runninggunner

Starting the year off well

2012-01-13T00:22:00.000-08:00

As we get close to the end of the second week of 2012 I thought it was time for a bit of an update. Not too much to say but training has been going quite well. I have successfully been able to increase my volume, I am hitting the gym and have been able to get some nighttime trail runs in as well.

A few of the highlights have been somewhat of a soul ride this past Sunday. It was a little wet out and I took the CX bike out for the first time in over a month and spun with no goal or destination. Ended up hitting a short but fun little section of trail and was able to get a neat shot of some custom graffiti that was done just for my bike.

A quick stop to enjoy some scenery

Another highlight was a headlamp trail run that I headed out on this evening with my buddy Ward. It was a fun little run and had great company. Really looking forward to making this a weekly run.

From this evenings trail run. Shot on the same bridge as the shot above of my bike

Following Ward up the trail. Probably not the best idea as his sense of direction seems to be a bit misguided but he did okay this time.

The weekend is coming and so will some more workouts and hopefully a couple beers to add to my next post. This post is a brief one as I wanted to get something down and for some reason am having a little trouble sleeping this evening so the mind is not razor sharp.

2011 A Year in Review and Looking Ahead

2011-12-18T11:46:00.000-08:00

Not sure that I have done one of these before, but I've had a lot on mind about this year lately and want put my thoughts down before I forget. Overall I am happy how the year turned out and had a lot of fun but am definitely looking to make 2012 even better.

Training wise the year started off quite good I got about 8 weeks of solid training in and was starting to feel really good. I then took a week off and took a vacation to Hawaii with my girls. A great week but as is often the case when we arrived home we were all hit with some sickness. Well a head cold turned into the ear infection from hell. I went through three rounds of antibiotics, sprays, drops, etc and it just would not go away. Training suffered as anytime I tried to put in any effort my head would pound and I would feel quite "off". Had my first two DNF's ever. Both of them I thought I was feeling better, but as soon as I put down the hammer I started going backwards. To make a long story short I decided to cancel my spring/summer racing schedule, get my ear better and then focus on a fall cross season.

During this period, Julie also went back to work after her maternity leave with Sage and I took on new daddy duties before and after work. For months I was feeling exhausted and was blaming it on my ear infection, but I felt like I just couldn't shake it. Finally I went to the doctor and explained my symptoms. He reminded me that I have a toddler and some new responsibilities and that it takes a lot more out of you than you realize. He still sent me for some tests, but was pretty sure that was the reason. Sure enough the blood tests came back normal, and finally after about 3 or 4 months I started to get some energy back and feel more myself.

Over the summer I had lots of fun. Took a trip to Bend, OR a trip to Portland and enjoyed more than a few good beers. Spent lots of time with the family. And started a build for the Fall cyclocross season. By the time Labour Day came around I was ready to get racing. Had fun and hurt a lot at the first race of the season. Took my fitness and built it up throughout the season. In November I had my best race of the season at the Cross Border Clash and then for the last 3 races of the season I saw my form slowly decline. Most likely this was due to a lack of a big base as my training hours for the year were quite low compared to other years.

Looking over cross season I accomplished pretty much everything I had hoped. I held some fitness through the fall, I had a ton of fun and I learned about racing tactics and skills that will help me to improve for 2012. I also learned that I really love to race and that the hurt that you feel during a cyclocross race is impossible to replicate.

Now looking forward to 2012. Yesterday I unofficially started my training for 2012. My major goal for the year is going to be to stay healthy. Which will allow me to train enough and consistently to race better than 2011. Other than that my plans are going to be to race a handful of endurance mountain bike races in the spring/summer, targeting the Test of Metal as my peak for the early part of the year. I first rode this race in 2010 and since have wanted to get back as I did not meet my expectations and believe I can have a much better day out there. As additional motivation for this race this year I will have Ward to beat, and I can't let a runner beat me. After the Test I will focus on Cyclocross season and plan to put in a full season again like this year with a hope to build on my learnings from 2011.

A few pics from non-training/racing adventures from the year

2011 CX BC Cup Finals

2011-12-07T19:45:00.001-08:00

This past weekend was the final race in the BC Cup series for 2011. The race was being hosted by my team Daryl-Evans Racing so it was an early morning wakeup to be at the park by 6am to help with the set-up. Course set-up went quick and the course definitely looked to be awesome. Lots of wet slow grass, a 12 stair run-up, mud, and a nice deep sand pit. Set-up was finished around 9:45 and I headed to registration to get registered with the plan to go grab some coffee and a light snack in preparation for my 12 o'clock Masters 3/4 race. Well that plan was thrown out the window, when the Cycling BC official checked my license apparently back in January I ticked off the wrong box and was ineligible to race in a Master's category. Strange since this was the final of 7 races with all of the others allowing me to race Master's. I was bummed as I wouldn't be able to race against my normal crew but decided to make the best of it.

Unfortunately start time for the 3/4 race was 10:30. So I rushed to my car, got changed hopped on my bike, completed a warmup lap, and headed to the start line. The start went fairly well, but could tell right from the beginning I was not going to be in this race. The Master's 3/4 group is much larger and has a larger span of skills whereas most of the 3/4's were very quick. I buried myself and put in what I had, but it was not much. I ended up at the back of the pack and finished 12th of what I believe was 13. After the race I had a good time hanging out and cheering on the other races as it was a great day for December. Mostly dry. This tentatively ends my 2011 CX season and I will be moving into some base training in the next week or two to get a jump on the 2012 season. Plans could still change as there are two more CX races being held just south of the border in Bellingham. But since I have been seeing diminishing returns in my racing since the cross border clash in November it's probably best not to race. But the pain and fun of another race or two is definitely calling my name.Post race beers and dinner. It's Oven baked chicken, all the enjoyment of fried chicken without all the guilt.

BC Provincial CX Championships

2011-11-28T20:57:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was the BC Provincial CX Championships held in North Vancouver at Mahon Park. All week we saw rain so it was definitely to be a muddy race. Luckily on the morning of the race all we saw was a light drizzle, but that didn't matter because the course had already developed some super muddy sections. Leading into the race my prep wasn't as great as it could have been. A rodent and plumbing issue at home left me without a lot of sleep and too much time away from the bike, but I had hopes that maybe the rest would help. The categories were a little different than usual as tehy were based on age(30-39) rather than categories, so I'd be racing with the Cat 1/2 guys as well. I ended up getting a spot of the back of the pack and throughout the first lap I felt pretty good. And going into the second lap I was hoping things would get better and I could make up a few spots. Unfortunately my gut started to act up and I had trouble pushing it at all. I kept at it and tried to stay with any wheels but my day was over so I rode the course as hard as I could and worked on my skills and having fun. As I finished up the race although, no happy with the day's performance I have been really happy with the CX season this fall. After having a crappy spring and writing off the MTB season I have accomplished all that I wanted to in CX this year. I race more than any other year, I continued training fairly consistently throughout the fall, had a ton of fun, and am pretty sure I got faster.Next weekend is the final race of the BC season out at South Surrey Athletic Park. I am really looking forward to getting out there and laying it down one more time, before transitioning to base training for next year.

South Surrey CX Race Report

2011-11-14T21:01:00.001-08:00

This weekend was the South Surrey CX race put on by Mighty Riders and Daryl-Evans Racing. I was up at 5 to head to the park and spend a couple of hours setting up what was to be a wicked course. Flyover, singletrack, banked turns and a killer run-up. After setting up the course I headed to grab a coffee and fuel up a bit before getting changed and prepped for some warmup.

Just as we were starting to warmup for our 12 o'clock race it started to rain and with the rain the temperature seemed to drop significantly as well. A light drizzle soon turned into a steady downpour and the course conditions were changing as well. After feeling like I had overdressed the previous week I decided to go with bare legs and arm warmers. I quickly found out that this was not nearly enough. Midway through the second lap I could not feel my hands or my feet and my legs were stinging from the cold. Braking became very difficult and my legs just had nothing. I had passed a few riders in the first lap but was quickly losing spots and was feeling worse every lap. Somewhere around lap 3 or 4 I slid out on a corner and moved back to the very end of the pack.

I struggled through the rest of the race and tried to finish strong but just really had nothing. It was not the best day I've had, actually the worst this year, but I finished and I learned that maybe it's better to overdress a tiny bit rather than underdress. Next week is a week off of racing and then into the final two for the year.

2011 Cross Border Clash Day One Race Report

2011-11-06T19:37:00.000-08:00

Saturday was the second annual Cross Border Clash held in Ferndale, WA. I awoke to a beautiful morning with the sun shining and temperatures right around 0. Ate the usual pre-breakfast meal and headed to the course. This race was held in an industrial park and started at the Transition/Traitor Bicycles global compound. The cross border clash is a unique race in that it pits Canada vs. the USA in a points competition. In each race the top 3 Canadians and top 3 Americans earn points based on where they finished and based on the combined points from all races at the end of the two days a champion is declared.A couple of warmup laps proved that this would be a unique, fun and challenging course. Two sand pits, a run through a pumptrack, a Dirt pile run-up were amongst the fun features. Being that I was the first Canadian to register I received a front line call up. Unlike past instances, I actually ended up having a good start and was third wheel into the first singletrack section. The first three laps were fairly uneventful and at that time I was sitting somewhere between 5th and 7th wheel as we had a bit of a battle going on. Then going into the dirt pile run-up I ended up jamming my rear brake and letting the other two races get some time on me. It didn't last long as I hammered the next flat section and quickly moved back into 5th. I continued to hold this spot and had a solid fourth lap. Going into the fifth lap I had maybe a 2 to 3 second lead on 6, 7 and 8. I took a turn a little too tight and ended up scraping my hip and ripping my shorts wide open on a piece of rebar, but nothing that slowed me down. About halfway through the final lap I decided to attack knowing that if I could get away from the group I was with the majority of what remained was singletrack and I should be able to hold on to 5th. The attack worked and I put a solid gap between myself and 6th to 8th. I rolled into the first sand trap, which I had ridden quite well all day, being bagged from the attack I bungled it up. Got stuck in my cleats and 6th to 8th got ahead of me. I got back up and was quickly on eighth's wheel but the majority of the remainder of the course was singletrack. I stayed with him until the final turn when I tried to go inside, but didn't make the pass, but did win the sprint and ended up seventh on the day.Overall I am very happy with how the day went and I definitely raced this race and put it all out there. I keep thinking about how I should have waited to attack until after the sand pit, but can't regret it now. I tried it, it worked and then I messed up. Looking forward to next weeks race the South Surrey CX.

Pumpkin Cross 2011 Race Report

2011-10-26T07:10:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was the 5th annual edition of Pumpkin Cross put on by Local Ride bike shop. This was my second year racing it and after last years mud fest had been looking forward to this race all year. It rained quite hard during the week leading up to the race but on Sunday morning I awoke to nice blue skies and warm temperatures for the end of October. The race is held at an equestrian centre so it would definitely be muddy.

Saturday got out for some openers and the legs were feeling awesome and very snappy, so I was excited to see what I could throw down on Sunday. Got to the race quite early and got in a good warmup riding 3 laps of the course. Due to an error in the standings, that has not been rectified despite my emailing the authorities to let them know, I was lucky and got a second row call up. The start of this race is a 300 meter, narrow gravel drag strip. In previous races I have found out that I went out too hard in the first couple of laps and then had nothing left in the end, so on this day I was careful not too go too hard at the beginning but hard enough. I fell back to the group I've been used to racing with and had a solid first three laps. I was feeling great and was slowly pulling away from the guys that i've been racing with so far this season. Then in a slippery corner I went down, got up without losing much ground and continued on. But something was grinding on my rims. So stopped and checked it out, couldn't figure it out, got back on, still there. Got off again and cleared out some mud. By this time the guys I had been pulling away from passed me, but I was determined not to let them get too far. Hopped back on the bike and laid down a solid effort, passing them soon after. And even gapped up to the next rider. For the last two laps I went back and forth with a singlespeed rider who had beat me in the last two races and was determined not to let this happen again this week. Kept him close and going into the barriers the final time overtook him and put the hammer down to the finish. Overall I was 31st out of 40 something riders and am very happy that I seem to be improving every week. Super stoked to keep going for the rest of the season and loving being a part of Daryl-Evans Racing to have some other racers around.

Vanier Park 2011 Race Report

2011-10-04T20:24:00.000-07:00

Vanier Park was my very first cross race back in 2009 and is what made me fall in love with the sport. This week marked my 4th race in 5 weeks and after last weeks effort at New Brighton race I had a bit of a tough time recovering throughout the week. I finally woke up Sunday and the legs were feeling great and I was ready to go.Weather for the day was great. Got in a good warmup and enjoyed the slight changes to the course this year. The start was quite hectic with over 50 starters and I fell into a solid pace early on. As has seemed to happen in the last 3 weeks, I kept with a stronger group through the first lap and a half and then fell back. I really need to work on having more than 10 minutes of top end. After that I fell in with a group of racers I raced with the week before and had the goal of finishing ahead of the guys that were faster than me the week before. I put in a solid effort but didn't quite get there. Oh well. Next weekend is another race. And hopefully I'll have a litle more to give.

New Brighton CX Race Report

2011-09-28T13:27:00.000-07:00

Well cross season is in full swing and I am having a great time. This weekend marked my third race in four weeks and going into the race I was feeling strong. This week the weather was kind of cross'ish. It was raining, windy and not very warm. Due to an error in the results two weeks ago I got a call up to the second line, which was pretty sweet. However at the gun the guy in front of me couldn't clip in, so it didn't help that much. The first lap was interesting I held in to the group quite well, but there was definitely some carnage. Saw one guy fly 10 feet uphill on his back during on the first ride up. In the second lap I moved back to my regular position and held pretty strong. The third lap came and I realized that the guy in front of me was braking a little too much in the turns, so I tried to pass him on an off-camber sweeping left. BOOM! I went down, I guess that's why he was braking so much. Got back up and began to chase. I had lost a lot of ground but could still see him. I continued to push myself and began to get close as the laps went by. By the sixth lap I almost had him and then I screwed up going into one of the sand pits and he got a pretty good gap that he held until the end of the laps which ended up being the race.Overall I was 35th out of 45 starters which is definitely moving up from my 29th of 31 the first week in the BC series. I'm happy with this and can feel some fitness starting to come back and looking forward to getting stronger as the season progresses. Next up this Sunday is Vanier Park CX which will be my 3rd year racing at this particular venue and the first time on the CX bike. Looking forward to it.

2011 Starcrossed CX Race Report

2011-09-21T06:59:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was the annual Starcrossed race down in Issaquah just east of Seattle. With my focus being on CX this year and no travel to any races I decided to sign up. Also, I was excited to see some of the top pros in the country race as well. I was up at my usual time as my human alarm clock, my 18 month old daughter, decided it was time to get up. Perfect timing, ate some breakfast and was on the road to the venue before 8. The trip down was uneventful and I was at the venue by about 10:30. Got registered and then headed out for a few recon laps of the course before the first race of the day was to go off. The course was a fun/fast course. No elevation change at all, a short pavement section, 2 sand pits and a looming flyover. I was a bit worried about the flyover, but after riding it once realized it was no big deal. After a few recon laps I met up with Mike and Matt from my team, Daryl-Evans Racing and then did a short warm up before my 12:30 race. What an experience the race start was with over 70 starters in the Cat 4's and another 70 in the Cat 4 masters following 1 minute behind it was by far the largest cyclocross race I have been in. We were off at 12:30 and the first lap was quite congested, and you had to be on your game the whole time. I was surprised when we got to the first sand pit how many guys were getting off their bikes, this section was easily rideable no matter the line, and in the second sand pit I passed half a dozen guys. Guess my local park hot laps are paying off. I continued to push and felt great after the first lap. Going into the second lap the group started to string out and most of the sections were much quicker. I bobbled on the dismount a bit in the second sand pit and ended up losing a few seconds there but continued to push. Going through the start/finish I couldn't see a lap counter but based on what my watch said I figured it would be a 5 lap race. Lap 3 was uneventful and lap 4 I was starting to feel it and decided to conserve a bit and finish strong on the 5th and final lap. I came through the start finish at 32 minutes of a scheduled 35 minute race and everyone in front of me was stopping. Apparently it was a 4 lap race, not 5. Bummer, as I had a few guys that had passed me in the final section that if I had known I'm pretty sure I could have stayed with them. Oh well a fun race anyways.After my race I stuck around to watch my teammates in the 1/2's and the 3's and then the real show the Elites. All I can say about these guys is wow, they are definitely on a different level.Overall I was happy with my race I ended up 48th out of 72 starters, which is much better than being in the final few places in the first race of the year and I was feeling much stronger too. Now a week off of racing before heading out to Vanier Park CX which was my first CX race and this year will mark my third year of racing here.

