One Day at a Time

Steveston Icebreaker 8k

2012-02-06T11:10:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday was the Steveston Icebreaker 8k road race, a race that I did last year for the first time, and figured it would be a great race to do again this year, as it's fast, flat, and a good time of year to set benchmarks for my performance. Every year I try to put the same running races into my schedule, as it gives a good baseline for performance year over year, to essentially see where I'm at in my training. Although there are many factors that can change the outcome of the race (ie. what phase of training I'm in, fatigue level from training, etc, etc, etc,) it still serves as a great test. For example, if you crush a race PB from the previous year, and you were MORE fatigued from training, that can be a huge confidence booster. Going slower can be a bit flattening, but something you need to learn to take with a grain of salt, and move on. Sometimes it can be a bigger motivator for increased focus, a little more effort put into recovery, eating properly, etc. The bottom line is: I LOVE doing the running races, because they are just so dang fun!

Race Morning Surprise

This year was no exception, I was all ready to rock and have a blast. I was coming off a busy nightshift, with alarm bells ringing all night in the fire hall, so I was pretty tired toeing the line. I had some issues with my Garmin (busted wrist strap, accidentally LOCKED the keys, which I didn't even know it could do, nor did I have a clue how to unlock it!)

Going out too fast? Naaaaawwwww........

After a rather lack-luster and insufficient warm-up (see above note about problems,) I was JUST in time to the start line to make to gun (literally, the count-down was on as I was sneaking around the side of the line-up to the front!) The weather was somewhat cooperating, at LEAST it wasn't raining (although the insane wind was NOT going to be a friend today, not on the way out at least.) Off the line, being all amped up on oodles of caffeine and Eload Energy Gel (I may or may not have had a few extra swigs from my gel canister before heading to the line,) I shot out front. It was probably NOT the best race strategy, not only because I knew there were much faster runners in the group, but because there was an All Mighty headwind. I, essentially, was the human shield for all the smart runners. Which was EVERYONE else. I realized my mistake, but very quickly a train of guys went by that I was helpless to jump on. So much for pack racing, I was on my own.

Fellow New Balance Vancouver runner Drew Nicholson had already pulled ahead of me by 1km in, but knowing his pacing strategy, I just kept my pace consistent as I was reeling him in, inch-by-meager-inch. Super-Coach Bjoern Ossenbrink and his wife Stephanie Ossenbrink (the Awesome-Duo that lead Team Ossenbrink,) were around 1.5km in on their bikes, yelling at me to "run faster," "get up into the pack," and Bjoern's signature (that anyone who's trained with him knows all too well,) "UP UP!" Giving me a slight bit of motivation (and a large amount of bitterness that I was dying on course and they were all wrapped up warmly,) I pushed on into the headwind, battling the negative thoughts in my head to ease off a bit, as nobody was close behind.

About 500m's from the turn-around, I managed to pull up with Drew. The run back was fast (negative split by almost a minute,) and it was Drew and I, battling one-on-one, Mano-e-Mano, making surges and playing mind tricks. It was intense, and I was loving every second of it! Running by Bjoern and Stephanie again with 2k to go, I got another dose of "UP-UP" and a side-dish of "lean into it." That was all the fuel I needed.

Do you know that noise your car makes when it starts to run out of gas? That ever so faint cough, or sputter? Well, unfortunately for my teammate Drew, my finely tuned mechanical ears heard a small little sputter-cough escape his mouth, and immediately I thought, "he's just run out of gas!" Whether this was true or not, I have no idea. But he let off ever so slightly on the gas, and I made my move. Testing the waters with a solid surge, he slowly fell off the back. 1.5km to go, and it was time to punch it. Pedal-to-the-metal, I gave it everything I had left. Lungs searing, I came down the finisher's chute to some cheers, finishing in a a decent 27:18. Fifteen seconds slower than last year, and :19 slower than I had wanted to go, but taking into account fatigue, and a vicious headwind, I was happy with my performance. I was more happy with my mental state, as every ounce of my body was telling me to let Drew go every time he surged, but I mentally couldn't do it. I stayed mentally strong, and I was proud of myself.

Drew and I post race

9th overall, and 2nd in my age group (which entitled me to some 'bling.' Who doesn't love a little 'bling' post race?) Good day I think! Post race, it was off to the pain cave for a brutal 2hr bike session (which was probably even worse than the race!!) It was really great to see my friends out at the race, the social aspect is one of my favorite parts of racing. At the finish line everyone just wants to chat and I love hearing peoples stories of triumph and pain from out on course.

One week later, I'm 7 days into a SOLID training camp block, over 30hrs of training in the last few days, and many more ahead of me until I finish this block. Then it's a few more days at work, with yet ANOTHER training block after that! Train safe people, get out there and enjoy the unusually mild February weather!!

I leave you with this, my new musical interest, which seems to be able to amp me up and push me harder lately!! A little bit of the DUBstep, by Skrillex. This one is rather awesome:

Enjoy!!!

2012 is HERE!

2012-01-16T21:39:00.000-08:00

FINALLY!! The Christmas craziness is over, and reality is setting in that the new year is here. The over-indulging is finally over, the weight gain has ceased (hopefully! But it's actually important to gain a 'little' bit over this time of year, to help keep you healthy going in to this season.) Back at it all over again, right? I hope everyone had themselves an outstanding holiday season, and has their goals for 2012 all lined up, with a framework on the go to achieve all those goals. Is it to do your first triathlon? To get faster in one of the disciplines, or maybe to win your age-group at particular race? 2012 will be a great year, and I hope everyone is off to a good start. Already back in full swing, Bjoern and I have set forth some lofty goals for this season, and I've been putting in some big workouts to set up a solid base of fitness! The next big item on the block is my HUGE one month training camp in Tucson, with the speedy up-and-coming pro Jonna Trexler. It's going to be exciting, especially considering it will be a month in the heat (it's snowing right now, and at that time of the year it's usually absolutely dirty ugly weather in Vancouver, nothing but cold and rain.) So a perfect getaway from the gross, and to log some monster miles!

Sizing at Speed Theory Vancouver!

In prep for the season, I've decided to jump on a new Cervelo S2 and a P3C (thanks to Speed Theory Vancouver for the hook-up,) to help me achieve my goals and race results! The P3C is awaiting the final parts (yes, a little bit of customization is in order!) but the S2 has arrived in the stable, and has already seen a few solid rides. Wicked ride, just slices through the wind, comfortable as anything too. The P3C will be a rocket ship for sure, I'll be posting pictures up once it's joined me at home base.

The New S2 in the 'Pain Cave'

Another thing I need to get myself for the upcoming season (and I gotta get on it SOON, as my first race is coming up in May!) is a custom race suit. Even though I'm racing mostly half Ironman, I think I have my heart set on a one-piece suit this year. Wondering what peoples different views are on a one or two piece race suit, and the reasoning behind their choices? Also, what brands/models are people using, and what is your feedback on the suits? Always about decisions, decisions. So many options, such as, what color should I go with? Maybe a sleek white/black combo to match my P3C? Or go nuts with something vibrant and neon, and get a matching neon Rudy Project TT helmet? Some ideas would be much appreciated!!!

Maybe this colour?

On a different subject, triathlon is something that has become a big part of my life, and I hope to keep fitness as a large focal point of my life all the way to the 'end' (if that's politically correct?) in order to keep my health as high as possible. I came across yet another interesting little article (thanks Jonna) that proves triathlon (and keeping very fit in general,) well into your later years will not only keep you healthy, but also keep you YOUNG! So maybe the key to staying ageless is to keep going with masters training and racing? Have yourself a read HERE about the "Incredible Un-aging Triathlete."

Hoping everyone's having a great start to 2012, have some fun in the snow (unless you live down south; in that case, damn you and your hot sunny weather!!!)

Nathan

ps. just kidding about the damning. You're missing out on some killer cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and absolutely MIND BLOWING scenery for mountain running ;-P

The Holidays are HERE!!!!

2011-12-19T09:48:00.000-08:00

A mighty lean if I ever saw one!

It's that time of year again! Christmas is only 6 days away, everyone is probably already full to the brim from holiday parties, and there are still a few left on the schedule. I've already had a bunch of Christmas dinners and parties with various family members, friends, and coworkers, but I'm most looking forward to the Christmas eve dinner and Christmas dinner, as they will be sure to deliver that last loading of holiday treats! We've also FINALLY gotten our tree up AND decorated (it's pretty tough to get the whole family together to decorate when every one operates on a different schedule.) All I know is that we bought a 9 foot tree, but after a few glasses of mulled wine, some frustration with and awkwardly grown tree, and getting that frustration out via our sawsall electric saw, we now have a 6 foot tree. But at least it doesn't look like the leaning tower of Pisa.

Creating mulled wine. DELISH!

That being said, we're ready for the big man to make is appearance on the day, and it will be a relief. Being a busy procrastinator, I've not quite finished my Christmas shopping, so the mad rush is on to get it all done. Sometimes it seems like the whole city waited until now as well, total chaos in any mall I visit. There should be some kind of Mall Race, complete with tightly wound shoppers as obstacles, and a prize for the person who can navigate through the mall and collect a list of gifts the fastest! Not sure what kind of prize it would be, but perhaps some kind of online shopping gift card. It'll make you push hard so you don't have to do it again!

Team Ossenbrink Christmas Pub Night

Recently, Super-Coach Bjoern Ossenbrink and I were chatting about the races that I'll be competing in for 2012, a VERY exciting talk to say the least. Not everything is finalized yet, but geez am I EXCITED about the races that we have lined up so far, and even more excited by the prospect of a few races we haven't decided on yet. We'll be figuring it out soon, but suffice to say, 2012 is going to be a BIG year on the race scene. After some time off after the Miami 70.3, the build has officially begun for 2012, and it's time to get serious again. I'm feeling mentally refreshed, and after a few too many holiday parties, and a LOT of time lifting weights in the gym, there's a few pounds that need to be shed before the racing eventually begins again (the first fun of the year is slated for the Steveston Ice Breaker 8k road race on January 29th, in Richmond, BC.)

I hope everyone is out and enjoying the holidays and festivities lately, as well as taking some time to relax and kick back with family and friends. Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates, and have a happy New Years!!! Be safe out there, enjoy some turkey and a slice of pie for me.

The shrinking Christmas tree

Nathan

Some fast and furious fun, the local race scene.....

2011-12-02T10:57:00.000-08:00

One of the things I look forward to in the fall/winter/early spring is all the non-triathlon races going on locally. They're always a good time, and usually I use these races to test my fitness, get a hard race-simulation, work on nutrition/tactics/race strategy, or in the case of the recent few races, just to plain have some FUN! This fall has been no exception, as I've had my share of fun at a few races in the past month. All have been for fun, with no preparation really, just kind of diving in head first, so-to-speak. The UBC Masters swim meet was a blast, biting off a heck of a lot more than I could chew, entering 5 events total (the 50fly, 100free, 200free, 400free, and 800free events.) It was a tough day, as I was coming off a night shift at work, and was tired. By the time I went in to compete in my 4th event, I was ready to pull the pin. BUT, I had entered all the events, and was going to do them whether or not I almost drowned. Suffice to say, NO PB's were had that day, but I sure had a lot of fun! It was so much fun to hang out with friends I hadn't seen in a while, and that's one of the best parts of these events.

Fall Classic, pacing another runner

A couple weeks ago, I jumped in to the New Balance Fall Classic Half Marathon, in UBC. No prep leading in to the race, I just wanted to see what I could do in a half, as I hadn't run one in over 18 months!! I started the race with no preconceived notions as to how I would perform. I find that NOT having any huge expectations for races like this helps me stay relaxed, and generally care-free at the starting line. I went and just ran my race, sticking with another runner until the 18km mark, where I found a surge in my legs that helped me pull away for a 3rd place overall. It was funny, when I was running I was just thinking about my form, staying relaxed, and didn't have any real strategy for a hard kick at the end. But as the race drew on, friends out on course were cheering me on, saying stuff like "The podium is yours," and other words of encouragement. I was running for 3rd/4th with this other guy, at the 18k mark, something inside just told me I HAD to go for it. I tested with a surge, the other guy didn't respond, so I just went ballistic and poured it on heavy. I made a good gap by the end of the race, and was really happy to cross the finish line in under 1:15. Bjoern was at the finish line, along with a group of other friends, and I was elated to have felt as good as I did during the race. I thought the 2011 racing season was now finally completed!!

Breakaway for the finish!!

Wrong.

Apparently, since I felt so good in the race, I was to enter the 2011 Canadian Cross Country National Championships in 6 days, something I've never even done before! I was excited, as XC is essentially the running version of cyclocross, and I'm always jealous of the cross riders I see covered in mud (cause it looks like SO much fun, playing in the mud!!) Getting a pair of New Balance XC race spikes, I spent an hour with Bjoern on the course before the race, figuring out what I was getting myself in to. Race day came, and I was pretty flat! Coming off yet another night shift, I headed to the race site and got ready to race. The weather was awesome (and by awesome, I mean windy, raining sideways, cold, and the WORST mud I've ever even comprehended running in!) It looked like it was going to be a complete gong-show out there, but I was ready for action!

Photo courtesy of Mark Bates, at 321Photos.ca

the New Balance 1700 XC Spikes

A few friends were around the course, cheering us all on, and Jeremy Hopwood was in the race as well. I wasn't really feeling good during the race, but going in to the last lap (5x2km loops,) I yet again found a solid surge to pull ahead of a group of guys, and managed to fend all but one of them off until the finish. I've never run in anything like that before. It was fast, furious, and REALLY worked stabilizers. It was nuts. As Hopwood said, "when the sand feels like the easy parts, you KNOW the course is in rough shape!" Very true, there was deep, uneven mud all OVER the course. But, like I said, I went there to have fun, and I did. I also achieved my goals for the race:

BIG MUD!!!

A. Don't get lapped;
B. Don't come last!

Mission accomplished:)

Ps. thanks to Mark Bates at 321Photos.ca for use of one of his photos from the XC Nationals, you can find the rest of his event photos here.

Now I'm starting to get back in to the training routine, getting ready to begin the base building process all over again. I don't spend a ton of time during the race season doing a lot of strength training, so I've been hitting the gym pretty hard lately to try and pack some meat on these bones for the winter! It's that time of year, to mix it up a bit. Baking season is upon me again, and I've been baking up a storm the last week. You can't go to a Christmas party empty handed, and I have a LOT of those coming up, so I need to refine my recipes. Not that my family doesn't mind, they are my self-appointed product testers. Must be a tough job.

Baking Season!!!

I hope everyone is having a great start to their winter, getting ready to enjoy the upcoming holidays! Happy training out there people, and don't forget to be smart, sensible, and safe on the roads!

By for now,
Nathan

The Off-Season Fun Begins!!! Whistler Relay with the guys.....

