Riding and Perogies

Well, I completed 3 hours on the indoor trainer today (that was for you, Chad!). The last 1/2 hour was tough, but I wanted to outdo Allan's ride. Riding inside is definitely more quality than outside. You get no downhill breaks, for one! But unlike Allan, I like the indoor trainer and do not find that it makes me go crazy. He calls it mentally irregular. I call it focus.

After the ride, I hooked Allan into helping me make perogies. He did a great job as my 'dough boy!' But it wasn't long after we started that Allan realized these are tedious to make, so he quickly ran to the store and grabbed a bottle of Captain Morgan's spiced rum before settling back to his duties as rolling and cutting the dough. As always, we make a great team. I like perogie filling and pinching, Allan likes the dough rolling. Perfect! I must say that these are the best perogies I have ever made, and we look forward to enjoying them over Christmas! Mount Washington, here we come!!

There is way too much use of the indoor trainer. I guess this is what we're stuck with for the next while. Normally in Victoria we get a snow fall that melts a couple of hours later and a few days that riding outside is very uncomfortable. This snow storm is here to stay! It is cold and dry, just like what I remember about Edmonton.
No that is not a receding hair line!! That's the way I came out of the womb.
For using the indoor trainer we put our road bikes on a clamp thingy that reads watts and evaluates the efficiency of pedaling so it is time well spent. It has been proven that too much time on the indoor trainer will cause multiple personality disorders, and occasionally fits of crying. I really hope this weather comes around.

We have confirmed our race plan for the year. It goes as follows;
1/2 Ironman in New Orleans called a 70.3. Pronounced, seventy point three. In April 09.
70.3 is the distance in miles of the swim/bike/run. (which is 1/2 the distance of an Ironman)
Another 1/2 Ironman in Oliver in June where we will hopefully qualify for Ironman Canada (IMC) Which takes place in the last week of Aug.
I (Allan) also qualified for the World Championships in Australia for the Age group classification and if all goes well I will be attending that race also. The only problem is that it is two weeks after IMC and usually an Ironman takes a good 2-3 weeks to recover from so I may be a bit flat but if I am super diligent with post race recovery from IMC I should be good to go.


For Christmas this year we have decided to go to mount Washington to try our hand at snow shoeing and x-country skiing. Should be fun. It's kinda weird not going home for the holidays but at some point as an adult we have to start our own traditions. Who knows, maybe getting away will be more relaxing and we can entice some others to come with us next year. I really want to do a Vegas Christmas and new years one year.

Triathletes behaving badly! Good Times!

I am sitting here feeling guilty about missing my 10:00am run with HPR because I slept till 10:10am. Why would I (we)be sleeping so late you ask? Well, because we were out last night doing beer bongs and keg stands while dressed as Vegas entertainers. What other good reason would there be? Conveniently we forgot our camera at home so we will have to wait till the photos are posted on our teams web site to get a full view of the festivities. Right now I can't quite remember the whole thing and there is comfort in that. I do remember bailing down the hardwood stairs in the hosts foyer with my old boxing boots on. Apparently the soles of the shoes have hardened over the 8 years they have been in storage and mixed with nice shiny hardwood they act like the shoe worn by curlers. To add to the good times I was holding a cup full of coffee that did not survive the flight. Why would I be drinking coffee after doing beer bongs? No really! I am asking you. Why would I be drinking coffee after doing beer bongs? Maybe I was running an experiment on what would happen to your digestive system at night after consuming shooters, beer, cookies, pastries filled with cream, chips, pork balls, cake, tarts, rum and pepsi, cheese, aaaaannnnndddddd COFFEE. Let me tell you. One word. Heartburn. Not regular heartburn but the kind that makes you think you could die because the acid in your stomach is actually digesting your throat and thoracic region.

I guess I should explain what we were doing dressed up and stuff. We are on a triathlon team called Human powered Racing and they have an annual event at Christmas the follows a theme and people show up in costume. This year was Vegas entertainers. As Vegas entertainers I went as a boxer and Tammy went as a female Elvis rock start. Her outfit was nice and tight and if you looked close enough you could see her undergarments. I think the boys liked it. I know I did. I was pretty much naked with my body all oiled up, hands wrapped, and wearing the 'boxing shoes'. It would have made for a great slow motion shot watching me do the dance on the stairs holding a coffee. Our friend Tamara saw the whole thing up close and it seemed my feet were in the air for a long time while everyone was gasping. Honestly, it was the shoes not the alcohol. RRigghhhtt.
I will try and post photos soon.