2011 Langley Cyclocross Classic Race Report

2011-09-12T19:59:00.000-07:00

Well now that cross season is finally here it looks like i'm finally going to have something to write about. On the Sunday of Labour Day weekend was the Langley Cyclocross Classic at Aldor Acres. Although this race is about 15 minutes from home this was the first time I was racing. The day was definitely not a typical cyclocross day as is was one of the hottest days of the year and the course was very dusty as it is held on an active farm. The Masters 3/4 race lined up at noon and after not racing my bike at all this year I was raring to go. The start was a little shaky as I probably should have been in the big ring, but I started to hold my own at the back of the pack. Within minutes I could tell that the lack of racing this year was going to be felt and that my goal would be to finish not last. Well I gave it my all during the race and it definitely hurt. The good news is I maintained and actually improved my lap times as the race went by. And by the end of the race I was feeling stronger than at the end. The bad news I finished pretty much at the back of the pack. Although not what I had hoped for, the fire has been lit and I am ready to start putting in some harder efforts with a goal of finishing better as the season goes on.Up next Starcrossed.

Orecrusher - DNF

2011-06-13T19:59:00.001-07:00

It's been awhile since I've posted and there has been a reason for that. Not too much to post about. I attempted to race the Orecrusher race back in the middle of May. Met up with some of the guys from the Daryl-Evans team and rode a warmup lap feeling quite good. Hung around for awhile and got ready to race. Lined up for the start and off we went. First ten minutes felt good and was hanging with a group. Then at about the 15 minute mark the wheels fell off. No power to the legs my heart was pounding and I just started to feel super weak. I tried to push through it but my head was not in it. And with the remnants of the ear infection still around my ear plugged up and it through my equilibrium off. I decided not to risk it and rolled in for the rest of the first lap and then called it a day. Bummed to have a DNF but fgirued it was best for my health.

Fast forward a month and the remnants of the ear infection are still around. The infection is gone, but I have been told the after effects can last for 2 to 3 months. So I have decided to call it a season for MTB, get this thing better and then focus on the cyclocross season. So the base for cyclocross starts now. Hopefully I will have some fun updates soon.

Consistently Inconsistent

2011-04-23T14:35:00.000-07:00

The title seems to say it all. 2011 has so far been an interesting year and I have not really managed to have much in the way of consistent training. January saw a cold and a stomach bug which kept me to pretty minimal training for the month and then I started to get into a routine and see some fitness coming about with 3 solid weeks of training. We then spent a week in Waikiki for a family vacation, and despite my best intentions to get some running in while I was there. It never happened, oh well quality time with my two girls is more important anyways. Upon returning from Hawaii I immediately came down with another cold, probably from the plane as this one hit all three of us. The cold led into an intense ear infection which ended up needing two bouts of antibiotics and still has not fully cleared up over 6 weeks later. and am now on some ear drops and nasal sprays. The good news is that I have put in two weeks of solid training and this week was my biggest week of the year.

Some pics of the last couple of months.

Back at it

2011-01-12T20:19:00.000-08:00

The new year has started and I have some new goals. Number one, be consistent all year. This year I think I went out a little hard for me for the first half of the year and then was fairly burnt out for the second half. I still trained, but not very consistently and for very minimal hours. So this year the goal is to be consistent.

Secondly, improve big time, hopefully an hour at the Test of Metal. This was going to be my A race last year but then I got the crazy idea to complete a 100 Miler which meant I was putting in a lot more long hours and not putting in enough intensity to be fast. So let's say that was laying down the base and 2011 is the year of improving and adding some better pace.

My third goal for this year is going to be to continue having fun and making sure there is plenty of time left for the family. Shouldn't be a problem, I love getting up early and getting my workouts in before anyone is up to miss me.

So far the year is starting well and I am getting some solid training in. Trying to get pretty consistent with my running and making good use of our company gym.

Hopefully everyone else is having a great start to 2011.

Checking In

2010-11-19T21:41:00.000-08:00

not much to say here, just wanted to keep the blog alive. I raced Pumpkin Cross almost a month ago. It was a rainy muddy day. The course was at an equestrian center so at the end of the ride my bike and I were covered in mud and horse crap. But the important part was I had fun.

Other than that I haven't really been training much. I've been sick the last 10 days so that has put a damper on things. But I have been spending a lot of time with the family and enjoying non-training activities. Next week is one of my closest friends wedding and I've decided the week after that I will start training for my 2011 season.

Hope everyone is having a good offseason/fall.

Vanier Park CX

2010-10-18T20:33:00.001-07:00

Been awhile. I'd like to say things have been crazy, but they haven't been overly crazy. I've been busy and work has been leaving me drained, so blogging has taken a bit of a back seat. So here is my race report from like 3 weeks ago.

This was to be the 2nd cross race of my life. I haven't really done anything high end this year, mainly endurance riding, so I was curious to see how things would go. Started off the weekend by racing in a very grassroots mile run race. I knew I would be slow but actually ended up running a somewhat decent 6:44. Pretty sure I could definitely take some time off with a bit more run training. Saturday was a fun ride and then Sunday got up to go to the CX race.

Race day weather was grey, a little bit of rain, so pretty much perfect cx weather. The cat 4 race was the first race of the day, so I got there early tried to get a bit of a warmup and about 15 minutes decided to go and drop off my stuff in the car. Dropped it off, was saying Hi to someone when pfffft. my rear tire goes. At this point not what I want. I run to the car, pull the wheel off and realize there is a 1 inch length of metal through my tire. Change up the tube, probably the quickest I ever have, and made it to the start line with 2 minutes to start. Then the start was delayed 15 minutes. Well at least that let me get myself together.

Race start happened and went hard right from the beginning. I pretty much dropped to the rear of the group and stayed there most of the day. Then in the last lap I began chasing down the guy in front of me, and had an awesome sprint in to the finish. Overall a super fun day and a great time. Can't wait to race this weekend and improve on my last showing.
Barriers - need to work on the technique

Training Update

2010-09-07T19:39:00.000-07:00

I know I just posted my Just Another Bike Race race report and hadn't had any posts in awhile, so here's two at the same time while I have the energy and time to post. Just Another Bike Race pretty much finished off my season and helped me complete my second goal of the year, finishing the Hell of a Series marathon XC series. Although, I didn't do as well as I had hoped in this series, I learned I need to ride a lot more, get faster and maybe pick up a dual suspension bike. The singletrack here in BC is epic and tough, even Conrad says so.

So with my two main goals of the season completed I have really not been doing any structured training and just enjoying the tail end of the summer. I don't have any real plans for racing this fall, but I may jump into some cyclocross races if I feel like it. So now it is time to build my run fitness back up and maybe even get in the pool. I feel right now that I have a built a great base on the bike this year and my technical skills have improved tremendously, but I had a goal two years ago to try and qualify for Xterra Worlds. I know it is a longshot goal, but you've got to dream. So after reading all about Xterra Canada this past weekend I have decided to get back to triathlon next year. So now is the time to build a good base up, get back to eating healthy and get ready to take my medicine come 2011.

Hope everyone has had a great summer.

Just Another Bike Race

2010-08-25T20:49:00.000-07:00

Not just another bike race, but The Just Another Bike Race. This was my final XXC race of the year, 40kms in Squamish. This is a first year race and by looking at the preview of the course and knowing how great the other races in Squamish I went in with high expectations. Being that I was only 2 weeks out from finishing my first 100 Miler, my personal expectations were not that great.

Race morning came and it was a beautiful morning in Squamish and a nice drive. As usual I got there way too early for the 11 O'clock start and ended up chilling in the car for an hour or so. Finally decided to get ready, and rode somewhat of a warmup. Then I practiced the finish a couple of times which was quite sketchy and got ready to lineup.

The race started up a climb and I took it easy on the initial climb but was able to pass some riders. After about 5kms of climbing we finally hit the first downhill trail, Half Nelson. This is a brand new trail that was built inside the provincial park. I was told that it was basically a downhill pumptrack and that is exactly what it was. I had to go a little slow in some spots, because of my hardtail but sure did have a lot of fun. Then there was another climb which led to some fire road fun and then back down to the start/finish area before starting the same hill we rode in the beginning. At this point of the race I was definitely feeling the fatigue from the 100 Miler at this point and my ass hurt like crazy. I pushed through and finally got to the finish.

Overall I felt pretty good this race and beat a few guys that had beaten me at some of the other races this year. So improvement is good. The second best part of this race was that I finished all 5 races in the Hell of a Series race series and received my belt buckle. Will I do all 5 again next year? Probably not, just pick the ones I had the most fun at.

High Cascades 100 Race Report

2010-08-15T20:50:00.000-07:00

Have fallen a bit behind in the posting as of late, things have been a little busy with a couple of roadtrips and enjoying the summer. Speaking of roadtrips, last week we made a nice little trip down to Bend, Oregon for the High Cascades 100. This was my 'A' race for the year so I was pretty excited to get there and do work.

First I'd like to say Bend is my new dream place to live. I went for a 45 minute super mellow spin and passed 5 brewpubs and a brewery. Secondly, the trails are amazing. Pretty much 2 of my favourite 4 things in abundance. My wife and baby girl are number 1 and my family is number 2. So on to the race. WE arrived a couple of days beforehand as to give us the opportunity to get acquainted and relax a bit in Bend. Didn't do too much these days except relax go for a light spin and eat, I knew I would need to extra calories come race day.

Friday night was the race meeting and I've never seen so many people at a race meeting. It was short and sweet and went over everything that was necessary. I was super stoked as I was exciting to pick up a Mountain Feed Bag, then it was back to the cottage for some dinner. Made a great dinner, rice, chicken and veg, pretty standard for me for pre-race dinners and then made it to be just after 9. Slept super solid.

The alarm came early at 3am but I was ready to go, well sort of, took me about twice the amount of time as normal to eat breakfast as my stomach knew it was too early. Took care of business and headed to the race start.

When we arrived at the race start it was 5C out, or about 37F for the Americans, quite chilly. And it was pitch black. It was so dark you could barely see someone 5 feet away even with a light. Placed my cooler, got dressed, ate a little more and then lined up at the start.

As we pulled out for the start I kept reminding myself not to go out too hard,I knew it was going to be a long day and that I was just going to go super easy at the beginning and then as I warmed up allow myself to go a little harder. The start is a 3 mile road climb, the only road of the day and I soon found myself just ahead of the sweep crew. I panicked a little at this moment and went a little bit harder for a couple of minutes. Then realized this was silly and dropped my heart rate back down. Soon I caught a few people and we hit the singletrack. The catching would continue the rest of the day. I started slow and just stayed slow the whole day, but that would leave me with some great riding into the end.
Hitting the First Singletrack

The first loop was 41 miles and was mostly smooth, sandy, swooping singletrack. Quite the alliteration. I finished the first loop and was feeling great, not much to say. The second loop started off with a gradual but long(5 miles) climb in some sandy, dusty mess of a trail.

Heading out for Loop 2

After the dusty mess it was a little more fun. I hit the 62 mile aid station feeling a little flat but figured get something to eat, have some coke and I'd feel okay. We had been warned to fill up at this aid as the next one at 78 miles would take us at least 2 to 3 hours to get to. So I did just that and got going. About 3 miles in to this section you hit a climb of something like 1200ft over 3 miles. Steep switchbacks. I hit this section in the middle of the day and I hit the wall. I began to walk and tried getting back on as much as possible. I finally made it to the top and mentally I was in a bad place. I spent the next 2.5hours planning my exit at mile 78 and walking a lot more than what should have.

Mile 78 aid station finally came and I was ready to quit, but not so fast. The dude they had working the aid station was all in my face telling me it was only 9 more miles of dirt to get to the transition area and to at least let myself decide there. So I did, I slammed a coke, a couple pieces(8?) of watermelon and hopped on my bike. A guy named Dave joined me and we figured we wouldn't make it in time for the cutoff anyways. So we pushed it to get in. Then without knowing it and moving 9 miles in 50 minutes(my fastest hour of the day), we made the cutoff. I didn't even think about it and went out for the final 13 mile loop.

Heading out for the final loop

Dave joined me again and we had a blast the fist 5 or 6 miles was a ton of switchback light descending and the final push wasn't that bad. We came in just as darkness was falling in 15:13. Definitely a little slower than I had hoped. We thanked the guy from the 78 mile aid station, ate, drank a beer, hung out for the awards and then headed home.

Finished!

At first I thought I wouldn't do another 100 Miler for quite some time, but now that the pain has subsided I'm quietly planning for my next one. My final race of the season is this weekend and looking forward to finishing up and taking some time off.

Best Finishers Award Ever

My number 1 Fan

Day After Breakfast

Confidence Boost

2010-07-19T20:15:00.000-07:00

So this weekend was planned to be my biggest training session in preparing for the High Cascades 100. I headed out fairly early on Saturday at 7:15am solo and armed with 2500 or so calories. It was slightly chilly out, but I knew it would heat up as the day went. Within the first 15 minutes I met up with a guy named Lee and rode with him for the next 1.5hrs. A nice guy and definitely welcome to break up an 8 hour day.

After we headed our own ways I took a route I had only taken once before. It was a good adventure. And saw some interesting things. A family of deer, a flipped over car and a herd of goats on a fairly major road. By about 6 hours in I was feeling good and enjoying the day. I stopped for a rare Coke and the caffeine and sugar was like magic. The next 2 hours flew by and before I knew it I was home. The day ended up being 8hrs10min of ride time, 200kms and 6400ft of climbing. Definitely gave a me a confidence boost for my attach of the HC100 in 2.5 weeks. Now this week is a rest week with the gearjammer on Saturday and then time to let the system charge up.

Who let the goats out?

Recovering at the Lake

Sunday was a fund day with the family and had some great beers for recovery.

Nothing to do with the post, but it's super cute.

Enjoy!

Busting a rut

2010-07-11T20:28:00.000-07:00

So as mentioned in my last post I had a major mental breakdown on the bike. Ended up taking a couple of rest days and taking most of the week pretty easy. As I was checking the blogs I follow I found out someone near me was planning a group ride of the "triple crown." Basically the three major mountains in Vancouver. It was with the UBC triathlon club and the ride being 105 miles and over 10Kft in climbing it fit my training plan perfectly.

So I was up early on Saturday and headed out to UBC. There was quite a group assembled about 20ish people. I was figuring it would be about a 7 or 8 hour ride. We headed off and after about 2 hrs got to the bottom of Cypress. Flipped over to climbing mode and took it steady. The climb was great it was about 12K long and I felt great when I hit the top. Then at the top we waited, not a big deal, but as I needed to be home by a certain time it would have an impact. We headed down which was fun and I realized I would not make all 3 mountains. Headed up Grouse which was fun. A nice short punchy climb. After that we headed down and I headed home. Overall not a bad day in the saddle. 118kms and 7400ft of climbing.

Oh, and the legs felt great, definitely could have got through Mt. Seymour. We're now 4 weeks away from race day and I am realizing my meltdown day was just a one off. As I felt great the week before and great the week after. Now this week is the last big week week of training and then I race the gearjammer next week and then it's taper time.

Enjoy the ride.

P.S. Sorry for the lack of pictures but I've temporarily misplaced my camera.

Epic Training Meltdown

2010-07-06T19:42:00.000-07:00

After the Test of Metal race I was feeling quite good, considering and have been motoring on in training. The weekend after the race I had a pretty big weekend planned. I rode 6 hours on Saturday and then followed it up with 3 hours on Sunday where I felt better than the day before. I felt as though I had hit an endurance breakthrough. Then the next week started off strong till I went away for Canada Day long weekend and forgot my cycling shoes at home. No biggie as I figured I could use the rest, even if it meant missing out on a ride I had been wanting to do for at least 2 years.

Took a couple of days off and was ready to get back at it on Sunday. The plan was to go out for 7 hours at an easy pace and just practice nutrition for the big race coming up. Well for one the weather was shit and it was super windy, but I went out anyways. About 4 hours in I cracked. Cracked bad, I'm talking full on mental breakdown. I'm not sure what happened but I was done with the bike, all I wanted to do was get home and play with my little girl. At the same time I lost all power in my legs. So I called it a day and headed home. The only problem is that when you are out for a long day like that you are normally pretty far when you call it. So about an hour and a half later I finally reached home. Once home I felt fine and couldn't believe how I had cracked. It is now two days later and I'm feeling better but have taken the last two days off to reflect and let my body recover. I think it was trying to tell me something. I'm feeling much better now and am looking forward to getting a fun ride on the trails tomorrow.

Crap Clouds

Broken?

I'm not 100% sure but something tells me I bit off a bit too much this year. New Job, New Baby, and a 100 Mile MTB race? yup that will probably do it. Well only three more weeks till race day and only 2 more long days so get through those and it will be time to chillax and rework the training plan for next year. I think I will reduce the amount of long long days in the saddle and stick to maybe a 3 hour ride long ride.

On another note we took Sage swimming for the first time and I think she may be a future triathlete! Also, took her hiking, just a short one, but she loved it.

And finally my recovery beer this week. A little less hoppy than what I normally drink but still a solid beer.

Hope everyone is having a good start to summer. Looks like it finally hit us today.