2011-11-13T09:04:00.000-08:00

A lot of people get the off-season blues. It's the day after your last race of the year (BIG races I mean,) the culmination of months and months of training has finally been cashed in, and what are you going to do now? That's how I usually feel after the last big one. Always thinking about what's next, until there is no next for the season (at least in the triathlon respective.) With this thought comes a bit of a sadness:

"Did I race well this year?"
"Did I go as fast as I could?"
"What am I going to do now?"

etc, etc, etc......

But this year is different for me. Yeah, I'm still thinking about what's next for training and such, but I'm really trying to just go-with-the-flow this off-season. You know, have some fun (not that life isn't usually 110% AWESOME,) outside of just training and working. So, I know they're still competitions, but one of the things I love about the fall is doing the running relay with the guys from work (Delta Fire Rescue.) Last year I was on the team (for the first time,) when it was the Haney-to-Harrison 100km's relay (consisting of 8 relay legs.) It was terminated after that race, as the logistics and stress on the local communities (not to mention the backlog on traffic,) became too much to bare.

The start line: added an extra 600m's to the leg, so 12.6k.

Now, it's the Whistler relay and Ultra, an 8 leg relay, 80km/50mile Ultra Marathon held up in Whistler. When asked to run with the team again this year, OBVIOUSLY I was all in!! Too much fun every time, I knew it would be a blast. It's run on a 20km loop, the first leg being 12km (what I ran,) and the second being 8km. Then you do it again.

Nearing the end of my 12.6k leg. CHILLY!

And again.

And again.

A perfect Whistler morning greeted us as we arrived, cold and crisp, but dry (albeit a bit of snow on the ground.) I lined up to run the first leg, and what a fun course it was, with some good hills and trails. I pulled off a 3rd in my leg, around the 44min mark, and handed off our chip to the next runner (Ian McCabe,) with almost a 5minute lead on the next Fire guy. Our team ran so well, and came out 3rd in our division (one spot better than last year, improvement is always a plus!!) The main point of this was to have fun, and although I couldn't stay around to party that night, it was a blast and I'll DEFINITELY be back next year. I'll plan to be able to stay the night though, have a little 'extra' fun :)

Next in the sights is a day in the pool at the UBC Masters Swim meet (look at the time, I gotta get going!) ALWAYS an amazing day of racing (and eating, because lets be real, that's why we REALLY do all the training: to eat MORE!) I'm damn excited as I'm entered into 5 events, one of which being the 50m fly, an event I haven't swam before. I haven't even BEEN to a pool in about 8 days, so it's sure to be a gong-show.

But hey, that's what the off-season's for, isn't it?

Enjoy the day, and happy training!!

Ironman 70.3 Miami Race Report

2011-11-06T14:00:00.000-08:00

Ever since I began working with Bjoern Ossenbrink and Lifesport Coaching last December, my training load has been rather high, and to train and race like I have this year has really taken a toll on my body. Suffice to say, coming into Miami 70.3 I was ready to bring this season to a close. My training leading up to Miami has been incredible, pushing myself in workouts harder than I have before, especially when it came to long hard running sessions, and my favourite workouts of all, the weekly brick sessions at the track with Bjoern and the rest of his athletes. Pushing some really positive times, I was confident Miami would be a fast race for me, maybe even a breakthrough. Hell, even my confidence in my swim was high, with some great consistency in the pool. Yup, Miami would be my race.

Days before the race, beautiful weather!

Unfortunately, bad luck decided to rear its ugly little head, and rain down on my parade. About 2 weeks out from the race, I contracted a lovely bacterial infection, which caused me to need a full 10 day course of antibiotics. Out of pure good luck, I managed to also contract some delightful virus that had some pretty uncomfortable symptoms, and the two wreaked havoc on my body for about a week. The antibiotics were the worst, leaving me with practically zero energy or motivation to get out and train. I didn’t want to do much, I ached all day, I felt my recovery was null, and I hated my coach for making me come out to training sessions , (my favourite was when he said, and I quote, “You can stay at home and cry, or come to the pool and do something about it.” Classic Bjoern! For those of you who know him, you know what I’m talking about.) I have the best coach, but boy did I despise him for making me come to some of those sessions. I had my doubts about the upcoming race, even though we both stayed positive, and I kept my confidence high, there was a realization early on that I might not even be able to race.

At the Expo with Jonna

Anyways, the morning I left for Miami was the end of my antibiotics, and within a few days I could feel my energy returning. I was staying at an apartment near the race site, in downtown Miami, owned by a really upstanding gentleman named Ricardo. A triathlete himself, he opened his home to me, which I am grateful for. The place was amazing, equipped with an outdoor pool (although only being about 18m’s long, I still managed to get a swim workout done in it!) The place was brilliant; walking distance to everything you could need (except the beach to swim at, although I managed to get a few open water swims in pre-race.)

Me swimming, photo from the apartment patio, 34 floors above!

You may recall that I happened to meet a few fantastic people in Pennsylvania during the Pocono Mountains race, members of the Endurance Multisport tribe of athletes. Well, I was really excited to have Jonna Trexler join me in Miami, to assist with race support. Brand new to the sport this year, she is excelling at an amazing pace, dominating the amateur and elite amateur race scene. I’ve never really had someone like that as race support for a race I’ve travelled to, and what a difference it makes! I found myself much more relaxed, and was kept in check when I started to get a little too excited and carried away (I know, I know, doesn’t sound like me AT ALL :D Haha!) The days leading up to the race I had some good confidence building sessions in training. I tested out the Nineteen Frequency Speed Suit Prototype that, up until this race, I hadn’t trained in too much as I haven’t had to race with it yet. It was an amazing suit, and I was feeling very strong in the open water, even when it was choppy (note to self: the water in the Florida Keys is VERY VERY SALTY!!!) I’ve never experienced water as salty as that, it felt like I had such great buoyancy in the water (either that or I’ve enjoyed a few too many treats lately.....) My new Aquasphere Cayenne goggles worked really great for the open water, they never fogged and my visibility was unbelievable! I’ve never had that much peripheral vision in the water; it made sighting a whole lot easier. After a few rides on the P3C, the legs were feeling fluid and strong (not that I didn’t have quite the boost from a wicked wheel-set, 1080 rear/808 front, graciously lent to me by my great friend Andrew Powell.) The winds in Miami could get quite intense, but I found I didn’t have too much problems getting thrown around on the wheels.

Waiting to go to the dock, race morning. Lovely weather huh?

One of the reasons I signed up for Miami was because I KNEW it would be warm there this time of year. What I didn’t really take in to consideration was that it was ALSO hurricane season. As luck would have it, there was a tropical storm warning for race day. The weather had been really gorgeous leading up to the race, but the day before it started to turn. I was sure I could ‘will’ it to be nice on race day, if I just hoped hard enough maybe it would turn out sunny. Lucky for us, we at least didn’t get rained on for the Pro meeting the day before the race (as it was outside.) Leading into this race, I had briefly checked out the starting list, but didn’t really see any big names. I thought the pro field was going to be small.

on the dock, waiting for swim start

WRONG!!!! Walking up the bleachers for the meeting, I started to notice some fast guys who I’ve seen in the past, and then a few of the sports superstars, such as Matty Reed and Michael Raelart. I was so excited to be able to toe the line with some of the sports best athletes, and I got a bit of a confidence booster by Bjoern and Jonna (I guess that’s what the ‘support’ team is for!) Needless to say, it was going to be a bit of a star studded affair on Sunday.

Coming out of the water in the Nineteen Speed Suit

Race morning started out as it typically does, not much sleep and a bit groggy. I woke up excited, but that started to sink a bit when I looked outside. It was raining sideways, and I don’t mean that in a metaphorical way either. It was windy as hell with hard, driving rain. After my usual race morning breakfast of toast with almond butter, honey and a banana, I was off to the race site. It was a little cooler than I had expected, the downpour probably wasn’t really helping with that fact. After setting up my transition, and doing my routine warm-up, it was time to get to the dock for the swim start. The race was delayed 15mins, which was a good thing, as it was still really dark. All the pros stood around shivering, waiting to get in the water (which was actually a relief, as it was a warm 77 degrees!) I lined myself up in a good position, and with a horn blast the race was on!!!! Sprinting off the line, I held a good position for the first few hundred meters. I felt my form was really great, and settled into a good rhythm. I started to fall back from the big packs, and ended up swimming more than half the swim alone. The currents were pretty crazy out there, and the return into the dock was upstream. I was caught by Leanda Cave and a few other pro women right before the end of the swim, and managed to get punched in the eye. It felt like my goggle was going to suck my eyeball out of my head!!! At least you know those goggles have a good seal.

Fighting the wind, feeling strong

Even when it's tough, still all smiles :)

Onto the bike I was feeling good. My energy was soaring, the cheers from the crowds were getting me pumped up, and I started to push like a freight train right off the bat. The course was difficult in the sense that it was so flat, with VERY few turns, and that made it a bit of a mental trip to try and keep myself in check. It’s important to continually assess while on a course like that, and I rode practically the whole bike along, so it was even more important for me to stay aggressive, so as not to let myself slow down without realizing it. The first ¾’s of the bike I felt really aggressive and strong, and my speed was really awesome. One of the things that made this course extra hard was the wind; it NEVER let up! I was riding into a headwind on the way out, and it felt like an even stronger headwind coming back. It was exhausting, and I was feeling the effects for the last 10-15 miles. Flying into T2, my transition was sped up by Jonna’s loud yelling to hurry up and go faster! It caught me off guard, but got me moving a little quicker. I was using my new compressport socks, and they went on really quickly.

Hard right to the line

The final kick, leaving it all out there.

Hitting out on the run course, I was getting blown around pretty badly. The winds had picked up even more, and I felt like a leaf getting knocked about. I ran like a warrior, digging deep the whole run, but sometimes you know right off the bat when you’re not running to your full potential, and I was hurting right from the get go. I slogged it out, starting out with a really great pace, and the encouragement from the crowds kept me going, especially from Jonna and Jill Allen, a good friend of Rachel McBride’s (who was also racing today.) There was a causeway out to South Beach, and the general consensus among EVERYONE was the same: the winds were effin’ CRAZY!!! The first loop, the rain felt like needles, and the wind was gusting so hard it was like running into a wall! Seeing Rachel with her devil horns on her head gave me a laugh, and helped me to keep pushing through (as I also knew she had a broken foot, that made me suck-it-up and go harder!!) Leanda Cave caught me at about the 11.5mile mark, as she had been gaining on me the whole race. Just at the 12 mile marker, I found the last little bit of power I had left and started to kick. I don’t know what my pace was, but it must’ve been fast! I quickly pulled away from Leanda, and just ran as hard as I could to the finish. Completely spent, in a time of 4:15:08, I crossed the finish line.

Finish line with Rachel....and FOOD

Takes someone special to hug you after a half-ironman!

The race was fun, as they always are (whether or not they go right or wrong, I always take away the positives.) Finally glad to be finished with this LONG LONG season, it was time to take advantage of being in Miami with some amazing people. After the awards ceremony, where Rachel collected her 7^th place trophy, we headed off to South Beach for some post-race celebrations, with happy hour at their resort, and some of the best Mexican food I’ve had, at Rosie’s Mexican. The night was full of laughs and good times, and I couldn’t have been in better company than Jonna, Rachel, and Jill.

Happy Hour post-race:)

I have to thank everyone who has supported me this year, my family and friends have been the most amazing support network I could ever imagine!! My Super-Coach Bjoern Ossenbrink of Lifesport has made me strong, and I couldn’t have gotten to the level I’m at without him. Thanks to Eload, Compressport, New Balance Vancouver, Nineteen wetsuits, Popeye’s Supplements, and most recently, Jeremy Wilson and the crew at Speed Theory Vancouver. Without your support I wouldn’t have made it this far.

Rosie's Mexican!!

The season is finally done, it’s time to recover, decompress, and rebuild for the 2012 season, where I know there is going to be some big work, with even bigger results! Stay tuned for all the fun things I get up to in the next few weeks, lots of excitement I promise! Stay healthy everyone, and enjoy the off-season.

The Movember Stache

2011-11-04T09:00:00.000-07:00

Last year's dirty 'stache; bigger aspirations for this year!!

Last year I made my first ever attempt to grow a 'stache for Movember, and I guess you could say it was a success (or a hair FAIL, whatever way you want to look at it!) It was a dirty nasty thing, but it got a lot of attention (which is the EXACT reason you grow for movember, to bring awareness.) This year I'm growing my little creepy 'stache as part of Delta Fire Department's Mug Slugs, and if you want some good Karma, please donate ANYTHING you can to help out with the cause!! Every little bit helps, as every dollar raised will support the awareness, research, education, and survivorship of prostate cancer.

To help me help my brothers, go to my Mobro.co address and donate anything you can, and help us fight the good fight!!

Thank you, and happy training!

Ironman 70.3 Pocono Mountains Race Report

2011-11-02T20:22:00.000-07:00

I originally signed up for the inaugural Pocono Mountains 70.3 because it was the only 70.3 race that fit into my schedule that would also give me points towards the 70.3 World Championships for 2012. I had ignorantly thought, “Hey, Pennsylvania at the beginning of October, it’s going to be warm weather I’m sure!”

Well, I was wrong. Wrong doesn’t even begin to describe it. See, if I had done some research, I would’ve found out (BEFORE signing up) that there has been record rainfall all summer, and that the temperatures CAN be okay, but more often than not it is cooler. As the date approached to leave, I was feeling an unbelievable amount of confidence in myself, as my training had been going spectacular! My swim was FINALLY coming together, I was having some amazing bike sessions, and I was performing brick and track workouts at a level beyond what I had ever been capable of before. “Yes,” I thought, “this will be the race where it all comes together.” Then I started looking at the weather forecasts. They weren’t pretty. In fact, comparing it to Vancouver weather, it STILL wasn’t pretty (on race morning, at 4am (that’s 1am Vancouver time,) the temperature was 2 degrees colder in the Poconos than in Van.) This started to make me nervous, as I have a knack for performing better in the warmer weather. Wondering what I was getting myself into, I stayed positive (as I’m known to be, regardless of what’s happening around me,) and knew I would still pull something great together. Arriving the Wednesday before the race, I was greeted by my first of two homestays, Craig and Erica Sheckler. They are the owners and head coaches of the Endurance Multisport Triathlon Club, based out of the Emmaus/Pocono area of Pennsylvania. They were an outstanding pair, great hosts and super friendly. I stayed with them the first and last night of my trip, and the few nights between I stayed with Matt Wojaczyk, a club member. Another fantastic host, he showed me the area and the race course, as well as volunteered on race day.