Just try not to cry!!

If a tear doesn't well up in your eyes you should check if your heart is still beating.
This lion could rip these guys apart but it remembered they were friends, even after living in the 'wild. '
YouTube - Christian the Lion - the full story (in HQ)

Step 1.

Tammy and I have been very focused on getting ourselves more financially stable for the last 6months. We came up with a 3 step plan and on Friday we got confirmation that step 1 will be complete officially by this time next week. There were several components to the first step each relying on the other. We had set a goal of at least 1 step by November or there would be trouble. To say the least we are very relieved and finally feel like there may be a light at the end of the tunnel. Of course the current world market hasn't helped the situation but after this step we should be able to relax a bit. I hope everyone else is doing OK.

Our friends Tamara and Chad have moved into their new place in 'Oak Bay'. They worked really hard to get the deal and hopefully it all works out. I do not envy the move but for those of you who don't know Victoria, Oak Bay is the desirable place to live. Kinda like UBC area. Way to go guys, can't wait to see it.

Winter training has begun and the weather has been perfect. Mild, but foggy 11 deg C. No wind.
This is not what we have had most Novembers but we will take it.
We should be posting a bit more now that we can stop holding our breath and gritting our teeth waiting for the re financing.

I love the west coast forest and we are surrounded by it here. My rides this weekend went through areas like this and with the added low-level cloud cover, it was out of this world. I was riding alone through this and could have ridden all day.

Clif Bar Triathlon Start Commercial

Russell Peters Accents Clip

I think its great that we can make fun of our difference. Thats what make us all Canadians.

Russell Peters - Beating Your Kids

I figered out how to get videos on our blog.
This title sounds bad but it's super funny!

Beating your kids.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nn5jlrxcpkI
Until I figure out how to get these videos on this page you'll have to click on the link and hit play.

The Economy??!!

Apparently there is a recession starting. There just seems to be so much doom and gloom. One can't help but want to tighten up the spending. I have to say we have noticed a slow down at work. People holding onto there money and teeth. We are able to pay the bills, (for now) and with refinancing we should be OK unless something major happens. We have a 10 year mortgage at 5.5% pre approved through ING and should start Dec 1, 2008. We need this refinance sooooooo bad and sooooo much is riding on it that I can hardly contain myself. I am on edge and until the cheque is written I don't think I can focus on anything else. 1 more month, just one more month.
Housing is supposed to fall until 2010? Who comes up with this stuff?> Does someone just make a statement and the world just goes along? Dude says "housing is going to drop till 2010" Who the hell is this dude, and what the hell does he know that the rest of us don't? I heard from another dude that housing was going to climb steady because of the Olympics. Which dude is the 'DUDE'. Have these dudes talked to each other. How would that go.....Dude 1"dude you don't know shit" dude 2" No dude, you don't know shit". Is it possible that neither of these economist 'dudes' really knows anything past what is actually happening in front of their eyes.
We're just along for the ride.

Brain Clutter.

Apparently my last post was a bit 'negative'? On a positive note, I got a bunch of stuff done that has been clogging up my brain. I call it brain clutter. You know the stuff that would be nice to have done because you walk by it everyday or use it everyday but it doesn't 'need' to get done.
Organizational crap! Well I got a bunch of it done and I have to say it feels good! There is still a list but it is getting shorter. As a result, there is a small dump being started at the back of our house. All our brain clutter is now organized, waiting for the junk guys to pick it up. (when we can afford $450).

Below: Random shot of Baby getting it on with the grass. Every time she does this she flips up and looks around to see if any one has been watching. We all have our guilty pleasures.

When the cat is away the mouse will(should) play!

It's no coincidence that Tammy is the sign of a Tiger and I am the sign of a Rat.
We got some good news today that two of our good friends Tamara and Chad are staying in Victoria after Chad landed a job with the Sooke school district. We are very happy for them!!

