The title to my first blog post seems appropriate for this moment...
It's time to start.
It's the night before the race. I am full off my pre-race dinner. My family is all off having dinner somewhere else giving me some wonderful alone time and letting them deal with possible food complications I do not have to when I cook for myself. It just so happens that there is a Rocky marathon on TV so I am dining with the Italian Stallion for dinner and loving it.
The gear is checked in. All my gear bags are packed. My piles of "I need this for the swim", "I need this in the morning", "I need this after the race" are getting more consolidated. I am ready. It's time to start.
I am feeling great right now and am so excited for tomorrow and all the unknowns that will come my way. It is going to be a long day but one I will never forget and one that I want to soak in and savor every chance I can. There is nothing more I can do but enjoy myself. I have to be smart but the biggest thing I want to do is have fun.
Tomorrow's goals..... finish the race, smile a lot, thank as many of the 4,000 volunteers as I can, smile every time it gets hard, sing every pump up song on my triathlon playlist when I feel tired, and finish strong with a big smile for my finish line photo! If I can do that, the day will be a success. I am in control of all of those things, besides the finish of course, but i have done my preparation. I am ready. So, I am in control of my success.
A quote found by the captain of Team Ironathan, my lovely wife...
"Few things are impossible to diligence and skill. Great works are performed not by strength, but perseverance." Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784)
It's time to start...
Follow along if you want on http://www.ironman.com and search under bib number 377
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
3 Days...Penticton Episode #1
Well we made it to Penticton and are getting settled at the race site. I am completely bagged after a day of getting things together, officially registering, a short training brick, and a spaghetti and meatball dinner that knocked me out. My body is flippig into race mode and I am getting to the point I am eating everything I can get my hands on, and feel like I need to sleep constantly. It happens every race and I am loving every minute of it!
I will write more tomorrow but made a little video earlier today.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
10 Days
This is funny regardless, but it is SO much funnier if you live in my world.
10 days out and I am feeling good. I am as ready as I will be and have been doing some good tapering workouts this past week. Up the intensity, lessen the time. My 5 hour rides have turned to 2 or 3 and my swims have gone from leisurely and smooth to some moments of hard hard swimming. This is supposed to keep the muscles ready, engage some muscles that don't normally get going when you are in Tortoise mode (versus Hare mode...get it?). My goal is to just stay strong, healthy, and prepare mentally for what is coming up next week.
One half of my family has made it to Victoria so the reality of this is starting. Them being here means we are getting close. It's funny though what makes you realize the time is near. I opened my latest carton of milk and the expiry date was Sept. 3rd. "I will be an Ironman by then" I said out loud as I mixed up my smoothie. When the milk will still be drinkable after the race...that means the race is close!
I got my race number (377) this week and they just sent out the 2009 Race Participants package. Another few items that make this pretty real! Single digit countdown starts in a few hours and I AM SO EXCITED TO GET THIS THING GOING ALREADY! Because, after all, it's all about performance! :)
10 days out and I am feeling good. I am as ready as I will be and have been doing some good tapering workouts this past week. Up the intensity, lessen the time. My 5 hour rides have turned to 2 or 3 and my swims have gone from leisurely and smooth to some moments of hard hard swimming. This is supposed to keep the muscles ready, engage some muscles that don't normally get going when you are in Tortoise mode (versus Hare mode...get it?). My goal is to just stay strong, healthy, and prepare mentally for what is coming up next week.
One half of my family has made it to Victoria so the reality of this is starting. Them being here means we are getting close. It's funny though what makes you realize the time is near. I opened my latest carton of milk and the expiry date was Sept. 3rd. "I will be an Ironman by then" I said out loud as I mixed up my smoothie. When the milk will still be drinkable after the race...that means the race is close!
I got my race number (377) this week and they just sent out the 2009 Race Participants package. Another few items that make this pretty real! Single digit countdown starts in a few hours and I AM SO EXCITED TO GET THIS THING GOING ALREADY! Because, after all, it's all about performance! :)
Where it all began...
This is my race report from my very first triathlon in 2006. I can still remember that day. Although my "norms" are totally different now, and the 44k race I did then seems so small by comparison to Ironman, the essence of why I am doing this is still there. A few people have asked me recently "Why are you doing this?" For awhile I didn't really have an answer. I knew why, but couldn't really put into words what that was. After reading this, I know. I am doing this because of the excitement of doing something you never thought you could do. I am doing this because the confidence you feel after reaching a goal is captivating and inspiring. I am doing this because I love the feeling of working REALLY hard towards something, and then arriving...with a smile on my face.
Ironman is going to be hard. I know that, but I can do it. 4 summers ago, the Cowichan Challenge was hard too. For me, then, where I was, that was my Ironman! What is your Ironman? :)
--------- Race Report - Cowichan Challenge July, 2006 --------
Well it is official...I am a triathlete! It was an AMAZING DAY/EXPERIENCE/EVENT/RACE/EVERYTHING! I had to wait until the "official" race results were in to send you all the update. For all you stats dorks here is my race...for the rest of you...just play along because I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS RACE!
Swim (1000m) - 24:37
Bike (34k-21miles including transition time) - 1:28:58
Run (9k - 5.5 miles) - 52:42
TOTAL - 2:46:17
I JUST EXERCISED FOR 2 HOURS, 46 MINUTES, AND 17 SECONDS STRAIT...TRAVELED 44 KILOMETERS/27 MILES....ON PURPOSE...AND LOVED IT!!
The race was incredible. It was a huge rush to wake up after very little sleep and know "this is the day." We got to the race site and I quickly realized these people are serious. There were a ton of really, REALLY nice bikes there. Expensive road bikes, not the hybrid commuter bike that I had (the people that passed me during the bike kept saying "Wow, nice job on a mountain bike!"...and I became known to those around me as "the guy on the mountain bike"...I don't know if that is a good thing or not, but I need lighter bike if I really want to do this...someday right?).
We got to the race site about 6:50 and it was already packed full of people. I spent the first 45 minutes getting my gear set up, getting my body marked (and no I haven't washed the parts of my body that my number was drawn on yet...I want that number to stay on me as long as possible!) and waiting in line for that last trip to the bathroom so you don't have to poop somewhere along the 44k trip. Before I knew it, it was time to head to the beach for the start. I got down there and looked out across the lake. All but about 10 of the 109 people that started were wearing wet suits...I started to second guess my choice there of not wearing one, but the water turned out to be pretty nice. Then as I looked out across the lake I saw the first buoy we had to swim around, the second one, and then there was this other one WAY down at the far end of the lake. I immediately thought "Oh that is just an extra one they pulled off to the side if they needed it." Nope. Wrong. This 1000 meter swim looked a hell of a lot longer from the beach than it did in my head. But, the 8:00 hour was drawing near and I wasn't going to back down at that point. Spit in your goggles so they don't fog up and get ready to go Nathan!
The horn sounded and the white water started to splash up from everyone dashing out in the swim. I stayed back a little and off to the side so I didn't have to fight for position or get kicked in the process. The start of these races is notorious for being very physical and it is not uncommon for swimmers to get knocked around a little. I was pretty much in the clear on the outside. I got into my groove and before I knew it I was around the the first buoy (one corner of the triangle). I laughed a bit under water once or twice as I said to myself "I am doing a triathlon" with a little disbelief. It was totally surreal to be swimming with 100 or so others and racing...I was in a race! The swim went really well and as far away as that far corner looked I was there in no time. Rounding the corner for home I felt really strong still and managed to swim along side a couple others, pacing myself off of them. My one goal for the swim was I didn't want to be the last out of the water. Well, not only did I pass 2 people in the last 300m, I was 86th out of the water...I beat 23 others! Plus doing it in 24 1/2 minutes was probably faster than I have swum before!
The transitions were a little crazy but after battling socks on wet feet and downing some water, "the guy on the mountain bike" was off. Jenn and our friends were on the shore cheering and taking pictures so it felt pretty good to have a fan club! I felt pretty good on the bike, but it was amazingly HILLY! No really.....AMAZINGLY HILLY!! They called it "undulating rural roads"....HILLY! The downs were fun but fast, the ups were steep and took a very long time! I befriended this older woman (in the female 50-54 yrs category) and we went back and forth the whole bike section. I would pass her on the hills and she would pass me....well, everywhere else. The great part about it was that no matter if you had some little 17 year old whizzing past you or someone much older (there was one woman in the middle distance race in the 70-99 years old category!! And she was bouncing after the race...no worries at all for her!), no matter who passed you they did it with a word of encouragement! Incredible people. I got to meet a lot of them...because I got passed A LOT! I was 101st off my bike out of 106 people still in the race but I did it with a smile on my face...I was having WAY TOO MUCH FUN. 1:28:58 and I was back to the transition area. Now...only 9k to go.
The running felt great. I thought I would be wobbly and all over the place like I had been a couple times in training, but my legs were still strong. I took the advice of some other runners and didn't want to compete in the "Swim, Bike, Walk" version of the triathlon, not having enough left in me to run. Now it was time to play. Somewhere between January and July I became a runner and feel really comfortable just going out there and pounding away. This was again a challenge though because of the hills! WHAT DID THEY DO...FIND THE HILLIEST PLACE NEAR A LAKE A SAY "Perfect spot for a triathlon!"? It was a bit crazy, but after awhile you just keep going. By this point I have already been going for almost 2 hours strait and I kept saying to myself "Your legs will keep going if you just think they will." Yes, I was talking out loud to myself, and maybe a couple four letter words were exclaimed through some of the FREAKISHLY STEEP HILLS, but I was still smiling! We had to run two laps of a looped course and on the first lap I had marked in my head the "give'r" zone, the place where I could just let it all go and run like hell for the finish. Leave nothing on the course! But, still smiling! I have to admit, one of the best parts was passing 3 people in the last kilometer. I may have been slow in the bike but my run time was 83rd or 106 which is pretty dang impressive if you ask me. To go from 101 in the bike to 83 in the run...too bad those weren't the total place in the race. Regardless, the last stretch felt incredible. Pushing the whole way but loving every minute of it. 6 months of incredible work and dedication..something I had personally never done before and here I was...crossing the finish line.
I guessed I would finish in 3:00:00 so when I finished with a time of 2:46:17 (yes I have that memorized already) was very impressive to me. I finished 95th overall but I came in fourth place in my age group! I got a ribbon and everything! Thank you to all of you who helped me, supported me, thought of me, sent me good energy, or offered to buy me a beer after wards (wow did that taste good by the way). Your support means the world to me and have this under my belt also is thanks to you all. I feel like a new person and I have a new energy about life....IT FEELS INCREDIBLE!!!!!
Thanks again to all of you who help, supported, cheered me on from the sidelines wherever you were. And I highly encourage any of you who have been waiting to do "that one thing" you have been meaning to do or have been putting off something until later on....go for it. A little extra work, hard work, whatever it takes...it feels so good to look back and see your progress. Sure it might be a lot of work, but if you just decide to do it, have the mental strength (thanks Kiku) to do it, it is amazing what you can accomplish!
Take care of you and thanks again!
The triathlete,
-Nathan
Ironman is going to be hard. I know that, but I can do it. 4 summers ago, the Cowichan Challenge was hard too. For me, then, where I was, that was my Ironman! What is your Ironman? :)
--------- Race Report - Cowichan Challenge July, 2006 --------
Well it is official...I am a triathlete! It was an AMAZING DAY/EXPERIENCE/EVENT/RACE/EVERYTHING! I had to wait until the "official" race results were in to send you all the update. For all you stats dorks here is my race...for the rest of you...just play along because I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS RACE!