TT style race start

The night before the race, as I’ve become accustomed to, I didn’t sleep a wink. I didn’t even think much about the race, but just couldn’t sleep. We had found out the day before that the swim had been cancelled, as the Deleware Water Gap (the river we were to swim in,) was 8-9 feet above normal levels, making a normally flaccid running river into a raging force of muddy brown hell. It was insane. If we had swam, they would’ve needed catch nets at the end or we would have been goners!! (So much for my swim finally coming together.) Getting to T1, it was damn cold that morning. I was a little happy there was no swim, as it usually DOESN’T put me at the front of the race, and I was fairly sure I would’ve become hypothermic if I had swam in the water. The skies started to open up on us as we lined up to start, Time Trial style, at the entrance of T1. I was feeling good, and was the third pro male to go. They let us go 30 seconds apart (the age groupers went 2-3 seconds apart.) It was hard hard hard (as Coach Bjoern would say,) right from the start. The hills started almost immediately, with all sorts of technical turns and rollers (which, if it had been a bit drier out, would have been a good course for me.) Fully layered up to try and stay warm, I rode hard. A few strong riders eventually went by me, but I maintained contact with a bunch of them. Time seemed to just fly by, and I was riding so well. Then, 45 miles in, my front tire went flat. “Crap,” I thought, “why now?” Into action I went, pulling over and ripping my Hutchinson tire sealant off, and started fighting to get the small nipple adapters screwed on. It was tough, and I was having a hard time working my frozen fingers. It took many tries to get the adapters all screwed on, and by the time I was ready to roll again, it had felt like 20mins had passed by. “Back in the game I thought,” as I started to roll.

Hard at work on the bike

Lovely bike riding weather

And yet again, it was not meant to be. As foam started flying out of the original hole, just spraying all over the bike, the road, and all up-and-down my front, I pulled off again and tried to see if there was glass or something still stuck in the tire. **Learning experience: Pit-Stop does NOT work on clinchers!!** Nothing in the tire, with foam still shooting everywhere, I just thought I’d keep going, at least until the tire went flat. Well, lucky me, the tire stopped deflating with about 20-30lbs of air in it, just enough to keep riding on, but not enough that I could really push hard AT ALL. See, the elevation profile is all sorts of rollers and climbs, culminating to the 45mile mark, where it is mostly technical downhill the rest of the way. Suffice to say, my rear brake saw a lot of action the final 10miles, as I was in no hurry to crash my BRAND NEW Cervelo P3C.

Into T2, I was a bit unmotivated to run, but throwing my run gear on, (in what felt like an absurdly large amount of time, ended up actually being pretty quick,) I was off onto the run course. I figured I would run my race, just focusing on form and nutrition, as there was no chance for me to place well. Alone with my thoughts (and the cheering of the aid station attendees,) I trucked myself all the way to final big climb to the turn-around. The course was very hilly, and extremely challenging, with a lot of rollers and steep inclines. Just before the turn-around, I realized that there was a few guys not so far ahead of me.

Erica, Jonna, and other Endurance Multisport members

Game on. I figured with nothing left to lose, I started to open up the throttle and let’er rip!! After a few miles, another pro was in sight, and that was it. Tossing my gel and salt-tablet flasks, I kicked it up another gear, and putting a target on his back I started to really put a dent in his lead. I mean, I started to give it everything I had, and with about 1.2miles to go, I passed through the last aid station (with my competitor only 10 yards ahead.) Two things I forgot to mention:

A. The entire run course is pretty much an out-and-back;

Craig with long pink hair!

B. Craig and Erica were manning the first/last aid station with their Triathlon club members, all of them outlandishly dressed up in all manners of pink outfits (I especially liked Craigs long pink hair.)

Finishing strong

Before the race, Erica told me she was a REALLY loud yeller, and I said I’d hold her to that. She came through, and the cheers and yells to “RUN FASTER, HE’S RIGHT THERE!!!!” were like throwing jet-fuel on the fire, and I started to kick. I don’t know how fast I ran that last mile, but dammit if I almost didn’t set a PB!!! I kicked past that guy and just ran with a blinding sprint, I have no idea where it came from. I put something like 30-40 seconds on him by the finish, and was elated that I finished so strong. 11^th pro overall, not what I was expecting, but given the circumstances, I was happy with my performance (and learned a lot from the race.) Post race festivities included some much deserved beers, and my favourite pub-food of all-time, yam fries!! I sat down for dinner at a local Irish Pub with Craig, Erica, Matt and a delightfully good-looking (and talented,) up-and-coming elite triathlete, Jonna. Splurging on all things delicious, it was a fine way to end the evening.

Even though the conditions were crappy, and I had one helluva flat tire scenario, I’m glad I went down to Pennsylvania. I took a lot of important learning lessons away from the race, and made a bunch of awesome new friends. I’ll be taking all the lessons learned and putting everything into my last race of the season, Miami 70.3, on October 30^th. I feel like my fitness is far better than it has ever been, and I have a new level of confidence going in to the race. Most people have long since finished their race season, but I hope everyone is out and enjoying the last bit of warmth and nice weather we’re enjoying in the Lower Mainland.

Safe and happy training everyone!!

Hunting Shenanigans!!

2011-10-18T21:13:00.000-07:00

Coffee+oatmeal=only way to get fueled up!

mum and dad brought Bullwinkle for a visit.....

Every year, my parents and a friend go up to Northern BC for a hunting trip in October, usually for a few weeks. Well, I LOVE to go hunting with them, and this year was no different. I headed up for 4 days post-Pocono Mountains 70.3, mostly to unwind a bit and get a bit of a mental break. As Borat would say, "Much success!" I had a blast up there, not to mention we bagged three bull moose (for those not proficient in moose jargon, that's a male moose.) The best part? The three moose are only being split between two families (so that's 1.5 moose each,) which is somewhere in the vicinity of 500-600lbs of FINISHED AND WRAPPED meat!! Enough to keep us going through the winter (and probably next winter too!) Pure, clean, healthy, muscle building protein:)

Yeah. That's 'THE' Buck knife.

Coach had me scheduled for two 'tempo' runs while there, short but fast (just something to keep the blood from going stagnant in the legs!) Well, for those of you who know anything about the backwoods of BC, we have a large number of bears roaming around (although I'm sure they'd take one look at my stringy legs and realize it isn't even worth the effort of getting up to chase me!haha!) So dad, with his bottomless depth of knowledge and experience, suggested I run with my recently purchased Buck knife.

Yeah, a knife. And not Crocodile Dundee's "Now THIS is a knife," knife. A little dinky orange knife (the color would probably be more of a deterrent than the blade!)


This is what me and my 'knife' would be up against.....

When I questioned the ability of a knife to ward off an attacking bear, he very calmly stated (like it's an everyday event,) "just be sure to protect your throat, and jab at the bear's face with your Buck."

No kidding. Now there's a life lesson worth remembering.

Sometimes you need to improvise for a recovery drink!!!

Anyways, lucky for my scrawny self there weren't any run-ins with any bears. But there was a run-in with hills. Let me explain: where we were was at about a mile of altitude. I've never run that hard at any altitude (I've never even run at altitude before in fact,) and I totally forgot about this, until I was trucking up the fourth big hill on my first run. I couldn't figure out why my legs were screaming for me to stop, and it felt like there was a pillow over my face! Once I got back to camp and was playing with my Garmin, I realized why.

This is what a bear sees when I run through the woods......fresh meat!

The trip was a great refresher leading in to Miami, it really helped me to refocus on the upcoming race. I'm feeling stronger than ever, and I know the heat in Miami will work in my favor. I hope everyone's gotten outside to enjoy the sun lately. Once it's gone, who KNOWS when it'll come back!

Happy Training Everyone :-)

Training Tool Review: Nathan Human Propulsion Labs 'Speed 2' Hydration Belt

2011-09-22T10:42:00.000-07:00

I've always appreciated reviews on products that other athletes have used, as it gives you (generally) an objective and unbiased (well, in the case of sponsored athletes, maybe slightly biased,) idea of what to expect from said product. So, I thought other athletes (from elites to weekend warriors) might appreciate a review here and there, just an outline of my thoughts on some of the training tools I've been using lately. Bare with me here, this is my first review, so let's get the ball rolling; today's review is on the 'Speed 2' hydration belt, from Nathan Human Propulsion Laboratories (and no, I'm not biased because we just so HAPPEN to share the same name....)

The old Fuel Belt

Three years back, I was informed by my coach that it would be a good idea to purchase a hydration belt for training, and more importantly, for racing. Back then, with a tight budget, I opted for a two-bottle system by 'Fuel Belt.' It seemed to be everything I would need (two bottles was more than sufficient for me; as I live in a rather temperamental rainforest climate, for a run of less than 2hrs I usually do not even need water.) It was adjustable by two means (a velcro closure and adjustable buckle-straps,) also had a small gel/key pouch, and was fairly lightweight. I never really liked it, and rarely used it. I raced with it once, but the chafing it produced prevented me from ever wearing it again in a race.

Nathan Human Propulsion Laboratories 'Speed 2'

Fast forward to today. About two months ago I purchased a Nathan 'Speed 2' hydration belt, as my training was ramping up for some 70.3 racing, and the temperature was increasing too. I was primarily using the belt for long runs, and longer brick running. I don't intend to use the belt for racing, unless I visit somewhere with extreme temperatures; I've learned to utilize as much on-course hydration as possible. That being said, it is an extremely useful training aid, as I have experimented with different mixes and variations in the bottles to see their effect on my training, as well as on hotter days (I seem to have a knack for doing a lot of my running during the hottest parts of the day.) The 'Speed 2' is by far more comfortable than my previous belt; with just the one adjustment (by way of a velcro closure on the front,) it NEVER loosens off, so where I set it at the start of my run, by 30km's in it hasn't moved at all. I find the inner portion of the belt has a somewhat soft material, and without any vertical seams, it has yet to give me any chafing issues.

Now for the part that I like the most, what really used to bug me about my Fuel Belt: easy accessibility, both for removing the bottles, and replacing them back in to the belt. My old belt's bottles came out decently easy enough, but it was a huge struggle trying to get them back in; you would see me dancing around while running, using both hands behind my back trying to get the bottle back in. What a pain, especially if you're running tempo or intervals. The 'Speed 2' bottle holsters (I would almost refer to them as 'cages,') are a solid plastic design, and the bottles go in-and-out with ease, single handed (meaning NO MORE RUN DANCING!!) As much as I like dancing about, there's no place for it while slogging out a long run (well, maybe a small victory dance at the end.....) The bottles stay very firmly in the holsters (I have had the bottles on my old belt fly out before,) and I haven't noticed any bounce, no matter how full or empty the bottles are. Another small inconvenience some people may have noticed with their hydration bottles, is that annoyingly small amount of leakage that you get up and down your back; I didn't have even a SINGLE drop come out of the bottles during any of my running with the belt. The human body excretes enough of a mess during a long run, you don't need sticky electrolyte drink all over everything too!!

The rear pouch: the last small convenient part of the belt. I easily put my car keys, a few gel packets, and a small pack of tissues (those of you who run LONG know what the latter is for,) into the pouch, and it all stays nice and dry.

I'm sure there's many places to grab one of these belts around the lower mainland, but I know you can get them at any of the three New Balance Vancouver stores (downtown Van, North Delta, or Langley.) I'm pretty sure there are also a ton of online options available too.

I hope some find this review helpful. Everything here is my own opinion, and I am sure there are other products out there that are similar to this one, but I haven't used them. Enjoy, and Happy Training everyone!!!!

Cervelo P3C....... "White Lightning"

2011-09-21T21:15:00.000-07:00

Doug and Bjoern hard at work!

An exciting development as of late is the fact that I'm now working with Jeremy Wilson and the Speed Theory Vancouver Store's team. I am ecstatic to be working with them, and to also have received my new 2011 Cervelo P3C Dura-Ace, (affectionately named "White Lightning" by Doug and Bjoern,) only a few days ago. I went in to the shop on saturday, and Coach Bjoern, along with Doug Giles, worked late to put the final touches on it and perform a bike fit. The outcome? A sweeeeet ride, with some little 'extra' bits to make it that much sweeter. Let me explain:

The added ZIPP bars and cage

The bike comes with a deadly 3T carbon aero-bar set-up, but Bjoern decided to up the ante (a fair bit) by throwing a set of ZIPP Vuka aero extensions on it. They are super light, and integrate the dura-ace bar-end shift lever right into the bars; no extra weight on the end, just the small lever. As per Doug's recommendation, I added a Profile Design arm rest bracket between the aero-bars, to hold one of my two new Arundel Dave-O bottle cages. Handy. Another little gem we've added, to improve my riding comfort and ability to potentially push a bit more power (plus, it looks wicked in white,) is the Cobbs V-Flow Plus saddle. Both things that will improve the overall comfort and ride.

Cobbs V-Flow Plus

So what do I think so far? I haven't put any big hard rides on it yet (by the end of the weekend it will have seen it's share of torturous sessions,) but for the riding I have done, it has exceeded my expectations. For one thing, the bike is lighter than my last ride was. Smooth comes to mind as well, I didn't notice a whole lot of jarring transferring through the frame, even on rougher roads. The fit, well, that's a whole 'nother thing! It is completely different to my last bike, I'm able to relax a lot more throughout my upper body (instead of arching my back and crushing my diaphragm to find the best seating position.) This makes transferring power through the pedals much easier, and I would suspect over a longer, harder session, less fatigue (because I expend less energy trying to hold my body in unusual positions.)

"White Lightning"

The look of the bike really helps it's cause as well; the all-white scheme, complete with the bar tape, cable housings, and saddle, make it rather appealing to the eye. It'll look pretty deadly once the race wheels go on as well, a thick carbon tubular wheel ALWAYS makes for a speedy looking rig.

I'm ecstatic to have the bike for the last two races of the season, 70.3 Pocono Mountains being in only 11 DAYS!! Miami 70.3 will be at the end of October, and both races I'm feeling extremely confident about, especially with my running and swimming, which haven't seemed to pull through in the last few races. I've been having increasingly positive and confidence-boosting run sessions, and my swim seems to be much more consistent lately. Combine that with what I hope will be a hill crushing bike leg, and perhaps there will be some solid results to round out my season (also, both the next two races will help me accumulate points towards racing at the 70.3 World Championships in Vegas next year, my 2012 goal race.) I'll be leaving everything out on course, and considering my past record of late season peaking, there might be a whole bunch left out there. (My first half-ironman in my first season I went 4:52; the end of October that year I went 4:22. Last year, after no half-iron training, I managed to suffer out a 4:13 in 70.3 Austin at the end of October.)

Bjoern ensuring the bike is okay to ride!!

With the depressing fall weather upon us, I hope everyone can find some sort of sunshine to keep them going through the next few dark, cold months. Happy training everyone, and for those of you still holding your nose to the grindstone, happy racing!!

The Re-Build to 70.3

2011-09-11T22:10:00.000-07:00

Today was the Ironman 70.3 World Championships, and what a day it was! The inaugural race in Las Vegas, a far more hilly and windy course than Clearwater was, had some outstanding results. The Team Ossenbrink members that made it down had some outstanding results, with Rachel McBride coming 11th place in the women's race. That's 11th OVERALL!!! IN THE WORLD!!!! Considering she only found out two weeks ago that she was racing, she performed outstanding. Stephanie Ossenbrink also raced very well, and the rest of the team made waves in their respective age-groups.

