25 minutes before the start, did a little warm up and realized that maybe I started warming up a bit too soon. Once you go into the water, there is no going back and you have to tread water until the gun goes off. The treading water was tough, I was getting kicked and elbowed constantly and the race hadn't even started yet. The gun went off and it was immediate carnage, elbow in the goggle, kick in the side, dunked and climbed over I was used to an Ironman swim start but this was an Ironman swim on steroids! Usually after a few hundred meters I can distance myself from most of the swimmers and I have a fairly comfortable swim but I was trashing around in the water with some of the best of the best and this was no ordinary group of swimmers. The kicking, punching and getting climbed over didn't stop and at one point my right goggle filled up with salt water burning my eye so badly that I closed that eye and swam for the rest of the swim with one eye open. Until I got hit in the left eye and I was forced to empty my goggles, not an easy task with 1800 adrenaline pumped athletes surging behind you. I'd never had so many people around me during any swim in my life and it was an awaking experience this early in the race. I ended up coming out of the water in 1:05, an excellent time for me in a non-wetsuit swim.

The bike was unbelievable, very hard and incredibly beautiful. I rode through town very fast and I was surprised at how many people were passing me. As I headed out on the Queen K I was getting passed constantly, normally I am passing other bikers like crazy but having others blow by you like you are standing still is a very humbling experience. I kept up my nutrition and pacing and tried to stay within myself and not let anything bother me but every athlete that passed me was like getting a little air let out of my tires, it was just getting harder and harder to keep going. Fortunately the winds were calm until I made the uphill turn to Hawi, there is a 15km uphill section leading into town and the headwind was FIERCE! It took me forever to get to town, get my special needs bag and turn back to Kona. The sun was beating down on me hard and I could feel it slowly draining my energy mile after mile. By 140kms I was just counting down the kms to the finish, that's when I knew I wasn't going to have a stellar day. Still 40kms left to go in the ride and my stomach was upset, I was burnt from the sun and every muscle was telling me to just stop and rest. When I did get close to Kona I was thinking I could just take 10 minutes in transition and drink some water and rest for a while. Unfortunately the volunteers are so good that I was changed, dressed and ready to head out to the run in a couple of minutes with no time to re-charge. Still I managed to have my best bike time ever of 5:15, amazing considering how I felt.

The run was one of those tough experiences when you find yourself shuffling for a few hundred meters and then walking for a few hundred meters. I was using ice, water, sponges, coke, anything I could get my hands on to keep myself cool and fueled. I would run for a little while and the heat and humidity just forced me to slow down and take a walk break. Normally it's not a problem for me to take little breaks at the aid stations but as athlete after athlete passed me I was getting more and more broken down over 42kms. It wasn't until the final couple kms that I realized I was going to make it to the finish and I started running well again. My stride started coming back and I was caught up in the joy of being in the greatest race in the world and very, very relieved that I was finishing. I ran through the finish with my hands in the air and a fist pump that said "yeah I finally did it" now I can say I raced with some of the best athletes in the world and no matter what happened to me on that day I know I gave it everything I had.

Looking back over the past week I can't be disappointed, I did everything I felt I could do and I knew I was going to have a tough race having done one just 6 weeks ago. There are moments when I catch myself being down about the day but being there with some of the best in the world was incredible. It does make you realize how great this sport is and how far it's reached worldwide. I heard French, German, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, any language you can think of out there. I felt so privileged to be out there with all of them and next time I do this race I'll be ready and peaked for it. I'm taking next year off Ironman and my body is happy to have a rest but this is the event if you are a triathlete and some day I'll be back to do it again.

Thank You Weather Gods

2011-09-30T10:43:00.000-07:00

I don't know too many people that are going on a holiday to Hawaii and are hoping for cool weather but if you're planning on doing an Ironman there, you definitely are. An average of 20-21'c for the next week- 10 days is absolutely perfect. I'm feeling rested and recovered from IMC, I haven't done much training but it's a little late to be doing much now. If anything I've been too relaxed going into this event, I've kind of feel like I've been training very hard since January and now my body is starting to rebel. I got sick right before IMC and I'm just getting over another flu so I've just been resting. I'm still really looking forward to being in Hawaii again and spending time with Amber, we've both been working so hard that we see eachother for an hour before bed and that's it. Two days of prep before and then a great race, probably in the wind- which I'm definitely trained for and then a week of vacationing.
14 Day Trend: Kailua-Kona, HI
Saturday
Oct 1 21°C 20°C Light rain
Sunday
Oct 2 22°C 20°C Cloudy with showers
Monday
Oct 3 22°C 20°C Isolated showers
Tuesday
Oct 4 22°C 21°C Scattered showers
Wednesday
Oct 5 22°C 20°C Isolated showers
Thursday
Oct 6 21°C 20°C Isolated showers
Friday
Oct 7 21°C 19°C Isolated showers
Saturday
Oct 8 20°C 19°C Cloudy periods
Sunday
Oct 9 20°C 19°C Variable cloudiness
Monday
Oct 10 20°C 18°C Sunny

Thanks for the Company Babe

2011-09-20T13:50:00.000-07:00

This weekend was my last big training block if you can call what I've been doing after IMC 'training.' I did my crazy sauna ride on Friday night and that took quite a bit out of me even though it was only 30 minutes. I've been trying to get back to normal Ironman training but I was pretty tired going into this weekend. I planned on doing a long ride on Saturday and after waiting for it to warm up to at least 12-13'c I headed out around noon. The wind was absolutely screaming, which seems to be the norm in GP and great practice for Kona. I can't say I like riding in the wind but if I want to get stronger for Hawaii I better get used to it. The first 20kms to Sexsmith were in a cross wind so no real problems but then I made the turn west straight into a 40km/hr headwind and stayed there for the next 55kms. It was so tough to remain focused and not let the wind get you down when you look at the computer and you see 19-20kms/hr. I ran out of GU Brew so I was forced to used some Heed and my stomach did not like the change. After 75kms I made the turn south and had a cross wind again but at least I was moving a lot faster, I was getting really hungry but couldn't stomach any more Heed or gels so I decided to stop in Beaverlodge for lunch at 100k. I planned on doing at least 150k but by the time I was in Beaverlodge I was so drained and cold that I made the bailout call and asked Amber to pick me up which she thankfully did.

Sunday I woke up early (for a Sunday) and was in the pool at 8:30, I was happy to see a bunch of people there training again and it motivated me to get going. I pounded out a 3km swim and sat for 30 minutes in sauna, it seems that after 20 minutes whether I'm biking or sitting it's incredibly tough to get my core temperature down. I had a quick lunch and headed home to get ready for my long-run. At this point I was feeling pretty run down, my plan was to get in at least 30kms but my legs were really heavy and I didn't want to push my luck when it comes to staying healthy. I was already feeling swollen glands during the week and after the long-cold bike ride I was pushing my luck.

Amber felt like getting out of the house so she decided to join me on her mountain bike while I ran. We did the first 5kms with Harley and it was so awesome to run hard with the whole family. I think I may have been pushing the pace a little too hard but I wanted to try to do 30kms in 2 hours (or as close as I could get to 2 hours). I was on track when we dropped H-dog off at home and Amber and I went out for the rest of the run. Running into the park it was nice to have company and talk to someone while running my normal pace. I could tell I was pushing pretty hard when I started talking less and less and started hurting more and more. By the time I was at about 13kms I knew it was going to be tough to do the whole 30k today. I tried to stay steady and as smooth as possible but there were times when my heart rate just spiked a little to high and I needed to take a 20-30 second walk break. Amber was great out there, really supportive and kept giving me positive feedback while allowing me to go whatever pace I felt comfortable with. The end of the run was getting fairly ugly but I stayed within my pace and took short walk breaks and still managed to get in 26kms in 1:51, that's about a 14km/hr pace which is a little slow for just a run but great practice for an Ironman run; mentally and physically tough.

The rest of the day I was wiped out and my body is definitely telling me to take it easy this week. I can tell that if I pushed it any further this weekend I would be really sick. I need to be very, very careful to just stay healthy and not worry so much about training for the next three weeks. Nothing I do now will make me any fitter but I can ruin my race by not resting enough. I'm going to do a few 'easy' workouts this week and have some short sharpening up bricks this weekend. That's all I feel like I really need and then it's off to Kona for some fun in the sun!

So You Wanna Go to Kona... Are You Sure?

2011-09-16T17:27:00.000-07:00

"...In the end, people either have excuses or experiences; reasons or results; buts or brilliance. They either have want they wanted or they have a detailed list of all the rational reasons why not." -Matt Erbele, It Takes Time to Get Good.

I was determined to do something to acclimatize a little before Hawaii. The last time I tried to do a race in high heat and humidity I suffered more than I could ever imagine, I do not want to go through that again. I had the idea of setting up my bike and trainer in the sauna at the Leisure Centre (good or bad idea has yet to be determined). I thought I could spin easy for about an hour- I only lasted 30 minutes. I'm so grateful we live in a city where they are willing to work with a local amateur athlete and they allowed me to do this.

Everything started out great but as I was setting up I couldn't believe how quickly I was starting to heat up, by the time I started riding I was already sweating. I could only spin easy and my heart rate was in the 150's, after 20 minutes I needed to take a break so I sat outside for a few minutes. I cooled down a little and jumped back in but immediately my heart rate went right up to the 160's so I needed another break after 5 minutes. I knew I was nearing the end of my ability to stay in there but I wanted to do at least 30 minutes so I jumped back in for another 5 minutes. I was barely turning the pedals but I was suffering just to get through the final 5 minutes.

At the end I couldn't believe how hot everything was, my water was hot, my bike was hot, the trainer was hot and I went through 3 bottles in 30 minutes. My clothes were so wet that I looked like I just got out of the pool. I'd like to get in a couple more rides in there and everyone at the Leisure Centre seemed pretty interested that someone was crazy enough to do something like that. One more big training weekend and then I'll start to taper things down.

Where Did Everybody Go?

2011-09-12T12:13:00.001-07:00

Last week I started to get back into the routine of training a little bit but I couldn't help but shake this feeling like it just didn't quite feel the same. Normally thoughout the summer all the triathletes in town are showing up at the pool around the same time, out on the trails running or organizing bike rides. Now that it's September and IMC is over it feels like I'm out there training all on my own. I had no problem having a lane to myself during Friday and Sunday's swims (which is normally unheard of in this town). I was riding all by myself on Friday night and even though I did meet up with a bunch of athletes on Saturday morning for a run, they were in 'off-season' mode and I had to go out and do an additional 10k.

It's been a bit of a battle over the last couple weeks trying to keep myself focused on the fact that I still need to train. I know there is not a lot I can do to become fitter before Kona but I don't want to be out there 6 hours into the race and find out that I didn't do enough to maintain my endurance. I'm still feeling rough after IMC and I haven't had a good training session yet but I'm hoping with a little more rest, an easy build and recovery I'll be able to pull this thing off in 4 weeks.

Ironman Canada 2011

2011-09-02T13:53:00.000-07:00

Talk about a nerve wracking experience leading up to IMC 2011, my training was going along absolutely perfect leading into this year's event; I was swimming better than ever, biking consistently and strong in terrible conditions, and running on par with some of my best years. Two weeks before the race I did a swim-bike workout with Amber and I wasn't feeling quite the same as I normally felt, I chalked it up to pre-race tapering fatigue but only did a 90 minute swim and a 60km bike and then pulled the plug. I wanted to try and get in 120km ride but there was no way I had the energy to get through it on that day. The next day I geared up for my long run and I couldn't believe how tired I was, normally a 25km run at this time of year is no problem. I should be able to bang it off in 90-100 minutes but I was struggling to hold a fairly slow pace and every 5kms got harder and harder. I told myself that it was good practice for an Ironman run and finished the 25kms in 1:40.

The next day I was SICK, body aches, weakness, stuffed head, the works! ARRRGGGGHHH, not now! Two weeks before the biggest race of the year and I was out, I spent the next two weeks resting, hydrating and doing everything I could think of to get back to normal. The Thursday before the race I was still feeling rough and I was certain I was going to have to pull the plug and not race this year. Finally my body started to come around on Friday, my energy started to return and by Saturday I felt normal again, other than a little sinus congestion. Early Sunday morning I was on the start line again with 2800 other athletes and so excited to return to Ironman racing after a year off.

The start of an Ironman is always a gong show, swimming with 2800 other people at the same time is a rough way to start your morning. You get kicked, punched, crawled over and anything else you can think of that you don't want to happen while swimming. However this year I was trying to be a little more strategic than in past. Previous races it was just a matter of pushing hard and getting through the swim without getting damaged in the chaos. This year I followed the same strategy I used in my half ironman races and I just looked for swimmers that were about the same pace and I stuck to their feet, in the draft. I got knocked around a little between a few people but for the most part it was a perfect swim for me, conserve as much as possible while still pushing to keep the heart rate within the 'race zone.' I got out of the water and was ecstatic to see that it was my best swim ever; 59:47! Sub-hour swim, wow I wasn't expecting that, awesome way to start the race.

The transition went fairly smooth other than the fact that I had my heart monitor on to make sure I didn't overdo it and when I grabbed my bike I was at 165bpm. Anyone who has trained with me knows that a 165bpm for me is a 400m sprint pace, not something you want to see in an Ironman, but I said that it's probably just due to the quick swim and run to the bike so I spent some time trying to get that down. The first 64kms of the IMC bike are awesome, incredibly fast and that day we had a huge tailwind that was pushing us all the way to Osoyoos. I was doing 45km splits and the first 45kms flew by in 1:08! Woah, somedays I have a hard time doing 40kms in that time but I'll take it. My heart race was under control (but still in the 140s), my perceived effort was good, I could talk and breathe normally, I was taking in over 300 calories every hour (Gu, Maltodextrin, and gels) and my stomach was cooperating for the moment.

The tough part for me in the ride is climbing up Richter Pass, I get passed by a lot of riders and it's difficult for my ego to take but this is Ironman and you have to put your ego aside and be smart all day. I kept telling myself that this is not your speciality and if I'm patient my time will come. I went through the rollers and the out and back without much of anything exciting happening but when I started to climb Yellow Lake I ran into my first problem of the day. I tried to stand up to climb a gentle slope and just flush out the legs a bit and immediately my quads started cramping badly. I thought it might just be a temporary issue so I spun for a while and tried again and OUCH! Yeah I can't stand up, okay I had a problem how was I going to fix it. It wasn't a calorie issue I was taking enough calories to keep me going and I didn't feel bonky, I didn't think it was a hydration issue I was drinking more water as the day got hotter and then I realized that it was probably a sodium issue. I looked at my clothes and sure enough I was covered in salt, I had two salt tabs in each bottle, about 12 grams for 180kms which normally is more than enough. However I was drinking a lot more water than I normally do so I was probably diluting the salt in my body. I immediately took 3 more grams I had as an emergency and I'm so glad I did, I had to struggle up the toughest part of Yellow Lake with cramping legs but fortunately I had Steve and Ross there running beside me yelling and they pushed me all the way up that hill. Without those guys I might have just stopped and waited for my legs to recover. I got to the top and my legs started to come around on the descent, by the time I was riding back into town they were tired but not cramping anymore. I finished the bike in a slower time than I wanted but still fairly good for the day; 5:21.24 beginning the marathon in under 6hrs and 30mins is a great way to set yourself up for a sub-10 hour race and I was under that mark.

I started the marathon at the hardest part of the day, around 1:30 and the heat was unbelievable!! It must have reached 33'-34'C that day but at least the humidity is not an issue in Penticton. I've done a race where the heat is bad and there is nothing you can do to cool yourself because of the humidity (Louisville) and it's aweful, you suffer through this death march on the marathon and what ever you try to do to get yourself going fails miserably. That day I was dumping ice in my hat, drinking coke and water, taking gels, making sure I was taking salt and my legs were holding together. I still had to stop and walk through the aid stations but I was running pretty well in-between them. I had a few guys pass me on the first half of the marathon but I stayed patient and I passed a lot of them on the second half. The final 10kms of the race were absolutely excrutating, I was hurting from every point in my body but I made sure I didn't give up before I was in the finish shute. I kept up with the coke and water and unlike 2009 I didn't bonk in the final mile, I actually picked up my pace on the final 800m and I passed one person. It wasn't a fantastic marathon time for me but on a day like that I'll take the 3:17.15 and final time of 9:44.32. I finished 5th in my age group and 29th overall, in 2009 I also placed 29th overall but with a better time so I know the day was tougher this year.

I needed two I.V. bags after the finish and I was completely spent, I had no idea where I was or what I was doing and it took me over half an hour to find our car afterwards. I qualified for Hawaii again and this year Amber didn't let me off the hook when I told her I didn't want to do another Ironman again in 6 weeks. I signed up and after some rest I'm sure I'll be excited to be going to Kona with Amber. It's such a beautiful place that it's great to have a reason to go back and being a part of the Ironman World Championships is going to be incredible! We spend all winter watching DVDs of Kona on our bikes in the basement and now I get an opportunity to be in the race, awesome I can't wait...

Mindset

2011-08-10T13:19:00.000-07:00

I just finished Chris McCormak's new book, "I'm here to win" and I have to say whatever your opinion of Macca (good or bad) if you are a triathlete you need to read this book. I've never been a Macca fan, he comes across so arrogant and cocky that I just couldn't stand listening to him. Triathlon is a tough sport and Ironman is the toughest event in triathlon, you don't need to boast or brag and call people out, do your talking on the race course. However after reading his book I realized that Macca is really not like that, he's a confident guy that's for sure but he's a humble champion who loves his family and loves what he does for a living. His 'persona' when he's racing is totally different from who he actually is. At the professional level he understands that physically most pros are only separated by a 1-2% difference in physical ability so the mental game becomes much more important. By calling out an athlete or by making them race mad Macca is actually creating an environment where other athletes are thinking about him instead of thinking about what they need to do during the race, brilliant! He's one of the most successful athletes in the sport and his results speak volumes.

I'm not saying that I can use this strategy as an age group athlete but after being a triathlete for over ten years I thought I knew almost everything there was to know, not even close. There are some great insights and things to learn from this book, for example; most athletes will drink a lot of water for the week leading up to their goal race, smart right? Not if your training for an Ironman, if your doing an Olympic or Half Ironman race then you probably won't have a problem but during an Ironman, big problem! The thing is the body will hydrate itself in two ways, plasma hydration in the blood which comes from drinking a lot of water (and inevitably peeing a lot) and muscle hydration. Macca always cramped in the heat of Hawaii and he couldn't come up with a solution until he started learning more about the difference between the two. He found out about the difference not from sports physiologists or PHDs who were testing him relentlessly but from a French bodybuilder. He taught Macca about a well known process bodybuilders do before preparing for a competition, by drinking an element based water (water with zinc, potassium, iron, calcium, magnesium) your body will store this in the muscles through osmosis for later use. That's great for a bodybuilder but how is it going to help me in an Ironman, I'm swimming, biking and running for hours. Well after a few hours of being dehydrated your blood plasma becomes thicker and the only place to draw from is the muscles, sure you can drink and try to re-hydrate and if you're a small athlete you may not have any issues, but for a big athlete training in the heat, cramping is inevitable. So prepare your muscles by drinking an element infused drink for the weeks leading up to the race. Once Macca started doing this, he never had an issue with cramping in Hawaii and he won two, placed fourth in one (because of a bad swim) and had a mechanical in the other.

There is also a lot of great info on an athlete's mindset and preparation before a race. I'm starting to realize how important getting yourself in the right frame of mind is. I always knew I felt very fit before before an Ironman but I just attributed that to all the training I was doing leading up to the race, and that does play an important factor. However I'm learning that training your mind to be in that place where you know you are about to complete one of the toughest events you will probably face in your life is even more important. I'm reminded of last year when I wasn't doing an Ironman and I went out for an open water swim with a buddy of mine who I usually don't have a problem swimming away from and how easily he pulled away from me. He had the 'mindset' of an Ironman athlete, he knew he was going to do an Ironman and his body responded in training. He said his arms were moving with little to no effort and I was doing everything I could just to stay close to him. I got out of the water after 45 minutes completely exhausted and he kept going for well over an hour. Mentally preparing yourself through training is so incredibly important and as much as we think we are preparing our bodies for the punishment to come, preparing your mind is even more important.

The training so far this month has been great, other than a terrible open water swim in Musreau on Monday (but I'm attributing that to the very cold water) I feel great. My running has been right on track, I've had a couple knee issues on the bike but after a bit of rest it seems to be getting better and in the pool I'm moving very, very well. Now I need to equate that to feeling great in the open water but I've still got a couple weeks to sharpen up that skill and it won't be a problem. Mentally I'm prepared for what's coming and I'm happy and relaxed about getting back into the Ironman ring again this year. Two more weeks and we'll see if all the hard work has paid off, I'm confident I'm going to have a terrific race.