Test of Metal Race Report

2010-06-22T18:46:00.000-07:00

So this past Saturday was annual Test of Metal race in Squamish. This is one of the most popular Mountain Bike races in Canada and sells out 1000 spots every year within an hour. This year I decided for it to be my A race before I decided to try my first 100 Miler. I also decided to race as a apart of Team Diabetes. Team Diabetes is a fundraising arm of The Canadian Diabetes Association. Thank you to all my friends and family who helped me raise over $1000 for Diabetes research and prevention.
My Newest Fan

Anyways, on to the race. Because it is such a large race you have to get there early and they set you up in the start chute just like a marathon, based on your estimated finish time. I lined up in the 4 to 4.25 hour area. The start was amazing, 1800 wheels whizzing out with a pipe band going full tilt pretty cool. So my goal for this race was to practice nutrition for my 100 and make sure not to go too hard at the start. The start is a road climb for a few kms. I took it easy and just set a steady pace. Then something went wrong in my brakes, I pulled over, adjusted and got going again pretty quickly, but had lost i don't know 200 spots. I was anxious, but knew it would be a long day so stuck to the plan and just took it easy. For the next 3 hours I was continously passing people and felt great. I made it up 9 mile hill with very minimal hiking and was nailing some downhills. I was even catching guys on the downhills which for me is something as they tend to be my weakness.

I passed through the Powerzone Party Zone the second time and filled up my camel back, I was starting to get pretty hot, but was feeling strong and having fun. Then at exactly the 3:30 mark I took a strange bounce off a route and was thrown into a tree. As soon as my legs stopped moving they both went into violent convulsions. I was cramping so bad I had to just sit there for about 5 or 10 minutes to work them out. After that I made sure to stay in an easier gear and kept the cadence high. I continued in to the finish to finish in 4:53. A little bit longer than I had hoped, but something I am realizing is my riding is not quite where I think it is.

Overall had a great time, on some awesome trails and have to say the people of Squamish do a great job of supporting and cheering. This race is 90% suited to my style of riding and I will definitely be back again next year. After the race it was home to take care of the little one knock back a couple of Red Racer IPA's and mow down on some homemade pulled pork pizza. Sorry there's not pics of the beer James, I was tired.
Almost There

All Finished Up

North Shore Bike Fest Race Report

2010-06-08T20:39:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was the North Shore Bike Fest and I signed up for the Lenzyne Marathon race. The Marathon race was stated at being somewhere between 25kms and 29kms, so not exactly a Marathon distance, but the organizers said you would feel like you had ridden 60kms. They were not kidding.

All week the weather was very rainy, so I knew the course would be quite muddy, luckily race day cleared up and it was actually fairly warm out at the start. The start was quite fun. It was a LeMans start which means you have to run to your bike, then it went through a BMX course and finally into a climb. So needless to say the heart rate got a little high. But over the next bit I let it come down a bit and fell into a groove. The short story of the race was that it was quite technical. There were a lot of hike a bikes and because I am not as strong as I would like in descending I ended up having to walk portions of the downhills where there were 3 and 4 foot drops.

The positives of the race were I climbed well. I was passing people all day long on the climbs and at the end I felt good and as though I had fueled properly. The bad was my descending of technical "North Shore" downhills sucks. I will definitely need to work on this. Getting excited for this weekend and racing one of my "A" races the Test of Metal, should be fun.

Me and a Future Racer

Post RAce

Ready to Race

2010-06-03T19:18:00.001-07:00

Not too much to report from this end. The first 3 weeks of my build to the High Cascades 100 have been going solidly. I am feeling stronger and recovering well. The only bad part has been the weather, our spring has been very wet, so I have been doing almost all of my weekday rides on the trainer. Which obviously sucks, but I am confident it will get better. Racing again this weekend at the North Shore Bike Fest in the Marathon Race. The actual course is only about 29kms but they say it will feel like 60kms. Should be fun. This time I will be sure to come prepared with more to drink and extra calories.

That's about it from here. No pics as its been raining and one day I forgot my memory card.

Happy riding.

P.S. I started a blog for my other hobby(beer). if you care to check it out at www.brewsperience.blogspot.com

Orecrusher 2K10 Race Report

2010-05-20T19:17:00.001-07:00

This past Saturday was my first race of the season the Orecrusher 2K10. Had a fairly mellow training week coming into the race and was feeling ready to lay it down. The race was 40km's and I had looked at last years times to see how long approximately the race would take. I figured somewhere between 1.5 to 2 hrs would be appropriate. Well little did i know that the race was actually longer this year and would take the first place finisher over 2 hours. Oops.

The race started off with a LeMans style running start. I ran with the pack and when I got to the bikes it took me about 10 seconds(that felt like forever) to find my bike. Finally found it and off we were. I felt pretty good until about 10 minutes in, well I didn't feel bad, but realized I would if I kept going at the pace I was riding. Eased off the pedals a bit and surprisingly stayed with many of the racers. The first 4 laps were pretty uneventful and I played cat and mouse with a couple of riders for most of those laps. Then came lap 5, I was low on fluid, had been now riding for about 2 hrs with 200 cals, oh and it was the hottest day we had all year. Perfect conditions for a bonk, and that's what I did. The whole lap I felt like I was going backwards and at one point I stopped to refocus and I swear it looked like my shorts were crawling up my legs. Finally got to the end of the lap and decided I had to finish no matter how bad it was.

Since my feedzone was empty and I desperately needed some fluid I ditched my bike and found my car in the parking lot and grabbed my after race bottle. Hopped back on and slogged on. Made it to the finish and was glad to be done. Got out of there pretty quick as I needed some food and some fluid stat! Overall I was 7th out of 8 starters in my age group with 8th DNF'ing, at least I didn't DNF was what I was happy about and I was about midpack overall. I feel I lost at least 15 minutes in the last 2 laps due to lack of calories and fluid which would have moved me up 2 or 3 places in the age group and quite a bit overall. I've learned and will be much more prepared for my next race.

Adjusting

2010-05-02T18:14:00.000-07:00

So our little one has been with us now for 3 weeks and after a week of rest I have started up with some training again. Nothing huge but I can definitely feel the fitness that I had gained from all of the training early in the year. With my first real race of the year the Orecrusher coming up in 2 weeks I am looking forward to a fun summer of racing, drinking beers and spending time with my 2 beautiful girls. I'm also looking forward to taking a run at the King of the Hell of a Series. I have no idea how I will do, but I intend to race the whole series and have a fun time. The nice thing is the 5 races are only about an hour from home so they are definitely doable.

A few pics of the last couple of weeks.

Training Break

2010-04-13T08:21:00.000-07:00

Going to be taking a bit of a training break for the next couple of days/week. Not really sure. Have to adjust to our new life with our adorable baby girl. Julie and I welcomed Sage Keiko Gunn to the world on Saturday April 10th at 3:59am. Julie and Sage are doing great, and me I'm just a bit tired, but my part is the easy part. Some pics below.

Easter Weekend

2010-04-04T13:35:00.000-07:00

No Baby yet, but weekend still didn't go as planned. Was hoping to get in a bunch of hours on the bike this weekend, but things just didn't work out. A great weekend though, as I spent a bunch of time with Ju and tonight will be heading to enjoy a dinner with the family.

Friday I had planned to go out for about 5 hours. About 20 minutes in I had my first flat, then it started to get crazy windy and a torrential downpour began. Nothing that would stop me...until flat number 2. This time a 1/2 inch piece of glass had torn right through my tire. I tried to patch it up, but then about 300 metres down the road I had another flat. At this point, cold, wet and pissed off, I walked about 1/2 a mile down the street and called up my Dad to see if he could pick me up. Out he came to save me and that was Friday. But I made up for it later, a nice tasty beer.

Saturday woke up nice and early and motivated to get going. The only problem was the rain and the wind were crazy. The wind was going so hard I decided it wasn't safe to get out and opted for the trainer. about 30 minutes on the trainer and mentally I was done. Had a lot of errands to do so decided to bag it and get on with the day. Turned into a pretty good day and in the afternoon the wind let up and it started to get nice. By this time it was a little too late, but put in some time to do little TLC on my bikes. Clean bikes are happy bikes. And they really needed to be cleaned.

Today, Sunday was great. It looked cloudy but within about 20 minutes the sun came through and it actually got quite warm. Only went for a shorter ride as I have some things to get done, but sure did enjoy getting out and getting a little sun. So overall I'm pretty happy with the last four weeks of training, have had very consistent weeks and the legs are getting stronger. Who knows what this week will look like,but I'm hoping it turns into a rest week. I'm really looking forward to meeting my daughter.

Hope the Easter Bunny was good to you all.

Soaking it Up

2010-03-31T20:09:00.000-07:00

So the end of March is here. Have been comparing my training logs from the last couple of years and right now I am on track for a record year for number of hours of training. So far in the first 3 months I've spent 100 hours on the bike, compared to a total of 220 for 2009. I am noticing the difference in my riding as well. I'm feeling stronger in the flats, on the hills and even in the later hours of the long rides. I know I've still got a long ways to go till the High Cascades 100, but have a feeling that I should be feeling strong by the time it comes around.

Other than training going really well nothing too much has been going on. I am loving my new job, spending lots of time with Ju, and getting the nest ready. Really getting excited for our little one to come along.

Enjoy the rides.

2010-03-21T18:21:00.001-07:00

Definitely back on track. After two fairly mellow weeks, I have put in two solid weeks in a row of 13+ hours. It hasn't been too exciting the training that has been going on but it has been consistent. Yesterday I put in the longest ride of my life. 100.1 Miles, or 161km's. I know it seems crazy that I have signed up for a 100 mile mountain bike ride without even putting in that much distance on the road bike. Well I finally did it, and amazingly I felt pretty awesome after. Hoping to get in another couple of these before the end of May and my final throwdown into the High Cascades 100 starts.

Since I've only got about 2, maybe 3 weeks till our new addition joins us, I have made the plan to basically train hard through the next couple of weeks, and then once our baby girl joins us take a little bit of rest. Well rest from training at least. Julie has been doing awesome through the whole pregnancy and we are definitely getting very excited right now. I have never been so excited for something in my whole life.

Sorry no pictures but I had a bit of an incident with the camera a couple of weeks ago and have not been riding with it in an effort to keep it in tact. Enjoy the spring!

A Bit of Rest and a Lot of Fun

2010-03-05T08:09:00.001-08:00

CANADA WINS GOLD IN OLYMPIC HOCKEY!!!! STREETS GO WILD!!!

So the last two weeks have been a little bit light on the training front. Last week I ended up dropping about 3 workouts to drink some beers and watch some Olympics with my close friends who were in from out of town. Definitely worth it, as I only see these guys once or twice a year and due to the Olympics they were in town for a little bit longer. Also, got to experience the craziness of downtown Vancouver after Canada won the Gold Medal Hockey game. What an experience that was.

A Pic of Dix Brewery Right Before Canada Scored Gold

Dix Brewery IPA - tasty stuff

Another pic of how crazy the streets were. Never seen something this crazy in my life. I literally got swallowed by the crowd.

This week was a little light in the training due to starting a new job and getting used to a new routine. Saturday I also attended a learn to road race clinic which only ended up giving me about 1.5 hours in the saddle. Today was my first road race ever. The weather started off a bit overcast and I started getting in a good warmup then the sky opened up and it started to rain, first lightly and then quite heavily. Made some last minute adjustments to my gear and hit the start line. Within about 100 meters it felt like someone was taking a hose and spraying it at us. Got soaked to the bone and had a lot of fun. Sat in for most of the first couple of laps and then took a pull hoping to break away in the 3rd of 5 but was reeled in pretty quickly. Stayed with the pack for the rest of the race and in the final lap decided to take a bit of a pull. Well right on the corner that I finished about 6 riders made a break for it. I tried to cover but didn't have it in me. I continued to fight it, but never got close. Finished up the course and headed home pretty quick.

Looking forward to making these spring training road races a part of the weekly training for the next month or so and finishing up the base part of my training. 5 months today until the High Cascades 100 so I better start getting some volume.

Hope everyone is having a good late winter/early spring.

The Olympic Experience

2010-02-18T21:20:00.000-08:00

First, training has been going really well. I have been putting in lots of hours on the bike, putting in some great strength sessions and getting a couple of runs per week. Definitely starting to feel stronger on the bike, so that is a good thing.

Even though I have been getting in a lot of training I took some time this Sunday to head down to the biggest sporting event to ever hit BC, the Winter Olympics. We didn't have tickets to any of the events but just headed downtown to take in the experience. And what an experience it was. There were thousands and thousands of people walking through the streets and everyone was cheering and having a good time, like nothing I have ever seen before. The best part was watching the Men's Moguls on the TV's at Alberta House and watching Canada win it's first Olympic Gold on home soil.

The weather has been amazing in Vancouver and is definitely helping the party atmosphere, but not the snow. The one thing I found from spending the day walking around was not too great for the legs riding the next day. I wanted to take shortcuts every chance I had on Monday's long ride, but pushed through and ended up putting my longest ride of the year.

Me and Julie in front of the Olympic Clock

The Vancouver City - Was a beautiful day

The Olympic Cauldron

Canada House

Kick Ass Weekend

2010-02-09T18:45:00.001-08:00

This past weekend was a pretty kick ass weekend. It started off with a sweet 10K run on Saturday morning(yes I am running again). Then I headed off to work, with the sweet motivation knowing I would get to taste some Ranger IPA in the evening. After work we headed down to Bellingham with my sister and her boyfriend Rob. While the girl's checked out the mall we headed to the cafe and enjoyed some Mac & Jac's IPA and some African Amber. Definitely a good start.

Once the girls were finished up with the shopping we headed for some dinner. Headed to a new restaurant, to us, The Copper Hog. My whole reason for choosing this restaurant was to try the above Ranger IPA. It was pretty much what I expected and next time I spend some extended time South of the Border I will definitely be bringing some back home. After a few more beers and a great dinner we headed home and started to watch SNL. At least Julie did, I pretty much passed out as soon as I hit the bed. An early morning and a few beers will do that.

Sunday was a great morning and I headed out for a couple of hours on the trails with my brother. Nothing too crazy but a good spin and some skill building on the mountain bike. The afternoon was spent watching some movies, a bit of the Superbowl and enjoying the great snack below.

Monday turned into an awesome day with the sun out shining and temps that were warm enough to take my knee warmers off. Well almost they were only off for about 10 minutes. This was definitely not the type of weather you would expect from the city hosting the Winter Olympics in less than a week. But as long as there is snow in the mountains, the spring like weather will be great for everyone visiting Vancouver. This week I have officially started to get some Olympic fever and am getting excited to go and check some of the free events out. I didn't get any tickets for any events as they seemed to be quite pricey for events I wasn't all that in to.

In other news I have changed my training as of this week and pretty much cut out swimming as I am going to be focusing on some Endurance Mountain Bike Events this year. I am still running a few days a week, but swimming is out, as I was paying a pretty hefty monthly fee to swim 4 or 5 times a month. I will now just do drop in swimming when I feel like it.

Oh and I've been brewing some more beer too. An American Pale Ale

Hope everyone is having as much fun as I have been.

Kickin the Cold

2010-02-01T19:28:00.000-08:00

So not too much has happened in the last week or so. Had a pretty bad cold and took 5 days off from training. I know they say that as long as it's a head cold it is fine to go and work out lightly, but I was so drained I bagged all of the workouts. Got back at it today and headed out for 90 minutes on the bike. Legs felt great but still working out some of the tail end of this cold. Hoping that I'll be able to get back at it this week.

Prior to last week things were going quite well and was feeling like things were starting to come together. I've been busy brewing some beers, got an IPA and an Irish Red in the fermenters. Not too much else to report and that is part of why the blog has been a little quite lately. Looking to do some racing in the near future so should have some more frequent and interesting posts.

Before I finish, I did get to go watch "Race Across the Sky" this week and have to say it really got me pumped and a little scared about what I have gotten myself into by signing up for the High Cascades 100. I hope this year Dave Wiens comes back and wins, he's such a classy guy.

The Big 1-0-0

2010-01-11T17:48:00.000-08:00

As mentioned previously I have been having a bit of a time deciding on what to race and had come up with somewhat of a plan. Well I don't know how it happened, but somehow after signing up for the Test of Metal I got it into my head that riding a 100 would be a good idea. I researched some different races and finally found one that I thought looked good, The High Cascade 100. I printed off the registration and held onto it for about a week, but today I finally put it in the mail. Had a little freakout and now I'm realizing I've really gotta start putting the hours in. Should be a great challenge.

On the training front things have been going really well and I've been feeling quite good on the bike. The only crappy part has been continuous rain and I have had to put my long rides(4hrs) in on the trainer. Hoping to get some time without the rain soon.

Getting Back on the Wagon

2009-12-29T07:28:00.000-08:00

As we come near the close of 2009 I couldn't be happier to be moving into 2010. 2009 was by no means a bad year, but 2010 looks to be much better. Professionally 2009 started off quite difficult as I work in the investment industry and we were right smack in the middle of the "Great Recession", not my title for it but everyone else is using it so.... The one thing that was keeping me sane was getting out on the bike, for a run, or to swim. Then came February where a slight miscalculation quickly put a stop to any exercising for awhile and basically turned my 2009 training into a rebuilding year.

