IronHead

The end?

2010-09-25T11:34:00.001-07:00

Recently I saw an article claiming that 90% of people who try triathlon become "hooked for life". That article is here.

On the surface that seems to make some sense. After all even a sprint tri, the shortest distance requires something between one and two hours of continual exertion. This is not baseball or hockey, where the action is intermittent, broken up by longer rest periods. And, this is the kind of sport that would seem to attract those with "extreme" personalities -the over-determined, goal-oriented, personalities.

Having said all that, I just recently talked to one of my long-time tri buddies who is announcing his retirement. It's been pretty clear from his emails and communications this year that he's got a massive case of burnout. He's married-with-no-kids in an age group just above mine and he has basically dedicated his life to this sport. In his six-year career he's acquired three bikes, a CompuTrainer and has turned himself into something of an authority on swimming and bike training. He has three Ironmans on his resume, multiple halfs and Olympics and at the half-iron distance he's regularly within ten minutes of the four-hour mark. To put it simply, he's an absolute monster on the race course. Now that hasn't come without issues. He readily admits to gastrointestinal issues at the Iron and more recently the half-iron distance. I always figured him for a guy who, once he got the nutrition dialed in, would be an absolute lock for a Kona slot whenever he decided he wanted one.

And now, it looks like all that is on hiatus. In his last communication to me he says he "just doesn't have the interest anymore".

I got started in this sport about six years ago, around the same time as my buddy, although I didn't know him then. I meandered my way through short races and half- and full marathons, including of course IronMan Lake Placid three years ago and IM Canada this year (no really, look at my race times - I really just meandered). I've gone through multiple IT band incidents and other incidents. I bordered on some GI issues at IMC this year, going through a spell of dizziness on the run that resulted in a 10-15 minute walking spell to clear that up. I also spent most of the first half of the marathon asking myself, "okay, should I just force myself to throw up or not?" It was about that severe.

I've had days (sometimes weeks) when training becomes work, when it's a chore to get to the pool in the morning. Sometimes it's too much of a chore to be bothered, and that day slot on the training log gets left blank.

But I'm still here. Going into IMC this year, my hope was to just finish uninjured. The base work just hadn't been there this year. I didn't think I had "respected the distance". After finishing I'm almost 100% certain I'll do the distance again. Certainly not next year - I don't think I'll ever ask Team Ironhead to support an Ironman-per-year habit. But, there will be at least one, and probably a few more.

Why? I don't know the answer. I know that my support crew is awesome. I know they support this on race day, even though they roll their eyes at me throughout the training season. I know my bud has an excellent support crew as well. Pancakes and smoothies are not uncommon after long race days. I think part of the difference is balance. This is not the only thing I do - the kids and their stuff see to that, as well as do my other actiivities - you know, the whole "earning a living" thing. I also think that perhaps I'm a little more relaxed on the course than my pal - he goes full out from the gun, while at the longer distances I'm just keeping it under control.

Maybe he needs to gear down on the course. Maybe a race or two without a stopwatch, or split times would help reset the compass. I don't know. I just hope the dude comes back. I don't know if I'm expecting him next season, but I know that season is still a long way away.

Come on back, D. Whenever you're ready. You know you want to.

Peace.

Back in the saddle...er, shoes again

2010-09-19T10:52:00.000-07:00

Well, today was the first day of the end of the off-season. I slacked off big-time after Ironman Canada, and today was the first tippy-toe, dip the running shoe back into the asphalt-and-trails in a long time.

I went out for a 10k run, on a nice sunny day with just the perfect hint of a breeze. Now I've got just the slightest hint of the "good pain" going on. Don't have a plan, don't have a goal or even an objective right now. Just getting back out the door with the objective of just getting out the door. I haven't even put the pedals back on my bike after retrieving it from its shipment.

Well, there was one other thing. I booked the appointment for the IMC tattoo today. I went out expecting to have to wait a month or thereabouts. Not so - I have an appointment for Wednesday evening this week. Pictures to follow.

Peace.

Ironman Canada -race report deluxe

2010-09-05T19:17:00.000-07:00

You expect a lot of things a week after an Ironman. You expect to still be hurting somewhere. You expect to not want to see Gatorade, Clif Bars or anything similar for quite some time. You expect to be very happy to not be sitting on your bike saddle, and you expect to not be thinking about exercise for quite some time.

I didn't expect that not many of these statements would be true (figure out that sentence).

I went into the start at Penticton with extremely modest rules for myself:

1. You must expect to get kicked in the face on the swim, probably several times.

2. You must stay relaxed in the water - don't burn out in the first hour of the race.

3. You must keep the heart rate low on the bike and the wattage in the area of 200 - 220 watts.

4. You MUST NOT CHASE THE BREAKAWAY.

5. You must have no expectations for the run.

One week later, I've gone back and looked at this year's Ironman vs. the 2007 Ironman Lake Placid splits. Further proof that I just don't seem to understand this sport.

In 2007 I was in awe of this sport. Perhaps more accurately, I had a healthy respect for the distance and what it could do to someone if they went in unprepared. I was fully trained, had joined a masters swimming group, rode my bike to work, often got up (okay, occasionally got up) at 4 a.m. to ride long, and hardly ever missed a workout.

This year, with the employment fluctuations I was very well-trained, up to about the beginning of July when the new job started. Longest swim was 3600m, not continuous and not in open water. Longest ride was 5.25 hours for ~155 km. Longest run was 24km. I expected to go into this year and have the course hand me my bike shorts for lunch.

A split comparison:

2007 swim: 1:15:34

2010 swim: 1:14:34

I can't explain this. I must have drafted somebody somewhere, but I don't remember consciously doing it and I was never really that close to another set of feet to do so.

2007 bike: 6:12:01

2010 bike: 6:06:57

Admittedly the bike courses are different, and I rode a different bike but Lake Placid doesn't have anything that compares to Richter Pass or Yellow Lake, and that includes a one-minute stop to chow down the Pringles in my special needs bag at 120km.

2007 transitions: T1 7:16, T2 5:51

2010 transitions: T1 6:08, T2 5:23

Even here, I wasn't rushed. I moved with purpose, calmly. I sat down to catch my breath and to get slathered up in sunscreen.

2007 run: 4:28:43

2010 run: 4:51:09

Okay, here's where the difference was. I didn't have the run base, and I don't think I had the nutrition completely figured out either. I was dizzy and nauseous through the first half of the marathon, but around the half-way point all that had just about disappeared. I was taking in everything salty at the aid stations (coke, chicken soup and pretzels) and that seemed to do the trick.

Overall 2010: 12:24:08 (1150 overall, 183/328 in age group)

Overall 2007: 12:09:23 (616 overall, 143/415 in age group)

With any run base I could have broken 12 hr.

All that by the way, is not enough to convince my wife for a "do-over" to come back to Penticton next year, even though the race is still open for registration on-line.

A few shout-outs: to the house crew: Warren, Ellen and her mom and the Moogs. And to the world's greatest Ironcrew, Team Ironhead who once again hung out all day waiting for daddy to finish his foolishness. They are the best crew, and without them I wouldn't be able to do any of this crazy stuff.

PS. A 5/8" wrench in your carry-on at the airport is good for "special" conversation, good for inspection and good for getting to know the security crew. Not good for the people lined up behind you, as they'll be lined up for quite awhile as your bag is exhumed for inspection.

Peace.

Ironman Canada race report lite

2010-09-02T19:24:00.000-07:00

Real report to follow:

12:24:08 - given the absence of structured training, not bad. Sometimes I really wonder what I could do in this sport if I had the time and discipline to stick to it.

Full report to follow.

Cheers.

3rd annual Alton Half

2010-02-01T18:08:00.000-08:00

From humble beginnings the Alton Half has rolled on, now through it's third anniversary. The Half has endured through snowstorms, windstorms, last-minute flu/illness that moved it to a temporary site in Caledon. This year's enrollment was up 67% over last year's, showing remarkable growth for a third-year enterprise. Time to issue the IPO!

This year the half returned to its original home base in Alton, home of hills, hills and more hills. The morning started in the pool at 7 a.m. in two separate groups - Darren, and everybody else. After watching him churn up the water, nobody wanted to get in the same lane with Darren for fear of being swamped. The rest of us - Larry and I - set up in a vacant lane and went about our longish set - 5 x 400's on 20-30s rest. Little did we realize that we had moved into what later became the "breast stroke and floaties" lane. We were requested to move by the kindly guard. In the second lane it quickly became apparent that we were the only ones who knew how to signal lane changes in the pool, necessitating another quick lane change. Three different lanes to finish what ended up being a brisk 2100m.

After the swim we headed up the road to Alton base camp. On the way the snow began to fall, a harbinger of the run yet to come. The group grew to five at base camp with Geoff and Daryl joining in. All five racked up and rolled out for 2 - 2.5 hr of spinning/mashing in the basement. Fueled by gatorade, trail mix, raspberry chewy cookies, gels, pretzels and lots of water the ride passed uneventfully.

On to the run. The course really needs no description. Three laps of a 7 km course with 100 m elevation increase in the first 1.5 km definitely gets the blood flowing, and early. For interest's sake the route is linked here. Making the turn at the 2k mark takes runners into the teeth of the wind. The earlier harbinger of snow turned into horizontal flakes at this point. Running three laps called into question the very sanity of the participants only three of whom finished the trifecta. In keeping with the belief that no matter how dumb/determined/dedicated you are, there is someone else out there who's worse we saw a dude balaclava'd up mountain biking up the road as we made the turn on the third lap.

Returning to base camp we were greeted by hot showers, smoothies, pancakes, bacon, sausage, oranges and possibly the best muffins to ever pass through Alton.

Once again, cheers to the Alton Base camp crew - Sally rocks! To Daryl, Larry and Geoff who gutted it out with the rest of us. To Darren for setting this up one more time. And to Team Ironhead, who turned me loose for the day to participate in the madness without the slightest complaint. Awesome!

Peace.

ps. 210 days to go.

Day 7

2010-01-08T10:53:00.000-08:00

The new work schedule is not really helping the training schedule at all. It's a constant juggle to keep up some semblance of training while jumping back and forth between day and night shifts. This will be the last training post for a few days as I get ready to go in on night shift over the weekend.

Wednesday: good run, 4 X 1 mile - repeats at 6:30/mile.

Thursday - long swim, 7 X 500m with rest enough to keep the form good. Could barely lift my arms at the end of that mashfest.

Friday - planned to swim again this morning, but barely got in 1500m before I could hardly move - I guess the long day yesterday took more out of today's early season arms than I thought. Also doubled up this afternoon - 90 min spin, with 2-3 5 minute sessions in 53x12 gear standing. Good leg burn, although I'm not sure how wise this was right before a 12-hour shift.

233 days to go.

Peace.

Another new/old year to begin

2009-12-31T13:47:00.000-08:00

On the verge of starting another year (and another decade). This will be another Ironyear, the second. It's always a little daunting to realize the workload required to complete that task, and to hopefully complete it without injury and as before, "upright and smiling". That was the goal for Lake Placid in 2007 and that'll be the goal for Canada in 2010. We'll be shying away from putting any time goals out in public for quite some time.

The rest of the 2010 schedule will follow in some time, but I'd say that's the grand-daddy, wouldn't you?

I'll also be looking for training partners. If anyone's looking for a little extra motivation to get out for the runs/rides in the not-so-perfect weather, let me know and I'd be happy to do the same for someone.

Day one really started today: got in a good ride this morning, even on the trainer in the basement. Hey, it is Canada after all.

240 days to go. Happy New Year to all.

Peace.

Good times

2009-12-25T14:43:00.000-08:00

It's always been a bit of a challenge to get some training in over the holidays, especially on this day, Xmas day, where the sworn goal (after remaining conscious when the kids wake everybody up at 5:30 a.m.) is to remain in my pajamas all day. However, after persevering through those challenges I managed to get in a good 90-minute spin today the day after a solid two-hour run. Nice, very nice. The run was outside and the ride was inside (it's raining today - poo!) but otherwise good. Now all I need is for the pools to open up again and to get back into that routine. Less than six weeks to the Alton Half, and 247 days to IMC. It's time to think about it being time to get going.

Peace - and happy holidays to you all.

Uno, dos, tres

2009-12-11T11:46:00.000-08:00

Three days in a row. I can't even remember the last time I hit the pool three days in a row, but today marked the third day in a row in the water. Team Ironhead is starting to complain that I smell like chlorine all the time. The hardest part is actually getting to the pool. Oh, that and keeping myself afloat, as I swim like a rock. But it's baby steps, or is that baby strokes back to the Ironswim. Too bad that I can't make it out to the swimdorks show this weekend. I'm sure Darren and those dudes are going to rock the pentathlon.

Getting ready, though. No date has been announced but I'm sure the planning committee is kicking around dates for the third annual Alton Half. Can't be any more than 6-8 weeks away. After that I'm in for revenge on the Chilly Half, and possibly ATB this year.

Followed up today's solid swim with a 90 minute ride in the basement on the trainer.

Good day - a good day all around. Happy birthday, Ironbella!

Peace.

August 29, 2010

2009-12-01T16:44:00.000-08:00

...is next year's target date. If all goes well, and even if it doesn't I'll be treading water at the start line of Ironman Canada, where it all started (continentally speaking, of course). This will be the second iron distance race of my life.

Right now I'm easing my way into building the base. A longish easy run yesterday, a long swim today followed hopefully by an easy December spin tonight. A little too much to start, you might say? Well, here's the thing. For the next three months I'm on assignment at work on the continental shift (yet another use for that word). This week is the "two working days" week so I'm piling it on a bit. Next week will be made up of five twelve-hour work days, leaving very little time for training. This is going to be a bit of a funky training cycle.

Anyway, I'm looking for training partners in the GTA or so. Targeting IMC would be ideal although Louisville, Lake Placid or Wisconsin would work as well. Drop me a comment with a reply address and hopefully we can set something up.

Peace.

Back in the saddle again

2009-11-30T09:59:00.001-08:00

Well, it's been a while, but I'm back in the saddle again. I took some (unscheduled) time off after limping through a rather disappointing half-iron in Muskoka this year. Two months of physio to repair the damage as a result of taking on the distance when significantly undertrained to do so. Live and learn.

Now, it's time to start up the base build again. Went out this morning for an easy 90-minute run and put in just over 19km. Just building the base back up. It's time to start laying the foundation for next year's big enchilada - Ironman Canada in August. Woo-hoo!

More to come.

Peace.

Muskoka 70.3, the second time.

2009-09-20T18:11:00.000-07:00

This is a little late in coming out, partly because I've been busy and partly because I didn't really want to relive the results.

I took a beating. The course absolutely beat me up in all three phases of the race. That's what happens when you're seriously undertrained and you try to fake your way through a very, very tough course.

Swim - 41:03. Terrible, and the strange thing was, it didn't really feel that bad. I had some sense that it was slow and seemed to be taking a while, but I was surprised by this. Again, this is what happens when one is underprepared.

Bike - 2:59:18. Again, just couldn't get it going - didn't have the strength or the endurance to put up a better showing. I also had my left IT band start to complain mid-way through the bike and I had to carefully make my way through. It did subside though and I thought I was through the bad stuff. Big mistake.

Run - 2:07:06. And herein it all fell apart. At the 4k mark on the run my left calf seized up - the end result of the whole ITB thing. I tried to massage it and stretch it and nurse it carefully but I basically couldn't run uphill without stabbing pain. If you're familiar with the course, you might understand that this would be a big problem. I spent the rest of the afternoon stopping to stretch and massage the knot in my calf every 10-15 minutes and walking up all the hills.

Overall, 5:53:54, a very disappointing time, but I have nobody to blame for this but myself. I want revenge on this course but this is where it gets a little tricky. I managed to get myself entered in IM Canada for next summer (online!) and these two are two weeks apart. This will need some serious thought over the off-season.

Now, the off-season. Actually, I went for a nice easy spin through the countryside today which was okay. Only two hours, but that felt about right. No aches or pains and hopefully in a couple more weeks all the rest of the aches and pains from M70.3 and the physio resulting from it will be over.

Peace.

Epic camping weekend!

2009-07-19T19:07:00.001-07:00

Fish. Rain. Hail. Rain. Frogs. More rain. Canoes. And yet more rain.

If I told you that you could go camping with your friends, their wives and kids numbering twenty-four in all, and you'd have to drive over four hours to get there including an hour deep into Algonquin Park, AND it would rain every day AND you'd go fishing for your kids, who would throw one line in the water then give it all up to catch frogs, how'd you like to take that trip?

Epic. Camping. Weekend.

We didn't see anything exciting like this - at least not while we were there. I was told however that the early arrivers (night before) did have one trample through the campsite "next door". That seems to really be the "wildlife" spot, and not in a "go clubbing until 2 a.m." wildlife spot. Last year we were informed that the rangers had set up a bear trap on that very spot in hopes of catching and moving a pesky black bear. The bear never returned, but apparently Junior the Moose came back to say hello this year again.

I had plans for some open-water swimming and a trail run while up in the park. The rain and the temperature scotched those plans - it rained steadily, including hailstones (!!) on the first day and was eight degrees C (47F) when I woke up the next day. Couldn't convince anyone to canoe out and "ride shotgun" on the lake in the rain. Made for a great euchre tournament, however.

Fishing is not really my thing but I did catch the only thing anyone caught - a clam! I've never heard of anyone hooking a clam before.

All in all, not exactly the weekend you would draw up in the planning stage, but memorable nonetheless.

Peace.

Peterborough race report '09....

2009-07-10T08:55:00.001-07:00

Or, some things you just can't explain.

I can't explain this result. Rather than breaking it down by sport I'll just throw it down on the board and try to figure it out afterward.

Total - 4:56:05, 81st overall (of 459)

Swim 36:36 (35/63 ag) @ 1:50/100m

Bike 2:36:00 (20/63 ag) @ 32.7 km/h

Run 1:40:35 (18/63 ag) @ 4:47 km/h

I really have no explanation for this time. I understood at the start that the run course was going to be officially shorter than 90km due to roadwork (THAT wasn't in the pre-race newsletter!) but a reputable source of mine had it on his computer at 88km, so it wasn't that much shorter - "official" race distance listed it at 85 km.

Due to the training I had put in before this day (that is to say, not much) I really thought I'd be well over 5:30, in the area of the 5:45 range. My only goal was to keep it reined in and to get through the day alive. I think keeping the power output controlled on the day was a big factor - I didn't try to gun it at any time, just kept it even and consistent. The temperature on the day was also cool and the mega wind that was threatened never really materialized.

Not sure what I was doing licking the fingers?

I knew something was up after the first lap of the swim - PBO is two 1km laps - when I came out of the water in 17:37. I was shooting for a 20-minute 1km and had "seeded" myself in that pack. I remember thinking that time was ridiculous and also that I felt great - relaxed, not over-exerted or anything. Coming out of the water 2-3 minutes ahead of where I thought I would be was to be an omen for the rest of the day.

Heading out, almost missed the cameras...went by too soon!

The bike course, with the exception of one monster 3km climb at the 28km mark (and really, who needs that partway through the day?!?) actually seemed easier to me than the original course. The traditional course had a lot more rolling sections that really interrupted the overall flow. Also I'm sure that keeping the climbs under control and spinning up the hills rather than mashing had a lot to do with it this year. I also managed to finish the ride with dropping my chain like a moron or launching any bottles.

I did learn a couple of things on the run. #1 - the race, that is to say the work, really starts at 16km on the run. At that point I was trying to keep moving, and to stop thinking about the second thing I learned, which was: #2 - I can run about 16km sockless with no problems. After that I have one blister per km to prove that I still need to work on that, and that I'll never be running a sockless marathon.

A big shout-out to my peeps: Tyler, Darren, Cliff, Francisco and Stephen, who also kicked it at PBO on Sunday and again to Francisco who's heading on to Lake Placid in less than two weeks.

After the race Team Ironhead went directly into vacation mode, driving four hours from PBO to the beach house for a well-deserved va-cay. Once again, thanks to the team, who made the day possible. Oi!

Peace.

Guelph Lake race report - life lessons

2009-06-21T18:51:00.000-07:00

Did you ever have a day when you felt like Ben Stiller? Not the dorky one in Meet the Fockers, or the mildly androgynous one in Zoolander. Thank the lord, definitely not the "franks and beans" Ben Stiller in There's something about Mary.

No, I mean the security guard in A Night at the Museum, the one referred to as "Dum-Dum". That more or less describes how my day went at Guelph Lake this weekend, but let's get on to the race report.