Swim (1000m) - 24:37
Bike (34k-21miles including transition time) - 1:28:58
Run (9k - 5.5 miles) - 52:42
TOTAL - 2:46:17
I JUST EXERCISED FOR 2 HOURS, 46 MINUTES, AND 17 SECONDS STRAIT...TRAVELED 44 KILOMETERS/27 MILES....ON PURPOSE...AND LOVED IT!!
The race was incredible. It was a huge rush to wake up after very little sleep and know "this is the day." We got to the race site and I quickly realized these people are serious. There were a ton of really, REALLY nice bikes there. Expensive road bikes, not the hybrid commuter bike that I had (the people that passed me during the bike kept saying "Wow, nice job on a mountain bike!"...and I became known to those around me as "the guy on the mountain bike"...I don't know if that is a good thing or not, but I need lighter bike if I really want to do this...someday right?).
We got to the race site about 6:50 and it was already packed full of people. I spent the first 45 minutes getting my gear set up, getting my body marked (and no I haven't washed the parts of my body that my number was drawn on yet...I want that number to stay on me as long as possible!) and waiting in line for that last trip to the bathroom so you don't have to poop somewhere along the 44k trip. Before I knew it, it was time to head to the beach for the start. I got down there and looked out across the lake. All but about 10 of the 109 people that started were wearing wet suits...I started to second guess my choice there of not wearing one, but the water turned out to be pretty nice. Then as I looked out across the lake I saw the first buoy we had to swim around, the second one, and then there was this other one WAY down at the far end of the lake. I immediately thought "Oh that is just an extra one they pulled off to the side if they needed it." Nope. Wrong. This 1000 meter swim looked a hell of a lot longer from the beach than it did in my head. But, the 8:00 hour was drawing near and I wasn't going to back down at that point. Spit in your goggles so they don't fog up and get ready to go Nathan!
The horn sounded and the white water started to splash up from everyone dashing out in the swim. I stayed back a little and off to the side so I didn't have to fight for position or get kicked in the process. The start of these races is notorious for being very physical and it is not uncommon for swimmers to get knocked around a little. I was pretty much in the clear on the outside. I got into my groove and before I knew it I was around the the first buoy (one corner of the triangle). I laughed a bit under water once or twice as I said to myself "I am doing a triathlon" with a little disbelief. It was totally surreal to be swimming with 100 or so others and racing...I was in a race! The swim went really well and as far away as that far corner looked I was there in no time. Rounding the corner for home I felt really strong still and managed to swim along side a couple others, pacing myself off of them. My one goal for the swim was I didn't want to be the last out of the water. Well, not only did I pass 2 people in the last 300m, I was 86th out of the water...I beat 23 others! Plus doing it in 24 1/2 minutes was probably faster than I have swum before!
The transitions were a little crazy but after battling socks on wet feet and downing some water, "the guy on the mountain bike" was off. Jenn and our friends were on the shore cheering and taking pictures so it felt pretty good to have a fan club! I felt pretty good on the bike, but it was amazingly HILLY! No really.....AMAZINGLY HILLY!! They called it "undulating rural roads"....HILLY! The downs were fun but fast, the ups were steep and took a very long time! I befriended this older woman (in the female 50-54 yrs category) and we went back and forth the whole bike section. I would pass her on the hills and she would pass me....well, everywhere else. The great part about it was that no matter if you had some little 17 year old whizzing past you or someone much older (there was one woman in the middle distance race in the 70-99 years old category!! And she was bouncing after the race...no worries at all for her!), no matter who passed you they did it with a word of encouragement! Incredible people. I got to meet a lot of them...because I got passed A LOT! I was 101st off my bike out of 106 people still in the race but I did it with a smile on my face...I was having WAY TOO MUCH FUN. 1:28:58 and I was back to the transition area. Now...only 9k to go.
The running felt great. I thought I would be wobbly and all over the place like I had been a couple times in training, but my legs were still strong. I took the advice of some other runners and didn't want to compete in the "Swim, Bike, Walk" version of the triathlon, not having enough left in me to run. Now it was time to play. Somewhere between January and July I became a runner and feel really comfortable just going out there and pounding away. This was again a challenge though because of the hills! WHAT DID THEY DO...FIND THE HILLIEST PLACE NEAR A LAKE A SAY "Perfect spot for a triathlon!"? It was a bit crazy, but after awhile you just keep going. By this point I have already been going for almost 2 hours strait and I kept saying to myself "Your legs will keep going if you just think they will." Yes, I was talking out loud to myself, and maybe a couple four letter words were exclaimed through some of the FREAKISHLY STEEP HILLS, but I was still smiling! We had to run two laps of a looped course and on the first lap I had marked in my head the "give'r" zone, the place where I could just let it all go and run like hell for the finish. Leave nothing on the course! But, still smiling! I have to admit, one of the best parts was passing 3 people in the last kilometer. I may have been slow in the bike but my run time was 83rd or 106 which is pretty dang impressive if you ask me. To go from 101 in the bike to 83 in the run...too bad those weren't the total place in the race. Regardless, the last stretch felt incredible. Pushing the whole way but loving every minute of it. 6 months of incredible work and dedication..something I had personally never done before and here I was...crossing the finish line.
I guessed I would finish in 3:00:00 so when I finished with a time of 2:46:17 (yes I have that memorized already) was very impressive to me. I finished 95th overall but I came in fourth place in my age group! I got a ribbon and everything! Thank you to all of you who helped me, supported me, thought of me, sent me good energy, or offered to buy me a beer after wards (wow did that taste good by the way). Your support means the world to me and have this under my belt also is thanks to you all. I feel like a new person and I have a new energy about life....IT FEELS INCREDIBLE!!!!!
Thanks again to all of you who help, supported, cheered me on from the sidelines wherever you were. And I highly encourage any of you who have been waiting to do "that one thing" you have been meaning to do or have been putting off something until later on....go for it. A little extra work, hard work, whatever it takes...it feels so good to look back and see your progress. Sure it might be a lot of work, but if you just decide to do it, have the mental strength (thanks Kiku) to do it, it is amazing what you can accomplish!
Take care of you and thanks again!
The triathlete,
-Nathan
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Rained on but a little more Canadian!
So I am getting ready for a run. The southern view out my window looks beautiful and the air is pretty warm even late into the day. A rarity in Victoria. So, I lace up the runners, strap on the HRM and I am off. I hit the front door of my building and it is worth noting I am now facing north. A whole different view. 
After a moment or two of "Should I really be doing this?" I swallow the fact that I am probably going to get wet. I am not going to melt so I head out anyway. For those of you who don't live in Victoria, it can be a wet place to live. It's no Vancouver or Seattle, but most of November, December and January can get pretty rainy. I remember many nights heading out for a run in the rain, soaked through fairly quickly and having to mutter the mantra "It this was easy, everyone would be doing it!" That had a nice ring to it then, and I caught myself smiling as I said it out loud again today as the rain started to fall. If this was easy, everyone would be doing it!
I will say I must be doing something right because I ran past Jasper Blake on my run. We were going in opposite directions for the record so no, I did not run faster than a Ironman champion two weeks before our race. It is so inspiring to be out and have the professionals running the same streets as you are. And, if Jasper is out in the rain, why aren't I!?
Today was also a monumental day in my life as well. I have lived in Canada for just over 4 years and in all that time there is one thing I had yet to do, until today. One thing that took courage, preparation, knowledge and tact in order to complete successfully. Today I used the word "eh" publicly for the first time! Now you Americans might laugh at that, but it was my goal to use it CORRECTLY rather than tagged on the end of every sentence like some Americans do to try and make fun of Canadians.
Yes Canadians you do say it. If you are my in-laws you might use the variation "hey" rather then the strait ahead "eh". Either way, it's out there. It gets used. But, there is a strict code of when it is appropriate and when you just sound dumb. Today, I think I passed!
It was nasty out, I was drenched and the rain was still coming down hard. About a block away, I saw him coming, my target. Over the past few years I have attempted this three times and was spoiled by my target's nearly invisible headphones, blocking our momentary interaction. Not today. Today was my day. As he approached I took a deep breath, rehearsed the line one last time and let it fly.
"Great day to be out for a run eh?"
I waited for a reaction.... was it going to pass? was it going to elicit that blank stare received when some cleaver American says something like "Hi, eh?".... I waited...
"It just doesn't get any better than this does it?" he replied with a smile.
It was official. I am now just a little more Canadian!
After a moment or two of "Should I really be doing this?" I swallow the fact that I am probably going to get wet. I am not going to melt so I head out anyway. For those of you who don't live in Victoria, it can be a wet place to live. It's no Vancouver or Seattle, but most of November, December and January can get pretty rainy. I remember many nights heading out for a run in the rain, soaked through fairly quickly and having to mutter the mantra "It this was easy, everyone would be doing it!" That had a nice ring to it then, and I caught myself smiling as I said it out loud again today as the rain started to fall. If this was easy, everyone would be doing it!I will say I must be doing something right because I ran past Jasper Blake on my run. We were going in opposite directions for the record so no, I did not run faster than a Ironman champion two weeks before our race. It is so inspiring to be out and have the professionals running the same streets as you are. And, if Jasper is out in the rain, why aren't I!?
Today was also a monumental day in my life as well. I have lived in Canada for just over 4 years and in all that time there is one thing I had yet to do, until today. One thing that took courage, preparation, knowledge and tact in order to complete successfully. Today I used the word "eh" publicly for the first time! Now you Americans might laugh at that, but it was my goal to use it CORRECTLY rather than tagged on the end of every sentence like some Americans do to try and make fun of Canadians.
Yes Canadians you do say it. If you are my in-laws you might use the variation "hey" rather then the strait ahead "eh". Either way, it's out there. It gets used. But, there is a strict code of when it is appropriate and when you just sound dumb. Today, I think I passed! It was nasty out, I was drenched and the rain was still coming down hard. About a block away, I saw him coming, my target. Over the past few years I have attempted this three times and was spoiled by my target's nearly invisible headphones, blocking our momentary interaction. Not today. Today was my day. As he approached I took a deep breath, rehearsed the line one last time and let it fly.
"Great day to be out for a run eh?"
I waited for a reaction.... was it going to pass? was it going to elicit that blank stare received when some cleaver American says something like "Hi, eh?".... I waited...
"It just doesn't get any better than this does it?" he replied with a smile.
It was official. I am now just a little more Canadian!
Friday, August 7, 2009
Duluth…. Running and swimming down memory lane
5 days back in my hometown with 25 days left to go to race day. I was a little nervous to be traveling so close to the race given I have my peak workouts on the road. This is about the last of the time where my training actually can help me improve my race; I am doing my longest workouts and doing my final race simulation at the long distances. AND I AM TRAVELING WHILE DOING IT! Thankfully things have gone well and Duluth had some great moments.
I got in on Saturday night and on Sunday did my first real long run since my injury. I have come to realize that running the full marathon is not going to happen. It’s not that I am doubting my ability, but rather accepting the reality that very accomplished veterans Ironman triathletes walk portions of the marathon. So, why not plan for it?! I decided to do 10 and 1’s for the marathon (run 10 minutes, walk 1, repeat as long as necessary) and went out for my long run to test this out. 1:55:00 running and walking, eating gels, drinking Gatorade and really felt great! No knee or leg pain and felt steady the whole run. I did some math and realized if I can pull this off, I can still run a moderate pace, walk every 10 minutes and not spend 8 hours out on the run course. It’s all about the second half of the run. Those 21k are the ones that are going to test me. Those are the ones that are going to make me ask why the hell I am doing this race. My hope is the 10/1’s put me in a place that I am still feeling relatively good for that last push to Penticton.