Tammy has gone to her Mothers for a visit in Edmonton and will be gone until Sunday evening. What will I do with my time? More alone time in my head. I'm not sure if that's a good thing considering the floundering I've been doing. I guess I'll have to fill my time with useless tasks like more cleaning and organizing. To much fun!!!!!!!!!!!! How pathetic is that, I should have a weekend of adventure and excitement. I am showing my age.
In a couple of weeks I will begin a structure training program and get back into the routine of ; train,eat,work,eat,train,eat,work,eat,tv,sleep; repeat. In a sick way I think I need the structure. The only problem is that this structure is self prescribed which can be un-prescribed by a small lapse in motivation. The joys of being an adult and working for yourself. Motivation is the daily or should I say minute to minute ingredient that keeps everything glued together.
I'm not sure where this is heading so I'll quit now and head out to do some chores.
talk to you soon.

Allan

Time to reflect. Looking for inspiration.

I've been putting in a lot of time into contemplation. Physical training is almost down to nil while the eating hasn't slowed a bit. For the first time in a long time I've put a little weight on. Less training time means more time to think about the direction my life is going and the events of the past year. I can honestly say I feel burnt out. I have been struggling to find inspiration in anything, but after many disappointments last year I can't find "IT". I may have lost 'IT' . The meaning in what I do and why I do it? So much effort for so little gain. Not just in sport. At this point I have more questions than answers so I continue to mentally live out scenarios for next year in a hope that I will find something that will inspire me into action. Nothing so far!

Until I have that epiphany I am seeking, moving forward is the only logical action. Tammy and I have been organizing our house and shed to get ready for the wet training season coming up. We've been looking at changes to our diet and had blood tests to see where we are lacking in our supplements.
I've had to put a lot of thought into rehabbing my body as a whole after the shoulder injury. It's really amazing how the body compensates for an injury. My body is literally twisted and one shoulder hangs lower than the other when I'm in time trial position on the bike. This twisted position was re-enforced by training while still injured in an attempt to salvage the years fitness I had gained before the injury. This is an uphill battle that I am not looking forward to.

Here are some of the scenarios I have been mulling over:
Training for the Boston Marathon. I qualified last year in the Victoria Marathon. Boston is THE marathon and definitely a lifetime achievement goal. I may not have the opportunity again or at least not when i could run a respectable time. I would like to go under 2hrs:40min. This happens in April and would give me enough time to gain back my cycling and swimming that I would lose.

Another scenario is training for 1/2 Ironmans and figuring out the hydration/nutrition for them and maybe qualifying for Ironman Canada in August and putting down a respectable time.

Another is training for short course (Olympic distance)and trying to go under 2 hours for the Nationals in Kelowna in August. Then challenging the US nationals to see where I fall into the mix down there and going to the World age group championships which may be in Australia.
I qualified this year but I don't feel fit enough or motivated enough to go for it. I would like to win.

Notice there are no work goals here? Work less and make more $. Good luck !

We bought a computrainer which is an indoor machine that hooks upto the bike and adds resistance to the wheel so you can train in the comfort of your dry warm house. More importantly it reads power output in watts and has variable courses that are displayed on a computer screen in video form. VERY useful tool for gaining fitness. Gadgets are good when you need a change.

Until next time,
Allan

2nd Summit in two weeks!!

This time Tammy, Baby and I hiked to the summit of Mount Albert Edward by Mount Washington up island. This is also supposed to be a two day hike done by hiking your gear up to a camp sight 2 hours in and tackling the summit on day 2 by starting early. This is not how Tammy and I work. We decided last minute and left Victoria at 6:00am. We arrived at the ski lodge at Mount W. at 9:00am where the hike begins and took almost 40min to find the trail head. It was not a great start; apparently the trail head was supposed to be obvious? We eventually found it and yes it was obvious (thanks to Tammy). We weren't sure if we would make the summit because we left so late and when we came across a couple of serious hikers they looked at us sideways when we told them we were going for the summit and back today. They let us know in a gentle way that we might make it to this lake 3/4 of the way, if we hurried! I don't think they knew who they were talking to. In that same conversation they noticed that Tammy was carrying the pack filled with food, water, clothes, a flashlight and other hiking necessities, where as I was carrying the camera. They were jealous that I had my own Sherpa and it was a hot girl. Tammy always wants to do her part and would not let me brag that I had to carry the pack the whole way so we split the time with the gear, almost. The next section was done by hike/running through stunning alpine meadows where we got hassled by these birds (Gray Jays) that demanded food. They ate right out of our hands. Tammy was in her glory!