August Long Weekend 2011

2011-08-01T18:55:00.000-07:00

August long weekend holds a lot of great memories for Amber and I, many, many great summers are spent on our bikes or on the trails. A couple of years after we met we planned a bike trip from Calgary to Banff and when we reached Canmore I asked Amber to marry me. She was having a horrible ride but seemed to perk right up after I asked her this weekend four years ago. She's the perfect partner for me and she understands my motivation and drive to continue to do this crazy sport of Ironman. There is a lot of suffering that goes into not only completing an Ironman but preparing for one. Weekends are not spent drinking on the deck with friends and lounging at the lake with family but pushing yourself beyond what you thought you were capable of on your bike, in the pool or running the trails and pathways. Many hours are dedicated to one day at the end of August when you are swimming, biking and running for 9-12 hours.

Why do I do this sport? The only answer I can come up with to that question is that after an Ironman (including preparing for an Ironman) everything else in life is easy. Ironman teaches you discipline, patience, planning, preparation, and how to break down a HUGE accomplishment into manageable parts, all things that have helped me tremendously in my life. When most people who don't understand the sport first hear about it they can't fathom doing something like that all day long. The truth is that anyone can do it with the proper preparation and race discipline the problems happen when you change your discipline or you don't adapt to changes in your conditions, just like in life.

This weekend was filled with fun things, Saturday Amber, Robert, Annette and I planned to ride from Grande Cache to Grande Prairie; 180kms over some tough, tough climbs. Unfortunately Amber woke up not feeling well so she had to take a day off but the three of us loaded up and went out to practice our Ironman ride. The first 95kms to our drop box went fairly well, I was keeping my heart rate under control on the climbs and although my legs could tell they have been pushing for 2 hours and 40 minutes I was ready to keep going for another 85kms. By the time Robert and I hit the 140km point we were both hurting but we kept each other honest and pushed the remaining 40kms to finish in 5:31. We even jumped off our bikes and did a 20 minute run just get that start of the Ironman run feeling.

Sunday Amber was feeling better so we headed to the pool and put in a solid 3kms with some 500m sets and I felt pretty good. After lunch we did a little family run for an hour and I didn't give myself enough time to digest so I was having a tough time but held on for 15kms.

Today Amber was determined to get in her 180km ride but the wind was absolutely screaming!!! It was a 40km/hr wind with gusts up to 70kms/hr! It was not a safe day to ride but she did not want to call it off so we planned for her to head east with a tailwind most of the way. I would drive out and do my run every 40 or 50 kms and provide her with a refueling stops. Things were going along pretty well until I saw how much construction there was on the highway, I didn't realize she had about 20kms of chipseal riding with loose gravel everywhere but by the time I reached her she was through it. In the end she had a fantastic ride doing 180kms in 5:24! and I managed to run 38kms in 2:38. I went through some tough periods when I decided it was a good idea to eat a couple pieces of pizza after running 21kms... bad idea. I felt like I was going to throw up for the next 8-9kms, lesson learned.

All in all it was a great weekend with friends and family and after 180kms riding, 3kms swimming and 58kms running I feel closer to being ready for Ironman. Bring it on.

30 Hours of Biking in 7 Days

2011-07-26T08:43:00.001-07:00

Well Amber and I didn't exactly live like bike pros but this was probably the hardest Tour BC both of us have ever been on. This is the 4th tour for both of us and every time we do it we both agree that it takes our biking to a whole new level. Unfortunately (or fortunately after this year) it is the last tour they are offering and we're going to have to look into other options in the future. Our week long bike vacation started off great, we spent Friday night in Jasper and woke up to sunny skies so I let Amber sleep a bit and hit the Pyramid Lake loop. It's about a 20km beautiful trail run up a mountain to the lake and back. I felt a little stiff and couldn't quite get going but I did just jump out of bed and put the runners on so I was probably still a little groggy. After the run and some breakfast we made our way to Kamloops and got there in enough time for the bike check and to get our 'dorm room' for the night. The start point was at Thompson Rivers University and we were assigned dorm rooms for the Saturday night before the tour, if you ever wanted to feel what it was like being a prisoner go to one of those dorms- 4 rooms connected with a common bathroom and prison white cinder block walls.

The first day everyone was excited to get going, the weather was beautiful, everyone was fresh and ready to go! A brief pep talk and we were on our way... Amber and I wanted to make this our bike focus training week of course and we planned on riding hard every day. I wanted to alternate 180k and 120k days every day for the entire week. That meant I should be able to get in 4-180k days and 3-120k days for a total of 1080kms for the week, that was the plan anyway. The first day everything went great and although some of the roads were a little rough and I was stung in the finger by something I managed to get in my 180k for the day and was completely spent by the time I got to the campsite. The rest of the afternoon and evening went well, we were eating like ravenous animals again, hung out with some friends from GP and that night everything changed. That's when the rains came, it start raining that night and was not letting up by morning.

One of the things I love about this tour is that you HAVE to bike every day, no matter what the weather, how sore or tired you feel you HAVE to get on your bike and get to the next destination. However there are some days you wish that you could just take a pass. Everything was muddy, cold, and miserable for most of the day until the afternoon when we got closer to Lumby and the skies started to clear. Finally the day turned around but the damage was done, my bike was running like an old mule and there was dirt and mud in everything. I managed to get in my 120k and even pulled out a 10k T-run, but the rest of the night I was very, very tired and sleeping on an air mattress was not proving to be the best recovery solution.

The third day was probably one of the hardest days of the tour, up the Monashee mountain range. The day started off alright even though it was extremely cold for July there was enough climbing that I warmed up fairly quick. After the water stop I hit the climb and I couldn't believe how steep a lot of the sections were, some near the top reaching 15%! That's when my knee started bugging me and I wish I had a couple extra gears to get me up those mountains, I was literally using the entire road going back and forth to do anything I could to get up to the top by the time I did get there I was done, my legs were cooked. My plan to get in 180k today was scrapped and I just wanted to limp in to the finish. Amber had her shifter break off the aerobar and she had to call it a day at the top. I'm glad she did because the next 20kms of descending were some of the most dangerous I've every been through. The rain started hammering everyone and I couldn't see a thing through foggy and wet sunglasses. I took it easy all the way down to the ferry and when I reached the bottom I heard that someone had crashed, it was bad and he had to go to hospital but after a few stitches he came back and rejoined the tour with a lot of road rash on his face, wow. That day and night were tough, I set up the tent in the rain (there were no hotels) and everything was wet, the suitcases, the tent, the chairs, the food, your clothes, everything. After that day most people decided to hotel it the rest of the way, including us. I still managed to get in 120kms for the day and considering what we went through I'd call it a successful day.

The next day was a short 60km jaunt to Nakusp and Amber and I were looking forward to some nicer weather and a hotel at the end of today. It was still cloudy and cold until we arrived in Nakusp but any thoughts of adding kms, swimming or running were out the window. We both just wanted a shower and a latte. The town was nice and we finally saw some sun that afternoon but we spent most of the day doing laundry and fueling up for the next day. Nakusp to Revelstoke is a beautiful ride with 4 good climbs and descents but the rain started again and at the half way mark we were all soaked to the bone. On top of that the luggage took hours to arrive after we got to the hotel so I was sitting in wet bike shorts and I knew that was not a good idea if I wanted to avoid saddle sores. Another tough 120km day in the books.

Finally by Friday the weather was supposed to clear up a little and the sun was going to come out but it started off cold again. At the first water stop the sun did show and I was shedding layers, I was determined to get in at least one more 180km day so I started doing 5km out and backs at every break. The day was scheduled for a 135kms so I'd have to add another 45kms but by the time we got to Armstrong we were cruising around town so much that I ended the day with my 180. We stayed in a nice B&B that Amber had found and spent the evening and early morning watching the final stages of the tour, that was fun.

The final day back to Kamloops was the best weather of the week but I could feel the 6 days of hard riding starting to take it's toll. For some reason my groin decided to act up and it made turning the pedals very tough, also my right knee was really hurting from pushing hard for 6 days straight. A nice easy cruise into Kamloops would be a great idea but unfortunately a strong headwind was making life difficult for everyone. After the water break a group of strong riders caught up to me and we all started working together in team time trial format to get through the next 30k, it was a lot of fun and exactly what I needed to push me a little harder than I wanted to go. After lunch I took off a little early and pushed as hard as I could for the final 60kms. I got back to Kamloops tired, sore, beaten, but satisfied with what I'd done for the week. I may never know what it's truly like to ride a bike for a living but after this week I'm not sure that I care. It was a challenging physically and mentally and I'm glad this part of the training is done. I have a couple more long rides planned before IMC but now I need to focus on my open water swimming and distance running. This weekend is a tough 180kms from Grande Cache to Grande Prairie something we've been planning and talking about all year and now it's go time!!

The Tour

2011-07-14T11:41:00.001-07:00

No not the Tour de France, although I have been watching a lot of the coverage especially now that they are in the mountains, but I'm talking about something even bigger- Tour BC. Okay it may not be as big as the Tour de France but to Amber and I it's more exciting. It's a week of riding through the mountains in BC where you think of nothing but riding, a little swimming, a little running and relaxing. This year's tour starts in Kamloops which is awesome for us because it's only 900kms away, normally it's at least a 12-14hr drive to the start but this year it's only 8-9hrs. The longest day is the first day at 132kms from Kamloops to Salmon Arm and the shortest day is day four from Fauquier to Nakusp 58kms. I'm going to try to alternate between 180km rides and 120km rides every day so that should give me over 1000kms for the week. I'm not sure if there will be much energy left over for swimming or running but I'll try and get in a couple runs afterwards, short but IM pace and a couple open water swims.

This is the week I really start to feel like I'm prepared for IMC and I hope everything goes according to plan. Amber and I missed it last year and I didn't feel like I had the summer holiday I always look forward to. Not most people's idea of a great vacation but a lot of riding, camping and enjoying the sun, that's my idea of a great holiday.

Success!!

2011-07-04T08:53:00.000-07:00

What a fantastic weekend in Stony Plain with some great friends, great results and time away with Amber. I think a lot of people who don't do triathlon really have a hard time understanding why Amber and I do this sport and honestly while I'm out there racing hard and really suffering badly I wonder that myself. However, I know the pain is always temporary and no one can take away the feeling of accomplishment you have after leaving every ounce of yourself out on the race course. I know Amber feels the same way, when your in the moment and going through all the physical turmoil you ask yourself if it's really worth it but it takes real mental toughness to not listen to those voices and to just keep pushing. A person that can do that is someone who is going to be successful, no matter what the day brings.

This week I tried to limit my workouts to very short and slow swims-bikes-and runs and I managed to keep my desire to push hard in training in check. Amber says that my success this year is all do to training a lot smarter, listening to my body when it needs a day off and focusing diligently on recovery, I have to agree. I don't worry anymore about not getting in my three swims, three bikes and three runs every week I know that if I have a week where I'm swimming a lot then I just won't have the energy to run and vise versa. So the plan this summer is to train smarter not harder and focus on a great peak of IMC in 8 weeks.

The build up to the race was a little nerve wracking because I put my race goal times out there and honestly if the day had been different anything could have happened. But it was an absolutely fantastic day for racing warm enough in the water not to freeze your face, hands and feet but cool enough not to over heat on the bike and run- and NO WIND! Wow I haven't had more that a few days on the bike in GP where the wind wasn't howling and there was no wind on the way out and a slight tailwind on the way back. People were saying that the wind picked up later in the bike but it was still a tailwind so it was an extremely fast bike for most racers. I started out in the water feeling a little beat up, it was my first open water swim in a long time and I forgot how brutal it can get in there. All I needed was a good elbow in the goggle and I was back into race mode. The first lap was tough, the turns at the buoys were brutal with people crawling all over you but it's all a part of the race experience I guess. The second lap things started to stretch out a bit and I was able to catch a few feet to draft for a while but it never lasts too long with people pushing you from every direction and swimming off course. Still I had a great swim for me, 30:58, a minute slower than I was hoping but I gave it everything I had and couldn't have swam faster. Also it's a 2k swim as opposed to the standard 1.9k most 1/2 IM's have.

I had a bit of difficulty in transition with my helmet strap (a Chris McCormack moment) but I kept it together and started riding fairly smooth right from the start. After the initial climb out of the lake I noticed I was passing A LOT of people in the first 10- 20kms I was pushing pretty hard but I wasn't expecting to be passing that many people. I finally caught up to a group of 4 other guys that were all riding about the same pace as I was. I would pass them and then they would pass me, mainly on the climbs- something I obviously need to work on before IMC. I was going a lot faster than I was expecting but bike training has been going so well that I just decided to go with it and if I blew up later I would figure it out then. I was surprised when I hit 80k because that's traditionally where I would fall apart on the bike but I was able to hold on right to the finish this year and completed the bike in 2:18.56 (including transitions) a minute faster than I was predicting and setting me up for a PR if I could have a good run. I was 12th place at the turn around and passed another 4 guys on the way back so was sitting in about 8th going into the run.

Bike Profile

I kept telling myself during the swim and bike that I just need to do my best and let the swimmers have their day and then let the bikers have their day and save something for the run, my speciality. By the time I got to the run I immediately thought I had screwed up everything, I went too hard on the bike and I didn't have any pep in my legs. It was a struggle to just keep my legs turning over especially in the first couple kms but everyone else was having an even tougher day because I passed two or three guys right off the start. I was trying to hold my regular run race pace but I felt like someone had been pounding on my quads, hamstrings, glutes and calves for 3 hours and now I had to try and run a half marathon. I my head I was so disappointed in myself for not being able to run as fast as I knew I could run but everyone who was cheering me on kept telling me how great I looked, I sure didn't feel great. I was just thinking of survival and had to walk a few seconds at some of the aid stations but I could see guys bearing down on me at the turn arounds and I just kept telling myself that you need to keep moving, just keep running even if it's slow.

The fourth place guy was so far in front of me at the start of the run I had absolutely no desire or will to try and catch him, I was just trying to stay within myself and keep the legs moving. Eventually I did catch him though and I must have been running just a couple seconds per kilometer faster because he didn't stay with me. Honestly if it had come down to a sprint finish I don't know if I had anything more to give but I did what I could to keep the negative voices away and to just keep moving. I had a much better run than I thought- 1:21.29 and it was the 2nd fastest on the day! That broke my longest standing PR (in 2008 I did a 4:16 on this course) and I was ecstatic to find out I placed 4th! I knew it was going to be a great battle between Kyle Marcotte, Paul Tichelaar, and Jeff Symonds but I didn't expect to be behind those three elite guys. 4th place and a 4:11.23 and $600 bucks to boot! That paid for our weekend in Stony and more importantly elevated my confidence going into Ironman training. I can't wait for Ironman this year I'm finally excited to be back in the game and racing well again.

6 Months Done

2011-06-30T12:32:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe we're half way through 2011, I just got used to writing 2011 instead of 2010 and now we're into the second half of the year. I'm not big on setting New Year's resolutions but I like to set New Year's goals and when I look back at the list I created for myself at the beginning of the year I have to say I've done a pretty good job so far. The biggest thing I wanted to change was to be healthier this year, 2010 was very difficult and I was getting the flu pretty much every month because of overtraining. This year has been great, I've managed to stay healthy and back off when I feel like something is coming on. I've trained more consistently and I can feel myself becoming a lot fitter because of it. There is something to be said about listening very carefully to what your body is telling you and responding to it appropriately.

The second half of the year is always a fantastic time, I'm kicking the summer of 2011 off with a return to Stony Plain and the Great White North 1/2 IM. It's where I set a PR in the 1/2 Ironman distance back in 2008 and it's my longest standing PR for any distance; 4:16.49. That year I went on to break 10 hours in IMC and I feel like I've been racing better and faster ever since. Based on how my training is going leading up to the race this year I'm confident I can break it if everything goes according to plan. I've been swimming more this year than any other and I feel really confident and strong in the water. I don't want to push too hard during the swim but if I can stay on-line and find someone's feet that I'm confortable drafting off of then I should be close to 30 minutes this year.

I'm really looking forward to the bike this year, I haven't really had a chance to test out the Trek on this course and I know I'm faster this year than previous years. In 2008 I did a 2:24.05, in 2009 I did a 2:27.35 and I know I can get that under 2:20 on this course. That should carry me into the run close to 2:50- 2:55 and I know I can run a sub- 1:20 half marathon on this course. So if all goes well I hope to set a new PR on Sunday and hopefully place in the top 5, it'll be a great battle between Kyle Marcotte, Geoff Symonds, and Paul Tichelaar this year and I'll have a front row seat.

That's the plan anyway, anything can happen on the day and I'm prepared to make adjustments as necessary but I want to go out and race as hard as I can and celebrate the fact that I'm healthly and active and doing what I love with Amber and some great friends. Hopefully see you out there on Sunday, happy Canada Day weekend!

Grande Prairie Tri 2011

2011-06-23T09:29:00.001-07:00

What a great race even though I wasn't in this one it was an incredible experience to be out there cheering on everyone. I have to admit I did have a bit of envy of all those racing but I know myself and I know my body and it was definitely a good idea to sit this one out. The day before the race Amber, Robert, Annette and I had a plan to go out and ride the first 180k of the year. Why? I don't know but it sounded like a good idea. Actually all three of them were racing the next day and this ride was supposed to prevent them from going "all-out" during the race. I'm not sure if it worked because they all raced very hard and it looked like they gave it everything they had.

It was so nice to have a race in town where you could sleep in your own bed, wake up and have your normal breakfast and not have to worry about all those little things that you do when you are travelling. Of course I wasn't racing so maybe Amber felt differently. There were only 82 racers and all the triathletes in town are a pretty close knit community so I had a chance to see and talk to almost everyone. The energy before the start was great, a lot of people were anxious racing at home but other than one guy from Fort St. John falling on the bike (and still placing 4th!) everything went off without a hitch.

I could tell Amber was nervous and excited but fortunately she was more excited than nervous for this one. She's done a great job at controlling her energy this year and not allowing her nerves to get the better of her before a race, something she's definitely going to need before IMC this year. I was counting the laps in her lane and it was awesome to be able to watch her swim and see how she managed the first part of her race. She did an excellent job, leading out on the first three laps she realized that someone was just going to draft off her the entire way so she let her pass and then stayed in her draft until she started to die and Amber took over again. She probably did about an 8:45 for the 500m but with the time starting on the pool deck and ending as she left the pool it was clocked at 9:10.

The bike was a very challenging 6 loop course that has a lot of accelerating and decelerating and it just knocks the crap out of your legs. It's like doing a TT with sprinting drills mixed in for 35-40 minutes straight. I went to get Harley out of the car, he got to watch the rest of the race and we picked a good spot to catch all the riders. Robert and Annette were both having a fantastic race considering what we did the day before and Robert said Amber was biking incredibly strong. She looked relaxed and comfortable even though her heart was probably in her throat, she pushed the entire ride and finished with the 2nd best female time and 10th overall in 40:17.

The run is a nice loop around the reservoir and although it said it was 5k, with some of the times out there it was probably more like 4- 4.5k. Harley and I ran down to watch Amber half way through the run and she was grabbing her side like she was getting a bad stitch but to her credit she didn't slow down and she just kept running through it. We ran back to the finish and Robert was coming in looking strong and running fast he ended up clocking a 1:01.05 and placing 2nd overall! Awesome! He wanted to go out and run another hour so Harley and I joined him and it was great to see him in such good spirits, especially after we did a 5 and 1/2 hour bike the day before. Amber also had a terrific race coming in at 1:09.32 and placing 2nd female and 10th overall! Great result on a tough bike course and riding 160k the day before. Annette also finished her first tri winning her age group and placing right behind Amber in 1:11.39, incredible for a first timer. I think my first race I almost finished dead last but I knew after that moment I loved the sport and would continue to do it for as long as I could.

It was a great experience to see everyone out there and now I'm excited to get out there myself and race hard at GWN. I've been training pretty well up until this week when I managed to catch a flu that's been going around but I'm starting to bounce back slowly. This weekend is a couple 100k rides and an hour run and then next week will be a swim focus with some short rides and runs before the race on July 3rd, I can't wait!

Training Trials

2011-06-09T09:42:00.000-07:00

I've come to the conclusion that training for an Ironman is HARD! It may not sound like a new discovery to a lot of people but I feel like my body is screaming at me. I love the process of feeling fitter as the summer progresses but dealing with the aches and pains and overwhelming desire to stay in bed after the alarm goes off is really tough. I always seem to slow down at work during this time of year and it's great to have something to focus on like training but I think I forgot how hard it is to get out of bed after a tough day either in the pool on the bike or running.

Yesterday Robert had a 40k TT planned and a bunch of us decided to join in the fun; Paul, Bart, Steve, Bruce, Amber and myself all showed up to suffer with him. It was great to have so many people out there to hurt with but I forgot how bad the aftermath of such a tough bike could be. We warmed up for 5k and started straight into a fairly brisk headwind. I knew the first 20k was going to be brutal (and it was) I was hitting heartrates on the bike that I very rarely see, 150-155bpm and after 10kms of that my legs started to die a little. Robert had opened up a gap on me at the first climb and I had to let him go, I focused on staying in my own effort and shut out those thoughts of 'your not going fast enough' or 'it's just not your day' and kept the effort as high as possible.