The day opened cold and raining. It wasn't very cold, and the rain was intermittent, but it was definitely enough to affect your thinking on the bike course. It was essential to slow down on the turns and the corners to stay vertical and keep the rubber on the road. I didn't have any big plans for the day. I wanted to pay specific attention to my transitions to try and get some free time back there.

Swim - 750m - 15:40 (2:06/100m)
The first clue here should be this - 14th in age group and 90th overall at that snail-like pace. The sprint was on Saturday - the "headliner", the Olympic distance was on Sunday. And I was out of the water in 14 minutes flat - still not fast but better than 15:40 - the difference is in running up the hill and all the way around the transition area to the timing mat at the back (?!) but a 1:19 in T1 is not bad at all, for me.

Bike - 20km - 33:52 (33.7 km/hr) 6th ag, 29th overall
Here's where the weather definitely slowed this race down. First of all Guelph Lake is a short course with a switchback out of the park and a bike course that is a three-sided square after that. With all the cornering in that weather the times really drop as taking a corner too fast can result in a nasty spill. I know - I saw one, and was very nearly involved in it. The guy in front of me slowed down (I thought appropriately) at the 10k turnaround and went horizontal. Now, you'd be thinking a scuffed leg and maybe a forearm, but it wasn't just that. He shredded his back all the way across both shoulders. I know this because he rode mad after that and we leap-frogged each other most of the way back to T2, until he dropped me when I made noob mistake #2 - shifting to the small chainring on an uphill. Drop goes the chain, costing me probably a minute of chain repair and ramp back up time. Didn't help at all that I had to restart on an uphill. 0:46 in T2, though. I will definitely take that.

Run - 21:12 (4:15/km) 5th in ag, 24th overall.
Again with most of the big guns holding out for the better weather on Sunday this wasn't bad. I got out on the run, felt good and proceeded to pick people off including Mr. Road Rash (#37 Andrew Appleton, whose hand I shook afterward for gutting it out). Here's where noob mistake #1, the key mistake of the day bit me in the butt. I got passed by exactly one guy on the run at about the 4k mark. I decided to let him go. After all, I had plenty of time to reel him in. I was feeling good and I had another 3.5km to go get him, only here's the thing. I didn't have another 3.5km. I had one more km. The run course was 5km. I had some thought that this was a 7.5km run, or at least that I had to hold something back. I do remember running this course one year where the run used to pass transition and the finishing chute going the other way, then loop around another little footpath down in the valley. That year I came up the hill going full guns, then saw the run kept on going. That year I blew up early, so deep down my memory didn't want to let me do that again. So when this guy went by, I let him go - he happened to be the guy who finished 5th in my age group, a scant 20 seconds ahead. Hence, dum-dum.

Final: 1:12:46, 6/44 ag, 24th overall - missed the podium by 20 seconds.

I had no vision of making a podium beforehand so no worries there. And the transition times look much better so at least that's progress. Due to the couple of noob mistakes, I probably left 60-90 seconds out on the course.

Here's the worrying part: there's this nagging little problem in my right calf. It started a couple weeks ago running hills in Neyagawa (I blame Tyler for this :) ). I thought it had quieted down, but it came back with a vengeance on the weekend, to the point where a flight of stairs was an adventure. It's better today, but I think I'm going to have to go get it checked out. Peterborough is two weeks away and I'm not looking to set any records, least of all a "personal worst".

PS. I still love this game. Even in the rain, cold and mud there's something about hanging around transition, or the finish line and watching the long-timers and first-timers come rolling in- soaked to the skin, covered in mud (or blood) but grinning from ear to ear and their cheering sections go nuts. Just something about that.

Peace.

Wouldn't you rather...

2009-06-13T15:21:00.000-07:00

This weekend is/was the world famous Muskoka Chase. It's a long-course triathlon where the hook is that the pros race each other, women vs. men. The women get a head-start, based on the winning times from last year. If the women win, the head start gets shorter - if the men win, longer.

It's a short drive up the road from here and it's always also attended by an enormous number of "regular folk" age-groupers hoping for qualifying spots for an Ironman, this year Ironman Canada.

I've always wanted to do the Chase, also known as the long course - 2km swim, 55 km bike, 15 km run.

This weekend was way more fun. I got to pull out the old dishwasher and install a new one. Didn't flood the kitchen or anything.

Now tell me, who had more fun today? Huh? Huh?

Milton Tri

2009-06-01T18:55:00.000-07:00

I love this game.

This race has always been the sign that the season is "open for business" for me. The fact that this year is the first time I've managed to do it just speaks to my own organization level at this time of year. Milton is always the trigger after which I say, "oh yeah, I better get to signing up for a few races". This year I got there on time.

Chapter 1: the weather

Holy crap, was it cold. Race time temperature was 8 degrees Celsius (47 degrees F, for you southerners), and there was probably a 10-15 km/h wind blowing in off the lake. One of the few races I've been to where it was warmer to get in the water rather than stand around on land waiting for the horn to go off. I had a new wetsuit to try out this year and it got top marks - I may just have to buy it after all. The real downside to the weather was the effect it had on my T1 time (2:42 - ugh!) One of my goals going in was to focus on my transition, which have always been rather, um, leisurely. That T1 time in better weather could have been half that - I had to stop to put on a second top layer and gloves.

Chapter 2: Bloodfoot the swim - (750m) -15:22 - 2:03/100m, 32 in ag, 195th overall.

Look, the swim is what it is. I've been at about that pace (1:52 - 2:00/100m) for five years. I haven't really put a lot of focus on it, so it hasn't changed. I'll take it for what it is right now. I will say that I've never had another swim where I've come out of the water with a bleeding toe. I didn't step on glass or anything like that. I must have stubbed my toe on a rock getting out and the cold just numbed my foot so much that I didn't feel it. Really, I didn't feel it at all. I saw it getting out of the water and felt it later as a squish in the shoe on the run.

Chapter 3: Bike (bottle rockets the sequel) - 30km - 54:35, 33.0 km/h, 20th in ag, 90th overall

On this course, with the training I've put in, I was pretty pleased with that time. I did make an effort to rein it in going up "the Monster" in order to keep something in the tank for the rest of the course and I think that paid off. Of course the 15 km/h tailwind also helped on the second half of the bike. Of course on a flat, bump-free section of the ride where I wasn't passing anyone or changing gears, I launched YET ANOTHER BOTTLE!!! xlab is CRAPOLA!!! I'm throwing that piece o' junk out the window - that's it, it's over the wedding's off.

T2 0:56 (much better, but could still use some work).

Chapter 4: the Run - 32:22, 4:19/km pace (10th in ag, 68th overall)

The run course covers paths through the park (Kelso Glen) then up Appleby to Halton Falls where it winds through trees and over mountain bike paths - NO CARS! What an awesome run course. I didn't know where I was in the season so I held it in until about the 4k mark and then decided to crank it up. A great course - definitely forces you to pay attention to where you're stepping.

Overall results

1:45:44 - 17/79 in a.g., 87th overall.

I must say I'll take it. I didn't really have a solid goal going in but I thought 1:45 was realistic. I gave all that away in transitions.

And even with the squishy bloodfoot, I've still got the happy feet.

Epilogue: circle of (tri)life

It just so happens that one of my old university roommates pulled off his first tri in the try-a-tri at Milton this weekend. I saw him go off and come back in on the swim and I cheered him on.

This is the guy who used to come downstairs in his ratty blue bathrobe, pour a bowl of cheerios and watch CNN coverage of Operation Desert Storm while the rest of us went to class, labs et al. (well actually, none of the rest of those dudes went to labs - I was the only one). Twelve years later he ran a half-marathon for one of our friends who was suffering from (and later succumbed to) leukemia. At the time I figured, "look if he can run a half-marathon, so can I!" I decided to go him one step better and the next fall, I ran my first marathon, the 2004 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront. I also broke my tri virginity that summer. So, in a neat little circle of life turnaround the student (me) became the grizzled veteran teacher this weekend to my buddy Richard A., who has joined the tri circle of weirdos. Welcome, Stash!

Post script: to top off the whole weekend, my son went to his first ever rep baseball tryouts. Although his batting was "average" (in part because his father the assistant coach was pitching to him) his defence and throwing arm, in the words of the other coaches were "outstanding". He's made his first-ever rep team!

Peace.

Barefoot running

2009-05-24T16:36:00.000-07:00

I've been reading Born to Run.

It's really interesting, about the Tarahumara Indians living in the Copper Canyons of Mexico and how they are arguably the greatest distance running culture in the world. Anyway, to make a long story short there's a section in the book that extolls the virtues of barefoot running, listing it as the magic bullet that will solve all running-related injuries, make you faster, make you taller and grow your hair back if it has left for greener pastures - okay so the last item is not completely true but all the rest is there.

This morning was my long run and I decided to build in a segment of barefoot running, just to try it. I figured I'd throw in 2k on a nearby highschool track, after finishing 18-20k or so and just before heading for home.

IT HURTS!

Running barefoot is not easy if you've spent your whole life in big, heavy, clonky "motion-control" thumper shoes. It takes some time to build up the outer sole toughness to be able to run barefoot. I managed to get in 2k (but not without slowing down a bit by the end) and my feet are still "crackly" at the end of the day. I also feel some muscle pain in the arch. Logically this is where the benefits are supposed to be felt. After all if the arch of the foot is fully supported every time you run then that muscle doesn't get worked at all. With no shoes the foot muscles have to do all the work. In the long run (no pun intended) this is supposed to strengthen the foot, improve form, economy and posture, eliminate all those pesky runner's injuries (ITB, PFS, etc.) As well, the elimination of injuries and their associated downtime and the improved form is supposed to make the runner FASTER, which is the ultimate goal.

What they don't do, is make your feet any prettier, and mine were bad enough to begin with. There will be no pictures posted of feet here, but I think I'm going to keep giving this a try. We'll see what comes of this.

Six days to Milton - opening of the season!

Peace.

Open water swimming

2009-05-10T16:29:00.001-07:00

Read this in jono's blog the other day and it got me interested in some open water swimming. I just might give this a go on one weekend this summer. This is interesting to me, since the swim is the leg of the race that I find the hardest to get out and train for and the most work on race day. I used to be a semi-competitive swimmer, but perhaps the fifteen years' downtime in between events caused me to lose the edge somewhat? Nonetheless, it is not like riding a bike (well, duh). I found a few open water event listings for this summer. I'm giving this some thought, and considering working it into the schedule.

And two last shout-outs to my man Cliff who blazed the Mississauga half today in a PB 1:38 - woot! And to my other sometime training partner Darren, who I guess has put a little more work into his run since the Chilly - double woot!

Welland - under the four bridges

Buckhorn

Other open water swims

Peace.

Bottle rockets and speeding tickets

2009-05-03T18:17:00.000-07:00

What a beauty of a day. Warm, sunny and permission slip signed to go off on a monster ride. Turned out to be the first 100+ km ride of the year (111 to be exact) with only one "where the frig am I?" moment.

So bottle rockets? Yep, I'm seriously peed at this (maintaining the PG rating here). I launched my bottles three separate times today. Twice I heard them - the third I was stopped at a traffic light where I was saved by a guy in a truck who informed me one was gone.

Three? Seriously? I need a new method here. It's tough to stay aero when you're constantly reaching back to make sure your bottles are still there, to say nothing of drinking from bottles that drop and roll through the muddy brown shmuck on the back country roads still defrosting from the frozen winter just ended.

I also got in some excellent climbs today - the escarpment is great for that, no matter what part of it you're on. Up Main/Wilson into Ancaster is a beaut - 10-12 minute climb, helped out today by "the unknown roadie" who happened out of a side street and proceeded to pull me all the way up the hill. I meant to take a turn, but he just kept on going and going and going. Going down the same street is way better - under 5 minutes.

Lastly, since my wife occasionally reads this, we won't talk about the adventure with the black pick-up truck and apparently no turn signal whatsoever in Waterdown. Jack@$$.

Peace.

After 30-plus years of dysfunctionality...

2009-04-29T18:14:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was a mini-family reunion, and it was actually, surprisingly very enjoyable. It's not always automatically the case when talking about family events, but seeing so many of the cousins, and now their generation of kids was a great time. I saw cousin Jamie, who I believe was seven years old last time I saw her and looked like a seven-year old boy. Now, she's a very pretty nineteen year old young woman (?!?). I can't say these things to her face - she'll just plick my ear again (after forty-five or fifty ear plicks, it starts to hurt a little).

I saw cousin Vanessa (Jamie's sister) who was patient enough to let my two-year old nephew Cameron roam around the house taking pictures with her digital camera. She ended up with over seven hundred pictures in one day. I bet at least six hundred and eighty of them are of knees, butts, ankles, coffee tables and Cameron's thumb (hey he's two after all).

I saw Kelly and Kerry and all the rest of their kids, and Jenn and Pam and Trevor, and my brother and sister and all the rest.

The stinkeye goes out to the cousins who didn't make it, even those with four daughters. Yes, you know who you are.

Not so much training info in this post. This weekend was more about mental health training. Everything is now A-okay on that.

More training info tomorrow, after I finish my taxes. Yes, it's that time of year - BOHICA.

Peace

Once again....

2009-04-20T18:40:00.000-07:00

I didn't win the lottery. No Kona for me this year.

I mean, come on, how could my tear-jerking, made-for-NBC-and-Al-Trautwig-story have been any better? Okay, so granted I'm not recovering from any terminal disease (that I know of). I haven't fought in any wars, foreign or otherwise. I have all my original limbs and appendages. All my direct family members are still alive, and I'm not going to push any of them in a float/jogging stroller/tandem bike or anything like that. I've never been a famous professional athlete in any other sport.

Sheesh, is it too much to ask for one little birthday present?

Guess so. I guess now I'll just have to work for it like any other whacko in this sport. Oh well, by the time it rolls around to land on my birthdate again, I might just......

....yeah, sure. Never mind.

Peace.

The humble inner tube, or getting tied up

2009-04-16T16:26:00.000-07:00

So I've finally managed to get back into the pool semi-regularly. That statement may not on the surface have anything to do with the title of this post, but it does. I have learned of a use for the pile of flat inner tubes in my garage. They are great swimming aids, if cut to the right length. A 1-to-2 foot length, tied in a loop and looped around the ankles is a great support for pull sets.

This is not new. I've read this advice before, and I'm sure others have as well, but until you try it you have no idea how much of a difference this makes in swimming. Before this, I am ashamed to say, I was a cheater!!! I must have been. It's the only explanation for the sudden lack of flotation in my, ahem, posterior. Cheater! Cheater! Cheater! Now, no more. I must pull harder to keep the junk in the trunk near the surface.

Getting back to the actual cycling role for the inner tube, check out the seven deadly spins. Another beauty brought to you by your friendly neighborhood Chuckie. These look like beauties. They'll be getting worked into my schedule.

Now, back to the pool.

Peace.

Return

2009-04-14T18:49:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been some time since I last posted anything. The tri scene has been a little scrambly, but I'm happy to report the plans for the year have more or less been ironed out. Of course, there's always room for a little tweaking here and there, but the end goal for the seasons is the Canadian Iron in September. Now of course you may recall that I had entered the lottery for IM Hawaii. I do believe the draw is this week. Realistically, I'm not holding my breath so Ottawa it is. Between now and then there'll be Peterborough for the half and probably a few sprints or Olympic sprinkled in. The newest job seems to have settled down (somewhat) although just by saying that I'm sure I've jinxed it.

More news? In the meantime I've joined the Fighting Koalas Tri team. This should make for a slightly different year in terms of training and race day so we'll see.

Not much else to say right now, even with all the time passed since last we posted. Delays, yes, but look on the bright side. It's not Chinese Democracy-like delays.

Peace.

Hmph

2009-03-01T17:52:00.000-08:00

before

Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

-George Santayana

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

-Albert Einstein

Well, here's the good news. It wasn't as cold today as predicted, and although the wind did threaten once or twice it really wasn't as big as deal as it could have been. As for the rest of the day, let's get the facts out of the way early.

1:30:14 (chip time) - one minute slower than last year, and it was an ugly minute too. Look 1:30 is not a bad time - it probably stung as much to get passed in the finish chute by one of my Sunday morning running duo dudes, who had cleverly camouflaged himself in a different coat - I didn't realize he had gone by until I heard the announcer call his name. So, not a really, really bad time. Just not what I had hoped for. I'm going to guess that going out too hard probably cost me 1.5 - 2 minutes down the backstretch, where I was trying to hold it all together.

What happened? Easy to diagnose, in retrospect. Pacing, pacing, pacing and training training training. Number 1: pacing is killer and if you go out too hard it will be killer. After saying at the start the last thing we wanted to do was to go out on an 18 minute 5K start and torch out early where were we (the "we" being myself and Darren)? 3:46, 3:59, 3:54, 4:03 and 4:01 for a sub-20 minute first 5K.

Lesson #1: you must train at race pace, at least some of the time. Or, put another way, you can't race at a faster-than-training pace and expect to hold it over a long distance. You'd think I would have gotten this message before. Oh well, better to get it out of the way early in the season.

Lesson #2 is related to lesson #1 and it is this. Long runs do not make you faster. I had put in some good quality miles on the long runs on the weekends, but had been a little hit-and-miss getting in the speed sessions and tempo sessions. This burned me today.

after

This is the after picture. The more astute among you will have noticed that there were not 21 matches in the matchbook.

Live and learn. I'm hoping this lesson sinks in this time.

Peace.

Chilly review preview

2009-02-25T18:28:00.001-08:00

So here we are, four sleeps away. It's time to preview, but first a review of my four-year history of the Chilly Half.

2005 - 1:59:25 (630th)
2006 - 1:44:00*(341st)
2007 - 1:37:55* (180th)
2008 - 1:29:16 (63rd)

*the official results list the times above for 2006 and 2007 in reverse. I have to think they've got them backwards.

Now, on to this year. Since the organizers of the race have jacked up the entries allowed by 50%, from 2000 to 3000 starters, they've also decided to add in a new starting feature (new to me anyway) - starting corrals. The start will be divided into three corrals: "elite" (sub 1:30), 1:30 - 2:00 and over 2:00. I've never considered myself an elite runner before, but there it is now in blue and white. Weather conditions for Sunday are supposed to be a little colder than recent years past. -5 degrees with a windchill of -16, although this will have warmed up a little by the 10:00 a.m. start time. Training-wise, I haven't been completely unscathed but I have made it through the early spring mostly healthy and getting in the good long runs with the Sunday morning group/duo.

Hmm, hmm, hmm...so what does that mean?

I don't know. I do remember that last year's 1:29 was nearly a complete surprise. I expected to maybe stretch to a 1:32 or so. Now with some regular long-run mileage and repeat hill workouts built in, I don't know. Hill work is fine and all, but this course is flat like Sally Field. The added bonus of the expected wind on Sunday makes prediction a tricky game.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, enough stalling around. I can already hear Skeezix yelling, "less talk, more work? Make the call!"

I don't know what to predict. I do know that you never really know if you've pushed the envelope until you bust through the other side. You can never know the limit until you push beyond it.

1:27? Maybe.

1:24? 4-minute kms? Perhaps a stretch.

Let's see.

Peace.

Consistency

2009-02-22T17:58:00.000-08:00

As I was rolling through the last of my long runs before the Chilly Half with the Sunday morning long run duo (now up to three today) the topic of consistency came up. One of the three of us said, "since the beginning of November when we started this, I'm the only one that's been out consistently every Sunday". Although strictly speaking this statement was technically true in fact while being untrue in spirit (go ahead and figure that out) it did bring up the topic of consistency, a subject I may have opined upon before.

Others wiser than me have held forth on the subject of consistency. One of my favourites, since I'm results- and data-based and also a visual learner is borrowed from Alan Couzens:

Without going into the entire explanation - you can read that yourself here and I highly recommend it, there are several different interpretations of this data. On the left are finishing times of IM athletes. On the right are their cumulative training hours for the year. The boiled-down truth at least as relates to this posting is that one must be pretty consistent in training if one wants to see results. Disclaimer - this is out-of-context from the topic of the original post but related enough to be included here.

So what's the point? In training as in life consistency is one of the cornerstones that yields results. It doesn't necessarily mean consistently doing the same thing every day, but doing something every day. Getting up in the morning and ignoring the snooze button, one of the most oxymoronic inventions dreamt up by the human race. Getting moving. Having a plan and sticking to it.

The other two "cornerstones" patience and frequency are just as important. But they weren't the topics today, so they're not included in the discussion.

This weekend upcoming is the Chilly Half - let's see how consistent I've actually been. Preview to follow.

Thanks Mats for thirteen good years.