We stopped for an 8min lunch. Drinking was done on the fly and by 3/4 of the way Baby was showing signs of fatigue. There was one section that was south facing on the rocks that was blistering hot and Baby does not do well in the heat. Luckily there were little pools of cold water from snow melt that gave her some reprieve. You know your high when your above permanent snow pack.

We got our hopes up when we hit a pseudo peak and thought we had made record time, only to look over and see another peak that seemed higher. It looked unreachable and at least 1.5 hours of hiking one way. Unfortunately it was the peak. We did the math and we would need a speedy descent if we where going to make it. At this point we almost turned back before realizing that we would regret it after coming so far, and after all it was a clear sky with a near full moon and we had flashlights so really there was no reason to not go for it. I think this is what they refer to as summit fever. Only there was a lot less risk involved.

There was a lot of lava rock mixed in with the next section made up of sharp rock and unstable ground. Something I think Baby felt more than us. We found some reprieve along these overhanging snow banks that looked like they could give out at anytime. The rest of the way up was steep and at a brisk walk we had our heart rates through the roof trying to make good time.

We reached the top!! As Donny had said "reaching the summit is optional, getting back to the bottom is mandatory". We had 30min at the summit before having to hurry down. Baby was fried and took a small Nap in the shade of a rock while we admired the view. It was stunning!! I had no idea Vancouver Island was so mountainous. You really have to be there to appreciate the pictures. Obviously we made it down but we had 30min of hiking in the dark through the bushes alone. FREAKY!!!! On another note, Mount Washington is going to be a gold mine for real estate. The prices are still reasonable and there should be some good growth with the Olympics coming.

Chow for now.

Golden Ears.

My trip to the 'Ears' was absolutely fantastic. This is the time of year when our athletic training becomes unstructured and in some ways more fun. Our training year ends a little earlier than others. We have a few friends doing Ironman Hawaii in Kona that are still training their butts off. I feel like I just did an Ironman, I can hardly walk from the soreness in my legs and shoulders from carrying the 70lb pack filled with camping gear up 1706m. O.k. maybe it wasn't quit 70lbs but we don't have an official weigh-in so I can say what I want. I don't think 1700m is high in the mountaineering world but for a couple of weekend warriors with full packs it was formidable.

Located in Maple Ridge (the town I was born in), the 'Ears' are a set of mountains that are visible from pretty much anywhere in the lower mainland. They have rocky peaks because not much lives up that high. Donny has climbed this thing so many times he can't remember the exact number but it's something like 9 times and he's made it to the summit most times. Apparently the weather can change rapidly and he was telling a story about getting caught in a white out that forced him and a friend to stay in the emergency shelter over night. My Parents house in Surrey has a window in the kitchen that has a perfect view of the Ears and Mom still has vivid memories of that night because she could see the clouds rolling in and knew they where going to get caught in a storm of shit. Donny survived cause he's tough and Mom still worries cause she's Mom.
Our adventure went like clock work. We arrived at the gates to the park at 6:35am, just before they opened and hiked for 5 hours to our camp site close to the top. We set up camp and made it to the summit in the early evening for a total of 7 hours of up hill. Some people do it as a day trip by packing light and leaving early. I must admit I had thoughts of tossing all my gear in the bush and just staying in the emergency shelter due to the pain that was developing in my legs and the fear building in my gut about the descent with all that weight. It turns out once you know how to descend it's not so bad, you just need to take your time and go backwards down the tricky spots.
I had a great time with Donny and next time he's going to come my way to Mount Albert Edward on the island for a very similar hike. I wish I could put more pictures on but this is the extent of my blogging capabilities.
Bye for now.

Midnight Snack?

This is 'Part II' of the last post (named Bad!!!). We cleaned up the wrappers and all was well. Every time one of us pointed towards the spare room and wrappers, Baby slinkered away. She looks so pathetic when she gets into trouble (which has only happened maybe 3-4 times in the 2 years we have had her), that you feel badly for her. We forgave her and she was in our good books again.

