Honey..... where's my supersuit?

Why can't I sleep? packing stress........ I mean ....I did what every guy does the night before a big trip... much to the disappointment of my wife.... I thought about packing. Then at about 8:30 I started putting things together and wandering about the house in some kind of triathlon stupor. Flash from the movie the Incredibles.... "Honey...... where's my super suit?"

It all came together in the end and I was able to get all of my gear together with Lori and Blake fast asleep on the couch. Now off to bed and to try to shut my brain off. No luck here. Up at 3:00 a.m. Now to put that in perspective that's 1:00 a.m. B.C. time. That's messed up! No wonder I am having a hard time typing this even though it is broad daylight here.

It all is a blur, Blake Avery and Lori hugs.... Iraqi Cabbie.... paying $50 extra for oversized bike... meeting with Paul... on the plane at 7:00.... sleep..... Joe Walsh and the Rocky Mountain Way....

Vancouver at 7:55.... 6 girls going to Vegas try to kidnap me.....roll the dice and spin the roulette table..... on the plane to Kelowna... meeting my parents... dad driving while mom directs the show... Hotel Eldorado......

nummies at 9:00 ...scallop and bacon pizza....Overdraft's twin...Fresh Air Experience..... Off to Westbank... Super Walmart..... flowers....The Taylor's wonderfully wicked hospitality... met Molly and Bj (dogs) and peaches the Cat..... fingers and toes crossed that I don't end up in the hospital due to allergies...... put the bikes together..... back tire untrue.... back to fresh air.... stop in the middle of highway in a panic that I forgot the bring the rear tire on the way to fresh air..... $5.35 to get tire "trued".... set up my tent in the back yard and put in the bed..... I am set!

Jim has arrived and all is good..... although WestJet lost his bag.... he just got a call and we will pick it up when we get Mike.

Plan for tomorrow... quick swim in Penticton and then off to Okfalls/ Tickle berries/ Jackson Triggs/ M'K'napp winery/ White Lake/ Green Mountain Road... float the channel.

Kelowna is beautiful and the weather is great. I am really tired..... sorry if I didn't make you laugh. Found a new trailer for hauling my bikes.....

It was just a matter of when... not if

The other day someone asked me, "What's an Ironman?" An Ironman is a triathlon race on steroids. Ironman Canada is held each year in Penticton, British Columbia on the last Sunday in August. The race features a grueling combination of the three disciplines popularised by smaller events. By standard definition, a triathlon involves (in this order.... because if you put the swim at the end a lot of people would drown) .... so you swim, bike then run. The most popular event in Triathlon is the Sprint distance. That would be a 750m swim, a 20k bike and a 5k run..... takes a bit of training, but very doable. The Olympic distance is twice that. For those of you not so good with the Math.. that's a 1.5k swim, 40k bike and a 10 k run. This distance seems to be growing in popularity and was thrust into our consciousness when triathlon became an olympic event at the Sydney games in 2000 and was won by Canadian triathlete Simon Whitfield - YouTube - Simon Whitfield Wins Gold

Now the Ironman distance.... well that's really two things.... an athletic event to top all others and a test of your: will, strength and determination. The distances are staggering.... a 3.8k swim, a 180k bike and then you finish with a full marathon... 42.2k.

In my mind to finish this event in a respectable time is a chance that we rarely get to know our true self. Philosophically speaking.... to find out what I am truly capable of.

Okay.... so now that nagging question that is undoubtedly on your minds..... why?

When I was a lifeguard at Ironman I saw Team Hoyt. Rather than explain it to you I urge you to watch this, but I warn you... it is very emotional and you may want a kleenex. YouTube - Team Hoyt - Dick and Rick Hoyt

After that it was just a matter of when. .... and I guess that will be August 29th 2010.

Nothing that drugs won't fix

Sitting at my computer typing an email has never been on my list of possible strenuous activities that may lead to injury. This afternoon I added it to my list. I was tip-typing away and all of a sudden I felt a crunching in my ribs at the same spot I had earlier reported as giving me some grief. (See yesterday's post if you are not familiar with the nummy goodness of intercostal muscles.)