Peace.

Lottery

2009-02-21T17:56:00.000-08:00

I've heard a lot of talk about athletes who win the "genetic lottery", who seem to be naturally gifted and who flow through their chosen events seemingly expending minimum effort. Mario Lemieux was one (for those of us above a certain latitude) who always seemed to be a stride ahead of everyone else and didn't seem to be burning any energy at all to do it. For a more current example, how about Craig Alexander. Or perhaps Chrissie Wellington, so far ahead of her contemporaries that she can drop ten minutes to a flat tire and still crush the field by ten minutes at the line?

Bunkum, I say.

This is hard work. Success in this sport, no matter how you define it, is a direct measure of how much you're willing to work for it. There is a direct correlation between how much work is done in practice and how natural the effort appears when it's "game time". Case in point: the swim leg of my particular triathlon. I swim like a brick. It will always be that way, but with practice I can become more hydrodynamic brick. And it's not just practice. Think of the quote often attributed to Vince Lombardi, "Practice doesn't make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect." This couldn't be more true in swimming. Practicing bad form or technique in the water doesn't make you faster. Because of the higher energy expenditure it just makes the thrashing around in the water worse. Check my swim times if you need any more evidence of that statement.

Conversely, running more actually can will improve efficiency - as time and mileage increase the body will find a way to move less, improving form at least until fatigue becomes so much that form completely disintegrates.

Speaking of lotteries the local lottery (the "6/49") has the biggest jackpot in its history this weekend - $48 million. People are freaking out. It's the only topic of conversation in the office. So why not - I threw in $2. Segueing from lottery to lottery, the Ironman Hawaii lottery is on right now as well. The deadline for entry is February 28. So, what the hey - I threw in on that one as well. It'd be a few years before I could "earn" a slot in that prize.

$48 million or a slot in Kona - which one would you take?

It's baaaaack....

2009-02-19T18:21:00.000-08:00

Whether you get your weather forecast from a broadcaster, the sky, a rodent, or a rodent's entrails the simple fact is that winter is back. In fact it never actually left. Oh, it teased for awhile - hid around the corner and pretended it was gone, but it's back today.

All the roads and sidewalks are covered in ice. It's not slush or snow, dirt or hard-pack. It's actual ice. Yesterday was snow in the morning that turned to rainish-sleet through the day and then froze on the surface overnight so that all surfaces are ice-covered. Running outside is very treacherous right now. Riding, unless you did it early last week or live here, is out of the question for the time being.

So back to the basement the bike goes. Not yet time to take it to the streets. The run is still on - just over a week to go to the season-opener, the Chilly Half. It's the first outing of the year, so I'm not committing out loud to any finish times (although I'm sure Darren is going to try and wrench one out of me).

And a minor, minor setback: event #2 on the schedule, ATB (oldest road race in North America) sold out before I registered. D'oh! There are still charity slots open, so I may still choose to go that route.

Not much more news.

Peace.

Whittling down

2009-02-16T18:01:00.000-08:00

If I turn my head just the right way, I can now see my neighbour's yard again. The snowbanks have been whittled down by the unseasonably warm spell for this time of year.

I am not fooled. It is February. This is Canada. Nobody in Canada puts away their snowshovels in February. In most years, February is the time of year where you go out to buy a second because the first has died of structural fatigue. Okay, so that's a bit of an exaggeration, but still, the point is, it's too early to be writing the eulogy on this winter just yet. I have, however seen a few hardy cycling souls out on two wheels. Last week and this weekend would have been the time for it - it was just about worth it.

Speaking of "whittling down", my group of Sunday morning run yahoos once boasted six regulars and has on at least one occasion swollen to ten, is now down to two(!). The group has split into three splinters, and two of those splinter groups now have decided to run on Saturdays leaving for now only two of us remaining for Sunday. We went out this weekend for a brisk 26k. Since I've noticed last years achilles tendon starting to "tune up the band" this year, I took it really easy. I've also made some physio appointments and have continued to stretch semi-regularly. After all the "season" kicks off with the Chilly Half, now in less than two weeks. Gotta be ready for that.

Peace.

2nd annual Alton Caledon half - report

2009-02-01T13:52:00.000-08:00

The 2nd annual is in the books, and not without a few curveballs thrown. A couple days out we were notified (ALL IN CAPS TO REPRESENT SHOUTING!!!) that the 2nd annual was cancelled, due to the untimely illness of the founding father. At this point divine providence stepped in. Gary volunteered to set up the bike zone and map out the run route from his command centre deep in Caledon. Thus, the event went on.

7:00 a.m. Arrive at pool. Meet Gary for the first time.

7:02 a.m. Phone rings. Cliff has just woken up. He'll be skipping the swim and joining us for the bike portion of the event (making history - the first Alton Caledon duathlon).

7:05 a.m. Aaron and Gary hit the pool for an easy warmup and a 40 minute timed swim. Gary passes me several times.

7:50 a.m. Out of the water, heading up the road to the bike command centre.

8:05 a.m. Bike setup in the under renovation, garage-turned-bathroom-and-unidentified-family-type-room in the house

8:15 a.m. Bike portion begins. On tap - 2008 IM Kona, 2007 Muskoka chase, 2005 IM St. Croix.

8:45 a.m. Gary's family - wife and two daughters - vacate the house. I don't blame them. It was pretty loud in there, and the smell was only going to get worse. (Side note: three women in the house explain the need for the renovation and creation of second bathroom as noted above.)

11:30 a.m. Bike portion finishes. On we go to the run.

Allow me to digress here for just one moment to state the obvious. We are in a gear-heavy sport, beyond just shorts, goggles, bikes and bike shoes and shorts (hopefully) and run shoes. This is never made more obvious than when one tries to pack all the required stuff up and move it to another location for a mega-training day, especially if it's done after dark when the family is all sleeping. Three trips to the car, and it was inevitable that something was going to be forgotten. However, when it's -8C with a -18C windchill and that one something is the winter running jacket, that could be a problem. Gary saved the day again. Not only did he come up with a spare jacket, but after the first lap he pulled out scarves, balaclavas, dickies and extra toques. He probably could have come up with a dead Taun-taun to hide in, if asked.

The run course was here. Three laps of a moderately hilly track (I don't think there's a flat one anywhere in Caledon) for a total of just a shade over 19km. The course map doesn't show the wind that blew enough snow over the road in a couple of spots to erase the pavement.

Just after 1:00 p.m. The run portion of the day finishes and we're all happy to get inside. After having promised the kids a toboggan run later in the afternoon I have to leave before the pasta portion of the day's festivities.

Again, big props to Gary for keeping the dream alive and to Cliff for joining in as well. The 2nd annual Oakville Half follows in the spring, date TBD.

One last big cheer for the founding father, still recuperating at home and probably just p##^&* that he had to miss this one.

Peace.

Sometimes the equipment doesn't match the goal

2009-01-25T14:47:00.001-08:00

Thursday was a, ahem, "cross-training" day. I went out with some of the old-time homies to play hockey on Thursday night. These are the same guys I played with last year every Thursday. At the beginning of this year I gracefully withdrew since I was driving half-way across the southern end of the province to get to work and back.

Anyway, last week they called me back needing an emergency goalie and since I hadn't played since the end of last year I figured I'd at least be good for padding everybody's stats.

So as usual I remember five minutes before sho

oting out the door to work that I haven't loaded the equipment bag in the car. Eek! I barrel down the stairs throw everything into the bag, throw out my daughter's skates (I think) and fly out the door.

Later that same day (this is where the eerie music starts) I show up to the rink and get ready to play. Small problem, and yes the pun is definitely intended. I've packed one size eleven skate and one size twelve skate. Doesn't sound so bad, does it? I mean, maybe you can pack an extra sock into it and make it work. Hmmm - not so much:

Yep, this is what you get for rushing your "preparation". Two white skates yes, but that's about where the similarity ends.

So funny story, but it's not over. I'm packing up to leave when one of the guys says he has an extra pair of skates and since their size 9.5 I should be close enough to good. I've already driven all the way there so I give them a try. By the time the zamboni hits the second turn I can't feel my toes anymore. I spend most of the game on my knees keeping off my feet (cross training be jiggered). Afterwards, as the pins and needles are shaking themselves out of my numb feet and my pinkie toes are pushing themselves out of their coccoons, the truth comes out - the skates are size 8.

At the time I had a clever lesson to be passed on about prerace preparation and making your checklists and checking it twice and so on and so forth but that was all erased by the numbness in my feet on the way home.

************************************************************************

This weekend was pretty solid for training: a nasty three-hour trainer ride in the basement, burning through nearly two full X-men movies and this morning's piece de resistance. 24km over the hills. At 7 a.m. this morning it was -16 degrees (3 degrees F) with a wind chill of -26 C. In the group this morning (and the fact that it was a group tells you all you need to know about the relative sanities) I saw three balaclavas, two frozen bottles of Gatorade and a scarf wrapped around a frosted face (but no partridge in a pear tree - sing it to the tune if you like).

The moral of the story is in the title. Figure skates are not meant for hockey. Basements are not meant for three-hour rides, and if you're going for a long run in the cold weather you'd better make sure you have the right insulation for the fingers, toes, noses and frank and beans.

Six days to the Alton Half.

Peace.

History

2009-01-20T19:00:00.000-08:00

I'm not American. I never have been and have never had any great desire to become, not because there's anything wrong with that. I just happen to be happy with the snow (even with the shoveling) the maple syrup and beer (sometimes even together).

Today however was a day that just once, just one little weeny teeny little bit deep down inside wanted to be American, just to feel as though I was part of history. One day this will be remembered as one of those "location" moments, as in, "where were you when.....?"

I mean, when a Canadian third-grade class skips science today to explain what "inauguration" means and to explain the significance of it all to a room full of eight-year olds that's a big deal. And then again, when it's the only topic of conversation at dinner, it's at least memorable.

Yes, we can? I don't know. But I'll sure be watching with much more interest than I have for about seven years.

The gift that keeps giving (or taking away)...

2009-01-18T18:30:00.000-08:00

This morning was a killer run. 22km over the fabled Northshore hills. The Sunday morning running group has decided it's time to get serious about training with the Chilly Half now less than 2 months away and ATB just over two months out.

Now, I like hills as much as the next guy (or maybe that should be as little). The real killer this morning was running through the slushy unplowed roads. The course goes out through town and into a fairly quiet part of town where the hills start. As an aside, this morning's route passes one golf course and three (!!!) cemeteries. Coincidence? Actually the route stops at the base of a hill with a cemetery at the top, but close enough.

My feet are killing. It's not the "ups" that do it. I think it's the "downs" and the careful picking of foot positions to avoid ice, puddles and general overall shmuck. I must say however I did pull one nice aerial jumping over the splash from an oncoming car that changed lanes a little too close to us. Jumped the splash, and stuck the landing too.

This was preceded yesterday by a three-hour ride in the basement. Warmed up on the trainer to the end of some Premier League football game (ew - yeah I know, any port in a storm) and then plugged in "Gladiator" Still a great flick, but doesn't really work so well on the trainer.

So, the gift that keeps on taking? Well, after shoveling the driveway today (again, but I won't talk about it) I had to go to my least favourite place on earth.......

the mall.

Not only did I have to go to the mall to return a sweater that was gifted and did not fit I was bounced around to three different malls to find the right size. It was even worse when one store said "we don't have it but store X does" and then store X has taken the wrong item off the shelf, so they don't have it either. At least they agreed to find it and send it in, only calling me when it's received.

Oh well. I'm off to soak my toes.

Peace.

Hackin' but still livin'

2009-01-14T18:13:00.000-08:00

I've been fighting through a nasty hacking cough for the past week or so. Actually if you ask the rest of Team Ironhead it's been more like a month (following the Truly Male Credo that "if you ignore it, perhaps it will go away on its own"). Normally, I'm the last to be stricken down. The junior members of Team Ironhead bring something home from school and it circulates around the premises from November to May. This year, they've been relatively healthy. Anyway it seems as though the worst has finally passed with the help of some prescription-but-questionably-approved-by-WADA medication and I may just be able to get down to some relatively consistent work, and just in time: the 2009 2nd Annual Alton Half Brought to You by Pancakes is on the calendar for this year. It's still early, but it looks like registration numbers are up 33% over last year, making this event a smashing success. I do remember the run course being a killer last year, knocking me out after two laps of a three-lap course. There is some question as to whether there will be an available pool for the race weekend. We may have to build some flexibility into the proceedings. Ah, but the smoothies.....

Time to get back to "work".

Peace.

New year, new look

2009-01-10T13:59:00.001-08:00

Or so I hope.

So I'm out for a run the other night and as I turn the corner off my street I hear, "mind if I join you?" Another guy has run up behind me. Turns out he lives a couple blocks away and he's training for Ironman Lake Placid. He did a couple of short-course races this summer past, and the half-iron at Peterborough on three weeks training.

We got into a conversation about training and Ironman and a bunch of other things. Now I'm by no means an expert on training, but after one Ironman race everyone else seems to think so? He says he needs to work on his nutrition (in January? For a race in July?) because sometimes he forgets to eat. We talked about fueling during racing, or as much as I know on the topic, which isn't much. I related my experience in finding out what my intake limit is on the run - two 300-calorie Powerbars, three gels, two bottles of Gatorade and a bottle of water on a 30km run is too much, unless you like lying down on the couch afterward begging the room to stop spinning.

Anyway, one good thing that came out of this run? I've decided that I'm targeting Lake Placid this year. It was about 90% confirmed up to now, but now it's solid. The catch? Oh yeah, little thing like registration's closed. So is the community fund. The only other option now is to qualify through one of the qualifying races. The closest to here is the Muskoka Long Course, so that gets added to the schedule.

Another good thing? Now I have another training partner, and local to boot. I'll just have to work on getting him off his four-week training program - a long run of three hours every weekend is eventually going to catch up to this guy. PS - I looked up his results at Peterborough - at least I beat him there.

Peace.

A lovely spring day...

2008-12-28T12:32:00.000-08:00

Nothing like a brisk morning constitutional to get the blood blowing, er, flowing....

So this picture was taken in Buffalo at Rich Stadium on the weekend, illustrating the wind conditions on the weekend. The only relevance is that my Sunday morning run group is about an hour or so across the border and up the highway (depending on your driving habits) from Buffalo. Yep, it was a little windy this weekend. The wind was enough that the guy running next to me ran into me once or twice. I don't know which one of us couldn't hold a straight line. At least we had a tailwind for the "return" part of the loop. And one of these hardcore guys actually wore shorts!

Spent the rest of the weekend assembling more toys and architectural projects, which brings me to this question: why aren't there any B batteries? (be patient...it's worth it......ladies :)).

Peace.

Frank Lloyd Wright - baby

2008-12-18T15:49:00.000-08:00

That's my baby on the left - note the construction is bigger than the child.

Peace.

Best laid plans...

2008-12-14T18:12:00.000-08:00

...can be waylaid by the cutest, cuddliest little six-year old that you ever did meet. Let me explain.

This morning I went out with my new running group for a solid 16km. Last week we went 15k on a morning that had to be, no exaggeration, -20 C with the wind chill. There were multiple complaints about frostbite in the, ahem, "nether regions". Today was nothing like that. The roads were a little icy but the temperature was comfortable, around -2C, just about the right conditions for 16km of hills.

After that I got home in time to head out for the boy's hockey game (robbed again). The announced plan beforehand was to get back from hockey, swap hockey bag for swimming bag and head to the pool.

It has been said, "No plan survives first contact with the enemy" and this is no more true than at home. Upon returning home it was "suggested" that I could spend the morning putting together the dollhouse that arrived in last week's birthday festivities

Upon opening the box we all discovered there was no instruction manual or even picture to refer to. Yippee! Have you ever tried to assemble a jigsaw puzzle without knowing what the finished production should look like?

This is her majesty sitting in her queendom surrounded by some of the pieces of the architecture. The stick drawing on the big white box on the left is the only reference we had to figure out how it was supposed to look. There would be no swimming today o captain my captain.

On the positive side the off-season training is going well. I'm getting runs in, have sprinkled in a ride or two, and am going swimming tomorrow, by gar!

Starting tomorrow I'll be jumping onboard the 12-hr offseason plan - the details of which are here. A big thanks out to Chuckie V for giving this up for free. Now if he could just do dollhouses....

Peace.

Oh, by the way, I'll post a picture of the "finished product" when there is an actual finished product. Just kidding - it's done, the kids are just already in bed.

Patience, consistency, frequency

2008-11-24T16:29:00.000-08:00

...are not the answer to the question, "what are the three things I don't have?", so thanks very much. They are however the trifecta required to lay the foundation in this off-season for next season's results (whatever the plan may be). There's a good discussion of the topic here. The bottom line: time and mileage are the critical ingredients, are not negotiable and cannot be substituted. To be fair, I have demonstrated both consistency and frequency. For the last nineteen years (until last month) I got my hair cut monthly by the same guy in the same shop until he up and disappeared last month. Now that's consistent. And actually since I just waited seventeen years for a follow-up album/disc (I guess these days it would be a disc and not so much an album) that would be a demonstration of patience as well.

In following the "no blank days" decree of the last post inspired by Olympian Cliff, I must admit I am net one day down. I do resolve, however to make it up this week. Getting back to the pool and I've also hooked up with a run group that gets me out the door regularly on the weekend mornings. These guys for the most part are dedicated runners listing among their accomplished marathons NYC, Scranton (hey any location is a distance) Rome, Budapest, Marine Corps, Toronto - downtown and Waterfront and multiple Bostons. There are probably many more than that. One might be my future Comrades comrade. If possible at least one of these guys complains more than me.

Finally in response to a "comment" from an infrequent reader, but frequent commenter here's another shot of Team Ironhead, full entourage intact:

Peace.

Off-season?!?

2008-11-16T17:34:00.001-08:00

Hmmph to that, I say. My off-season has been on since about June, well over the suggested two week off-season. Today was day eleven of activity. Haven't gotten to the point yet where my "run legs" are back, but we're getting into the area where they (the legs) are starting to think this might be serious, and that they're going to have to step it up a notch.

I went out for a solid run this morning - an hour, over some nice little rolling hills on the North Shore. For those familiar with Around the Bay this stretch makes up kms 20 to ~26 on the course, just before the Grim Reaper where you've nearly lost your will to live. We didn't run the whole hilly section - just an out-and-back for 12km. I also joined up with a crew that I was introduced to by an acquaintance I made in the spring this year, when we were both underemployed.

This is new for me. I've been a 90% solo trainer for my whole career (with the exception of a few rides and last year's memorable Alton Half and follow-up Oakville Half) in this sport which comes with its pluses and minuses. Pluses - no discussion of what route to take today, in any sport. No argument over what to play on the iPod. No negotiation (or at least less negotiation) of start times. Minuses - much easier to hit the snooze button and put it off to later. Heck, somedays it's easier to blow it off altogether.

Not today. I was out the door this morning in plenty of time to make the five-minute start rule. The group is fairly diverse, with the one constant that they're all pretty serious runners. At least one has just qualified for the fifth consecutive year for Boston. Another is hoping to make it ths spring via the Ottawa Marathon. Still another just returned from a 30km road race in Budapest. This is definitely "stepping it up".

In other news, the next new job starts tomorrow. I'll be moving on to another company in the consumer goods industry with the responsibility of managing production in two facilities. This should be good. It's also a lot closer to home cutting a good hour and a half out of the daily commute.

On with the off-season.

Peace.

Here we are...so where are we?

2008-11-12T06:02:00.000-08:00

So, what's new? Been quiet for a while. First the good news. Preliminarily, my mother's test results have come back positive. There are no other negative signs or indicators at this time. Does that mean she's cured? I don't think anyone says that at this stage of the game - it's way too early to be using that word. I guess testing and monitoring continues for some time before that "c" word - the good one - comes up in conversation.

The rest of the news really kind of pales in comparison. Humbled by my near-complete lack of training at the end of last season and inspired by Cliff (yet again) I'm now up to day 7 of base-building. Something gets done every day. A couple of rides, a lot of runs and tonight may just be another dip in the pool.

I'm working on the 2009 race schedule. The Chilly Half, an annual tradition, is in for sure. After that many decisions need to be made. The training schedule will have more structure and focus this year - how could it have less? - with the not-yet-confirmed goal of another Ironman this year - location TBD. The location is what makes the race schedule still TBD. For most North American locales the options at this point are to enter through the community fund, if spots are still open (and many still are as of this publication), or to go to Muskoka in June for the long course and try to qualify for one of three - Lake Placid, Canada or Florida. Given my historic speed, or lack thereof, leaving it up to qualification comes with some risk.