Baby has a pillow inside our bedroom that she likes to sleep on. It is in a convenient location, except it blocks a drawer to my dresser. When going to bed, I had to lift an edge of her pillow up to open the drawer. Lo and behold - one more uneaten, unwrapped energy bar was stashed there! Shocked, I quickly retrieved the bar before Baby could see. I showed Allan the bar and we had a good laugh. I went to bed like nothing happened and out of the corner of my eye, watched our sweet innocent dog. When she approached the pillow, she immediately sniffed the exact location I found the bar. She looked around, then pawed the pillow up and sniffed underneath. This went on for a little bit when finally, confused and disheartened, she sighed and laid down for the night - duped out of her anticipated midnight snack.

Bad!!!!!

We came home because we forgot something on a short trip to the store and it looks like Baby (our dog) got into the bag of left over food I had taken with me on my hike to Golden ears mountain. My first reaction was "Bad baby!!!" and then I realized that there was a small 70% pure chocolate bar that was, and I do mean 'was' as it did not exist any more, in the bag of goodies. My next reaction was fear because dogs are allergic to chocolate and can die. We frantically searched the internet to find out the toxicity levels and symptoms to watch for. The bar was about 1.5oz and it apparently takes 6oz to be toxic for her weight, so it seems she will be o.k. The weird thing was that she ate all the wrappers!? There were powerbars, granola bars, power gel!, chocolate, fruit bars, and a protein bar. Not a stitch of evidence! Poor thing digesting the wrappers:(

When we gave her shit she peed herself; good thing for hardwood floors for an easy clean-up. She is such a Baby.

We left to go to the store and 1/2 way down the street the light came on. (In our head!)

What do dogs do when they have a nice treat like a bone? They bury it or take it to a quite location for consumption without interference. Where does Baby like to go? The Spare bedroom! Turn the car around again! I could just see her watching us leave and laughing as she headed back to her stash of 1/2 eaten treats. Sure enough....

Let me present the evidence. Take a note of the perfectly opened wrapper down the seam on the protein bar in the bottom photo at the top.

Fatter than Allan

In Allan's recent post, he keeps my bodyfat % a secret. I don't mind saying it: 17.7%. That's 10% more than the brat, and even though I weight 50lbs less, I have more pounds of fat! No wonder he kicks my butt on the hills! The good news is that I am leaner than this time last year. Women need 12% essential fat (for their female hormones to be working properly). Men, on the other hand, only need 4-5% bodyfat to function properly. So hopefully with weight training and being diligent with a good diet, I will hit my goal of 13% next year. The problem with long distance training, especially for females, is that overtime you can actually gain bodyfat, as the Type II muscle fibres (strength fibres) get smaller and your Type I (endurance fibres) get larger. So weight training is particularly important. Especially for people like me, who are all endurance but no speed.

How fat am I?

Fatter than 10 years ago. When I was 25 I did my body fat % and it was 6% give or take. Today I am 8% fat. I used the same method of pinching fat in all the right places and using a fairly reliable calculation. The scales that tell you your % of body fat are horribly inaccurate. They really depend on your hydration levels and can be off by up to 17%! Pinching fat doesn't lie and the numbers are comparable as long as you pinch in the same spot. Based on my weight of 170lbs I have 13.7lbs of fat. During race season I am usually 167lbs. My goal in April is to be 165lbs at 6% body fat. which is 10lbs of fat. I could get a lower % of body fat but there is an inaccuracy to the calculation so really the % is less important than the actual pinch measurement. Fat is fat, if I can pinch it it's there. A 4mm measurement is considered nothing because the skin has a thickness to it, so my goal is to have a few measurement of 4mm.
Interestingly, I am by far more fit than I was when I was 25. It's a different type of fitness though because I used to do more explosive exercise and now I do more long aerobic work. Endurance sports naturally chew up muscle and if you're not smart about your training you will lose a lot of muscle tone. I won't tell you what Tammy's % is, she can tell you if she wants.
This brings me to THE PROGRAM. I am putting together a weight training program for endurance athletes specifically. I have always known weights were important but never really put a whole lot of thought about how important they are for endurance athletes. We do weights but we can make huge improvements on THE PROGRAM design. Who knows, maybe one day I'll write a book. In the mean time I'm pulling out all my textbooks and enjoying the research. There is a lot of guidelines for people but unless you know how to interpret it, and apply it, there can be a lot of confusion.