Now the run itself was hilarious. I literally ran through my childhood and adolescence over the course of the 2 hours. For any of you not from Duluth, this might be boring, for me, it made me laugh out loud. First stop was my middle school, Woodland, and all the pubescent memories it brought back, silk shirts and rolled pants. Then cruised past Liz’s house and our many conversations came flooding back. Jodie’s house came next and with a nod I was cruising towards Woodland Ave again. A minute later it was the turn off I took regularly to either see Danielle or Sara depending on the era; lots of right turns there and two amazing people to see. Crystal and Jen’s house were up the block next just before I went past my little league baseball field; picture me about a foot shorter, 50 pounds lighter and unable to hit a ball if it was laying on the ground in front of me…that was my little league career. Yes, I laughed at that one. Rounding the corner I came across the spot where some of us had a run in with the cops after a night of TPing; it always looks so easy to get away in the movies! Oh the stupid stuff you do in grade 9, and no, no criminal record with that one. Up Woodland Ave. further and cruised past Joe’s place, the setting of many a good time from grade 8 and on…years of flashbacks came with that one. Then a weird memory of Matt’s house where I watched Thriller for the first time in grade 9, and then cruised past the place I learned to ice skate when I was 9. Up past Piggly Wiggly, the local super market, and was on my way towards my Aunt and Uncle’s old house. I am reaching the edges of town by now only to come across a string of houses that I truthfully had forgotten about. All these friends from back in the day that I hadn’t thought of in years but vivid memories, most cloaked in pubescent adolescence, came flying back. Shannon’s house, Carrie’s house, Julianne’s house, circling back into town was Paul and Liz’s house, even back to Sue’s house where I couldn’t help but see her big white Samoyed puppy from back in the day. Rounded the corner by my old high school, thought through four years of random thoughts, many strangely having to do with the crappy brown Toyota I used to drive and park on that street, and then it was back down 4th st. It is getting long in the run and time to start heading for home, but I had to do one last push up the hill past the corner store where Scott and I met almost daily to buy a bottle of mountain dew and a pack of baseball cards back in 1987. The Twins were hot back then and a Kirby Puckett card or a Mark McGwire rookie card were worth trading your Reese’s peanut butter cups and the free bottle of pop you just won from under your bottle cap. Oh the memories…. The mental flip book was a flying that day. An incredible run and if only Ironman could be as stimulating, I would be so distracted I wouldn’t even know I was working!
Another eventful workout and trip down memory lane came from a swim up at Pike Lake. I needed a long swim and found just what I was looking for. Some friends live about 2500 metres from the public landing. What does that mean? It means instead of dropping in via the driveway, I swam past my dad's old house on the lake, around the lake, up to the dock and knocked on their door dressed in a neoprene wetsuit. The look on their faces was priceless! I took a pit stop, sucked down a gel, some water, a few good stories and it was back to the lake to swim home. 56:00 there and 52:00 home again for a total of 1:48:00 swimming! Pretty damn impressive if I do say so myself!
Thanks Duluth for the trip down memory lane!
Oliver Half Iron Race Report....Past Due
Oliver Half Ironman 6/7/09... Better late than never! Here a few notes I took and never posted from my race in June. I had the goal of 5:45 and with this race met my second goal of the season!
Race Morning
- Had a decent night’s sleep. No pre race nerves.
- One of three alarms set did the job, the other two didn't go off. 5:45 wake up call
- Quick breakfast of bagel and cream cheese, banana
- Cool over cast morning. Perfect race weather
Set up
- 1100 athletes… it was huge! But got a good spot near the end. Pays to be a keener who registers early and gets a race number under 100
- Porta potty line was ridiculously slow. I had a couple moments of panic but realized “this is something I HAVE TO do so it will take as long as it has to”. Everyone else was doing the same so that just part of morning
- Listened to “That’s the way, uh huh, uh huh, I like it in the porta” Weird
- My rack had 20 bikes and close to $100,000 worth of gear. Lots of Cervelo bikes and race wheels. It was hot. This is not a cheap sport if you want to drop the money on gear.
- Had a piper who led the athletes to the beach where Steve King’s voice took over for the day. Second time in three weeks I got to listen to him do his thing. It is a gift
Start
- The start was supposed to happen at 7:30 but the safety boat wasn’t working. Seemed like a valid reason to wait a few moments. By 7:40 we were underway.
- 3 waves, blue, yellow and green, with us males under 45 starting it off. 1,100 people in wet suits on a beach is pretty impressive sight.
Swim
- It was a rough start. Didn’t feel comfortable for the first 10 minutes or so. Even had the “maybe this just isn’t my day” thought.
- Super murky water and you could barely see 2 ft in any direction. Couldn’t tell if you were about to swim over someone else and they didn’t when they were about to swim over you. Awesome.
- Got pretty wavy pretty quick. No white water but more than a few breaths turned into mouthfuls of water.
- Pushed way out to the outside and just found some space. My geometry lessons on the hypotenuse of a triangle started flashing through my head as I tried to figure out how much extra distance I would be swimming by taking the wide path. Figured it wasn’t much further, got an “A” in it in grade 9, so I just took my wide approach to the first turn.
- By the first turn, we were feeling better and smoother.
- Singing “I got soul but I’m not a soldier” by the Killers for most of the swim. Good tempo!
- Started seeing the yellow caps…. Okay so those people are all at least five minutes faster than me. Then the green caps. Damn those people are TEN minutes faster. Just shut up and swim Nathan.
- Found the beach in about 41 minutes. 1 min slower than the plan, but considering my comfort, that was all good.
T1
- Took advantage of the wetsuit strippers. Take this moment to apologize for any urine that was splashed on you all today. Triathletes at the end of the swim are like thoroughbreds at post time. We both pee. Sorry, it’s the truth.
- The run to transition was ridiculous. Best guess would be .4 kilometres. No shoes, No sandals. Concrete roads and side walks that were actually very well swept for all of us, but running bare foot on the road is just no fun. Once in transition, I only had to run….all the way across to the far side. Passed nearly 30 rows of bikes to get to mine. Great part was that I just had to pop out once I had my bike!
- There were 2 other bikes still on the rack so I wasn’t the slowest guy…good feeling… and had plenty of room to get my gear ready.
- Attempted to put on sunscreen but the pump was pretty empty and not working right. This would either be a good choice and save a minute or so, or turn out to be a horrible painful decision a few hours later. We’ll have to wait and see.
Bike
- I was excited to get out and ride. After Shawnigan, I knew I had the legs to push and would be okay afterwards.
- Super smooth roads
- Head wind going down hill and it pushed us back up the hills. Probably the best wind scenario we could have had. Flipped it would have been hell.
- Legs felt really good and it wasn’t long until I was passing some people and finding some room of my own.
- I was never alone. There were always people around and just when you would get in a rut and feeling slow, a wave of 5-10 bikes would come cruising past. From where I don’t know but I jumped on quite a few groups for motivation. Not drafting, just a speed wake up call.
- Stayed aero for 95% of the ride. Felt really comfortable for the most part, and the parts that were a bit off went numb shortly after the discomfort J
- Kept the 31 kph speed a goal and knew if I could hold that I would have my 3:00:00 ride. 93k later… I had it!
- Caught Jenn’s cheers a few times as I rode past. Little beats hearing her voice as I am racing. Immediately I get stronger, faster, and more positive about what is going on.
- Had a brief moment of panic with 15k to go. Just after the aid station, I was trying to put my new bottle in its holder. Poor planning lead me to try and do this as I was rounding a few sharp corners, one shortly after another. The first lap, sans water bottle, I took these turns too fast and nearly went into some ugly dirt/curb/gravel, so slamming on the breaks one handed while fiddling with my bottle holders and launching my full bottle of Gatorade out onto the road where it exploded in a fountain of Lemon Lime fury didn’t make the second lap any less exciting.
- Kicked off the shoes with about a half a kilo to go and road the last with my socks on my shoes. Still not as classy as my friend Cecelia who has this great barefoot picture of the same. What can I say, I have sensitive feet.
T2
- Popped in. Since my rack was right there, I was free of the bike very quickly.
- Felt like I had a fast transition
- Loaded up on some fresh gels, changed shoes, my Wildflower visor and we were off
Run
- Had "the voice" give me a shout out as I start out on the run “Here comes Nathan Geroggensen from Victoria, a veteran at the Half Iron distance but is coming back for Ironman this summer for the first time. He’s a teacher out in Victoria. Have fun out there Nathan!” (cue fist pump here!)
- At about the 15k mark, I couldn’t remember if this was 21k or 22k race. Second guessing myself after my poor race time plan of last summer where I forgot one kilometer.
- Had the floppy legs for the first 15 minutes or so. Tried to just go slow, but “slow” ended up being about 5:10/k which is a pretty good clip. Weird.
- I can now feel my body digesting all the race food. Gels, Gatorade, water. They all feel a bit different and I can tell now when I need what and can tell how long it will take for them to get into my system. Pretty cool to know your body this well.
- Was very steady the whole run. My thought was a little extra effort every kilometer means I don’t have to hammer away really hard at the end to try and reach my goal. A little always versus a lot all at once. I hung out just under 5:30/k all day long
- Weird sprinkle came and went through the run. It was sunny and at first I thought it was a runner near me who was splashing sweat around. He was going for it pretty hard and swinging the arms. Sure it’s a gross idea at any other time, but it was impressive at the time. Impressive until I felt him splashing sweat at me from 100 metres away. That WOULD have been impressive. Silly rain playing tricks on me.
- Just before the halfway turn around, I saw Jenn snapping pictures and managed to sneak in a kiss as I went past her again. This was the first race I knew my legs would start up again after stopping to lay one on her. I got a “Hey! There’s no kissing in triathlon!” and I guess she got a “I hope you know that guy!”
Finish
- With 1 kilometre to go, I went for it. Long long strides and just tried to maintain a tall posture. I could see the crowd that was formed near the finish line and the loudspeaker was getting louder and louder. I knew I had my goal time by this point, but I still wanted to finish strong. I was as fast as I could carry myself, legs whipping past, arms pumping, smile broadening. There was a sharp turn down hill to the finish line and it was everything I could do just to stay upright. Cue finish line fist pump here!
- Mother to her 5-6 year old daughter, “Now honey, we need to remember that Daddy’s been exercising since we had our cereal this morning. We need to take it really slow with him.”
- Plopped down on the first thing I could find to sit on. I think it was for the volunteers to take our timing chips off, but at that time I just didn’t care. It was flat, it wasn’t moving, and I could sit on it. It was barely a foot and a half off the ground so getting up was tough, but I was blissful for that moment.
Final Times
2k Swim - 41:51
T1 - 4:47 (there was about a .5k run to transition!)
93k Bike - 2:58:08
T2 - 2:13
21k Run - 1:56:02
Total - 5:42:59
Race Morning
- Had a decent night’s sleep. No pre race nerves.