I have to give props to Jeff Symonds of Penticton, a friend of mine who I've known since I started racing, for coming 3rd place in what was the 'race of his life.' Coach Bjoern said he was just flying out there, and he hunted down 7 guys on the run, almost catching Chris Lieto as well, but he just seemed to run out of real-estate. Only his second World Championship, and only his second season racing 70.3, I think Jeff has more in him. We'll see a #1 in Vegas from him in the next few years.

As for me, there is some exciting news!! For the past year I have been working with John and Lynne at Pacific Multisport, and they have been so supportive, doing everything they can to help me out. I thank them for all their support. Now I have joined forces with Jeremy Wilson and the Speed Theory Vancouver team, where we already have a Cervelo P3C on it's way, for me to finish off the season on a new race rig. There are few things that excite a triathlon geek (guilty) more than a brand new shiny bike, especially something as fancy as the P3C. It should be arriving in the next week, and I will be racing it at Pocono Mountains 70.3, as well as Miami 70.3. Speaking of the 70.3's, my build into Pocono is going extremely well. The weather is definitely helping, the sun is a great motivator to get on the bike. I've been logging some solid volume lately, and the numbers are all going in the right direction. I've been running in a new pair of New Balance 1400 race flats, which I will do a review on shortly. Basically, they are an awesome new tool for my collection, and they will be used in the upcoming 70.3's.

I hope everyone's been out enjoying the sun, keep the heat coming!!! Happy training:)

Glotman-Simpson Cypress Challenge Hill Climb

2011-08-26T21:24:00.000-07:00

Warming up behind the buggy!

Last saturday (August 20th,) I had the pleasure of attending the Cypress Challenge, a fundraiser put on by Glotman-Simpson cycling to fundraiser for pancreatic cancer research. It was a huge success, for everyone involved (almost 400 competitors,) as over $120,000 was raised!! That's a HUGE success! Being not only my first time climbing Cypress, but also my first attempt at RACING up a mountain, I wasn't really sure how everything was going to pan out. But I can tell you this much: I had FUN!!! I love triathlons, don't get me wrong, but there is something exciting about bike racing, especially the shorter, harder effort races.

Starting at the bottom near the highway, it was a neutral roll-out. We followed a BMW sponsor car for the first km on the flatter section, and once we hit the hill it was on!! I started out in the front, being a newbie to the cycling scene, and once the stronger guys started to push, they pretty much left me in the dust. I managed to stick with the front group for a while, which eventually strung out and broke into two groups. I rode in my group, but by about 1/3rd of the way up, I started to fall off the back. Riding solo for a while, pushing harder than I have in a long while up the hill, someone started to pass me. I thought, "oh damn, getting passed again...."

At the start; I'm just to the left of the guy standing, blue helmet, black/white jersey.

Then I realized it was a woman (Nik Vogler.)

Riding in my pack (that dropped me)

I'm sure many people have heard of the phrase "Getting Chicked." I don't think you'll find it in any dictionary, but I've heard the definition as "When a dude busts a gut to pass a chick simply because she is a chick and then that chick dusts that dude later." Well, this is where it got ugly. I've been chicked before, I'm not ashamed to say, and in this situation it was a pure cyclist, so I by no means felt compelled to fake an injury and drop out because I was getting passed. But, that being said, deep down (I think inside every man) there's this neolithic machismo instinct that prevents us from completely succumbing to the fact that we're getting 'chicked.' So, as the definition entails, I started to turn myself inside-out to keep up. Boy did it hurt, I tagged onto her wheel and gave it everything I had!! Alas, once my 'gut was bust,' I just couldn't hang on anymore. I'm pretty sure she was increasing her power, cause not only did I get chicked, but she also caught, and passed, the two groups ahead of me (I was close enough to watch her slowly go through both.)

Nearing the top (solo, cursing myself yet again for putting myself through this torture,) I really started to crank out everything I had left as the pack behind was quickly bearing down on me. Thinking the climb would was never going to end, I rounded the final corner, and the finish was in sight!! Crossing, I was spent, but happy; coming off a few weeks of heavy racing and training, a 25th overall placing (not bad for a triathlete;) haha) in a time of 38:24. Meeting with a group of friends, it was a crazy fast descent!! I set a new max speed PB on the way down, at 86.3 km/hr. They made an awesome Cypress Challenge Video, I even managed to sneak into it at 1:25, riding at the front.

Spending the rest of the day in the Kits beach area, hanging out with lots of different friends, it was the best way I can think of spending a hot summer day. Finishing the day off with an amazing burrito from Las Margaritas (which I have to make a positive mention, as they actually allowed me to bring my race bike INSIDE the restaurant while we ate, as I had nowhere else to put it.) Great service, even better food, and the best company!

This week has seen some pretty good training, all of which is a build-up to the next big race, Ironman 70.3 Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania, on Oct. 2nd. The next few weeks will be INSANE, as the World Police and Fire Games is happening right now in New York, and I've taken on a lot of extra shifts to support the guys who are going over there to compete. We have a lot of outstanding athletes heading over, and I'm sure they'll be bringing home some gold:)

Enjoy the summer heat (finally,) happy training and racing!!

Sooke Pro Pursuit Race Report

2011-08-16T12:31:00.000-07:00

The first of it's kind for me (and hopefully not the last,) the chase race format was an exciting concept to me. Letting the women start 15mins before the men, and then having the men 'chase' them to the finish line. I thought 15 minutes would be a ridiculous gap to try and bridge, but evidently not (at least for some of the men!) What fun it was, here's how it all broke down:

Another early morning race start (7am,) I was up UBER early to make sure I had time to get breakfast all sorted out before the gun went off. I've totally forgotten that 4am actually existed, but when my alarm went off, I knew it was time to jump to action. Having some trouble sleeping lately, pre-race night was no exception. But I felt pretty good, and the only issue I was having was a nagging foot problem that caused a lot of pain when running, especially barefoot (and since we run at least twice barefoot over rough ground, I was prepared for some pain. It IS a race after-all!!) Off to the race start, I prepped my bike and T1 area, including my typical pre-race joking with my fellow racers. I knew that no matter what it would be a fun day, as many of my friends were racing, as well as spectating.

Warm-up in the water went well, and the water temperature was PERFECT for me! It was as warm as a pool, which is perfect for me. I like it warm, but I knew in the same breath that it would get pretty cold on the bike today, as it was foggy and cool out. Standing on the pontoon, minutes before the start of the mens field, the women's field swam by to begin their second loop of the swim. With the TV cameras on us, we were prompted to heckle the women as they passed. You know, give something exciting for the cameras. So I indulged, along with some of my competitors, to give some friendly heckling to the passing swimmers (knowing full well that a lot of them were swimming far faster than I can!lol) The gun went off for us shortly after, and it was ON! My first ever pontoon start went well, I dove in and swam like mad. I held on to the pack for a bit, but my extreme lack of swimming experience saw me slowly drop off the back of the main pack. I was happy to be in my Nineteen Frequency though, it kept me buoyant and moving as fast as I could.

Coming in to T2

Into T1, I could see I was a bit behind. The thing about triathlon transitions, you can always tell how well you've done coming into T1 and T2, by the number of bikes either left, or returned, to their spots. Well, suffice to say, there weren't many left, so I knew I had some catch-up to play. For some reason, I don't bode well in the cold AT ALL. I was freezing for the first 30 minutes on the bike, my legs were just useless stumps that I couldn't feel! I'm sure everyone's done a race where the legs are completely useless for a while, and this was the case for me. But as I descended the final hill to the turn-around, I realized how close I was to the main pack! So, back up the hill after the turn-around, I started to turn myself inside-out to chase down some of the pack. Slowly I began reeling people in, passing one at a time, and about half-way back started catching some of the woman field. I was giving everything I had, and it was slowly paying off.

Heading out to 'hunt!'

The hard push to the finish line!!

Into T2, my feet were hurting pretty bad. I mean, they were frozen solid, so it was a bad sign that I could feel the pain shoot through as I ran to my shoes. Struggling to get them on, I was VERY surprised to see Scott Curry just leaving T2. I thought, "Man, I must've ridden better than I thought I did!!" So on went the shoes (after much cursing under my breath to get them on,) and the hunt began. I ran like a man on a mission (okay, maybe a boy on a mission,) and starting closing the gap on guys right away. By the half-way mark, I was able to finally feel my feet again, which turned out to be a bad thing, as they were in HUGE amounts of pain. But I kept on pushing. I could see Carlos Lesser and Elliot Holtham a ways ahead, and I had targets on them. But they saw me coming, and I never was able to run them down. After a final hard push to the finish, I managed one more pass in the final few hundred meters, and I finished strong (actually, due to the thick wood chip patches and hill at the finish, I probably resembled a drunk ox stumbling along, more than a strong runner.) Due to my weaker swim, my race strategy is one that I playfully refer to as "hunting." As such, I mentally put targets on the backs of my competitors and give chase the whole race. Around the 2-3km mark, I was in full-on hunt mode as I bore down on the next few racers, and as I descended a hill, a mule deer popped out of the bushes to my right. Immediately I had a laugh, as I was 'hunting,' and here was an animal that would normally be associated with REAL hunting! The best part was, it hopped along the side of the road, giving me a little more motivation to run faster (see: ancestral hunting instincts.) Something a little different to lighten the day:)

They helped me to a new PB!!

Post race was a happy occasion, with Rachel McBride having an outstanding race, rounding out the top 5 podium! It was awesome to see that 3 of the top 5 spots were Lifesport teammates, and two of them were also Compressport Teammates (Rachel and the increasingly amazing Jeff Symonds.) I was very surprised to see I had the 5th fastest run of the day, a 33:10 clocking (a new PB,) and the 8th fastest bike of the day. Considering my issues out there, I was VERY happy with these numbers. This also being my first race with a power meter on the bike (which I find HIGHLY useful for training, and using power numbers from the race to analyze my performance,) Coach Bjoern and I were very surprised and happy with the numbers shown. Thanks to Ivan Jelic for the use of the EDGE wheels!

Hanging out with Rachel @awards

Thanks to Laura Byrne for her hospitality in hosting me at her house during the race, and for the awesome meals she prepared!! I think the Volunteers at the race deserve the biggest thanks, they were so outstanding at every turn, working so hard to make sure that we had the best experience possible! Also thanks to Subaru and Lifesport for putting on such a fantastic race, as well as the city of Sooke; they are vying for a 70.3 title, and based on this years race, I would say they are well on their way for next year! Thanks to Jonathan Kisiloski of Compressport for all the 'support' (no pun intended,) as well as Eload for fueling me through this race. Thanks to all the sponsors for making everything possible, it was a TON of fun, and I look forward to next years race!

Every race is a learning experience, some more than others, and I yet again learned a lot today. I'll be taking my lessons, good and bad, in stride, and making good use of the knowledge for Lake Stevens 70.3, and the rest of the season.

Also, cant forget to thank Coach Bjoern for coming out to support all of us, what a great day! Happy training everyone, and even happier racing:)

Vineman 70.3 Race Report

2011-07-28T10:49:00.000-07:00

Local outdoor pool for some training

What a day!!!! So my debut 70.3 in the Pro field didn't go exactly to plan, which is probably not the most unusual thing to happen in the world of Triathlon, to say the least. The learning curve this year for the long course racing has been pretty steep, but this only being my second 70.3 this year (not to mention I'm not exactly a seasoned veteran in this distance, or ANY distance actually,) I have a TON to learn. The day was a good schooling lesson for sure, but let's start before race day:

Arriving on the wednesday before the race, I was well into my taper (the first time I've had more than a few days to properly taper, EVER! In fact, this is the first time this year that I've tapered for longer than one or two days pre-race, haha.) Landing in San Fran, it was all fog. "Great," I thought, " now I've flown from cold rainy Vancouver, to cold foggy San Fran!" I was pretty happy though, as my bus left San Fran and started to get closer to Santa Rosa, when it got mighty sunny out. My homestay for Vineman, Marion and Kent, were absolutely awesome! They were so accommodating, and their house was a beautiful old Manor, something you might see from an old movie. I loved everything about it, how even just shifting your weight on the spot created loud creaks, and sneaking around this place was not an option!lol

Echelon Cycles saved my butt!

Anyways, enough about that stuff, fast forward to saturday! Rachel McBride and myself headed out to the race expo mid-day, on bikes, for our package pick-up and pro pre-race meeting. I tell you, I was pretty relaxed and calm all the way until that meeting. When you're sitting in a small auditorium, with the likes of Chris Lieto, Joe Gambles, Andy Potts, and Matt Reed (JUST to name only a FEW of the superstars there,) the nerves REALLY start to rattle. What really set my nerves off, was the fact that I wasn't going to be watching these guys race tomorrow, I was racing WITH them!! Crazy. What really set me off though, was when Rachel and myself started to ride back to our respective homestays after everything was done for the day. Well, everything was done for Rachel. My excitement for the evening hadn't even started. 5mins after leaving, I started to get that bouncy feeling. No, not in my stomach, but in my rear wheel. Looking down, I let out a few choice words, and told Rachel to keep on heading home, as I was about to start my run back to the expo to get my rear tubular replaced. I have to throw a HUGE shout-out and THANK YOU to Echelon Cycle and Multisport , as well as Trisports.com, both saved my bacon that night. Trisports.com hooked me up with a new tubular wheel, and the guys at Echelon did all the gluing and work to fix my tire!!! I'd have been pretty screwed without them, as all the local cycling shops were closed by then. Thanks guys!!

ITU style bike racks

Exiting the water

Race morning was an early one. As the pro fields started at 6:30am, I was up just before 4am (after yet ANOTHER restless night.) Tired and confused, Rachel and myself got a ride down to transition. They had a separate 'pro' bike rack in transition (as they said, they wanted to try and 'pimp out' the pro race this year,) so we had ITU style rear wheel racks. The one thing was though, they had our racks about 20m's after the swim exit, so it was going to be a lesson in FAST wetsuit removal! The swim was nothing special for me. It was a struggle the whole way, I just had trouble getting into a good rhythm. What really threw me off was the 200-300m's on course that was about 2 feet deep, where I had to REALLY alter my stroke to avoid hitting my hands on the bottom. I thought I would get DQ'd, or at least a penalty, if I dolphin dived these sections. Apparently we don't though, as a bunch of others were doing it (probably gaining a fair amount of time on those who didn't!) Exiting the water in just over 26mins, I wasn't too pleased with my swim. My Nineteen Frequency definitely helped me through the swim, it kept me afloat and gave me zero restriction through my arms/shoulders, keeping me faster than where I probably would've been!

Bike Start

Stung by a BEE!!!

