The Underpants Bike Barn Street Fair

It is not to often that I get a day off... but just before a race, that's exactly what I get to do. So for those of you who would imagine me with my feet up.... which to be quite honest was the plan.... it did not happen.

Our day began with the infamous Underpants Run. Yes, as the pictures will show, you are absolutely right in thinking what you are thinking. It was started in Kona at the Worlds by just three guys and now it is huge. It is a charity event and you pay $10 to get involved. The charity then buys bikes for kids getting involved in our sport... no questions asked kinda thing.

Trying not to make too big of asses of ourselves.

The run is guided by one of the veterans and you take off down Main street and make your way to the beach and then back. The idea is that if we all stick together, there is great safety in numbers...... that also applies to stop signs and red lights.... I am pretty certain that there was not even a permit... after-all, who is going to stop a couple of hundred semi-naked people running down the street.

I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Tri-Guy and his fearless side-kick Mr. Kicky Pants chase down the mob.

Who actually own a full body zebra striped leotard?

I decided this morning that in light of the fact that the weather is uncharacteristically cold, I was going to need to re-think my water exit stratagem. You see, like at my B race in Osoyoos, I am going to wear my Tribalistic Singlet and my cycling shorts under my wetsuit. I am going to come out of the water, hit the strippers, and then wham, bam, thank you m'am, I'm off on the bike. Now normally, this would not be an issue, as my slightly chilled body would meet up with the balmy +20˚C weather and then the Tribalistic singlet would be more than enough to keep me warm. However, my body is going to come out of the water and meet up with the balmy +9˚C air and freeze. Roughly, the first 70k on the bike follows the Eastern edge of the valley or as it is known down here... the shady side..... so not only will I be wet and cold, there is no chance of sun until about 11:30.

I thought of wearing a jacket with zip off sleeves... and to be honest that is still on the table, but the more sensible solution is to go with pull on arm warmers. So down to the Bike Barn I go... two days before the race. Man, that place was hoppin'. This is definitely their week. There is Triathletes everywhere and massage tables, Hammer Gel trucks, KSwiss Shoes... you name it, there was a mini expo going on right there.

Just a wee bit busy.....

SO.. in I went and picked up what I needed and left as fast as possible to avoid the craziness that is this time. There are so many people here that you have to wait for two changes of the lights before you can get through an intersection.

Once home I had to organize my gear and get The Giant all ready to race. I didn't need to do it, but I always get everything cleaned for a big race. So I was going through all the bike check stuff and I broke the tool bag zipper on my bike.... ........ you guessed it.... back to Bike Barn. I really like my new bag, so it is a good thing. It is also a good thing that it did not happen during the race.... now that would be a bummer...... all my stuff spilling out of my bag into the ditch.... me swerving all over the place, as people yelled out in gracious support as they almost bite it trying to miss my spare tire.

Passing through the arch.....

Then we wandered over to the Ironman expo site, but other than the photo there was really not much to do. The merchandise was okay, but nothing spectacular and I am not one to deck myself out in all that.

After that it was time to head down to the dinner and the pre-race meeting. There was 3000 of us all sitting down to eat at the convention center.

Several people strangled a cat whilst others beat on a drum and I recognized the vague musical tones of Scotland the Brave. Someone sand O' Canada as we all turned to face the largest Canadian flag I have ever seen in my life. WOW! There was speechifying and presentations. Steve King "the voice of Ironman" spoke and pointed out all the dignitaries in the crowd. Officials for the race came up and talked about the course and what to watch out for and the head referee cautioned us not to draft and the like.

Pentiction really goes all out for this thing and Main street was closed down entirely for a street fair. It was really impressive and there were all kinds of performances and kiosks. The family got a hold of some chalk and managed to scribble out some inspirational messages.

Hey.... that's Me!

I think they are praying for my safe return.

Last day tomorrow.... I'm off to bed as I can no longer see straight...... I think it is good to be tired..... so no spell check toe-nite.

Richard Simmons creeps me out

Welcome everyone and all their friends and families to Penticton. I think it was really cool of you all to come out and watch me swim this morning..... all 500 of you.... I realise that is no where near the number of participants who are numbering just over 3000 (3085 to be exact), but good on ya for making it down to "the peach." Just one question, though.... is it really that hard to swim in a straight line? WOW! Take away that little line on the bottom of the pool and some of your are sincerely screwed.... thank goodness that you can follow the toes of the rest of us who are just a little bit better at pretending that we know what we are doing.