Another one down....

Well I just completed another Ironman. That's #4 for me. The race began with highlights and ended with frustration. At this point, it is easy to finish the race; the tough part is doing it faster.

It was great having Allan look after me and seeing him and Baby (our dog) at multiple areas of the course. I saw her at one point on the run, and she went nuts - jumping and yelping and barking at me! Allan had to use a harness on her so she wouldn't choke herself trying to run after me. After the race, I was (and still am) very sore and Allan does a lot of things for me. Its funny how you just do a marathon, yet you can't fathom walking 2 blocks to pick up your gear. He picked all of my stuff up for me, which was great. I wonder how long I can use the "I just did an Ironman, and I'm sore" excuse?

The swim was the first time I didn't get punched in the face or kicked which was great! I tried a different area and swam inside of the buoys rather than in the middle of the 2000+ field of athletes. The result was getting some open water and being able to swim comfortably and relaxed. Last year I was getting pushed and punched and kicked so much that I was fighting a panic attack. This year I had open water and even got to stop a couple of times to take a look around, all while having a faster split.

I absolutely love the bike portion in Ironman Canada. The climbs (Richter's pass and Yellow Lake) are lined with crazy people who have been enjoying beer all day, yelling and cheering. I felt the strongest I ever have on the bike and was blowing by people on the climbs like they were standing still. After I passed about 50 people on Richter's pass, I looked back and they were gone! I also felt strong at the end of the ride, and after doing 180km I felt like I could have easily done more. All the strength work this year paid off on the bike!

I came into transition for the run in better contention than ever. I had some aggressive goals of being one of the top non-professional athletes in the race. With the run being my strength, I knew that I could seriousy catch and drop the girls ahead of me. There was a problem, however. I took in the same nutrition as I always do, but at the end of the bike I was getting really hungry. It was a bit worrisome because Allan was hungry at his Ironman and it really affected his run which ended up being a walk/run. I ate a gel (100 calories of sugary calories) at the end of the bike but was hungry again right away. Not a good sign! Usually I have to force down the calories on the run, but was taking in fuel before planning on doing so, and was still hungry afterwards. At the same time, I was scared to take in too much fuel, because your body doesn't absorb it as well while running - which could mean getting sick! I didn't feel great and there was a massive headwind, but I kept going because even though I was not running very fast I was still making up a lot of ground and got myself into ~30th non-professional overall. However, by the halfway point on the run I was completely out of fuel. I was weak, hungy, and felt light-headed. The way home turned into a speed-walk/run while consuming in coke and orange slices as every aid station. I couldn't wait to finish the damn thing because I was so hungry. I was bored and my tummy was growling. At the finish, I quickly consumed 2 pieces of pizza and a bag of chips. Then we went out for fries and a burger and milkshake. Then after about 4 hours of sleep, I woke up with a growling stomach and was again very hungry! I have never eaten so much food afterwards!

In the end I ran 30min slower than what I am easily capable of and ended up 60th female overall (out of about 1000) when I was in position to be in the top 20. That was disappointing. This race is so hard to nail (especially the nutrition and hydration part) when it takes about 11 hours to complete. The funny thing was that I gave Allan such a hard time for not eating enough calories, but looks like I did the same! I will have to practice that for next time...

Tammy

This is why!

This is why judging sports are so frustrating! Ivett Gonda probably sacrificed a lot of things to make it to the Olympics, only to have it taken away from her because of biased judging. Biased judging is the only reason I can come up with as to why she did not score any points. Clearly these judges know how a point is scored, yet they didn't count one of the many points that were obvious. We saw the same thing happen in boxing. Master Lee used to say 'If you knock them out, there is no question if you scored the point.' But unfortunately, you can't always knock someone out.
http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/taekwondo/story/2008/08/19/f-olympics-taekwondo-gonda.html

An Olympians blog

Check out the blog of our Olympic triathlon hopeful. http://simonwhitfield.blogspot.com/ He won gold in 2000 and is back on form this year. They get in the water after us in Victoria at the same pool. One of the girls that was in the Olympics for triathlon yesterday, Lauren Groves, crashed on the last lap of the bike and broke her wrist. Very unfortunate, and I felt so bad for her it made me sick. We have watched them around Victoria and the pool for the past year in preparing for the Olympics and it must be soooo disappointing for the whole squad. Of course we are proud of them no matter what.