On to the bike, it started to mist and rain (which it kept up the whole ride pretty much.) Right from the start, something didn't feel proper. It felt like my brakes were rubbing, and no matter how many times I looked down, I couldn't see them touching (although they looked damn close.) My new position that I changed to (just after the Vancouver race,) felt outstanding, but I was pushing so hard and felt like I wasn't really going anywhere, even when descending. After about 20mins, Leanda Cave rode by me, along with a few other pro-men, and I lost contact with them after a while. It was frustrating, but I just kept on pushing and pushing, determined not to let anything set me back. Even the bee sting. Yup, that's right, about 30mins into the ride, a bee stung me right on my quad, which proceeded to swell up nicely, then change color a bit. Boy did it sting like a bugger, the whole rest of the day in fact! It actually kept me up two nights in a row due to the pain/itchyness. So that probably didnt help me out too much. Being cold and wet, I didnt drink enough fluids on the bike, so I was probably in the red for hydration going into the run. I was, however, knocking back Eload Gels the whole ride, and the liquid I did have was full of Eload and FLY, which helped keep my electrolyte and fuel levels up. After a slower than anticipated ride, it was into T2 and out for a half marathon.

Pushing through the last few miles

Stong to the finish!

This was the first race that I decided to use socks for the run, as I've been struggling with a foot inflammation issue for the past year. I used my New Balance Baddalay 890's, with their new Rev-Lite soles. Only 9oz each, they are very comfortable, yet very light. I started out feeling strong on the run, knocking out sub 6 minute miles for about 5 miles. I slowly watched Melissa Rollison run away, but then slowly watched Leanda Cave get closer and closer. I was still feeling good (minus the foot inflammation,) hitting the turn-around loop in the La Crema Winery, which is where I finally passed Cave. That was about the end of feeling good though, as my hamstrings started to cramp up. Altering my stride, I was forced to slow down to prevent catastrophic failure, and I was hitting everything I could at aid stations. My stomach was rebelling, my legs were not cooperating, but I just pushed through. I knew I was dehydrated, but I just kept myself in check, and embraced the pain from every step. At the 9.5mile mark, a volunteer on a bike let me know I was not too far behind another pro-male. I thought to myself, "okay, this is it, use this guy as a target and run him down!" I used this as fuel, and with each mile, he was getting closer. With just over a mile to go, I pulled up behind him, and with a surge, flew by. I just gave everything I had the last mile, which isn't saying much, and thankfully I didn't have to sprint the finish, as I don't think the legs had a few hundred meter sprint left in them (although, you never know what the body will give you when you dig deep for it!!) Overworked from the bike, dehydrated, and battling a mental game (among other things,) I was fairly happy with my 1:21 half marathon, (considering the hilly, challenging course,) and my 4:16 finish, which had me as the top Canadian, something I am very proud of :)Also, number 1 MOST IMPORTANT THING, I had FUN :) :) :)

20lbs of post-race recovery 'activities'

The day was a monstrous learning experience, with a TON of things learned that I will be taking into Lake Stevens 70.3 with me. I was REALLY happy with my Compressport calf guards, my calves were probably the ONLY thing that wasn't sore!! Practically living in my compression leggings the days leading up to the race definitely helped, as they also helped with recovery the days after. I will definitely be adjusting my diet the few days leading up to the half-irons, ideally less fiber in the diet (all I ate all day was fibrous fruits before Vineman,) so that might help out the stomach issues a bit. I will continue using my Eload, FLY, and their Gels, as they provide a VERY easy to stomach flavor, and consistency. I never came close to bonking or running out of gas out there, so fuel wasn't a issue. Congratulations to Rachel McBride and her 7th place female placing, and second female to cross the line.

Post race, I discovered that the rear hub/axle, that held the bearings in the wheel, was loose by about 2-3mm's (unscrewed.) It caused the rear brake to sometimes rub, and created resistance in the rear wheel. Yet another learning experience, ALWAYS check your equipment, especially if you have a mechanical issue.

Met a new friend on the way home:)

A huge thanks to all those that supported me, without your help, I wouldn't have even made it to the start line in Vineman. The race organizers put on an absolutely spectacular race, I was even very impressed with the post-race food spread (always a way to an athlete's heart, through their stomach!lol) The course was beautiful, rolling through the hills and wineries of the local vineyards.

Next on the block is the Olympic Pursuit race in Sooke, with my next kick at the 70.3 can at Lake Stevens the following weekend.

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer, with great training and outstanding racing. Happy training!!!

One week 'Till Race Day!

2011-07-10T13:40:00.000-07:00

My last big week of training is dwindling down, all in preparation for my big debut Ironman 70.3 next sunday, at the Vineman 70.3 near Santa Rosa, California (about 66miles north of San Francisco.) It's been a tough week, especially since I've just come off two weekends of racing in a row, and a few weeks of heavy training. As always, I'm totally loving the work, every big session giving me a bit of a confidence boost for this weekend's race.


Rachel, Steph, and I at Kits Beach, practicing starts

This week had some REALLY fun sessions, including a few open water sessions at Kits beach (thanks Rachel Mcbride and Stephanie Ossenbrink for the fun,) one which saw some drama unfold mid swim: we were practicing some drafting, with myself in the lead. Just as I approached a turn buoy, I *SLAMMED* my hand into a giant log floating in the water! I repeatedly yelled out "STOP STOP STOP STOP," to try and prevent Rachel and Stephanie from crashing into the log. Fortunately for them, they stopped. Unfortunately for me, Stephanie thought I was yelling SHARK, and proceeded to scream and try to climb on top of me to get out of the water (because, as you know, a shark can't attack the top person in a people sandwhich! Hahaha!!) Way too funny, boy we had a good laugh with that! Then, we decided to have an on-going battle royale the rest of the swim, with many karate chops to the head (and a few well placed shots to a bit of a tender region, if you know what I mean!) We followed up the session with a trip to Burrito Brother's just up from the beach, with Coach Bjoern. Mexican seems to be a great way to finish a swim session.

My new Vineman scare tactic, courtesy of Stephanie :)

Friday was a great Kits pool swim (one of a few this week,) followed up by an awesome UBC track session with Coach and the rest of the Lifesport athletes. Probably the best session ever, as we played barefoot Freeze Tag post workout (I had my heart rate monitor on, and it is quite the workout running around!) Stephanie Ossenbrink came up with some great tactics to paralyze opponents, one that I think I might employ this weekend at Vineman (running after people, arms waving, head shaking, barking like a dog, moving like a bat outta hell!!) It stopped us like a deer in the headlights, so hopefully it will work for me, to psyche out my competition :)


A successful Mt. Seymour climb for everyone!

Enjoying the BBQ

Yesterday capped off the week with a big group ride, which included a Mt. Seymour climb, and a stop in Deep Cove for donuts (sandwiches and muffins for some of us.) We polished off the day with a BBQ at Megan's relative's house on SW Marine Drive (amazing place, the kitchen was UN-believable!!!) Burgers, salads, and all the fruits we could handle, it was a fantastic time, too much fun for all the Lifesport gang! The BBQ was finished off with an absolutely amazing mini-concert by Megan (on the violin,) and her brother Nathan (on the piano.) They played many tunes, there was even some dancing going on by Anita and Stephanie! Too funny watching them rip up the dance floor, but the best part was Bjoern's air-piano playing (think: headbanger meets Beethoven's 5th Symphony!!) Classic (literally.)

Megan and Nathan's mini-concert, conducted by Coach Bjoern

The rest of this week will be a ton of resting, relaxing, stretching, and getting ready for the race (with a little bit of training, just enough to keep fresh.) This will be my first full week taper, so I'm not 100% sure what's going to happen come race-day, but hopefully there will be a great result! You can follow Rachel McBride's race progress (she's racing in the women's pro race,) as well as mine, at ironman.com .

Enjoy the week of forecasted sunny, warm weather, and happy training everyone :)

Subaru Vancouver Half Race Report

2011-07-04T12:19:00.000-07:00

After a disappointing race at ITU Monroe last saturday (27th overall, partially due to a horrible swim,) things are finally starting to look up for my swim after yesterday's Subaru Vancouver Half Ironman. The day breaks down like this:

Being a 6:30am start, my day started pretty early (up at 3:45am,) which seemed even earlier after a bad night sleep (tossing and turning, seems to be a trend the last few nights.) But alas, the show must go on, so after some breakfast it was off to the race site at Jericho beach. Mum decided to brave the early morning start, and came out to watch the race. Best Mum ever, she was up before 4am too, and on a sunday no less!!!!

Coming out of the water, RIGHT behind Martina

Arriving at the race around 5:15am, I quickly got into transition and set everything up. It was still cloudy as heck, but it had stopped raining and looked like it would start to slowly clear up. After a short warm-up run, and a bit of a swim (the water wasn't actually too cold today either,) I was toeing the start line, in my Nineteen Frequency, ready for action! Beside me was Elliot Holtham, Anthony Toth, Scott Curry, Rachel McBride, and Martina Wan, among others (all great swimmers.) Since I've been having some trouble with the swim lately, my goal was to go out hard, and try to settle into a solid rhythm on someone's feet who was pushing the pace.

With a blast of the airhorn, the race was off!!!! Smashing, bashing, kicking, and punching (typical of a triathlon swim start,) I fought hard to keep a good position. I was sprinting hard, and managed to get myself into clear water. I noticed the faster swimmers making a bit of a wide right arc, but I held my straight line to the first swim buoy. Around it I went, and I realized that I was in open water, with nobody in front of me (except for the front pack of guys, slowly pulling away.) I was feeling amazing, and settled into a great rhythm right away. After loop one, it was out of the water and around the beach buoy, and to my amazement, I was pretty far ahead, and within spitting distance of the lead pack! All I could hear was screaming and yelling of the crowd in excitement, along with coach Bjoern yelling some kind of encouragement (I think; if you've ever had to get out of the water mid-swim to run around a buoy, you'd know that you're in a state of confusion and utter discombobulation, so you never really know WHAT'S going on! For all I know coach could've been screaming that the weather looked like it was clearing up.) Back into the water I dove, with a hard sprint to keep my time down. Closing in on the final stretch of water, I noticed someone pulling up beside me in another Nineteen wetsuit. I thought it was Andrew Powell, a friend and training partner. Then another person pulled up beside me, and I was pretty sure it was Martina Wan. I looked again, and I was really sure. "Boy," I thought, "Martina must be having a REALLY bad swim today, if she's been on my feet this whole time!!" Martina has been swimming extremely well lately, so I thought it weird she'd be swimming around me. Coming out of the water, all I could hear was Coach yelling "you're only 1min 30sec down from the leaders!" I was amazed!! I thought they could swim faster than that. Then coach yelled my time out, "25:30." That helped slam me into another gear, as that was amazingly fast for me.

out of T1, 1min30sec down from the leaders!

Finally, a great swim!!! Must've been my Nineteen Frequency;)

Out onto the bike, I knew I had some work to do. It was a tough bike course, 4 loops (each loop included a big hill climb and 3 turn around points,) making it 91km's. I managed to take the lead for about half a loop (after the two leaders took a bit of a detour,) but by the 3rd loop, Toth, Curry, and Holtham had caught me and pulled by. I wasn't feeling it on the bike, even though my nutrition was bang-on (using Eload and FLY in my bottles, as well as a hand-full of Eload GELS throughout,) I started to feel the fatigue in my legs climbing the start of the 3rd loop (from some heavy training this week, part of my build for Ironman 70.3 Vineman.) I tried my damnest to keep up with Elliot, (which I was able to accomplish for the 3rd loop,) but as I lost sight of Anthony and Scott, Elliot started to pull away starting the 4th loop (when I really started to feel the fatigue in my legs.) I decided I would try to save a bit for the run, as I was starting to hurt.

Heading out, got some work to do!!


Pushing hard through the middle of the run

Finishing the run strong, keeping up form!

Coming into T2, I got the coach's report that I was 5mins down from Scott (the leader,) and about 1:30 down from Elliot (3rd.) My legs just didn't seem to get into running until about 3 or 4km's into the run, and even then, they left something to be desired. I ended up running alone the whole run (other than on the second loop, when I ran into a bunch of athletes on their first loop, which was REALLY motivating, as many were good friends of mine.) My feet started to hurt mid-run (I race sockless,) so being a learning experience, I'll be racing halves in socks from now on. I just pushed as hard as I could the second half of the run, hitting my Eload Gels and water to keep my energy up. It was frustrating to not be gaining on the leaders, especially when a podium spot was right in front of me, and I was having a rough run. I never really got into my 'zone' on the run (highlighted by the fact my Mum told me I looked tired out there and wasn't running as fast as I usually do when I race,) and I definitely found it tougher to mentally push myself without having Elliot within sight. My New Balance Minimus shoes performed brilliantly (a minimalist shoe, with only a 4mm heel to toe drop, giving me a great feel for the ground.) My goal was to keep reminding myself about form and technique, which I feel I did well. I just ran strong, and still managed to break out the second fastest run of the day (a 1:15:04 for the 20km's.) I'm SUPER glad I wore my new Compressport Ultra Silicon calf guards today, as my calves were probably the ONLY part of my body that felt perfect the entire day! They performed their job with perfection, keeping my calves fresh. Even today, the day after the race, my calves feel outstanding!

Some post-race words with announcer Jordan Back

Finishing just off the podium, in 4th place with a 4:06:13 clocking for the half ironman, I was pretty happy with my performance for a training race. I learned a ton of valuable lessons during the race (which is great, seeing as it was my first half ironman in a LONG time,) lessons that will no doubt help me in my debut professional race at Ironman 70.3 Vineman in two weeks, as well as the Subaru Sooke Half Ironman 3 weeks after that.

It was great to be out at the race, and to watch a lot of friends have some outstanding performances, many people setting PB's for the half-iron distance. Special thanks to the volunteers, who made the race possible, as well as everyone who came out to cheer for the athletes!!! I have to thank Coach Bjoern especially, as he was in a half-dead state with the flu, but still made it out to coach us through the race, and make sure everyone was prepared!! Thanks Bjoern!!!

Also a thanks to all my sponsors, who've made training and racing this season a possibility. Without their support, I wouldn't be where I am now.

That's it for now, time to put in a solid week before the taper to the Vineman Half in two weeks. Time to get down to business, to prepare to race some of the best pro's this sport has to offer!!! Happy training and racing people, enjoy the summer sun that's finally arrived:)

ITU Pan American Cup Monroe, Race Morning

2011-06-25T10:26:00.000-07:00

Sitting here on race morning, looking outside the windows at the weather, I'm feeling this pit in the bottom of my stomach.

Rain.

Cold.

Being from the Lower Mainland, you would think this doesn't phase me. Maybe it doesn't, maybe it does. I just finished watching last weekend's ITU World Championship Series Kitzbuhel, and THAT was rain. Kind of puts the rain here into perspective, as it most definitely isn't raining THAT hard! It brings back a concept that someone told me, when I first started triathlon, that if it's raining on race day, it's not JUST raining on me, it's raining on EVERYONE! So everyone is gonna get wet, and affected by the rain. Some deal with it well (think Alistair Brownlee in Kitzbuhel, blazing away from the field in the pouring rain,) some not so well (memories of ITU Pan Am Cup Kelowna last year, for myself!)