I was looking at the time trying my best to get to the 10k mark at 15 minutes and the 20k mark at 30 minutes but it was so tough with the undulating hills and headwind. I hit the 20k turnaround at 31:15, okay I can live with that. The way back was so freeking fast I was having a blast as I crused along at 43-45km/hr and kept my heart rate in the 140s. My legs were really starting to feel the effort and I could tell they wanted to quit but I just kept my eyes on the time and continued to count down the minutes. I was expecting to finish in the 1:02- 1:03 range so you could imagine my surprise when I finished in 59:20!!! Wow, a new PR for that distance, awesome! Robert also set a new PR finishing in the 57 minute range, incredible. Amber set a PR too finishing in 1:10, amazing babe!

All in all it was a fantastic day even though none of us went into it with fresh legs, Amber did a brutal leg workout, Robert and Bart did a VO2 max test, I did a tough 10 mile run the day before and all of us had done our third swim of the week by then. So you could imagine how most of us felt waking up this morning, Amber was a trooper and got up at 5am to teach her class for 6am. I dragged myself out of bed and to the pool to meet Robert and we managed to slug out 5x 500m and I saw Bart on the way out and he looked pretty tired. It's been a tough week so far but that's Ironman training for you, suffer a little now or suffer a lot later.

GP Press Run 2011

2011-05-29T18:31:00.000-07:00

Tough day at the GP Press Run yesterday but a very satisfying win in some tough, tough conditions. I woke up on Saturday morning and the air was so full of smoke from the wildfires in Slave Lake that I had trouble seeing down the street. I tried not to let it distract me from the fact that I needed to race but it's hard to ignore an air quality of 'poor' from environment Canada. I also pulled my hamstring on Tuesday so I was nursing my left leg the entire week and I had to wrap it tightly in a tensor bandage. I started out somewhat conservatively feeling like the first three kilometers were well within my pace but I soon felt the effects of running in the heavy smoke filled air. My throat was severely dry and I had to drink at every aid station, my lungs started to feel heavy with every passing kilometer and I could tell I wasn't running my best race.

I reached the turn around at about 38 minutes and change and I thought I could finish in about 1:16 but with the conditions that day I wasn't counting on anything. The way back was very tough and I started to feel myself slow down but I did the best I could to just keep running. When I hit the 16km mark at 1:00 I knew I wasn't going to finish with a PR but it took everything in me just to keep my legs moving, my left leg hurt from start to finish with the tight tensor bandage wrapped around my quad. I didn't want to stop to take it off, I was afraid that my hamstring might start acting up or that I would cause some long term damage but running with it on was getting more painful with each passing mile. With 5k left to go I told myself that it would all be over in 20 minutes or less just hang on. I gave it everything I had left (which wasn't much) but I held on for the win in a time of 1:20.18 a good result on a tough day.

Here's the top ten in the 1/2 marathon;

05/28/2011 11:58:37 2011 Grand Prairie DHT Press Run/Walk
Overall Results
21K Run - 13.05 Miles
O/A Name Bib# Time Pace/K Category Cat/Pl Gender Gen/Pl Chiptime
1/88 HUNTER, DARIN 2025 01:20:19.10 03:49 21KR30-39M 1/11 M 1/32 01:20:18.50
2/88 OOSTRA, PAUL 2057 01:27:17.80 04:09 21KR40-49M 1/7 M 2/32 01:27:15.30
3/88 ST. HILAIRE, PAUL 2079 01:30:11.35 04:17 21KR40-49M 2/7 M 3/32 01:30:10.40
4/88 ROSS, KYLE 2068 01:30:30.65 04:18 21KR20-29M 1/6 M 4/32 01:30:30.55
5/88 SCHARTNER, CORY 2071 01:30:38.65 04:18 21KR30-39M 2/11 M 5/32 01:30:33.00
6/88 SEITZ, ROBERT 2075 01:32:42.70 04:24 21KR30-39M 3/11 M 6/32 01:32:41.50
7/88 MARILLIER, VAUGHN 2099 01:35:24.95 04:32 21KR30-39M 4/11 M 7/32 01:35:19.90
8/88 DAVIDSON, ASHLEY 2011 01:36:56.05 04:36 21KR30-39M 5/11 M 8/32 01:36:54.35
9/88 WATSON, CHRIS 2089 01:39:19.15 04:43 21KR20-29M 2/6 M 9/32 01:39:17.95
10/88 SEITZ, ANNETTE 2074 01:41:27.35 04:49 21KR20-29F 1/19 F 1/56 01:41:25.90

A great race with some terrific volunteers and organizers and I appreciate the fact that there is a wonderful running community in GP that is willing to support each other. I definitely feel a deeper sense of belonging within the running community here and I'm happy to be a part of it. Amber and I finished off the weekend with a great 2500m swim this morning and a 90km bike this afternoon, a great weekend of training and hopefully it's the first of many before Great White North.

Jasper Fun

2011-05-27T16:42:00.000-07:00

May long weekend was another epic trip the only downside was that we had to stay in a hotel and weren't able to bring H-doggie. We both really missed him but with the amount of time we spent on our bikes, he wouldn't have had a good time anyway. We arrived Friday afternoon and after getting unpacked we had a chance to go out for a quick spin up to the base of Edith Cavell mountain. The road was closed so we made a plan to definitely come back the next day and ride it. We had plans to turn the weekend into a mini tri-camp but we are both so in love with the cycling in Jasper that we just spent the whole weekend riding. Friday was a 30km ride, Saturday was a 60km major climb and a 70km flatter, faster ride. Sunday was a 100km ride to Maline Lake which is one of our favorite rides and by Monday neither of us had the energy to get out of bed. We went to the hot springs and headed home, we both missed our boy and he was pretty tired from being in the kennel all weekend.

Some pics from the weekend;

100 Days...

2011-05-19T11:51:00.000-07:00

That's it, only 100 days until IMC. I looked at the little countdown on my blog for an idea of how much time I have until the main 'goal race' of the year and that's it, 100 days. Factor in tapering, travelling, work and other responsibilities and there is only 3 months of good focused training left until my big race. I remember thinking back to Puerto Rico training, when January hit both Amber and I started thinking, damn we'd better start training. That two and a half months went by so quickly. Well we were ready for that and we'll be ready for IMC.

This weekend we're kicking off our spring/ summer training with a great long weekend plan in Jasper;
Friday; Swim 3000m, travel, Bike Athabasca Falls loop (65-67kms)
Saturday; Swim 3200m, Bike Maline Lake climb (100kms)
Sunday; Trail Run 2- 2 1/2 hours Pyramid Lake loop, Bike Edith Cavell mountain (50-60kms)
Monday; Bike Miette Hot Spings (70kms one way), travel home.

No biking in the 4 hour range yet but we'll get there soon enough I'm not worried about that. June is going to have a lot of 4 and 5 hour rides and I need to start focusing on increasing my run distance as well. I'm taking a more gradual approach to training this year and so far it's working. No major injury or illness to speak of and I'm having a great time training. Let's hope the next 100 days go according to plan and I have the race of my life in Penticton!!

I Miss My Training Partner

2011-05-18T18:23:00.001-07:00

It's been tough on Amber starting a new business a lot of her free time; evenings and weekends are spent working while I spend my free time training. I know she's determined to have a successful business and she is creating an incredible future for the both of us so I need to be supportive, I just really miss her.

When we first arrived in Grande Prairie we were both training for the Boston Marathon and then right into training for Ironman Louisville. We both felt really connected and went through the same suffering every weekend and weekday. We went out on the same long rides, the same long runs and the same open water swims and had stories to tell about what happened on this section of the course and what was hurting that day. We spent weekends in Jasper every month and turned them into mini-vacations with Harley. The last year and a half Amber has been doing much of her own training either strength training or Death Race training, and I have been doing my own Tri-training. I can't imagine having a job where I trained people all day and then had enough energy to come home at night and do my own training. She continues to amaze me and I'm looking forward to this spring and summer where we can hopefully get out together and have more stories to tell.

Suffering in training for an Ironman is just not fun if you are doing it all on your own, I know did it alone for my first Ironman back in 2005. I'm happy Amber and I are going back to Jasper for May long weekend, we get to experience a bit of the fun we used to have out there. Riding to Athabasca falls, Maline Lake, running through the beautiful trails and maybe getting in a swim or two. I love long weekends and I'm really looking forward to spending this one with the one I love.

Brian Harms Memorial Race 2011

2011-05-09T13:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my traditional season opening race, the Brian Harms memorial 10 miler and it was a fantastic race for all those involved. This year was a little different because Amber and I started training in January for the San Juan 70.3 in March and I had a good base already built into my overall fitness. However I took all of March off after the race and didn't have as much of a focus on my running as I typically do in April. So I was going into it not really knowing what I was capable of, last year I ran a 58:45 and I remember it HURT from start to finish. A college runner went out sprinting for the first 3k and of course, like an idiot, I tried to stay with him and after he faded I was left out there suffering through the remaining 13kms.

This year I went in with a plan, run 4 minute/kms for the first half then pick it up and run 3:30 minute/kms for the last half if I had anything left. That was the plan... well wouldn't you know it as soon as the race started I fell into my natural 'race pace' and I was going a lot faster than I wanted to. 3:31- 3:33 minutes/km for the first 8kms and I didn't feel like I was suffering too badly. By the end of the first lap (8kms) I knew I was going to really hurt on the second half, and sure enough it was tough to keep the legs turning over at that pace for another 8kms. I could tell that I'd done a 110km ride the day before and I could feel myself getting slower as I turned out of the park and up a gentle grade towards the 12km mark. There is a section of gravel road for a little while and I was cursing the fact that it felt like I was pushing extra hard and getting nowhere. I definitely slowed in the second half but I was still very pleased to only be 2 seconds off last year's time and finishing in 58:47! Wow that was a surprise, nice to see the fitness is still there even after a pretty tough week of training.

This is going to be the start of a fantastic year, I can feel it already. I'm not suffering from the flu every second week, I've focused on training hard and recovering hard, taken days off when my body calls for it, stuck to a strict vitamin and mineral regimen, and not trained in 'suspect' weather. I'm also trying to have more of a training- work- family life balance and not to put so much emphasis on results but having fun. Running and triathlon add so much to my life (and Amber's) that I want races and training to be fun and enjoyable not a pressure situation where we both have to have good results to be happy. We are both happy people (and happy together) regardless of the results.

Remember to Take Your Time

2011-04-30T06:22:00.000-07:00

Spring is a wonderful time and for those of us in Northern Alberta it's an incredible time! 6 long and brutal months of winter finally come to an end and all I feel like doing is getting outside on my bike and riding for hours. The problem with being a triathlete is that I start to feel pressure to be as fit as possible as soon as I start riding outside. I know it's not reasonable to go from riding inside for a couple hours to being outside, fighting the unbelievable GP wind and feeling strong and fast. Patience is a virtue that can be difficult when you're excited about something and for me it's being fast on my bike.

I've done a couple of rides with friends and it's difficult to get dropped so easily by others that I should be riding with but I have to keep telling myself that my body absorbs the training in it's own time. I think the triathlete attitide of "I should be in top shape right now!" is difficult to let go of because I always want to have incredible training sessions everytime I go out. How easily I forget that every year I suffer a really bad bonk during a 90 to 100km training ride at some point in April or May. So this year I'm remembering to take my time. I'll still push myself to hard in training and I'm sure Robert will push me to the point of 'blowing up' a few times this year but that's all a part of the process and I'm confident that by July I'll be ready to race again. I just have to remember to not worry about feeling out of race shape right now and work hard to get to where I want to be and things will fall into place.

Time to Start Getting Serious

2011-04-19T12:37:00.000-07:00

I love this time of year, when the weather starts to change and the snow slowly (very slowly if you live in GP) begins to melt away. It seems that the winter just does not want to give up this year and we just keep getting hit with cold blast after cold blast. However I always feel that once the Boston Marathon has been run, the training season is officially underway. This year's race was absolutely incredible, Geoffrey Mutai, an unbelievable Kenyan runner stole the show clocking an incredible 2:03.02. It's hard to imagine what it means to run a time like that but to put that into perspective; when I was a University soccer player we had a running test we used to have to do- 400m intervals on a minimum time of 1:20 x 8. If you did all 8 under 80 seconds you could play, if not then forget it. Trying to get the final four intervals under 1:20 was tough, you basically had to sprint to get to the finish in time. As I started get fitter I could get my time down to about 1:15 for all the intervals but it was very, very tough I was wiped out for the rest of the week after that workout. Geoffrey ran 1:10 400m pace for 42.2kms, wow... that's very, very impressive.

There is 19 weeks until Ironman and although I don't think I'll ever be able to run that fast, I'm hoping the Easter training camp weekend Robert and I have planned will kick my butt into some hard training sessions once again. I've been a little slack since coming back from Puerto Rico but now I have to get down to business and start training seriously again. Two weeks until the first running race of the year, the Brian Harms 10 miler and I'm going to treat that as a warm up to the GP press run 1/2 marathon at the end of May. My running hasn't been as good as in previous years but I still think there is time to improve and I'm focusing more on being a well rounded triathlete as opposed to just a runner who does triathlon. Regardless of the results this year I want to have fun and enjoy training with Amber and my friends. I still feel that I have one or two more really good IM races left in me and I want to give it everything I have but more and more I'm starting to feel like being out and enjoying the things I love to do with others is definitely the most important aspect.

Triathlon Has Reached a New Level!

2011-04-14T12:16:00.000-07:00

I was watching Man vs. Food last night and I learned of an incredible new triathlon that consists of probably the most difficult combination of events you can imagine. The Doughman!

Who would ever think of eating, running, swimming, biking, eating, biking, eating, running, eating, running, and eating. It's a four person event but still... that's a lot of eating. Yes America you've reached a new low with this one, now you've proven you can't even run 2 miles without stuffing your face with chilli cheese fries. Fortunately it's for a good cause and all in good fun but I think this event has given a new definition to race day nutrition.

Lines and Scars

2011-04-01T20:19:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been noticing a lot of advertising about how to eliminate this scar or some magic cream or surgery that will make you look years younger. When Amber and I were in Puerto Rico we noticed an obvious American tourist couple that were sitting near us during dinner and the woman had a face that was stretched so tight that she looked deformed. I'm not saying that this trend is anything new, but more and more people (men and women) are worried about how to eliminate this scar or what they need to do to get rid of this wrinkle on their face. I think there is a lot of pressure on everyone these days to look good and I think that the pendulum has swung too far in the wrong direction. It seems that everyone is afraid to look older; a grey hair, a laugh line, a facial scar is a reason to seek professional help and have it taken care of.

I don't want to die without any lines or scars, they tell the story of my life. Every wrinkle, every scar is an event or memory that never goes away, good and bad. Imagine yourself 40- 50- 60 years from now, whenever you see yourself passing away and you are sitting at a table with all your friends telling stories about your life. Would you want to be telling exciting stories about how you rode a mountain bike so hard that you crashed on a rock down a steep drop and that gave you the scar on your face, or would you want to talk about how you were so afraid to leave your home because the sun gives you wrinkles... LAME. Everyone has a story and that story is written on your face, your hands, your feet, and the rest of your body. Don't be afraid to grow older, I love every wrinkle and scar on Amber and Harley, it tells the story of their lives so far and I hope we all collect a lot more before our time is done. I want to leave with a face like a catcher's mitt and a body full of scars, imagine the stories I'll have! Some of my favorite scars on the people I love-

Thank You Puerto Rico

2011-03-27T18:31:00.000-07:00

What an incredible country and great place to have a holiday, it was a long trip but well worth it. Definitely the highlight of the trip for me was the race and all the training leading up to it made experiencing the hot humid conditions bearable. The first couple days Amber and I took in the the expo and after dealing with having our bike boxes ripped through by the stupid US transportation security administration and them not putting it back together properly, we got our bikes in working order. It was great being at the expo, we bought a lot of stuff that is usually hard to get at home this time of year and after swimming in the lagoon and biking the run course we were ready to go.

The race was an age group wave start which is fantastic when you're up against 1600 athletes and it made the swim bearable in the small Condado lagoon. Swimming in salt water is always an adjustment but I told myself that I was going to race smart, not hard. I stuck to someones feet for the first 700m and although I thought I could have been swimming faster I stuck to my strategy and stayed with him until he started to fade. The turn around was at that 700m mark and I found someone else with a similar pace and stuck to his feet for another 700m, he must have been cursing me because I was tapping his toes most of the swim and I was not going to pass. With 500m left to go you swim under a bridge and the waves from the ocean knock you back so I saved my energy until that moment and then I took off. It was a great swim and I finished in 31.24. There was a 400m run to transition and I came out of the water sprinting as hard as I could to the stadium where our bikes were parked. I ended up I missing the bike rack and I was looking for my ride for a little while.

The bike course was fantastic, very fast on the way out and very windy. I was continually passing people and I felt like I was having a great ride. I stayed on top of my nutrition, took 5 gels, 10 salt tabs, when through 4 bottles. I started to fade during the last 20kms but with no outdoor riding leading up to this race I think that was to be expected. I finished the ride in 2:22.23, one of my best times ever for a 90km bike and I still had legs to run (for a little while). I don't normally wear a cap when I run, I find the hat tends to trap the heat on my head and does more harm than good but it was just soooo incredibly hot out there I had no choice. I was either going to suffer some serious heat stroke or find a way to run with the hat.

The run was a lot more hilly than I expected and I was dumping water and ice on myself whenever I had a chance. I started out strong running 6:04 miles but slowly the course and the heat wore me down and I faded to 7:30 miles and finished out-on-my-feet like a boxer that's just gone through a 12 round war. A 4:29.18 is fantastic for me during March and it'll give me something to build on for the rest of the season.

The remainding week Amber and I spent soaking up the sun, eating and drinking too much, recovering from our race and checking out Puerto Rico. It is a very populated country (4 million people on one tiny island) but we had a great time and will look at doing something just as fun next year. We were both kind of eyeing the 70.3 in Oceanside for 2012 but there is a lot of time to decide before we commit to a schedule next year. I'm glad we took a winter break and now we're both re-energized to get back to work and be productive members of society again.

We're Outta Here!

2011-03-15T09:11:00.000-07:00

Yes the time has finally come, Amber and I haven't taken a real vacation since we were married in Hawaii, October 2008. We've earned this well deserved break and we both need it, physically I'm exhausted from training very hard for the upcoming San Juan 70.3 and mentally I need to get away from work for a while, as I'm writing the market is down 200 points today... ugh. I'm glad I don't let the market determine my mood, otherwise I'd always be miserable.

Time for a break, not a lot of people (other than my training friends) would consider a 1/2 IM a holiday but I'm really excited not only to test myself but to see how Amber feels out there. She's never ridden her new bike outside and has been away from swimming and biking for quite a while. Her training has gone extremely well I just want her to have a good day and have fun, that's what I'm planning on doing. I think sometimes I work and work and work towards a goal and I tend to put too much emphasis on the result when it's the work leading up to it that is the rewarding part. The race is just the celebration of all the hard effort (and liters of sweat) that brings you towards that goal.

There is going to be wave starts during the swim, which is great and the bike course is a little long (93k) so I'm not expecting a PR but I'd like to still do well. In the end we're not going to make more or less money based on my time so it really doesn't matter, I'm glad I'm not a pro.

The one thing that's always tough when Amber and I fly somewhere is not being able to take our big boy with us. Harley definitely knew something was up last night when I was packing and this morning he was pouting... we'll miss you buddy.

Tired of the Basement

2011-03-11T10:09:00.000-08:00

Yes it's been a very long winter all my pictures of Amber and I training are of us spinning or running in the basement because it's too cold outside. I feel sorry for Harley most of all, he is so excited when I get home with the faint hope that I will take him for a run like I used to but when he sees me get my biking gear on he lowers his head and walks off to bed. I wish it was nicer out so I could run with him more than our regular Saturday jog with the boys. He lives for Saturdays now and he knows exactly when it arrives, he's stuck to my butt all morning while I get ready and won't let me leave his sight. He's gained a lot of weight over the winter and I'm afraid that's my fault too, my guilt has manifested with feeding him more treats and now he's a very heavy 91lbs. However spring is just around the corner and I know I'll be out there with him at least three times a week and I'm sure Amber will take him out a couple times a week too. The treats have stopped and now he's just allowed his kibble and maybe one treat a day, we'll whip him into shape in no time.

We have a very nice basement to train in and I can't say that the environment is not motivating but there comes a point when you just need to get outside again. Part of the reason I love this sport is the fact that I can be outside and see a lot of the surrounding country by biking or running. The days are getting longer and I can tell that spring will come it's just a matter of time. Amber and I are feeling good lately, something has shifted for me mentally I think it's just the fact that I know I will be doing a 1/2 IM in a week and I better be in good shape by now. All the time spent in the basement is going to be worth it when I'm out there swimming in the warm San Juan lagoon, biking the beautiful countryside and running along the coastal waters of the Atlantic. The taper has begun it's an easy run tomorrow, and a relaxed Saturday swimming for 40 minutes and biking for only 2 hours. Wow what am I going to do with all the extra time on Sunday?