After recovering from my fractured collar bone I enjoyed training for the rest of the year, started my other new hobby(homebrewing) and had a great summer. High end fitness at this point is pretty low, but the base I have built over the year has been great. I have just rolled into the first part of base for my 2010 season and the body is soaking up all the training.

So 2010 looks to be a year of new beginnings. Beginning the training and racing again, beginning life as a father(baby girl is due in April) and in work hopefully the beginning of the next bull market. As we close the chapter on one year, I am ready to start with the next and enjoy the ride.

Let's see what fun 2010 brings.

Somewhat of a Plan

2009-12-08T07:58:00.000-08:00

In my last post I mentioned that I was having troubles planning my 2010 racing season with our upcoming arrival. The feedback I received was not to worry about it, which is fine, racing and training will definitely be taking a back seat to time with the family and making sure the little one is taken care of. But I know that I need to have a goal to continue to train and to keep in shape. When I first started training in 2004 I was 40lbs heavier and in much worse shape than I am today, and I definitely don't want to go back to being in that shape again.

So.... I have decided on a very casual race season with one or two major goals. The first goal is going to be to race the Test of Metal, a 67km 1200M of climbing Mountain Bike race held in Squamish, BC. I have signed up to complete this race as a member of Team Diabetes, with a goal of raising $1000 for the Canadian Diabetes Association. Diabetes is a disease that is close to my family and many people I have known over the years. Being one of the number one preventable diseases I want to be able to bring some awareness around this disease.

My second major goal race is going to be the Lake Stevens 70.3. I have been wanting to do this race for 3 years now, so this year is going to be the year I put it on the race calendar. Although this race is going to be a major focus for the year, I am going into it with the option of bailing if life with a newborn does not allow me to get in the training I need. In that case I will look for another MTB race or a Century or something for my second major goal of the year.

Now that these goals are decided and Julie is on board it is time to start training. Yesterday marked the official start to my Base training with a 2.5hour ride in sub-zero temps. By the end of it I was quite cold and needing a hot shower. Definitely looking forward to getting back into the swing of things.

Catching Up!

2009-11-23T17:23:00.000-08:00

Hasn't really been too much to report on my end lately and that has kind of been the reason for the lack of the blog posts. The great Pacific Northwest Fall/Winter has finally came. I think it's been raining for 2 weeks straight and the forecast is for that to continue, at least for the next week. So my final race for the year the Seattle Half Marathon on Sunday looks to be a wet one. My only hope is it doesn't snow like the last time I ran in Seattle in 2006.

Run training has been going well. I have been getting in almost 50km's week in and week out. Which seems to be about my limit, too much over this and the niggles start and then lead to injuries. I have gotten back in the pool, and last week put in a 1500M effort without too much fatigue. The bike has somewhat been lacking, I'd rather be outside but with all this rain and the dark, I just don't feel safe out there and am really having trouble getting on the trainer. And last week was the official start of my strength routine with one day of Yoga and a day of Weights. Should be picking that up a bit this week. Still not too sure what my goals for 2010 are going to be. Currently I'm thinking some Xterra and 1/2 Ironmans, but I've been doing a lot of flip flopping.

In really exciting news. Julie and I are looking forward to adding another runninggunner to the world come next April. I've even already picked up a jogging stroller via Craigslist. This news is somewhat why I haven't decided on 2010 plans. I know we'll be busy with a little one for sure. But just don't know how busy yet, and what I will realistically be able to train for. But I definitely can't wait!

That about catches me up to now. The next couple of weeks look to be pretty busy with the holiday's coming up.

Enjoying the Fall

2009-11-02T13:19:00.000-08:00

Have been enjoying the last couple of weeks. We have been having a beautiful fall here and the colours are awesome. I have been able to get in quite a few rides lately and the running is coming along again. Going to be heading back to the pool today for the first time in about 3 or 4 months. And my 2010 training will officially start the base miles on November 15th. Looking forward to getting back in top shape again. I was looking back at my blog and remembered before breaking my collarbone in February I was probably in the best shape of my life. Still in fairly good shape but definitely need to sharpen it up again.

Saturday was Halloween and Julie and I got in to the spirit and the Olympic spirit.

Quatchi and Miga

If it's not one thing....

2009-10-21T19:36:00.000-07:00

it's another. It seems like this year was definitely not supposed to be a big race year. I've finally been starting to feel my fitness coming around and have been amping up the run mileage in an effort to prep for the Seattle Half Marathon, and last week finally registered and booked a hotel. And then I get sick this weekend. The kind of sickness that kept me on the couch all day Saturday and Sunday. Then on Sunday I start getting some sharp pains in my right foot. This keeps me on the couch for another day and on Monday night it starts to get so bad I can barely put any weight on it. Very mysterious but I chalk it up to the flu/cold that I am fighting off. Then I barely sleep all night Monday due to the pain and first thing Tuesday Morning I head to the Doctors.

Turns out I have some sort of underskin infection from a cut I suffered about a week ago. And am now on some Antibiotics and starting to be able to walk again. 5 days on the couch has killed me though and am starting to go stir crazy. Good news is it looks like I should be back to work tomorrow, but who know how much more time I'll need off of training. Hopefully back on the bike if possible in a couple of days.

Speaking of the bike, last weekend I got out for a few rides and wow, it was cold. One day it was -3C when I left the house. What happened to the summer? A couple of pics.

Crosstastic

2009-10-09T21:28:00.000-07:00

Raced in my first cyclocross race last weekend. And have to say it was way more fun that I thought it would be. It was also way more painful than I thought it would be. I started off the first lap within what felt like the main part of the pack. But I seemed to have gone out too hard and started falling through the pack. It ended up being a 5 lap race and after the second lap I finally figured out my pace. The only problem was that I went a little too hard in the first two laps. Overall though I had a lot of fun and am going to be racing a couple of more times this year. Also, going to be putting my pennies away so that next year I can race on an actual cyclocross bike instead of my mountain bike. It was a little bit heavy.

Training has been going well and I have consistently been getting about 30 miles + in for the last couple weeks of running and all at a base pace. The pace is slowing starting to get faster as well, which is a definite good thing. I need to get back into some consistent riding, which should start to come along in the next while as I have finally succumbed and got the trainer out.

This weekend is Thanksgiving up here in Canada and am looking forward to a great Turkey dinner and getting in a couple of good rides. Watching Kona on the livefeed should be fun as well. Go Chrissie and Bree for the women and Go Macca and Terenzo for the men.

Have a great weekend.

Some pics from the cross race. Crappy quality as they came from my iphone

Cruising Along

2009-09-29T20:28:00.000-07:00

Last couple of weeks have been going okay. Since my last post I was sick for about 10 days not debilitating sick. It was actually quite weird I was able to live everyday life, but when it came to getting in workouts my lungs burned and I basically took the time off. This just happened to happen while I had a week of vacation which we had rented a cabin on a lake with my parents. I always say this, every vacation I pack all my gear and then get out for one or maybe max 2 workouts. This week away was no different except the one run I got out for was one of the worst of my life. Was feeling fine hanging out at the lake but 15 minutes into the run and I was dying. Basically suffered through a run/walk for an hour and hung the shoes up for the rest of the week.
Beer at the Lake

Once back I had finally fully recovered and last week had my biggest run week of the year finishing it up with my longest run of the year a whole 18km's. Felt good though and have started this week off good as well. The plan right now is to focus on the run for the rest of the year and am looking at incorporating an hour of riding per day. Unfortunately it looks like daylight is limited now and I am going to have to get the trainer out. I have been denying it, but this has just led to missing some workouts. So it is definitely time to get back on the horse.

My Long Run Partner

Some cool running trails

In exciting news I picked up a new roadbike this week. A Specialized Allez Sport, got a killer deal on it, the guys an Velocity definitely hooked me up. And also, it looks like I am going to race in my first cyclocross race this Sunday. I am going in the beginner category and on my mountain bike, but I really need to race and am looking forward to getting a taste of the Cross. If it goes well, next year I'll be lookin for my own cross ride.
The New Ride

Planning for 2010

2009-09-11T07:35:00.000-07:00

Training has been okay the last week or two. This week i have actually been sick, so it has been quite mellow. I was probably due for a little rest anyways. It's interesting if you are to listen to your body what it is saying to you. On Sunday before I realized I was sick my legs felt terrible and I couldn't keep my heart rate up into my zone 2. I figured maybe it was the crap weather, I definitely hate it when the weather turns grey. So I took the rest of the day to enjoy and decided to head out again on Monday for a short ride of about 90 minutes. Same thing. Well maybe that was cause I had a couple extra beers on Sunday night. Nope, Tuesday morning I wake up with a full blown cold. So have taken Tuesday and Wednesday off. Thursday got back to some light running but still wasn't feeling that great. Hoping to be better by the weekend.

Hating the change in the weather

Had to take a picture of these guy's. How often do you see mini horses?

I had tentatively been planning to ride the Mt. Baker Hill Climb this weekend. But after the way the legs felt last weekend and having a cold most of the week I have decided to opt out. Instead I'll head out on my regular Sunday loop and prepare for my week at the Cabin next week. Hoping to get in some great rides next week before anyone else is up and about.

On another note I have really started to think about my prospects for racing in 2010 and am starting to get quite excited. I think taking most of this year off and sticking to the base miles is really going to payoff. I know it's still a ways away, but I can't wait to get back in to some Xterra races. I may even do some longer MTB races too. We'll see how they all fit together.

Until next time. Keep the wheels spinning.

A Slack Week?

2009-08-31T19:40:00.000-07:00

Just finished a week where I blew off a couple of workouts. My running partner had a new addition to his family this week. Which meant I had to rely on myself to be there at 5:30am to run. After skipping out a couple of workouts, I was pretty down on myself. Up to this point I had been doing quite well and hadn't missed a workout in a couple of weeks. The funny thing is at the end of the week I looked at my training log and still managed to put in a 10 hour training week. Which after looking at it I was quite happy about it.

Started this week off with a great 4.5hr ride today. Kept going and going and felt really good about the effort. Planning on putting in some good effort the rest of the week and am really stoked on how my fitness is progressing. At the end of the ride I had some pretty crazy hair going on.

Not a lot else going on here right now, trying to figure out what event I am going to do this month. And then I won't be racing most likely till the Seattle Half Marathon in November.

Enjoying the Summer

2009-08-23T18:25:00.000-07:00

Enjoying this Homebrew IIPA as I type.

Is exactly what I have been doing lately. I have been training consistently 10 to 13 hours a week. Which has left a lot of time to do other things. Hang with Julie, friends, enjoy a book and drink a couple of beers. That has pretty much been the summer for me. My goal for this year is simply, build the base, enjoy life and enjoy training. I really enjoying training hard and racing, but with putting in mainly base work I have been able to train a lot more, and still have energy to do other things. If I look back at last summer, I would blow off a workout here or there and worry about my fitness, but this year because I am just training for fun and to prep for 2010 I have had a no missed workout anxiety, have only blown off workouts once or twice all summer and have done quite a few fun things. In saying all of this though, I am definitely starting to get ready to get race prepped in 2010. My upper end fitness is fairly non-existent, unless I'm in a sprint finish with Ward, but my base is unbelievable. I really feel that I'll be able to build a much stronger house on top of this foundation than in year's past. \

The best part of training lately has been running with Ward. We've been consistently running 4 times a week and have now added a strength/mobility workout which is pretty killer. He's definitely going to kill it in Boston next April. Not to call him out, but I think sub 3 is going to be possible. I'll just have to continue to push him. Work on the bike has been going pretty good as well, I might even venture out on the MTB in the next week or so, as the collarbone is feeling great. Probably keep it to some mellow trails, but need to start building the skills back up.

In other areas, my homebrew skills continue to improve and I have enjoyed a few of the fruits of my labour. My newest creation is a Bluberry Blonde which turned out very refreshing but a little too bitter. Tomorrow I brew my Thanksgiving Brew a Pumpkin Porter.
The Blueberry Blonde in Fermentation. Things got a little crazy.

A beautiful summer evening by the river

Cruising Along

Enjoy the summer!!!

Dirty Thirty

2009-07-29T17:53:00.000-07:00

Been slacking on the blogging lately. No real reason for this, just had a little bit of writers block. I've sat down 3 or 4 times to write an entry, only to get a couple of sentences in. I have had a lot going on in my life lately. For one I turned 30, and Julie held a great "Dirty Thirty" party for me at our favourite Mexican restaurant. Then I went on two separate camping trips. One with the boys where we hiked the Stawamus Chief. And another for the long BC Day Weekend.

On the training front I have been training a lot on the bike and run. This week I finally hit the point where I noticed that my run fitness has returned. And on the bike my fitness continues to get better and better every week. I am really excited about the base I am building this year and look forward to get back to some racing in 2010. My plan for the rest of the year is to continue to have fun, build some base miles on the bike, while the weather is good and to improve my run and hopefully run a pr at the Seattle Half Marathon in November. Not too sure how much swimming I will do, but for now it's basically when I feel like it. Also, definitely going to be riding the Mt. Baker Hill Climb in September.

To continue the blog post I will add some pics.

Best place to buy seafood ever.

Oyster's from above. Who say's you can't eat classy food when camping?

Our Camping Feast, Risotto with Prawns, A ton of steamer's, and some bread. We had a dozen Pacifica Oyster's for our appetizer. What a treat.

Cool shot of dinner being prepped.

We attended the Bite O'Bellingham and ate a ton of great tasters. This was our favourite. BBQ Pork Slider, from Boundary Bay Brewery

The view from the top of the Stawamus Chief. Pretty famous hike in our area

A cool shot Julie took of me at Deception Pass

Golden Ears Park - Had a great long ride this day. Rode for 3 hours, drank 7 bottles and still lost 1.4lbs. It was crazy hot.

Stone 13th Anniversary Ale - James had me wanting some of this pretty bad, and thought due to my location of Canada I'd be SOL. But on a recent trip to Bellingham, WA I found a couple of bottles. The crazy part is I almost missed them.

Me tasting the Stone 13th. I'm glad I picked up 2 bottles. It was soooo good.

Happy training to all. Hope you are enjoying the summer.

Lifesport Westcoast Vancouver Sprint Triathlon

2009-07-13T21:22:00.000-07:00

Sunday was my first race of the season and after 4.5 months of rehabbing my shoulder and recovering I was ready to go. For the most part the day went exactly as I had envisioned. I was a little nervous in the week leading into the race, but once the gun went off I felt great and had a lot of fun. I had actually forgot how much triathlon was. This race was put on by the lifesport crew in a beautiful setting and was one of the best organized races I have done.

The swim was 500M which was perfect for me as I have not been swimming much and finally just had my first workout over 1000M this week. I knew the swim would be slow for me and aimed to finish in less than 10 minutes. For the first 2/3rds of the swim I had some awesome feet to draft on and felt like my pace was great. Then after clearing the final buoy I lost them and was suddenly on my own. I kept an easy pace and started to feel the fatigue of weak arms but finished up. Right ahead of my goal 9:50. Probably my worst swim in a tri ever, but considering my year I was very happy.

There was a long run on the sand up to T1 and I pushed it passing 4 or 5 people on the way. T1 went well, although I had some troubles getting my helmet on, probably added about 10 seconds. And out it was to the bike.

My goal was to push the pace on the bike as I knew that this was where my fitness was tops and also for a sprint this leg was a little longer at 26K. I kept a nice consistent pace and actually passed some people during the bike. Not just the people doing their 2nd lap of the 4 lap half ironman. Also, played a little back and forth with a couple of guys up until about the 22K mark. At this point a large group of riders, possibly a pack, came by and left me in their wake. I continued to push and cam in at 46:40. My goal going in was to be under 47 so pretty much perfect. T2 was uneventful and out I was onto the run.

I started off feeling strong on the run and after about 300M's realized I needed to slow it down a bit or i wouldn't make it to the 1K mark. Pulled the pace back a bit and was feeling good. At about the 2K mark I started to feel my lack of run fitness and also had to make a quick nature break. From 2K to 4k my pace definitely fell off and quite a few people passed me. I felt a little off till about the 4K mark and then found a good pace until about 4.5K. At this point the fatigue from lack of running much defintley showed and although I felt as though I was pushing pretty good I am pretty sure it looked like I was jogging. Finished the run in 24:16, I was hoping to be under 22 Minutes but didn't quite make it. Overall I am extremely happy with how the day went and excited to race at least one more tri this year.

Pushing to the finish, even if it looks like I'm jogging

Pic of Pro Bree Wee showing how it's done, coming into T2

Hope everyone else had a great weekend.

Recovery to the MAX!

2009-07-07T20:11:00.000-07:00

After my biggest week of training last week, it was time to take some rest. Had a week long road trip planned to relax, check out some breweries and eat some good food. I had fully planned to get in at least a couple of workouts, but as things would have it I just had too much fun and are days were pretty full. We headed to Portland first for two nights, over to Newport on the coast for 3 and then back to Seattle for a night before heading home.