And oh yeah, to top it all off I'm starting another new job this month. Just when you think things were getting predictable - new changes, story of this year.

This however is a topic for another day...

Peace.

And another thing...

2008-10-24T18:45:00.000-07:00

I almost forgot...the results of the raffle!

For those who entered the "guess the finish time" raffle it's time to let the secret out. The guesses were:

3:20:00
3:28:28
3:32:00
3:38:46
4:00:00

For the longest time, I thought that 3:28 was the winner. Oh well, the mind was willing but the body was weak. I kept going to the well, drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry...you get the picture.

So, the swag? I went to the expo and looked around. Everybody has a white race t-shirt, and the "signature" race shirts, although "technical fabric" this year are an unattractive baby poo green (I think a couple are visible in the background of the picture of me flying in yesterday's post). So I thought something a little different, yet practical and perhaps stylish, and I came up with this.....

Ta-da! (Baby not included). And who doesn't love a race toque? Congrats to Nancy, who threw darts at the wall and came in at 3:38.

Peace.

Toronto Marathon Race Report

2008-10-22T18:57:00.000-07:00

First off, a big thank you to all of you who broke open your piggy banks and gave to support the Princess Margaret Hospital. We've raised over $2500 and still going!! Thanks to all of you!

Team Ironhead clutching the hot chocolate at the start line.

Now, onto the grumpy section of the post:

3:41:19.8. 449th overall, 72/214 in AG.

Hmmpph.

Many things have been said by many others, several spikier than I am about pace, or about endurance - not speed, but endurance. Speed comes from endurance, and endurance comes from the trifecta - PCF - patience, consistency and freqency. Endurance is the ability to keep moving, just keep moving. Clearly, I have lacked many of these things this year and my results to close out the year reflect that. On marathon morning (I can't really refer to it as "race" morning) I thought I could hold on to a 5 minute km pace to finish in the ballpark of 3:30:xx, give or take a minute or two. I had lined up A, B and C goals for the day. Sub-3:30 for the "A", sub-PR (3:40:14) for the "B" and to finish for the "C".

This is about the last time I was "flying" on the course.

I started out with the 3:30 pace bunny and decided to stay with him, but here's the thing. It's difficult to judge pace from a bunny that's making multiple bathroom stops. I later found out that the bunny had intentionally gone out at a faster pace in order to put a couple of minutes in the bank for the finish. I also was passed before the finish by the 3:45 bunny who must have crossed at least four minutes early.

In this, the year of re-education, what did I learn on this day?

You can't cheat the basework for a marathon. There's no faking it in a race this distance. One 16 miler and one 20 miler in training is not enough. You must respect the distance. Going out too fast always burns you in the end. And it takes twenty minutes to eat a bagel if you're too dehydrated to work up enough spit to chew.

I am now almost obliged to run this course again at a later date, so as to not have to go to my grave with this finish time. Still faster than Oprah, and it is a very pretty course with some very nice tree-lined sections (and a castle!) but it is a "read the fine print" course, or more like "look at the course elevation". They do sell it as a net "downhill" course, and it technically is. There's a first uphill at about 5k. That's no big deal. The nasty little truth is the fact that the last 3k is a long slow leg-sucking uphill that makes you question your will to live.

The end:

So there it is. Let the offseason begin.

Peace.

Toronto Update!

2008-09-24T18:20:00.001-07:00

85% of the target has been achieved! We're almost done the "easy" part, with over three weeks to go!

There's still plenty of time (and room) for those who want to join in - hit the link to help the cause here.

And if you do, don't forget your finish time guess to enter into the raffle for fab-o Toronto Marathon swag. There are only four guesses entered at this time, so there's a very good chance you could win! Closest finishing time, without going over, wins the swag.

Peace.

Muskoka race report

2008-09-16T17:53:00.000-07:00

You know, life is a continuing journey of education and rediscovery. In fact the only time you stop learning should be when, as someone so eloquently put it, "when you pedal off to that great transition area in the sky".

I've been at this sport for a few years now and even still, every event provides an opportunity to gain experience and to learn new things. Sometimes, if you're as thick-headed as I am, you get to learn old things over again. Things like, "don't try anything new on race day", like adding a new gear bag that rubs against your leg with every pedal cycle until you can't stand it after 2km and have to pull off the side of the road to remove it. Things like, "don't carry the extra weight of multiple bottles of fluid when it's so cold you'll hardly drink more than one an hour". Also things like, "don't forget to lubricate the chafing spot between your wetsuit and your neck to avoid rubbing your neck to a bloody raw mass".

Now, on to the race report.

Swim: 41:34. 699th overall, 130th in AG.

Okay, I know. I'm not fast in the water. Even at my peak I would have to speed up considerably to be classified as "slow". This is what you get when your training basically ends in July. I knew 10 minutes in that the swim was going to be a chore on the day. Domino #1. The base just wasn't there. Being a BOP'er (I'm not even a middle-of-packer anymore) I actually don't mind the wave starts, but I do understand why my compadre Darren dislikes them so intensely - he has to spend his time and energy navigating around roadblocks like me. SIDE NOTE: if you haven't read his blog/race report, I'd recommend it. His props: dude finished 17th overall!! Won his age group.

T1 - 4:58 (no I did not have a bowl of soup!) Bike: 2:58:29, (188th overall, 48th AG)

Not a particularly impressive split. The stop to remove the gear bag didn't help. I had hoped that this would have turned out better, but this is a dang tough course. There were also a couple of stretches (on Hwy 35 and along the shore of Long Line Lake) where the wind really did pick up. And of course this is where domino #2 fell. Undertraining in the swim led to me being unable to really get my heart rate under control on the bike. I knew I was going to pay for it later, and I did. But at the end of the bike course I did see the first bright spot of the day:

Team Ironhead!

Okay, so my daughter's actually looking in the bush for squirrels or frogs or something, and my brother and his wife look very serious, but I don't blame them. They'd already been out there for over four hours in the rain with three kids, waiting for me to make an appearance. Little did they know how much longer they'd be out there....

T2 - 2:06. Run: 1:59:20. (408th overall, 79th AG).

Buoyed by the spotting of Team Ironhead, I whipped back out of T2, gave a high-five to the cheering section, and headed off down the road. I felt good, everything seemed to be clicking and I was really hoping to make up some ground on the run. I thought I had the base. If I hadn't been putting in the swimtime or enough bike mileage, at least I thought I had the run to fall back on.

Not today.

At about 7 km into the run, I saw Darren heading back in to the finish laps around the golf course, looking strong. Shortly after that domino #3 fell and the rest of the house came crashing down. Mere minutes later my back locked up. I started running from km marker to marker and stopping at each marker to massage, rub and otherwise try to warm up my back. Nothing really seemed to work. The lack of base on the swim sucked the energy out of the bike and the lowered energy level on the bike sapped the run. Shortly after this, the rain really started to come down. I have a whole new appreciation for those who gutted out Lake Placid this year, where the rain started at 7:00 a.m. and didn't let up all day/night long. The run at Muskoka (for me) turned into 14km of slogfest that was brightened up by Team Ironhead at one more point:

One hug to recharge at the 16km point and I was (briefly) back in business. The last 5k of the run winds through a golf course and passes by the finish line. The cruelest part of this is I spent the last 5k listening to other people being announced crossing the finish line as I kept winding up and down, left and right, forward and back through the golf course. Finally the finish line was upon me, in 5:46:22. One last eyebrow-raised comment: I crossed the finish line in 278th place. Nearly 1700 people registered, and 1300 showed up at the starting line. So, knowing that the forecast called for rain and cold temperatures all weekend long, how could the medical crew be out of those funky "space blankets" before 300 people had crossed the line? Just asking....

After all this grumbling, it was a very good day on a course that could be great. Weather can't be blamed on the organizers. But the 4-5km of tarry, gravelly non-pavement at about 70-75km on the bike made for a rather hair-raising section of the ride.

Will I come back to this race? Undoubtedly at some point in the future. I can't go to my grave being this slow, but maybe not next year. Next year is tentatively a "full monty" year - back up to the full distance. Mrs. Ironhead has given the okay. We just haven't decided where.

Last props go out, one more time to Team Ironhead! Not only were they out in the rain for nearly six hours, they had to wait nearly another hour near the car as I collected my sopping belongings from transition (there was so much water coming down and flowing through transition my shoes had actually floated away) and made my way back to the car. Are they the best or what?

Peace.

Quick update on PMH, and the weekend to come

2008-09-12T09:22:00.001-07:00

For those following along, here's the status report on the PMHF charity drive - check the association link at the top of this page, and if you're interested in supporting the cause, please feel free to contribute at this site. Two weeks in (with about five weeks to go) and we're already two-thirds of the way there. A big thanks to everyone who's already contributed - there are too many to list today, but I'll give 'em all the big public cheer later.

Starting to pack up for the trip north - Muskoka is in two days and - happy day! - it looks like the rain might just be backing off for the weekend. I may have just jinxed it, however.

Race report to follow.

Peace.

Not posting much

2008-09-05T18:41:00.001-07:00

PMH update: check here. Avoid the rush, and get in on the raffle before all the good pool spots are taken. If you don't know what this is, check the post below this one. Forty-four days to go, 31% done.

Been just too busy doing other stuff. Had a massive ride last weekend - broke the century mark again, and almost got a speeding ticket on the bike. I was bombing down the hill on Cedar Springs Rd. from Kilbride (like, everyone knows where that is, right?). I took a peek at my speedometer and saw that I hit 64.8 km/h. As I looked up I saw a posted limit sign of 50km/h and then what to my wondering eyes did appear, but the long arm of the law, Officer Friendly, Smokey. Attached to the end of his long arm was a radar gun, pointed right at me. With headphones on, I blew right past him and saw his lips moving saying, "Too fast!!!" About 100m further on up the road the descent becomes a nasty little switch-backing, blind cornered ascent where he could have caught me on foot to issue the speeding ticket. I guess he figured that catching up to a speeding vehicle on foot defeated the purpose.

More running and riding this weekend - hopefully posting updates.

Peace.

Refocus

2008-08-28T13:57:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while events conspire to change focus, change priorities and force reexamination of the natural order of things.

Earlier this spring, while I was still on "sabbatical" from full-time employment I got a call at home from my mother. In her usual direct way, the conversation went something like this:

Mom: "Hi".

Me: "Hi".

Mom: "Are you sitting down?"

Me: "Yes".

Mom: "I have cancer".

As you might expect, that can be a bit of a conversation stopper. She explained that she had been feeling sluggish and tired for most of the winter, and after a vacation trip with the family and grandkids in which she just couldn't keep her energy level up she decided to go to the doctor.

Bad news indicator #1: my mother decided to go to the doctor. She is the strongest, most self-sufficient woman I've ever met, and the fact that she went of her own free will to the doctor was bad news enough.

Bad news indicator #2: when the doctor's office calls you back the next day and refers you to the "specialists" downtown. Also, never a good sign. Either they can't diagnose the problem, or the problem is too large for the regular family doctor to address. Neither is good.

So, my mother has spent the summer undergoing radiation treatment and chemotherapy for squamous metastatic carcinoma (Fair warning: there are some nasty pictures in this link). My mother is a woman who loves to cook and regularly makes giant meals for the family, the grandchildren and as many relatives as she can fit in the house. In fact last year she moved out of her "no-maintenance" condo into an aged, fully detached house which had two selling points.

1) A dining room big enough to fit seventeen people (all kids, spouses and grandchildren).
2) An inground swimming pool - the grandchild magnet.

Now, the cooking, eating and family visits are paused. Eight weeks of daily blasting of one form of treatment or another has her in a place now where three sips of diet cola, kept down, is a success.

A while back, for those who may have been following along, I mentioned that I might be interested in tacking on an end of season marathon. Well, now I have a cause and a goal - the Toronto Marathon, October 19. One of the principal charitable partner of the Toronto Marathon is the Princess Margaret Hospital, a place where I've spent several days this summer with my mother, so there's a natural confluence of events here.

So here's the goal - to raise $2000 for the Head and Neck Cancer Team of the Princess Margaret Hospital. The link to the page is here. As an added incentive (inspired some time back by Darren) I'm also going to run a raffle alongside this, with all proceeds going to the charity, of course. For every $10 donated, you get to guess my finishing time in the marathon (without going over of course). Closest finishing time will receive a genuine piece of Toronto Marathon swag, exact identity of which as yet to be determined, and all shipping and handling to be covered by me.

It's now on.

Peace.

Whitfield!

2008-08-19T18:26:00.001-07:00

The short version - after all, a picture is worth a thousand words....

This makes the whole Olympics worthwhile. More to follow, after I actually watch the race tape.

Peace.

One one-hundredth of a second

2008-08-17T12:33:00.000-07:00

Michael Phelps is a monster. Okay, I know I'm a little late to the game here, but I only watched his last two events. I imagine I can get caught up on YouTube, if I was so inclined. The relay was really rather anti-climactic, but the 100m fly was an actual one-minute spectacle. And for the dude from Serbia who lost by coasting the last one metre - he'll feel that for the rest of his life. Just goes to show that a casual swim fan (extremely casual) can't even remember his name three days later - that's the price of a one-hundredth-of-a-second coast. I can't fathom how short an interval of time that is. It's unbelievable (by the way that sentence is seventy-nine one-hundredths of a second long) to believe that one could be within reach of the wall and to not win. Equally unbelievable that Phelps was seventh at the turn, in a field of eight. Talk about turning on the jets, indeed. I've heard the phrase "Michael Phelps is the Tiger Woods of swimming". Hmm, I think that might be a little backward - more like "Tiger Woods is the Michael Phelps of golf".

And hats off to the rest of the Canadian medallers - better late than never. Yes, they started late, but if you go back and think about it, nobody who lost out in the first week was a real upset.

More to come.

Peace.

Definitions and the agony of defeat

2008-08-14T16:45:00.001-07:00

So I email my part-time training buddy Darren on the weekend and say, "F the rain - let's ride!!" After sitting on the fence about it for an agonizingly long time (for him, about 20 seconds) he says, "let's roll!" We went out for an A-one ride, over 100km, on nearly deserted streets - and for a bonus the rain stayed away.

Having said all that, here's the kicker: we were both born and raised in this country, and both allegedly speak English as our "mother tongue"; however, there is a clear, obvious difference in our definition of at least one adjective: "flat".

My definition of flat: pancakes, Saskatchewan, a calm quiet lake, you know, like this:

Darren's definition of flat: cactus, Colorado, rolling waves - like this.

Mind you, he'd still look at the grain elevator in the middle of a flat field of wheat and say, "cool, let's ride the elevator!" Note to self: when a 8% ascent shows up two minutes into your easy, flat ride you should maybe know that there is a miscommunication of definitions. That was later followed by riding up a skihill.

Overall, great ride, great day.

***********************************

Here's the real agony of defeat. The agony of defeat is when your kid's baseball team loses the first game in the round-robin playoffs and are told, "win your last two games to make the semifinals". The kid's team then improbably goes ahead and wins those games (17-16 and then 9-8) over two teams that had beaten them in the regular season, only to find out that going 2-1 wasn't good enough. Two other teams in the "division"went 3-0 and that the kid's game only mattered to the "other" team, whose season also ended with the loss.

To see their little faces crumble when they found out after the game (they were told after the game, after going in thinking all they had to do was win) was as heartbreaking to the parents and coaches as it was to the kids. The kids (the team logo was Red Sox, and that was bad enough) hit well enough to win and played unbelievable infield defence - just in time for the season to end. Oh well - hockey tryouts are less than a month away.

Peace.

And now for something nearly completely different...

2008-08-05T18:00:00.001-07:00

This is everything else we did this weekend.

First, a little boost from Daddy.

Then the training wheels are off for good.

After a hard ride, gotta cool down in the splash pad...

...with my brother, who's a bit of a ham.

The next day we went to the zoo where the elephants were really stinky.

the end.

Weekend report - T-minus 41 days...

2008-08-04T17:11:00.000-07:00

Hey, first of all, props to my occasional training partners Darren and Cliff. Darren rocked the Owen Sound Olympic course this weekend, earning himself a qualifying trip to Australia for the world championships next year. He gracefully declined, no doubt worried about being upside-down for that length of time. And that result? - very nice. Just goes to show what a little focus, and 8-12 weekly repeats riding up a ski hill, can result in.

Not to be outdone, Cliff is on the verge of becoming an Olympian himself, and we're not the only ones who have noticed - check this out.

And for all those who had to "du"instead of "tri"this weekend at Steelhead, my condolences. I've never had the displeasure myself, so can only imagine the disappointment. I have to think, however that after saddling up for the ride, the grumpiness from the "first run"would float on away like a cloud.

Training-wise for me, nothing spectacular this weekend. 18k run, followed by a solid metric century ride this morning. Built in some good climbs - both Guelph Line and Appleby Line - as well as some good stretches of rollers to just bust the legs. Today's lesson was that, while a banana may be a good source of ride-time nutrition, it's not the best choice to carry in a back pocket. It still looked mostly like a banana when I got to it, but only about half.

Given where my training has been this year it's a relief to be putting in those kinds of hours again. Let's just not talk about the swim. I've also been considering stretching the season out a bit by adding an end-0f-season marathon in October or November, but that's still on the drawing board. I'll keep you posted.

All in all an excellent long weekend, topped off by taking the training wheels off my daughter's bike and watching my son turn a Jeter-esque ground-ball-scoop-spin-and-throw-on-to-the-base move playing in the park this afternoon. Successes all around.

Peace.

It's all about the moose

2008-07-31T18:31:00.001-07:00

Lived through a fried motherboard, and now back to rant away. I had been saving up a bunch of things to bitch about, but time just got away, and besides there will soon enough be other dumb things to rant on.

Spending less time now blogging and more time trying to get the training back on track for Muskoka, only six weeks away.

I was going to rant about Lake Placid and the new policy which basically eliminates online registration. I was going to rant about Chinese Olympic athletes and "fair play". I was going to rant about police and cyclists or about the risk of death in our chosen sport. I was going to rant about the Tour de France and how I'm so sick and tired of the lying, cheating and stealing that it passed this year and I really didn't even care.

Never mind all that. Check out the moose - twenty feet down the road from the car when we went camping last weekend, just calmly eating leaves (the moose was, not me) as dozens of people stood across the street taking pictures.

You don't see that every day.

Peace.

PBO Road trip, race report

2008-07-07T17:58:00.000-07:00

First up: big cheers to the folks at Endurosport, specifically Jared and Brian, who saved my bacon and let me get my race on this weekend. Broken aerobars are not something you can patch together with duct tape and prayer, and when you can do it in 45 minutes on the way to the race site...well, good on them.

Now, on to the road trip and race report. I went up to the race site on Saturday afternoon with my sometime training partner Cliff. Even though the drive itself is reasonably short - less than two hours where we were leaving from, it's important to be able to coexist. Even more so when in sharing a hotel room. Cliff can be quite the conversationalist, so here are seven things I learned about Cliff on the trip to Peterborough:

1. Even though it was listed on his Ironman profile, Cliff is not actually a spandex model. He is in internet marketing.

2. In the months leading up to a race (PBO was an A-list race for Cliff) he will swear off coffee and beer. I don't know if I could find the strength to carry on.

3. The Canadian Death Race is on Cliff's list of life events to complete. He will also be competing in the Transplant Olympics in August.

4. Next week Cliff is making his (annual) pilgrimmage to Boston, most likely with nine other friends in a rented van. Talk about needing some entertainment.

5. Cliff wants a DVD player to watch all seasons of Arrested Development. Necessary for #4.

6. For race nutrition, Cliff will sometimes stock his pockets with frozen grapes. Great idea, but I don't know how he keeps them frozen.

7. Cliff is a champion sleeper. He slept in the car on the way to PBO, pounded down a solid two-hour nap once we arrived, fell asleep as soon as the lights went out after dinner, and slept over half the way back after the race on Sunday. I don't ever sleep well in hotels, and especially not the night before a race.

RACE DAY

Transition on race morning is always barely controlled chaos. Fortunately I managed to not forget anything this year and threw everything together in about ten minutes. The funniest part of transition? Skipping the lineup to the portapotties, and trying to find somewhere, in the middle of a park field surrounded by ~1000 of my closest friends, to apply body glide to the, ahem, necessary locations without threatening indecency and arrest. That done, I sausaged myself into the wetsuit and headed on down to the beach. Actually found Cliff right before the start and wished him luck. I never did see Darren until well out onto the course - read his account of the day to find out why.