Part of the Process

2011-03-02T13:02:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure why I decided to do a 1/2 IM in March but after training very hard for 4hrs in the basement and at the pool on Sunday with Amber I definitely feel like we are earning our holiday. It is freaking hard to train for a hot and humid race in the Caribbean when you live in Northern Canada and the temperature is 60'C different. It was -30' with the wind chill in Grande Prairie on Sunday and it was +32' with the humidity in Puerto Rico. It is going to be an absolute sufferfest when I try to race in those conditions but I'm doing everything I can to prepare.

Saturday I had a nice easy run with the guys and H-dog for 11k and then a coffee, it was a little nicer that day but the recent snow made for some tough footing. After coffee I went home and ran another 10k on the treadmill and felt pretty good, I was half thinking about getting on my bike for an hour because the previous week I hadn't done much training. However I thought it might be better to save myself for Sunday and Holy Hell was that a good decision.

Sunday Amber and I made our way to the pool and had a great 50 minute swim, I was really impressed with how fast Amber is getting after a few good weeks. She said she can feel herself getting smoother and faster and it's obvious when seeing her in the water. I had a good swim too and I finally feel like I can push a little longer, 1k before I start to die. After our swim we had a 3.5hr ride scheduled but I refuse to go longer than 90k for a 1/2 IM, I ended up picking a course that was 95k so I did that. I was dressed in a long sleeved jersey and leg warmers and immediately I was sweating heavily and didn't stop for the next three hours. I felt fairly good until about 2.5hrs and then my legs started cramping badly and at the end of the ride I could barely get off my bike, every muscle in my legs locked up and I was rolling on the floor in pain. Needless to say I couldn't do my 15 minute t-run and I spent the rest of the day in bed or on the couch. Let's hope the race goes better than that, I've put in a lot of hard work and I want to at least feel decent afterwards. After this I can say that I will definitely not do an off season Ironman, 1/2 IM is okay but I can't imagine spending 6 hrs on the trainer in the middle of winter. Thank God I have Amber to keep me motivated to get me through 3 hrs.

Back In the Saddle... Hopefully

2011-02-17T11:44:00.000-08:00

It's been a tough couple of weeks, I had fantastic training in January I was swimming, biking, and running three times a week for each discipline. Then one day I went for a swim with Amber and I felt like I couldn't breathe, I tried to run for a bit afterwards but it was no use- I was sick. Arrrggghhh, I have been feeling so good lately that I was starting to think I was invincible but just when you get a little too confident, your body lets you know who's in charge. So for the last couple weeks I've been taking it easy and it was only yesterday where I had a workout where I could say that I feel like I'm back!! Man it felt good.

Sunday Amber and I did our usual 2k- 2.5k swim and then bike, the plan called for a 2.5hr ride but after an hour my legs had given out. I knew it was going to be a tough day, my legs were really sore from the 13 mile run the day before but I never thought I would have to call it quits after an hour. No problem, I'm learning that the training plan is a good guide to keep me on track but it's not set in stone. I can't feel guilty about missing a day or even a few days if my body is not responding to the training. It's better to take the time off and come back fresher and stronger for my next workout. It's taken a while to get that through my head but now that I'm an 'older athlete' (turning 38 on Saturday) I know that my body cannot recover as quickly from hard workouts like it used to. That's okay, Chris McCormak won the IM World Championships last year (at age 38) because he trained smarter, not harder. There is still hope for me yet.

So yesterday the plan called for a 2hr ride and a 15 minute run. I felt bad that I hadn't taken Harley for a walk since Monday so I decided to do the 15 minute run first with him. I'm sure people in the neighbourhood thought I looked ridiculous running in my big boots, snow pants, ski jacket, toque, heavy mitts, face warmer, and ski goggles but it was -22'C and I did not want to be out there long. Harely is always excited to walk when I get home and I didn't want to keep him waiting for another 2hrs until I was finished my ride so it was better to start with a short run. The ride started out okay, but 90 minutes in I started to feel a little lightheaded. I shook it off and drank a little more but 10 minutes later I realized I was bonking hard. I ran upstairs to see what I could eat and I downed about 10 powerbar bites Amber bought on the weekend. My jaw was getting sore from all the chewing but they helped and I started to come around for the final 20 minutes and had a great ride finishing 70kms in the 2 hours.

I hope this means I'm on the mend, I hate down-time and the next couple weeks are going to be the most important for the race. Two weeks of hard training and then two weeks of active recovery and it's go time! I'm looking forward to riding outside as much as I am racing again, I'll give it my best effort and then spend a week laying on the beach and riding the country side with Amber. I can't think of a better way to spend a holiday.

The Gift

2011-02-13T18:34:00.000-08:00

I think it's easy to go through life day in and day out and forget about how lucky we really are. I'm lucky to live in a country where I can create an incredible life for myself and my family, lucky to have a family who loves me, and lucky to be healthy and happy. I feel truly blessed to have a partner like Amber who understands me and I feel like we have a great marriage. This life really is a "gift" and it reminds me of a quote by one of the greatest runners in American history, Steve Prefontaine. He said, "To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the "Gift." Of course he was talking about his incredible talent on the track but the quote applies to everyone.

All of us have been given a gift and all of us make a decision everyday to develop that gift or sacrifice it. People who see others accomplish incredible things rarely understand the time and effort devoted to those accomplishments. The focus and determination required from those we admire is hidden behind closed doors and is rarely understood. To me the accomplishment is secondary to the mental toughness these people possess. Steve Prefontaine broke every American record in distances between 2000 and 10,000 meters and he lived a very hand-to-mouth existence. He was a world class athlete who lived in a trailer and never made a lot of money but he loved running and he did it to his very best every race he entered. Tragically he died in a car accident at the young age of 24. I can't imagine how far he could have gone had he lived to realize his incredible potential and it reminds me that the gift we are all given is another day on this earth. He was the Lance Armstrong of American running but unfortunately he was never able to realize his 7 Tour victories. So remember to appreciate every day you are here and truly live your life like it is a Gift.

It's All About Performance

2011-02-06T13:24:00.000-08:00

Training for San Juan in February is all about Performance...

You're EIther Getting Better or Getting Worse, You Decide

2011-02-01T20:11:00.000-08:00

That was the quote Amber wrote on our whiteboard in the basement today and it was a good reminder. In life you have to decide which direction you want to take, you have the option to make your life better or worse; physically, emotionally, financially, or professionally, you're either getting better or getting worse. So many people go through life longing for something, they work, they play with their kids, they run errands on the weekends but they describe their lives as being empty. What's missing is a true desire, a true sense of accomplishment. When your life becomes so comfortable that you feel like you are just going through the motions that's when you know that you need to find a tough goal, something to push yourself towards and something to give you what Amber calls "a big scary goal."

Training for San Juan is a big enough scary goal for me this winter I've been working hard and doing all the training inside makes the challange very, very tough. It's always 26 or 27'C and feels like 34 or 35'C with the humidity, yikes! The reason I love triathlon is the fact that most of the training is done outside but winter training in northern Alberta is a tough pill to swallow. However I ask myself as I head out at 6:30am to the pool in -35'C temps "you're either getting better or getting worse, you decide what direction you want your life to take."

The Final Frontier

2011-01-25T10:11:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure why this years' Tour B.C. route is called 'The Final Frontier' but it sounds cool and as the profile shows it looks awesome. Amber and I always have a fantastic time every year on this tour and this route looks like it won't disappoint. It's a great lead up to IMC and you feel like a rock star on your bike after a week of focused riding in a fun group environment. Plus we both enjoy camping and it usually the only time we can spend a week together away from computers, TV, phone, e-mails, work, etc.

A full week starting in Kamloops making a 758km loop through Salmon Arm, Nakusp, Armstrong, Revelstoke, and back to Kamloops. It's a tough challanging route and some days you just don't feel like riding but you get up early, start riding and feel like you can get through 7 days of this. After riding you relax with other people in the tour, swap stories have fantastic home-made meals and a couple hard earned beers. That's my definition of a great summer.

Run Fat Boy Run

2011-01-21T13:15:00.000-08:00

I'm on the road again, left Wednesday to do my monthly Grimshaw- Peace River- High Level trip and it's really flippin' cold here in High Level. Apparently it's 2' in GP and it's -20' here, that's quite a difference. I noticed it as I was driving along just past Manning and all of the sudden it felt like my car was blowing cold air! The temp definitely dropped all of the sudden and I was freezing for the next couple hours. I made it to High Level in good time and I managed to bang off an excellent treadmill run, 4 x 5 minutes at race pace (10 miles/hr) with a total of 8.66 miles in 60 minutes. I had to take a couple days off this week with two tough 2hr bikes but I can feel myself getting stronger on the bike, I just have to take more down time then I'm normally used to (getting older I guess). I suppose it happens to all of us but slowing down is tough for me to take, I don't want to admit my 38 yr old body can't do the same training my 21 yr old body used to do.

The important thing is that I'm still enjoying myself and to that I can definitely say YES. I may be a little slower but I'm thoroughly going to enjoy this year with Amber and Harley. Amber and I have some wonderful trips planned and in less than two months we'll laying on the beach in Puerto Rico, I'll be REALLY sick of winter by that time.

Secret to Success in Life

2011-01-11T09:01:00.000-08:00

I'll tell you a secret, it's something a lot of people have heard but few people actually practice. It took me a long time to figure it out but I can happily say I try to do it everyday. Some days are more difficult than others and I need to remind myself that "it's just another day in paradise." Those are the favorite words of an incredible human being who understood that it doesn't matter what you do in life, if you love what you are doing and you are happy doing it you will always be successful, ALWAYS.

Dr. Bob Breedlove was an orthopedic surgeon who understood the secret to success in life is not based on your environment or circumstances, it's inside you. He was an incredible ultracyclist who participated in the "Race Across America" and completed it a record 5 times, tragically he was struck and killed by a car on his 6th attempt after riding 1100 miles. Witnesses say he slumped over his handlebars and veered into oncoming traffic, probably due to exhaustion. RAAM is the most grueling event on the planet as cyclists attempt to cross America in under 12 days with little to no sleep, day and night. The winner finishes in 8 or 9 days and looks like a shell of their former self. It is the most basic of human endurance events that forces you to keep going in the face of every conceivable challenge you can possibly think of. Bob Breedlove was an absolutely incredible human being, one of the most kind and caring souls in the race he was always willing to help someone in need, even if it meant putting his own ambitions 2nd. He always had a smile on his face and when other riders were tired, irritable, and breaking down he would flash a smile and say, "it's just another day in paradise." He understood that no matter how big the challange, in racing and in life, he was doing what he loved and facing it with a smile made it effortless.

I think we can all learn from Dr. Bob who taught us that it doesn't matter what you are doing, in work, training, or life in general, facing it with a smile and can-do attitude you will always be successful. Imagine how you feel after a race when you expect to have fun and do your best but you have a tough time. You'll still be happy and content because you are doing something you love and time and placing doesn't matter. The same applies if you wake up feeling like it's going to be a chore to get through the hours of training today, you probably won't be successful. However if you wake up saying, today is going to be a great day because I'm doing something I love then it will be a great day no matter what happens with the training.

Keep smiling everyone and face every challenge with a smile and you'll always be successful, Thanks for the reminder Dr. Bob, R.I.P.

Healthy...

2011-01-06T11:24:00.001-08:00

It's good to feel heathly, I was looking at a blog post at this time last year and I was struggling with yet another flu. I've learned a lot over the last year, I've put myself on a pretty extensive vitamin regmine and I've learned that I can't just continually tax my body to the limit and expect it to recover fully. I've started training again and I can already feel myself getting stronger on the bike, yesterday I did a 90 minute ride and for once it didn't feel like I was suffering to finish the last half hour. I'm following a 1/2 IM training plan Amber came up with but I'm going to use it more as a guide and listen to my body to determine how hard and how long I should go. The nice thing about having a plan is that it forces you to plan 3 swims, 3 bikes, and 3 runs each week if I can stick to that then I know I'll get stronger in every discipline. I'm not saying there won't be weeks where I just can't fit the workouts in (or my body tells me to not do it that day) but having a plan gives me some focus in training and allows me to feel like I'm progressing towards a half IM on March 19th. Only 73 days to the first race, I can't wait!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2010-12-21T19:26:00.000-08:00

Yes it's that time of year again, time to relax and enjoy family. Amber and I have had such a wonderful year and we both feel incredibly blessed to have some terrific family, friends, and careers we both love. We're both excited about 2011 and I know it will be a fantastic year for my business, Amber's business and our 2011 Ironman goals.

Thinking of 2011

2010-12-10T11:35:00.000-08:00

Yes it's that time of year again, the weather is cold and snowy out there and all of us who live for the summer are left to wait it out. Christmas is a great time to just be a normal person again and not feel like you HAVE to train for something. That being said, this is probably the longest I've gone without training for something specific in many, many years. I feel a little lost without a big goal to shoot for but I'm learning patience is probably the most important aspect of the off season. It is nice to just swim, bike and run when I want to and not feel pressure to get in a specific workout. However having that specific goal keeps me driven and focused not only in the physical aspect of my life but also the emotional one.

Last night I decided to just jump on the treadmill and do a little run and when I was finished I felt like the world made sense again. All the pressure I was dealing with all week with work stress, and an exam I have to write next week just went away. All of the sudden I realized how much training adds to my emotional well being. I can't imagine how people that don't train deal with everyday life? I was ready to throw in the towel and move to Costa Rica with some of the crap I was handed this week but none of it seems important now, and in the grand scheme of things, it isn't.

So I'm very excited about 2011 and I've posted my race schedule. Nothing terribly new other than Ironman 70.3 San Juan in March, I don't know if it's a good idea to do a 1/2 IM in March but I'm going to just go and have fun. It's a wonderful excuse for a holiday and by March Amber and I will definitely want to get away from the cold for a while. Also we're doing Tour BC again!! I'm very excited about that week and the route looks awesome, 760kms of biking and I feel like a rock star on my bike leading up to IMC, I can't wait. I might sneak in a couple other races but last year taught me to pick the important races and peak and recover. I've found a good balance between build up and recovery and 2011 is going to be a very good year.

Congrats Skyloft

2010-12-04T17:10:00.000-08:00

It's been open a couple weeks now and I haven't had a chance to say congratulations to Amber and her new partner, Leslie. Their new studio is open and business is going well, the place is absolutely beautiful and I hope everyone in Grande Prairie has a chance to take a class or use the facility in some way. I had the privilege of taking one of Richard's spin classes and the new Livestrong bikes are fantastic. Here's some incredible pictures of the place.

Major

2010-12-01T10:34:00.000-08:00

It's hard to imagine how different life was only 110 years ago but for a young black man in Indianapolis life was full of daily challenges and prejudice that he was willing to overcome. During the turn of the 20th century the most popular sport in the world was bike racing, countless velodromes were built all over the world and tens of thousands of fans flocked to the stadiums to watch the fastest way a human could move. Before the car, before motorcycles, before the plane these spinters reached speeds of 50-60kms/hr, previously unattainable through any other way.

Bike racing was a solely white sport and in most southern states black athletes were banned from competeing. However that didn't stop Major Taylor, an up and coming star of the sport that turned everyone's head he had a talent for racing that made everyone else look like an amature. He faced countless challenges, groups of racers cheating and conspiring against him but he always advocated fair competion and respect for his fellow racers. He refused to race on Sundays which kept him from winning more than one US and world title but he won nearly every event he competed in and was the most feared man in bike racing.

What draws me to the story of Major was his steadfast morals and respect for everyone he competed against. He definitely was the most revered athlete of his time and was the highest paid one, back in the early 20th century bike racers demanded the highest salaries before the baseball, football, tennis, hockey, and basketball stars of today. He was the victim of many crooked promoters who would sometimes refuse to pay him but there was no question he was a crowd favorite and he could bolt past anyone in a final sprint to the line.

I loved learning about his training and the fact that he didn't train the traditional way, by logging hundreds of miles a week, and he focused his training on sprinting and recovery. Major was well ahead of his time and although he faced challanges I couldn't imagine I think the world is a better, more tolerant place because of him. Not many people remember him anymore but he definitely left an impression on me as a reminder to live my life with respect for others and myself, no matter what life throws at you face it with strength and perform to your very best, thanks Major.

This is Dinner?

2010-11-03T07:28:00.000-07:00

I know Amber is working extremely hard when I came home last night and found this on the kitchen counter;

It was a nice of her to think of me but I was thinking, "this is dinner?" My God Amber must be working hard. She's been putting in 12-14hr days trying to get the Skyloft up and running and I can tell it's been stressful but it's getting very close and I think in a couple more weeks the doors should be open.

She came home and found me on the trainer and said she had a gift for me! A gift, wow, when did you have time to get me a gift! I must be getting old because this is a gift for your husband in his late 30's;

Thanks babe.

I Couldn't Go Too Long Without a "Big Goal"

2010-10-26T08:37:00.000-07:00

I did the best I could to take as much down-time as possible, but it wasn't going to last too long. This year was frustrating with some of the health issues I've had (overtraining leading to burnout) but I'm feeling a lot better. Although I feel ready to start full-on training again I know the "smart" athlete will take this time to fully regenerate and get back to feeling 100% and then rest more and feel 110% for the spring season. I've decided that the winter Coach Troy workouts are not the best way for me to spend my training time and I'm going to focus more on strength and core development. I'm noticing (especially this year) that it's taking me a lot longer to recover from workouts and I need to pay very close attention to my diet and recovery to keep my body going. I've started supplementing my diet with vitamins (B complex, magnesium, and immunity supplement) and I've noticed I'm feeling so much better when I wake up and that I have more energy throughout the day. I've always thought that I could get enough vitamins and minerals through my food but obviously I'm missing something because the vitamin regimen seems to be working.

I think it's also helped that I've scaled back the training intensity 100%, only doing steady state or low intensity workouts. I'm about 10lbs heavier than my race weight but that's okay, this is the time of year to gain a little weight and I know that my body cannot be 164lbs all year round without sacrificing some muscle mass. Part of being a healthy athlete is knowing how to utilize my body's ability to gain weight (muscle & fat) in the off-season and work towards a peak for 1 or 2 races. Being afraid of gaining weight is the mindset of the "obsessed athlete" not the "healthy athlete." I think I spent too much time in the obsessed athlete's frame of reference and now my body is telling me if I want to continue I need to change. So I'm learning little by little and I have to credit my friends and family for giving me the well-rounded perspective I need to bounce back. Amber always gives me a friendly reminder when see thinks I'm pushing a little too hard on the bike or in the pool and I appreciate it. Also Robert brings me back to earth with his off-season attitude and keeps me focused on not trying to peak in January.

So I needed a "Big Goal" to keep me training and fit throughout the winter and Amber and I have decided on IM 70.3 San Juan, Puerto Rico!! It's a beautiful location for a 1/2 IM and it'll be a fantastic way to say good bye to winter and see an incredible island. It's March 19th and we are sending out an invite to everyone to join us, come spend a week or two on a wonderful tropical island. If you don't feel like doing the race don't worry about it just come for the get away. Hope to see you there, Amber and I are sooooo excited last year we didn't get away at all so we need this trip this year.

http://www.ironmansanjuan.com/

Happy Anniversary Babe

2010-10-15T07:24:00.000-07:00

Images from our second year of marriage

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-10-11T07:21:00.000-07:00

I want to wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving. I feel very fortunate to be healthy, happy and have an incredible family.

IM Kona

2010-10-10T19:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a perfect day I had a great time watching the start of the IM World Championships the only thing that was missing was Amber. She and I always enjoy watching the pros race and determining who is going to have the best day. This year however she was in Victoria with her 1/2 marathon training group and I was left to watch the action with Harley. He didn't seem as excited about the action as I was but I'm sure he was questioning what I was so excited about when I saw the end of the race. What an incredible finish, I've never really been a big fan of Chis McCormack (he's always seemed a bit too cocky for me) but when he hung with Andreas Realert in the final three miles of the run and then started to pull away from him in the final mile, wow I was impressed. You can't imagine how aweful you feel at the end of an Ironman race (especially in 40'c) but to put together an 8:10 Ironman is absolutely incredible. I have to give credit to Macca, he is a true IM champion. I saw Andreas run with Craig Alexander last year stride for stride and I immediately thought he was going to win this race one day but Macca proved that it takes a lot more than just a great run. Great action and I was just sorry that most of my friends were in Victoria or Kelowna running in their own races.

I was inspired by the racers and decided to go out for a little ride, just 90k out to the Smoky River and back. It was a fantastic ride, I cruised through the first 45kms in 1:07 and was feeling pretty good about myself but when I turned around reality started to set in. I struggled up the back half of the hill and never really had the same legs after that. It didn't seem like there was much of a wind but I was definitely moving a lot slower than I was on the way out. I ran out of water in the final 15kms but hobbled back into town in 2:32. Fat and out of shape and I can still pull off a 2:32, 90k ride in October. I know I still need to rest a while but I'm looking forward to meeting Lance again, this time in Kona (he was watching the action yesterday too). I had the upper hand in the 2008 Boston Marathon but I think I have my work cut out for me if I want to beat him in Kona next year. We'll see how the year develops, I'm looking forward to our next meeting see you in Kona Lance.