Suddenly it was really hard to breathe...... son of a.....

I grabbed my side and headed down to the office to grab an ice pack.... because after-all, as any elementary school teacher knows, Ice packs heal all wounds. I guess I looked in pain, as everyone I came across asked me what was wrong.

I few phone calls later and I was at the Dr.'s office and across the street for and x-ray. The diagnosis.... pending the x-ray results..... most likely a sprain. Nothing that some A535 and a couple of Robax should not fix.

Now here I sit.... well more like lying in bed.... praying beyond all hope that I have not done something that is going to effect my Ironman. I am getting on the plane Wednesday morning even if I have to crawl. I am going to compete and finish the Osoyoos half Iron on the 11th if it kills me. You can take that to the bank.

Sometimes Mother Nature says, "Stay home!"

Up at 3:00 a.m.

Sigh..... was putting my son to bed on Wednesday night and I had to dead lift him out of our bed and take him to his room. That night I could not sleep. I kept dreaming that something had kicked me in the ribs. Turns out that when I lifted him I put some serious stress on one of my intercostal muscles. As my physiotherapist put it.... when you go out to a restaurant and order a full rack of ribs... your eating intercostal muscles....... num num. Anyhoo... I have not been sleeping well as it is extremely uncomfortable..... so up at 3:00 a.m.

I had to get up early anyway, as today was the St. Malo Triathlon. This event is entirely run by members of our triathlon team - Tribalistic - and is celebrating it's 15th year. Check out the site at St-Malo Triathlon The course is so beautiful, I can easily see why this race has been around for as long as it has.

So I had to be out early as I was part of the swim team. I was to assist Pat and Jeff with the set-up of the course. Afterwards, I was in a canoe, paddling a lifeguard back and forth down one leg of the swim course for the Olympic (2 laps of the 750 m course) and the sprint (1 lap). I love canoeing and it had been a long time since I had the chance, so I was thankful to have the opportunity.

So I had to leave the house by 5:15 to get there by 6:15. Like I said... I had to be up anyway.

I had never been down the St. Malo way before, so I was really surprised, like I always am, how beautiful the rest of the province is. The drive down Hwy 59 was really relaxed as there was next to no traffic at 5 ish. It turned out to be a beautiful day and a perfect day for a race.

Fellow club member Chris Graham won the men's Olympic distance and fellow blogger Carly and I had the honour of being the "eye candy" that handed out the prizes to the top three age group atheletes in the sprint, olympic, relay and the duathlon categories. A shout out to Mike who did an excellent job personalizing the race for each entrant... basically on the mic telling everyone a little something about each athlete as the came through transition.

On a side note.... I thought it was pretty cool that we had over 40 athletes today that come out to St. Malo for their very first triathlon experience. Welcome to the sport newbies. I warn you now.... it is highly addicting. If you see me at a race, come say hi!....... not that you'd be reading this anyway... aw.... who am I fooling..........not that anyone is reading this......

For giggles, here's getting the canoes out and a "selfie" of me looking over my shoulder toward the beach.

After the race was done, I headed home with the intent of heading out on my bike for my last ride before packing up my bike for the big trip to training camp in Kelowna on Wednesday. As I approached the city the clouds got darker and darker until I was on the Wilkes overpass and the sky was absolutely black.

Some days, Mother nature says it's time to stay in.

A lesson in nutrition

Out on to the Hearte Trail this morning. It is really neat how that freshly cleaned early morning humidity hangs in the air. I am not sure how else to describe it than to say that as I head out on to the trail there is this smell of wet grass and rotting leaves mixed with damp bark and fresh dirt. All of these combined make you inhale so deep that you can smell with your toes.

My weekend routine has gone basically unchanged since the start of this challenge. From September all the way through to February, and then part of April into May and June I have run a minimum of a half marathon every weekend. When my hamstring gave me some problems (most likely the result of my compromised S.I. joint) We scaled back the long runs and added the distance over several days. ... but I am basically back in form thanks to my dominatrix masseuse and my knowledgeable physiotherapist/ acupuncturist. So this morning I thrust myself out in to the flora and fauna of the day and began my usual lengthy trek out towards Assiniboine park. Today; however, I would be testing out my new fuel belt.