Swim: 39:55 (2006 - 37:23)

Yep, this time is crap but it was no surprise. As a frame of reference, both laps of last year's Lake Placid swim were faster than this. What can I say - the yardage (metreage?) just hasn't been there this year. This is going to have to be a focus going forward, but I don't know what can be done to "fix it" in the time left this season. Only metreage will tell.

As an observation, the open water "spin cycle" at PBO is in many ways worse than a full IM. In an IM it's 100% beat-down from start to finish, speaking as a MOP'er. You know what you're going to get and at least can prepare mentally for it. In a half-IM with a smaller crowd, there are brief occasions where the water opens up. But, they're brief - usually less than seconds, and just as a rhythm starts to get a stroke or two, another intermittent beating starts. The taunting false promise of rhythm in the water is much more difficult (to me) to get used to.

Bike: 2:42:15 (2006 2:48:33)

RECANT: in the last race post (WellandQ) I admit that I slagged the race organizers for shorting me on the bike course. Strangely enough my bike computer says I was shorted again at PBO, again coincidentally by about 10% - 81km of 90 paid for. I do believe I owe the Welland organizers an apology, so this is it.

The bike course is not particularly tough, but it is the dictionary definition of "rolling hills". There really aren't any long flat stretches to unwind and let fly. Again, due to the shortage of quality training this ride was tougher for me than it should have been. The PB in the split owes entirely to the gains from the TT bike and the dorky helmet, over the road bike - traditional helmet combo of 2006. I made a real effort to keep the HR reined in - 150's in the, ahem, "flats" and no more than 160 on the climbs.

Run: the moment of truth - no spoilers here. Read on!

This is always where the truth is told. If you've not trained well (which I hadn't), hammered on the bike (which I tried not to) or not eaten properly (read on) then you pay the piper. There's no getting around it. My goal here, once I took stock getting off the bike was to knock off 5 min km's. Nothing flashy nor earth-shattering, but something I thought that would be achievable given the training inconsistency and the state I felt I was in off the bike. And to be honest, everything went well for about 14km. From 14-17 km it started to become work, and after 18km the wheels came off. Note: a cola-type beverage at an aid station really, REALLY needs to be degassed, or "flat". If not, the gas stays in and leads to vicious cramps. Lesson of the day. By the time I made the last turn around the soccer field I was waving the crowd to louder noise and grinning like a cat eating onions. I had brief thoughts of rolling across the finish line, a la Blazeman, but wasn't sure I'd be able to get up off the ground, so decided not to. The final run time of 1:47:32 was nearly nine minutes better than the last time I was at Peterborough, 1:56:31 in 2006.

A total finish time of 5:14:22 for a solid 12-minute PB. 119th overall, 27/66 in the age group. Congrats go out to Darren, who rocked the course in 4:26 and change, 8th overall and handily winning his age group, and to Cliff who also PB'd, on an afternoon that got very warm toward the end of the day. And a final round of applause for Trisport Canada who always manage to put on a great race.

10 weeks to go to Muskoka. Ten weeks to refocus, to put in time in the water and to refind the bike and run endurance that took the spring off. Is ten weeks enough time to find another 14 minutes? Let's see.

Peace.

WellanDQ

2008-07-02T17:32:00.000-07:00

A couple of days late, but here's the report from the Welland Sprint Triathlon Sunday June 29.

Lessons learned, lessons learned. The day broke warm, but not too warm, wind-free and sunny. I rolled into the parking lot with plenty of time to get to transition and also go through the process of race morning registration. Lesson #1: if you can avoid race-day registration, do so. Not that it was overly terrible - in fact the young women in charge were very helpful. It's just one more thing on the list of things to organize that's not required on the day. Lesson #2: race wheels cannot be inflated with Schrader valve adapters. A big thanks to the dude (racer #143) who saved my bacon that morning. Just goes to show that even when anarchy, disorganization and chaos reign, there remain small islands of civilization, hope and good favour.

The Welland tri goes off in a time-trial format, in bib number order and at five-second intervals. Owing to the fact that I registered on race morning I was bib #429, which meant that factoring in five seconds for every starter beginning with #1 (really, where else would you start?) at 8:30 a.m. or thereabouts, I would be going off just before lunch. Okay, I'm slightly exaggerating, but you get the general idea. Lined up in wetsuits like sausages on a grill, waiting to start the race a great number of swimmers had already started and finished the swim before I managed to get in the water.

I had no expectations for this race. My training has been sporadic this spring and I really just wanted to work on some things in transition and so forth to work out the bugs before PBO this weekend. It was therefore with great surprise that I found I chopped nearly 3 minutes off my 750m time from last year - 13:30 this year vs. 16:24 last year. This makes no sense, so I went back and read my race report from last year. Aha - managed to not get my goggles kicked off this year - that'll certainly shorten the time in the water. Also I made a conscious effort to sight early, sight often and sight repeatedly, as I have often found myself well off-course, swimming on my own. Not this year. I laid down some pretty straight lines from buoy-to-buoy and it looks like it shows. Now I understand that 13:30 is not blazing fast, but I've never claimed to be fast in the water, and a 1:48/100m is more than respectable for me.

Rant point #1: there's just no need for a 400m or longer run from the water to transition. I do understand the attraction for a paved transition area (i.e. in a closed parking lot). I just don't understand why I have to run barefoot across gravel, cinders and then circle the parking lot before I'm allowed in. On to the bike...

...where I got the second surprise of the day. If you've been following along, you know of course there's a new ride in town for this season. It definitely showed in this year's bike split, and I'm sure the dorky teardrop helmet didn't hurt either. The only downer on the bike was that I managed to launch my water bottle, out there in the gloamin' somewhere. This comes into play later on...
Last year's bike split for 30km: 51.42 min (avg. 34.8 km/h)
This year's bike split for 30(?)km: 48:05 (avg. 37.4 km/h) KABOOM!

Last year this race was three weeks before Lake Placid, when I was fully trained to the teeth (in fact, sick and tired of training as I recall). This year, of course, not so much training. One can only wonder, "if I had just put in the kilometrage...."The "?" is only because my bike computer measured the course at 27.12 km. I'm not saying, I'm just saying...

The run: this is where it all started to unravel. How so? Follow along, young Jedi, and ye shall see...
Lesson #3: a morning with only a bagel and a coffee for breakfast is a sign of bad things to come. There are not enough matches in the matchbook. Lesson #4: wearing last year's race shoes, because they have the speed laces is a risk that might be better to avoid. Lesson #5: added to lesson #4, wearing old shoes with no socks, even for a short (and in this case, shorter than advertised) run is well, the technical term would be, stupid. I'm currently wearing the height of band-aid fashion - three different blisters and a pair of shoes so bloody as to be unworthy for even a future in lawn-mowing.

By now, you've probably assumed that the run did not go so well. Even with two short stops (for minor dizzy spells) I was on pace to be within shouting distance of last year's finish time. And then, I missed the last loop of the pretzel.

This year's run course circles the Welland canal on what was referred to as a "double out and back". This is not the same run course as last year. The course went out past the swim over the bridge, around the canal, crosses over another bridge and turns around to recircle once again before running "in" back down the "out" trail, across the bridge one more time and finishing in the arena. Confusing? Yep, even more so on the course, with no km markers after 2 km (none that I saw), and a grand total of one run course marshal issuing instructions out loud to duathletes, triathletes on the first lap and triathletes on the second lap.

To make a long story short, I missed the second loop of the run, so my 7.5 km run was more in the neighbourhood of 5 km. The one marshal was shouting instruction as I passed through what (in retrospect) must have been the turnaround, but I didn't hear him clearly - the aforementioned dizziness probably didn't help.

2007 run - 7.5 km (est. - my raised eyebrow wrt this claim is well-documented... 32:27 (4:20/km)
2008 run - 5.0 km (again, est.) - 29:59 (6:00/km).

Clearly, I over-hammered the bike and under-fueled for the day, in addition to missing the sparse run directions.

Race results show me finishing in 8th place overall (and 4th in the AG). Clearly, that's a load of hooey. If I had been able to find a race official afterward I would have voluntarily DQ'd myself (and we're not talking Dairy Queen). I spoke to several other people at the finish who had the same confusion with run course markings.

Overall, although the end result was not A-one there were good positive learning experiences to take from this course. The swim sighting clearly assisted in putting together a better swim. I've probably also found the upper limit beyond which hammering on the bike has a significantly detrimental effect on the run.

All good things to "get out of my system" before gran-daddy #1: Peterborough in four days!

Peace.

Eleven days to go...

2008-06-25T18:30:00.000-07:00

...and I am woefully underprepared. The last little while has been so disorganized that I'm going to go to PBO hoping to survive. New goal: just to take stock, and see where that weekend is going to end up. No spoken objectives, except for this one: hoping to at least match the last finish time for PBO: 5:26 and change.

Big props to Darren, who kicked it at the Muskoka Chase and to Wedgie who survived the popsicle swim to conquer CDA - I guess #879 was a lucky number after all.

RIP George Carlin.

Peace.

Flexibility or something like that

2008-06-13T13:33:00.001-07:00

This is related to nothing (even though I can hear Darren going on about the benefits of stretching already) but I bet even he's not this flexible.

Freaky.

The honey-do list, mental hurdles

2008-06-11T13:40:00.000-07:00

And we're not talking about melons here.

Everybody knows about this. Everybody has had one. Everybody has been on one. And everybody has, at one time or another watched in suprise, shock and awe and it grew to heretofore unmeasurable lengths and proportions.

I am speaking, of course about the "honey-do" list (this blog is PG-rated - what did you think I was talking about?!?)

As mentioned in previous posts I'm going back to work again, starting next week. Given my newfound stable state of mind (well, relatively speaking) I had planned one big bang of a week of workouts to celebrate and to get back into the routine of routine training after a month of uncertainty.

So far this week I've traded tried to repair and ultimately had to replace one broken deadbolt. I've painted baseboards throughout the house and completely repainted the deck in the backyard. I figure I'm about halfway through the list. The trade-off: to date one swim, one ride (albeit a hillacious one) and two runs.

The mental hurdles arise when contemplating whether I've been off the training for so long that it may all be lost. After getting back after it today, it doesn't appear to be completely gone. Relief.

Now, less talk. More train.

Peace.

Revised summer plan and a minor rant

2008-06-09T18:20:00.000-07:00

So here's the deal: next week begins job #3 for this year. Yes, that's right friends and neighbours. After not so long ago espousing the joy and happiness of being gainfully employed once again, I have kicked that avocation for yet another, this one now job #3. I have also changed industries, from pharmaceutical to now something more along the lines of health and beauty, although I confess I am not a spandex model or anything like that.

So, here's the deal: the PBO half-iron, now only 4 weeks away (!!!) is back in play. Realistically the priority level has been reassigned. I'm planning to "train through it", putting in only a minor taper and racing the race as a "measuring stick" and not full-out. To be fair, I don't know if I know how to race anything less than full-out (finishing times notwithstanding), but that's the plan from here on out. Hopefully a minor tune-up between now and then at Guelph Lake. Down the calendar, Muskoka 70.3 remains the A lister for this year, with hopefully a full marathon to end out the year in style (or pain) or both.

With the new job, of course, comes the need to rejig the whole family-life-work balance. Gotta put those chainsaws back in the air...

And now for the minor rant: tonight my son was scheduled to be the team captain for his rookie league baseball game at 6:15. Full disclosure: at 5:30 it rained for about three minutes. Darkish clouds swirled through the sky and the humidity was oppressive, but nothing storm-like happened. We arrived at the park at about 6:14 (okay, cutting it a little close) to find a nearly empty diamond, and coaches from both our team and the other team milling about in the parking lot. Allegedly, one parent arrived at about 5:50 and heard a roll of thunder far off in the distance. This parent then proclaimed, "there's no way my son is playing in that!!" The 12-year old umpire proceeded to call the game on account of impending rain.

It's now past 9:30. Still waiting for the rain, thunder, lightning and storm of biblical proportions to wipe us all away. Please. Give me a, ahem, freaking break.

Here are a couple of baseball pictures, just because.

Peace.

Counting down to Beijing

2008-06-09T10:50:00.001-07:00

Good news and congrats for Paul Tichelaar, I suppose, but it's kind of like being promoted to first mate of the Titanic. I'm a huge Simon Whitfield fan, but can anybody catch Javier Gomez? Results at the Worlds in Vancouver (find them here) would lead one to believe, not so much.

***

Canadian men's Olympic triathlon team is set
JAMES CHRISTIE
Globe and Mail Update
June 9, 2008 at 11:15 AM EDT
Canada's top-rated triathlete of 2008, Paul Tichelaar of Edmonton, will join forces with two-time Olympian and 2000 gold medallist Simon Whitfield of Victoria and Olympic rookie Colin Jenkins of Hamilton, Ont., for the 2008 Games in Beijing.
The team selections were announced Monday by Triathlon Canada.
Tichelaar, 25, sits sixth in the world rankings after top-eight performances in the South Pacific section of the triathlon world circuit at the Mooloolaba, New Plymouth and Tongyeong World Cup events.
He underlined those performances when he came in ninth at the world championships in Vancouver this past weekend.
"Our men's team in Beijing will be among the strongest of any country," said Triathlon Canada's executive director Alan Trivett.
"The addition of Jenkins and Tichelaar adds the opportunity to race as a team with Whitfield; however Tichelaar has been very consistent on the World Cup Circuit over the past year and is equally capable of producing a top result for Canada on his own."
Jenkins, also 25, had four top-20 World Cup finishes in 2007, including in Vancouver where he finished in seventh place. Ranked 47th in the World Cup rankings after the 2007 season, Jenkins is a strong swimmer and cyclist and has been cast in the role of a pace-setting domestique. The Triathlon Canada statement says he was named to the team to help Whitfield's efforts to the podium.
Whitfield qualified for the team based on 2007 results of a top-8 finish at both a World Cup event and the World Championships, while Tichelaar and Jenkins were nominated to the team for submission to the Canadian Olympic Committee late Sunday night by Triathlon Canada's selection committee.
Tichelaar's breakthrough year came in 2006 when he notched his first World Cup top-8 finish (in Edmonton) and came in eighth at the Commonwealth Games. Tichelaar didn't slow down in 2007, posting three top-eight World Cup performances including a silver medal in Cancun, Mexico.
Whitfield, the No.3 Canadian in the World Cup rankings in 12th spot, won the gold medal at the Ishigaki BG Triathlon World Cup in 2008 — the only World Cup race he has competed in this year.
At age 33, the veteran completed eight World Cup races in 2007 and ended the year ranked second in the World Cup rankings. Whitfield finished 11th at the 2004 Athens Olympics. At the World Championships in Hamburg last year, he finished fourth, following that up with a sixth place finish in Vancouver on the weekend.
The women's Olympic triathlon team will be named within the next two weeks.

2007 IMLP race report

2008-06-04T18:35:00.001-07:00

Warning: this has been posted elsewhere, but without the pictures. It's here now just to have it "in my files". Enjoy. On a related note, out of the blue I told the family some time back that I wanted to register for IMLP for next year. They said, "okay" without missing a beat. On another related note, I never did find out who that "Caroline" was. Hallucination?

Peace.

IRONMAN LAKE PLACID - Sunday July 22, 2007.

Sunday morning - up before the alarm at 4:30. Spent at least an hour and a half the night before "organizing" my stuff, to the point where my wife yelled at me to "just sit down and stop obsessing". Out the door at 4:45 a.m.

We stayed right in town so I had decided to walk down to transition in the morning. Our hotel was about 100 ft down the street from Placid Planet, where I saw the first shuttle bus stop I walked past. Walked about 3 more minutes before I realized it was too cold in bike shorts and a longsleeve shirt to walk the whole way, so....I put on my wetsuit. No more cold problems after that.

Stopped in on Main St. for a coffee and a bagel, then bodymarking, then just lollygagged around transition for another 45 minutes or so.

Watched the pro women start, and before you knew it, it was time to go...

Swim ("the battle royale")
Time: 1.15:34
My only objective in the water was to get out alive. The beatings started as soon as the cannon went off. I took a couple of smacks, but nothing too serious and eventually gave up on trying to sight "the line" or buoys. I was sighting off the 20-25 people between me and the line of buoys, and that worked. Took another couple of good whacks going around the corners, but made it out alive. In my (brief) experience open-water swimming, anytime you're in "open water", you're off-course. I had to check a couple of times but I more or less managed to hold something of a line.

According to both results on the website and the results book I came out of the water in 1115th place - about half-way, which is about where I always come out of the water, regardless of distance.

Lesson #1: bring shoes or flipflops or something throwaway (if your cheering section is still in bed) - it's really cold in Lake Placid downtown and on the beach in the morning.
Lesson #2: put on sunscreen after the swim, not before. My neck looks like a cross between an alligator purse and a rattlesnake shedding its skin.

T1 - 7:16 (hey, it's a loooong run from the beach)
Bike - 6.12:01

As soon as you roll out of town, the climbing starts, but I was feeling pretty good so the first climb (pre-Keene) actually felt pretty good. About a half-hour out I thought it was time to have something to eat, so I proceeded to get one bite out of my energy bar, before I dropped it. Much cursing followed, but I snagged a banana and gel at the aid station. The 9km descent into Keene is awesome!!! I broke 76 km/h on the downhill, and I couldn't wait to get back there again.
The scenery on the course is just amazing. We were told at the athlete's meeting to make sure to take the time to look up while on the course, and it really is unbelievable. That, and the costumed monkeys in Black Brook.
The first bike lap finished under three hours - the second, not so much. The wind picked up throughout the morning, and according to the paper the next day the temperature changed 40 degrees F (~22 degrees C) through the day), so the second lap was hotter and windier. The second lap climb, from Wilmington back into Lake Placid (this is where I saw the "Go Cliff Tam #280" sign twice) was not nearly as much fun as the first.
The results book had me at #685 after the bike, which means I had to pass almost 500 people (!) on the bike. I didn't notice it - maybe they were all in the transition tent

Lesson #3: don't follow the breakaway. When someone wants to gun past you on the bike, let him/her go. Don't follow the breakaway. It's long day (don't follow the breakaway) with a long way to go. Did I mention not to follow the breakaway??

Side note: holy pelotons, Batman. I know this is a non-drafting sport, but were they ever out there.

T2 - 5:51 (with sunscreen !!)
Run - 4.28:43 (still faster than Oprah)

Not much excitement here. I caught myself thinking, out of T2, that I was around 7:40, and if I could hold together a 4:20 marathon I could break 12 hours. I managed to hold the pace for the first lap, and part of the second (saw Skee twice here - coming in while I was going out, and coming back in while I was going out for lap #2), but the food at the rest stops just got too good to pass up. I walked a few hills (okay, all the hills) on the second lap. The run course is actually broken up nicely, so that if you know where the turnarounds are (would have been really helpful to drive/ride the course) then you can trick yourself into thinking it's all just a bunch of shorter races. The two killer hills on the way back in, at 9/22 miles (over the bridge) and 11/24 miles (into town) are just nasty.

Overall: 12.09:23
616th overall, 143/415 M35-39

I have no idea where this time came from. My only goals were to finish vertical, and hopefully before dark. Will I do this again? Absolutely. The hook is in, pretty deep. I actually found myself thinking about "the next race" while on the run, and my wife actually asked me "so, where are we going next?" on Monday.

Like the academy, I have some people to thank.

Two people, Jane #2485 from Windsor and Caroline, #2166. Caroline, I ran a few miles with on the second lap. Jane, I leapfrogged all day long on the bike and through most of the run, until I passed her for good around mile 23.

Cliff (ckct) and Darren (skeezix) for the swim and strategy Friday a.m. I think I only needed to be told about sixteen more times to "go easy on the first lap".

Finally, my cheering section - my wife and two kids, who made and put up the signs (still have them in my garage) and posted messages on the "inspiration board". They let me go through all this, and never complained (okay, not very much) and actually sound like they want to do it all over again.

Thanks.

First Annual Oakville Half

2008-06-02T07:28:00.000-07:00

The plan:

An hour in the water, then back home to hit the road for three hours (or so) of bike, with some tasty hill climbs built in, and finished off with a solid two-hour jaunt through the valley running trails. Seeing as how this was the first annual it would have been surprising for the event to sell out; however I expect that word of mouth will cause registration to be much busier for the next incarnation.

Transition was full, but spirits were high.

It's not the Lucky Lobster, but it's not bad.

The day opened cloudy and cold. As usual on “race days” I woke before the alarm at 6:15 a.m. The goal was to get downstairs, get in some calories (and coffee) and get transition set up, all without waking up the rest of the family. That lasted about half an hour. The “cheering section” was awake and roaming about the house by 6:45.