- One of three alarms set did the job, the other two didn't go off. 5:45 wake up call
- Quick breakfast of bagel and cream cheese, banana
- Cool over cast morning. Perfect race weather
Set up
- 1100 athletes… it was huge! But got a good spot near the end. Pays to be a keener who registers early and gets a race number under 100
- Porta potty line was ridiculously slow. I had a couple moments of panic but realized “this is something I HAVE TO do so it will take as long as it has to”. Everyone else was doing the same so that just part of morning
- Listened to “That’s the way, uh huh, uh huh, I like it in the porta” Weird
- My rack had 20 bikes and close to $100,000 worth of gear. Lots of Cervelo bikes and race wheels. It was hot. This is not a cheap sport if you want to drop the money on gear.
- Had a piper who led the athletes to the beach where Steve King’s voice took over for the day. Second time in three weeks I got to listen to him do his thing. It is a gift
Start
- The start was supposed to happen at 7:30 but the safety boat wasn’t working. Seemed like a valid reason to wait a few moments. By 7:40 we were underway.
- 3 waves, blue, yellow and green, with us males under 45 starting it off. 1,100 people in wet suits on a beach is pretty impressive sight.
Swim
- It was a rough start. Didn’t feel comfortable for the first 10 minutes or so. Even had the “maybe this just isn’t my day” thought.
- Super murky water and you could barely see 2 ft in any direction. Couldn’t tell if you were about to swim over someone else and they didn’t when they were about to swim over you. Awesome.
- Got pretty wavy pretty quick. No white water but more than a few breaths turned into mouthfuls of water.
- Pushed way out to the outside and just found some space. My geometry lessons on the hypotenuse of a triangle started flashing through my head as I tried to figure out how much extra distance I would be swimming by taking the wide path. Figured it wasn’t much further, got an “A” in it in grade 9, so I just took my wide approach to the first turn.
- By the first turn, we were feeling better and smoother.
- Singing “I got soul but I’m not a soldier” by the Killers for most of the swim. Good tempo!
- Started seeing the yellow caps…. Okay so those people are all at least five minutes faster than me. Then the green caps. Damn those people are TEN minutes faster. Just shut up and swim Nathan.
- Found the beach in about 41 minutes. 1 min slower than the plan, but considering my comfort, that was all good.
T1
- Took advantage of the wetsuit strippers. Take this moment to apologize for any urine that was splashed on you all today. Triathletes at the end of the swim are like thoroughbreds at post time. We both pee. Sorry, it’s the truth.
- The run to transition was ridiculous. Best guess would be .4 kilometres. No shoes, No sandals. Concrete roads and side walks that were actually very well swept for all of us, but running bare foot on the road is just no fun. Once in transition, I only had to run….all the way across to the far side. Passed nearly 30 rows of bikes to get to mine. Great part was that I just had to pop out once I had my bike!
- There were 2 other bikes still on the rack so I wasn’t the slowest guy…good feeling… and had plenty of room to get my gear ready.
- Attempted to put on sunscreen but the pump was pretty empty and not working right. This would either be a good choice and save a minute or so, or turn out to be a horrible painful decision a few hours later. We’ll have to wait and see.
Bike
- I was excited to get out and ride. After Shawnigan, I knew I had the legs to push and would be okay afterwards.
- Super smooth roads
- Head wind going down hill and it pushed us back up the hills. Probably the best wind scenario we could have had. Flipped it would have been hell.
- Legs felt really good and it wasn’t long until I was passing some people and finding some room of my own.
- I was never alone. There were always people around and just when you would get in a rut and feeling slow, a wave of 5-10 bikes would come cruising past. From where I don’t know but I jumped on quite a few groups for motivation. Not drafting, just a speed wake up call.
- Stayed aero for 95% of the ride. Felt really comfortable for the most part, and the parts that were a bit off went numb shortly after the discomfort J
- Kept the 31 kph speed a goal and knew if I could hold that I would have my 3:00:00 ride. 93k later… I had it!
- Caught Jenn’s cheers a few times as I rode past. Little beats hearing her voice as I am racing. Immediately I get stronger, faster, and more positive about what is going on.
- Had a brief moment of panic with 15k to go. Just after the aid station, I was trying to put my new bottle in its holder. Poor planning lead me to try and do this as I was rounding a few sharp corners, one shortly after another. The first lap, sans water bottle, I took these turns too fast and nearly went into some ugly dirt/curb/gravel, so slamming on the breaks one handed while fiddling with my bottle holders and launching my full bottle of Gatorade out onto the road where it exploded in a fountain of Lemon Lime fury didn’t make the second lap any less exciting.
- Kicked off the shoes with about a half a kilo to go and road the last with my socks on my shoes. Still not as classy as my friend Cecelia who has this great barefoot picture of the same. What can I say, I have sensitive feet.
T2
- Popped in. Since my rack was right there, I was free of the bike very quickly.
- Felt like I had a fast transition
- Loaded up on some fresh gels, changed shoes, my Wildflower visor and we were off
Run
- Had "the voice" give me a shout out as I start out on the run “Here comes Nathan Geroggensen from Victoria, a veteran at the Half Iron distance but is coming back for Ironman this summer for the first time. He’s a teacher out in Victoria. Have fun out there Nathan!” (cue fist pump here!)
- At about the 15k mark, I couldn’t remember if this was 21k or 22k race. Second guessing myself after my poor race time plan of last summer where I forgot one kilometer.
- Had the floppy legs for the first 15 minutes or so. Tried to just go slow, but “slow” ended up being about 5:10/k which is a pretty good clip. Weird.
- I can now feel my body digesting all the race food. Gels, Gatorade, water. They all feel a bit different and I can tell now when I need what and can tell how long it will take for them to get into my system. Pretty cool to know your body this well.
- Was very steady the whole run. My thought was a little extra effort every kilometer means I don’t have to hammer away really hard at the end to try and reach my goal. A little always versus a lot all at once. I hung out just under 5:30/k all day long
- Weird sprinkle came and went through the run. It was sunny and at first I thought it was a runner near me who was splashing sweat around. He was going for it pretty hard and swinging the arms. Sure it’s a gross idea at any other time, but it was impressive at the time. Impressive until I felt him splashing sweat at me from 100 metres away. That WOULD have been impressive. Silly rain playing tricks on me.
- Just before the halfway turn around, I saw Jenn snapping pictures and managed to sneak in a kiss as I went past her again. This was the first race I knew my legs would start up again after stopping to lay one on her. I got a “Hey! There’s no kissing in triathlon!” and I guess she got a “I hope you know that guy!”
Finish
- With 1 kilometre to go, I went for it. Long long strides and just tried to maintain a tall posture. I could see the crowd that was formed near the finish line and the loudspeaker was getting louder and louder. I knew I had my goal time by this point, but I still wanted to finish strong. I was as fast as I could carry myself, legs whipping past, arms pumping, smile broadening. There was a sharp turn down hill to the finish line and it was everything I could do just to stay upright. Cue finish line fist pump here!
- Mother to her 5-6 year old daughter, “Now honey, we need to remember that Daddy’s been exercising since we had our cereal this morning. We need to take it really slow with him.”
- Plopped down on the first thing I could find to sit on. I think it was for the volunteers to take our timing chips off, but at that time I just didn’t care. It was flat, it wasn’t moving, and I could sit on it. It was barely a foot and a half off the ground so getting up was tough, but I was blissful for that moment.
Final Times
2k Swim - 41:51
T1 - 4:47 (there was about a .5k run to transition!)
93k Bike - 2:58:08
T2 - 2:13
21k Run - 1:56:02
Total - 5:42:59
Friday, July 31, 2009
Yellow Lake Shmellow Lake
I did it! I finally got out and rode the rest of the ironman bike course! I had ridden Richter Pass a few times, a 9-10k climb out of Osoyoos that intimidated the hell out of me at first. I had ridden the rollers a few times, a set of 7 hills that you cruise up and over, nothing too crazy but a challenge if you don't like hills. I had never ridden the Yellow Lake climb, the second of two "mountain passes" on the Ironman course. I use parentheses here because after my ride Wednesday...I have no fear anymore!
I rode 110k/68m from Osoyoos back to Penticton following the bike course for Ironman. 4 hours. 2 Cliff bars. 4 gels. 4 bottles of Endurox. 0 problems.
This was a huge milestone for me in my training. I always had this part of the ride built up in my head as a killer. An ugly beast waiting to kick me between the legs and knock me down before the marathon starts. Now I am not saying the ride is going to be easy, but I will say I am ready now. I have seen it, ridden it, got to the top and literally said out loud "That was it!?" Again I am not getting cocky, although I feel a little fired up about it, but I know it is more the placement of Yellow Lake on the course, not necessarily the climb itself. It shows up after 140-150k on the bike. Your butt is sore, your legs are sore, your feet hurt, your thighs burn, salty sweat drips to your lips, your hands are sticky from lemon lime Gatorade and strawberry banana gels mixed together, its hot....really hot, the bugs are stuck in the vents of your bike helmet, your sunglasses are glazed over with a mix of sweat and tears, did I mention your legs hurt, and then....Yellow Lake shows up. I know it is going to be hard, but I now know I can do it. And truthfully, that is the most important part.
I also figured out my nutrition for the bike ride. I drink Endurox, a carb/protein mix, every 15 minutes or more (my alarm is set to go off every 15 minutes to remind me). It's fruit punch flavour and is actually quite tasty. Then on the half hours, I eat a half a Cliff bar, and at the top of the hour I eat one gel (I am loving the Carb Boom and Hammer Gels at the moment).
I tried this system out a few times and have felt so strong even after long rides. This past ride, the 110k-4:00:00 ride, finished and I felt incredible. Even with the climbing my legs felt strong and loose. I went out last week and accidentally abandoned my nutrition. Needless to say, the end of that ride sucked. No gas going in means no energy going out. Lesson learned and I am a slave to my food now, and it is working!
31 days and we are feeling more and more ready!
Monday, July 27, 2009
34 Days...
I have been a blog slacker and haven't written for awhile. Part I have been private, part lazy, part guilty and feeling like I needed to update this will EVERYTHING I had been doing to do justice to the blog world. Finally I had to say screw it and just get going again. And with less than 7 weeks to go, it is about time.
We are leaving on our "Not Road Trip 2009" tomorrow to spend some time in Regina and I will get to Duluth to see family as well. Of course there will be some training along the way. Tomorrow will be another stop to swim in Okanagan Lake and then Wednesday I will be doing the second half of the Ironman course, the ugly section from Osoyoos back up to Penticton. I have climbed Richter Pass a couple times before, but I have yet to ride the Yellow Lake climb which I have heard can be pretty ugly. Nothing like throwing another mountain at you after 140k on the bike. It shouldn't be too bad this week since I am skipping a bit, but I want to know what I am getting myself into before the big day. I will be back in two weeks to do the whole thing. I am so excited to climb the pass and also pretty fired up to see what the downhill is like on the other side. I have heard people get up to 90kph/55mph....white knuckles here I come!
Training has been going fairly well as of late. Great swimming, good biking and I am finally getting over a knee/IT Band funk that happened a couple weeks back. I have been attacking it with physio (Rob Hasagawa is a god!), massage therapy (Ian and Cook St. something or other is also pretty damn impressive), and I have a new daily routine of stretches and moves to keep everything rocking and in the right place. So far so good. A week ago I couldn't run 15 minutes without a bit of pain; yesterday was up to an hour so we are doing something right.