No life guard..... no wonder everyone is wearing neoprene.

Part of lakeshore drive is now closed until after the race and the grandstands are now in place. The guys were even out this morning painting the seats and making everything look all new. It actually gave me the sense that this was something special and worth worrying about the little details.

Even at 6:45 people are hard at work. I imagine it will go around the clock until Monday.

So after the swim I headed out on my bike for an easy spin just to keep the legs moving. I was in my little happy spot when I realized this guy was waving at me from inside of a truck. To be honest, it scared the crap out of me... I swerved thinking I was about to get "Doored" and then I realized what it was.

Who the hell has a life-sized cut out of Richard Simmons in their rear window. I'm calling this one...... creepy.

After a quick shower, I went down to the registration area to get signed-in and to pick up my kit.... well the other 2500 athletes that were not in the water this morning, decided to join me. This line moved fast enough (about 45 minutes) and there were lots of people to chat with to make the time go faster.

Barnum was right... there is a sucker born every minute.... PEOPLE!!!! We are paying through the nose to stress our bodies to the limit.... Hmmmmm.

So when you get to the front you are directed to a table with your race number. The Iron crew is famous for being friendly and helpful.... So you can imagine that I was surprised to be checked in by Joan the overachiever...... man.. this lady literally made my day... she was so happy I bet she leapt out of bed this morning, knowing she was going to meet Tri-Guy in person.

Joan the enthusiastic.

She, in turn, gave me some forms to fill out....

No dying on the course.... and if you do... it's not our fault.... sign here.

Then we made our way to the chip tester and confirmed that my chip says Tri-Guy from Winnipeg. You can see that there were loads of people to help and it was absolutely as efficient as possible. I truly was neat to see all these volunteers here to support you.

Apparently red is the new black.

SO... after that I made my way to the merchandise tent..... wow if I thought the line was long to register...

If it had the Ironman logo on it... you could get it here.

Outside the Timex tent was this huge inflatable watch. You see, I am the kind of guy who wonders.... why October 14th..... and why 10:09:36 a.m. on a Wednesday.....

Of all the times to pick why this one? Well here is what the research turned up.... aka... what I found on wiki. I am guessing that one of these things may have involved a Timex.

• 1947 – Captain Chuck Yeager of the U.S. Air Force flies a Bell X-1 rocket-powered experimental aircraft, the Glamorous Glennis, faster than the speed of sound - over the high desert of Southern California - and becomes the first pilot and the first airplane to do so in level flight.
• 1962 – The Cuban Missile Crisis begins: A U.S. Air Force U-2 reconnaissance plane and its pilot fly over the island of Cuba and takephotographs of Soviet missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads being installed and erected in Cuba.
• 1968 – Jim Hines of the United States of America becomes the first man ever to break the so-called "ten-second barrier" in the 100-meter sprint in the Summer Olympic Games held in Mexico City with a time of 9.95 seconds. Hines remained the only athlete to sprint 100 meters in under 10.0 seconds until the year 1977.

Deaths:

• 1944 – Erwin Rommel, German field marshall (b. 1891)
• 1959 – Errol Flynn, Australian actor (b. 1909)
• 1977 – Bing Crosby, American singer and actor (b. 1903)
• 1990 – Leonard Bernstein, American composer and conductor (b. 1918)
• 2009 – Captain Lou Albano. American Professional Wrestler and Manager. (b. 1933)

Births:

• 1927 – Roger Moore, English actor (James Bond)
• 1958 – Thomas Dolby, English musician
• 1959 – A.J. Pero, American drummer (Twisted Sister)
• 1975 – Floyd Landis, American cyclist

That's all I've got..... see you all tomorrow.

Not that far from this angle

Managed to get in a bit of a sleep-in.... no need to be up and attem (at them) so dang early. I decided to see if my natural clock would wake me up and lo and behold there I was awake at 6:00 a.m. Now that may come as no big surprise, but alas, I was hoping for something a little more on the 7 ish side of the day.... them's the breaks.

After wondering about the house seemingly unable to make any decision on my own, I opened the fridge and pondered what to eat as my stomach reminded me that it had been a few hours since last nights feast of taco salad and ice cream for dessert.