2010 GP Fall Classic 10k

2010-09-26T17:56:00.000-07:00

I decided the New York Marathon is not really feasible with all the things happening with Amber's business so we'll save that for another year, but the GP Fall Classic 10k was a great way to finish off the racing season. This is a fantastic race put on by two really great people, Robert Carroll and Lorna McNeil. I can't say enough about how much I appreciate having Robert and Lorna in our community, Robert is in charge of keeping the GP streets and pathways maintained and I love the fact that he makes the pathways a priority in the winter. It helps that he's a runner and he knows that while most people are staying indoors in -20'c others out there are battling the elements and running on the pathways. Thanks so much for having your guys keep those pathways clear and keeping us crazy runners fit during those cold winter days. Lorna is a fantastic race director and official and she knows all of the ins and outs of triathlon and race organization. It's so nice to have someone like her who is an Ironman veteran organizing our local races, thanks you both. This year I was a little concerned how I would perform, I have been having health issues all year and running 6 days a week over the last three weeks has not helped. Last year I set a PR in the 10k in this race, 34:24; I wasn't expecting to get anywhere close to that result this year but I surprised myself and only ran 18 seconds slower, 34:42. I tried to start off conservatively I knew the climb out of the park would kill you if you started off too fast but my competitive nature took over and I was red-lined from the first km. The first lap (5kms) I was hurting but I kept a good pace and got to the turn around in 17 minutes, really, really fast considering I hadn't trained for a 10k leading up to this event. The second half I knew I was not going to be able to hold the same pace and when I reached the turn on to the pathway and into a strong headwind, I knew I was going to REALLY suffer. I remember thinking "it's only 3kms you can't stop and walk now!" but that was all I wanted to do. Just stop and walk, just for a few seconds.

Thanks to Ross for being the lead biker because if he wasn't there I would have stopped. I was incredibly inspired by Ross during one of the last long rides he did with Robert S. and myself. He was struggling to stay on our wheel for hours but he was so tough, he told us to just go our own pace and he would catch up with us at the turn around. True to his word when we saw him at the turn around, he had a big smile on his face and was happy as hell to be out there riding his bike with us. We were happy to have him out there with us and when I heard that he had a fantastic time at IMC I was inspired to keep pushing as hard as I possibly could. This wasn't nearly as difficult as IMC and if he could get through that, I could get through the next 5kms.

The final 4kms I knew I was slowing down but I was absolutely giving everything I had in me to keep my legs turning over at a resonable pace. I hit the final stretch and I remember Duncan (another fantastic GP athlete) telling me that I had a great pace and I just gave it everything I had down the final stretch back into the park. I looked like I was going to collapse at the finish line and the picture Amber took is very indicative of how I felt, I actually had my arms raised but she caught them on the way down and that is probably a more true picture of how I felt. A big thanks to my biggest fan Amber, I love you more than you'll ever know. This win and every win is for you and H-dog thanks for being there.

One Last Hurrah

2010-09-24T10:14:00.000-07:00

I don't think it's a surprise to anyone that this year didn't quite exactly turn out how I planned. I was so excited to have a wonderful racing season and I worked my butt off all winter to be ready for that first outdoor ride. However my body had a different agenda and decided that I've been pushing it too hard for too long and didn't co-operate with my heavy schedule of racing. I had a great race in Grimshaw to start the year off and had an opportunity to see the Shaftesbury trail, an historic sight that I've been meaning to see but never seemed to have the time to. This was even better I could run along the trail, little did I know that the race proceeds up Bricks Hill which is a 5km climb out of the river valley- that hurt. But both Amber and I won the race and set new course records so I was off to a great start.

The rest of the year looked like this;
Grande Prairie Brian Harms Memorial 10 Mile- 1st
Blackfoot Ultra- DNS
Hinton Olympic Triathlon- 1st
Grande Prairie Triathlon- DNS
Great White North 1/2 IM- DNS
Penticton Peach Classic Olympic Triathlon- 20th
Ironman Canada- DNS
Peace River Sprint Triathlon- 1st
Banff Triathlon- DNS
Don't Get Lost in the Woods 21k- DNS
New York Marathon- DNS

7 races that I was planning on doing I did not start, that's a tough year and for an athlete like me who loves to race, devistating. I'll be a little smarter next year when planning my schedule but I have one more race this weekend to hopefully finish off with a bang. The GP Fall Classic road race, it's only 10k but if I'm going to be racing less next year I want to make every effort count.

Thinking of NYC

2010-09-15T14:02:00.000-07:00

I think after finishing 10 marathons I would feel like running a marathon is no big deal but there is something about that distance that still scares me. It's not as daunting to imagine running that long any more but there is still the thought of all the training and preparation that is required to feel like you are ready to race 42.2kms. The last three marathons my preparation has been right on, I set a PR in Kelowna running 2:48 in 2008, another PR in Boston running 2:46 in 2009, and another PR in Vegas running 2:36 last year. All of them were break through years and I set myself up very well to have great running and tri seasons following them (with the run being my strong point of course). This year I'm not sure I have another PR in me, training has been tough and running 6:30/miles has been difficult. It's still early in the training schedule and I'm not resigning myself to going slow but after 3 amazing years of marathon running I'm not sure my body can continually improve year after year.

I'm going to have fun over the next couple months, I'll be running 6 days a week and it's an activity I can do with Amber and Harley so I'll be able to do something I love with my family as fall turns into winter. I do really enjoy running in the fall and it's great to be able to watch the vibrant colors change on the trails, I'm just not going to go into the NY marathon with an expectation that I'm going to set a new PR. It's supposed to be an incredible race and I'm going to go there and enjoy every minute of it. I'll run to the best of my ability and whatever the day brings will be just fine with me. Happy training everyone.

Oh How Far We've Come

2010-09-08T11:10:00.001-07:00

I stole this picture from Chuckie V's blog from one of his posts, "The Shape of Things To Come" he talks about our de-evolution as a society and it's a great reminder of how technology has both helped us and hurt us. I find it unbelievable that two generations ago (my grandparents time) it was just a daily struggle to survive. My grandfather worked 16hr days just to put food on the table for his family, he had no retirement savings, no time to play with his kids, nor did he complain about it. He just woke up every morning ate when he can and broke his back as a farmer just like all the other farmers around him. Right now French transit workers are striking because the government wants to raise the mandatory retirement age from 60 to 62. Are you kidding me? A full time worker in France only works 32hrs a week anyway.

I guess I shouldn't sound so self righteous I do love technology and all the advances it has given me but I definitely do not take it for granted. If I could go back 60 years and tell my grandfather that in one day I would be able to go for an hour swim in the morning, work all day, come home and run for another hour, get groceries, make dinner, do all the laundry, clean all the dishes, study for an hour, relax and watch TV for a couple hours and then read for another hour before bed he would have never believed me. We are as a society at a place where we have to actually ration out how much of what we eat as opposed to his time when you ate if you were lucky. It's hilarious that half the planet suffers from starvation while the other half pays for weight loss programs. I'm very grateful that the sacrifices he made allow me to have a better life and I hope that the kids of this generation realize that their lives will be better too but it takes a lot of hard work.

Peace River Sprint

2010-08-31T09:49:00.000-07:00

Well it's not quite Ironman Canada but it was nice to be there 'in spirit' and compete in the Peace River Triathlon while my friends were doing IMC. A big congrats to all those who finished the race in Penticton under some of the most brutal conditions I've ever heard of there. I've never heard of it hailing during the bike in Penticton, my buddy Robert said he's never gone so slow during the last hour of the bike and this was his 10th Ironman. Let's just say I'm glad I sat this one out.

It was tough to feel motivated to complete even a sprint distance race on Sunday when Amber and I woke up to 3'C and some very, very foggy conditions. It was so cold I was thinking of calling it off and then Amber reminded me it's only a sprint race and I could go out and suffer for an hour. There were a couple strong competitors out there, my buddy Richard who runs a tri group here in GP and who we had a good conversation with about the future of "Speed Revolution." Come January we are going to have things a little more formalized and really start developing the brand. Also a local kid, Stephan Naskedin who is an absolutely unbelievable swimmer and killed everyone else by at least 3 minutes in 750m.

I felt comfortable with my biking and running although I've been doing a lot of IM training which probably doesn't help much during a sprint. It's been my swimming I've been a little anxious about over the past few weeks. Every time I seem to get into a good training routine in the pool, I get sick! It's very frustrating but I'll have a good couple weeks in the water and then I'm forced to rest. Fortunately leading up to this race I was relatively healthy so I was hoping to at least swim 12 minutes. I guess I did alright because Amber said I was 3rd out of the water and finished in 11:59.

The bike was a lot of fun but difficult with all the technical turns and rough road conditions. There was a lot of slowing down and accelerating and if you're doing that for 32 minutes straight it will really knock the stuffing out of your legs. Combine that with the very cold conditions and you have the perfect way to cause a lot of muscle damage. Thank God I decided to wear gloves on the bike because it seemed to lock-in the heat in my upper body and I was able to stay a little warm, I'm definitely doing that for Banff. Passed the two guys in front of me early on the bike and I was able to hold off Richard for the rest of the ride.

When I started the run I looked down at my legs wondering what was wrong. I was taking short little choppy steps and I couldn't figure out what was happening. At the 1km mark my stride started to stretch out more and I realized that my legs and feet were just freezing cold from the bike. The rest of the run went well and I was able to catch a lot of people in the heat before mine. Everyone was very encouraging and I did my best to cheer on the other competitors but it was tough when you are pushing that hard. I finished in 1:02.17 and set a new PR for the sprint distance, first one I've done since U of A back in 2008.

I seem to be a little run down now (a couple days later) and I'm hoping I don't get sick again. I have one more tri before I call it a year and although I feel a little disappointed at how this year turned out, I'm really happy I was able to be there for Amber to help her reach her goal of finishing the Death Race. This fall and winter I'm going to train a lot smarter and scale back the intensity and I may even hire a coach. I've done fairly well just training myself but I'm starting to realize that its not just the training that is important anymore, it's the recovery. I'll go back to running after finishing Banff in a couple weeks leading up to the New York marathon, I'll take a really good rest and then come January I'll look at what I need to do to be successful this season. I think it's going to mean racing less which I hate to do but I'm not going to miss another Ironman because I've pushed myself too hard. IMC 2011 here I come.

Colder Nights

2010-08-25T12:33:00.001-07:00

I can always feel when the race season is coming to an end, the days become shorter and nights a lot colder, the long-hard training sessions are over and the taper for IMC is well underway. Well this year I don't have to taper because I'm not doing IMC but I can definitely 'feel' what it's like as the race approaches. I've had some great training swim-rides-runs with a lot of the athletes in town and I'm really going to miss the suffering we've shared together, somehow it makes you feel a lot closer. Sound strange? It is, unless you've done Ironman and you know what it feels like to cross that line. There are a few moments in your life where you will truly be put to the test and Ironman is one of those.

You spend months or in some cases years preparing for one day and sometimes it goes well and sometimes it doesn't, what matters more is how you battle those inner voices that tell you to stop. Ironman is a great proxy for life, do you keep battling when things get rough, or do you stop. I'm not saying that you should keep trying to finish when a reasonable athlete would stop amid some long term health consequences. But everyone from pro to last age grouper will go through some tough times, the key is (just like in life) to just keep going. Good luck to all those doing IMC this year, this is the first year since 2004 I won't be doing an Ironman at the end of August but I'll be with you in spirit cheering you on to that blue carpet where you will definitely understand.

Back In the Water

2010-08-19T10:59:00.000-07:00

I admit, it's always been a struggle for me to get in the pool, that isn't a secret but when I do swim consistently I absolutely love the feeling. Swimming is an incredible way to feel weightless and free to fly through the water. However it's much nicer when you've been swimming for a while and your muscles have adapted to the training stress. I've been trying to get back that feeling and I know it's going to take some time but I am enjoying swimming again. After an open water fiasico when I went to Musearu Lake with Robert and couldn't even hold on to his feet I decided I needed to concentrate more on my swimming. I know Robert is preparing for IMC but he hasn't been swimming that much more that I have and there was no reason we shouldn't have been swimming at least the same pace. I was in the pool three times the following week and I've been trying to get in as much as possible this week. It seems like three times a week is a lot for me, mainly because the running and biking don't leave me with enough energy to swim more. I know I could scale back on the other two and for the most part I have but swimming is such an effort some days; 1. you can only go to the pool at desiginated lane swim times, 2. it takes a while to get to and from the pool, and 3. sometimes finding lane space is next to impossible if you don't go at 'off-peak' times.

I left for Whitecourt yesterday and they have such a beautiful facility that I really look forward to swimming when I'm here. The new Allan and Jean Miller Centre is fantastic and going during lane swim times always means you will have a lane all to yourself. Yesterday I was done work a little early so I headed to the pool and spent an hour working on technique and some speed work. I was surprised how slow I am but I know it'll just take a couple of weeks of dedicated time in the water to come right back. I finished with some 200's unable to hit the 3:00 mark I was aiming for but I was close, some 100's not quite hitting the 1:30 mark, and some 50's where I was able to at least maintain 45sec for four of them. I'm really looking forward to racing again in Peace River, it's just a little sprint but the distances are correct and I'm hoping to have a sub-hr race. The plan is to try to be under 12mins swimming, under 30mins biking, and under 18mins running, doable but very, very tough. I've never done this race and I'm not sure how difficult it will be but it will be a nice tune-up before the final tri of the year, and a race I would like to perform very well at, Banff.

Death Race Weekend

2010-08-05T13:08:00.000-07:00

What an incredible event! Last weekend was Amber's "big goal" for the year and she participated in one of the hardest events I've ever heard of- The Canadian Death Race. It's a 125km ultra marathon over 3 major mountain passes, 17000' of climbing and 17000' of descending= a lot of pounding on the legs. I was a little flabbergasted when Amber told me she was going to sign up for this race solo, I did my best to try and convince her to do it as a team with me but to no avail, she was determined to get through it on her own.

Amber and I have some great friends in our lives and we were very fortunate that Jason and Dionne lent us their RV for the long weekend, it was a tremendous help at all the stages. We drove down to Grande Cache on Friday and got all the preliminary work done and hung out for the pre-race meeting and dinner. There was a great energy in the air, all the athletes were ready to go and just wanted to get the race started. Unfortunately we picked a bad spot to park the first night and the "Death Fest" organizers thought it would be a great idea to have a rock concert the night before a 24hr event! Amber and I both could not sleep and the music was just getting louder and louder. Finally at 11:20 I decided to drive us across town and park on some side street which was a major relief, although we could still hear the concert at least the speakers were not rocking and echoing through the RV.

The start was a lot of fun, there was a lot of nervous energy and racers getting ready for one of the most difficult experiences of their lives. Amber handled it all really well and I was quite surprised to see she wasn't as jittery as she normally is before a major event, although a last minute pole issue almost had her in a panic. The race started off through town and it gave all the spectators a chance to see everyone determine their order in the pack. I was a little surprised Amber started at the back and was comfortable there but she obviously knew what she was doing, she had a race plan and was not going to deviate from it.

The first leg is a 19km run through some fairly hilly terrain, I did part of this leg with Amber the first time we went out to Grande Cache and I was surprised how tough it was. I was absolutely exhausted after 3hrs on the first 10kms and back but I have since been told this leg is nothing compared to the rest. It was definitely going to be the fastest and easiest leg of the day and there were a ton of runners that blazed through it (mainly teams). It made it difficult to find Amber in transition but we did end up hooking up and she was a little behind her race goal time of 2hrs and ended up finishing the first leg in 2:14. No problem but no time to hang around and chit chat, I filled up her camel back gave her a little more food and she was off on the second leg.

The second leg of the race is an absolutely brutal 27km double mountain climb that will absolutely kill your race and end your day if you are not smart. A lot of athletes try and run this part of the course and end up pulling out after leg 3. Only the top 2-3% of ultra marathoners are capable of running this leg and still finish the race so unless you have a goal time of under 15hrs it's probably wise to hike the uphills and take it easy on the downhills. It's actually the downhill pounding that will turn your legs to jello at the end of this stage. Amber was doing great, she was moving with purpose and not dilly dallying like a lot of other racers out there. I was told that a lot of people were having a picnic at the top of Grande mountain, she was having none of that, this is a race people! The end of the second leg was back in town and I was able to park fairly close to the transition so when she arrived she was able to change clothes, shoes, eat a little something and fill up her camel back again. At this stage she had already drank about 4 litres of water but she had been racing for 7 & 1/2 hrs and she finished the second leg in 5:15 feeling fairly fresh and looking a lot better than most people. 46kms done and she had only completed 2 legs of the 5 but I was confident that if she could get through this leg and not feel completely destroyed then she was going to make it.

Leg 3 is another 19kms of rolling terrain but looking at the profile there is still quite a lot of climbing and descending. Amber said this leg is easy but after 46kms of racing and another 79 to go, nothing is 'easy.' She was on the outside of her predicted times but the goal of the day was to get to the finish not set any speed records and she was being very smart by expending her energy slowly. I was waiting at the end of leg 3 for quite some time and I was starting to worry that she was getting very close to the cut off time, if you are not finished leg 3 by 7:00pm then your day is done. She arrived at 6:30 and she said that she was still running and there were a lot of people behind her that were not going to make the cutoff. She was right, 85 people either dropped out on leg 4 or didn't make the 7:00 cutoff for the end of leg 3.

Leg 4 is an absolute monster! 38kms and 7000' of climbing and descending. We drove out to Grande Cache one weekend and did this leg of the race together and I couldn't believe how this climb just never seemed to end, I was absolutely spent at the end and I didn't complete 65kms before that. The heat of the day was really starting to affect a lot of racers and you could see so many of them with stomach issues, or cramping, or some sort of dehydration problem. This is where a lot of the soloists started to drop out, it's really heartbreaking to get this far in the race and have to drop out, but it's what makes this race so incredibly hard only 1 out of every 3 soloists actually get to the end. At the end of leg 3 Amber did another clothes change, shoe change and I told her that after she goes over the top she is going to be in the dark so be prepared for bad footing and cold temperatures. She was ready.

The wait for her at the stage 5 start seemed like an eternity, I couldn't sleep because I just kept thinking that she is still out there running and I'm in a comfortable RV laying down. I did everything I could to try and keep busy but my mind just kept wondering to where she was and how she was doing. I waited in the cold and dark for quite a while trying to spot her as the racers came through the night with their head lamps guiding them through the 4 feet in front of them. She predicted that she could finish Hamel (leg 4) somewhere between 5:45 and 6hrs, she came through at 7:05, 2:30am and looking absolutely exhausted. Her feet were blistered, legs were so sore, she was dehydrated, calorie depleted and so incredibly tired. Fortunately she didn't have any major physiological issues, her knee and hip that always bothered her in training were holding up just fine. I popped the blisters on her two pinkie toes and did my best to bandage them but she was screaming in pain and wanted this race to be over. I gave her a little soup broth, she wasn't in the mood to eat anything, and encouraged her to get back out there. She didn't have any intention of stopping but after putting on her third pair of shoes for the day I was a bit concerned that she couldn't continue because every step hurt after popping those blisters. To my surprise she sucked it up and started out on the last leg.

Leg 5 is probably the toughest leg of the day, not because the 23kms is the hardest but because after racing 102kms you still have to face some major climbing and descending and you're running through the dead of night. Amber said her toes started to go a little numb after a short while running and the pain from her blisters started to subside. However in the dark she kept stubbing her toes on the rocks and that sent a shock wave of pain right through her body. At the start of leg 5 she had been racing for 17hrs and 36mins and I couldn't believe she was still conscious. I was ready to call it a day long ago but she just kept chugging along like a little bulldozer that was outlasting everyone else out there.

I went to the finish to wait for her and I didn't sleep a wink, I just couldn't imagine that she was still out there running and I was trying to sleep. Maybe if she was an ultra marathon veteran it would be a little different but this was her first race over 50kms. I waited and waited in the cold and finally at 6:30am I could see her running up the street towards the finish, yes she was still running and looking great. I was so happy to see her and felt incredibly proud that she didn't give up on herself out there, 22:05.09. What a day, over 22hrs of racing and she had just become one of the 148 solo finishers out of the 418 that started and she did it on her first attempt. Great job babe!!!

It's Time for a Break

2010-07-25T18:59:00.000-07:00

Yes it was finally time to take a week off work and relax. This year Amber and I decided to spend a week in Penticton given that we weren't able to ride in the Tour BC due to scheduling issues (Bon Jovi- which Amber said was totally worth it).We love Penticton and spending a week out there in the beautiful weather relaxing on the beach and riding our bikes was a perfect way to enjoy our holiday. I left for Jasper on Thursday night with Harley and we waited for Amber to meet us the following day. It was nice to have the morning in Jasper and Harley and I went for a great 80 minute trail run up to Pyramid Lake and back. If you've never done that trail I would highly recommend it, one of my favorite runs that overlooks the town.
Amber arrived at noon and we started the long journey down to the mecca. Other than a little air conditioning issue with Amber's vehicle the drive was perfect, gorgeous scenery and warm weather... finally. We spent the next day picking up our race packets, walking Harley, laying on the beach and riding the bike course. We were both racing the Peach Classic, I was doing the Olympic and Amber the Sprint. It was a great race although I wished I had done less training during the week leading up to the event and I really wished I had swam more. It was a struggle to get through the 1500m swim but and I didn't post any blazing fast times out there but it was a lot of fun to not have one person pass me on the bike or run. I ended up finishing a very ordinary 20th but I was shocked to hear that it was good enough for 2nd in my age group, cool.