All in all I have been learning some very valuable lessons in nutrition (gotta feed the machine regularly to keep it running), pacing (I am now realizing I want to finish the marathon section strong. I had been planning for the swim, realizing what the bike would take, and then just hoping I would have the strength to finish the run. Bad plan. I have re framed it all so that the last grain of sand falls through the hourglass hopefully nearer the finish line and less at the halfway point of the marathon.) and fun (everyone I talk to says "Remember to have fun!" as advice to a first timer. I am a pretty up person anyway so this could be quite the epic day!).
Thanks to all of you on the support crew and especially to all of you who I have been neglecting with phone calls, emails, and most other forms of communication. Just because I haven't contacted you doesn't mean I am not thinking of you often...these rides are nearing 6 hours long, that's a long time to think and all of you get some air time on the "Georgesen's mental riding Rolodex".
Please drop me a line during the next couple weeks. I am looking for as many of the "Wow, I am so excited for you. You are going to do soooo well!" types and less of the "Holy Sh*# man I can't believe you are doing this! Good luck out there and don't die" type. As much as I appreciate the concern for my continued existence on the planet, the freakishly positive confident "of course you are going to rock it" support goes much further!
34 days.... off to Penticton in the morning!
We are leaving on our "Not Road Trip 2009" tomorrow to spend some time in Regina and I will get to Duluth to see family as well. Of course there will be some training along the way. Tomorrow will be another stop to swim in Okanagan Lake and then Wednesday I will be doing the second half of the Ironman course, the ugly section from Osoyoos back up to Penticton. I have climbed Richter Pass a couple times before, but I have yet to ride the Yellow Lake climb which I have heard can be pretty ugly. Nothing like throwing another mountain at you after 140k on the bike. It shouldn't be too bad this week since I am skipping a bit, but I want to know what I am getting myself into before the big day. I will be back in two weeks to do the whole thing. I am so excited to climb the pass and also pretty fired up to see what the downhill is like on the other side. I have heard people get up to 90kph/55mph....white knuckles here I come!
Training has been going fairly well as of late. Great swimming, good biking and I am finally getting over a knee/IT Band funk that happened a couple weeks back. I have been attacking it with physio (Rob Hasagawa is a god!), massage therapy (Ian and Cook St. something or other is also pretty damn impressive), and I have a new daily routine of stretches and moves to keep everything rocking and in the right place. So far so good. A week ago I couldn't run 15 minutes without a bit of pain; yesterday was up to an hour so we are doing something right.
All in all I have been learning some very valuable lessons in nutrition (gotta feed the machine regularly to keep it running), pacing (I am now realizing I want to finish the marathon section strong. I had been planning for the swim, realizing what the bike would take, and then just hoping I would have the strength to finish the run. Bad plan. I have re framed it all so that the last grain of sand falls through the hourglass hopefully nearer the finish line and less at the halfway point of the marathon.) and fun (everyone I talk to says "Remember to have fun!" as advice to a first timer. I am a pretty up person anyway so this could be quite the epic day!).
Thanks to all of you on the support crew and especially to all of you who I have been neglecting with phone calls, emails, and most other forms of communication. Just because I haven't contacted you doesn't mean I am not thinking of you often...these rides are nearing 6 hours long, that's a long time to think and all of you get some air time on the "Georgesen's mental riding Rolodex".
Please drop me a line during the next couple weeks. I am looking for as many of the "Wow, I am so excited for you. You are going to do soooo well!" types and less of the "Holy Sh*# man I can't believe you are doing this! Good luck out there and don't die" type. As much as I appreciate the concern for my continued existence on the planet, the freakishly positive confident "of course you are going to rock it" support goes much further!
34 days.... off to Penticton in the morning!
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Penticton... Oliver HIM prep
Just went out for a ride as a warm up for the race tomorrow. Rode half of the marathon course for Ironman and couldn't believe how beautiful it is here. We are currently staying at the same hotel we will be for Ironman, getting the lay of the land for Ironman, kind of do a dress run for the big show. It feels amazing.
The ride this morning was amazing. Went out just to "spin the legs", but before I knew it was cruising at 50 kph without really working. Feels pretty amazing to be moving that fast without having to work. I know my legs are getting stronger, I am faster now, but I just didn't realize the massive tailwind I had....didn't realize it I had to turn around. The way back had a wall of wind slapping me in the face and I had to work a bit to get back. Even with the wind though, I pulled off a 30 kph average and a 91 rpm average cadence. Exactly where I want to be for tomorrow.
The rest of the day has been filled with checking out the bike course (it's going to be fast, real fast), a little wine tasting (smelling on my part, Jenn got to enjoy some of the great Okanagan wine), geeking out setting up my spot in transition and attending the race meeting. There are over 1,100 athletes racing tomorrow and the transition area could be a photo shot for a bike porn magazine. So many beautiful bikes. So much carbon fibre. Rediculous amounts of Zipp race wheels. But, for the first time I feel like I can hold my own with my bike. My bike might not be the centerfold, but it's close :)
The race tomorrow should be a blast. Here's the goal:
Swim: 40:00
T1: 5:00 (there is literally a .5k run from the lake through to the other side of transition...this is going to be crazy!)
Bike: 3:00:00 (it's a great fairly flat course with some really smooth roads. It's going to be fast)
T2: 4:00
Run: 2:00:00 (where going to let it all hang out!)
Total: 5:49:00
I want it in under 5:50:00 so hopefully that one minute to spare can give me some wiggle room. I feel good. I feel fast. I feel ready. It's 9:45, so it's time to go to bed.
Keep your fingers crossed!
Friday, May 15, 2009
Allergies.. sick... who knows
Unghhhh
Been 5 days without working out. A combo of sore throat, allergy nose, pretty tired, and few other random no name symptoms. It is frustrating as hell!
Last week was phenominal. I had some incredible workouts and was really peaking! I biked back out to Camp Thunderbird and saw my students. They had a ton of stories to tell about their ride and "the hill". They did great and I am sooo proud of the students and the staff who took part. Very cool experience. On the bike home, I thought it would take forever, but I FLEW home in just over an hour. My computer went of the fritz so I don't have stats, but easily was averaging over 30k, possibly 32k an hour! That's where I need to be. Felt like a rockstar and had no pain the next day. Went for a long run and was flying. Even got in my first open water swim out at Thetis Lake. Something about swimming uninterupted for 20-30 minutes that is so meditational. No wall to push off of, no close up view of someone else's butt as you swim past. Just you and the lake. It felt amazing...
Then this week showed up. I am trying to be smart about it and just let my body heal so I don't wear myself more than I need to, but we are going on a week now and I my races start NEXT week! This first one in Shawnigan is a "B" race, one I am planning to do as training for Oliver, but I still want to be in good shape to do it. I know, I know, I am in good shape, it's all relative, but I want to be in good shape to get my next goal at Oliver. To do that, I need to be healthy. To do that I need to be out training and preparing. To do that, what the hell do I need to be doing right now?
Allergy drugs... check
Cough syrup... on the way (Buckley's is probably the worst substance ever created by the way)
Trip to the clinic for peace of mind... a possibility
Training this week... please let it happen!!
Keep your fingers crossed and send healthy fast vibes my way!
Been 5 days without working out. A combo of sore throat, allergy nose, pretty tired, and few other random no name symptoms. It is frustrating as hell!
Last week was phenominal. I had some incredible workouts and was really peaking! I biked back out to Camp Thunderbird and saw my students. They had a ton of stories to tell about their ride and "the hill". They did great and I am sooo proud of the students and the staff who took part. Very cool experience. On the bike home, I thought it would take forever, but I FLEW home in just over an hour. My computer went of the fritz so I don't have stats, but easily was averaging over 30k, possibly 32k an hour! That's where I need to be. Felt like a rockstar and had no pain the next day. Went for a long run and was flying. Even got in my first open water swim out at Thetis Lake. Something about swimming uninterupted for 20-30 minutes that is so meditational. No wall to push off of, no close up view of someone else's butt as you swim past. Just you and the lake. It felt amazing...
Then this week showed up. I am trying to be smart about it and just let my body heal so I don't wear myself more than I need to, but we are going on a week now and I my races start NEXT week! This first one in Shawnigan is a "B" race, one I am planning to do as training for Oliver, but I still want to be in good shape to do it. I know, I know, I am in good shape, it's all relative, but I want to be in good shape to get my next goal at Oliver. To do that, I need to be healthy. To do that I need to be out training and preparing. To do that, what the hell do I need to be doing right now?
Allergy drugs... check
Cough syrup... on the way (Buckley's is probably the worst substance ever created by the way)
Trip to the clinic for peace of mind... a possibility
Training this week... please let it happen!!
Keep your fingers crossed and send healthy fast vibes my way!
Monday, May 4, 2009
Camp Thunderbird
Well another week has come and gone... but this one was AWESOME!! I had a great week with some really big workouts. A great 1:30 run on Thursday, a 2.5k swim on Friday, a hand full of shorter workouts, some Bikram yoga, and one hell of a ride to Camp Thunderbird!
On Wednesday all the grade 7 students at my school are biking from Victoria to Camp Thunderbird. Its a 30+ kilometre ride and I LOVE the fact that they are doing this as a group. I am hoping to go crash their party on Thursday so, in preparation, I decided to go and check it out for myself...
On Wednesday all the grade 7 students at my school are biking from Victoria to Camp Thunderbird. Its a 30+ kilometre ride and I LOVE the fact that they are doing this as a group. I am hoping to go crash their party on Thursday so, in preparation, I decided to go and check it out for myself...
Video Journal #2
The trip up to Camp Thunderbird left me pretty fired up and so I continued on riding for another hour and a half. I found another ugly stretch of hills and finished the day having ridden 90k, and climbing 720m (almost 8 football fields strait up!). Pretty freaking fantastic if I do say so myself!
BRING ON THE CANADIAN ROCKIES!
Sunday, April 26, 2009
44:48
I did it.
I set my goal of a sub 45:00 10k AND I DID IT!!!
The alarm went off with my carefully chosen wake up tune (Flower Parts - Bob Schneider) and I was rested and ready. For this being a 10k race, it sure felt a lot like the usual big race morning. I am sure it comes from me building up this race with a pretty big goal and setting my season up to start with this race. Hell of a way to start it off...
Went for a walk listening to my usual pre-race pump up tunes (a few samples 1-2-3-4) , and got to the race with plenty of time to warm up. The day was gorgeous. Blue skies. Cool but not cold. Pefect. My stomach was doing circles and I was laughing at myself because this felt like the build up to a half iron. I lined up near the front with the "fast" runners hoping that the quick folks at the start would get me off to a good pace and also clear the road a bit so it wasn't "full contact running". It gets pretty ugly with 13,000 people lined up.
I started fast and finished the first kilometre in about 4:40. Slower than I would need to run, but a good warm up. 2nd K was in about 4:20. 3rd was even faster. By the halfway point I was rocking and my watch said I was at 18:30! That was 3 minutes faster than my goal time!!! I figured at this pace I could cruise to the finish and beat my goal. This was amazing!
I have a friend who runs the 10k every year and I am in awe of him. My joke is that he could show up hung-over, possibly still drunk, maybe high, having not slept for two days or even trained for the race since the previous year and he could still run a 42:00 10k. He just makes it happen year after year. He chalks it up to being active for most of his life and having a solid base. I give him that but I think he has a truckload of mental strength in there too. Truly impressive. As I ran today, I secretly kept an eye out for him. If there is any year I could beat him, this is the one. Sure enough at about 6.5k here he comes! We run a bit together then, a moment later one of my grade seven alto sax players suddenly appears next to me. So now I have a team to run with. I go from one to the other, riding their shoulders and picking up the pace to match theirs. Still, at this pace, I am going to be flying!