After watching some videos and listening to some music to get myself amped up about the race, and to ignore the fact that I'll be getting wet, I decided to jump over to the faithful Weather Network, to see what the weather might hold in store for us later (our race doesn't start until 2:45pm, which is generally the norm for ITU Elite Men's races. A fellow I talked to yesterday said he's started a race as late as 4:30pm!!!!)

Holy JUMPIN' JEEBUS!!! What do I see, but something that put's a smile on my face, and brightens my day (literally!!)


Approx. weather at race start!!! WOOHOO!!!!

So perhaps the weather just might cooperate after-all:)

Looking at the ITU website's start list, and seeing the competition at the race briefing yesterday, it's going to be a FAST field! With some of Canada's top athletes, like Andrew Russel and Andrew McCartney, as well as some high ranked ITU elites (Hunter Kemper,) there will be some devastation on the course today for sure.

The goal for today? Try and keep my loss in the swim minimal, and keep within a certain percentage of the overall leader (try not to get lapped!lol) Realistically? With the 44 dude field, I'd like to finish top 20. We'll see how it goes, as I pulled my right shin/calf muscle running on knobby grass two days ago, while jogging an easy 30 minutes (really, who pulls their shin muscle? What's with that?!?!?) It really depends how it holds together on the run, as to how well the race goes. With a two loop swim, 8 loop bike (5km loops, that gives me only a small margin of error in the swim, as I can't get lapped on the bike!!) and a 4 loop run (an absolutely beautiful run course, it's a 10,830m course, on a perfectly paved course around a man-made lake (you can actually watch the ENTIRE RUN COURSE from transition, such a spectator friendly course.)

Time to get everything together, and get ready to head down to transition to watch the start of the Elite Women's race (including Vancouverite and fellow Lifesport athlete Martina Wan.)

Best of luck out there to everyone today (including Elliot Holtham, a friend of mine with a TON of talent, competing in his first ITU Pan AM cup.) Happy racing, and happy training!!!

Monroe, Here WE Come!!

2011-06-19T12:52:00.000-07:00

6 days away from the next big race, and I'm starting to feel the nerves a little. My next excursion to the triathlon battleground is down in Monroe, Washington, for the ITU Pan American cup next Saturday. I'll be traveling down with Elliot Holtham (another elite competing,) and I'm getting REALLY excited! My last big ITU race was a bit of a bust, (or a huge learning experience, glass half-full ;) haha,) so I'm hoping this race will be a bit of a different experience. The field looks a lot smaller than Kelowna was last year, but still has some amazing athletes, many of whom can swim like a fish!! This seems to be my downfall, although my swimming has been improving lately (with careful guidance from Coach Bjoern.) Fingers crossed for a wetsuit swim this time 'round!!

This should be a good week, the focus is on this race. Hopefully the weather hangs in there for us, it would be great to have a nice sunny, hot day to race on!!

I hope everyone can get out and enjoy the sun this week, and Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there!!! Hope it's a great one!

Happy Training :)

Subaru Shawnigan Lake Triathlon

2011-06-12T22:09:00.000-07:00

The only thing better than racing on a beautiful spring morning, is pulling off a win at that same race. That's exactly what I was able to do out there in Shawnigan Lake at the Olympic distance triathlon, and what a day it was!

Lifesport was able to hook me up with a homestay, the two most fantastic hosts I could imagine, Al and Anne Brunet. They lived directly across the lake from the transition area (no, seriously, he had binoculars so we could check from his porch who was over at transition,) in a gorgeous house with a huge basement suite, where I was staying (the whole thing ALL to myself!) They were so inviting and generous, the best place to stay in Shawnigan Lake;) I arrived two days before the race, and got myself all nice and comfortable.

So race morning went smoothly, as we had a late race start (8:30am) I was in NO rush to get up at any ridiculous time (which is the usual, around 3:30-4am in some cases,) so I arrived well rested with lots of time to spare. After drinking down a bottle full of Eload and Fly (carbohydrate drink,) and my warm-up run, it was time to get in the water. My new Nineteen Frequency SL wetsuit is outstanding! I've been using a Frequency from 2008, and when I got the 2011 model, I thought it was the same thing.

WRONG!

Exiting the water in the Nineteen Frequency

As soon as I put it on, I realized there were some MAJOR advances in the technology. The neoprene was is far more flexible, and much thinner through the shoulders and arms. I have much better feel for the water, and almost no restriction through the shoulders. Although my swimming hasn't been too great lately, it helped me out of the water in third place, just back from the leader. After a quick T1 (something I always work to improve on,) I got out on the bike in first place.

Hammering away at on the bike

Then I never looked back. Cruising on my Jamis Xenith T2 time trial bike, I hammered away at the two loops for the olympic course. Posting the fastest bike split by almost three and a half minutes, (helped, in part, by the advanced aerodynamics of the T2,) it was into transition and out on the run course.

On my way to a strong finish!

With a huge lead on the rest of the race, it felt like I was racing the clock, to see how fast I could run. The run course is a beautiful trail through the woods, but the downside is you can only see a short distance ahead and behind you, making for a bit of a lonely run (if nobody is within about 30 seconds of you.) It felt like a bit of a time trial, just me and my thoughts.

Solid start to the race season

After finishing the race with a good hard kick, and some finish-line socializing (which I must admit, I'm quite a fan of!! Blah blah blah, that's me, haha!) I thought it might be fun to go run the back half of the Half-Ironman course and cheer on the other athletes. I ran almost to the turn-around before I came across Rachel McBride, who had a fairly substantial lead on the rest of the field (who also just recently came third overall in the PRO race at 70.3 Boise, only her SECOND HALF EVER!!!)

It was a great day for me, a win is always a great way to start a season, and I was really excited that the rest of the Lifesport Crew had some great races as well (Elliot Holtham slammed a second place overall, his first half-ironman ever!) Great work to everyone who was out there racing, and thanks to Coach Bjoern for all his support in the lead-up to the race, and during the race.

Next triathlon on the list? The first big ITU race of the year, ITU Pan American Cup Monroe, in Washington State on June 25th. Should be a good day, as long as I can keep it together in the swim ;P

'Till next time, happy training!!

Jericho Beach Swimming!!!

2011-06-09T22:16:00.000-07:00

Last sunday was an AWESOME day out at Jericho Beach with the Lifesport Crew and Coach Bjoern!!! A solid hill repeat session of running, followed by the first ocean swim of the year in my new Nineteen Frequency SL wetsuit. Wicked suit, very thin through the shoulders, so NO restrictions. Coach floated around on his new blow-up kayak, making sure we swam hard enough, haha!


Me, Amy, Rachel, Andrew, Coach Bjoern (and yes, he DID wear the toque on the kayak,lol) Stephanie, Anita, and Elliot post-swim. It's a pose-off!!

Then hit up only the GREATEST RESTAURANT EVER, the Naam!!!!! The greatest place around, all vegetarian/vegan food, the whole gang had some good eats.

Get's me ready for the next session;)

Thanks for the awesome training guys, SO much FUN in the sun at Jericho Beach!!! LOVED IT!!!

Shawnigan Lake - Rain?

2011-05-28T10:12:00.000-07:00

Getting ready to go out for a pre-race ride this morning, I'm wondering if there is going to be rain today or not. Now, I know if it's raining on me, it's raining on everyone, but does racing in the rain ever suck!! The outlook for tomorrow should be cloudy with sunny periods, and a high of 16 (although the 13degrees in the water is going to be a killer,) so hopefully a decent day for racing.

I'm looking forward to hanging out with the Lifesport crew at the race site later, and to see if I can possibly survive the freezing water (although with my new Nineteen Frequency Wetsuit, along with the neoprene cap and booties, I should be doing just fine.)

Time to get out on the Jamis Xenith T2 to see how the race rig is rolling. Good luck to everyone racing tomorrow!!!

North Shore Elite Sprint Triathlon

2011-05-28T10:06:00.000-07:00

Pre-swim jitters

On monday May 23rd, I raced in not only the first triathlon of the season, but the first elite race of the year too (only my second draft-legal race EVER!!) Boy, what an eye-opener AGAIN!! It reinforced my need to get better in the swim, as my results were not that great due to a poor swim.

I was feeling pretty good on the day, after a fairly had week of training, I was about as ready as I was going to get. With a 10:45am start time, I had LOTS of time to sleep in, and get all warmed up. The weather decided to cooperate for us that day (thank God!!) so we stayed pretty warm.

Breaking away from riders

With the odd distance pool swim (a 740m swim,) due to the fact that it is a 25m pool, extended another 12m's by a movable bulkhead. My swim hasn't been that great lately, and it showed in the pool. I was hoping to swim on Ryan Smiley's feet (which I usually have no problem doing in open water, with a wetsuit,) but I was dropped pretty quickly, and ended up one of the last out of the water.

Tight turn on the Jamis Race

Now, as most people who've ridden in a pack before would know, if you race with a pack it is a lot easier than being out on your own, as you take turns pushing really hard out front (while everyone rides your draft,) and then riding in the draft for a bit and getting a slight break. The pack will almost ALWAYS ride faster than a solo rider, especially in draft legal triathlon. The front 6 guys had packed up, and I ended up pushing myself through the wind the entire ride. I was happy with my bike split, crushing the course on my Jamis Xenith Race and averaging 41kms/hr, but unfortunately I wasn't able to make up any ground on the main pack.

Getting my run on!!

Out on the run, my goal was to try and run some guys down. On tired legs, on a VERY hilly course, I was able to make the 4th fastest run of the day, a split I was pretty happy with. Unfortunately, again, I wasn't able to make up any time on the leaders of the race, so ended up finishing in 7th overall. I know that I need to get a lot faster in the swim to be competitive on the draft-legal circuit, but it is difficult seeing as I've only been swimming 4 years, and the top guys have been swimming since they could barely walk!!

Great job to Jeff Symonds, who won his second race in as many weeks, just crushing the course out there for the win. Another E-Load athlete, Jeff really ripped it up, and I look forward to racing with Symonds in some non-draft races later this season.

#1 fans: Sister Rachel, Mum, and the girlfriend De Anna!

I'd really like to thank my family and friends for all coming out, even my massage therapist, Matt Halverson (http://www.backontrackmt.com/our-team.php) came out to see the action. All the cheering definitely helped me get to the finish line a bit faster, always gives me a great rush to hear people screaming "GO FASTER!!!!" haha

The next race on the schedule is Lifesport's Subaru Shawnigan Lake Triathlon, this sunday coming up (May 29th.) It's a non-draft legal race, much more to my forte, and hopefully there'll be a much better result!! 'Till then!!!

A 'Dam" experience, with some 'WIND" chill factor!

2011-04-09T08:48:00.000-07:00

A TON has happened over the last few days here in Vegas, especially with the three big rides Roman and myself did.

The new bridge to Arizona, at Hoover Dam

Roman and I at the Hoover Dam, Nevada side

Our first big ride, down to the Hoover Dam, was definitely my favorite ride we've had so far. The weather was unreal, getting up to 35 degrees C over at the dam, it was amazing out all day. We did thousands of meters of climbing that day, as it was all up and down to and from the dam. Out near the dam is a 33MILE bike path, perfectly paved, that is ONLY for cyclists, runners, walkers, etc. It was perfect for riding on, some places we were just flying along at high speeds, with hairpin turns. The dam was an experience itself, Roman knew a lot of the history of the dam, and imparted some of that wisdom on me. Halfway across the dam you are in Arizona (and yes, that means crossing a time zone!) We officially rode 1 mile into Arizona. After the dam, it was some epic climbing all the way back to where we split off (Roman got to keep riding WITH a tailwind,) and then it got REALLY hard for me, as I was fighting a crazy headwind for about 45 minutes to get back to my hotel. It was ugly, as the winds out here get REALLY ugly in a hurry.

"It's not THAT high, only a hand length...."

Just up from the Dam, Arizona side

Ripping along the 8ft wide, 33mile long cycle path

Roman prepping for the descent with magazines in the shirt!!

The next day (wednesday,) was the height of our climbing experience here, as we rode all the way to the top of Mt. Charleston (which is somewhere between 7000-8000ft high.) The worst thing about the climbing? Headwind.

Top of Mt. Charleston, over 7000ft!!

ALL.....THE....WAY.....

That's right, 30km's of hard climbing (avg grade around 13%,) and it was COLD that day. As we got to the visitors center at the top, we were warned we should head back down as a weather system was moving in. Now, we weren't prepared for the cold that day (duh, we're in VEGAS, it's supposed to be WARM!!!) so we prepped for the decent by putting magazine's in our jerseys to block the wind, and I went so far as to buy a pair of socks from the visitors center, cut the toes off, and used them as calf guards (compressport calf guards would've worked WAY better, but these got me down good enough, lol.) It was a chilly but FAST decent down.

After hours of 120kmh wind climbing, summit of Mt. Potosi

Thursday was by far the most memorable ride I think I will EVER experience, as it was the highest winds I am ever likely to see. It was our longest ride day, and the winds were 120km/hr most of the day. It was insane I tell you. Roman was blown off the road a few times (no thanks to his ZIPP 404's,) and I was slapped around by the wind pretty good too. We climbed Mt. Potosi (around 5500ft at the summit,) with the 120km/hr headwinds the whole way. Imagine climbing in your small chainring, biggest cog, yet still only turning about 55rpm, pushing on average 250+ Watts. THEN, some of the gusts hit so hard that they literally STOPPED us in our tracks, and I had to stand and push as HARD as I could, JUST TO KEEP MOVING!!!! It was frightening sometimes, especially on the decent. That was a whole 'nother monster unto itself, as it took us 2.5hrs to climb to the top of the mountain, and about 15 minutes to decend (averaging well over 70km/hr coming down.) That day was FREEEZING too, yet again we were unprepared for the cold.

Banner's gonna break off in the wind

You'd think we would've learned eh? Guess not.

Old Freemont street on the strip

We rode through the strip near the end of our ride, which was amazing to see. I've never seen hotels that big before, it was overwhelming. I got majorly rained on RIGHT at the end of my ride, it started to come down hard about a mile from my condo, so I narrowly avoided the worst of it.

Dinner in the Aria Hotel

But then I had to do a brick run in it:( Ugly, I was tripped up a few times by the wind. I'm telling you, intervals are almost impossible to do at certain pace zones when the wind can stop you on the spot. It's a different experience, one that I can put into perspective at home (we'll NEVER have winds like these at home, they would shut the city down!) That night, Roman and I went down to the strip for dinner, and to check things out, as that was his last night here. Delicious dinner, and I won $17 at the roulette table in the Aria. It was awesome, even though I'm not a gambler at all, the lights at night just astound the senses, it's very difficult to really take it all in during a short little trip through.

My first experience on 'The Strip'

Think I might have to go back some time;)

After yesterday's easier day, I'm ready to ramp it back up, and the weather is now steadily improving (although it's still really cold out.) They say that it is oddly cold this last week, and of course it's supposed to heat WAY back up right after I leave (seems to be my luck in life.) Oh well, I'll make the best of it, at least it's not raining right?

Time to get out there and RIDE!!!