Darren showed up exactly on time for the opening of the transition area at 7:00 a.m. We set up, spent a few minutes chatting with Bella who insisted on showing off her jump rope skills and headed off to the pool. We arrived ahead of schedule and right on time for the open at 7:30.

Part One: The Swim

Now, let me add a word of explanation. My training has been a little hit-and-miss in the last few weeks as I’ve adjusted to the new job schedule. This swim was my first in two weeks. In fact there had been only two or three swims in the month of May prior to that. To make a long story short, there was a thick layer of rust/struggle, and it showed. The usual Sunday morning participants were in the pool, Flipper Lady and Lane Barge. Flipper Lady just recently became Flipper Lady; previously she was Black Bikini. The flippers haven’t made her any faster and look in fact like they’ve become something of a crutch because now she doesn’t swim without them (at least on Sundays). Is this a pool story? Not quite, but it’s the closest I have.

Darren, as usual, knocked off his 2000 in about ten minutes and waited patiently as I struggled through 1800m before finally calling it after 45 minutes. Honestly, I could have put in more mileage, but started to feel a little guilty watching him alternate between standing around waiting and trying to figure out how to pass Breast Stroke Boy. One more pool tip: the fast lane is not the place to be working on your breast stroke, unless you’re a championship breast stroker. This guy was not.

On the way back from the pool we stopped briefly so that I could pick up my race entry fee for the Social Director.

Part Two: The Bike

The bike course planned for today topped out at ~93km (58 miles for you southerners) with three nice “climbs of note” at 22, 42 and 65 km. The bike route was also last-minute diverted, as Darren pointed out that the original route had us going up Sixth Line at almost the exact same time as the Milton Triathlon. A good observation and it occurred to me that I had missed again the annual race that is almost literally in my backyard. Because this race is so early in the year I think it’s actually the trigger that makes me realize that the season is on. By that time of course it’s too late to get in on the action. It’s also possible that in future years the soon-to-be-wildly-successful Oakville Half will conflict on this date.

Went hard-core on the bike today – one bottle of fluid and a couple of bars. The course had us in the neighbourhood of at least one store where we could have stopped to reload if necessary. This was also the first “real” ride on the new bike, so I had no idea how it was going to go – new saddle, new fit, new position.

Like earlier in the day, the ride start was cool (13C or 56F) and very windy. Winds were 25-35km/hour and right in our face all the way out. The ride also started out inauspiciously – I lost Darren at the first traffic light out of town – oops. We got that sorted out and carried on.

The climb at Guelph Line in the curiously-named town of Lowville was the first real test for the new bike, and it smoothed right on up that hill like it wasn’t even there. I was impressed. The second climb at Appleby Line (up the escarpment to the entrance at Rattlesnake Point) isn’t a fair test – it’s a killer on any ride.

Other ride notes:

At one stretch we rode past a massive peloton whipping by in the opposite direction – we later found out from another rider that the pack was training for RAAM – yet another wacko event. We also passed quite a bunch of riders in a “moveathon”, whatever that is. They were well-prepared – had at least two aid stations that I saw.

We did actually cross part of the bike course for Milton – must have been the duathlon course.

We also missed the last turn-off into Kilbride for the last Cedar Springs climb – I knew I should have taken that left turn at Albuquerque.

The headwind out became a tailwind back into transition, so we absolutely smoked back into town at one point averaging 50km/h. Again, going hard-core I hadn’t even moved my computer from Donkey to the new bike. Total ride time 3:10.04.

Part Three: The Run

A fuel stop before heading out on the trails was necessary – banana and a giant bottle of Gatorade. The run, in theory was to be two hours out and about the valley trails. There is overhead construction at one point (bridge-widening) and so part of the park is closed to traffic, which just means a little fence-dodging. There were also a couple of washouts on the path, alongside signs that say, “WARNING: Poison Ivy – Stay on the Path”. Adventurous. It all just reminds me why trail running is so much better than road running. Sure you give up the exact distance measure for the training log – you can’t Google Map the trails, and the tree cover is thick enough to make GPS signals irregular and unreliable – but no cars, no noise, no wind. Nothing but the crunch of gravel underfoot and the wheezing (of me) trying to keep up after a previous month of extremely sparse training. And of course, I forgot my gels and Shot Bloks before going out, so I ran hardcore with no fuel. There was a hydration stop just after an hour in. We must have done okay, because we ran out of trail at 1h 40, not quite the estimated two hour run. Hmm – route change for next year’s trail portion.

Overall, I would describe it as an excellent day’s work. The trick now is following it up and getting back into the routine. I think I have the base in place for Peterborough, but haven’t registered. I’m not sure I’d be happy with the outcome with my fitness at its current level. I know they say the swim part is easy to get back (whoever “they” are). The bike is okay and the run endurance needs some work. Still have time to decide, but it would sure add some purpose to the training to have a target to shoot at, before Muskoka. Maybe another shorter tune-up this summer as well.

Peace.

Baby pictures, speed dating

2008-05-28T09:09:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm that kind of father. Here are pictures.

Went out with the "baby" for a 30 minute speed date this morning. Don't know if I believe in love at first sight, but we certainly seem to like each other. Still working on a name for the "baby" - any ideas?

White shoes - funky!

Peace.

Donkey, amputation, Floripa

2008-05-25T18:48:00.000-07:00

Remember at the end of last week that the plan for this week added up to nearly thirteen hours of training? The total this week was nearly eleven hours. See if you can spot where the plan fells short:

Swimming: ZERO m, ZERO minutes!!!!

Bike: 206.4 km

Run: 47km, with a long run of 19km yesterday.

Hmm, notice any weak spots in the training plan? Yep, still having trouble working the swim into the schedule with the new job schedule. Need to work out an alternate arrangement this week to get some pool time in. On the bright side both the ride and run schedules went well, although the run was a tiny bit light. Yesterday's long run convinced me - the run portion of the First Annual Oakville Half brought to you by nobody, scheduled for June 1 will in all likelihood have at least a 75% trail run course. It's way better than road running and sucking exhaust. Course maps still to follow, although I imagine they'll be finalized by about Wednesday.

This weekend was IronMan Brazil - has always been one of my "wishlist" destination races. Results and race reports from Ironmanlive.com are available here. Once again, Fernanda Keller, the 43-year old "Wonder Woman" of Brazil won the women's race, celebrating her 25th year as a professional triathlete. To persevere in this sport for that long is pretty impressive.

Today might have been one of the last long rides on Donkey, my "noble steed". Yep, tomorrow the new baby is due and the pre-deed is done. A new parking space is set up in the garage and the Donkey was amputated - pedals removed.

Editor's note: remember the other mention last week about the "other" new baby that was due to join the family last week? My cousin and her husband were convinced they were having a son (and his name was Luke). They had their fourth daughter on Friday - baby is doing fine, mother and father are a little confused, but otherwise fine.

In remembrance of the contribution Donkey made to my, ahem "career" in this hobby, a few profiles have been attached. I'll be observing a moment of silence, although undoubtedly Donkey will remain in the rotation for the occasional mercy weekend ride, or to shuttle the kids to school once in awhile.

The last one is of course just a candid shot of the two of us chillaxing together.

Peace.

Ironman Brasil - one day, my friends, one day

2008-05-25T17:21:00.001-07:00

The 2008 version ran today - race report will follow later. I've been watching these videos for two days, and I'm getting hyped up. This video is from a couple years back, but it's not bad. This race has always been on my "to-do" list, but cycling over cobblestones?!? Why not? Bring 'em on!

One day - maybe not next year, but one day. I'll be there.

Peace.

Quick post...new baby coming, after all!!

2008-05-22T19:31:00.000-07:00

Next week!

"Sometime in May" now officially means that I'll meet my new baby next Monday - they're building her now to be ready tomorrow, but are so jammed up with fittings I can't get in until Monday.

Ed. Note: if my cousing Ally is reading this, I'm not talking about you, so don't get freaked out. (She's having a baby, literally tomorrow. Scheduled and everything). And if you're up at this time of night reading this with all you have planned for tomorrow, shame on you. Get some rest.

Bike fitting on Monday. Hmmm - need to get a few rides in before the 1st Annual Oakville Half next weekend. The three amigos - myself, Darren and Cliff - together again. Of course invitations are open to anyone else who may be in the neighbourhood next weekend. Fire off a comment or an email and I'll open up the transition area, er, garage.

Bike course and run course to follow.

Peace!

Lost week

2008-05-18T18:10:00.000-07:00

So there's good news and there's bad news from last week.

First the bad news. From a training perspective last week was a complete and utter write-off. I managed to get in a grand total of 2-1/4 hours of training - one 45 minute run and a 90 minute ride (roundtrip, from the doctor's office). Fortunately it was a scheduled "rest" week anyway, but it certainly wasn't intended at the outset to drop off quite so much.

The drop off had two sources. One, from Tuesday on I fought a nasty case of the spring flu, which is not yet gone, but seems to be on the decline. Very little breathing and even less sleeping, but after this week I could tell you everything you needed to know and some things you don't about expectoration, rockets, boogies, mocos and the like.

The second source, and this is where the bad news takes a hike and the good news comes strolling down the laneway. The new job started on Monday. Now, the on-the-job training takes place on the afternoon shift (2:00 pm - 10:00 pm) which is tough. The even "gooder" news is that it looks as though this is going to work out just fine.

The other piece of good news? After making a trip to the doctor it was determined that my achilles injury is not yet serious enough to be called tendonitis. It's a noninsertional tendonopathy (try dropping that into your next dinner conversation) that's on the verge of becoming a tendonitis that could take 2-3 months to rehab. Fortunately some stretching (yes Darren, I know) and light-to-moderate rehab, with no prescribed reduction in training, should clear it up.

The real challenge now is fitting the training into the new working schedule, which is a bit of a challenge. Afternoon swims now become morning swims and morning runs now must move to other days. All part of that great circle of life, Simba.

So, this upcoming week calls for ~13 hours training - three swims, four rides and three runs. I can hardly wait to see how this turns out.

Stay tuned.

A new leaf?

2008-05-12T05:17:00.000-07:00

First the week in review:

Swim - 3100m - very light week - focused elsewhere and lost a day to "Mother's weekend"
Bike - 258.3 km - over 9-1/2 hours in the saddle including two separate century+ rides. For me, that's a pretty monster ride week.
Run - 22 km - way down. The achilles tendon has flared up again. I'm going to get it checked out this week - put it off long enough.

So, the new leaf. Today's the day. First day of training in the new job. It's been a long time since I had one of these "first days". Feels a little bit like the first date jitters. Will I like them? Will they like me? Will we all like the same movie? and on and on and on...

Every day is a new opportunity, so I'm going into this heads up, with the eyes open, ready to hopefully learn new things and try new things. I suppose we'll see how it goes. Further reports to follow.

Just a short post today. For the first time in a while, I actually have to go get ready for work.

Peace.

A slightly different triathlon

2008-05-09T10:37:00.001-07:00

"Sprint", indeed.

Too funny.

Biku(s)

2008-05-08T10:16:00.000-07:00

A pack of little
Verses within to provide
Afternoon chuckles.

Today I will ride
Very far indeed, away
From cars and loud noise.

Over the hills, I
Know not where, but it's true that
Horses smell funny.

The sun is shining
The wind has calmed somewhat
Should I bring cookies?

My new chariot
Has not yet been assembled
Boo hoo - I am sad.

A little boredom?
Or perhaps giddiness from
Paint fumes in the house.

Toodle-oo. I'm off
To hit the road, certainly
Not off my rocker.

AFTERMATH

Lapping around the
Enormous block, to make a
Century (metric).

Priorities

2008-05-06T13:28:00.000-07:00

I used to watch a lot of TV. In fact I would go so far as to say I watched too much TV. There wasn't a night that went by that didn't contain a show I "had" to see. Before reality TV took over television there was usually a cops, lawyers or doctors drama on every night that I couldn't miss. ER, NYPD Blue, Law & Order - you get the idea. Undoubtedly this explains why I used to weigh 220 pounds. (Editor's note: now at 183 and this is preseason form. Would like to get to 175, "intervention weight").

Nowadays, I don't watch much at all. Sure, I'll watch some hockey or baseball, and I will confess to spending some time watching football in the fall, but the time spent on the couch is way, waaayyy down. It just boils down to life choice. In other words I've set different priorities and chosen to follow them. When I hear people (or hear of people) saying they'd love to exercise the way I do, or my friends do, but don't have the time, I just shake my head. The next time one of your non-triathlon, non-marathoning friends says that, ask him/her "who got kicked off American Idol last night?" Priorities, people.

The point of all this? Oh yeah, I'm getting to it. Last night I watched the only real non-sporting-event show that I make any effort to try and follow: House. Yet another "doctor" show, in keeping with the trend, but I don't know if it's going to last. Having been off the air, along with almost everything else due to the writer's strike for so long, life has just moved on. Turns out I didn't really miss it, and don't know if I'll tune back in next week.

In following the reprioritized life and the HTFU training schedule, went out for a pedal-mashing ride today: 7 X 3min in the biggest gear I have - 52/12 with 3 minute rest intervals in between. And not just pushing the big gears, but hammering the big gears - mashing as hard as I could for as long as I could. Not exactly like the hillwork of the weekend past, but effective for building strength nonetheless.

Again, it's all back to priorities. In order to ride faster, one must be able to spin at a higher cadence than normal, or push a bigger gear at the same cadence. Today's workout was designed to get to a bigger gear. By the end of the set of repeats I was fried, but it's money in the bank. Money in the "strength" bank. It's easy math. To ride better, ride more. To run better, ride more.

Bike update: called the LBS for an update on delivery date. The original date was specifically, and I quote, "May". This has been updated (not quite upgraded) to "maybe this week, maybe next week". Sigh.

Peace.

Monster weekend

2008-05-04T18:17:00.001-07:00

Looking over the log for the week, it doesn't seem all that impressive, but it does add up:

Swim - 7200m

Bike - 172.4 km

Run - 41 km

The "adding" up part came from a pretty solid weekend. 25km run yesterday, followed by a hard 2600m swim this morning and a 93km hillacious ride this afternoon.

Okay, so I've never claimed to be a fast swimmer, but today was just too much. I got passed by a woman doing kick drills. Dolphin kick, on her back. Sheesh, I thought I was going pretty well, then that. Just having to keep looking at the pace clock - the time is actually falling there.

Today's ride was pretty solid as well - the (ever-present) wind and a trifecta of three of the best hills to ride around here - Guelph Line (up to Mount Nemo), Bell School Line and Sixth Line, as described here. After that weekend the knees feel a little hollowed-out.

More good news: upon discussion with the house CFO, admission into Peterborough has been tentatively approved for 2008. This came right after she tried to convince me that I should run the Mississauga marathon, which is only next weekend. When I pointed out that the longest run I had run this year was 25km, and only once in the last three months, she was a little disappointed. Turns out her boss is running the race, and apparently I need to run it to defend the honour of the family name.

Went in to the LBS and "placed the order" for the soon-to-be new member of the family. Turns out that their definition of "in stock" and my definition are not the same. Their definition doesn't include "in my size", and due to obvious popularity of the brand, the most precise delivery date that they can commit to is "sometime in May". Getting excited - should be good. Hopefully it's not too much longer.

Peace.

Latest addition to the family

2008-04-30T08:56:00.000-07:00

Viewer discretion advised. There may be, ahem, "porn". Scroll down, if you dare.

Almost there....

Okay, so it was bike porn. Not necessarily that colour, and probably not with that wheelset, but you never know. The baby hasn't even been born yet, and we don't know what "babies" are in stock. Shockingly, for the first time in recorded history the CRA has spit out a refund for me, after years and years of paying. I'm not one to question, although undoubtedly there will be a reassessment later this year. Just as with the additional payment in the first go-round, there's always a reassessment. Before that day, I'm going ahead.

Better baby pictures, hopefully this weekend.

Ride on.

Weekend TT update

2008-04-28T15:39:00.001-07:00

Yet another brutally windy weekend. This weekend was the Alton Time Trial weekend. Unfortunately, some of us couldn't make it out for the "mostly flat" time trial course - only Darren and Cliff made the grade. One note of interest: when Darren says the course is "mostly flat", don't believe a word he says.

I went out on Saturday for a solo TT, since it was the day. For those who have been following along, yes, I remembered my helmet this time. However the wind had other plans. I estimated the wind to be between 35 - 40km/h, since that was the speed at which there was no forward wind resistance. It was so quiet at that speed that it felt something like what I imaging the eye of the tornado would be like.

I wouldn't count these results as being worth anything, but for the sake of interest, here are the duplicate TT results, taken at two different segments on a 75km route.

TT #1: Elapsed time 32.39, average HR 142 - average speed 27.6 km/h

TT#2: Elapsed time 23.33 (with one 12% grade, one traffic light and one pull to the side of the road and stop for ambulance), average HR 135 - average speed 38.2 km/h.

Of note, the second repeat was over two hours after the first, and after several lung-busting hill repeats. Also, from a RPE perspective the second was a bit of a "sand-bag", maybe a RPE of 4-5. After finishing the repeat I had several km of new, flat pavement ahead of me so I put the hammer down and mashed - spent a long time over 50 km/h with tailwind. There's no way I was putting out the same effort on the way back with the tailwind, whereas on the first I was fighting to keep the bike upright and out of traffic (guessing RPE 8-9).

So, what does this data tell me? Absolutely nothing of any value, other than the fact that a power meter might have helped to equalize. Speaking of power, and specifically hill power I put the killer hills from the last long ride (Bell School Line and Sixth Line) back in the repertoire. At that "speed" (and I use that term very loosely on those hills) wind is not a factor. I did also manage to break the speed limit on a downhill - 65km in a 60km zone - which is always cheering. Thought I could do the same coming back down Sixth Line. Alas, the limit is 80km/h, and I came up short there - last peek I stole was as 73.4 km/h.

Finally, met another rider stopping for a drink and a snack passing by Kelso Glen. She had come out from downtown for some hill repeats, but was nearly fried from the ride fighting into the wind the whole way. I did feel a little sympathy for her, but figured she be home (between 50-60km away) in less than an hour.

Peace.

Some people never learn

2008-04-23T16:37:00.001-07:00

What a beautiful day for a ride, and I've got the sunburn to prove it. Now, you would think, after slogging through some nasty hills on the weekend, one would be disinclined to go through the same work/torture again. If that's indeed what you think, read the title. Four of us - Chad, Tom, Craig and me - climbed Walker's Line, followed by Bell School Line and the Sixth Line Hill, famous home of the Milton Tri. We also added on a nasty little section of rollers on 22 Sideroad, made more nasty by the fact that they ended on a gravel washboard. Another nervous 1 km search for pavement that fortunately passed without incident. For interest's sake, the approximate route is here: http://routebuilder.org/27n

One quick side note: if you're leaving your garage needing to carry three things to the car for your ride (shoes, pump, helmet) I'd recommend making sure two of the things are your shoes and helmet. It's usually safe to assume that someone will have a pump. Not so safe to assume that they'll have a helmet you can borrow. On the plus side, riding without a helmet is less weight. On the negative side your head is decidedly non-aero (especially if lumpy like mine - wife would say "made of rock"). It's also a freaky little head game (pardon the pun) to pay very close attention to the road and other riders and branches and cars and wind and trucks and...you get the picture. Oh yeah, also on the negative, you could die. Did it today - 93 km without a helmet. Would not condone or recommend it for anyone else.

Peace.

Week in review

2008-04-20T18:14:00.000-07:00

Definite bike focus this week, with the weather finally allowing it.

Swim - 2500 m one (!) swim
Bike - 232.5 km -525min
Run - 135 min

The pinnacle of the week's rides was a three-hour, strength-building hill session this morning with Darren and Stu, through the Forks of the Credit, up famous McLaren Hill and even more famous Hockley Valley Ski Resort. Got to eat my first bug of the year today. They're definitely out - I had things ring off my helmet this week big enough to sound like someone knocking on a door.

Good week. Good work. I'm tired. Going to bed.

EDITOR'S NOTE: no more whining from me about my "tough day" (big baby!). I need to HTFU. Check out this killer weekend.

Peace.

Do or do not, there is no try...

2008-04-18T09:31:00.000-07:00

Yoda is the man. There was very little to like about the new "old" Star Wars movies, but the younger (?!?) Yoda, with the lightsaber and the high-impact aerobics was definitely one of the high points. But I digress....