With about 2k to go, I look at my watch and see 32:05. SERIOUSLY! I could break 40 minutes!!!!! I start to slow up a bit, knowing my goal of 45 minutes is well in hand. I run a bit taller, prouder. Just as I "down shift", here comes my awe inspiring friend burning past me and my student cruising close behind. Well that's just not going to happen, not today at least! I pick it up and jump back on their sides and we are running three abreast (probably the most random running trio out there!). With 300 metres to go and the finish line in sight, I drop the hammer. Long strides, fast feet, suck it up, go go go! I stretch it out and push across the finish line at... 45:06! What!? Wait a minute, 45:08? What happened to 39:57? What happened here?
Sure enough at about the 4k mark I bumped my stopwatch to a different setting that was FIVE minutes off my race time! AHHHHHH! Here I am cruising along all impressed with myself and I had foolishly bumped my watch to the wrong time! Thankfully my two running "partners" unknowingly pushed me to up my pace fast enough to still reach my goal and get a time of 44:48! The race clock at the finish was about 20 seconds off my official time and so I still pulled of my goal! Not the way I planned on it but the end result still starts my season off right!
10k 44:48 4:29/k 7:13/mile
Ironman Goal #1... Accomplished
Bring on the Oliver Half Ironman!
I set my goal of a sub 45:00 10k AND I DID IT!!!
The alarm went off with my carefully chosen wake up tune (Flower Parts - Bob Schneider) and I was rested and ready. For this being a 10k race, it sure felt a lot like the usual big race morning. I am sure it comes from me building up this race with a pretty big goal and setting my season up to start with this race. Hell of a way to start it off...
Went for a walk listening to my usual pre-race pump up tunes (a few samples 1-2-3-4) , and got to the race with plenty of time to warm up. The day was gorgeous. Blue skies. Cool but not cold. Pefect. My stomach was doing circles and I was laughing at myself because this felt like the build up to a half iron. I lined up near the front with the "fast" runners hoping that the quick folks at the start would get me off to a good pace and also clear the road a bit so it wasn't "full contact running". It gets pretty ugly with 13,000 people lined up.
I started fast and finished the first kilometre in about 4:40. Slower than I would need to run, but a good warm up. 2nd K was in about 4:20. 3rd was even faster. By the halfway point I was rocking and my watch said I was at 18:30! That was 3 minutes faster than my goal time!!! I figured at this pace I could cruise to the finish and beat my goal. This was amazing!
I have a friend who runs the 10k every year and I am in awe of him. My joke is that he could show up hung-over, possibly still drunk, maybe high, having not slept for two days or even trained for the race since the previous year and he could still run a 42:00 10k. He just makes it happen year after year. He chalks it up to being active for most of his life and having a solid base. I give him that but I think he has a truckload of mental strength in there too. Truly impressive. As I ran today, I secretly kept an eye out for him. If there is any year I could beat him, this is the one. Sure enough at about 6.5k here he comes! We run a bit together then, a moment later one of my grade seven alto sax players suddenly appears next to me. So now I have a team to run with. I go from one to the other, riding their shoulders and picking up the pace to match theirs. Still, at this pace, I am going to be flying!
With about 2k to go, I look at my watch and see 32:05. SERIOUSLY! I could break 40 minutes!!!!! I start to slow up a bit, knowing my goal of 45 minutes is well in hand. I run a bit taller, prouder. Just as I "down shift", here comes my awe inspiring friend burning past me and my student cruising close behind. Well that's just not going to happen, not today at least! I pick it up and jump back on their sides and we are running three abreast (probably the most random running trio out there!). With 300 metres to go and the finish line in sight, I drop the hammer. Long strides, fast feet, suck it up, go go go! I stretch it out and push across the finish line at... 45:06! What!? Wait a minute, 45:08? What happened to 39:57? What happened here?
Sure enough at about the 4k mark I bumped my stopwatch to a different setting that was FIVE minutes off my race time! AHHHHHH! Here I am cruising along all impressed with myself and I had foolishly bumped my watch to the wrong time! Thankfully my two running "partners" unknowingly pushed me to up my pace fast enough to still reach my goal and get a time of 44:48! The race clock at the finish was about 20 seconds off my official time and so I still pulled of my goal! Not the way I planned on it but the end result still starts my season off right!
10k 44:48 4:29/k 7:13/mile
Ironman Goal #1... Accomplished
Bring on the Oliver Half Ironman!
Monday, April 20, 2009
Pushing the reset button...
Things I learned THIS week...
1. The quote "Continue to do what you are doing and you will continue to get what you are getting." is keeping me on track. Have had a hell of a week or so dealing with allergies, work busyness, and the joys of ordering out for dinner many many times (regardless of the appropriate athletic nutrition I should be getting). I have been grumpy, frustrated and unmotivated. Imagine that. Bad food equals no energy. Rocket science, I know! Continue to do what you are doing and you will.... yeah, I got the message. Time for some change.
2. I think I am going to puke. Long story. Only 3 of you will get it.
3. Nothing is funnier than a pool full of 70+ women doing their aqua-fit class to the song "It's Raining Men".
4. My season is starting sooner than I realized. One week to my first "A" race (TC 10k), just over a month to my first tri (Shawnigan), and a month and a half to my first HIM, my second "A" race in Oliver. I have set some pretty lofty goals for this year and they make come back to bite me in the butt. In past years, I was pretty cautious in my goal setting, raising the bar a bit, but making sure that it was attainable with a reasonable amount of effort. I know. I was a chicken. But it worked for me and reaching the goals pushed me on ahead. This year...it's not going to be so easy. My goals:
A. Sub 45 minute 10k - TC 10k, April26th
B. 5:45:00 Half Iron - Oliver HIM
C. Complete Ironman
Funny how completing Ironman is the goal I feel the most confident I can reach. No time goal, just completion. I truly think I can pull off these other goals...I just now have to believe I can do it instead of just think it! What an amazing start to the season to pull off this sub 45 minute 10k though! I just ran a 46:36 10k on Friday and doing that solo without the adrenaline of a race number on my chest is pretty impressive. We will see what I can pull off this weekend!
5. I am looking better and better in spandex.
6. I have figured out how to make home movies with my phone! The tri geek combined with my techy geek and a little of my now blogging geek are all combining. Check it out!
With the week starting out here with a great day, some sun, and spring in the air, I give you a little dance music for you and your spandex. Congrats to Nora for her first Tri of the season. Who else has something coming up? Get out there and enjoy the spring, training or otherwise!
1. The quote "Continue to do what you are doing and you will continue to get what you are getting." is keeping me on track. Have had a hell of a week or so dealing with allergies, work busyness, and the joys of ordering out for dinner many many times (regardless of the appropriate athletic nutrition I should be getting). I have been grumpy, frustrated and unmotivated. Imagine that. Bad food equals no energy. Rocket science, I know! Continue to do what you are doing and you will.... yeah, I got the message. Time for some change.
2. I think I am going to puke. Long story. Only 3 of you will get it.
3. Nothing is funnier than a pool full of 70+ women doing their aqua-fit class to the song "It's Raining Men".
4. My season is starting sooner than I realized. One week to my first "A" race (TC 10k), just over a month to my first tri (Shawnigan), and a month and a half to my first HIM, my second "A" race in Oliver. I have set some pretty lofty goals for this year and they make come back to bite me in the butt. In past years, I was pretty cautious in my goal setting, raising the bar a bit, but making sure that it was attainable with a reasonable amount of effort. I know. I was a chicken. But it worked for me and reaching the goals pushed me on ahead. This year...it's not going to be so easy. My goals:
A. Sub 45 minute 10k - TC 10k, April26th
B. 5:45:00 Half Iron - Oliver HIM
C. Complete Ironman
Funny how completing Ironman is the goal I feel the most confident I can reach. No time goal, just completion. I truly think I can pull off these other goals...I just now have to believe I can do it instead of just think it! What an amazing start to the season to pull off this sub 45 minute 10k though! I just ran a 46:36 10k on Friday and doing that solo without the adrenaline of a race number on my chest is pretty impressive. We will see what I can pull off this weekend!
5. I am looking better and better in spandex.
6. I have figured out how to make home movies with my phone! The tri geek combined with my techy geek and a little of my now blogging geek are all combining. Check it out!
With the week starting out here with a great day, some sun, and spring in the air, I give you a little dance music for you and your spandex. Congrats to Nora for her first Tri of the season. Who else has something coming up? Get out there and enjoy the spring, training or otherwise!
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Ponchfit
So I got my butt kicked!
Someone I work with has been training with a group of friends who have coined their group as "Ponchfit". "You should come and train with us! It would be good cross training for you." she said with a smile and a hint of encouragement. "Check out the webiste!"
I click open their site and peruse the workouts. Looks like a fun group of people... same goals of having fun and working hard... but what the hell is this!? The Filthy Fifty!?
50 box jumps @ 24"
50 jumping pull-ups
50 kettlebell swings (1 pood)
50 walking lunges
50 knees to elbows
50 push press (barbell or dumbbell) @ 45 lb
50 back extensions
50 wall balls
50 burpees
50 double unders
Long story short I made my way to work out with the Ponchfit crew and met up with David, James, and Mel. Thankfully the Filthy Fifty was last week and I only had to do "Da Ponch". Gotta love 60 yards of foward jump burpees. Great group of people and it was great to have a group to train with for a change. All of my training has been solo thus far and it was a good kick in the pants to have someone else out there pushing me, and by "pushing me" I might also mean "shreading my pecs and lats in a way I know I am going to be feeling for days". Thankfully they planned on a bike ride after so I scraped up some of my ego and had a strong ride after our cross training. Good group. I will be back!
On top of that, I just had the first ride averaging 30/kph for over 2 hours! Yes, after my session this morning, I did my long ride this evening and cranked out 60k in just under 2 hours! I have been working to jump that barrier for months! I want that speed and this was the first glimpse of it! Good ride. I will be back!
And now to rest the bod a bit!
Someone I work with has been training with a group of friends who have coined their group as "Ponchfit". "You should come and train with us! It would be good cross training for you." she said with a smile and a hint of encouragement. "Check out the webiste!"
I click open their site and peruse the workouts. Looks like a fun group of people... same goals of having fun and working hard... but what the hell is this!? The Filthy Fifty!?
50 box jumps @ 24"
50 jumping pull-ups
50 kettlebell swings (1 pood)
50 walking lunges
50 knees to elbows
50 push press (barbell or dumbbell) @ 45 lb
50 back extensions
50 wall balls
50 burpees
50 double unders
Long story short I made my way to work out with the Ponchfit crew and met up with David, James, and Mel. Thankfully the Filthy Fifty was last week and I only had to do "Da Ponch". Gotta love 60 yards of foward jump burpees. Great group of people and it was great to have a group to train with for a change. All of my training has been solo thus far and it was a good kick in the pants to have someone else out there pushing me, and by "pushing me" I might also mean "shreading my pecs and lats in a way I know I am going to be feeling for days". Thankfully they planned on a bike ride after so I scraped up some of my ego and had a strong ride after our cross training. Good group. I will be back!
