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Monday, August 23, 2010

Its Good To Be Back

Well 2 weeks off was nice, for about 4 days then I started to get the training itch. After all those nights spend in the pool, gym or on the road I didn't know what to do with all this extra time. I guess I did get caught up on a lot of stuff and I was able to reorganize everything for the next 12 week session.

This weekend was good I went camping with all the boys. We went up way past caddy lake through 2 tunnels which were amazing, over to Norcross Lake. It was really in the middle of nowhere and a great place to really just clear my mind of everything from the city and from the last month in general. I was able to do a 1 hr open water swim because there was not a boat in sight. It was nice not to focus on lanes or bouys and just swim. I found I really paid close attention to my stroke, it was one of the best swims I have had in a while.

As great as it was to qualify for Clearwater there was a ton of un-controlable stresses that came after that moment.

Car broke down had to totally revamp plans and fly home and lose a car

Uncle dies of a brain anurisim leaving my 17 yr old cousin alone because her mom had died a few years earlier RIP Uncle Don.

Get $150 parking ticket & the window get smashed in the same night

Go to deal with ticket wait 1.5 hrs only to find that I need to go wait in line somewhere else.

Needless to say I couldnt wait to get back to training because it seemed that if I wasn't then all hell was breaking loose.

Today consisted of a swim, and a weight session. The swim went really well I felt really strong. The weight session was good to, it always is I just kinda zone out.

Anyways its good to be back at it.


Long Swim:
4000m

Weights:
45 min

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Recovery Race

After Calgary it was nice to email MAO and have them tell me take it easy for 2 weeks do some unscheduled training and recover. I was able to get a lot accomplished around the house and on my truck.

During this time I also had signed up for an Olympic distance race in riding mountain. I signed up because it is the nicest race in this area. It was nice to race without pressure. I was an aweful day there where 3 to 4 foot waves on the swim it was raining and windy on the bike, but at least the run was nice.

The swim was brutal. Its been a long time in a triathlon since I have drank that much water.

On the cycle for some reason I had trouble getting my HR down. It took almost 20 mins for it to steady state, It was super cold too which didnt help.

Finally after all that I got to the run course. Running felt good the course was in the trees and I was able to average at 160 hr and run an avg pace of 7:09. I finished with a big smile nice and relaxed.

Overall I feel good. I can use a bit more rest, but I am anxious to get back to training.

Riding mountain triathlon

Davis SOHOR
Place (1) 2:26:13
Men 15-24
Swim 29:04
Bike 1:13:44
Run 43:26

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

The turn around

Well I think my bad luck has finally made the turn around. I had a good day at work. I was supose to leave for the afternoon to go to the doctors. But when I went to leave the boss just let me take the truck and go on my lunch break so I didnt loose any pay.

The doctors appointmet was good I weighed in at 183 up 10 pounds from last year. But he said I look much broader in the shoulders. I guess the 5000m swims will do that to you. Other then that I m healthy as a horse. He is gonna get me hooked up with an endocrinoligist, so I can get a better understanding of how raceing effects that system.

It was another hot day today, but all I could think about was running. As soon as I got home I was back out the door running down the street. It was good to be back running again I felt strong and was fueled with the new motivation of going to clearwater. My heartrate stayed low for about the first half hour then I started to see some drift above where I wanted it to be. Overall I took it easy it just felt good to be out running. To cap the run off when I was coming back down the home strech my buddy Kyle Wilson pulled up beside me and handed me a beer. I thought what great training for the up coming beer run season. I was almost finished so he followed me and then gave me a ride the rest of the way.

I spent the rest of the night with the family and working on my truck. I pretty much have it all put back together and it should be ready to roll by tomorrow.

Run:
Sport: Run
Duration: 1 hr
Distance: 12.5 km
Avg. hr: 155
Avg. speed: 12.5 km/h
Intensity: 4

Monday, August 9, 2010

Heat!

Wow it was hot today. Something stupid like +40 with the humidex. I spent the whole day in the heat working outside, I really wanted to do a run in the heat, its good for the mental. But I worked 2 jobs today so I didn't really get a chance. I am tring to bank some extra cash to help pay for my strain of bad luck.haha

I found that today I have finally started making the turn around. I had a great day at the city and a good shift at woodcock. I was able to effectivly help all the customers and the time went by fast. I feel good today and the rest of the week is going to be great.

I am really looking forward to racing this weekend in riding mountain. I have no real stresses and its the nicest race in this aera all year. But I am going to use the calmness of today to get a good restful nights sleep.