Highlights from the trip:
- Spending time with Ju
- Eating at and trying the beers at 4 different brewpubs.
- Camping beside a crazy family
- Rogue Brewery Tour
- trying 10 different beers at the Seattle International Beer Festival

Some pics from the week:

Loaded up and ready to go

I think I got to the show too early

On the Williamette River

Coffees at Stumptown - Probably the best I've ever had.

The Deschutes BrewPub in Portland

Deschutes Brewery in Portland Taster - Some Great IPA's

Sweet Bike Rack

A Cool Bike Sculpture

The Rogue Nation Headquarters

Looks like they knew I was coming

Our Campsite

Our Yummy Camping Dinner

Cool Action Shot

Tasting at the Seattle International Beer Festival

In other news, my first race of the year is coming up this Sunday. I'm very excited to get out there again, but a little nervous about how my high octane fitness is. I guess we'll see.

Mini Camp Review

2009-06-27T11:03:00.000-07:00

My training has been going really well as of late and I had a few extra owed overtime days accumulated, so I decided to take a couple of extra days off this week to spend some time on the bike. And maybe do a little swimming and running. I'm counting my week from Sunday to Saturday and in that time, I have put in 21hrs of training, a new 7 day record for me. In that time I have biked 460Kms, Run 20.7kms and swam 1600M. Although the swim volume does not look big, it is the biggest week I have had since coming back from my fractured clavicle. On Friday I did a test to see if I could swim 800M's straight and I am happy to say I was able to. This means I won't be fast, but at least I'll be able to finish in my sprint race in 2 weeks.

Not a lot to say about the week except it was a lot of riding, but my legs are feeling ridiculously well so far. So I have a put together some pictures from the week. Now that my big week is over, it is time for a recovery week and I will be spending two days of it in the Microbrew Capital of the US, Portland, Or. I hope their kegs are ready for me.

Some Essentials for putting in lots of hours in the saddle

Pre Ride Fueling is very important.

The flat farmland roads

My long ride fuel

Perfect recovery drink. James had mentioned this one before. It was delicious.

Spinning Along

A possible celebrity sighting? The expected bling was definitely missing.

Jeff Kerkove styled shot

My Steed. It's nothing fancy, but it does the trick.

Another couple of shots of me riding along

Trucking along. The weather was not as ideal as had hoped, was trying to outrun some rain.

The clouds I was running away from

Riding along 0 Avenue. This sits right on the border of the US and Canada. I often see the US Border Patrol doing their rounds here.

Final ride the river was really calm

Finally got some sun

Finished!

Happy training to you all.

And for James and Ward, I tasted my new homebrewed IIPA this week. Not quite ready yet, will post some pics when it's ready.

Happy Training.

Changing Direction - kind of

2009-06-11T07:29:00.000-07:00

Training has been going really well as of late and have been putting some big miles in on the bike. Being forced to spend more time on the bike coming back from my injury has made me realize something. I really like to ride my bike. As swimming is not coming along as quickly as I would like and my local Y is raising their rates next week I have decided to change the direction of my training for the rest of the year. I am still going to be racing the Subaru Vancouver Sprint race on July 12th. But after that I am going to put my focus into my riding for the rest of the summer with the aim of completing a Century in August and the Mt. Baker Hill Climb in September.

I will not be taking a break 100% from Tri-training as I will continue to build up my base on the swim. Right now I am only able to swim about 20 minutes without the arm going a bit floppy, so I will keep swimming twice a week. And on the run, my goal is to run a PR for the Seattle Half Marathon in November, so I will definitely still be running lots. I will just not be focused on any tri's. Although, I am a little bummed about this I think it really help me for 2010 as the bike and run are definitely the two areas I need the most work on.

The last two weeks I have put in my second biggest and biggest day on the bike. Last week was 66 Miles and followed it up this week with 71.5 miles. Probably won't be pushing the distance too much for a couple more weeks but definitely will be putting in some big days. Next week I'm taking a couple of extra days off and going to hold my own individual mini camp. Should be fun.

Heading for the Hills

Taking a Hike

2009-06-04T07:12:00.000-07:00

Switched things up in the training a bit this week. Instead of riding long on Monday decided to go for a hike. What a great hike it was. 8km roundtrip at 24.8% grade. It was a tough hike and the 8km roundtrip is quite deceiving. It took 3 hours to the top and 2hrs on the way down. It was quite warm, but at the higher elevations we still ran into some snow, and the lake at the top was still 85% frozen over. Other than that training has been going well and my swimming is starting to feel a little better. I learned that hardway on Friday not to push it though.

Some pics from the week.

The first bridge crossing. As you can see the original bridge was out of commission. This would be a theme.

Another crossing where there used to be a bridge. This was probably the sketchiest.

And the bridge. I'm pretty sure it's supposed to go over the creek, not into the creek.

We came upon a deer about halfway up, that just stood and watched us. Can you find it in the picture?

Starting to get excited about my first race this year in 5 weeks and am pretty sure I should be able to at least finish the swim.

Keep on keeping on.

Back in to Routine

2009-05-22T07:27:00.000-07:00

So the last couple of months have been interesting. I have definitely lost some fitness, but am not too worried. I know it will come back. My training up to this point has not been what I am used to, and my motivation had been lacking. I realized the reason I was skipping workouts, was that they were not scheduled. I was just doing what I felt like, when I felt like it. And if I didn't feel like it, well I didn't do anything and that was happening a little too often. So I developed an Annual Training Plan, assuming I will be ready to go, and now have a weekly schedule to follow. So far this week so good.

Today was my first day back in the pool in almost 4 months. I was really worried about how that was going to go, but I'm glad to report it went well. A little slow, but no pain. Some tightness for sure but that is to be expected. I'll build up for the next couple of weeks and hopefully be back with the Master's group by mid-june.

Crazy story, as I was out for a ride on Monday afternoon, in the middle of nowhere really, I come around a bend and see a police car, a cube van and half a dozen officers in full swat gear. They had the ram out and looked to be about to bust the door down. I tried to get out of there quickly, but not without a quick shot over the shoulder. It's small but you can see one officer.

Lastly, I've taken up a new hobby of Homebrewing. I enjoy microbrewed beer so why not make my own. My first batch is a Pale Ale and on Monday I tried it for the first time, a little early, but it was still delicious.

Enjoy the Ride

Up and Running

2009-05-12T06:24:00.000-07:00

Yes I am!!! After 3 full months of not running, I finally go the okay from the Doctor to start running again. Let me say, 3 months off of running is a long time. Before my injury I was running a long run of close to 20km's every weekend and 10km two or three times a week. On Monday my first day back from running I made 4km's and a run for me has never hurt so much. I was still hurting on Wednesday and quickly realized I was going to have to dial the bike mileage back quite a bit to bring the fitness back.

There is progress to report though, today which was my fifth time out running I was feeling much better. I ran for about a minute longer than I have been and actually felt like I could go further at the end of the workout. Baby steps though. This means I am officially building base in two sports now. I will continue with the slow zone 2 running and riding for another week and then will add in some swimming, as I have gotten the okay to start swimming easy as well. I will then be back to full on triathlon training.

I currently do not have any race plans and know for sure that the Xterra Northwest Champs are definitely out of the question. I had been hoping all along that although I had missed all this training that somehow my body would bounce back super quick and I'd be ready to go. Not going to happen. So I will build up my base again, lose the 5-7lbs I gained while not training and focus on some later season local tri's.

Happy training, I know I am.

Chugging Along

2009-05-02T07:59:00.000-07:00

That's how things have been going. I am rebuilding the engine and have been putting long hours in the saddle. Last week I put 7.5hours in and this week finished off with 9 hours. I posted in my last post that my speed and fitness had taken quite a beating with the time off I've had. Well I'm glad to say that I am starting to see some of my form come back. My higher end output still has quite a ways to go, but I am feeling comfortable putting in almost 3 hours at base pace. Tomorrow I go back to see the doc again and am hoping to get the okay to start running again. I know that starting to run again will be a major shock.

Right now I am just taking my time and making sure that things feel right and that I build my base back up. One thing I don't want to happen is to become injured from overtraining right after having significant time off. This week I have felt that my arm/collarbone area has really started to build some strength back up and the palpitations I had been having in the area are almost all but gone. I actually think I might be able to start swimming sooner than I had expected.

Some Hyena's in a Conservatory on one of my rides

Loss of Fitness/Progress??

2009-04-20T18:22:00.000-07:00

I've been back from my trip to Mexico for about a week now. Getting back into training was a little rough and a little slow. But as the week progressed the training started to improve. Yesterday I even got out on my first ride outside, not on the trainer. Ten weeks to the day of my accident. I felt a little apprehensive at first, but after going for about 30 minutes I was back in the groove. The only problem was the lack of speed. 10 weeks of very little training has definitely taken it's toll on me.

For my first ride back I put in just over 2 hours and 32 Miles. Although slow, it definitely felt good to be back on the bike and not on the trainer.

First Ride

Today was a beautiful day, and luckily my day off. So I went out for another spin. It was so warm I only needed the arm warmers to warm up and in a couple of windy areas, no vest or jacket, it was unbelievable. It might just be me, but I was also starting to feel a bit stronger than yesterday on the bike.

On another note, today I went to visit the surgeon again about my collarbone. He is happy with how things are progressing and actually seemed impressed by how little of a bump is showing. He did advise me to continue to take it easy, and not to run for another two weeks. As I have had some pain when take a jarring step. Better safe than sorry. The good news is that I should only need one more meeting and then should be pretty much good to go.

Hope everyone is as stoked about training as me right now. Have fun.

Vacation Time

2009-04-05T07:40:00.000-07:00

Tried to get some good training in this week but fell a little short to what I had hoped. Not too big of a deal, as right now the training is just to start to get back in shape. Today marks 8 weeks since I broke my collarbone and although it is not 100% I am feeling confident that after the next week I should be ready to start some real training again. I'm leaving for a week in Mexico today, and normally I would take some shoes so I could at least get some runs in, but since I'm still not running this time I'm not. Instead I'll try to spend some time in the gym at the resort and go for some long walks on the beach. But after this week, it will be go time. At least 4 rides and 4 runs per week and time to start building up the swim again.

Not much else to say, but I am really getting the itch to start training outside. In a way this week away is probably a good thing so I don't hurt myself by going at it too early.

Happy training. Looks like the weather is starting to come to spring so get outside.

Vacation Gunner

Week One of getting back into it.

2009-03-30T20:03:00.000-07:00

Finished my first week of training after my collarbone fracture. It feels really good to be back and doing some training. Spent about 5 hours on the bike last week and 30 minutes of water running. I remembered how much I hate water running, so I'll wait till I get the okay to start really running to do that. For now I've changed my plans to just focus on the bike for the next couple of weeks. As I don't want to risk rebreaking the bone, I have also decided to spend my bike time on the trainer. It won't be for that long anyways, as after this week, I am away on vacation for a week and then should only be one more week till I can start running and slowly starting to swim again.

My view of the road

With the fact that I am still not fully training, my race calendar is pretty much in the air. I am hoping to be fit enough to race the Vancouver Half Ironman in July and then to get back to some Xterra racing in August at the Black Diamond Xterra and the XTC Canada, Canadian Off Road Championships. With my end of season being the Seattle Half Marathon the last weekend of November. But we will have to see how things go from now.

One thing I have really become of aware of during my downtime, is how much I enjoy training. And most of all, how much I enjoy training outdoors. I am really getting excited to get back out on the bike and the run and I know it won't be too long, as my arm keeps getting stronger everyday.

Lastly, a couple new beers I've tried lately. First the Naramata Brown Ale, apparently the official beer of Ironman Canada. Very tasty and not too bad on the pocketbook.

And second the Phillips Beer IPA. This one is killer! But that seems to be expected from Phillips, I've tried a few of their other beers and have to say, they've all been great.

Happy Training and Racing.

Back at it....sort of

2009-03-23T20:43:00.000-07:00

It looks like a share an injury with a fairly famous guy. Just as he was getting diagonosed with a broken collarbone, I was getting told that mine was mostly healed.

Went to see the Doc today, he said it looks good, and gave me the okay to start riding my bike, he just warned me, DON'T FALL. So I think I will probably stick to the trainer for the first couple of weeks and then get back on the roads. So back on the bike. But not back to running or swimming as of yet. He said it is not likely but the jarring movements from running, could still cause the healing bones to move apart. So best be on the safe side, and swimming, well the movement is just not best for it at this point.

But with this news at least I can start a plan. Actually I already have, as soon as I got home I hopped on the trainer and put in a 45 easy effort. It was easy but tough since I haven't ridden in 6 weeks. My plan is to take the next two weeks and build up to riding 1 to 1.5 hours a day and hitting the pool for some water running to get myself back. I'll then have one more week off, as we are heading to Mexico for a wedding. Then I'll restart my season at the end of April. I'll probably wait till then to plan an actual race calendar and see what I'll be able to do.

Watching from the Sidelines

2009-03-09T18:40:00.000-07:00

Update on the shoulder is, it's feeling really good. There's still a way's to go, but 99% of the pain has gone away. Two more weeks until I'm back at the Doctor's and hopefully by then I'll get the go ahead to start at least a little bit of training. Got in some good walking and a couple of sessions on the recumbent bike last week. The recumbent bike has to be the most boring exercise machine ever. I hate it, but at least I get a bit of a sweat on.

This last weekend was the UBC Triathlon. This was my first race in '07 and I repeated it quite successfully in '08. Before the injury the plan was to do even better this year, I guess that wasn't in the cards. So instead I headed down to watch and cheer on Ward, who was doing his second ever triathlon. He had a solid race, except for the "tea party" he decided to have halfway through the swim. I thought the bug had bit him, but looks like he is going to focus on his run training now until at least the spring of 2010.
Ward's Tea Party. GET SWIMMING!!!

You Can Nap When you Finish

Race day was a nice day out, but really cold. Read the temperature was about -2 Celcius. BRRRR.

Took a few shots of my walk today. I've been trying to get in about 25 to 45 minutes of walking a day. It's not as much as I'm used to, but it's something.

A Local Duck Pond they are Building by me

Mount Baker

Since I've had a little time on my hands, I have been researching some different beers. James has had some great reviews and decided to see if I could find some of the beers he's reviewed in Canada. Well luck have it, I found the Brewery Creek Cold Beer and Wine store and picked up a couple of cold ones.

Looking forward to the weekend, as I'll be heading down to the Seattle Bike Expo. Should be a fun time. If I can't ride one, I might as well ogle them.

Happy Training. Enjoy some for me.

Healing Up

2009-03-03T12:46:00.001-08:00

Went to see the doc yesterday. He is happy with how my collarbone is healing. For that matter. I am too. I'd wish it would be quicker, but there's plenty if time.

I officially got the okay to start walking and doing light activities, but nothing that swings my arms or puts pressure. So I've developed a plan for training the next couple of weeks. Walking in the morning before work, building up to an hour. Then hitting the recumbent bike in the evening. I know it won't be fun but at least it's some exercise.

Boring post, I know but hopefully il have some pics to add next time.

Keep on spinning!

Still not training

2009-02-26T06:54:00.000-08:00

Still not training. Although it hasn't really been that long. This Sunday will mark 3 weeks. Monday I go to see the Doc, to see how everything is going. To me the bone feels like it's stitching quite well, I definitely feel that it is more stable. I have begun walking now that it is feeling better, not much of a workout, but with not training, my legs have been going crazy. At night I have been tired, but as soon as I lay down, my legs want to run. It's crazy! and crazy annoying. If I go for a walk though, it is much better.

On the weekend I attended the Triathlon BC Community Coaching Course. This is the entry level coaching course, which basically meets the minimum requirements to have your club covered by the Tri BC insurance. Lot's of theory, but a good course to take. I mainly took it for personal interest, but now that it's done, I have been thinking it might be fun to start a club in our area. All the club's in my area are about an hour drive to get to their practices and I've gotten to know quite a few triathletes in the area, so now it's time to see if there is any interest.

That's about it. Hopefully next week I'll get the okay to do some light training. Sorry for the boringness.

Happy Training.

Shoulder Update and Water Stationing

2009-02-15T18:37:00.000-08:00

Update on my collarbone. It's sore, but coming along. The crazy purple and yellow bruises that covered my chest are almost gone and the bump where the fracture is, has reduced quite a bit. Also, the thought of when can I take more Vitamin "I" does not occupy every minute of my time. Friday was actually the turning point for that and the last three days I have cut down to only 2 doses per day. So things are starting to look up in that direction. I think this coming week I might even be able to start doing some walking to burn at least some calories.

In other news, I tried a new beer this week. And I have to say it might be a new favourite, Yellow Snow IPA from Rogue Ales. Very hoppy and very refreshing. Also, probably the only Yellow Snow you can drink without being severely grossed out. If you have a chance try it.