Nutritionally speaking, for an endurance event such as Ironman, the rule of thumb is that you need to digest 1 gram of carb for every Kilo of body weight per hour. So, when I run, I usually drink every 15 minutes and have a gel every 30 minutes. The idea is to solidify a routine long in advance of the race as your stomach needs to be trained to digest this stuff without any grief as tummy trouble during the race can spell disaster.

On the advice of a Running Room employee who shall remain nameless, I decided to mix my gels in with my gatorade and pour the sickly sweet concoction evenly into the two 8 oz flasks.

Even though this went against all I had been taught, I took off with my belt attached and hoped for the best. I really tried to embrace this change in nutrition, but there was this little voice nagging away at me and suggesting that there really was no way this was going to work.

When I got home, I really did not feel good and my stomach was in knots. Ultimately if you do not get enough food in you can suffer from an overwhelming sense of mental an physical fatigue.... some people refer to this as bonking. Well, I think that is what happened.... I bonked. I ran a respectable pace, but I think I needed more hydration. the gels were fine, but this mix was not as diluted as it could have been and the end result is that my body was sending a lot of blood to my stomach to help me digest.

I went back to the running room later today and picked up a special gel adapter that will hold the gels and then I can use the other two flasks for water or the ever popular gatorade. The nice thing though is that you do not have to deal with the sticky wrappers because you have poured them all in the flask in advance. Then, you rely on the aid stations placed at one mile intervals along the course for your hydration. More later as I figure this change out.... really it should not be a change in nutrition.... rather a change in how I get my nutrition.

Speaking of hydration... this has never happened to me before, but my feet sweat so much today that my shoes were actually squishing as I ran the last two miles..... coool huh?

Now I'm really thirsty... gotta go! See you tomorrow after a scenic ride out hwy. 26.

underwater dream

When your alarm goes of at 5:30 you somehow manage to swing your legs over the edge and into the abyss. To put any force on them means that you yet again give into the unrealistic enthusiasm of Mookie, Troy, Caroline and Cozy and admit that you have a reason to be wandering about the house. As an aside, I remember thinking that the world was out to get me when I had an 8:30 a.m. university class..... 5:30 just seems..... well... at least these days...normal.

Anyhoo... you follow the smell of coffee down the hall and make your way to the lap top to see if you are lucky enough to get one of the 2 days this week that might not have rain in them.

Then to be honest after that it is all a blur.... toothbrush... coffeee..... (minty taste of coffee and toothpaste)..hot tub...vitamins.... bagel (cream-cheese and red pepper jelly num num)... look online at training schedule and see what hell Pat has cooked up for me today...blank stare at closet... randomly pick outfit and hope it looks a little less like the same thing as yesterday....more coffee... swim bag.... keys....then I am in my car.... pull into the "Y"... locker 13....goggles...underwater.

There's something about throwing yourself in a pool before you are fully awake..... as the water covers your body, you often question how you got here in the first place.

I've taken nowhere for granted

It always never fails to amaze me how easy it is to really get away. Now, you need to understand I am in a very unique situation to all of you who may read this. By that I mean every day at some point I get a bucket of time to myself. Think about it... when was the last time you had something like 6 hours with just you and your heart beat? Now combine that with a bit of a bike and, in the immortal words of Bowie.... wham, bam, thank you m'am... and you are in the middle of nowhere.

To make my addled thoughts clearer, as I am most likely not making much sense right now as I have just come home after a lengthy workout, let me tell you about my afternoon.

So I come home and hop on my bike and within 20 or so minutes I am at the start of Highway 26 in St.FX. From there I wound my way through the perfectly peaceful hamlet of Pigeon Lake (by the way... I have been out there many times, and I have yet to see a Pigeon or a Lake... but that 's for pondering on another day) to the South turn to highway 226 to St Eustache. By the way if you ever get out to this beautiful spot there is the nicest little bridge.