Happy training

Rest day

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Seriously?

Well I have heard the term bad things come in 3's or bunches or what ever, but I am not really superstitious and I never really paid much attention. I do believe that we can attract the things we want in life. But I never thought I attracted this.

This week started out with the short lived high of qualifying for Clearwater. That high was soon dampened by dealing with the stresses of a blown up car in a different city. Which I might add has been deemed not worth fixing. Once returning home it felt good to be back and get back in the groove and back on two feet. Only to find out Tuesday the my uncle at 66 years old suddenly passed away from a brain aneurysm, leaving his 17 year daughter (my cousin) completely alone, as her mother had passed of cancer a few years prior. So I pushed through the week and figured I would be able to un-wind and some what relax on the weekend. The funeral was on Saturday afternoon, and was extremely sad. I was really looking forward to going for a run after and cleansing the mind and really just appreciating my uncles life, my own life, and just life in general.

I had to go to work after the funeral and I figured I would be off early as it is a part time job and the shift started at 4. Wrong It was an east Indian cultural show, and it ran till almost mid night. The running idea was shot because I needed to be up early for a charity cycling event in the morning. I was really looking forward to riding with my dad since we dont really race together any more. I got back to my car only to find a $150 dollar parking ticket. It was a dumb mistake half my car was in a handicap space. I am going to go see if i can get it reduced because I was coming from a funeral and I was just not in a clear state of mind.
So I grabbed the ticket and got in the car and as I put my longboard in the back seat what to I see? How nice that the back passenger window has been smashed in to take my moms empty spare purse. By this point I dont even know what to do except say Fuuuuuck. So I drive home and get to bed hoping tomorrow will be a better day.

So far this morning my dad woke up in some kind of a shitty mood and left for the race without me. Honestly I really dont need to be treated that way. So I sat on the deck had coffee with my mom, and then headed out on a relaxed cycle of my own. Finally me my bike (which is running amazing) and the open road. There was also the added factor that I really didnt need to push it as MAO has told me to just take it easy for the next 2 weeks and then fire up again on the 26th for 12 weeks.

Needless to say I think I am due for a strain of good luck and hopefully some money to pay for all of this.

Sport:Bike
Duration: 1 hr 15 min
Distance: 42.3 km
Avg. hr: 145
Avg. speed: 33.8 km/h

Saturday, August 7, 2010

One more time

Well it has been a few days since I have exercised, it feels weird to have all this extra time. After finishing the race report I felt the need to email my coach and thank him for the program and get some advice on future plans. For the next 2 weeks I will be doing some unstructured training, then starting another 12 week session starting August 23rd.

During the heaviest parts of the training I felt so drained but now that its not there I feel lost. It was really the only thing that was stable in my life. Everything else was in constant flux, but I knew every morning that there was going to be training that needed to be done.

I have been using this extra time to finish other project such as my truck, and unpack and get re organized for the next bout of training. While I was in Calgary Kelcie bought me a few books on triathlon training and scheduling, and bike mechanics. Both are quite interesting. The triathlon training book I have found to be quite helpful. It bases on a lot of the topics I have studied in school and makes them specific to triathlon. I haven't fully bit into the mechanic book yet but next time I need to do some maintenance I am sure it will come in handy.

I have learned a lot this year about bike maintenance from working at the bike shop. I and I have taken apart and re built my bike a few times this year just because I am getting picker of the way it runs. But I guess its paying off because I had a great cycle in Calgary. The prairie kid was crushing hills even though there are non in sight here.

I think I am going to go for an easy run today and then I am doing a non-competitive century with my dad tomorrow. I am just going to go out and enjoy the ride. I will post a complete update tomorrow along with my unique bike I put together for the ride.

Happy training

Thursday, August 5, 2010

What a Day!

Well I was up at 3:30 before my alarm clock and I felt ready to race on Sunday August the 1st. I felt rested I felt strong, and my mind was calm. I was able to go to use the bathroom before we left the hotel which was good because the line ups are always terrible. Since this race has a point to point cycle the start was an hour away. The course also uses one of Calgary's more major roads so they were starting the heats at 6:00 to try an minimize traffic on the course. Needless to say it was an early morning.

When we arrived it was cold and raining (5AM), I was scared I didn't bring a jacket or something for the cycle. I talked to one of the pros they said they might use arm warmers. I tried to stay positive and remind myself it was very early in the morning and it will warm up.By the time I completed my last minute bike adjustments, I still needed to wait in the line and use the bathroom one more time.