I was supposed to be racing a half marathon this weekend, but due to last weekend's injury I had to pull out. So instead I went along with Julie and my Sister to help man a water station. I wasn't able to do much, except for fill the water cups. But had a fun time and a great day. Also, my buddy Kevin who I have been helping with training finished his first half marathon, running a 2:00:35. Great Job Kevin!!! Can't wait to see what's next. Also, my sister's boyfriend Rob ran today, not at 100% after a hockey injury a few weeks ago and beat his time from last year by 25minutes or so. Afterward, we enjoyed some grub with the family.

Happy and Safe training everyone.

SIDELINED

2009-02-08T14:47:00.000-08:00

Training had been going great up until today. Decided to take the mountain bike for my ride and would ride the 40 minutes to the trails and then ride the trails for a bit and then back. I got to the trails spent about 5 minutes riding and then went to bunnyhop a chain about 6 inches off the ground. Caught my rear wheel on the chain and over the handlebars i went. I immediately knew something was wrong. I hopped up, legs are ok, left arm is okay. hmmm, right arm feels weird. Not my wrist, not my forearm, humerus is okay, and fnally the collar bone. Yup that's it. I knew right away it was broken. Took a minute and fumbled to get my phone out of my right jersey pocket with my left hand, not an easy task. Called Julie and took me to the hospital.

X-rays confirmed what was obvious from the big bump. And now I'm at home takin'er easy. Tomorrow I'm going to see the surgeon, most likely surgery is not necessary, but just to be sure. And then it will be taking it easy for a couple of weeks and trying to figure out a way to keep the fitness up.

Emergency, not where you want to be going on a Sunday Morning

The Real Damage

Some other damage

Happy Training. Be Safe.

Time Flies

2009-02-02T20:45:00.000-08:00

Started this post on Sunday night and am just getting around to finishing it right now. Things have been hectic between work and training the last while. First I'd like to give thanks to Julie for really stepping up to the plate lately and helping me get my training in. In my opinion, best wife ever.

MMMM Coffee

Training has been going really well and I feel that my body is responding much stronger than it was last year to all the base training. Had a really fun training day on Sunday where we went for a 4.5hour hike in the snow, then headed off to a Superbowl party. I hadn't watched Superbowl in a couple of years and what a game.

Then later this week I was able to go watch the Canucks play the Hurricanes in which they won their first game at home after 8 losses. Another great game and actually the first time I had watched any hockey all season. So this week has been my other sport week.

A cool bridge from the hike

The trail marker telling us to head up

Happy Training.

Putting in the time

2009-01-30T13:27:00.001-08:00

Just a quick update. Week has been going well, getting lots of hours in. And I am feeling great and strong after my recovery week last week. Weekend looks to be jam packed.

In other news I will be rocking some SWEET Sugoi gear this year. Just recieved my first set of gear and am loving it. Brandchampions.sugoi.com.

I will also be continuing to get some support from nuun. Still can't get enough of this stuff.

Have a great weekend.

Hitting the Roads

2009-01-26T18:23:00.001-08:00

Last week marked the first recovery week of the year and I have to say that I have finished the week feeling strong and ready to go.

So today was a 2.75 hour ride on tap with a short t-run. I decided to get fatdad out with me. Hit the pool first thing in the morning for an easy 2000M and then headed over to his place to get started. Outside temperature, just a little cold -6 degrees celcius. We almost didn't get going, and then when we did, we had to turnaround. Fatdad was learning the hard way how to dress for a long, cold road ride. After he got himself sorted out, we headed out again.

Had a fun day out there, although it was a little cold and ventured on a different route. When we were in the sun, it was nice and warm, but anytime we were in the shadows, it was quite chilly. We finished up at almost 3 hours and 44 miles. Not bad for his first long road ride. The feet were frozen, but everything else was feeling great and headed out for a quick 10 minute t-run.

Some pics from the day.

Base = Busy

2009-01-18T15:45:00.000-08:00

Been awhile since I last posted. Have been pretty busy, the beginning of the year is the busiest part of the year for me at work, and as well I'm in the base phase of my training year, which means little time for anything else. But finally today I have some time.

Base training has been going really well. I'm spending a lot of time on the bike and feeling great on the bike for this early in the year. I have also committed myself to getting in the pool 3 days a week. So far so good. Most of the training has taken place inside, as the weather here has been crazy. Lots of snow.

Today I got outside for a great 2.75 hour ride. It was a little cold out but the sun was shining and i really enjoyed the day. A great way to finish off my longest week of training ever. 16hrs 40 minutes, sweet!!!

A few pics from today's ride. Hopefully I'll have some time this week for some more updates as it's a recovery week.

And it keeps snowing

2009-01-05T20:50:00.001-08:00

Yes it has continued to snow here. In fact I think we've been under snow for about 3 weeks now. This week was the first week of my base training and it went quite well. A little short on planned time, but very close and with NYE and all that I was lucky to get in the workouts I did. This week marks week number 2 and I am already feeling quite good. Especially in the pool. After 3 months off, it's amazing how quickly I am feeling great in the water again.

Running has been tough, I hate the treadmill and only about 30% of people have been clearing their walks, so it's been interesting. And on the bike, even though it's the trainer I've done quite a few workouts so far. I'm currently watching Season 1 of The Wire while riding and enjoying it.

Even though the snow has been getting at me, I've taken advantage. Last week I went snowshoeing, and today I went snowboarding with my Bro. It was a great day on the slopes and was super stoked to enjoy it. A few pics.

Lastly, I almost have my 2009 race schedule fully ready.

My new training tool

2008-12-29T20:41:00.000-08:00

Snowshoes!!!! Last winter I got out snowshoeing once, and loved it. After being pretty much holed up the last couple of weeks due to the snow and having to do all my training indoors because of the snow. I decided to use the snow to my advantage, and as a way to do something training related. So today I headed up with Rob and his Uncle to Old Mountain Highway and got in an great 2.5 hour hike.

First though I had to pick up some snowshoes. We covered about 4.5 Miles and climbed almost 2000ft during the hike, and had a great time. Some pics.

Snow Going...

2008-12-28T17:33:00.000-08:00

With Christmas and about 2 feet of snow on the ground, training was a little sidelined this week. But today I finally got out for a run. Well it was more like a run/walk/snow shuffle. 5 miles in an hour, slow. But a lot of fun and I was getting antsy only training indoors for what seems like weeks.

Next week starts the real base training. The last two weeks have been part of the prep phase. I'm really looking forward to this year and am feeling stronger already. Christmas was good, but I definitely took in too many calories and will have to put in some big mileage this week to burn it off. A few pics from today's run.

The Path

Out on the Road

Crazy Footing

Some Cold Horses

Starting the Season off...slow

2008-12-21T22:07:00.000-08:00

Started off the 2009 season this week. Overall it was a good week. Got back into the pool, and actually felt good. Started riding and feel great and the run is going good as well. Didn't quite hit all the workouts I had planned, but that was because I decided to enjoy some drinks on more than a couple of nights this week. That and we are in the middle of a snow storm here. Now I know I live in Canada and should be used to this, but I live on the Wet Coast. We get Rain, not snow and definitely not cold.

This week wil mark the second week of the 2009 season and is again like this week, not too many workouts, but more or less to get me back into the groove. The week after Christmas will mark the real return to training.

I'm also happy to report that my training partner is still alive, and there were no incidents in the pool.

Merry Christmas everyone. Enjoy your time with family and friends. Back next week.

'09 Starts Tomorrow

2008-12-14T19:10:00.000-08:00

Having taken the last few weeks pretty easy, due to my shin splints. And then this week pretty much totally off, my '09 season training starts tomorrow. After a great year in '08 I am really looking forward to start building again. I'll be jumping in the pool for the first time since September tomorrow and hopefully it doesn't go too poorly. I'll also be bringing Ward along tomorrow, so hopefully the lifeguards won't have to pull anyone out of the pool.

As for 2009 my plan is to focus mainly on Xterra this year, with a few XC Mountain Bike races and some half marathon's for fun. No more marathons for this guy for awhile. I have learned from the past that after 18 Miles my body just doesn't seem to recover properly. So I will take what I have learned from attempting four previous marathons and only completing two and stay away from them until the body has adapted. Plus I find Xterra way more fun. My 2009 schedule will be posted quite soon.

Have fun and enjoy the holidays.

Good Times and Good Friends

2008-12-09T16:00:00.000-08:00

I am back from Vegas, what a great time. As mentioned my race was over a couple of weeks ago, with a case of the Shin Splints. So I went down just to have fun and support this guy.All in all good times were had with good friends.

First off, Ward had a great race. Not quite what he wanted but he still qualified for Boston in 2010. Great Job Buddy!

Ward finishing strong

Secondly, the Team absolutely killed it! James put in an effort for 4th place overall in the half marathon, and Beth proved her smack talk, wasn't just talk. 3rd place overall for the women's marathon, and a margin of victory of 12+ minutes over FATDAD. Great Races and cool to meet fellow bloggers in person.

As for me, I decided to run the 1/2 marathon as a fun run. I went out for fun with no expectations and really did not put in much effort. I stopped at the 1 Mile mark to use the facilities, walked every other aid station and had a few conversations along the way. Still finished in 1:47:02. By no means one of my best times, but for only running 11 miles in the last 3 weeks and coming off a cold I was quite impressed. I feel that I have come a long way this year and 3 years of training is finally starting to compound. Now it's time to take it easy for 2 more weeks and then start on the 2009 campaign. I'm really looking forward to getting on the MTN Bike again, and as perverse as this sounds putting in the time on the trainer. My major goal in 2009 will be to bring my cycling ability up to the level where my swim and run is.

Instead of writing too much about Vegas, I will just put some pictures up.

Big Winners

Having Fun after the race.

Enjoying a Fat Tuesday on a Monday

Cool Sunset Picture from the Flight

Ward and Jamie pre Vegas

Julie and Me pre Vegas

Post Race Burger and Beers

VEGAS BABY VEGAS!!!!

2008-12-04T19:57:00.000-08:00

The time has cometh, leaving for Vegas in about 1/2 an hour. Won't be the trip that I originally had planned. Instead of running the Marathon I will be double fisting and doubling down. And as well I will be there for support. And to watch the epic battle which is to be. And will for the first time get to meet some blogger fri ends and realize they are real people.

I can tell you one thing. This guy is going to kill it! But from what I hear this girl is going to kill it as well. Either way I'm going to be at the finish with a surprise for them. Should be a fun time.

On another note. I finally have gotten back to running this week after my injury. I ran 3.5 Miles and 4.5 Miles with no pain. Woot!!!But man after 2.5 weeks my legs are quite week. Oh well. Detraining is a key part of increasing fitness over time. After this trip I will be back on the train and officially starting my 2009 base/prep phase.

Have a great weekend, I know I will

Me double fisting last time I was in Vegas. Can't wait!!!

Let the Off Season Begin

2008-12-01T21:36:00.000-08:00

After two weeks of not running and trying to keep up the fitness, I finally decided to call it a season. Although, I had started suffering from a shin splint two weeks ago, I was still going to try to race and keep the fitness up. Today after massage, I was feeling much better and the majority of the pain is gone, but the tightness still remains. After talking with Ward today I decided it would be better to take it easy and have fun in Vegas, rather than attempting the Marathon and digging myself into more of a hole.

While I won't be running the marathon in Vegas I am still going to start, soak in the experience and run the strip. But I'll take it easy and when I get to the point that I've decided to call it, I'll pull off and take a cab back to the start. By that point it will be beer time and time to get myself prepped for running Ward in. I'll be paying him back for supporting me at the Grand Columbian Half Ironman last year. Should be good times.

So for now just going to be taking it easy and having fun. Hope everyone is enjoying their offseason.

VEGAS BABY!!! VEGAS!!!

Leg Update

2008-11-27T18:49:00.000-08:00

So after enduring the pain in my leg for almost a week and not being able to run. I finally went to the Doctor. He told me I had a shin splint and that is why my leg "hurt like hell." Prescription, Ibuprofen and not running for at least another week. Not want I wanted to hear, but kind of what I thought I would hear. That was Monday.

Wednesday I was back at the Massage Therapist. She was surprised at this and when she got down to work, she found the spot. She is not so sure it is a shin splint and is pretty sure that it is on the outer layer of tissues, rather than deeper. Which means the idea of me running in Vegas might not be out of the question. Whatever she did yesterday though sure hurt, but I'm pretty sure she worked out what was giving me pain. As today I feel much, much better and was actually able to run up the stairs at work without any pain.

The plan for now is to water run and train on the trainer for the next week. And then probably test out some running mid week, next week. If I'm not feeling pain, then I'll go for it in Vegas. If I am feeling the pain, then I'll just indulge in a few more adult beverages and start the off season a few days earlier. At least Vegas will be more fun than our original plan of Seattle.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you South of the Border. Enjoy your Turkey's.

Temporarily Sidelined

2008-11-23T11:42:00.000-08:00

This week has not exactly gone as planned. After a big week last week, I was feeling good. Then went out again on Tuesday and felt some pain in my lower leg. I thought it was just due to tight calves and continued on. I tried to workout the aches and took it easy the rest of the day. Got up Wednesday and made it about 1/2 a block before I quit and headed home. The aches had turned to pain. Not a good sign 3 weeks out from the Marathon I have planned in Vegas.

Went for a massage on Wednesday afternoon, it helped, but the pain has persisted. Decided to take it day by day and have been off running since Tuesday. This morning I took my bike out to meet Ward on his long run and cheer him on. Felt good to get out, but damn it was cold. Two pairs of gloves and my hands still went numb. Hopefully I'll have some good news to report about my leg in the next couple of days.

This is how I have felt this week

On another note, I started to plan my season for next year. The plan is to focus on Xterra and XC Mountain bike races. From the beginning of May to end of August I have found a race for every weekend if I wanted. Of course I won't be racing that much, but now I have to start making some decisions.

21 More Sleeps

2008-11-16T21:15:00.000-08:00

I am writing this update right before hitting the hay. Including tonight I have 21 more sleeps until I will be waking, very early in the middle of the desert, and then heading off for a long, painful, and fast paced run. At the end my goal is to run a time that will allow me to run here next year. In the 8 weeks that I have consistently trained at only running I have seen a great improvement, whether it is enough, we will see. But what I do know, is that I am definitely a believer that endurance sports are not only for the events, but also for the years of training that is required. I have been running for 4 years now and am amazed at how much I continue to improve. I feel as though there is still plenty more room to grow. Gordo has an interesting post on his blog from last week that talks about this as well.

It's not about me, but an interesting story came to me this week, from my sister's boyfriend Rob. In the last year Rob has gone from running his first 1/2 marathon, on limited training, to becoming a trail running machine. While out on a training run through some local trails on Friday night he felt something swoop down and brush the top of his head. He looked up just in time to see the talons of a Bard Owl flying past him. He stopped for a moment and watched it land in a nearby tree, definitely a pretty cool sight. After a few minutes, he proceeded on his way. Well, apparently Mr Owl wasn't too fond of Rob and decided to take a another swoop on him and another, and another. Rob finally finished his run sprinting out of the Forest and getting away. When he first told me the story I laughed at him, but after seeing the look on his face I could tell it was quite scary for him. Luckily he is safe, and we can laugh at it now. After hearing this story, it did make running within 10 metres of 8 different Eagles today a little scary, especially when one decided to start circling us.

Lastly, a little product endorsement this week. For my Birthday back in July, the Bertram's gave me a couple of pairs of Balega socks. Since starting to run I had been a very loyal wearer of Ultimax socks. But Balega's have now taken over. These are easily the most comfortable socks I have every worn. I have since purchased more, so that I can run in them almost everyday. If you haven't tried them, I suggest you do.

To everyone that is still training this year, keep it up. To those enjoying their offseason's have a beer or two for me. Don't worry though, I'll catch up, come December.

The countdown is on!

2008-11-09T19:50:00.000-08:00

Been a little busy lately, hence the no new posts for awhile. I'm still alive but barely, just kidding. The training has been going well and I am feeling strong for the race in Vegas. The countdown starts today with now 4 weeks until race day. Picked up some new shoes today that I'll wear for just a few runs between now and race day to break them in and make sure I have a nice fresh pair for the day.

As a part of the countdown, I am going to take Beth's lead and put a lockdown on my nutrition and eating habits for the next 28 days. I feel that I eat well most of the time, but this time of eyar there are definitely more treats around and I will have to really watch how many of those I am ingesting. Also, I am going to cut down on my beer intake as well. Not that I drink many, maybe 4 a week or so, but by laying off for a couple of weeks, that will make the post race beer taste so much better.

On another note I have started to think about my plans for next season in the last couple of weeks. Xterra will definitely be the focus, but I am also going to plan on adding in some XC mountain bike races as well.

Hope everyone's training or offseason is going well.

Feeling good again

2008-10-29T20:27:00.000-07:00

Been a bit since my last post. I've been meaning to put a post together, but just haven't had the time to sit down. Last week overall was a good week. Got in some hard efforts, but was feeling some pain in my right foot, so I took a couple of days off. And by off I just mean I didn't run. I substituted some time on the trainer. By Sunday I was feeling great and got in a 20 Mile longrun with Ward in the morning.