I stole this picture off of Google Earth.

You look around and you are literally in the middle of nowhere.... just you and your thoughts and the big Manitoba sky. I really think I took this for granted for a long long time. I mean the whole idea of being able to get away. Sure we all go out on the perimeter now and then and think, "WOW it's flat!" But when you are on a bike travelling along at 30kmph with the wind and the bugs in your hair it truly is the most relaxing and inspiring thing. You get lost in your thoughts for 40-50k and then you look up and inevitably think..... "where am I?"

Then I return home and head out for my run and again about 1 mile from my doorstep, I get onto the Hearte trail.... with all the trees growing over forming a fantastic canopy of leaves and birds. If I blindfolded you, you'd be hard pressed to guess you are in the middle of Winnipeg.

I guess I am just lucky... within just a few minutes and a little effort, I can truly be nowhere.

Just me, the deer and the crows

So these crows were fighting it out at 4:30 a.m. just outside my window. Now I am not sure why I could not seem to get up and close the window, but alas in my sleepy stupor I could not. Instead I lay there and cursed their evil caw caw cawing. With one final look at the digital alarm clock that Lori had has since she was 12, I got up and began my day...... which basically means I staggered into the kitchen and over-rode the auto start on the coffee pot and grabbed my lap top and checked the weather..... sunny and 26 today.... greta day for a Sr. Jazz party.

Then, with no trumpets or fanfare, it hits me that I have done it yet again and scheduled my day so full that there seems to be no way to make it to my scheduled workout. Why can't I seem to mesh my personal life, my workouts and my private life into one?

If anything is to happen it has to be now. Damn!

So...... downstairs to the laundry room to the pile of triathlon gear I go, careful not to wake the sleeping family whilst rummaging for my running stuff.

I creep out in to the still of the morning air still afresh with the cawing echoes of the epic battle from outside my window and attempt a couple of quick stretches only to notice two magnificent deer staring at me from across the street. Now it is not abnormal to see deer in Charleswood, but it is a little odd to see them on my street. They looked at me. I looked at them. They looked at me. I looked at them. I continued to stretch and they left; seemingly without a care in the world. I am jealous.

Off I go......into the still morning air just me, the deer and the crows.

I can run faster than they can fly

Can you believe this weather? I was out for a quick tempo run of 6.8 miles and I was just dripping when I got home. The heat was only compounded by the humidity. I got into the shower and the water on full cold did not seem to have any effect. As well, I could not seem to slake my thirst. Even though I was hydrating properly, I felt the need to drink two glasses of Chocolate milk and a bottle of gatorade with my delightful spinach salad. On the bright side the Harte Trail offered me some shade from the sun. That said, the humidity with all the water surrounding the trail only added to my suffering.

Now let's talk Mosquitoes. What the hell.... did they really fog. I was thinking on my run as my mind wandered from subject to subject. Why don't they just fill the ditches with northern pike. Those things would live anywhere and man they would eat all the larvae and KAPOW - no more bugs. I mean... shit... we can put a man on the moon, but we cannot figure out how to eliminate these buggers. We spend the whole winter waiting for summer only to be denied because of this big bunch of buzzing biters....... well..... at the very least...... I can run faster than they can fly.

The end of the year and the start of the season

I have spent the better part of two years training for this event and I cannot believe that in a few short days I will be leaving for my last big training camp in Kelowna and then off to Osoyoos for the Desert half Iron and then onto Ironman.

I have had the benefit of many great friends encourage me along the way and many of you have enquired about my training and what I am up to.

Thus, the blog is born. My goal is to use it a daily journal as a way to accurately reflect on my day to day life as I progress towards the 29th of August. And..... to let you in on the insanity that has been my life over the past year, as whether you know it or not, I have in some way shape or form been working towards this goal every day since September... and yes that even includes the long runs and long swims I did in Mazatlan over Spring break.

I guarantee that at times it will make no sense and if you like the abstract random, it may even make you laugh. Either way.... have a great summer and I hope I can literally bring some of you along for the ride.