One down.

The Kelowna Apple Triathlon is the National Championships and will be for the next few years. The Nationals changes venues on occasion but Kelowna has got it through 2010. I have to say it's not the best run event I've been to and I think I'm being nice in saying it that way. Either way I made it through and finished 6th over all in the Age group race and 2nd for my age group of 35-39. Some guy from Winnipeg beat me, I didn't know there were even triathletes in Winnipeg?

A brief race report:
The swim was no wet suit because the water temp was to high. This favored me because I think I swim just as fast without it. Usually it gives people an advantage, so by not having the wetsuit it puts most people at a disadvantage. I had a good set of feet to draft behind.
The bike-- My legs are still sore from the peach classic a month ago and another race I did in between the peach and now. I really had no sustained power that I had in the peach. I was only 1 minute off the fastest bike split so it couldn't have been that bad. There was a nice little climb that split the field up nicely. 3 loops
The run---- I think the leg fatigue from the previous races filtered into a very poor run. I think the run was longer than 10km. I ran off course and missed a little out and back section. Thank goodness a volunteer let me do it twice on the second lap so I didn't get disqualified.

Link to the results page. http://www.raceheadquarters.com/results/2008/multi/KAT2008Olympic.html
Either way, I am a bit disappointed that I didn't place higher. I know I am capable of faster times. This year has been hard and I didn't really plan to do these short races so as a result I wasn't very well prepared for them. I just went off the fitness I gained for the Ironman which is totally different training. Some people say the Olympic and Ironman triathlons are totally different sports like Tennis and squash. In some ways they are. I'm not sure what to focus on? After the descent results in short course without preparing I kinda want to see how fast I can get for next year. Maybe I can win the National title for Age group. A goal, or maybe more of a dream, has been to go under 2 hours for an Olympic distance race. Ive done 2 in 2:04ish. If I could get my swimming back to before my injury, I'm sure that's almost 2 minutes right there. I have Ironman goals as well and maybe those are a bit harder but possibly more recognized in the Triathlon world. I will ponder these over the next 2 months before training starts in November for the 2009.

Off to the races!!

Tomorrow morning we leave for Kelowna.
We'll be up at 4:30am to get things packed up and at the pool for a swim at 6:00 am, back home to pick up the bikes and Baby, tie up some loose ends and then onto the 11:00am Ferry. Into Kelowna around 5:00pm, with a quick bike ride for me to loosen up the legs after driving.

It's been a long time since I've had a week to have fun. I race on Sunday and then I'm on holidays. I will try and hit the links a couple of times and maybe hook up with the team I train with to ride the Ironman course on Saturday. Riding the course is something that a lot of athletes do if they are going up to spectate and support others in their big race on Sunday. It is aways a social ride with some fun racing up the big climbs. Othersise It's all about Tammy on the 24th.

Ironmans are the premier event in triathlon because they are so hard. After the huge disappointment in Couer D' Alene when Tammy got a nasty stomach virus the night before the race and could not start, she has put a lot of her hopes in a good performance in Penticton. I have to say, she is as fit as I've ever seen her and she will be pushing herself to her limits out on the course. I have a route planned out to catch her at all the key points so me and Baby (our dog) can try to make her smile for a second. Should be a blast, I'm looking forward to it.
I will post the links to results when the races are over.

Sleep deprived?

I wonder how people would function if they got up in the morning without an alarm clock after a good nights sleep. I remember seeing a guy with his coffee mug, baggy eyes, doing a zombie impression at the traffic lights and thinking 'is he happy to be in that state?' I know I'm not!! Tammy on the other hand is a sweetheart, tired or not:) riiiiiight.