By this time it was close to race time. The swim took place in the ghost lake reservoir which was 16C. Freezing. Kelcie and I walked away from the crowds of nervous triathletes and did a grounding exercise to keep calm. I also got her to bring warm water to dump it in my wet suit before the race. Which really seemed to help with the shock of the water.

Before I knew it it was time to get in the water. As we were paddling around waiting for the gun a guy came up to me and said "Hey your from Manitoba, I saw you in Morden" his name was Les Freisen hes a sub 5 guy really nice. He was telling me about how much he hates the swim, hes a hell of a runner though I saw him run in morden this year.

After our brief conversation the gun went off I started near the front and the crowd was not that bad no kicks to the head or anything. We actually spread out quite nicely. about 500m in it seemed as though I was swimming in a group of my own there was a group in front of me and the majority behind me. Eventually a few guys came up and I was able to suck into there hip pocket and get pulled up to the lead pack. As I rounded the corners I began to pass some of the people that started in the heats before me. Overall I just tried to stay relaxed, long and smooth on all my strokes. I popped out of the water and ran over to the wetsuit strippers. I found them useful for the way transition was set up. You had to be ready to ride before entering transition. So I ran over to my bag and put on all my gear. My only slip up was I forgot to put one sock on so I had to put a shoe on twice. No big deal. Some comedy in transition I saw some women that got naked. She was older it was gross. Get your mind outta the gutter. I guess she didn't think to swim with her cycle shorts on??? I had a laugh and from there it was time to hammer down.

For the whole cycle I would say quote Bryan Payne " I turned in to pac man" I was crushing people. Flats, up hills, down hills, everywhere I was non- stop passing people. I was surprised how many guys I passed in the 30-40 age range. I made a little self note that I was not passing many people in my age category. I figured most were hammering off already I was focused on my race and my race alone. I felt good and it was a beautiful course. I really enjoyed it, I was smiling a lot of the course. I think it kinda pisses people off when you hammer passed them and your smiling.

About half way through I couldn't feel my left arm I couldn't open my cliff bar I had to put it in my mouth wrapper and all and then spit out the wrapper. But after that it kinda warmed up.

There were two other semi significant moments on the cycle. One where a kid in my age cat did pass me. But not for long as i reeled him in and that was the last I saw of him. Another time on this hilly section this guy would pedal hard and pass me on the down hills but I would easily catch him on the flats and then drop him on the uphills. Once the course flattened out he was gone for good. I learnt in muskoka its not worth it to really hammer some of the steep hills. The weird thing was this guy had a power meter, you think he would have noticed he was wasting energy??

Anyways I got off the cycle with a PB of 2:37:49 and that was 58.7 miles cant blame them because they were going point to point. I started running I couldn't feel my feet. As the feeling came back I noticed my right foot was hurting I didn't know why. The more the feeling came back the weirder it felt until I realised I had run 10k with 2 power gels in my shoe. The first 10k I was strong I felt good the last 10k was mostly uphill so it was tougher. I felt good all the way until the last 3k for those I was was just running aid station to aid station fueled by flat coke. For the last k I just closed my eyes and bit in.

I have to say it was the most enjoyable one I have done so far. It is true that the faster you go the easier they are.

After I finished Kelcie had some interesting news. The car was over heating. Just when I thought I could relax. WRONG. Luckaly we stumbled across some guys working on a vehicle near by and they were handi enough to patch the rad to get back to the hotel. But by the time we got it back it was now leaking oil. WHAT DO I DO I NEED TO GET BACK FOR THE AWARDS!!!! at this point I still didnt know where I finished. So we hopped in a cab I was devisated I though I missed my clearwater spot. When the cab got there I ran to the stage and asked if they had done my age cat yet. It was that moment when I realized I finised 2nd! And I GOT A CLEARWATER SPOT!!! I jumped in the air and almost cried. I had gone from being so depressed about the car to happier then I have ever been. All my hard work paid off.

After I paid up we got back the the hotel. Relax right?? Wrong. The car needed to be towed to a honda dealer and we had to book flights home. The morning was spent shipping our excess stuff on a greyhound bus and getting to the airport. Talk about a stressful trip. But we are home now safe and sound, and with A clearwater spot!!!!

Total Swim Bike(58.7miles)(run)
05:01:50 592 Sohor, Davis WINNIPEG MB CAN 33:48 2:37:49 1:44:11