It's kinda like this.....

You don't want your legs to wobble when you play......

So in an interest to keep my three viewers glued to the blog, I decided to head out on my bike towards Summerland. A new route... which means new photos for all of you.

As I made my way out of the city beside all four lanes of screaming traffic along highway 97, I passed my favorite two buoys floating in the water on my right. I used a 24x zoom and through the magic of 2 dimesional photography, I was able to take this shot of the 1800m return section of the swim leg.

I certainly does not look that far from this angle.... you could almost reach out and touch "the Peach" from the buoy.

Now I think my luck has run out as today might very well be the last of the truly beautiful days before the race. As of 6:45 p.m. P.S.T. Here is the forecast for the rest of the week...

That's right folks.... all that training in the heat of the day.... and it is going to be rainy and a high of 19˚C. Last week, it didn't even cool down at night to 19˚C. Sigh.

Anyhoo today was beautiful......

The sun was up and in full strength as I came around the corner on the highway. I thought that the light added some real solid shadows to create a neat contrast amongst the clay cliffs and hoodoos.

Life is a highway and I'm gonna ride it all night long... or at least for another hour.

Then behind me was the edge of one of the tiny sandy secluded beaches.

Mimi on the beach, Mimi on the beach... me, me and me.

Then once you reach the climb to Summerland, you simply duck to the right and enjoy an extremely scenic tour of the lake as you dart in and out of hidden alcoves and beaches far away from the tourists and the hustle and bustle of Ironman.

Down on the corner,

Howdy in the street!

Willy and Poor boys are Playin'

Bring a nickel, tap your feet.

I am soooooo misunderstood.... there is like three guys I know who are keeping up to me.... Rob, John and Colin.. as mentioned before... none of them read this so I guess you will all have to continue wondering what the heck is Tri-Guy on today..... maybe that tape worm got to his head.

Actually around the corner was this neat looking park. The most amazing place that no one has ever heard of.

I'm getting bugged driving up and down the same old strip

I gotta find a new place where the kids are hip.

Then the road just stretches away as you cruise along the lake.... I could ride this part forever, as long as the weather stays like this.

The long an winding road

that leads to your door

will never disappear......

Hope you have enjoyed my tangental rock lyric subtitles today. If not.. you really should get out and get some music in your life.

After a nice little sojourn on the bike, Lori and I tackled what I now affectionately call "Lori's route." This leg warmer takes you twice around the block here and the elevation changes are enough to make the most hardened runner cringe as each loop brings a wicked ascent and an equally wicked descent. Loads of fun and deep and steady breathing... gasping followed by hyperventilating. If you drop by, bring your own paper bag.

Seeing that it may be the last great day..... there is really only one place to spend it....

Tri-Guy tells Blake....

"When I was a young boy, I wanted to sail 'round the world.

That's the life for me... livin' on the sea." Just don't get split enz....

You know they're smiling 'cause they don't have to do it

For the first time in a long time my alarm actually surprised me this morning. I was knee deep in a dream where I was very concerned that I was going to lose my goggles at the start, so I was thinking of ways I could attach them so it would not be an issue. Two part epoxy was a short second to stapling them to my head.... dreams... silly things... interrupted by the beep beep beeping of my Timex.

Coffee... oatmeal... coffee.... hot tub.....supersuit and into the truck.

I am not sure if all three of you get the supersuit reference... but here it is for everyone to enjoy. This is almost the word for word conversation Lori and I had one day.

I love Samuel L Jackson.... now you know why I call it my supersuit.

The sun sure took its sweet time getting to the water this morning. I mean, there was not a cloud in the sky... what was the hold up? ... I realise there was a huge mountain in the way, but rise faster.... dangnabit!

I wanted to keep with the theme of being in the water at or as close to 7:00 a.m. as possible. The idea being to be in there with roughly the same conditions as the race. Well.... here I thought it would be sunny. Nope. However, I was not the first to have this idea as the Ironman boot campers were in the water practicing their mass starts since 5:00 a.m.

The early triathlete scares the fishies 1st.

Then, ever so slowly like climbing Richter on a banana seated Schwinn, the sun decided to light up the opposite shore for us to prove that the day was possibly on its way.

This was about 6:45 a.m. this morning.