Originally I was going to call this "the end of Coach Troy", but that's not necessarily true. Today I had a choice: slot in Coach Troy for another bout of crankarm bending, or hit the roads and crank it outside, as Cliff says "crank it 'til it hurts".

It's 22 degrees C (that's warm for you Amerks - 68F in your cute little temperature system) and sunny. Coach Troy never had a chance.

This morning was a power set, all in the big ring. 8 X 1 minute in the biggest gear I have (52/12), the last two of which were standing uphills. Brutal. Averaged 34 km/h (21.2 mph for you others) which doesn't sound like much, but is a pretty good clip for me.

Today, cranked it until it hurt. So much that I just finished my "recovery" run, nine hours later and I'm totally bagged. Good day overall.

Peace.

I'll huff and I'll puff...

2008-04-16T13:00:00.000-07:00

April showers are famous. Everybody has heard of April showers. In fact, for a large percentage of people April showers are good things that are usually welcomed. After all, who has a problem with flowers (all you allergy sufferers, put your hands down - I know, I know).

Nobody talks about April wind. One can ride in the rain, although one may choose generally not to, especially in April. The wind is killer, especially when you have to lean sideways into it, so as not to be blown off the road. That was today's wind. My plan going out was for a solid three-hour ride. After fighting the bike for an hour, I realized this was not going to be possible.

The plan for today was to put together a monga training day - not quite the Alton Half, but pretty close - swim, bike and run. Here's the play-by-play on why it didn't quite turn out that way.

Step 1: the swim. One of the benefits of "underemployment" is being able to swim in the middle of the day. Lane traffic is not necessarily lighter (in fact it's often busier around lunch), but speaking of lunch, later in the day, I've at least managed to get some fuel in. That's not always possible for a 5:30 a.m. swim. I didn't fuel today, and paid for it. I completely struggled and battled to get to a measly 2500m before packing it in.

Step 2&3: long bike, long run. The plan was to catch up with my buddy Chad in Carlisle today after getting my car back from a trip to the mechanic, to put in a long ride (at least three hours) followed by a long run (90-120 minutes). Now, he's an Olympic-distance specialist (which means he has no staying power, but I digress). What he does have is speed to spare. I can't keep up with him, but generally manage to keep him below the horizon and in sight.

So, upon dropping my car off this morning at 9 a.m. I was told it would be at least three hours before I could get it back. Curses, foiled again. That killed the original plan right then and there. Right then and there I decided to do the solo jaunt. I went out for the ride, and after fighting the wind as described above, packed it in, completely fried after 2.5 hours. The run was cancelled.

At the end of it all, it was still 3.5 hours to go in the log today, but with a little better planning it could have been 3.5 hours of better quality work. Season is still young, but need to focus a little better going on from here.

Peace.

Back, and just as salty...

2008-04-14T12:57:00.000-07:00

The Mouse that Took Over the World.

Indeed.

Well, we're back, rested, recovered and decompressed from the trip to WDW. This year at Disney is marketed as the "Year of a Million Dreams". It could also be the "Year of a Million Stuffed Animals", or the "Year of a Million Commercials", or even the "Year of a Million Pictures of Mickey Mouse on everything from plates, cups, shirts to walls, floors, tiles, bedlinen, statues, posters and topiaries". I guess that wouldn't be quite so catchy.

This is not a trip for the faint of heart. Four Disney "parks", targeted to kids, plus two "water parks" and another park targeted at the adults with the bigger wallets. Almost all in seven days. The kids, of course, loved it. Princesses and pirates and Plutos and Goofys as far as the eye could see, with the omnipresent Mouse That Started It All always in the background. We crossed one water park and the adult park off the list, and were left with the rest.

At the end, lessons learned from Disney:

1. Getting up at 3 a.m. for the airport is going to make for a long day, no matter what else happens that day.

2. Never drink any beverages, hot cold or otherwise, around hyper children in or on an airplane. I wore two coffees myself (on the same flight) and my wife an orange juice (different flight, though) that proved this.

3. Very few things can possibly live up to the hype. By definition, not every event can be "spectacular" or "once in a lifetime". If you like roller coasters, however, Space Mountain is pretty dadgum close.

4. Oversaturation, part I: disregard the weather reports, and pack raingear. It's Florida. It's going to rain at some point. When it does, it's going to rain hard, a lot and for a long time.

5. Oversaturation, part II: there is no opportunity lost to market, advertise or attempt to sell something to someone. At any time when you are going to be standing or sitting still, or even sleeping, you will be sold to. Even the bedlinen is branded, logoed and (presumably) for sale.

6. Oversaturation, part III: I didn't think it was possible to up the advertising ante, but the folks at DisneyWorld have found a way. Certain rides and shows are "brought to you by" or "made possible by a generous grant from" . I will not propagate the ads by mentioning the companies here, nor should I have really been surprised.

7. Dripping irony is watching a video called "the Circle of Life" (remind you of anything?) in which the morale of the story is that we all have to do our part in reducing, reusing and recycling in order to protect the planet we live on. This is followed by night-time parades with fireworks and light shows that consume gigawatts of energy every day. Contradiction, anyone?

8. Motorized strollers - what to say? Everything that can be said, has been said. I've never seen so many motor-powered wheelchairs, scooters or strollers before. One shouldn't be surprised - after all when pop/soda is unlimited and ice cream is served by the half-gallon pail complete with sprinkles, candies and "whipped topping", what else can be expected? The new "low" is watching one family - husband, wife and extra-large daughter (she might have been twelve years old) take turns getting out of the scooter and walking/driving around. Episodes like this (thankfully there weren't many) make it a lot more difficult to take those who really need the service seriously.

Oh yeah, training. No cycling, no workout swimming. Got in two plus-30C runs. Very, very hot and humid. A true "rest week". Going to have to make it up this week.

Cheers.

Out of office auto-reply

2008-04-04T07:01:00.000-07:00

I am out of the office, with intermittent access to email, although available by phone. If you need immediate assistance, I'm afraid you'll have to call someone else. :)

See-ya!

Good practice, what do you want to do.... :)

2008-04-03T16:24:00.000-07:00

Today's workout summary:

45 minutes easy spin - after yesterday's deep into the night discussions, there wasn't much energy left for more than this.

60 minutes - 2500m pyramid swim - actually 2700m.

60 minutes - easy run. Testing the achilles - haven't run since Thursday and it seems to be resting uneasily. No pain, no problem afterward, although to be honest, I must admit I did baby it. This is definitely something that'll have to be checked out. Any run course with moderate-to-nasty hills, or any time the form breaks down in the late stages of a long run, it could "zing" like a harp string.

As I mentioned before the plan for next week is to do more running and probably zero biking, unless I can locate a spin bike. The good news is that the pool at the hotel is apparently big enough for good swim workouts. Bonus.

So I'm essentially back to ground zero in the job hunt. Here's the situation:

Door #1: not going to pursue this candidate (me) - too junior, not enough experience (?!?) I thought eight years was plenty, but...

Door #2: choosing to search in a different direction - less production management and more engineering/maintenance. Not closing the door completely, but I've been indirectly identified as a consolation prize, at best, at this time.

Door #3: not returning my calls. Certainly would have been the opportunity that would have come with the most challenges, in the beginning.

So that's the current deal. Plenty of other fish in the sea, so to speak. In reality, I think this was a good first step, and I'm not just trying to paint a happy face on the situation. It allowed me to get some practice, and it illustrated some of the obvious "rusty spots" in my interviewing technique - it has been at least six years since I interviewed with any seriousness. There are some other hooks out there right now, and I certainly have the time and the "comfort zone" to find something that really fits, so time marches on. Not a big deal. More time to hit the bike (woo-hoo!), and it's certainly advantageous to be able to swim in the afternoon, rather than at 5:30 a.m. It also gives me more time to decide what I "actually want to do with my life" - a little Twisted Sister flashback for those of you of a certain demographic.

Come on now, you wanted to see that, didn't you?

Peace.

Bad start

2008-04-02T06:04:00.001-07:00

Three more sleeps...my daughter has been walking around for days, counting down and flashing the fingers.

So, I've checked out the website of the place we're staying at the House of Mouse. Three pools, plus one kiddie pool, but no indication of a workout facility (specifically spinbikes) or internet access?!? I don't know which is worse - the threat of no wheels or the threat of no 'net.

Anyway, in preparation for this upcoming "caveman" week this week's workout plan was weighted heavily to the swim and bike, with very little (actually none so far) running. Last week was a pretty big run week (for March) and next week will also be run-focused, if the achilles lets it be so.

The point? Yes, I'm getting to it. Dragged myself out of bed at 5:30 this morning, headed out in the cold to the pool, to find two other people lined up outside the door arguing with the lifeguard on the other side of the closed door. Seems that a key had broken off in a door (never did figure out which one) and the pool couldn't be opened. Grrr.... not a good start to the day. It can only get better, right?

Shuffled the day around, and got in a solid swim later in the afternoon, and followed it up with a long set of hill repeats on the bike, in the basement.

Finished the day having a couple of BEvERages with an old friend of mine. We spent a few hours talking about my current state of employment and any advice/suggestions he could come up with to alter the situation. An interesting conversation to be sure, and certainly was worth the price of admission at the time. Perhaps a topic for a future post.

Peace.

Toesting (not bread!)

2008-03-29T15:08:00.000-07:00

Weekend update:

Friday:

75 min ride - hill repeats - 5 min reps in ascending (or is that descending gears?) - progressively bigger ratios, then

75 min run, TM - new shoe test, part 2 - easy 8 miler

Saturday:

135 min ride outside again - mostly E2. 61.1 km, including one stop at train tracks waiting for a train to lumber on through. Good news - even with the train delay I did "negative split" the ride. Bad news - at just a shade under 30km/h, there's a long way to go to Peterborough and Muskoka. More hill repeats, my good man, more hills!

The wind today was deceptive. Not overly strong, but on the return trip I was trying to find a place to hide my fingers from the wind. To top it off, my toes were so cold when I got home I couldn't feel them. Once I got in the house and got my shoes off to look at them, the blood started to flow back it, and that's when it started. The sting, the bite, the pins and needles - call it what you want. Think back to the feeling when your leg or arm "falls asleep" and the needly feeling when the blood rushes back in. Now, multiply that feeling by five. I thought I had covered up well enough for the weather, but maybe not for the wind. Stingers, for about ten minutes. So much that I was hopping around the kitchen like my foot was on fire (it felt like it was) and my wife was looking at me like I had just taken a heavy blow to the head.

Sunday:

10 mile run. Nothing fancy, just a solid steady aerobic pace. I'm feeling a tweak in the R achilles right now. Fortunately, this upcoming week is a bike/swim-focused week. Next week we'll be in the House of Mouse, and since I don't figure to get much biking in even though it'll be in the high 20's to low 30's (that's Celsius), I'm going to over-weigh the bike and swim schedule this week, and trade off with a low (nearly none, unless there are good spinners) bike, low swim, high run week next week.

Remember the classic "Slowman" quote about making bicycle weight? Goes something like "if they look at you with raised eyebrows, you're within ten pounds. If they start to whisper about AIDS or eating disorders, you're within five pounds. If they organize an intervention, you're at race weight".

I think I'm at phase one. We were out at a charity dinner with a bunch of old friends on the weekend, and I caught a few behind-the-hand whispers, as well as a couple of direct, "where's the rest of you?" questions. The intervention hasn't been planned (yet), but it could be well on the way.

Very nice, and it's only March.

Cheers.

Rant warning - ARM

2008-03-26T15:50:00.000-07:00

Today's training:

60 minutes in the pool, working on short, medium-to-"firm" paced intervals totalling 2800m.
45 minutes bike - one leg drills - very difficult after swimming and a hard run this morning.
60 minutes mid-length E2 run (or so I think - that was the plan going out the door), and here begins the rant.

Six and one-half minutes into this morning's run, my heart rate monitor (HRM) gave up the ghost. First, it spiked up to over 225 bpm. After stopping to briefly correct that, I started up again, at which point it signaled that the "watch" was receiving no data from the HRM because it was too far away. It was less than three feet away - strap around chest, watch around wrist.

I'm tired of my HRM. I won't mention it by brand name (unless someone asks). It's frustrating and misnamed - it should be an ARM - an ass-rate monitor because that's where it inevitably ends up, regardless of how tightly the strap is set beforehand. To add frustration today, the freakin' thing spiked to 240 bpm and then bounced around between there and 223 bpm. Now, I suspect this could be due to a dying battery (not dead yet) but this just adds to a long list of complaints I've had with this piece of equipment ever since it entered my work routine. There is an associated GPS function that in two years has managed to track me accurately twice. It can't track me on the run or on the bike, although it did give me (presumably) accurate pace data one time when I tried it for fun walking the dog. Useful info, that was.

10 more sleeps to the "House of Mouse".

Keep on.

Today's blog brought to you by the number seven

2008-03-24T14:01:00.000-07:00

Interesting... the number seven has always seemed to go 'round the big wheel, coming back up again and again:

Seven days in a week
Seven brides for seven brothers
Seventh son of a seventh son
Lucky number seven

Seven hard hill repeats yesterday (plus three, okay so it was actually ten)

and so on and so on. And so it is again. The number has come up twice in different conversations/readings, this week and last. First, via Cliff and Boomer - two otherwise innocent individuals tagged to list seven random facts about themselves. If the second is as interesting as the first, it should not disappoint. Having spent a little time with Cliff, I'm sure it'll be brilliant.

Secondly, how many continents are there on Earth? Seven? North America, South America, Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia, Antarctica - woo-hoo! Didn't know if I'd be able to name them all. Now I don't think it's possible to triathlon on all seven continents (do you want to swim off Antarctica), but how about marathoning off all seven? And just to make it interesting, how about hitting all seven in the same year? What would that calendar look like?

Okay, wait a second. Let's just inject a smidgen of reality into that. Although it would be epic, and certainly cool it's not on any plan, short-term, long-term or otherwise, that I've ever seen of mine.

Instead of that, and in honour of my compatriots above, how about seven random things, interesting or not about me? Actually, never mind that. I'll save that for a future post, when I may actually have seven interesting things to list. I can't come up with them right now.

Peace.

2:04.26

2008-03-23T17:32:00.000-07:00

Maybe I've had my head under a rock, but it seems to me that this story just hasn't gotten any attention or discussion (highlighting is mine):

(CNN) -- World record holder Haile Gebrselassie has again ruled out competing in the marathon at the Beijing Olympics, telling a Spanish newspaper that he would be "committing suicide" by running in unfavorable conditions.

Gebrselassie is the highest profile athlete to voice fears about Beijing conditions.

Gebrselassie, who suffers from asthma, told El Pais that he would instead try to qualify for the Ethiopian team in the shorter 10,000 meters track event. He was Olympic champion over the distance in Atlanta and Sydney.
His decision comes a day after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that it would consider postponing events at the Games such as the marathon if they felt conditions were unsafe.
"I have no intention of committing suicide in Beijing," Gebrselassie was quoted.

"I know that several other athletes are starting to have doubts about this.

"It's purely a personal decision that I have taken to protect my health. I do not want to endanger my future. I do not want to kill myself in Beijing.

"The marathon will be impossible because of the pollution, heat and humidity."

Gebrselassie added that he would attempt to finish his career with victory in the marathon at the London Olympics in 2012 when he would be 39.

Concerns about pollution led the IOC medical commission to hire independent experts to conduct a study into air quality.

They concluded that heat and humidity would pose just as big a threat to long distance athletes.

"We find that the competitions, although not necessarily under ideal conditions at every moment ... will be good for athletes to compete during the Beijing Games."

However, the IOC's commission conceded there will be some risk to competitors in endurance events "that include minimum one hour continuous physical efforts at high level - urban road cycling, mountain bike, marathon, marathon swimming, triathlon and road walk."
And the risk is deemed high enough for the IOC to begin working on "procedures which will allow a 'plan B' to be activated for such events if necessary."
The 34-year-old Gebrselassie holds the world marathon record of two hours four minutes and 26 seconds.

***

Now, understandably, there are other, more significant events taking place in China at this moment, but this is rather significant, isn't it? What sort of black eye will this give the host country within the realm of athletics if the current world record holder, the man to beat, declines to compete in the headline event of the year out of fear for his own health and well-being?

Training this weekend:

Yesterday:

2 hr bike - long spin, back in basement (grrr)
1 hr TM hills - 888 - 8 reps on 8% grade at 8 mph

Today:

90 min cadence spin-ups - high-effort, high cadence work. Was actually supposed to go 2 hr, but wasn't fully recovered from 3 hours of work the day before.
Not so much an easy, relaxed weekend of work.

This week marks the beginning of the ramp-up. Time to bring up the volume, and to work in some regular (but relatively careful) speedwork and strength work.

Cheers.

Paleo nutrition - zowie!, training

2008-03-20T09:44:00.000-07:00

First to training. This week is a "consolidation" week - lower hours and mileage. I'm not calling it a rest week, because it's not really rest. It's a good week for establishing and re-checking zones and speeds, such as they are. Easy one-hour spin on Tuesday. Went out for a hard, 30 min TT run last night with the goal of confirming HR for training zones. It's not uncommon for people to go out too hard, so guess what? I went out too hard and blew up! With warm-up I got in about 45 hard minutes running, but it'll have to be repeated on the weekend. No swimming yet this week.

Now, on to nutrition. The simple summary of "The Paleo Diet" is : everything you've ever read is wrong. Black is white, up is down, in is out and red is blue. I could have called this "blow up your kitchen", but given the title of my last post, two blow-ups in two successive posts could have had me branded a terrorist.

The paleo diet, in its simplest form is the "NO GBP" diet - no Grain, no Beans (including peanuts and all legumes) and no Potatoes. Stop and give that some thought. Take a look through your kitchen/pantry and eliminate all the food that falls into these categories. Oh yeah, there's another missing letter in GBP - no milk or milk products - cheese, yogurt, milk, ice cream.

At last count my kitchen and pantry have six boxes of various types of cereal, one loaf of bread, two bags of english muffins, a bag of bagels, two bags of flatbread, three boxes of pasta, two bags of rice, three bags of cookies, two boxes of crackers, green beans, a bag of potatoes, two bags of frozen potatoes - French fries and otherwise, a bag of milk, a tub of margarine, several containers of yogurt, one or two tubs of ice cream, one block and another pack of sliced cheese.

The diet boils down to this:

1. Eat all the lean meat you want (fish, turkey, wild game like venison, etc.) and lean cuts of the "traditional" meats - pork, chicken, beef. Avoid hotdogs, salami, bacon, and any other type of meat or food that is "processed" in any way.

2. Eat all the fresh fruits and vegetables that you like - no restrictions. Fresh is better than frozen is better than canned.

Now, The Paleo Diet for Endurance Athletes takes this one step further. In addition to the two allowances above it allows carbohydrate (pasta, rice) but only at specific times, i.e. carbs can be eaten right after training in order to replenish glycogen stores, in order to allow full energy availability for the next workout. Whew! I don't have to throw out all my groceries. Unfortunately, neither rendition of the diet makes allowances for beer - a serious shortcoming, in my opinion.

This diet would be a pretty dramatic change from what goes on in my, and probably in most other typical homes. With two kids I don't think I could survive for long if I suggested getting rid of the cereal and cookies. And don't even try to put your hands on my beer.

"Food" for thought, indeed.

Peace.

Blow up your basement!

2008-03-16T13:25:00.000-07:00

Week's training review:

Swim - 180min -8000 m

Bike - 225 min

Run - 240 min - 26.2 miles (but not in one go!)

Weekly total - 645 min (10:45) - not bad for March Break with full-time Daddy Day Care. I love my kids unconditionally, more than anything. Right now, I'll love them even more when they're back at school.

You'll notice that the swim is slightly lower than recent averages. I gave up one swim yesterday to take the bike outside!!! Woo-hoo! Yes kids, it's time. And even if it's not the bike is now hanging in the garage stubbornly refusing to go back downstairs. That's it. The end of entrapment. The basement is done. Fill it with concrete, or shag carpet if that's your preference. Yesterday was 5 degrees C, windless and a beautiful day to hit the roads, which were dry in most locations. The weather forecast for the rest of this week is above freezing, with most days at or above 5 degrees again. There should be numerous opportunities to get out on the roads again.

As expected, I saw a lot of other cyclists on the road, busting out of the basements, throwing off the oppressive shackles of bike stands, trainers and rollers, putting away the treadmills, turning off the VCR/DVD players and getting out to watch naturally changing scenery. Always fun to pass through a patch of shade, feel the temperature drop ten degrees and look for black ice. And hey, if you've got problems with the temperature, console yourself with the fact that it's 100% naturally bug-free at this time of year.