We are both very sensitive to fatigue due to our schedule which I will share with you soon. It's retarded sometimes what we can get done in a day. ( or not get done if we're tired) Tammy always thinks she does more things but as I have to point out its quality over quantity that matters.
Anyway, We have decided to try and do something about our sleep because it is seriously hampering our ability to recover from training. It's not that we train as much as the professional athletes but we don't have the time to rebound on a daily basis by resting, stretching and allowing the muscles to reduce tone. We know that deep sleep allows the body to relax and release growth hormones and so on. Last night I got 4 hours , not enough when preparing for a race. Could not go to sleep.
The Plan!!! We bought sleep Cd's from a Dr. Jeffrey Thompson. These are Neuroacoustic Audio Programs. They use brain wave pacing and frequency that simulates certain stages of consciousness. We got 4 different ones. We will use them with our mp3 and ear buds to go to sleep and during naps. The traffic is also keeping us up at night since we moved bedrooms. The ear buds should help that. http://www.neuroacoustic.com/
Next we got melatonin from the health store and we will take 9mg 1 hour before bed. When Tammy has time she will let you know all the benefits. It's crazy how good it is. There are a lot more benefits than just sleep.

If this doesn't work we'll have to resort to a classic sedative......alcohol.
Good times.

70lbs of Blueberries!!??

Yes that is correct. Last year we got 50lbs and we ran out in April. We use them for our power shake. It's supposed to be the magic berry? Tammy has started her Sport Nutrition Advisor certification. She loves this stuff, and she is the most diligent person when it comes to nutrition. If she wasn't around I would be eating crap all the time. As it is I can't help myself when it comes to food. I'm blessed with a crazy metabolism so I can get away with it. Tammy has to be learning something all the time. She may be addicted to schooling? The CSNA (Certified Sports Nutrition Advisor) is a designation obtained from the Corry Holly institute and he is Affiliated with Dr. Colgan.
Dr. Corey Holly is a Naturopathic Dr. and big into boosting sport performance from natural methods, as opposed to testosterone drugs and other cheating methods. Things like boosting testosterone and Human growth hormone using the bodies own processes. Doing it naturally is of course the hard way and takes serious discipline. Discipline is not hard to find in sport, most athletes are doing everything they can to get better and most are honest so they will learn these techniques.

These courses take time and money, two things we seem to always be short on. Speaking of which I better go help bag these blueberries or someones gonna get hurt real bad!!

All-on-4! Teeth in a day

If you're not familiar with what I do, I fabricate false teeth for people. Traditionally they are removable teeth. (Not bridges or crowns)I just finished a course on the placement of 4 implants and placing permanent teeth in less than 4 hours. Technology is soooo cool there are few things that really interest me in Dentistry but I have to tell you this is exciting stuff. There are a lot of people who struggle with removable dentures and in reality so do all the dental proffesionals who make them. A person can literally have there denture fixed (screwed into place) and non-removable in one day. This used to take a minimum 6months and up to 2 years to make happen with multiple surgeries and bone grafting from the hip.....Fun stuff. Now no grafting and in one day. I think I found my calling. Making removable dentures is tough.....doing All-on-4 would be fun! Marketing starts Today! Anyone interested?

Here it goes!

If you haven't noticed this is Olympic time and our PVR is going full time. This has been a tiring week as Tammy and I are recovering from a local race that we trained through in preperation for 2 important races coming up. I am going into the National Age-Group championships in Kelowna which is an Olympic distance on Aug 17, and Tammy is doing an Ironman in Penticton the week after. We will be staying at Tina's place (sister) in Kelowna for the whole week. We are both looking forward to the time away from everyday life.

This is supposed to be the peak of our season and it's been a long season. Right now our priority is to rest and recover. There are no fitness gains to be made this close, just maintaining what we have. We went for a ride today and Tammy did a personal best up this little climb to Durrance lake in Victoria. She wasn't feeling great and was holding back a bit. This is a good sign as she still has 2 weeks till race day and a lot of recovery can happen between now and then. She is going to rock this year.

Some of you may not know that I had a Bike accident in mid March and broke my collar bone. It's added a few complications that I would have prefered to avoid but I did eventually recover. I'm not 100% yet because there are some muscles that are not happy to be working from a different position in the shoulder so they get cranky. The collar bone broke right where some muscles attach, so you can imagine the connection is different. I have great therapists and I just keep moving forward. Not much else you can do.