Las Vegas Take-Down, Day 2 and 3

2011-04-04T22:18:00.000-07:00

After one of the BEST sleeps I've probably had in a long time, I woke up on saturday feeling very refreshed. After a delicious breakfast, including my favourite new thing to eat, a GIANT breakfast smoothie with frozen berries, almond milk, yogurt, and all my 'extra' little macro/micro nutrient and protein mixes, I got to work putting my bike together. After some mild persuasion, I got it all ready to roll. Then it was time to hit out on the open road!

Riding the "small" hills

I had heard about a good little route that goes through the Red Rock Canyon, that was supposed to be a really hard climbing route. I kinda bypassed it, I decided I'd ride the canyon on sunday, and just cruised through the different valleys around Vegas, stopping in at local bike shops and stores to check things out. Post ride was a big brick run, and since I dont have a car, I threw a backpack on and finished the run at the grocery store to pick up a few odds and ends (such as after-sun lotion, stupid me I got a sunburn!!) Suffice to say, my first full day of training was AWESOME, it must've gotten up to the high 20's, maybe even close to 30 degrees. Lots of exploring for sure.

Speaking of exploring, I noticed a few things:
1. there are a TON of smoke/hookah shops in vegas. And I mean a LOT.

Fueling up post training, chicken fajita style!

2. Think there's a lot of Sushi joints in Vancouver? I dont think our precious Vancouver can hold a candle to Vegas, TONS of them EVERYWHERE.

So after some great training, time for some dinner and hopefully an early bedtime.

Las Vegas Take-Over, Day 1

2011-04-04T20:44:00.000-07:00

Protecting the bike with foam insulation

The new Aerus Biospeed Bike Bag

Bike neatly packed away

After an immense amount of preparation for my Vegas Camp (mostly packing,) I started off the morning with a nap, as I came off my last night shift at work. Off to the Bellingham Airport, Dad was giving me a ride down so I could save money on the parking costs. We skirted through the long border line-up by going through the duty-free, (to save time on the wait,) and an 85% Dark Chocolate bar (my favourite,) and one pack of batteries for my camera later, we were through the border in an awesome 12 minutes!!! Lucky us. As I went through check-in at the airport, I was a little nervous about checking my bike. For those of you who have never travelled with a bike bag or box before, there is an extra fee associated with bike travel. I’ve paid up to $175 ONE WAY for a bike box (thanks United Airlines,) and as little as $50. It is a combination of overweight/oversize fees, but EVEN if your box/bag is undersize/underweight, and they find out you have a bike, they’ll still ding you with the fees. And when it costs more to fly your bike than yourself, something’s up. So instead of borrowing a bike box for this trip, I made an executive decision and decided I needed to get a bag for myself, as racing internationally will require flying a lot (duh!) and it would be a good investment. I did a lot of research, and finally figured out which bag I wanted to buy: the Aerus Biospeed Bike Bag. It was modestly priced as far as bike luggage is concerned (about $450 all-in, to my front door,) but there was something even more enticing about this bag: the possibility of AVOIDING bike fees!!! Most of the reviews I read about the bag (including pro’s like Brent McMahon, and Heather Wurtel,) said they almost always were able to avoid the bike fees with this bag, as it was very inconspicuous (just a plain black bag, no “BIKE” written all over it,) extremely lightweight (only 7lbs,) and didn’t really look like a bike bag at all. I figured if I showed up to the check-in counter with normal clothes on (ie. Not wearing a shirt that says “Tour de France for LIFE” all over it,) they might not question what was in my bag. This way, the bag would practically pay for itself.


Getting the bike on the other side

Well, it’s starting to pull it’s weight now (ha ha ha, no pun intended.) I EASILY made it through the check-in counter without paying the bike fee, all I had to pay was the check baggage fee ($20,) MUCH cheaper than it could have cost (with Alaska Airlines it’s up to $75, relatively cheap compared to other airlines.) It JUST made the regular weight, coming in at 49.6lbs on their scale (50lbs being the cut-off,) so I guess I’m not too bad at packing! Some people would think that a bike bag would be a bad idea for bike travel, (fear of damaging their bike,) but the bag is decently sturdy, and there were no negative reviews from owners stating any damage to their precious rides. Following other’s advice, I went to Home Depot and bought a bunch of foam pipe insulation to pad the heck out of the bike. It keeps it even more protected, like armour for my bike. It was super easy to pack the bike, even this being the first time with it, and it is so neatly tucked away, with lots of spots to throw other stuff. It carries super easy with the shoulder strap, (being a strapping young man, 50lb bags are no problem :P Haha!) This investment is already paying for itself, and within a few flights it should be paid off (especially with the expensive airlines that charge a bundle.)

I was very curious about how to get all my supplements down to vegas with me, as I have a LOT of them. After consulting Bjoern about what to do, I packed a whole bunch of the E-Load Gels and an E-Mend Recovery Drink canister in the bike bag, and packed away a bunch of single serving E-Load packs in my carry-on, as well as a bag of E-Load powder. I put enough of my daily vitamin capsules for the trip into one big pill container, and bagged enough glutamine, BCAA’s, Veggie-Greens, Phytoberry, and Bet-Alanine for the trip. I discovered there is a supplement store only blocks from my condo, so I will make a stop there to buy some Vega Whole Food Optimizer for my breakfast shakes, as well as some protein, Omega Oils, and a few other goodies to make sure I’ll be stocked up for my camp. This will be the biggest block of volume I’ve ever done, so I have to ensure that I’m properly fuelled for the long days of training (in the heat, no less.) This is where the E-Load Heat Endurance Formula will really shine. There is also a bike shop about 4 miles away, which has enough to get me by in case of any problems. Seeing as I don’t have a car for the trip (there’s a $20 a day surcharge for drivers under 25yrs old, DARN!) I’m lucky there’s a grocery store across the street from my condo, and a Safeway a short walk away. I’ll probably end up shopping frequently, so this makes life so much easier! I may end up renting a car for the last portion of my trip, that way I can actually go to the pool to swim, and maybe get out and see some shows or something.

The bike made it through the flight unscathed, and after a nice 1hr30min run through the neighborhood to do some exploring (which ended up taking 2.5hrs, as I kept stopping to look inside stores and what-not!!) I unpacked all my stuff. Only then did I realize something absolutely DREADFUL:

Midnight food run, fully stocked though!

I didnt have anything to eat for dinner. Oh....my....god! My worst nightmare! So I had to WALK to the nearest grocery store (just over a km away,) and by the time I finished shopping and left, it was just past midnight.

That's right, MIDNIGHT. Some people go to vegas to shut down the bars. I go to shut down the local grocery stores. After dragging my loot back to the condo (not fun, but I guess a good workout,) I finally get to go to bed.

Interesting start to the trip, but that's how I roll.

Dave Reed Classic 5k Yields a New PB!!

2011-04-02T21:39:00.000-07:00

Race Report:

Waking up on race morning last Sunday, March 26^th, I was still groggy and tired (not the best sleep pre-race, but seems to be the norm in the racing world,) so off to the espresso machine for a little pick-me-up. BAM!!! A double shot of espresso later, my head was in the game, and I was ready to run. I was nervous about this race, as I was coming off yet another hard week of training, (just the day before was a double swim day, and a track workout in between with coach Bjoern and the rest of the UBC gang,) and my calves were just SCREAMING at me, “DONT DO IT!!!” They were pretty fried to say the least, what with this being my 3^rd race in only 4 weeks (UBC, St. Paddy’s Day 5k,) and I knew that it was going to be pure pain. The funniest part is, only a few days before the race, I was just cruising through my training log, and I decided to check out the details on this particular Saturday’s workout, as it looked a little odd. It showed a 45min warm-up, and then the main set showed a URL website address. Opening it, to my horror, it showed the 5k race. So with only a few days notice, I had to sign up. I figured coach was trying to do me in for sure.

My #1 Fan!!

Fortunately for me, there were others participating in this suffer-fest of a race (aren’t all 5k’s pure suffering?) First off, my very good brothers-in-pain David Pallermo, Elliot Holtham, and Drew Nicholson were all entered in the race. What I also found out at the start line, was that National Training Center members Andrew McCartney and Cole Stewart would be there (very fast athletes, and guys I will be racing with this season.) Very exciting!! I also somehow managed to convince my mum to sign up for the race (more of me signing her up, and kindly informing her she was running!haha) Coach Bjoern was going to be there to watch as well, and I had a special fan coming with me, cheering me on like crazy at the finish line, my girlfriend De Anna. Always have to give that extra effort to impress my girl ;)

The finish line sprint, with a pass

Sipping my E-Load Heat Endurance Formula on the way to the race, I was fuelled by a solid breakfast shake of yogurt and berries (which in retrospect, might have been a bit too much to eat, back to the drawing board on that,) but I was feeling superbly energized, surprising even after a hard week of training. A good solid 40minute warm-up and an E-Load Gel later, I found myself bouncing around the start line, ready to go. With a loud horn blast, the race was on, and as predicted the calves were in searing pain from the start. As the race progressed, the rest of the legs started to burn like mad, but I kept pushing to keep with the pack. I was happy that I could hold on to the main lead pack of runners (including Dave and Andrew,) for the first 3.5kms, then I started to fall off as they cranked up the pace. My goal became one of survival, trying my best to stay away from anyone behind me (which included Elliot, hot on my heels and keeping me running scared!) As the last 500m’s loomed, a runner up further started to slow slightly, and I decided that it was time to give it everything left in the tank. Lungs burning, vision blurring, legs in a hellish realm of torture, I was reeling in the last guy I thought I could catch, and with an excruciatingly difficult effort I managed to surge past with about 100m’s to go, ending up in 6^th place, with a new Personal Best of 15:58, FINALLY breaking the 16 minute mark (and that much closer to the World Cup Time Standard of 15:40 for the 5k!) Andrew and David threw down some killer times, Andrew edging out the others for second, David pulling in an incredible PB smashing race to go 15:39, and pull off a second overall. Outstanding work for everyone, with Elliot surviving his first EVER road race (barely,) for a just over 16 minute 5k.

Elliot, myself, Dave, and Drew, post-race celebration

Super happy with the new PB!!!

So a few things about this race: A. Eating a GIANT burrito at 8:45pm the night before the race (which is becoming a routine ritual after the Friday night track/masters swim sessions in UBC,) = BAD. Leaves you feeling too full on race morning, and does NOT help with a good sleep.

B. Breakfast needs to be smaller, ESPECIALLY with these short 5k races. Some liquid calories with a banana is going to be my new pre-race breakfast (for short course anyways,) keeping me lighter with less stomach issues.

C. The E-Load drink, mixed with the Gel about 15 minutes before the race ensured I would have enough energy and electrolytes to make it through the race, as the short race needed a very long warm-up. They worked perfectly, SUPER easy on the stomach, with no crashing or anything. A healthy product too, with no fillers or additives, for those health freaks like myself!!!

D. I used the Compressport Calf-Guards, they are a staple in my race execution. They help with the shock from running, keep fresh blood flowing to my muscles, and help keep everything together (especially after a hard week of training.) They do seem to make a difference, and on a bit of a colder day they keep the legs slightly warmer (although on hot days, they almost seem to keep the legs cooler!)

E. Julio Daza, of Code Sport, gave me a new pair of Code Bamboo Socks the day before the race, to try out. From the moment I put them on, it was like a vacation for my feet!! They are EASILY the most comfortable sock I’ve ever worn, and during the race it felt like I was wearing cadillacs, (you know, the smooth cushy ride in the back seat of your high school clunker, that EVERYONE wanted to ride in because it was the most comfortable around!) They are SO soft, and being slightly thicker on the bottom gave them a very cushioned feel, but not so much as to make my shoes feel too tight. The New Balance 205KIM race flats were absolutely amazing as always, hugging my feet so perfectly, giving me a TON of spring in every step, and super light to boot!

The top guys in our Age Group

The day being a success, I looked forward to the next chance to test my fitness, which will be the 2011 Vancouver Sun Run 10k road race, which Bjoern somehow conned me into signing up for. It will be more pain than this 5k was, as I will have just returned from my 12 day training camp in Las Vegas (a 60+hr training camp,) and will also be coming off my second night shift at work. Fatigued, tired, and rushed. That’s the life of a pro triathlete.

Guess I’ll just have to get used to it J

Training Camp and some races

2011-03-17T20:29:00.000-07:00

A bunch of new exciting updates over the past few weeks: two weeks ago was the UBC Duathlon, and last weekend was the St. Patricks Day 5km road race. Two hard races, and some INTENSE training in between!!

UBC Longcourse Masters Swim

I managed a win a the UBC Duathlon, and miraculously got a new personal best at the 5k (but only by two seconds.) In between was crazy, I had a blast with Coach Bjoern and his other elite athletes, Steven Hewick, Andrew Powell, and Elliot Holtham. We did a 4 day training camp out in Vancouver, and did about 20 hours of training, from the tuesday to friday.

It was AWESOME.

So many hard workouts, every day, including brick runs as all-out hill repeats, brick track sessions, and underwater filming. And all this leading up to the saturday 5k. I was amazed I could even RUN on the saturday morning, let alone PB!! It was an insane field at the 5k, the top 15 guys went under 16 minutes, and the top 5 guys were under 15 minutes! It was a cold, rainy, very windy day, ugly conditions for a run really. But there was an awesome showing at the race (sold out, 600 people,) and probably the BEST post-race spread of food for all the runners (definitely the way to an athletes heart, through their stomach!) All sorts of goodies: chocolate mint scones (from Cobbs bread,) lucky charms, muffins, cupcakes (St. Patricks Day green no doubt!) fruits, starbucks coffee, and the best part, was the two different types of stews they had!! Delicious!!

Running hard in the pack

I've entered all the big races this season that I plan on racing (in the Elite/Pro category), which are:
San Fransisco ITU Continental Cup
5150 Provo, Utah
Kelowna ITU Continental Cup
5150 Las Vegas
5150 Clearwater Grand Finale

There's going to be other races, mostly smaller races, like the Peach Classic and a few Lifesport races (Sooke, Shawnigan Lake, Vancouver,) but the main focus will be on the big pro races.

Time to get ready for the big double swim, double run day tomorrow, with the Lifesport Crew!!

Nathan

VO2 Max Testing Mishap

2011-02-21T22:03:00.000-08:00

first spirometry test

So I decided to participate in a research study on shunting in asthmatic athletes, and I started the initial testing a few days ago. It all starts out with a spirometry test, where you take the deepest breath you can, and blow it out as hard and fast as you can through a little plastic mouth-piece.

6mins of hyperventilating

Then you do a simulated effort by breathing a mixture of carbon dioxide and air, breathing in and out as fast as you can, for 6 minutes. The carbon dioxide keeps you from passing out (pretty much like hyperventilating, actually much harder than it sounds!)

second spirometry

Then the spirometry test is done again, to see if the results have changed (ie, to see if the athlete has exercise induced asthma.)

Warming up on the Velotron

Then, I was whisked away (well, actually walked 10min to another building) and did a VO2 Max test. It was my first test, and I was looking forward to finding out the results! But there was a problem.

getting sweaty near the end of the test!