Everything was actually quite still and the only real sounds were the occasional runner's footfalls as they made their was along Lakeshore Drive ignorant to the world with Lionel Ritchie cranking out All Night Long into their ipoded ears and the Bootcampers splashing away as they reveled in their tape worm.

The orange buoys guide me to the first big white orb then left towards the Sicamous.

Speaking of big white orbs. I have had this running through my mind for quite some time now, and I don't know why I haven't mentioned it, but now seems as good a time as any. Thanks to my friend Maruis, I became a fan of the 60's TV show The Prisoner. I am pretty certain I have seen every episode and I have even made a pilgrimage to where the outdoors scenes were shot in Wales. Anyhoo, the premise is that as a spy you cannot retire to public life, you get taken to "the village." There you live out your life comfortably, where everyone has no names and they "drug" you regularly to extract whatever secrets you may have left in your addled brian. Escape is not an option and our main character No.6 (played brilliantly by Patrick McGoohan) will have none of it and each episode centers around his inevitable escape or trying to screw over the establishment in the Village.

So when you try to escape by water, these huge white jello-y orbs burst out of the water and... violently strangle/ smother you and then escort you back to the shore or a waiting security vessel. Kind like this....

He kinda swims like me.

My point? Well besides cursing John Williams and Stephen Spielberg, I often think of The Prisoner in an ironic way as I swim each morning on a route laid out by big white floating balls. Not to mention that their "capture" of the escapee is kinda creepy.

After I was escorted back to the shore, I got home and ran a bit to get the legs moving. The 3.5 miles went by really easy and I think it is safe to say that the tape worm is doing its job and that I am storing the necessary energy for the big day.

Speaking of the big day.....

Its was time to bring things back to a like new shine..... boy job. Here Blake and I get down to scrubbing the grime out of my runners and my cycling shoes... Oxi-Clean is wonderful.

I love my dad... I love my dad... I love my dad.

Well at least this part is kinda fun.

they will be dry in no time in the Okanagan sun.

Later on we made our way downtown and found the real Ironman...if you enlarge the photo you will see that this Iron Giant is made entirely of bike parts.

Along main street all of the shops are catching Ironman fever. There are signs in every window and posters from just about every year. Rexall Pharmacy got my vote today.

You know they are smiling 'cause they don't have to do it......

Tri-Guy tries his hand at math

Tri Guy checks in the mirror to see if anyone is catching up with his awesomeness.......nope... not a one....

Monday... the countdown becomes pretty serious. If you look at the countdown timer on the right hand side you'll see that it does not have much left on it. At 7:00 a.m. PST the gun (actually a cannon) goes off and we all hit the lake for a refreshing swim.... not sure if they strangle a cat first... seems to be a BC thing. After watching a little TV yesterday for the first time in ages, I decide that I needed to hire a personal psychologist to make sure I stay motivated.

I'm thinking of hiring this guy...

My taper (tape-worm) is almost at an end and the workout schedule is still fairly intense just not for any great length. I am in a great mood and maybe even smiling a bit... here and there... laughing mostly at my own jokes.... but then again..... what's new about that. Hell... I could sit here at my computer all day and laugh.

Here.... Believe in your dreams... a message from Andy Samberg

OR..... maybe this is like your last staff meeting?

Enough of that silliness.......

Easy spin on Monday... I decided to do the Eastside road out to OK Falls and back. A nice little 50K route that has some nice hills to get the legs working, yet nothing too strenuous as to over-cook my quads. I mean after all, in an effort to bring my 3 viewers the best of my training, I often stop for a photo or two... that in itself keeps things easy. I mean you must realize, the more I repeat my routes, the harder it is to bring you a different photographic perspective. But, don't worry, I have no intent of swimming, cycling or running with my camera. No stopping for a scenic shot of the climb, just me smiling and singing to myself and recording the moments on my internal TiVo. However, in training at least, taking the pics and snapping the shots ensures that I don't take myself too seriously and that I do take time to look around and see the sights and take it all in.

So on that note:

Here's the only descent worth mentioning on the route out. It is really a series of "s" turns that hug their way past the rocky face of the cliff they were blasted out of. The road also narrows here and add to the mix a blind corner for oncoming traffic and there you have one fun-loving descent. Not to mention that on the right hand side of the descent, the road gives way to a sheer drop down the craggy face into the lake. I like to take it blindfolded just for that added thrill.