The rest of the week we spent a lot of time on our bikes riding, 80kms Monday, 165kms Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday off and 90kms Friday. It was great to do the IMC course and we saw a lot of other athletes out there, if I'm not doing Ironman this year it was such a great feeling to fly down to Osoyoos, struggle up Richter and over the rollers, feel a little better on the way to Karameos, hurt up Yellow Lake and coast back into town. I will miss doing the race but I had my run up Lakeshore Drive during the Peach Classic and it didn't take 10hrs to get there. It was a great opportunity to spend some time with Amber she has been so busy lately that it's been tough for us to connect but I really felt relaxed and happy all week to have her and Harley there. We capped off the week with a hilarous float down the canal with Harley and I in the same boat and Amber in a floaty tied to us. It was hilarous because Harley wouldn't sit still for long and we spent half the time trying to calm him down. Back home now and although we always feel an incredible affinity with Penticton, GP is home and we are both happy to be here.

The Year of the Domestique

2010-07-04T16:53:00.000-07:00

Back in the 1911 Tour de France there was a classic battle between two great French riders, Maurice Brocco and Henri Desgrange. That year the tour was a monster, 5,344kms with one stage (12) being 470kms and taking over 18hrs to complete. By the time Brocco reached that stage he had already lost significant time and he knew he would not contend for the podium so he decided to offer help to a Luxembourgian rider Francois Faber, who was also facing the possibility of elimination for missing the time limit. Allegedly, the two riders agreed on an "arrangement," and Brocco paced Faber to the finish line and the stage victory. Desgrange was absolutely furious at Brocco and was quoted in the the French paper, L'Auto "He is unworthy. He is no more than a domestique." That led to the concept of a rider sacrificing their personal ambitions of victory for someone else to be thought of as a "domestique." From an insult in 1911 to a noble title today, this is my year to become the domistique (servant) for others.

The people close to me know that I've been struggling all year with some sort of cold, flu or virus and it's been happening far too often and for far too long. Most people know how to read the subtle signals their body is giving them to back off or scale back on the intensity. Well my body has been screaming at me for 6 months now to stop racing so much. I finally get it and I'm going to listen. I was in Jasper last week and I should have been incredibly excited to go out for a ride in the mountains but I was just tired and weak and I couldn't manage to go more than 5kms. I took it easy for the next couple days but when I got back home and I was suffering again from a terrible stomach flu that had me throwing up all Canada Day I finally decided enough was enough. This was probably the 6th time I've been sick since January, time to re-evaluate my plans for the year.

Amber has been doing some research in Adrenal fatigue and I think that is probably the best explanation to what has been happening. It comes from years of pushing your body very, very hard with little to no rest that your body eventually just starts to shut down and does not allow you to push yourself like it used to. I admit I am not very good at allowing myself to take some down time and just rest but it's finding that new level within myself that keeps driving me to push harder and harder. However now I realize that my body is not a machine that continually improves year after year and eventually I need to plan years off or my body will do it for me. So I've scaled back my race plans for the year, I'm no longer doing anything over an Olympic distance this year. It was a very tough decision to make but I've realized that it's far more noble to become a "domestique" this year for other local athletes. So I'm going to do what I can to help Amber reach her goals for the year (whatever they may be) and be there for Robert, Dennis, and anyone else who needs a training partner to do a long swim-ride-or run with. I have to admit I will really miss the excitement and energy of Ironman week and the day itself but I'm going to do what I can to help others be successful and come back stronger and more focused next year.

Know When to Say When

2010-06-21T10:29:00.000-07:00

I always feel really excited this time of year, the beautiful days seem to last forever and all the potential rides and runs make me want to burst out of my office and get outside as soon as possible. The same thing can be said when I make my race schedule in the winter, the thought of racing keeps me training hard all winter long and when spring and summer roll around, I want to race as much as possible. However, I'm starting to learn that my body is not as excited about my racing as my mind is. The thought of racing and pushing myself hard is addictive when I started to do really well in competition. I'm no elite racer but I seem to do alright in my age group and the feeling of doing well keeps me working hard for the next race.

The past couple years my body has decided that racing and training hard day after day is not sustainable so I've been very prone to sickness. It's frustrating when you feel like you are doing everything possible to be the picture of health by fueling right, training hard, avoiding indulgences and you are more sick, than a lot of other people who do none of the above. It seemed to start before Great White North last year, I'm not sure if it's an age thing or just the fact that I'm training harder in the spring/summer but I seem to get these nasty flu's right around this time of year. I got another one last weekend and I missed one of the nicest training weekends of the year sitting on the couch, that was frustrating. Amber was away training for the Death Race and I was flat on my back, doing nothing... Time to be smarter.

I started to feel a little better last week and got into training easy but nothing hard or fast. I talked to Amber about the upcoming race this weekend (the 20th) and she said I should definitely pull the plug. I think she was anticipating an argument from me because she knows how much I love competing and having a race in GP is rare so she immediately listed off 4 or 5 reasons why I shouldn't do it. I just said, okay. I could see the look on her face was of disbelief so she continued to tell me reasons why I shouldn't do it and I just replied, "okay if you think it's a bad idea, I'm not doing it." I finally get the message, my body is telling me to be a little more selective when it comes to racing, no more races every two weeks throughout the summer.

I did volunteer at the kid's tri on Saturday and the adult tri on Sunday and had a blast, it's very interesting to be on the other side of the race. You know exactly what the athletes are thinking and feeling and you want to try to make things better for them but you know they are all going through their own personal turmoil and there is not much you can do or say. I had an opportunity to greet all of them at the finish and collect their timing chips and everyone was so happy at the end, it was an awesome reminder why I love this sport. It doesn't matter if someone finished in an hour or two and a half hours, everyone was happy do make it to the end. A big thanks to Lorna and Robert for bringing back this race and taking on the challenge of organizing everything, it sometimes feels like there is not a lot of reward in being a race director but all of the triathletes in GP really appreciate everything they've done.

Success for Ernie's Speed Revolution at the Hinton Tri

2010-06-08T13:55:00.000-07:00

Sunday was the day I finally felt like the race season has started. It's always a little nerve wracking at the beginning of every year to actually find out if you are faster or slower, the clock is unforgiving. I was fairly confident going to the Hinton Olympic tri with the new wheels but I haven't been doing as much running and swimming so I was hoping to do well with the training I have been able to fit in. Saturday in Jasper was packed with activity, it was Amber's Banff-Jasper relay and she did an awesome job on the toughest leg; N9 straight uphill for 9kms and then another 6kms fairly flat. I ran the first 6kms with Harley and we both had to stop a couple of times to catch our breath, it was very, very tough. She finished strong and I was amazed at how well she's bounced back from being very sick.

I left Jasper at 6am Sunday and couldn't eat or drink anything, I usually don't get nervous for races but it's different when people 'expect' you to win, anything can happen during a race. I arrived with plenty of time to set up and prepare, I chatted with a bunch of GP triathletes I couldn't believe how may of us were there, it was great. We talked strategy and racing and what to expect for the day most of us were relaxed and just excited to start. We cheered on the first two heats and got ready for our start at about 9:40. I started the swim fairly fast but I wanted to make sure I was doing everything I could to have a great swim time. I have been doing swim TT's with Robert and Dennis for the last few weeks and I've been swimming better and better so I was confident I could get out of the water under 24 minutes. Unfortunately I didn't get the benefit of the draft and I really started to die after a 1000m. The last 500m were really hard, I was giving it everything I had and I know I was barely moving. I still managed to come out of the water in 24:12 so I was pleased to have a similar swim time as the last couple years with less training.

The transition went fairly smooth other than not being able to get my shirt on, if you've tried to get a tight bike jersey on over a wet body you know what I'm talking about. I hammered the bike as hard as I could and I was so happy that I was able to hold off the two biking phenoms, Robert and Dennis. Truth be told we are all so close in terms of biking ability that on any given day any one of us could beat the others. Still I had my best bike time on that course, 1:03.35 and took two minutes off my time from two years ago.

That set me up for a PR but as I got off the bike my legs felt like cement blocks. I tried to move as fast as possible but my quads were absolutely spent. Not good went you reach the 2km mark because there is a mile of straight uphill from there, ouch. I did what I could to get up the hill and by the time I hit the trails I was feeling a little better. There is a 5km trail section on this course and it's absolutely beautiful, rolling dirt and gravel trails through the forest and you almost forget you are in a race. Until the turn around when I saw Robert just before the 6km mark, then I took my head out of the clouds and ran as hard as I could to the finish. I saw Amber at the top of the hill on a mountain bike and she followed me down to the finish cheering me on, that was nice.
I finished the race with a new PR; 2:05.29 and myself, Robert and Dennis took 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. Great way to start the triathlon season and I'm stoked to get to Great White North with some good training behind me. I'll need to spend a lot of time in all areas but training with the Ernie's Speed Revolution team is really helping, not to mention it keeps you working on those days you just feel like slacking off. I'm sure Robert, Dennis and I will be doing some epic rides, I can't wait this year is going to be very memorable.

Actually It IS All About The Bike

2010-05-26T17:34:00.000-07:00

I've never been one of those people that thought that having the best and newest equipment made a huge difference in performance and maybe for some people it doesn't. However today I became a convert, I felt an incredible difference between my new TTX and my old Griffen. The first major difference was the fact that the Trek is about 10lbs lighter than the Griffen, I know that the Boron Carbide that Griffen uses isn't the lightest material but WOW, what a difference a full carbon frame makes, I was flying up the hills. The ceramic bearings were unbelievably smooth it made my old bike feel like a rusty clunker. I have to adjust to the smaller frame size, I bought my Griffen from a guy who was about 6'2" and it was always a little big but now I feel really compact and low to the ground and it's going to take some getting used to.

I rode 90kms today and aside from a couple adjustments I can't believe how smooth it is. On my Griffen I felt every little bump in the road and after a long ride I would be so tired from the constant rattling from the road. I was so fresh after 90kms today I could have run a half marathon no problem. Thanks to Robert and Dean for setting me up with the new ride and of course thanks to my beautiful wife for realizing it was a big expense and supporting me in buying it. I guess I better race well this year now! Watch out Robert and Dennis now I know your secret.

Hello Pain, It's Been a Long Time

2010-05-09T19:13:00.000-07:00

Today was the first "official" race of the year for me the Brian Harms memorial 10 mile and I have to say that it was a tough way to start off the race season. I didn't have the easiest week leading up to the race, I had an 8km x-country race on Wednesday which I pushed pretty hard, a tough swim on Friday, a really hard 50km bike ride on Thursday and another 40kms in freezing weather on Saturday. So I went into the race a little tired but I was excited to start racing in GP again and hoping I could have a good day.

It was a little strange to start racing at 11am but I had an opportunity to walk Harley in the morning and stay calm. I picked up Sarah (sister-in-law) who was running her first 5k and did fantastic and we made our way to the start. Amber was out running for 5 hours and 50kms today and she was going to meet us at the start to run with some of her girls. I met up with a few friends at the start and waited for the horn to go off so I could get the suffering over with.

It finally started and a couple guys went off like a bullet I wanted to stick to my pace but I also wanted to compete so I just said forget it and went out hard. I was running stride for stride with a young track kid who held the pace for the first 3kms and then started to fade. The run through the trails is beautiful but it's was hard to enjoy it when my body was absolutely red lining and everything was screaming for me to stop and walk. I hit the gravel road at 4kms and felt like I was running backwards but did my best to hold it together and when I had to turn around and do another lap I wished I had signed up for the 8k instead of 16k. The second lap was very hard and I definitely slowed down but I managed to pull out a sub-hour race and I was very happy to see that finishing stretch. Yes it was painful but definitely worth it, this was a great start to the race season and I'm hoping my fitness improves. The Blackfoot Ultra is next, that's Amber's big 80k and I'll be there cheering her on while doing the 'baby ultra' 25kms.

The Last Mile- I was HURTING

Team Speed Revolution- Robert won the 8k and I won the 16k

Swim Hard Today?...really...

2010-05-07T12:25:00.000-07:00

I've been slacking a little bit since I've been back home, usually it's the opposite; I head out on my work trips and the training drops off the map. However my southern loop, Whitecourt-Edson-Jasper is awesome for training, Whitecourt has a brand new rec centre and there is literally no one in the pool! I can't believe it, they have a pool that is 100 times better than Grande Prairie and there is literally no one in there. I not only have a lane to myself but I have the whole pool, that is unbelievable for someone from Grande Prairie where you'd be lucky to have a day where there is only 2 other people in your lane. Also there is a beautiful isolated road towards Edson where you can bike out for 20kms and back with a good shoulder and incredible scenery. It hasn't been nice enough yet for me to ride it yet but next trip for sure.

Edson also has an excellent pool with no one in it, although the showers take a little time to warm up. Plus I usually hit the treadmill fairly hard at the hotel I stay at, last time it was some speed work, 15km/hr at 2% grade for an hour. Usually it's 13-14km/hr at 2-4-6% grades 5 minutes at a time. What can I say about Jasper, it is literally the best place for a triathlete or ultra runner to train. Everything is accessible by foot, it has the best trail system I have ever seen, the pool is not busy and beautiful, and the road biking is head-and-shoulders above everything else in Alberta. So I'm getting into a nice routine with training when I do that Southern loop, it was just a shame that I didn't do any biking last trip it was rainy and cold the entire week.

Today I had a nice surprise when I finally made it to the pool at 8am I was surprised to see Robert there when I was getting changed. He was too, his reaction was "oh you're here... well I guess today is going to be a hard swim..." I'm the one who should have been worried he's been hitting the pool very hard, today was his 4th swim this week and only my 2nd. He said, "okay we can go easy today and hard tomorrow or hard today and easy tomorrow." I chose the latter because we are doing a swim-bike tomorrow and I want to be able to survive a 3hr bike after swimming. So we started off easy for the first 30 minutes and just did some technique, paddles, and form work. Then it was time to decide on the training for the day, I suggested a 500-400-300-200-100 descending ladder but I'm pretty sure Robert doesn't like those long sets because he countered with 50's. I kind of laughed because we were at two opposite ends of the training spectrum but I compromised with 15 x 100's at 90 seconds with 30 seconds rest and he was okay with that. The first 5 went okay but I could feel my arms getting more and more tired each set. I was holding my pace but by the time I hit the 10th rep I was really starting to wonder if I could finish off this workout. I just kept thinking that this is the same distance that I will be swimming in Hinton in 4 weeks, I better be able to complete this distance at race pace by now! The final 5 my form was starting to really suffer but it was nice to have both Robert and Dennis there to push me, yes Dennis joined us for the 100's and he looked really strong.

I'm looking forward to the weekend, an hour swim Saturday morning followed by a 3 hour bike with the gang and then the first 'official' race of my season on Sunday; the Brian Harms memorial. They changed it this year from an 8k to the original distance 10 miles (16k), which basically just means twice the suffering. Brian Harms was an incredible athlete in the GP area who set a PR in this 10 mile race of 52:11 in 1985 and he was involved in some epic battles with another incredible local athlete Terry Smith. I don't think I'll be running anywhere close to that time but I'm going to go out and see what I can still do, I'm secretly shooting for the 55 minute mark but we'll see how that turns out on Sunday. Tragically Brian Harms committed suicide many years ago but we all still remember him and his running prowess through this race. To learn more about him take a look at the following link; http://gprunwalk.com/harms/about

Out With The Boys!

2010-05-03T09:16:00.000-07:00

I think the thought of being 'out with the boys' for most people entails a night of binge drinking, strip clubs and streaking. Well for us athletes it meant 2kms of swimming and a 17km run right after. That may sound a little boring for most people but I like to think that I am getting better with age, not worse. In my opinion most people have this perception that you need to 'slow down' as you get older and I will admit that at some point your body will force you to do so but why not take advantage of the times when we are 'fast' when we have them. I've been battling this feeling of having a lingering flu since the end of January and it's been incredibly frustrating. However I'm learning that my body will tell me when it's ready to train again and there is absolutely no use in getting frustrated or upset with bad workouts. The progress will come but it doesn't come all at once.

I can already feel myself getting stronger as the days start to get longer and warmer, last weekend I had a race and although I struggled through most of it, it was sooo nice to race again. I forgot how much I love it. My running seems to be at least on par with last year and I'm slowly feeling better and better in the water as I start to rack up the kms. Biking has been the tough one for me, I've worked very hard at maintaining my fitness on the bike but the weather and travel has limited my riding time. I just need a good block of training in May and I'll be right back in the 'zone.'

Back to this weekend's activities, Amber and I went for a cruiser ride through the streets of GP with about 20 people from Ernies on Saturday and it was a nice change of pace. Just lounging around on some huge heavy bikes looking like an eco-friendly motorcycle gang, it was cool.
I made a plan to get together with Robert and Dennis that night for our swim-run session on Sunday morning 8am. Now you have to know Robert and Dennis to know that Sunday at 8am is not a good time to start training but they are obviously committed because they were both there, bright and early. Robert even beat me to the pool, wow. Both of them had their morning grumpy pants on (but I live with the queen of morning grumpy pants so I was used to it) I just tried to be as energetic as possible and they seemed to perk up pretty quickly after that. Robert wanted to keep the swim to 45 minutes so I agreed but I was going to make it HURT. Sure we can keep it to 45 minutes but that means we are going to pack in 90 minutes worth of swimming in a 45 minute session. I started off easy with 500m warm up and 500m paddles and then gave them a choice, descending ladder (400-300-200-100) at race pace or 5 x 200m at race pace. They didn't like either choice because they tried to negotiate me down to 10 x 100m at race pace but I wouldn't budge. I wanted them to really feel the effort after 100m how your body is dying for O2 and you need to keep your form as your arms and legs are getting heavier. So they reluctantly agreed to the 5 x 200m set. The first couple went off fairly well, they were definitely a struggle but we made it through them, after the 3rd I could tell I my body was feeling the effects of pushing that hard with very little oxygen. By the end of the 4th set Robert was done and I was barely hanging on for the 5th one, if those guys hadn't been there I probably would have called it a day after the third. We just need a few more of those efforts, with a little longer distance, and we'll be ready for Hinton in 5 weeks.

Then we headed out to the trails for a 90 minute easy run it was great weather for running, cool but sunny and we all had a blast talking about Ironman training, racing, bikes, run gear, etc. Usual athlete talk, I loved every minute of it. I have to thank Robert, Dennis and Amber for keeping the training fun this year, I usually do a lot of my training alone because a lot of times I just try to fit it in whenever possible but so far this year it's been great meeting them for whatever their workouts call for, hard bike, easy run, whatever it's all been great. It's really important to keep the fun in my workouts because last year after racing a lot, I was feeling a little burnt out. Now everything I do I'm just doing because I love to be outside on my bike or running the trails with Amber. I know Amber and I have different race goals this year but I don't think it's going to be a problem, she knows I need to be on my bike and I know she needs to be running the trails plus it's great to get together later and swap stories. It's going to be a fantastic summer!

Yes It's Been A While

2010-04-26T20:01:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't posted anything in quite some time but it's been incredibly busy at work and I'm having a hard time juggling training/work/ and life in general. I've had a lot of time on the road lately and I'm leaving again for the week, it's been tough leaving Amber and Harely alone I really miss them. I have been able to get in some good swims and runs but the biking as been spotty and I'm going to take my bike with me for this trip.

This weekend Amber and I headed north to Grimshaw for the Unchanga Run in Peace, a 20km run that has a nasty uphill after 5kms and doesn't end until 9kms. I needed to do the run-walk-run up the hill for quite a while but I finished the first half in 41.44, the next section coming down was a lot easier but my legs were trashed for the final 5kms. I finished the second half in 36.28 and the entire race in 1:18.13, not my best time but very good for that course. This race really got me excited to get out there and compete again and now I'm looking forward to doing some May running races and all the tri's I have planned for June-July-August.

I circled back with Harley after I finished and met up with Amber so we could run her in for her final Km.

Learning Patience

2010-04-08T08:09:00.000-07:00

I think a lot of us can become inpatient when there is something you look forward to that just doesn't seem to come, for me it's my summer fitness. I bust my a*s all winter trying to maintain my fitness in the hope that I'll come out in spring and be stronger than last year. However, I've had such incredible results over the last couple years that now the gains seem to be getting smaller and smaller. I'm still happy to be doing what I love, I was like a kid at Christmas time during the first outdoor ride of the season but to know that you are not as fast as you were only a few short months ago is a tough pill to swallow.