On top of that, I just had the first ride averaging 30/kph for over 2 hours! Yes, after my session this morning, I did my long ride this evening and cranked out 60k in just under 2 hours! I have been working to jump that barrier for months! I want that speed and this was the first glimpse of it! Good ride. I will be back!And now to rest the bod a bit!
Saturday, March 28, 2009
From Jasper Blake...
I go this off of Jasper Blake's website. He was IM Canada champion in '06.
There’s no dribbling
There are no sticks
There’s no passing
I don’t get extra points for my outfit
It’s heart
It’s lungs
It’s persistence
It’s patience
I don’t get to sit on the bench and rest
I don’t get a time out to plan my next move
I don’t get orange slices at half time
It’s training smart
It’s training hard
It’s eight hour days on the bike
I don’t get bathroom breaks
I don’t get style points
I don’t get a green jacket
And I don’t walk up the fairway to the 18th green
I have to be smart
I strategize
I check… I double check
And I endure
There’s no dribbling
There are no sticks
There’s no passing
I don’t get extra points for my outfit
It’s heart
It’s lungs
It’s persistence
It’s patience
I don’t get to sit on the bench and rest
I don’t get a time out to plan my next move
I don’t get orange slices at half time
It’s training smart
It’s training hard
It’s eight hour days on the bike
I don’t get bathroom breaks
I don’t get style points
I don’t get a green jacket
And I don’t walk up the fairway to the 18th green
I have to be smart
I strategize
I check… I double check
And I endure
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
This is awesome!
So I have started about three blogs that have yet to be published. Some great stories. Some ugly times. Some funny moments being attacked by 200 elementary kids in bathing suits. That being said, I get distracted and don't finish writing them. They will come out soon enough.... when I have a moment :)
But I just have to say.... THIS TRAINING IS AMAZING! Things are clicking, workouts are feeling better, I feel stronger. It is amazing.
I worked a crazy long day today, did a few "house" chores, and still even fit in two incredible workouts today in the pool and on the bike. Jenn heard some of the grunts out in the living room (I was cycling on my indoor trainer... one legged drills!) and had to come check on me. I think her line was "Sure sounds like someone is having sex in here!"
This was a great day! 179 more like it and we are in great shape!
And I am even going to bed before 10:00 tonight! It's just getting better and better!
But I just have to say.... THIS TRAINING IS AMAZING! Things are clicking, workouts are feeling better, I feel stronger. It is amazing.
I worked a crazy long day today, did a few "house" chores, and still even fit in two incredible workouts today in the pool and on the bike. Jenn heard some of the grunts out in the living room (I was cycling on my indoor trainer... one legged drills!) and had to come check on me. I think her line was "Sure sounds like someone is having sex in here!"
This was a great day! 179 more like it and we are in great shape!
And I am even going to bed before 10:00 tonight! It's just getting better and better!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Attack of the elementary school swimmers
It's Friday afternoon and it's my monthly swim test day. The pool's pretty deserted. A few retirees taking in their afternoon laps. A lifeguard or two day dreaming of something far from the pool deck. Scattered pull buoys and flippers spread around to indicate some activity had taken place... just not anytime recently. The excitement in the pool is as amped up as the cool sounds of the easy listening radio station playing faintly in the distance.
I don my swim cap, get the goggles lined up, and push off through the water. The sloshing of the water has become one of my favourite sounds as my time in the pool has become far more meditational than excruciating. It used to be painful. Three years ago I would flail around, dragging my butt through the water and praying that when the time came to actually race, I wouldn't drown. Now, I love it. I am stronger, more comfortable, and dare I say swimming has become a strength. I am not fast, I mean I still don't kick at all (that's a whole different struggle), but I am fast...er.
My test Friday was a time test to swim 1000 metres. 20 laps. The first few laps feel great. Long strokes, big pull with each arm and the rhythm starts to kick in. I see the same things each lap as I lift my head to breathe. 2 strokes...the water slide...3 strokes...a pile of kick boards...3 strokes...the 1.7 mtr depth sign...3 strokes...the bulletin board with the little kid swim lesson pictures on it...3 strokes...the bottom of the green tube slide that flings people in the deep end from 5 feet above the surface...3 strokes...end of the pool... tuck, push off, repeat. I have seen these same things for weeks and it makes me smile to see them each lap. The consistency feels great. After 20 trips back and forth, I click my watch and the 19:54 brings a bigger smile to my face. Fastest 1000m yet where I didn't feel like I was gong to die!
I hop in the sauna as a little reward. Hot air. Super humid. I love this place! The muscles start to relax and I start to relax. A little boy walks by the sauna window. Another skips along behind him, snorkle dangling off a rediculously large diving mask. Then another... and another. Kids are now pouring out passed the sauna door. I poke my head out the door and there are literally hundreds of elementary school kids streaming out of the locker rooms. Like a salmon going up stream I fight through the sea of swim trunks and pass around the googley faces of giddy 3rd graders. The showers are no better as the wall of kids only briefly pause under the shower heads, just long enough to bypass the life guards checking for "wet/clean" kids. It is truly a sight and after about 10 minutes the roar of childish excitement has moved to the pool.
I initially wrote this three weeks ago. And, even after my close call with the wall of children, I have successfully repeated this three weeks in a row. Note to self: Friday at 1:30.... they show up :)
I don my swim cap, get the goggles lined up, and push off through the water. The sloshing of the water has become one of my favourite sounds as my time in the pool has become far more meditational than excruciating. It used to be painful. Three years ago I would flail around, dragging my butt through the water and praying that when the time came to actually race, I wouldn't drown. Now, I love it. I am stronger, more comfortable, and dare I say swimming has become a strength. I am not fast, I mean I still don't kick at all (that's a whole different struggle), but I am fast...er.
My test Friday was a time test to swim 1000 metres. 20 laps. The first few laps feel great. Long strokes, big pull with each arm and the rhythm starts to kick in. I see the same things each lap as I lift my head to breathe. 2 strokes...the water slide...3 strokes...a pile of kick boards...3 strokes...the 1.7 mtr depth sign...3 strokes...the bulletin board with the little kid swim lesson pictures on it...3 strokes...the bottom of the green tube slide that flings people in the deep end from 5 feet above the surface...3 strokes...end of the pool... tuck, push off, repeat. I have seen these same things for weeks and it makes me smile to see them each lap. The consistency feels great. After 20 trips back and forth, I click my watch and the 19:54 brings a bigger smile to my face. Fastest 1000m yet where I didn't feel like I was gong to die!
I hop in the sauna as a little reward. Hot air. Super humid. I love this place! The muscles start to relax and I start to relax. A little boy walks by the sauna window. Another skips along behind him, snorkle dangling off a rediculously large diving mask. Then another... and another. Kids are now pouring out passed the sauna door. I poke my head out the door and there are literally hundreds of elementary school kids streaming out of the locker rooms. Like a salmon going up stream I fight through the sea of swim trunks and pass around the googley faces of giddy 3rd graders. The showers are no better as the wall of kids only briefly pause under the shower heads, just long enough to bypass the life guards checking for "wet/clean" kids. It is truly a sight and after about 10 minutes the roar of childish excitement has moved to the pool.
I initially wrote this three weeks ago. And, even after my close call with the wall of children, I have successfully repeated this three weeks in a row. Note to self: Friday at 1:30.... they show up :)
Saturday, February 14, 2009
This is hard...
Not that I didn't know this beforehand, but this is hard. I am still struggling to get into the "habit" of training.
I remember hearing that a habit is formed in roughly 21 days. 3 weeks. That doesn't seem like all that long really. But what I am forgetting are the events of the rest of my life that are lined up and competing for top billing in the Nathan Show.
Some of competing factors are legitimate; I have a job that requires a lot of time and effort; I have a wonderful wife who deserves more than a passing comment or two as we brush our teeth (We do brush twice a day so at least we have that time). But it is just shaking the little miscellaneous wastes of time that get in the way of creating the Ironroutine of training. The simple joys of watching random movies online, the chat time with friends and family both actual and virtual, and of course my mistress, the one and only Ms. Pac-man who, as much as she is a wonderful stress reliever, can ruin a large chunk of time in my pursuit to break 200,000 points.
Over the years I have kept stats on a huge excel spread sheet and tried to use it both as motivation and a way to track progress (for Ironman not Ms. Pac-man for the record). Both have worked. There is nothing sweeter than checking off all the workouts you planned, or comparing your work over time and realize you are actually improving. The spreadsheets change from year to year, but the same result usually comes about in the end. Me crossing a finish line.
But this is still hard... I need to remember that. Or, I need to forget it for 21 strait days and start this new habit.
Maybe the key would be to get rid of every quarter I currently have!
I remember hearing that a habit is formed in roughly 21 days. 3 weeks. That doesn't seem like all that long really. But what I am forgetting are the events of the rest of my life that are lined up and competing for top billing in the Nathan Show.
Some of competing factors are legitimate; I have a job that requires a lot of time and effort; I have a wonderful wife who deserves more than a passing comment or two as we brush our teeth (We do brush twice a day so at least we have that time). But it is just shaking the little miscellaneous wastes of time that get in the way of creating the Ironroutine of training. The simple joys of watching random movies online, the chat time with friends and family both actual and virtual, and of course my mistress, the one and only Ms. Pac-man who, as much as she is a wonderful stress reliever, can ruin a large chunk of time in my pursuit to break 200,000 points.
Over the years I have kept stats on a huge excel spread sheet and tried to use it both as motivation and a way to track progress (for Ironman not Ms. Pac-man for the record). Both have worked. There is nothing sweeter than checking off all the workouts you planned, or comparing your work over time and realize you are actually improving. The spreadsheets change from year to year, but the same result usually comes about in the end. Me crossing a finish line.
But this is still hard... I need to remember that. Or, I need to forget it for 21 strait days and start this new habit.
Maybe the key would be to get rid of every quarter I currently have!
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Top 10 things I learned this week:
10. I am capable of doing 11 workouts in a week and still feel fantastic. Completely wiped out, a little sore, possibly dehydrated, and fought through some ugly moments, but still... 11 workouts baby!
9. Swimming at the local pool is a lot like the movie rating system. The slow lane is more the PG rating, the fast lane is more for the PG-13 swimmers, and the "speedo" lane is definitely the R rating. Swim suits shrink as the rating gets higher... regardless of age, body type or physical ability. There are definitely people who are overshooting their suggested rating. Sure I have upped it to the "speedo" world, both in lane choice and swimsuit brand, but I hope I have the self awareness to "live within my means". :)
8. Cliff bars contain peanuts. Peanuts contain salmonella. I eat a lot of Cliff bars. So far, I have dodged the bullet.
7. Professional triathletes are very soft spoken. I, the small talker that I am, was chatting it up with a guy who I assumed was a triathlete. He had the gear. I am talking my talk, sharing my race plan for the summer, even the "Yup... Ironman for the first time". I get silence in return. I ask a couple questions. Short answer responses. This has happened to me before where I unknowingly was talking with the then to-be Ironman Canada champion Jasper Blake. He too had the short, soft spoken answers. Deja vous kicked in and I had to ask the question, "Are you by any chance a professional?" Of course he was. How crazy to have all these pros around! I gotta start paying more attention!
6. I got a new bike. It's freaking awesome!
5. No seriously.... FREAKING AWESOME!!!
4. I changed pools to avoid seeing my students in my swimsuit. There is a certain comfort level that you can't maintain when your students walk into your class and the last time they saw you, you were on a pool deck in a speedo. That being said, this new pool has way more people, and smaller locker room and the "I am comfortable walking around the locker room in the nude" factor is far higher. Far higher. Win some, loose some, I guess.