Because of other events going on in the day we had to start our run at 4:45am. It was Cold, Dark and foggy, but we both felt pretty hardcore, running down a desserted road with our headlamps and flashers going. We ran about 5 miles on this rural road and then hit a nature trail for the next 10. It was an amazing spot, we could hear but not see a flock of Canadian Geese. And then about the halfway mark, we had to stop. The view was amazing. The tide was out, the sun was just starting to rise and in the background we could see the silhouette of Mount Baker. Amazing. It made the early morning worth it.

After the longrun I headed straight to the start of a local 5K Walk/Run fundraiser for a local hospital. It was my Mum's birthday and her wish was to have the whole family participate. I was bushed from the longrun, so I walked it with my brother and his girlfriend. It was a great day and afterwards the breakfast was even better. I think this will become a birthday tradition for my Mum.

A few pics

Me All bundled up. It was sunny but cold.

Julie and Sara my brother's girlfriend

The Birthday Girl

Next it was time for dinner. I made my favourite, homemade burgers and yam fries.

Lastly, Monday was another beautiful day. Not our normal weather here so I had to take the time to get out on the trails. Here's a few pics of the awesome fall colours.

And now on to this week. It has started off well and am feeling strong. As of today we are 5.5 weeks out from the Main Event! I'm feeling strong and can't wait to get there.I'll be going all in come December 7th.

Run, Study, Bike, Beer, and a Race Report

2008-10-20T17:22:00.000-07:00

This week was a busy week for me. Firstly, I was trying to fit in all the miles for my marathon training. Then I was studying for a work related exam. And finally I was racing in a 1/2 Marathon on Sunday and enjoying a beer or two.

Running this week started off well, Tuesday put in a really good effort, but then Wednesday not so well, after about about a mile my foot was really hurting and by the end of the run I was barely moving. I decided to take it easy on Thursday and Friday and put in some hours on the trainer instead. By Saturday the foot was feeling great and I was ready to go. Had a short test run on Saturday. Sunday was the Burnaby Lake Half Marathon.

The Burnaby Lake Half Marathon is quite a small race. I started out at the front of the line and held in the top 10 for the first kilometer. By that time I realized I was running too fast and slowed it down to a manageable pace. Then the Garmin died, so I don't have any data from the run, but it went down like this. First 10KM ran steady but with some hard breathing. At the halfway point I picked it up a bit and ran steady to the 16KM mark. at this point I pushed harder. Made it to about 18KM when I started to feel like I was going to puke. Held back for a km and then pushed it for the last 2 km with everything I had. This was the only point I was passed by anyone and by the speed that they passed me, they definitely did not run fast enough at the beginning of the race, cause they had plenty left in the tank. Me on the other hand, had nothing left. I pushed it right to the end and finished with a new PB of 1:38:15. This running focus seems to paying off.

Overall, I finised 21st place and 6 out of 13 in my Age Group. Ward though put in an even more solid race and finished 8th overall and 2nd in his Age Group. We hung around for the awards and then he didn't even stand on the podium for a picture. But here's what I got.

Overall a great week and am feeling very positive as we get closer to Las Vegas.

Some more pics of the week.

My Study Materials

MMMM Beer. Post Exam

Pre-Race Coffee - Italian Roast

Good Luck to everyone racing in Maui this weekend. Have a great Race!!!

Another week...

2008-10-12T20:53:00.000-07:00

another bunch of miles. No riding at all this week just running. No extra time right now, as I am studying like a mad man and working to make sure I get in all my miles.

This week I got in 56 Miles and have to say I felt great! Sunday was probably the best longrun I have ever put in. 22 Miles at 8:33 pace and felt like I finished strong. This week will be another bunch of miles and will finish the week off with a Half Marathon on Sunday. Hoping to PR at this race, with how I have been feeling latey and the amount of miles, if I don't I will definitely not be happy with performance.

Today marks the 8 week mark until the Las Vegas Marathon, and after 3 weeks of dedicated run training, I know I will be feeling strong. I should be able to lay down a great race and a good time.

Watching the updates and some of the video of Kona yesterday was exciting. Good to see Chrissie and Crowie Win. Happy Training.

A Quick Update

2008-10-06T20:59:00.000-07:00

It was a loooong week. Put in a lot of miles this week. Not as many as last week but had some good quality sessions. Updates will most likely be a little weak for the next couple of weeks. I will be training lots in the mornings and studying every night, so won't leave a lot of time for blog posting, but I will when I can.

Highs of the week were a 10 mile interval session on Saturday. The low was Sunday's long run, I made it about 7.5 miles before pulling the plug. The cumulative stress on my body from the previous 14 days finally caught up to me. Serves me right for increasing the training that much. Rested on the couch all day Sunday afterwards and got a great night sleep. Today I am feeling much better and instead of riding today, took the day as a complete rest day. Back at it tomorrow.

In closing, here are some pictures of the awesome lunch I had with the Bertram's today.

Putting in the Miles

2008-09-29T17:43:00.000-07:00

My first week of "official" marathon training is complete and I am pleasantly surprised with how good I feel. I finished the week off with a hard 20 Miler, which was very tough at the time, but now looking back I'm glad I put that effort in. The weekly total was 54 Miles or 87Km's. Probably one of the highest volume weeks of running I have ever put in. I was a little worried I would finish the week feeling beat, but physically other than a little soreness I am feeling great.

This week is going to be another big volume week and I am looking forward to it. Today I started the week off with a nice recovery ride, which ended up going a little longer than I had aniticipated, but the weather was just too nice, and knowing that winter is coming soon I had to take advantage.

Ten weeks to go and there is a lot of work to do, but I feel confident that if I put in the effort and the miles I should be able to Double Down come race day.

Back on the Train...

2008-09-24T20:16:00.000-07:00

The Marathon train. Running a marathon alway's seems like a good idea until the training starts. Then it seems like a great idea. Especially when you are throwing yourself into the training like you never have before. I kid a bit, because it definitely hurts during the training, but for someone whose biggest weakness this year during tri season was the run, putting in 3 months of hard marathon efforts should pay great dividends.

I finished my triathlon season last Saturday, took a week off to visit New York. What a fun, busy, expensive city. And then was back Saturday night and on the way decided to run a 10K race with Ward on Sunday. Went out hard but not too hard in the race and had a good time. My finishing time was 46:12, which was only 24 seconds behind my PB, so not bad after a long day of travelling and a BK Whopper the night before at 11:30. Took Monday off and have put some big miles in yesterday and today. Feeling good and concentrating on recovery. This week will be running only, and then next week will start riding a couple of days a week again. And swimming will be minimal until the new year.

Time to go hit the Foam Roller and get some more rest. Happy training.

3 for 3 X 3... The Grand Columbian Race Report

2008-09-14T22:27:00.000-07:00

Here it is Sunday night and I have finally arrived home after a weekend away at my final tri of the year. I am taking off on a flight to NYC tomorrow morning so I will make this a quick one.

Friday was a travel day to get to Electric City. Arrived around 3pm, set-up camp, picked up the package and then had some dinner and headed to bed around 9pm. Just before heading to bed the wind started to pickup a bit. After being in the tent for about 20 minutes the wind really started to howl. So much so, it felt like there was a hurricane out there. Had a little bit of trouble falling asleep but had some pretty solid rest and woke up about 6:50am, just before the start of the Iron Distance race that was part of the race. Then fueled up, set-up transition and hung around and watched the Iron Distance and Half Iron-Distance swims. The first guy out of the water in the Iron Distance race, was crazy fast, finishing the swim in 46 minutes.

Julie and Mine Favourite Road

My Bike pre-race

Finally 10:30 came and it was time to start. Right from the get go I put in a strong effort and within meters was on some feet. I was able to keep on these feet for most of the swim and when the last 200 meters came down I decided to take the lead and put one final push in. I came out of the water feeling great and had Ju and my Mum yelling at me that I was 9th out of the water. Sweet!!! During the transition I was able to make up a couple of more spots and ended up coming out of T1 in 7th place overall.

Out of the Water

On to the Bike

Swim: 24:32 9th Overall/ 3rd in AG
T1: 1:57 (included a 300M + run up a hill) 3rd Overall/1st AG

Out onto the bike I was feeling good. But after the first Mile, is a spot called Almira grade which is 1.25 Miles of 12-15% Grade switchbacks. As my heart rate started to spike, I had a few issues with my stomach and had to slow the pace down quite a bit. I was passed by a couple of riders during this part, but as we crested the grade my stomach started to settle and I was able to keep them in sight the rest of the race. Also, I was able to hold off any of the other riders as well. Finished the bike feeling good but as it was very hot out, was started to feel the heat.

One of the Highlights of this race is that you get to ride across the Grand Coulee Dam to finish the ride. This provided some awesome views and was actually quite fast as well. T2 went quickly and was out on the run.

Coming in to T2

Bike 26 Miles: 1:29 22nd Overall/3rd in AG
T2 : 00:59 13th Overall/3rd in AG

The run started off with a nice downhill and I quickly settled into a solid pace. This lasted till the 1.5 Mile mark, when the heat started to hit me. I pushed through as hard as I could, but ended up having to walk quite a bit more than I had hoped. Just after the turnaround I could seen another runner in my age group coming up on me from the other direction. I wasn't 100% sure, but I knew that this was either 4th or 5th place in my AG and I didn't want to lose another place. So I started to push but by about the 7km mark he caught me and passed me. I tried to pick up the pace, but after about a minute of running I had to slow as I was overheating.

Heading Out

At about the 8.5km mark I looked up and realized he was only about 200M ahead. i told myself if I could continue the run without anymore walking I could overtake him. I dug deep and saw he had started walking on a 200M uphill section less than 1Km from the finish. I hit the hill and kept my stride going, halfway up I passed him and could see he was as hurting as me, but didn't expect him to let me go. I didn't look back till the top of the hill, and by this point I had made 50M on him. I pushed on and continued to check behind, but he was not coming. I finally finished and had made up about a minute on him.

Finishing Strong

Finally Some Water

Finisher's Medal - Cool Shot

Run: 56:24 38th Overall/7th AG
Total: 2:52:54 17th Overall/3rd AG

The Hardware

What a great way to finish the season of Triathlon off. My third podium in as many races. I seem to be on a streak of 3rd's.

We hung around for awards and then headed back to the campsite. Had some brews, some great food, iced my legs in the lake and hit the hay pretty early.

Post Race Chow

My Supporters

Overall a great 2nd year of Triathlon. The way I have finished off this year has got me pumped for next year. It is now time to move into full on Marathon mode. For the fall I will be decreasing my swim workouts to sparingly, biking to once or twice a week and will be running up to 6 days a week. Running has seemed to be my weakest link in the last couple of races, so hopefully this will help me to build a big base going into the new year with so that I will be even stronger for next year.

Recovered and Ready to Race...Again

2008-09-11T19:13:00.000-07:00

A slow week on the training front. Mainly used this week as recovery workouts, with a few race pace efforts. Needed to recover after the solid effort I had put in on Saturday. Took until Wednesday to finally get the junk out of my legs. Today I am feeling strong and ready to go again this Saturday. My final Tri of the year is this Saturday at the Grand Columbian, I'll be racing the Olympic distance event and am excited about a fun weekend of racing and watching the crazy Iron Distance athletes. Monday I'll be off for a week of vacation, so hopefully I'll be able to get a race report up Sunday night.

Hope everyone has a great weeekend.

Canadian Off Road Championships - Race Report

2008-09-07T20:29:00.000-07:00

Saturday was the Canadian Off Road Triathlon Championships held at Buntzen Lake in Port Moody, BC. This was to be my first year competing in this race and I had pre-rode and pre-run the course earlier in the summer, so I knew it was going to be a challenging race. The race promoters seem to have a real passion for the Off Road endurance sports not only did they hold a Full Distance Triathlon(similar distances to the Xterra championship events) but they simultaneously held a Half Distance Triathlon, a 5 & 10K trail run, and a half and full distance off road duathlon. I roped Ward and Rob into running the 10K trail run while I was to be competing in the Full Distance Triathlon.

The day started off fairly early with a 5:15 wake up call. Had a Clif Bar, some coffee and filled all my bottles. Did a quick last check to make sure I had everything and was on my way. It was cloudy out, but luckily no rain had fallen or looked to be falling. Picked up Ward and headed towards the race site. Stopped for a little more coffee on the way and got to the race course by about 7:15ish. Picked up our packages and did a short warmup through the parking lot. At this time I was ready to go.

The swim was 1500M two lap course with a short beach run between laps. I started the swim near the front of the pack and quickly picked up a couple of feet. I hung on to these feet until about the first buoy(250M) and was feeling great at this time. Slowly as we headed to the second buoy though these feet pulled away from me and joined the lead pack. I tried to hold on for a bit, but realized that i was already pushing it so I let them go. Finishing the first lap I was feeling very good. I was pushing my pace but not going too hard. For most of the second lap I swam by myself slowly losing more ground to the lead pack, but not letting anyone pass me. When I exited the water I felt as though I had put in a solid effort and was quite happy with where I had come out. T1 was a little slow, as I had obviously put a little too much effort into the swim and had a little trouble with balancing and getting my shoes on, but eventually I did and was out on the bike. Time to do work.

Swim + T1 = 26:20 2nd in AG, 17th Overall.

Out on the bike I took the first few minutes a little easy, to let my stomach settle and get into a rythym. After the first few minutes I got into a great rythym and was putting some solid power down on the pedals. The first part of the course was a really fun doubletrack climb followed by some great singletrack downhill. I pushed through this area and then made it to the difficlut part of the course. The second third of this course is constant switchbacks, with plenty of sections that have you hike-a-biking. I entered this section with two other riders a little ahead of me. One of the rider's kept catching me on the hike-a-bike sections and then when it opened up , I would gap up. The other rider I kept in contact with and decided my goal was to catch him. During this section, an Elite female passed me, Wendy Simms, and wow this lady can ride.

Finally made it out of the hard part of the course and opened it up. Just as I was exiting this section I got passed by another rider from my Age Group, as we were hitting a long fireroad section of the course. I told myself I couldn't let this guy go, and started hammering the pedals. Unfortunately he seemed to have more power and I watched him slowly ride away from me. I continued to push the rest of the bike and had a great ride. Coming in to transition I had a little slip up. I came into the last corner on some loose gravel a little too quick, and ended up dumping my bike, luckily I was still standing though, and ran the last 100 feet into T2.

Bike = 1:33:32, 3rd in AG, 23rd Overall

T2 was quick, in and out. Probably one of my fastest this year though, Thanks to my new Zoot Ultra's.

As I excited T2 Ward yelled at me that I was 2 minutes down on first. I was feeling great on the run and cruised through the first lap. Heading back to the turnaround point I saw 1st heading out on his second lap. At this point I knew my race was for second as his gap was too much to make up in 5Km's unless something unforeseen happened to his race. But as I was making the turnaround Ward yelled, "Come on!! 3rd is right on your ASS!!!!" This put some fear into me and I knew no matter what I needed to push the second lap. There were no lap splits, but if there were I'm pretty sure I had a nice negative split on this one. During the second lapy I even managed to pass three or four people, some were doing the half distance race, but regardless I'm normally the one being run down, so this definitely was a confidence booster. With about 2km's left I could see one runner behind me and continued to push right into the finish. I held him off and finished strong.

Run = 58:52, 3rd in AG, 28th Overall.

As I finished I made it across the line and felt great that I had put in a solid effort and knew I had, as I felt that if I didn't keep moving I was going to fall over. All racer's in my Age Group were marked with a letter "B" and my support crew informed me I was the second Full distance racer over the line with a "B". But then afterwards it was found out that actually second place in my age group was marked with the wrong Age Group marking and I ended the race 3rd in AG and 24th Overall. A bit of a bummer but still felt great. And today I feel even better when looking at the results as I actually made up over 2 minutes on 2nd place on the run, which for me is huge.

Overall, a great day at the races. I had a lot of fun, felt like I raced as strong of a race as I could and left it all out there. Only one slight negative of the day was stubbing my toe during the run, which today is quite sore and purple. I have definitely decided that this off road racing is the way to go and I will definitely be focused on this aspect of racing next year.

Race pictures to follow.

Ready to Lay It Down

2008-09-02T21:02:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to say that after a great week last week and a busy short week this week I am ready to lay it down this weekend. I am feeling strong, and in the best fitness ever. i am really looking forward to representing this weekend.

On another note. Vegas is official. Booked the trip tonight and can't wait. One more week of the Triathlon season. Six days off in NYC and then straight into 12 weeks of madness to prepare.

PEAKIN EH!!!

2008-08-27T20:56:00.001-07:00

The last 10 days I have been fully in peak mode and I have been loving the hard efforts. I have also been really focusing on my nutrition over this time, as I don't want to be going into the races carrying any extra pounds. I have to say I am feeling really great and recovering from these efforts have been going really well.

I am now going into the last 9 days before my second to last race of the year and I have to say I feel like I have never been as fit. I am definitely going to be toeing the line with some great fitness and the drive to finish off my second season with some great efforts. After the Grand Columbian International distance on Sept 13th, I will be taking a week off and spending it in New York with Ju to recover. Once back it will be time to amp up the Marathon traiing with 11 weeks to what looks to be the new race that Ward and I will be racing, the Las Vegas Marathon. This isn't confirmed yet, but it looks like it might be a bit more of an appropriate race if the goal is to qualify for BOSTON.