Snapped this pic whilst I was stopping for a moment to attach my blind fold.

The Giant tries love again... this time I thought there might be something, but she seems to give you slivers if you rub her the wrong way.

The KVR comes to OK Falls.

I had posted a pic of this trestle from a distance as I made the climb back up to where highway 3A meets up with highway 97. Today I was able to get right down to the trestle. Now the question you have to ask yourself, is how did I get the pictures below from that angle.... as it 'twas quite tricky..... if you look closely at the photo above, it may have something to do with the fact that I was shoeless.

Just think of me as a bit more King than Kong.

On the way back I came around this corner and saw this lone runner in the distance coming along the base of this beautiful turn around the overhanging abutment. I just thought it was a bit metaphorical for the Ironman... this lone warrior out amongst the massive amount of elements that could crush his insignificant body into a lifeless shredded pulp for just thinking about cycling over its mountainous facade.... but then again.... maybe....

... its just a nice photo of some guy running.

After the ride, I went with the family down to the beach. With mere days to go, the community is coming alive as the hopefuls arrive in town.

I guess.... that's right... I am taking a stab at the champ.... I am a contender.... and time will tell the outcome.

These banners appeared this afternoon down lakeshore drive.... last time I checked... and trust me I have checked.... the swim is 2.4 miles - that translates to 3.84 Km by my math (2.4 x 1.6). I guess they like 3.86.... ah when you're goin' that far... what's an extra 20 amongst friends. On that note.... we all agree it is 2.4 miles. Well check out this map again....

So this image is from the Ironman website..... 1612 + 450 +1800 = 3962 or 3.962K That's not 2.4 miles. That's 2.476 Miles. Hmmmmmm someone has got some math issues and apparently it's me.

Nobody ever said that I didn't give back to the community... here Tri-Guy runs afoul of the local beach scavengers.... this race truly is for the birds.

Apple Triathlon - Canadian Nationals

Up early today.... but no training for Tri-Guy. The day was designed to be a motivator..... after I drove the hour or so to Kelowna.... mostly awake. There is something about watching athletes do what you do. There is a HUGE twitch factor as you watch them go by and think about what you would do if you were them, or strategize with the person beside you. As they come by, your muscles actually "twitch" as you can feel the water running over their hands, the road under their wheels and the kick as the try to get all they can out of the running race at the end.

In adition to the over 1200 athletes, I was there to see my coach - Patrick Peacock and fellow teammate Chris Graham and Team Manitoba coach Dave Lipchen. Thus, I not only had a chance to see some other top notch athletes, I had a chance to see some of my teammates race and hopefully continue with their solid podium finishes.

Watching with me was former Winnipeger Scott Taylor and His wife Sharon, Fellow teammate and coach Jeff Morier (who incidentally won the Olympic event in '95)

I will let the photos spell out the day.

Chris and I meet up in early stages of the day.

I headed down to the beach and found this creature in the warm-up tank.

Pat rounds the marker for lap one of the swim.

Pat heads for T1 -not sure if he is happy yet.

Chris heads for T1 while checking out some hot chick in the crowd.

Pat lays the hammer down for the grandstands.

Chris takes it through the turns past the screaming crowd.

Pat shows us he literally can fly on the run.

Chris sprints for glory, fame and free cookies.

Pat's actual time is 2:02:23

Pat with the fan club... (left to right) Scott, Jeff, Sharon and Dave

Pat takes to the podium and receives medal for 2nd in age group.

Results:

Pat - 7th overall out of 598 participants and 2nd in age group.

Chris - 21st overall out of 598 participants and 10th in age group

Dave - 8th overall out of 378 participants and 2nd in age group.

An excellent showing for Manitoba.

I also had a chance to watch the elites race... WOW!!

Simon Whitfield was so fast... all I got was a shot of his bike in transition. He went on to win the race for the men and Paula Findlay won for the women.

On a footnote....

for those of you following Ironman at home..... Scott Taylor wanted you to know he is racing and his bib number is 1675. He has been working hard and will be publishing a book this fall called - 6 weeks to an Ironman.... it comes with a very informative DVD where Scott unveils his beer can pyramid stacking technique that he developed in the off season... which for him runs until the middle of July.