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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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.