Gone Fishin

2008-08-22T12:34:00.000-07:00

Finished last week off with some great R&R out on the river casting some flies, drinking some beers and floating down the river. Overall, a great midsummer 2 day break and some great recovery. On Monday before heading home I even had a chance to get in a nice and easy trail run/hike.

A cool bridge on the river

The lake we were camping on was on the Ross Lake Reservoirs where we could pass over into the USA w/o having to go through customs.

A cool looking spot we hit on our trail run

The river we fished

Our site fully loaded up

The rest of the week has been killer. This is the first of my peak week's leading into my final two tri's of the year. Hard to believe they are here already. I have been putting in some hard brick efforts this week and have put in some great efforts in the pool. I am amazed at how fast I have been running off the bike and how good I have been feeling after these hard efforts. I have been really trying to focus on my nutrition this week and am doing my best to not take any cheats. I'm wanting to be in peak shape for these two races and will have to sacrifice a little over the next two weeks, but it will be worth it when I know that I've given my all and couldn't have done better.

This morning I put in a great session on the mountain bike with a focus on climbing some short tough, technical climbs. I know the course for the Canadian Off Road Champs has some pretty gnarly hills so I want to be ready. I was actually pretty amazed at how well I did on these and was realizing how far my fitness has come over the last year. A few areas I remember struggling on earlier in the year actually felt easy today.

The Countdown is on.

A new week

2008-08-13T06:49:00.000-07:00

Last week didn't quite end up going as planned, but such is life. I have left last week behind me and am starting the new week. The week has started off great. On Monday, Ward and I headed out to Buntzen Lake to preride and pre-run the course. I was a great day of riding and running. As for the course, the ride is going to be tough there are definitely quite a few hike-a-bike sections that will be a challenge on race day, but also some really fun sections as well. I'm definitely excited for race day to come. The run course is going to be fairly fast, lots of open flat sections combined with a couple of really hilly sections. The only negative part of the day, reopening the remnants of a blister on the back of my heal/ankle.

A view of the Lake

Ward heading down the road

Workin!

Tuesday decided to skip my morning run, part of the healing process for the pesky heal/ankle blister and then got in a solid session on the trainer in the afternoon. This morning I opted out of swimming for the same reason as opting out of the run yesterday, and will get in a good ride this evening. I feel a little anxious missing these workouts right now, but I know that if I don't get this thing healed then all of the training will be wasted anyways. The rest of the week I will see how things are going with the ankle and make training decisions based on the healing process.

I'll be off for the weekend for a quick fishing trip and am going to try and get a run in while off fishing. Then next week I will be moving into my peak phase to be ready to go in 4 weeks for the Canadian Off Road Triathlon Champs.

Keep givin'er!

Some good training/recovery

2008-08-08T19:31:00.000-07:00

This week was supposed to be another big week of training. But after racing Sunday and travelling on Monday, I was a bit beat. So I switched the week around. Took Monday and Tuesday as rest days and then started it up again on Wednesday. Going to go hard until Tuesday and then the rest of next week will be a rest week. After that I will be moving into a couple of weeks of Peak workouts and then two weeks in a row of racing to finish off my tri season. I am really feeling the fitness gains from this year's training and am looking forward to the last two races of the year.

Here's a cool link from Xterra Black Diamond last weekend. When he talks about the 3 big toes, that's me. And no, it doesn't help with the swim, but it does help you win a free pair of Xterra Trail runners.

Have a great weekend.

XTERRA BLACK DIAMOND - RACE REPORT

2008-08-04T20:36:00.000-07:00

This weekend marked my second attempt at racing an Xterra triathlon. After my first attempt three weeks ago at Xterra Vashon Island, and my race not going as well as I would have liked, due to some nutrition issues. I was ready to do some work, and with my new race day nutrition plan in place I knew a good race was possible.

The weekend started off on Friday as I took an extra day off, in order to have a 4 day long weekend. After taking it easy in Master's in the AM, I packed up the car and Julie and I, jetted down to Larrabee State Park for the night. My sister and Rob came down as well and just as they got to the park, it started to rain. It wasn't too bad, but was a little worried that the rain might stick around for the weekend.

Saturday we were up early, packed up camp. And headed towards our next stop. On the way we stopped at a shellfish farm, to pick up some fresh shellfish for Sunday night's dinner. We picked up a dozen oysters, a big sack of clams, and one Dungenous Crab. We finally arrived at our campsite at 2pm. It only took us about 2.5 hrs to get there, but there were so many windy roads and turns that it felt a lot longer. I unpacked the car and left camp setup to my great race crew, and headed off to package pickup and then to pre-ride the course. As I was arriving at the course to pre-ride there was another guy in the vehicle beside mine getting ready to go out as well, we decided to ride it together and after talking it turned out, he knew Scottie, who I had met last year at the Grand Columbian, through Triscoop. The pre-ride was great although it was a very technical course. I figured it would take me about 45 minutes to ride, but ended up taking me 1hr12min. The distance was right on, but there were so many twists, turns and lot's of rocks, and roots that you never really ended up riding all that fast. This fit me quite well as it is very similar to my local trails.

After pre-ride it was back to camp and to a nice light dinner of chicken kebabs, some salad and a little rice. This is pretty much what I ate the night before the Victoria Half Ironman and it worked really well both times. Probably will be the routine from now on. After dinner, sat around for awhile and then hit the sack nice and early.

Sunday - It's on!!! Woke up feeling well rested, not anxious, but definitely confident and ready to race. Used my new nutrition plan, inspired by James, some coffee and headed off to the race. Got to the race nice and early, set up transition, warmed up with a 2K run with some pickups. And it was time to get in the water. Water was nice, not too warm and not too cold. The gun went off and it was go time. On the swim I felt very good, nice and relaxed. Grabbed a couple of feet, and then gapped up, grabbed some more and gapped up again. And then grabbed some feet that were about perfect and rode them into about 100M from the swim exit. Halfway through the swim, you had to get out and run across an island in the middle of the lake and then jump back in. This was fun and I timed it about right, as I was spotting I could see that the people in front of me got a little bunched up getting out of the water, but I was fine.

Came in from the swim, felt good and there were plenty of bikes in transition, so I knew I had done well. Transition was a little slow, had some troubles getting the wetsuit off. First time ever having troubles. Then headed out on the bike.

Swim 1000M = 18:37 1st in AG. 13th overall.

The bike was great. It was a very demanding course. My hands were glued to the handlebars the whole time and I was hammering as much as possible. My hands are sore today from gripping the handlebars so hard. On the bike I was passed by only about 5 people and actually ended up chasing a couple of them down later in the bike and passing them. Had a few tumbles in the technical singletrack but nothing serious. I rode into transition and couldn't believe my eyes. It looked like there were only about 10 bikes in there by that time. I was stoked!!!!

Bike 15Miles = 1:46:05 2nd in AG. 18th overall.

Heading out onto the second lap

Then on to the run. If first got into endurance sport through running, but it seems to be the area where I need the most work on. I headed out and was feeling strong. As I passed Julie, she yelled out "PUSH IT!!!", and I did. The first lap was great, no nutrition issues I was feeling strong and knew I had enough in me to push it for the second lap. Going in to the second lap, I was feeling good and was pushing it, but about 1/2 way through I got passed by someone in my age group. Crap, can't let that happen again. I tried to catch up to him, but I didn't have enough in the tank at that point. Then about 2/3's of the way through the second lap, I jump over a log and as I'm in mid-air my left hamstring seizes up. AGHHH!! it was tight. I massaged it, stretched it to no avail. So I started running with a straight leg, within about 5 steps it started to loosen up, but I couldn't push as hard I was going. At this point I got passed by the second person in my age group. I pushed through to the end and finshed knowing I had put in my all, but a little dissapointed that I may have just missed a podium spot.

Starting to PUSH IT!!

Halfway point of the run

Turns out I didn't though. I finished the run in 39:37 for an overall time of 2:46:56. Good enough for 24th overall and 3rd in my Age Group. What a sweet feeling, my first podium.

Finished

After the race we hungout for the awards. Got my Xterra Beer Glass for the Age Group finish and also won two of the random draws. The best one being a free pair of Xterra shoes for having the ugliest foot. I have gigantism in my right foot, which makes it look like I have 3 big toes. All my life it was a pain, because kid's would make fun of me. Finally it made itself useful in what looks to be a sweet pair of shoes.

The Men's 25-29 Podium

It's now time to put in another 5 weeks of training before the Canadian Off Road Triathlon Championships. Hopefully I can put another good race together and will focus on my run till then to add a little more speed.

After the race. Hungout and had a few Beers and made a killer dinner. We CAMPED!!! in style. Fresh Crab appetizer. And then a creamy tomato pasta sauce with fresh clams and prawns. Some Caesar Salad and a dozen fresh Oysters. Another great weekend filled with Xterra fun.

Me enjoying a beer out of my new glass.

Race Time

2008-08-01T08:22:00.001-07:00

It's Friday morning, I'm just back an easy master's swim and about to pack the car up for the weekend. Put in a solid week of training, but am still feeling quite fresh going into this weekends race. After the last couple of weekends of weddings and minimal training i am ready to get back on the horse and do some work. This will be my second Xterra race of the season and I am hoping to improve on the results of my first. Especially in the run. Thanks to a little help from James, I am hoping to avoid any side stitch issues and put in a solid, fast race.

Overall the weekend should be great. 4 days off work is always good, throw in some camping, some good people and some racing will make it even better. And the icing on the cake will be some beers after the race. Hope everyone has a great weekend of training, racing, or spending time with the ones that matter.

Stay tuned for a race report.

2 Weeks X 2 Weddings....

2008-07-28T20:26:00.000-07:00

= some missed workouts. As mentioned, last weekend was on of my good friends weddings and I ended up missing a couple of workouts because of this. Well this week started off great, but after a crazy brick/repeats workout on Wednesday night I was feeling beat. Missed a workout on Thursday am as I was still recovering, and then Thursday night ended up not falling asleep until after 1am for some crazy reason, so that meant I was not waking at 4:45 for Master's swim. Saturday night was the second wedding in two weeks and I went in with good intentions, but being around my friends and wonderful love, I ended up indulging in a few too many wobbly pops and a few too many slices of pizza.

This meant no long run on Sunday, but spent the whole day recovering. Today is Monday and I am feeling much better. Put in a solid 2K in the pool and then went out for a good ride. Volume is a little lower this week, as I am racing a B race on Sunday. The race is the Xterra Black Diamond and I can't think of a better way to spend a long weekend. Camping and racing. Should be a good time. Hope everyone had good weekends.

A couple of pics of myself at the wedding.

Having a good time

Towards the end of the night

Me and Ju

Vashon Island Race Photo

Recovery X 2

2008-07-21T19:29:00.000-07:00

This week was a scheduled rest week and it worked out to be a perfect week for a rest week. One after the race last week I was feeling a little drained and two my good buddy Parmi got married this Sunday. The week started off great, but by Thursday the wedding events took over and there was no more training until Sunday. Sunday was a surprise i woke up feeling great after a night of indulging in quite a few beers at the wedding reception and went out for an 80 minute run. That finished off a great rest week and today started the beginning of my next 3 weeks of build.

Today I had on tap a 2.5hour ride and decided to take it off road with Ward. We headed out to Buntzen Lake to try and ride the course for the XTC Canada Off Road Triathlon in September. The ride was great. We took a bit of a different trail, that ended up having a lot of hike a bike sections, but ended up having a really great ride. Looking forward to the next 3 weeks of hard training and the Xterra Black Diamond race. Here's some pictures from today's ride.

XTERRA, Where have you been all my life?

2008-07-14T12:59:00.001-07:00

Xterra Vashon Island Race Report

Headed down to Seattle on Saturday AM feeling pumped and ready to go. Had some lunch on the way and took the ferry over to Vashon Island to pick up my race packet and pre-ride the course. Pre-rode the course and it was HOT!!! Course was a lot of fun. Starts off with a really sandy, loose uphill section, then flattens out to some pretty technical singletrack. After the singletrack it opens up to some fire roadish flats and downhills and then finish off with a pretty technical downhill section which was fast and fun.

After pre-riding the course we took the ferry over to the mainland again and went for some dinner and then back to our hotel to relax and get some sleep.

Sunday morning I was up at 4:45am despite a 9am start because where I decided to stay was quite a drive from the ferry and then needed time to take the ferry and to drive to the race site. Arrived at the race site about 7:45 and already quite a few people had shown up. Got transition ready, used the facilities and got in a short run to get myself warmed up.

At 8:45 there was the pre-race meeting and then the start. A very interesting swim course, it was my first time doing a race with an in water start. The water was quite warm and salty, so lot's of buoyancy. The route markings were, around the red sailboat, around the green sailboat, and then in to the beach. There was about a 150M run through a muddy beach to the transition. My goal for this race was to give it right from the start and see what I could do. I started the swim off hard and after about 200M's realized I was in the front group after gapping up about 3 times, at this point though, there were no more feet to grab, the effort to get to the next feet was a little too much. I cruised in, stoop up a little too early, but felt great and ran in to transition, passing someone on the way. My goal for the swim was to be under 13minutes, so I was pretty freakin pleased when my official time was 11:53. Good enough for 15th overall and 3rd in my age group.

T1: Was okay, but I lost time by putting socks on. The one thing I can do to speed up my transitions would be to be able to run w/o socks. Time 1:25.

Bike: Jumped on my bike and I was ready to go. As mentioned the bike starts off with a loose, sandy uphill section. I made up about 10 meters before I had to dismount, and hiked it up to the top. Many other riders were doing this as well. Once at the top, I settled in and pushed it. Halfway through the first lap, I started to catch a couple of riders and on a fire roadish downhill, just as I was about to pass a guy on the left, he got caught in a rut and went down right in front of me. Had to react quickly and switch to pass on the right. I continued to push it and finished the first lap feeling great. The second lap I felt much better and pushed it quite a bit harder. I noticed that on the uphills I got passed, but when the flats and downhills came up I started to catching guys. Hilly riding will definitely become more of a focus for me for the remainder of the year. Overall the bike course was 1:03. My dad had my time for the first lap at 36 minutes, so as I had felt, the second lap was a lot quicker.

T2: Super quick. 25 seconds. Definitely happy with this one.

Run: Started off the run, pinning it up a hill. I could feel the energy in the tank and was ready to push hard for the next 25 minutes to have a very solid race. All was going well until about 7 minutes into the run. At this point I came down with a case of debillitating sidestitches, that reduced me barely to a walk. I let myself calm down, and eventually the sidestitches went away. But just as soon as I started running again, they came back. So I decided to drop the intensity, I figured as long as I was moving quicker than a walk I was in at least decent shape. I continued to try to push it, but everytime I did the sidestitch came back. So I just kept at the pace I could to the end. With about 800m to go I pushed it as hard as I could and took the pain. Finished the run in 35:11, about 10 minutes slower than my goal. I was disappointed with the run portion, but very happy with the race overall.

Overall time 1:52:03. Very happy with this. 43rd overall and 7th in my age group. I know I have lot's of room to improve on this and now that I know what to expect in Xterra I will be able to prepare better for my next race. Xterra Black Diamond in 3 weeks. I believe that the biggest problem I had was that my breakfast was too much. I have found that in the longer races I can eat a larger breakfast and be fine, but when in shorter races I need to eat a lot less, or almost nothing. For my next race I am going to experiment with less solid food in the morning, and get all of my calories from fluid.

Jameson had told me to be prepared that after this race I would not have the desire to race road triathlon's after Xterra. He was right. My schedule next year will definitely be focused more on the Xterra/Off Road races. I had been thinking about Ironman possibly for next year, but after this race there is no way I could have enough fun without my mountain bike.

Another cool thing that happened after the race was while I was chilling out in my Nuun shirt. Two guy's came over and introduced themselves as employees of Nuun. Thought that was pretty cool. Even asked me if I had tried Orange Ginger yet.

Some Pics

The Ferry Ride Over

Setting up Transition

Heading to the Green Boat

Exiting the Water

Heading out on the bike

Heading out on the 2nd loop of the Bike

Entering T2

Exiting T2 a blazing 25 seconds later

Happy to be finished

Heading for Home, in my Nuun shirt

Finishing

Cool Shot after the race

Packed and Ready to Kill It!!!!

2008-07-11T21:15:00.000-07:00

Came home from work today, had a nice meal. Gnocchi in tomato sauce, with a grilled chicken breast. And then packed up all my gear and threw the bike on the car. Going to be up early tomorrow to head down to Seattle, going to pre-ride the bike course in the afternoon and then hangout and get ready to roll Sunday morning.

Physically I am feeling great and a very rested after a bit of a taper week, and an unscheduled day off, from being drained at work. I have thought very hard about this race this week and I am totally stoked to go and Do Work!!!!

Race Report to follow...