I just finished reading Johan Brunnel's book, "We Might as Well Win" and he talks a lot about how so much of his job was teaching the riders to be patient. Cyclists (and triathletes) tend to be very results oriented, they will do whatever it takes to be the best and push their bodies to the point of absolute exhaustion or breakdown. What he mainly did with his athletes was to make sure that if they were focusing on a race in May, like the Giro, he made sure that they were in great shape in March and April. However if other riders on the team were focusing for the Tour de France in July, he made sure that they understood that they were going to be in terrible shape in March and April and that was okay, concentrate on improving in May and June. I think Lance was a master at being patient both when he was racing; he never attacked until it was absolutely necessary and during the off season; he understood that it's okay to be out of shape in the winter. He was a champion for 7 years (an absolutely incredible time for pro cyclists) because he knew that he had to trust his coach's advice and he had the talent to back up all the work he put in on the road.

I'm going to take some advice from Johan too and tell myself that it's okay to be out of shape in April, my racing is not until June-July-August. It's a long time to hold peak fitness but just like last year I will improve as the summer moves along. I've had some really good results in the pool just over the last month and I'm actually excited to be swimming again. It no longer feels like I'm preparing to go to the dentist where I have to gear myself up to get there. I'm consistently getting in the water 3-4 times a week and I am starting to feel the endurance slowly come back, now I just need to work on improving my speed.

I've also tried to learn from the people I train with too, Robert and Dennis are going into their 10th Ironman this year and I'm absolutely amazed by that. I know how much one season of racing takes out of my body and if I'm training for an Ironman, it's twice as hard. I can't imagine doing it 10 years in a row! They have really mastered the art of being lazy at the right times and working very hard at the right times and they have both shown incredible results because of that. I know I'm not at the level I'd like to be at this time of year but that's okay, I have to trust that everything I'm doing is working and that the fitness will come, just be patient.

Another Weekend in Paradise

2010-03-28T20:20:00.000-07:00

Yes it was another fantastic weekend with Amber and Harley in beautiful Jasper. I spent a couple days in Whitecourt doing some work and made my way to Edson on Wednesday afternoon. When I arrived I was a little disappointed that the Financial Advisor there told me she had no appointments for us but I was also a little happy, that means I can go to Jasper today! Okay sorry I can't help this month but I'm just going to go straight through to Jasper, bye.

I called Amber that night and I could tell she really, really wanted to be here too. I felt bad she wasn't here with me but I was in the most beautiful place on earth so how could I be in a bad mood. When I left Edson it was blowing snow and colder than I could imagine for the end of March but Jasper was sunny, warm and beautiful! It stayed that way for the next four days. Amber surprised me and rescheduled her class so she could come down Thursday afternoon and we spent the next few days trail running, swimming and biking. I had a rough early season ride up to Maligne Lake yesterday (ran out of food and water) but made it home drifting into town on fumes. We decided to take it easy today so we just took Harley out for a 90 minute hike, packed up and came home.

It's hard to describe the sense of joy and peace I feel in the mountains but it truely is the place where I feel at one with the earth. Being there in nature makes you appreciate how tiny your life is and you can really see what a beautiful world we live in. Everywhere you turn in Jasper you are surrounded by incredible vistas and landscapes that take your breath away. I'm happy that Amber and I have been given the opportunity to be there as often as we have been, one of the great perks of my job up in the great white north. With all the travelling I do for my job I'm definitely happy that Jasper is one of my branches that I visit once a month.

Proud To Be a Part of Team Ernie's and Speed Revolution

2010-03-21T12:10:00.000-07:00

All the years I've been doing triathlon I've resisted joining any type of team or club but there are some great athletes here in GP that have inspired me to join them in representing our city. I'll be joining two friends and fantastic triathletes, Robert and Dennis Seitz, and wear the Team Ernie's colours at my races this year. I can't wait to be a part of a team with some other very fast triathletes who seem to be getting better every year. I'm also going to be supporting Amber and Lori's new venture which I'm really excited about, Speed Revolution. Mainly because I've been trying to start a high level multisports club in GP for a while now and Amber and Lori have taken the ball and run with it. Amber's done a fantastic job with the logo and website and I'm interested to see this venture grow. It's going to be an incredible 2010 season!

Lonely Weekend

2010-03-15T09:08:00.000-07:00

Harley and I were bach'ing it this weekend, Amber was off to Calgary on Friday for a business course and is coming back this afternoon. It's a strange feeling being the one who's left behind, now I know what Amber is going through when I leave on my little business trips twice a month. I felt really lonely and did everything I could to keep myself busy but there was still a big empty hole in my days. I know what great friends Amber and I are when we are together but this weekend I realized what a great couple we are when we're together. Harely seemed a little lost all weekend too, he just mooped around looking really sad like something was not right. Saturday we went for two walks and Sunday a long run and he still wasn't himself. I know exactly how he felt. However things will be back to normal later today and I can't wait to see Amber, after being together for almost four years I still love her more everyday. Glad to have you back home babe.

First Ride of 2010

2010-03-05T12:45:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I had an opportunity to ride outside on March 4th in Northern Alberta, that is almost unheard of in this part of the country. It was so nice to feel the sun and brisk wind on my face, I was loving every minute of it. I was on my way out of our little community and I saw a lady in a car obviously in a fight with her daughter because she was screaming and waiving her arms around and I was thinking, "man I am sooooo lucky that's not me." I love my quiet, serene life where I decide where I want the excitement to come from. Today it's from riding my bike HARD and off I went, 25kms to Bezanson and back.

I started off very well just like most years my power on the bike was great, averaging 37-39km/hr all the way out. I was thinking of turning around after 20kms but I wasn't sure if I'd get a chance like this again so I kept going a little longer. I should have turned around because I was seriously struggling on the way back, all of the sudden my heart rate dropped and I had no energy. I felt a little bonky out there but I wasn't in a race and didn't care about time I just wanted to have that feeling of actually moving, it was awesome! I remembered why I love riding my bike, it's such a feeling of freedom and joy that you just can't get from a lot of other things. I enjoy trail running, swimming, mountain biking but riding on the road is that perfect balance of getting the most speed you can out of your body and the adrenalin rush of being the engine moving through the air at 40kms/hr. I was getting a little cold on the way back and my water stayed cold the whole ride, which is very strange, but I didn't mind 90 minutes out on my bike in March is definitely worth it.

I've been trying to make more of an effort to get in the water as well. So far, so good 4 swims this week with over 10kms in total and a 1500m TT effort at 26 minutes, not my best time but it gives me something to improve on. I'm hoping to get down to 21-22 minutes in three months, just need to keep the workouts consistent. Now that I have a few swims under my belt I'm enjoying it a lot more too. I have to keep reminding myself that I don't need to make every swim a super-hard effort. I took it easy today and just worked on technique and strength building, I'll save the intervals for another day.

3 Months! What!

2010-03-02T08:50:00.000-08:00

This weekend was a lot of good times with the crew although I could tell some people are really getting worn down from some hard indoor training sessions. Three of the four people who joined us for our Saturday ride were either sick or extremely tired, I cut the workout down to 90 minutes and said we're taking next week off. I need the rest as well, I still haven't shaken a stubborn flu that I contracted at the end of January.

Sunday I met Robert and Dennis at the pool for a brief swim/ run and those guys are some of the best triathletes in town but all three of us struggle to maintain some momentum in the pool. I admit I haven't had the best winter when it comes to swim training but those guys are even worse, Robert was saying this was his 4th swim since Ironman! I'm not too worried and I know we'll all be in good swim shape when the season starts but Dennis seemed a little surprised when I mentioned the first race this year starts in three months. I think just like most of us he was just waiting for the outdoor biking season to start and then he'll get into some serious swim training as well. The problem with living in Northern Alberta is if you wait until you can start riding outside you'll probably be waiting until mid-late April.

So the pressure is on me this year, Robert, Dennis and myself have started a tri racing team with Ernies (local sports store) and I want this to be my most successful season ever. I'm confident I can improve on the run and bike. I've been consistently biking very, very well and the computrainer was worth every penny. I set a new PR in December at the Vegas marathon so I know I can run faster too. I just need to get in a good three months of focused swim training and I'll have set myself up for another great year. The first race is the Hinton Triathlon on June 6th and I'm determined to do a sub-24:00 in the pool. I actually had a better swim in 2008 than last year but they've all been around that 24 minute mark. No flats this year and I'm going for the elusive 1:00.00 mark on the bike. It's a very, very tough ride (climbing for 20kms and descending for 20kms) so I'll do my best to get as close as possible to that 40km/hr average speed. Finally a sub-37:00 run will put me very close to the 2:00hr mark, something I never thought I could do. For now the focus needs to be on my swimming and I'm going to make it my mission to consistently get in the water and improve as much as possible. Sometimes it's difficult when I'm on the road but I'll find a way to make it work for me and show up ready to race hard again this year.

Congrats Babe

2010-02-18T11:28:00.001-08:00

When Amber told me she was going to concentrate on becoming an ultra-marathoner this year and step away from triathlon I thought she was crazy. The only thing I really knew about ultras were two things I couldn't stand; 1. Running through the night without sleep, and 2. having your feet look like hamburger afterwards. She was very excited to take a step in this direction but I was a little afraid for her. I didn't want to be nursing her feet back to health after every long run and live with someone who's always grumpy because she is so tired from running all the time. However since she's been training for her first 50km event since 2006 the opposite has happened. She's still been a little sore after the long runs but not nearly like she has been after a marathon, and her feet and calves have held up really well with just a little massage.

It's just a different mindset going to an ultra as opposed to a triathlon. Last Monday I was having a difficult time turning off my 'competitive nature' for HER race. I was ready to start giving her splits and tell her what place she was in and how far away she was from other women in the race but I could tell that none of that was important. She had successfully become an ultra-runner and had learned that racing like a triathlete is not going to mean you will do well and in fact it probably means that you won't finish. The secret to ultra-running is all about consistency, start the race like you finsh it and you will be able to go the distance. We've both read a few books about ultra running and bought a great movie about Badwater and those have really helped put this type of racing into perspective. In fact I'm not sure you can call it racing because its more of a strength of will that does well rather than pure physical ability. They should call it a battle of wills, who ever collapses last wins.

I'm very proud Amber went into her first race with the right mindset and came out feeling pretty good considering the conditions. It was a tough slough with snowy, icy trails but she battled it out with her good friend Celine and completed the 50kms in 5:08. Great work babe, don't worry I'll definitely be your support crew for the next challenge the Blackfoot Ultra in May!

Big Decision

2010-02-11T20:55:00.000-08:00

Well a big decision for a triathlete is deciding to look for a new bike. Should I, or shouldn't I? Big decision for me. Fortunately I have a good friend in GP who works for a local sports store and is a seasoned IM athlete. He called me on Wednesday and said, "there is no one else in Northern Alberta that deserves a bike more than you do. You work hard and you should be on a Trek." Yes Robert you are a good salesman. He played into my ego and I'm still not sure if I "deserve" a new bike but I'm happy other local athlete's think that I do. I do train hard, although being in the pool today I realized I need to start concentrating on becoming a swimmer again it was a very, very hard 2500m.

I'm still debating whether I should get a new bike or not but Robert said he would put together "an unbelievable deal" for me so we'll see what he can come up with. There is a Trek I designed through their Project One sight, it's $10,000 USD but if he can't come down to at least $6,000, forget it. I do like the idea of riding a Trek I've never been a fan of getting the same bike as everyone else (that's why I bought a Griffen) but my bike is now 5 years old and they have not kept up with the latest technology and I want something that is a lot lighter. As much as I liked Griffen when I bought one, now it seems like it's a bit of a beast to get up the big climbs. I've done 5 Ironmans on it and it's served me well but I think its time to move on. I haven't made a final decision yet but I think I'll become a Trek athlete before the next season. There are a lot of GP athletes that ride Trek bikes and there is no way I can show my support for the local community more than becoming one of them. I think it's only a matter of time, they've already sucked me in.

Slowly Feeling Normal Again

2010-02-04T07:53:00.000-08:00

I've started to climb out of this haze of being sick and I'm starting to bounce back to normal. I haven't done very much training in the last couple weeks, a couple runs and easy indoor rides but I've had to devote a lot of my time to work. Yesterday I worked 14hrs and it felt like the longest day of my life. I hate it when my job infringes on my personal time, I need to have a few hours every night that I can train and spend some time with Amber. Otherwise I just feel like all I do is work and that's not much of a life. I do enjoy my job but not to the point where I want to be there 14-16hrs everyday. I need my personal time to recharge and feel ready for the next day.

I'll spend the next couple weeks doing some easy training and helping Amber any way I can to get ready for her 50km Ultra on Feb 15th. It'll be nice to see some friends and family in Calgary and just hang out with AD doing some of the things we enjoyed there. I'm also looking forward to seeing Amber race again, I haven't seen her devote this much time to training since Boston 2008. She's running very strong and remaining injury free day after day so I think she's definitely found the secret to what works well for her.

Blah.......

2010-01-27T11:47:00.000-08:00

I'm down and out. I took it easy last week with only a couple swims but a hard 2hr bike on Saturday and a long run on Sunday with Amber and H-dog was enough to make me sick. I hate feeling like this but this weekend was tough and I'm not too surprised. I did 'Have Mercy' with the group on Saturday and it is one of the toughest bike workouts Coach Troy has- 2hrs of leg busting sets, non-stop. Ross and Sonya were really feeling it, they also competed a 2hr swim workout right before.

I thought I was going to be okay just supporting Amber on her 40k long run, Harley and I did 25k and it was a lot of in-the-car, out-of-the-car and I think the cold was just too much. Monday night was one of the worst sleeps I've ever had and I needed to get up that morning and drive 2-1/2 hours to Whitecourt for work, that was rough. I did my two appointments and headed straight to the hotel to sleep. I'm not feeling that great today but I'll finish up the day at work and go right back bed at the hotel in Edson. I'm hopeful that I'll bounce back quickly and be okay for our weekend in Jasper, I would be incredibly depressed if I couldn't do some trail runs out there. That's really the highlight of all the travelling I have to do. We'll see tomorrow night how I'm feeling I'm not leaving Jasper without getting in at least a couple short runs, even if it means dragging my aching body over one of those mountains it's just too beautiful not to get outside.

Some Things Insipre Me and Some Things Make Me Laugh...

2010-01-17T18:50:00.001-08:00

I've been trying to support Amber any way I can with her goal of becoming an ultramarathoner this year but this week she really inspired me. She completed a tough, tough 35km run in -17'c temps today and only took in 100 calories! I went out to run today and after 21kms I was completely spent. I was dehydrated, tired, and exhausted but I knew she was still out there, pushing through the pain and giving it everything she had to get in the distance she had planned for today. I knew Harley was done for the day so hopped on the treadmill and searched for a little inspiration in a DVD Amber bought and did another 9kms...

and somethings make me laugh...

Saturday Suffering

2010-01-10T16:51:00.000-08:00

We had a full house with 10 of us in our basement pounding the pedals doing a tough, tough Coach Troy sprint session for an hour. I sent out my usual Wednesday e-mail inviting everyone for a spin and politely reminded them that their results in July are determined by their efforts in January. I got reply after reply stating they were coming, fear is an excellent motivator and I was a little worried that we wouldn't have enough space. I counted eight confirmations so I was pretty sure only about 5-6 would show up and we would be fine. However everyone was there ready to rock at 9am, it was a tight squeeze but we had just enough room and there was a fantastic energy before the ride. Amber just wanted to spin easy so I invited Robert to try out the computrainer and he was all over it (hit 596 watts max!).

I wanted to make sure if this many people were going to get up early, pack up their bikes, trainers and lug them down to our basement in the middle January they were going to get what they came for, and they definitely did. The sprint workout may seem a little dumb this time of year but this is exactly the time to push the VO2 to new heights and give your body the necessary time to recover and absorb the training. I'm not going to get tired or burnt-out in January so I push myself and see what is possible. If I start to feel a little more fatigued then I take an extra rest day, who cares it's January. When it's beautiful and sunny outside in June and July the last thing I want to do is sit on the couch and rest even though I know I should. Hey if Lance says he won his tours with the work he did in January then I know I'm going to have a great season with the work I've been putting in.

We started off fairly easy with some 30 second warm ups but once the workout started everyone was hurting from beginning to end. 10 second, all-out efforts on 50 seconds rest for 5 reps, 5 second lead-outs into 10 second sprints with 45 seconds rest. We were all COMPLETELY bagged by the time we hit 30 minutes to go. I looked over at Robert and he was very, very pale and I thought he was going to hurl at any moment. Then we went into the plyometric jumps for 30 seconds and we were all struggling just to get off our bikes, let alone jump off the ground. Fantastic work done by everyone and I'm very proud that so many people showed up even though I warned them that this workout would be a killer. Grande Prairie athletes are awesome! I can't wait until next Saturday.

New Year, New Goals

2010-01-03T13:30:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year, Amber and I definitely did. We spent some time in Saskatchewan with Amber's family and it was a lot of fun. Christmas is always a time to be with the ones you love and eat and drink to excess, I sure did my fair share of that. On the long drive home it looked like Amber had a lot on her mind and I was doing my best to try and get her to open up but I think she needed to sort some things out on that trip. After about 10hrs locked in the car together she had a breakthrough, she was going to do the Death Race. I new she wanted to do it I just wasn't sure if she wanted to do it in 2010. Neither of us are big on New Year's Resolutions; that implies something is wrong in your life and you want to change it, but we are both living the life of our dreams. New Year's Goals now that is something we like to set every year and work to achieve them everyday. I was very, very happy she had found a "big goal" for the new year and I could see a huge weight was lifed off her shoulders. The Death Race seems crazy to me it's a 125km run over two major mountain passes and some incredibly tough, tough terrain. I know if anyone can do it, she can.

It was great for me too because I had a tentative schedule of races I wanted to do next year but I couldn't really commit to anything until I was sure what she wanted to do. Now that she felt like she was going to commit herself to ultramarathoning this year I could feel like I was going to commit myself to doing Ironman again. I did have the thought of going to Kona this year but I think I would rather save that for 2011 and qualify at an earlier season Ironman like Coeur d'Alene. Also 2011 has the added benefit of racing against Lance again, I got him in the Boston marathon but I think he definitely has the advantage in an Ironman. It'll be nice to just be there when he is there and see him smoke the bike course.

Here's what I've come up with for 2010, I want to stick with the theme of staying local and supporting races in and around our community. There is a great group of tough triathletes here in GP and it makes such a difference to go out for a long hard swim or ride when there are other people willing to go out there and suffer with you.

May 9th- Brian Harms 8K, Grande Prairie
May 23rd- GP Press Run 21K, Grande Prairie
June 6th- Mountainview Tri (Olympic), Hinton
June 20th- Grande Prairie Tri (Sprint)
July 4th- Great White North 1/2 IM, Stony Plain
July 18th- Peach Classic Tri (Olympic), PentictonJuly 18th- 24th- Penticton Training Camp
August 29th- Ironman Canada
November 7th- New York Marathon

It's a pretty full schedule but I'm really excited to be doing Ironman again and having a week in Penticton with Amber and friends just swimming, riding and running. The Peach Classic will be a great kick off to the week and there is some very, very good competion that shows up so it'll keep me sharp and pushing the whole time. I think riding the Ironman course a couple times will be great too, I know I've done it a few times already but I'm hoping to take my cycling to another level this year and be in the 5hr- 5:10 range.

That's it for the year, I have a challenging work schedule as well but it looks like Amber and I are going to be spending a lot of time in Jasper and Grande Cache so it's a year I'm really looking forward to!

Happy Holidays Everyone

2009-12-12T11:14:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Humble Beginnings

2009-12-10T17:37:00.000-08:00

I've been running most of my life even in elementary school I could remember running in x-country races against my friends. I never really thought of myself as a good runner I was always the kid that crossed the line looking like he was really suffering the entire time. However there was something about that suffering that I liked. I think it was the fact that it was like stepping into the ring and facing an opponent knowing that you are going to hurt your body and willing accepting the pain that's coming. Taking yourself to a place not too many people can go. I'm still running and taking myself to that place but it's been a long, tough road to get to where I am now.

A big shift in my attitude came when I met Amber, all of my success in the last three years I owe to her. She is my inspiration and source of strength when I am feeling down. I like to think we support each other in all that we do and I'm very happy to have Amber and Harley in my life. I tell Amber that if I had never met her I would be drunk in a ditch some where. Probably not true, but we met each other at the right time in our lives and I know she has helped me reach beyond what I believed was my potential.

Training for the Vegas Marathon I was a little unsure of how I was going to do. I had not run a marathon since Boston in 2008 (a year and a half ago). My training runs were going well, I felt strong for most of them and never had a sense that I was completely shattered afterwards. The toughest run was a 32km long run the day after a 3km (all out) x-country race on the Nordic Centre trails. I was hurting from the very start until the final 130th minute. I told Amber it was the best "mental training day" I could have hoped for, during a race there is always a point where you just want to stop or at least slow down. During that run I was preparing myself mentally as much as physically to run in that zone where you are comfortable being uncomfortable.