Don't even know exactly how far I rode - something in the neighborhood of 50km in around 1h45min (with stoplights factored in - roads are drier in town than in the countryside). It did cost me two tire tubes. In my haste to get the outdoor tires on the bike I discovered one faulty air stem (strangely that tube was on the back roller all winter) and introduced myself to my own first genuine pinch flat. Changed out the first tube, rolled in the second and was in such a hurry to get out the door (remember the talk about lack of patience?) that I didn't bother to check that the tube was fully inside the tire. Pumped it up and KA-BOOM!!! Gunshots (okay, small gunshots) in the basement!!! On to tube #3 we went. After the day's ride it didn't even matter.

On the road again.....

Peace.

Procrastination, and then not so much

2008-03-14T07:48:00.000-07:00

An interesting paradox: how can you be putting something off, when you have nothing really to do?

I really should be taking this time to prepare for an upcoming "conversation" this afternoon; however, here I am. My rationale? How can one prepare for something, with no prior knowledge of what will be discussed or asked? Bit of a cop-out, sounds like to me, something like, "I don't know what work will be required, so I'm just not going to do any". Hmm, not so good. Certainly not the attitude I'd want expressed by my kids.

I've never been much good at preparation - for tests, speeches, meetings, etc. Maybe it's more accurate to say I've never much enjoyed preparation - the practice, the pre-work, the stretching, the warmups (I can hear Darren tsk-tsking right now). I've always been more about the "moment of truth", getting to the actual race, or heart of the matter, or whatever.

Alright, enough already. I've talked myself into it. I'm off to do, er, something. Further bulletins as events warrant.

THE FOLLOW-UP

Okay, so it's done. Wave one is finished. Wasn't so bad after all. Let's hope wave 1 turns into wave 2 sometime down the road. No more details - I know some of you will ask - but definitely a worthwhile "conversation". I think it went as well as could be expected, and as usual the nerves that led to the procrastination were unnecessary.

And on we go.

Carpe snow

2008-03-10T18:26:00.000-07:00

I've fought it as long as I can. No longer can I rage against the pileup of the snow. If you can't beat nature, join 'em. This is how we spent the afternoon on Sunday. Mother Nature pounded us, and we pounded back. Pretty decent day, all told.

Week's workouts in review:

4 swim sessions - 240 min, 10 700m - given my recent mathematical shortcomings, I was taking no chances. The killer workout was Sunday - the last swim - 2 X 1000 TT. Absolutely fried for the rest of the day. The surprise is that I finished it, although if you follow the principle that states, "Never practice struggle" then I may have to confess to a little struggling at the end. To protect the innocent I'll avoid publishing the finish times. Let's just say that, early in the season I've established a baseline time that should be easily improved upon.

270 min bike - Coach Troy sure does love his standing mashes, doesn't he?

120 min run - light run week, partly recovery from the Chilly Half and partly because I blew off the last "long run" on Sunday after the swim.

This week is going to be a little tougher to get the hours in. March break is upon us. A little more creative planning will be required to get it all in. I'll let you know how it all works out.

Cheers.

Groundhogs lie

2008-03-08T13:21:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I promised a bike show report. March break (yesterday) and a certain groundhog (today) have conspired to shelve that particular plan. Filthy, nasty little rodents. I'd go kill Wiarton Willie, but the little rodent actually died last year, maybe the year before. Funny thing was, he (it?) died sometime before Groundhog Day, and they rolled him out of the ground in February as usual, not mentioning the rather significant decrease in his/her/its usual metabolism. I can just imagine, "Hey mommy, I wonder if Willie will see his shadow? I wonder if spring is coming soon, or if it's going to be a long winter? Mommy, how can he see his shadow lying on his back, with his legs stuck up in the air? Why is his tongue sticking out of his mouth?"

Six weeks, whatever. Another 25 cm of snow today (that's 10 inches for you Americans) added to 10 cm last night. This is apparently the most severe winter to hit this area since 1939. There is no longer anywhere to put snow at the end of my driveway and the hump is enough to swallow small cars whole - just ask my wife.

Speaking of my wife, rainer on parades that she is, she kindly, gently reminded me today that I was frickin' nuts for identifying my new "dream job", fluorish of trumpets please - outside sales rep for a certain bike P2Company that shall remain nameless.

Never mind that I have no outside sales experience, or that I'd have to travel, either to US New England or alternatively the Canadian West. Never mind that I've never written a sales plan, nor executed one nor conducted one speck of market research in my life. I don't even have one minutes' worth of experience selling bikes or sporting goods of any kind. Well, that's not true. I did sell hockey sticks and equipment when I was in high school. Okay, okay, okay, so maybe I'm not exactly a slam-dunk natural. What about the diamond in the rough? What about grabbing for the brass ring? What about growing and cultivating enthusiasm? What about loving what you do, following your muse, doing what you love and loving what you do? What about joie de vivre, about working with complete strangers in unfamiliar cities, day after day, month after month? What about the employee discount? Eh? What about the employee discount?

Never mind. While she may not be exactly right, she's probably "slightly less wrong". Gonna have to start working on another dream, I guess.

Maybe tomorrow.

Philosophical

2008-03-06T11:41:00.000-08:00

There are a lot of similarities between endurance training and job searching. In fact, as I think about it, there are a lot of similarities between endurance training and life in general.

1. Consistency is key - establishing good habits, repeating what works and most importantly, repeating at regular intervals is critical to success. In training, success cannot be obtained if one is constantly jumping from training plan to training plan with no structured approach. Every workout must have a purpose. Every week must have an objective. Similarly every job search, every resume submitted and every phone call made should have an objective, and specifically a plan of attack established beforehand.

2. Impatience is punished - it's vital to "build the base" before attempting the monster day - see the "Alton Half and fried leg syndrome". Be patient. Put in the time. Gains are incremental, not monumental, but after a long sequence of steps forward, you've still gone forward, not back. Going for the long run, or the big interview before you've put in the work and preparation is a recipe for disaster - injury, the sidelines or lost opportunity.

3. Don't try to fake it - you'll get busted, and crash hard. See #2 above. Put in the time. Build your base. Every step of the way, you have limitations. As the base builds and the engine gets bigger, the limits just get pushed farther out. On the job search front, do your research. Know what you're getting into, have your answers prepared, and come with a few questions of your own.

4. Know your weakness and work to improve it. Everybody likes to "dance with the girl that brought them" (or guy, if that's your preference). It's easy to work on the bike, because it's close. It's easier to work on the run, because most of the time, you just have to jump out the door. The swim is the hardest. It takes the most preparation and absolutely the most concentration to see results. After all, in the pool the scenery never changes, and with water resistance being ten times as great as air, the punishment for bad form is severe. Form work in the pool, on the bike and on the run is the easiest way to reap dividends. It's "free speed", meaning that at the same aerobic output, better form means you'll be able to go farther, or the same distance faster. Likewise, low-grade skills in a certain job area will inevitably be exposed in an interview, if the interviewer is at all worth his/her salt. And isn't it easier to "keep doing what you've always done"? Pick the obvious weakness and dedicate some serious time to making it better. It's the only way.

5. Sometimes, you just have to go for it. Does this contradict #2 above? Only if you let it. There's a time and place. You can't do it too often and this is certainly not the kind of well that you want to keep going back to, but the fact is, the only way to find your limits is to endeavor to bust through them. Take a big swing. Reach for the sky. Go for it. So you blow up - happens to everyone. Hopefully, then, you've come out way ahead of where you were before, because now you know where the limit is, and how close to it you are. Knowledge is power - knowing where you are is a lot better than not knowing.

6. Nobody is an island - draw on the resources you have around you. There will always be someone faster, smarter, taller, more aero, thinner, more experienced, blah, blah, blah. Work your network. If you don't think you have one, you'll be surprised. Ask around. Most people appreciate sharing their knowledge and experience, and like to be considered an expert in something. So ask what you want to know. Find out what works, and what worked for others, in triathlon and in life. Almost everyone will share their stories/experiences with you. What's it going to cost you if they don't? Nothing. And screw the pigdogs if they don't want to. Cross 'em off your Christmas list.

Pretty philosophical today - must be starving for adult conversation :). March break starts tomorrow - yep, that adult conversation is going to skyrocket.

Going to the bike show tomorrow. Report to follow.

Chill.

Redlining

2008-03-02T14:20:00.001-08:00

Earlier on, I may have mentioned that I'm not a mathematical wizard. Allow me to demonstrate with yet another example. As mentioned before, my objective is to make significant improvements in my swim time. The method by which to accomplish this is simple - swim more. Simple, straightforward - any questions?

So, I chunked through four swim sessions this week, definitely at least one more than the in-training average. Before the fourth, after doing some mental math I figured 2700m would make for a nice even weekly total - 10 000m. Not awe-inspiring by any "serious" standard, but then again, nobody's ever accused me of being too serious, and it would be a big uptick on my "old" weekly average of ~6500 - 7000m or so.

Well, as you might imagine, as the week went on, the arms seemed to get heavier and heavier, and it took longer and longer to get warmed up through each workout. I slogged through them, battled through my 2700m on Friday, justifiably (I thought) proud of myself and went home to get the quiet satisfaction of totalling up the 10-spot in the log. One problem - the Tuesday swim was only 2200m. Add that to two 2500's, and a 2700 on Friday, and I came up with a decidely un-round 9900m. Off by 100m - less than the distance from my front door to the mailbox. Isn't that just a dead fly in the soup bowl?

The rest of the week's training:

Weights/core - 0 minutes!
Swim - 4 swims, 9900m (Doh!)
Bike - 2 rides, 255 minutes - took it a little easy this week (read on)
Run - 150min - one easy eight-miler, and....

The Chilly Half!

Today was the first "A" race of the season, the half-marry in Burlington. Weather was perfect (for March) - sunny, no hint of wind and a start time temperature of -5 deg. C. The goal going in was to hit 1:30:00, which would have been a PB by over 5 minutes. For that reason, I thought it was a little unrealistic - I had been putting in a good whack of base miles, but not enough speed or hillwork, and there were two separate times in the log where I had to back off for 3-4 days - once to avoid an achilles problem, and once for the flu strike, no doubt caused by overtraining early in December/January.
I lined up at the start with Darren, who told me to stick on his hip. Yeah, right. Dude can smoke my chicken on the run - there was no way I was going to keep up with him. I had mentally settled with myself that something more realistic for me would have been around 1:32 - 1:33.
We line up within "spitting distance" of the starting gate - misleading of course, because we're packed in like sardines and there wouldn't have been any room to let one fly.

The starting horn (gun? don't remember) goes off, and it's pandemonium. I managed to keep Darren in sight for about the first kilometre - then he was dust. The first pace marker I saw was at one mile. On my watch - 6:00. Oh crap, I'm thinking, I'm on pace for a 1:18:36. In other words, I'm going out too fast. I'm going to blow up, and it's going to be ugly. I backed off and started checking my times at 2K intervals. I needed to be hitting 8:30 intervals every 2K to make the (unrealistic) first goal time.

At about 8K, my heart rate monitor had slid down to become a belly-button rate monitor, basically useless. We had laughed about that before the start, how much of an inconvenience it was for men to constantly be adjusting the "bra strap". Reading from there, my belly button went up and down from a rate of 116 to 230 - for the belly button, I don't know if that's in beats per minute, or what the units are.

If you've read this far here are the 2K splits:
2K - 7.45
4K - 8.06 (15.51)
6K - 8.20 (24.11)
8K - 8.16 (32.27)
10K - 8.15 (40.42)
12K - 8.34 (49.16) - starting to fight it here
14K - 8.41 (57.58)
16K - 9.02 (1.07.00) - stopped to drink at the 15K water station
18K - 8.46 (1.15.46)
20K - 8.53 (1.24.39)
21.1K - 4.43 (1.29.16 chip time)

1.29:16! Way better than I expected. Definitely means I've been sand-bagging in the past :). I won't expect to be knocking five minutes off that time in the future. I don't know what that would translate into for a marathon time - probably something in the 3:20 - 3:25 range, which would have me miss my "Boston time" by ten minutes (3:15). It'd be tough to replicate that time in a full marry - I was definitely "redlining" this morning, after about 6K.

So the year's off to a decent start. One more big thanks to Sally, the Awesome Support Crew - babysat my backpack through the race, and put up with the smelly two of us in the car back to the shuttle parking lot - I know it stalled her "IKEA time". Time for more bike more bike more bike for the rest of the spring. Also time (after a celebratory BEvERage) to put on my flippers - I'm going to fill the bathtub up really deep and go paddle around for half an hour or so - gotta find that last 100m swim.

Peace.

Rollin', again

2008-02-28T06:31:00.000-08:00

Humans are extraordinarily trainable. Put another way, people are creatures of habit. We will default to the same thing we've always done, because it's comfortable, because it's a known entity. It doesn't even really seem to matter that it doesn't work, or provide the results desired. The definition of insanity is, "doing the same things over and over, and expecting different results". And so it goes. We do what we've always done, we continue to get what we've always got, and we wonder why things don't change. Like the hamster in the flywheel we keep burning energy and effort, but the scenery stays the same.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-136828317372802645

I sit here this morning, a red-and-yellow cup in front of me and I continue to do what I've always done, around this time every year. "Roll up the rim" the cup says, promises of prizes and riches within. And, like a sheep, knowing full well that my odds of winning are far less than 1 in 9, I keep on rolling. A lot of people I know do the same and we all keep getting the same result, but I betcha the stock price of that particular coffee provider shoots through the roof at this time of year.

So what does this have to do with training? The body adjusts to routine, and to familiarity. After a time, a plateau will be reached in terms of repeating the same workouts over and over. Even worse, as we all continue to age, it's likely that performance will drop. All other things being equal, men and women lose one pound of muscle mass per year after the mid-thirties.

So, mix it up. Do different things. Run different roads. Ride different routes. Swim more. Above all, change up the routines. Spend more time on technique and form, especially in the water - it's the cheapest easiest way to "free speed" (although the free is debatable). Do more strength and flexibility training. Don't get sucked in by the shiniest, carbonest "go-fast" toys. There's a reason why world championship-winning race times haven't changed significantly in the last twenty years, even with all the proclaimed latest and greatest speed-creating gadgets. Come on now, do you really think that dimples on your bike suit are going to get you closer to the podium? Carbon, aluminum, titanium MoGo, whatever. The engine is the eating/sleeping/breathing component on the bike. When in doubt, train more. Get off the flywheel, and go somewhere else. Most importantly, just go. Less talking, more sweating.

Gotta run now - actually, literally run.

Peace.

And buy less coffee.

Stop the presses!!

2008-02-26T15:56:00.000-08:00

Yep, the world's rotation can stop. The Maple Leafs have solved all, and I do mean all their problems. The sky is a little bluer, the birds are chirping a little more cheerfully, everyone has more of a spring in their step. This morning, the Maple Leafs dealt Wade Belak off to Florida for a millionth-round draft pick. Okay, so I give Cliff Fletcher credit for finding someone who would actually give up an asset for Wade Belak?!? Even worse - I was on the treadmill this morning, suffering through an hour of analysis on the "Trade Deadline" show. Please - this is newsworthy? We were subjected to such epic pieces of information as, "it's exactly 122 steps from the home dressing room to the visitor's dressing room in the Bell Centre (in Montreal). I tell you, my life can continue, now that I know that.

Rant off....on to more training. As mentioned, got in the run this morning. Also got in a solid drill-focused swim. Now that I don't have access to the weight room at the "old office" anymore, can't really be making any more excuses to not swim. In other words the swim, which has always been the "third" of the three sports, is going to fall even farther behind, unless I take drastic action (i.e. swim more, a lot more). So more is what I'm planning to do.

Packing it in - gotta get ready for the K-Dog, coming down to visit this week. Funny story - his mother, after hearing about my sudden "free time" thinks I should join the fire department, following in the footsteps of my younger brother. She's even gone so far as to offer to "break off" a chunk of land on their property, to allow us to move up north and build a house next door, so I can become a fireman. Tempting to be sure, but I think I'll stick it out down here for just a little while longer. Gotta love her. :)

Peace.

"A" milestone #1, etc.

2008-02-25T11:32:00.000-08:00

Last comment on last week: I've done some pretty challenging things in my life. I've stayed up for 72 hours during "frosh week" (or so I recall - it does get a little hazy). I've run marathons and sat through marathon labour sessions - 26 hours of labour for my son's birth (although I'll admit I did have the easy job that day). I've finished six-hour bike rides and three-hour runs after which I've just come home to lie down gently on the couch and try to get the room to stop spinning. I've even finished the frickin' Ironman. All of these compare to a ten-minute speech last Thursday when I had to stand up in front of nearly 100 people to say good-bye. Carrie wasn't the only one with the shaking hands - I wouldn't have given me that knife to cut the cake. Like I said, you can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family and most of those yahoos have been "family" for going on eight years.

So, this weekend is A-race #1 - the Chilly Half. In the spirit of BHAGs, my goal for this race is a 1:30:00 half, which would better my current PB by 5 minutes (and 2 seconds, if you're picky). Put in my last long run yesterday - an easy 12 miler, and it was a beautiful day for it. Sunny, for the first time in weeks with only the slightest puffs of wind. Thought briefly about pulling the bike out of the basement and hitting the road, but didn't get there. Made up for it today by putting in two hours on the bike. In the basement, mind you, but I watched "Million Dollar Baby". Here's my one take-home message, and the reason why this might make the list as one of my all-time favourite movies: do what you believe. Listen to others, take in their advice, recognize their wisdom and experience, and then do it your way anyway. Stubborn, dogged, single-minded persistence trumps talent, flash and $$ every day of the week (kinda sounds like a triathlon moment). Great movie - I won't say any more if you haven't seen it, but I do recommend it.

Here's the dilemma for this week. If the half-marry on Sunday is an A priority race, then how to get in enough training as per the schedule so as to stay on schedule AND still be sufficiently rested to put in a good effort Sunday morning? Here's the answer: no running this week after Thursday. Nothing at all on Saturday. That means front-loading the week - looking to have a total of at least 10 hours in by Friday. Sheesh, with all this new free time on my hands it should be no problem.

On that front, I did get something of a "surprise" call today. Wasn't expecting to get a bite quite so soon, but another call came in. Nothing concrete - don't get excited. I'm not getting too worked up about anything just yet. I expect that I'll continue to have a lot of free time for quite some time.

Peace.

Las chicas magnificas

2008-02-23T07:23:00.000-08:00

I was originally going to call it "the Magnificent Seven", but someone may have noticed there were ten - I never claimed to be a mathematical genius.

Also, my Spanish is not perfect. I may have just called them all fat or something, which would be bad.

Give it up, friends and neighbours, for the "old school" - my homies who were, are, and will continue to run the business. I have no doubt they'll be excellent.

Hats off to them.

Big wheel keep on turning

2008-02-17T18:13:00.000-08:00

So, the sky hasn't fallen in. The world continues to turn and the sun rises over the horizon for another day - allegedly anyway, in this part of the world, as it rained steadily all morning - freezing rain, the sleety kind that turns to ice as soon as it hits the windshield of your car.

One of my first concerns after the "big announcement" (read the last post if you don't know what I'm referring to) was that I would sink into the depths of despair and dismay, losing all activity and reverting to days spent sitting on the couch, watching mindless brainrot, eating garbage and unavoidably turning into this:

Well, I just went through this week's workout log, and after a solid eleven hours, that just may not happen. BTW, to answer the ball hockey reference, we had a team in "the U" that was named after dude above - the Fat Bastards. Actually, the team was formed before Austin Powers movies, so actually I guess he was named after us.

Went out with some friends last night to celebrate the new chapter in life. At one time we all worked together at my soon-to-be-former employer. In fact one of the guys there was one of my former bosses. There was most certainly a bottle or three of vino, although none from the winery of the namesake above. Consequences? Minor - blew off a swim this morning and also let my son skip hockey practice. Still got my long run in this afternoon - with the freezing rain the run unfortunately had to come indoors.

A couple of long-term consequences to the current situation. There is a temporary hold on signups for any more races - at least until something more permanent comes up. That means for now Mississauga half, Peterborough, Milton, Toronto Island and the PEC full are on hold. Muskoka and the Chilly Half were already booked. Speaking of books, my promised book reviews are also on hold, at least for now. They will get picked up again at a future date - just can't promise one at this time.

So, on we go. The training continues - I'm going to treat Peterborough (the A-lister on the unconfirmed list above) as though it's a "done thing". There are some hooks in the water right now, and hopefully one or two will bear fruit - mix any more metaphors for ya?

Peace.