3. Simon Whitfield rode a similar bike in the 2008 Olympic Triathlon when he won the silver medal. I don't know what he rode when he won gold in Sydney, but any triathlete who has won two medals seems like a good judge of a good ride... like I said, freaking awesome!!!
2. My mind is stronger than I give it credit. I had a moment in Bikram yoga this week where my body became heavier than any substance known on Earth. It was just after the standing series and I could hardly lift my arms or legs. It was as if someone had literally put 100 think heavy down comforters over me and then drenched them in water. Couldn't move. I think I even laughed at myself... the pitiful, sweaty mess that I was at that moment. I could have stopped. I could have laid there. But, I tricked myself into just doing "one more", then one more after that, and yes, one more. Either I am not very smart and am easily tricked, or I am able to get myself going again. I know there will be moment on the marathon at Ironman where I am going to want to lay down and just lay there with my 100 down comforters, but that day was not yesterday. And if I keep at it, it wont be Aug. 30th either.
1. Seriously, it's the coolest bike ever!
10. I am capable of doing 11 workouts in a week and still feel fantastic. Completely wiped out, a little sore, possibly dehydrated, and fought through some ugly moments, but still... 11 workouts baby!
9. Swimming at the local pool is a lot like the movie rating system. The slow lane is more the PG rating, the fast lane is more for the PG-13 swimmers, and the "speedo" lane is definitely the R rating. Swim suits shrink as the rating gets higher... regardless of age, body type or physical ability. There are definitely people who are overshooting their suggested rating. Sure I have upped it to the "speedo" world, both in lane choice and swimsuit brand, but I hope I have the self awareness to "live within my means". :)
8. Cliff bars contain peanuts. Peanuts contain salmonella. I eat a lot of Cliff bars. So far, I have dodged the bullet.
7. Professional triathletes are very soft spoken. I, the small talker that I am, was chatting it up with a guy who I assumed was a triathlete. He had the gear. I am talking my talk, sharing my race plan for the summer, even the "Yup... Ironman for the first time". I get silence in return. I ask a couple questions. Short answer responses. This has happened to me before where I unknowingly was talking with the then to-be Ironman Canada champion Jasper Blake. He too had the short, soft spoken answers. Deja vous kicked in and I had to ask the question, "Are you by any chance a professional?" Of course he was. How crazy to have all these pros around! I gotta start paying more attention!
6. I got a new bike. It's freaking awesome!
5. No seriously.... FREAKING AWESOME!!!
4. I changed pools to avoid seeing my students in my swimsuit. There is a certain comfort level that you can't maintain when your students walk into your class and the last time they saw you, you were on a pool deck in a speedo. That being said, this new pool has way more people, and smaller locker room and the "I am comfortable walking around the locker room in the nude" factor is far higher. Far higher. Win some, loose some, I guess.
3. Simon Whitfield rode a similar bike in the 2008 Olympic Triathlon when he won the silver medal. I don't know what he rode when he won gold in Sydney, but any triathlete who has won two medals seems like a good judge of a good ride... like I said, freaking awesome!!!
2. My mind is stronger than I give it credit. I had a moment in Bikram yoga this week where my body became heavier than any substance known on Earth. It was just after the standing series and I could hardly lift my arms or legs. It was as if someone had literally put 100 think heavy down comforters over me and then drenched them in water. Couldn't move. I think I even laughed at myself... the pitiful, sweaty mess that I was at that moment. I could have stopped. I could have laid there. But, I tricked myself into just doing "one more", then one more after that, and yes, one more. Either I am not very smart and am easily tricked, or I am able to get myself going again. I know there will be moment on the marathon at Ironman where I am going to want to lay down and just lay there with my 100 down comforters, but that day was not yesterday. And if I keep at it, it wont be Aug. 30th either.
1. Seriously, it's the coolest bike ever!
Monday, February 2, 2009
Limits
This gets me every time. But then of course you have to have some fun too!
Caution: This song will get stuck in your head, triathlete or not!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
It's Time to Start...
I flip on my iPod. I look down and double check my runners. Double knots... good. Check the watch. 0:00:00...good. Take a long deep breath, squint my eyes just slightly, enough to give off the "let's do this" look with my half smile cued and ready. I hit play... the words come on "It's time to start".
This Blue Man Group track has been song 1 on my Triathlon playlist for years now and, as the title suggests, it is there for a reason. It's the mental cue, that unconscious response, that subtle kick that gets me excited.... It's time to start.
Last August I signed up for Ironman Canada, a 140.6 mile long triathlon that takes place in Penticton BC on August 30th, 2009. As Chevy Chase said so well "This is crazy... this is crazy... this is crazy". You have to sign up in person, so Jenn and I went last summer and volunteered to get a front row seat for the action and a short cut to the registration table. Putting your name on that line saying "Yes, I plan on completing Ironman" sends all kinds of crazy feelings through your body. You swallow harder, you size up the 500 other crazies waiting in line with you so see who else is slightly mentally off, you dig deep and question your strength, you wonder who else is questioning themselves, you walk away knowing whatever happens it is going to be an amazing adventure and, the truth is, you have NO idea what is coming your way.
This week marks the end of my first "real" month of training. I have been lightly working out all fall and winter, but this week is the first reality check. My first big one. 10-12 workouts a week. 3 swims, 3 bikes, 3 runs, 2 trips to the weights and a hot yoga for good measure. It sounds crazy just writing it. In fact I just opened up my training log to double check. Yup, 12 weekly workouts. 7 days in a week, 12 workouts in a week. This is crazy...this is crazy... this is crazy.... This is my life now.
...I am feeling strong. The sky is dark and the air is cool but I love running at night. I went out fast but I am not yet tired. 21 minutes in and it feels like 15. Tonight I am testing how long it will take to get the 7.4k loop around the neighborhood. Funny how 4.5 miles has become "around the neighborhood". Fast feet, high cadence, fly past the occasional pedestrian and side step the neighborhood dogs. The air feels cold as my skin heats up and I can almost close my eyes and run. I have done this route many times. 26 minutes and I start to feel it. The wall. It happens every run. A weird sluggish time that no matter what I do seems to creep in and fill my quads with lead and puts cement in my shoes when I am not looking. I know it well. It has been my nemesis for years now and this time I decide to fight back. "It's in your head.... It's in your head.... You are stronger than this..." The mantras start and push the lead away. Knock the cement aside. Push the feet forward. Faster. Stronger. Gotta get the green light on the next block. Charge up that hill. Stay in this moment. Leave it all here. "But this is only a training run... you are just testing tonight." No excuses tonight Mr. Selftalk, this one is all mine... I cross the 7.4k line and click my watch. 35:52! 4:50/kilometre! Fastest run yet! That half grin broadens and confidence drips off me faster than the sweat. Ironman here we come....It's time to start!
The blog... No I don't think I am so important that everyone should read what I write. From time to time I put words into an entertaining order that you might enjoy, but this page also has many other purposes. This is a place for me to get all these thoughts, dreams, fears, ups and downs out of my head, and yet still have a place to keep them so I can look back throughout this adventure. This is a place where I can write all the stuff that Jenn is so often forced to listen to being the spouse of a triathlete (I love her for that and for being my biggest fan, but even she deserves a break from time to time!). This is a place I can be as triathlete dorky as I want and post pictures and links and whatever else that gets my spandex clad, protein bar nourished, carbon fibre, strawberry-banana gel flavoured self along this road to Ironman.
Join me if you will. I would love any encouragement and thoughts along the way. It can be a long lonely road out there and the support means more than you can possibly ever understand. Thanks in advance! I hope you enjoy the journey as much as I will. And so it begins, it's time to start...
(Here's the song from my playlist. It's a pretty crazy video, the music geek in me loves this stuff and live it's amazing, but the song is a great rockin' running tune as well! Enjoy!)
This Blue Man Group track has been song 1 on my Triathlon playlist for years now and, as the title suggests, it is there for a reason. It's the mental cue, that unconscious response, that subtle kick that gets me excited.... It's time to start.
Last August I signed up for Ironman Canada, a 140.6 mile long triathlon that takes place in Penticton BC on August 30th, 2009. As Chevy Chase said so well "This is crazy... this is crazy... this is crazy". You have to sign up in person, so Jenn and I went last summer and volunteered to get a front row seat for the action and a short cut to the registration table. Putting your name on that line saying "Yes, I plan on completing Ironman" sends all kinds of crazy feelings through your body. You swallow harder, you size up the 500 other crazies waiting in line with you so see who else is slightly mentally off, you dig deep and question your strength, you wonder who else is questioning themselves, you walk away knowing whatever happens it is going to be an amazing adventure and, the truth is, you have NO idea what is coming your way.
This week marks the end of my first "real" month of training. I have been lightly working out all fall and winter, but this week is the first reality check. My first big one. 10-12 workouts a week. 3 swims, 3 bikes, 3 runs, 2 trips to the weights and a hot yoga for good measure. It sounds crazy just writing it. In fact I just opened up my training log to double check. Yup, 12 weekly workouts. 7 days in a week, 12 workouts in a week. This is crazy...this is crazy... this is crazy.... This is my life now.
...I am feeling strong. The sky is dark and the air is cool but I love running at night. I went out fast but I am not yet tired. 21 minutes in and it feels like 15. Tonight I am testing how long it will take to get the 7.4k loop around the neighborhood. Funny how 4.5 miles has become "around the neighborhood". Fast feet, high cadence, fly past the occasional pedestrian and side step the neighborhood dogs. The air feels cold as my skin heats up and I can almost close my eyes and run. I have done this route many times. 26 minutes and I start to feel it. The wall. It happens every run. A weird sluggish time that no matter what I do seems to creep in and fill my quads with lead and puts cement in my shoes when I am not looking. I know it well. It has been my nemesis for years now and this time I decide to fight back. "It's in your head.... It's in your head.... You are stronger than this..." The mantras start and push the lead away. Knock the cement aside. Push the feet forward. Faster. Stronger. Gotta get the green light on the next block. Charge up that hill. Stay in this moment. Leave it all here. "But this is only a training run... you are just testing tonight." No excuses tonight Mr. Selftalk, this one is all mine... I cross the 7.4k line and click my watch. 35:52! 4:50/kilometre! Fastest run yet! That half grin broadens and confidence drips off me faster than the sweat. Ironman here we come....It's time to start!
The blog... No I don't think I am so important that everyone should read what I write. From time to time I put words into an entertaining order that you might enjoy, but this page also has many other purposes. This is a place for me to get all these thoughts, dreams, fears, ups and downs out of my head, and yet still have a place to keep them so I can look back throughout this adventure. This is a place where I can write all the stuff that Jenn is so often forced to listen to being the spouse of a triathlete (I love her for that and for being my biggest fan, but even she deserves a break from time to time!). This is a place I can be as triathlete dorky as I want and post pictures and links and whatever else that gets my spandex clad, protein bar nourished, carbon fibre, strawberry-banana gel flavoured self along this road to Ironman.
Join me if you will. I would love any encouragement and thoughts along the way. It can be a long lonely road out there and the support means more than you can possibly ever understand. Thanks in advance! I hope you enjoy the journey as much as I will. And so it begins, it's time to start...
(Here's the song from my playlist. It's a pretty crazy video, the music geek in me loves this stuff and live it's amazing, but the song is a great rockin' running tune as well! Enjoy!)
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