The day finally arrived after 13 weeks of hard training and I was optimistic about having the race of my life but I was still a little uncharacteristically nervous. Thanks to Amber for keeping me calm and giving me the space I needed to be in my own head race morning. When we're both racing I'm usually the calm one but that day I needed her to be there for me and she definitely was.

I started in the first corral with the elites, a bunch of Kenyans and Ethiopians who were about 40-50lbs lighter than I was. I looked around and felt completely out of place, I was a hulk in the midst of a bunch of feather-weights. The race started out very, very fast. A group of about 50 men and women were running a blistering pace. I tried not to get caught up in race strategy too early and stayed with a pace that I felt I could handle but still was pushing my ability. Eventually I found a group of about 10-12 guys that were running a tough but good pace. It was a little windy on the way out so I stayed in the group for as long as I could but it seemed like the pace was getting stronger or I was getting weaker so before the 7 mile mark I let them go. By the time I hit the 10 mile mark I was hurting but still in that zone of being comfortably uncomfortable. I met my goal of getting there under an hour.

When I broke off on the marathon route and left the 1/2 marathoners to battle it out I was confident I could get to the 20 mile mark in under 2 hours. The point from mile 7 to mile 19 is a long, slow, very gradual climb and I was happy not to have the downhill pounding on my legs but at mile 19 I had an incredible side stitch that felt like a knife being plunged into my diaphragm. This is where the mental training has to kick in or your race is over, I took a moment to collect myself and just kept moving. At the turn around at 19 miles I understood why I was hurting so badly, it was a long-slow downhill all the way back to the strip. I let my legs go and the stitch went away.

I hit the 20th mile in 1:58.58 and was confident I could shuffle the final 6 miles in under 40 minutes. Mile 23 is when my legs started cramping up, my quads were seizing and I had some strange alternating weakness in each leg. I could tell things were getting tough because I was really hurting but I ended up catching two guys in the final two miles, one of whom was walking. That's one of the tough things about the marathon, it doesn't matter how in shape you are it will kill you before the end, usually in the final 3 miles for me. This time though I was mentally ready and just kept my legs shuffling until the end. I finished with a new PR of 2:36.45 and was the top Canadian and 1st in my age group!

From my humble beginnings on the elementary school field suffering like a fighter in a 15 rounder to my race on Sunday I earned that finish. Thanks to Amber and H-dog for the training and inspiration, I'll always feel on top of the world with you in my life.

Finding Zen

2009-12-02T07:47:00.000-08:00

I just finished the book Amber lent me, "Born to Run" and if you've ever wanted an excellent read and an opportunity to discover why you run then read this book. It's not something that would appeal to non-runners or even recreational runners but for most triathletes and marathoners it speaks volumes. I've never really thought about the fact that I feel fantastic after I go for a run but prior to, I can barely conjure up the motivation to get off the couch, let alone put on the cold weather gear and go running in the cold, icy trails. Thank God I have Harley who keeps whining until I relent and get my butt out the door. Before Amber and I got him I ran a lot less but I still had the same enjoyment and feeling of peace after a run.

I'm sure you've had the feeling of having an incredibly stressful and tiring day at work. You can't imagine going out to run but you do anyway and all the problems, worries, stress, seem to melt away with each mile. If you haven't had that feeling then you're not running long or hard enough! I'm not saying that you need to suffer to run but there is something about putting your body in a state of physical stress that quiets your mind and allows you to do all the other things in your life with ease.

This is where I find Zen... some people find it in different activities but for me it's an activity that dates back to the first human, distance running. In fact the only reason that Homo Sapiens outlasted Neanderthals was because they practiced "persistence hunting" they ran down their pray until it was too exhausted to continue and collapsed. Neanderthals had to come in close contact with a ferocious beast fighting for it's life. If you got a broken bone or infected wound you were as good as dead, but if you could run a marathon dinner was waiting for you. Running also created a "community" you needed to play your part and live in peace with those around you, there were no police, no courts, no lawyers so if you didn't get along with others in the tribe it could be life-threatening. Running as a tribe allowed everyone to release energy in a productive an healthy way and operate for the good of everyone.

I have less than 5 days until the Vegas marathon but now I'm looking at this race with an entirely new perspective. I'm not concerned about time goals any more and I'm going to try to celebrate the fact that I can run and that I find peace in running. I'll still go and run to the best of my ability but now I realize that a lot of modern society running is focused on achieving time goals and place results. That's not what running is about for me, it's about achieving that state of Zen and creating a community who loves to do that ancient lost art- running for the love of it.

Born To Run

2009-11-24T07:46:00.000-08:00

After Sunday's 40km run in 2:48 I was feeling really good about my progress and my ability as a distance runner, then I read about the Tarahumara. Amber ordered a book from the library called "Born to Run" and was gracious enough to let me read it first. I've only covered the first couple chapters but it's a story about an ancient Indian tribe in the Sierra Madre of Northern Mexico. They are legendary runners and have apparently found the secret to health, happiness, longevity, and peace; running.

The book tells a story about Lance Armstrong in his first New York Marathon and the fact that he called it "the hardest event he's ever done" and he is probably the greatest endurance athlete in the world. Well the Tarahumara practice "persistence hunting," if you've never heard of it don't worry only the Tarahumara can do it. Basically if you want to hunt a deer you run after it until it dies of exhaustion or it's so tired that you are close enough to kill it. There have been stories of Tarahumara running for three days hunting or competing in traditional races. To run the equivalent of 12 marathons without stopping is something a Tarahumara will do to migrate or hunt. They have shown up at some American races like the Leadville 100 to race for food when their people were starving of malnutrition, they were promised their village would be fed by an American sponsor if they competed. In 1992 a 52 year old Tarahumara runner named Victoriano Churro came in 1st, followed by his 41 year old team-mate Cerrildo in second. These people are simply the toughest runners I'd ever heard of, they don't have fancy runners, they don't get hairline fractures, achilles tendionitis, shin splints, plantar fasciitis, torn hamstrings or any other problem that they rest of us suffer from. What is their secret?

Well there really is no 'secret' they simply start their lives running and continue until they die. Most of us are told, don't run too much you'll damage something, your knees, your ankles, you'll get arthritis. I think our society has become so unable to deal with pain and discomfort that we drown ourselves in medications and therapies that don't help. Now I'm not saying that running will solve all medical issues but could you imagine how much better life would be if everyone ran. There wouldn't be a strain on the medical system, hundreds of millions of dollars would be saved in health care costs, our seniors would have the attention of the medical establishment they deserve and preventable medical problems (obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attacks) would be minimized. I think the Tarahumara are on to something.

I'll try and capture the spirit of the Tarahumara 12 days from now and remember that a marathon is just a warm up for the real race, life.

Mental Prep

2009-11-16T09:57:00.000-08:00

Thanks to my wonderful wife for reminding me of the importance of preparing "mentally" for any goal you're striving for. Lately I've been a little too consumed with the day-to-day minutia results of training and I know that training to reach a peak does not occur in a linear manner. I tell my clients everyday, "if you look at your investment statements every month and expect it to go up, your bound for disappointment. However, if you trust in the plan you've set in place and have confidence in the process that in the long run you will do extremely well, then it will happen." Time and time again I see clients selling their investments when they're down 10, 20, 30% and none of them make those losses back. No wonder so many people have lost faith in the market. I have never sold any investment at a loss and 2009 is proving to be one of the best investment markets in the last 30 years! Unfortunately not many clients realize that and it's only because they haven't prepared themselves mentally for the inevitable ups and downs that they are going to experience.

There are definitely ups and downs in training as well, I have days where I feel like a 5km run at a snail's pace feels like I've just done a 1/2 Ironman. Then there are days where I can run light and easy for 21- 30kms and I'm just flying along. I've been trying to keep reminding myself that the ups and downs of training are normal and gains do not occur in a linear manner. I think most triathlete, type A personalities expect things to progress better and better and never see a plateau but I know my body doesn't work like that.

Mentally preparing for a race or for anything in life is so important that it almost outweighs the physical prep. It reminds me of a run I went on with my friend Chris when I was helping him prepare for Ironman Austria a few years ago. We had been doing long runs every Sunday for a number of weeks and I was feeling very light and fast. At that point I could run about a 37:45 10k and about a 1:25 half-marathon, I was feeling so good and both of us were running very well together. We were going to do a 2hr brisk pace run that Sunday and Chris told me that a friend of his was going to join us. He said he hadn't been training in a while but he'd run with us for as long as he could. When we met at Eau Claire I was greeted by a slightly paunchy guy in his mid-40s and I immediately thought "this guy is not going to last the first 2k. What is he doing here?"

We took it easy at the start but up'ed the pace in the first 5kms, we were averaging about 14-15kms/hr and I was feeling the effort of such a hard run very early on. Paunchy guy was right there, breathing like a racehorse giving it everything he had but not losing one step on us. I couldn't believe it! I was in the best shape of my life and I felt like I was hurting and this guy was still right there! What's going on here? He wasn't in better shape but he was one of the toughest guys "mentally" I'd ever met. He stayed with us step for step the entire run and everyone was exhausted by the end. He didn't look as exhausted as I did but he taught me something that day, being mentally tough can take you far, far beyond what you thought you were capable of. At this stage in my life I'm well aware of how important mental preparation is. Sometimes I just need a little reminder and that's when I recount the story of the paunchy guy with a herculean running effort during a cool April Sunday in Calgary.

It was only later that I learned that this guy used to race with the Canadian national team for the 800m. Figures!

Check out Amber's post on mental prep, it's a great reminder.

36 Kilometers and 2hrs and 32 Minutes Later

2009-11-08T16:53:00.000-08:00

Before

After

Okay so I know the toes are not the most attractive but I run about 50kms/week and this week will be about 80-100kms so imagine what your toes would look like.

Yes it's true, 7lbs lost after running 36kms this morning, that's 4.12% loss in 2 1/2hrs. I know most of that is just due to dehydration but it got me thinking about finding my optimum weight leading into Vegas. I went down to the gym in our basement and grabbed a 7lb medicine ball and I was shocked to see how large and how heavy 7lbs actually is! At the beginning of my run I was carrying around this medicine ball in my muscles, fat and tissues. That's a lot of extra weight when you are trying to prepare for a marathon. For the average ahtlete an extra 7 to 10lbs is not a big deal, if you are in shape and you've done the training, you'll still finish. However if you are trying to set a PR (like I am) any extra weight can't really slow you down.

Trying to find my ideal weight is a tough balancing act; I need to insure I'm eating enough to keep up with some of the hard training days to come and not eat too much to put me over the edge and slow me down. Right now I'm a little on the heavy side but in four weeks I'll be ready.

Today's run was very, very hard, I just got back from a work trip in which I didn't get a lot of training time. Harley was pushing me very hard at the start, which isn't unusual but today I just wanted a nice steady pace. I knew it was going to be a long day and I didn't want to use up all my energy in the first 21kms. My breathing was labored, I always had the feeling like I just wasn't getting enough air. There is something about running in the cold that makes me feel like there is no oxygen in the air, I think someone should do a study on that. I remember feeling the same way when I was training for Boston in March. Fortunately it turned out to be my best Marathon ever but I really paid for it out on the race course and it took me weeks to recover. I'm willing to make the same sacrifice on December 6th in Vegas but I still have some work to do, I'll get there 4 weeks to go.

Congrats To My Friend Colin and his Family!

2009-11-02T07:10:00.000-08:00

If there is one friend in my life other than Amber that I can say has been with me through a lot it's definitely my bud Colin. We met in Junior High school and we were both very athletic and had a lot of energy that needed to be directed in a 'healthy' way. We both played hockey, soccer (although for different teams), ran x-country, track, did well in school (although he didn't have to work as hard at it as I did) and we were inseperable as kids. It wasn't until the first year of University that I realized how much of a positive influence my buddy Colin brought to my life. He went away to play Junior Hockey in Saskatchewan and I started University, we stayed in touch for a while but eventually started to follow our own paths in life.

When he came back to Calgary it was like old times, we hung out at University once again, played soccer for the team(s), U of C had 5 mens soccer teams. Hit the weight room together to "pump it up," went to some of the same lectures and generally had a good time together. Eventually I started a career being a travelling bum and he went to California to be a chiropractor. We stayed in touch off and on and I even visited him in San Jose for a little while which was a lot of fun but I missed my good friend. I was determined not to let us drift apart even though our lives had gone in different directions. I made the promise to myself to keep in touch no matter where I was or where he was every April 20th (Colin's birthday) and I've kept that promise for over 8 years now.

Colin has been a true friend and has been beside me through a lot of turmoil and I can definitely say that we will always be great friends. We both have our own families now and are very happy with the direction we've taken. I can't say we both have the same philosophy, he's a bit more of a risk taker than I am, but we both respect eachother's differences and admire what we've achieved so far in life. He welcomed a new edition to his family this week and Amber and I are very happy to see he has a happy and healthy family. Congrats Colin and Nichole we know Daymond and Evangeline are some of the lucky kids to have parents like you.

The Chala Family

Proud Dad

Ready to go!

3kms of Torture and 30kms of Turmoil

2009-10-25T16:56:00.000-07:00

It was a tough weekend of training once again but well worth it. I was having some biomechanical issues last week, my achilles was acting up and my hip flexors were really tight and sore. I spent most of the week working out on the trainer and it was a nice change, I had a chance to still push myself but didn't have the high impact of running. My body appreciated the change and I felt like all my little issues had subsided.

I was on the road for a couple days this week so I spent an hour on the treadmill in Peace River. I'm trying to make sure my trips turn into mini training camps so I stay focused and prepared. I came home on Friday night and took Harley out for a 10k around Crystal Lake a couple times. He was running fast, so I went with it and used him as motivation to run a little faster. The first 5k we did in 18:42 and the second 5k in 18:35 (no pee breaks on the second lap), 37:17 for the full 10k and it felt pretty good. Amber and I had a good time Friday night and finished a couple bottles of wine, which was one bottle too much.

Saturday we met a couple guys from the run club to do our usual run and post run coffee. It's better running with some other people when you're not feeling 100%. Later Saturday afternoon Robert, Paul and I were part of a team for the last Wolves x-country race of the year, it was a 3 x 3km relay. I wasn't too concerned about racing for 3kms but after running 13kms hard on Thursday, 10kms hard on Friday and another 10kms easy Saturday morning I probably should have been. The race was a lot of fun but I have never felt 10 minutes of torture like that before. The route was beautiful, through the trails of the GP Nordic Centre. I was the anchor and Paul and Robert had set me up perfectly, I had a lead and all I had to do was maintain it. I started out so fast that I thought the muscles on my legs were going to fly off as I was running downhill. The first half was all downhill and the second half was all uphill. I hit the bottom and was completely out of breath but struggled to just keep moving as my lungs were ready to burst and my body filled with lactic acid. It's very hard to explain how you feel when you're running beyond your limits. I kept having this thought creep into my brain that I needed to just stop and walk, I know that this is just a defence mechanism but it's so hard to overcome. I did manage to hold on and ran my best 3km ever, 9:49. We won the team race by a km!!

Sunday was a long run with Amber's group, they were doing 16kms and I was doing 30kms. The first half was hell, I was struggling but Harley kept me moving and we completed the first 16kms in 1:02. I didn't want to go back out but somehow found the strength, I think it was the thought that Amber's girls were still out there running hard. I soldiered on and shuffled through another 14kms, one of the toughest 30km runs I think I have ever done, 2hrs of turmoil. It was a great "mental training" day for Vegas, there is always a point after about 35 or 36kms when you want to just stop and walk and I needed to put myself there in training and overcome that feeling. Now I'm ready for some rest.

Preparing For Vegas

2009-10-21T19:17:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a while since I posted anything but not a lot has been going on other than a lot of hard work. I've been very busy at work and trying to fit in training has been a real challenge. I still managed to run about 50kms with Harley on the weekend and my achilles tendon flared up so I was massaging my calf for hours on Saturday. This week I've been biking a bit more and it's definitely helped, cross-training always seems to create more of a balance.

I'm away from home for the next couple days but I'll be back with Amber and H-dog on Friday. I was asked to be a part of a team relay on Saturday, it's just a short 3x3km race but it'll be a lot of fun for us old guys to go out and kick some college runners butt.

34:25, new PR!

2009-10-04T17:43:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since I raced in a 10k and I was really excited to see if all this hard training over the last few years has helped my speed at this distance. The Grande Prairie Fall Classic 10k was today and it was great race with about 125 people and a lot of fantastic people organizing it. Amber had all her 'Women of Strength' running and they looked fantastic decked out in matching gear. She was there to support them and they were all so excited to be out there competing. I love that energy from new runners who are just out there to finish and have fun, it makes me want to just go out and enjoy being with other athletes and run as fast as I can.

I definitely ran as hard and as fast as I could, right from the start I was in a lot of pain. I knew I was running the first 5k very fast, maybe a little too fast but I was determined to set a new PR and I didn't care how much suffering I was going to go through. Well I didn't care before I started but I definitely cared while I was running. I finished the first lap in 16:40 and I was struggling to try and hold my pace. During the second lap I could tell I was slowing down but I had absolutely nothing left to give. I really, really wanted to just stop and walk but I knew it was just my mind trying to convince me that this is not normal pain. Usually you feel pain and you do everything you can to stop it as soon as possible but an athlete cannot give into that suffering, I had to stay in my "pain cave." I suffered through the remaining 5k and finished with a PR of 34:25!! A great way to kick off my training for the Vegas marathon, hopefully I have one more PR in me before the end of the year.

Kakwa Falls Mountain Bike Trip

2009-09-29T18:42:00.001-07:00

Last weekend was one of those epic rides I'll remember for a long, long time. It sounded like a lot of fun when I signed up three weeks ago, a 40km ride through the beautiful mountains south of GP with an incredible waterfall at the 20km turn around point. There were a lot of local athletes there and I was really looking forward to a fun day. It started early with a 6am meeting at a local coffee shop and about 25 people were up and ready to caravan out to the start. It was a long drive to get there but I carpooled out with Denis and Robert two great brothers who are also Ironman athletes and love to talk about IM. We chatted about this year's race, what we would do differently, what we did well, and what we're planning on doing this year, it was a lot of fun. After a couple of hours we were starting to wonder if we missed the rendezvous so we were looking around frantic for 20 or 30 minutes.

Fortunately we did end up finding it and we let out a huge sigh of relief. The weather was cool but it looked like it was going to get warm later in the day. Robert and I were debating if we should pack jackets or not and decided to play it safe and take one. The beginning of the ride was a lot of fun, tough, tough terrain with a few river crossings which meant your feet were wet and cold right from the start. After a few steep hill climbs I warmed up and just my feet and hands were cold. Robert, Denis and I were far ahead of everyone else, we stopped for lunch at the falls and right away it started to snow! Yes snow! We took some quick pictures and high-tailed it out of there right away.

The way back was absolutely brutal; cold, wet, muddy, and I was exhausted from the jackhammering downhills and steep unrelenting climbs in the mud. I couldn't wear my glasses anymore because they kept fogging up and without them the mud would hit my eyes every minute or two. It was an extremely difficult 20kms to get back to the car, I was so cold my hands and feet were in a lot of pain, hanging on to the handlebars was very tough and changing gears was nearly impossible with the mud clogging up everything. I made it back shattered and beaten it was a day that really tested me but those are the rides that true life experiences are made of. I'm definitely doing it again next year.

A Tribute to the Greatest Athlete Ever

2009-09-24T20:22:00.000-07:00

It's hard to define what makes someone the greatest, is it the will, the determination, the strength, a combination of all three? If you asked me ten years ago who I would consider the greatest athlete ever I probably would have mentioned a few names but in the last ten years one man has shown the world what it means to be the greatest. It's hard to really know what a bike racer goes through during a day of racing unless you race a bike yourself but imagine pushing your body so hard that your heart and lungs are near collapse, 180bpm! Your legs are so full of lactic acid that they feel like they are on fire as you are turning over the pedals. Every thought in your brain is telling you to stop and just relax but you continue to push.

I can't think of a more difficult job than being a bike racer and I can't think of a stronger athlete than Lance Armstrong. I think I feel a bit of pride knowing he started his career as a triathlete and progressed to being the greatest who ever lived. Remember as you look at this montage that Lance is suffering more than anyone else out there, he just knows how to deal with it better having come back and beaten cancer. He makes it look so effortless as he passes other professional cyclists like they were standing still but remember he is hurting, he's just found a way to turn his pain into progress. We can all learn something from Lance, don't ever give up, keep pushing your limits, who knows how far you can reach.

Who would have thought the greatest athlete ever would be from Texas! Be proud of where you are from, don't ever be ashamed and live your life like there is no tomorrow. Keep pushing those limits and you will find you can reach places within yourself you never thought were possible. We thank you Lance, thanks for showing us that the only limits we have are the ones we place on ourselves.

Glorious September

2009-09-23T18:29:00.000-07:00

September is a great month after a summer of a lot of hard training, this month is a great time to just relax and not worry about any sort of structured regimen. Today I had a opportunity to come home early and go out for a fun ride with Amber. We cruised around the city trails and had an awesome afternoon hanging out on an incredible September day, 28'C!! I'm loving every minute of this abnormally hot weather.