As I was nearing the end of the test, I was working so hard that I jerked my head to the side a little too hard, and ripped the front of the face piece right off! It was disappointing, but for the purposes of the study, I passed (VO2 Max was 63.2 @390watts when the mask fell off, they needed athletes with a VO2 Max of 60 or higher.) They've invited me to go back and try again (hopefully no more mishaps!)

It was a beautiful day outside, so I went and did my first ever run in the UBC Pacific Spirit Park, and it was AWESOME!! 2 hours of trails (longer than it was supposed to be as I got lost a few times,) and on a sunny beautiful day to boot. I've been starting to ramp up the volume the last few weeks, soon it'll be time to do some speed work to get ready for the UBC Duathlon (first multisport race of the year!) Sounds like a bit of a cold weather front is moving in, hopefully we can get some decent weather for race day.

Enjoy the weather everyone!

2011 Revised Open Water Swim Training

2011-02-02T12:10:00.000-08:00

The summer of 2010 saw me doing a LOT of open water swimming. I'd say that probably 3-4 of my 4-5 swims a week were open water, which is GREAT for getting accustomed to open water swimming, but not good if you're doing it wrong. I spent too many meters in the lake just cruising, and NOT pushing myself hard like I would if I was in the pool. Plus, not enough pool swimming meant I wasn't focusing on my proper form, and basically I was loosing speed. Not training at race pace or faster translated to some VERY poor performances in the later summer races. I had great swims early season, but it was a steady downhill decline after that.

This year will be different.

After much consultation with my newly appointed open water swim partner (the master of open water, Rod Craig, who has managed some amazing open water feats, such as crossing the English Channel!!) we will be revamping this years open water swim practices. Much more interval work, more group training, and the most important thing, RACE PREP! Just like running and cycling intervals, track work, and tempo training, you need to do race simulation for swimming as well. This video shows the 2011 training strategy we will be using. It will be hard work, but I know it'll pay off.

Unexpected 8km Road Race Performance

2011-01-30T21:22:00.000-08:00

Today was the Steveston Ice Breaker 8km road race, and oddly, I was toeing the start line. I say oddly, because in the 6 days leading up to the race, I've done 20 hours of training! I was surprised I could even walk properly after yesterday's 4 hours of INTENSE training, let alone make a sad attempt to run an 8k race.

Amazingly, sad it was not.

I couldn't believe how relaxed and comfortable I felt., right from the get-go. I didnt push hard off the blocks, I just immediately fell into a rhythm, and ran with a small pack. At the start, a bunch of people took off like mad-men (as is the usual,) but slowly we filtered past them through to the half-way mark. At the 4km turn-around, another runner made a surge and picked up the pace, so I stayed with him, and we dropped the rest of the group. I just sat on his heels for the next 2km's, and figured out his running tactics. He would constantly surge, and then fade back to a slower pace. So at the 6km mark, I surged up beside him, which would make him surge ahead (he was a young, but very tall fella',) and I would fall into his draft right away, forcing him to pick-up the pace, yet let him do the work (not that you get much of a draft, and we had a tail wind on the way back anyways.) I did this a bunch of times. At about the 1km to go, I gave it a really solid surge (I could hear he was starting to labor; I was feeling fresh,) and ran up beside him, holding the hard pace. As I could feel him backing off a bit, I backed off with him for about 2 or 3 seconds, and then put in a hard surge. Pushing hard, I could see he was starting to fade away.

"Awesome," I thought, "I got him!"

Then, what I didnt anticipate, (and I've learned this is why a lot of the top Elite ITU sprinters are pretty tall guys,) was at about the 100m to go mark, a friend of mine yelled out, "HE'S COMING!!!"

I looked over my left shoulder to see what the commotion was all about, and that's when I saw him, making an EPIC sprint for the finish. I thought, "awe shit," and poured it all on, giving it everything I had.

Too late. He already had the jump on me, and I couldnt match his pace. 50m's to go, and I all I could do was watch him go by. He ended up 1 second ahead of me. My friend said if I had started to kick about 20m sooner, he wouldn't have caught me.

Pre-race with my buddies Cristina and Jeff

:01 second. Crap.

Oh well. Good for a 11th overall, 2nd in my age group, and a new 8km personal best time (27:02, :25 seconds faster than my best time.) I'm super pumped about that, I was amazed I could even walk well today, let alone PB, after yesterday's hard 4hrs of training, and the 20hrs of training this week!! I could've pushed harder, but I wanted to work on race form, tactics, and I was told not to go out and kill myself (coaches orders,) I had a 3 hour ride to do still, and this was purely a test. The best part of the race today was getting to see all my friends out on a sunny sunday morning, everyone had a great time!

I packed it all in!

The weather for the ride today was EASILY the most beautiful this year!! Cold as all hell, but clear blue skies:) On my way home, I made a stop in at my favorite meat shop, North Surrey Quality Meats. All free-range, grain fed meats (except for their non-medicated, grass fed ground beef, leanest I've ever seen,) easily the cleanest and leanest meats around! I figured, after a hard day of racing and 3 hours on the bike, I earned something delicious. I felt like a delivery cyclist, I packed everything in my back pouches.


Displaying the goodies:)

I picked up some tasty treats for dinner (spicy marinated chicken breast, and some small bits of lamb,) as well as a few frozen meats (ground Bison: 4x leaner than chicken; chicken sausage, and some coconut curry chicken breasts.) They were 25% off, how could I NOT get it?!? What can I say, I'm a sucker for a deal (you know, the guy who buys stuff he doesn't need, just 'cause it's on sale. lol) Also grabbed a bit of whipped cream for my homemade Crispy Crunch Ice Cream Cake :D

Now it's time for bed, back to work tomorrow. Sounds like sun for the next few days, GET OUT THERE AND ENJOY!!!

The big pains to make the gains

2011-01-28T20:42:00.000-08:00

After a very solid recovery week, and closing in on the end of a full week of training, it seems the two week training camp was ages ago. But amazingly, I can already feel the effects of twelve days of full time training.

That's just over 46 hours of training, including just over 150km's of running.

Being a run focus, there were a few days of double runs.

All being new to me, and this block being, by FAR, the largest block I've ever done, (most of the training was at a high intensity, with all the running being either tempo, intervals, or track work,) it was pretty brutal for me. About 8-9 days in I started to crack mentally, and by the last day or two, I had a lot of trouble sleeping. It was odd, you would go for a nap, and your whole body feels like it's sleeping, but your mind stays awake. Yet you wake up feeling oddly refreshed. Strange.

This week being a full week of training, it's surprising to find out I am racing the Steveston IceBreaker 8k road race this sunday morning. Pretty much a "D" race, with absolutely no rest before, it will be a sufferfest like no other. But I am sure it will be a great time, I'll be there to have fun and get in some solid training at the same time (FUN always being number 1!!!) I just have my fingers crossed for some dry weather, especially since there's a 3 hour bike ride post race for moi :(

Ugly.

Some more VERY exciting news (mostly for me!haha) is I have booked a training block in April for Las Vegas!!!! It will be a big bike and run block, with focus on the bike. The thing I'm most looking forward to? SUN, HEAT, DRY WEATHER! Getting away from the cold, wet BC weather, and into the nice Vegas sun (average that time of year is a low of 14C, highs upwards of 30C) will be the real treat. Lucky for me, I'll be staying in a condo owned by the lovely Barb McPhee (thanks Barb!) located about 10km SW of the infamous Vegas Strip (ironically, my parents are there right now, celebrating their 30th Anniversary. Hope they win some money!) This will be my first solo training camp, but there are a few guys who might join me for a few days, which would definitely make it a bit more interesting. Not sure if anyone's seen the show 'Pawn Stars,' but I do intend on stopping by their shop to check out all the odds and ends they have (maybe try and pawn something?lol) Will be a good time.

Hopefully everyone is getting lots of early season training done, best of luck out there (and good luck with the weather!)

Personal Camp-Week One

2011-01-09T10:47:00.000-08:00

After today's ride outside, my first week of training camp will be done! Monday morning was the start of a run focus training block, and I jumped into it right away with two that day. It's amazing how great you can feel for the second run of the day after a good solid nap.

Nap.

That's been one of the staples in my diet the last week, having a nap every day! Especially on days where I've had 3 workouts, NONE being recovery. The first time I've done some major running like this, especially with friday's double run and a swim day, which included a rather painful 80min Fartlek run in the late morning, coupled with a hard track workout out at UBC in the evening with some of Bjoern's athletes and other Lifesport athletes. Bjoern made sure we ran hard, and I was surprised that I could even walk, let alone put out some decent splits on the track. This seems to be the week of self-discovery, I've learned I can push myself harder and further than I thought!

The biggest smile crossed my face this camp when I found out it was going to be sunny today, as today is one of my long ride days. It is absolutely beautiful out, and I am super excited to finally jump on the bike and ride in the sun. I'm sure a lot of people can relate to the fact that riding indoors on the trainer is SOOOOOO boring, and very monotonous! Especially when you have to do it almost every day. Living in BC, and not somewhere that is warm year-'round (see- Arizona, Texas,) we have our fair share of ugly days. And probably a bunch of others' shares as well. One thing I was thinking about as I hammered out a hard brick run yesterday, was electrolyte use while on the trainer. I mean, I know a lot of people only use water while on the trainer, but think of how much you sweat! That accounts for electrolyte loss (more for some than others,) and water alone doesn't replenish that. So after a 90+min hard workout on the trainer, that's a substantial loss. I've been keeping on top of that (especially when I have the brick run after, don't want to go in to that depleted,) using some E-Load heat endurance formula (gives you some calories to help out near the end too!)

Just food for thought.

Time to get outside and absorb a solid dosage of Vitamin D! My favourite way to take it:)

Enjoy the sun people, looks like LOTS AND LOTS of snow starting wednesday!

Nathan

Snow?

2010-12-29T19:50:00.000-08:00

So I wake up knowing I have another hard LONG run ahead of me this morning, and to my shock there was a bunch of snow on the ground, and it looked like it had NO intention of slowing down! I knew it was going to be a wet, cold, nasty slog through the slush and snow out there. Lucky for me it slowed down, but I felt like I was running in a giant snow-cone as it warmed up just enough to make my feet miserable. I'm sure there was something extra to be gained from the run, it was a doozy. 23km fartlek in 1hr40mins, definitely not easy. At least I know that all this base building will make a HUGE difference next summer, as it gives me some killer base fitness. Way more than I've ever done at this time of year before. But I guess that's what you get when you sign up with a coach as a pro athlete:(

My bad.

So some more exciting news! My first holidays from work are coming up, from January 3rd to the 14th, and Bjoern informs me there is going to be some MAJOR work going on, with a big training block that looks like a run focus.

Even more exciting though, I've picked my holidays for 2011 at work, and I managed to get some AWESOME slots!! A few weeks line up perfectly with a few major races, like the San Fransisco ITU Continental Cup in July, 5150 Las Vegas and 5150 Clearwater. I tell you, sitting in that room waiting to make my holiday picks was so exciting! Watching the picks move down the seniority list, waiting for turn to pick a slot, trying to guess who was going to pick which slot, it got pretty intense. In the end I got what I wanted, so a win for me.

Hopefully there'll be a few more wins this year.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas with their family and friends, and to everyone, have a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! BE SAFE!

New Coach, New Season, New Goals

2010-12-12T16:12:00.000-08:00

So it's been a while since my last post, and a bunch of stuff has been going on since then!

First off, I'm happy to announce that I've started working with Bjoern Ossenbrink of Lifesport Coaching, a very experienced professional coach that I believe will help me take my training and racing to a new level. I've been working with Bjoern since the start of December, and things are very exciting! I've been looking at the race calender for the new year, and it looks like a few of the local races races will be the rust breakers, possibly including UBC Duathlon and the North Shore Triathlon. Then I've been looking at the new 5150 Series (from the WTC,) to use as my "A" races. I will be competing in the pro division, and would really like to qualify for the newly designated 5150 series championship race, the Des Moines, Iowa, Hyvee triathlon. It has changed from a draft-legal ITU race, to a non-drafting WTC race. The non-draft suits me better, my swimming isn't exactly top of the field! I'll take another kick at the ITU can with Kelowna Nationals, and possibly the San Francisco and Texas ITU Continental Cups. Nothing is concrete yet, but at least something's in the works.

Second, I've gained sponsorship from John at Pacific Multisport in Vancouver, on Main street between 27th and 28th ave. Fantastic shop, he has everything you need and more to enjoy the sport, so go on in and check it out.

My swim has been going well, I've had a few solid swims this week which are very promising. But I've had a few phenomenal runs in the last two days. Yesterday I had a super solid 21km run around Mundy Park in Coquitlam, and it was only a 90min run. I coupled that with a very good 60min brick run off a hard bike session today, running 14.5km.

These are the workouts that are going to make the difference next season, putting the hard work in during the early pre-season. Now I'm looking forward to a ligher recovery week, and I've been assured by coach that the next building block will be a fun one. I cant wait!!!!

Time to bake some tasty cookies and spread some holiday cheer! Everyone enjoy the festivities!!!

Nathan

Interesting Video....

2010-11-02T21:47:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0n3nmjpn2k

My friend Zameer made this video when I came back from Texas, he's a sportscaster and wanted to do an interview with me. He did a fantastic job, but you can only do so much for me haha! Click on the link to watch.

Enjoy!

The Finale

2010-11-02T21:31:00.000-07:00

So it's been a few weeks since I finished up the season with the Longhorn 70.3 Austin in Texas.

What a day it was.

I was feeling great pre-race. My warm-up run was a good indication of the things to come, I felt loose and well rested. The swim was a little crazy, as it always is in a triathlon. But because it was only light out about 10min before the race, they only let the pros have a swim warm-up, not the age groupers. So a little interesting to start the swim. Lately my swimming has been a little off, and the past few races my swim has been my down fall. But today my stroke felt on! Then, seeing as i was the SEVENTH wave to start, 300m into the swim I started running into the next wave. It was a battle the rest of the swim, weaving through enormous crowds of people, which really slowed things down. I ended up swimming 27minutes, which wasn't too bad, but I was hoping for a little faster.

Coming up the beach out of the lake, I was feeling great for the bike. Stepping out on the Jamis T2, I started the passing. There were people on the road from 6 waves ahead of me, so there were lots of people to pass. The bike felt so great, even though I haven't raced that distance. I didn't really know what pace to hold, so I just rode. I ended up riding just under 2:18, a new PB for me at that distance. The Jamis was just a rocket up the hills, and didn't even slow down hitting the headwind on the latter part of the course. This was the first time that I had no soreness at all going into the run. Usually my hamstrings and glutes would be feeling slightly tight, but they were feeling fantastic. Unfortunately, my feet wouldn't be feeling so well.

I seemed to have trouble getting my shoes on in T2. Like, a lot of trouble getting them on. Here's the background story: New Balance came out with these sweet looking lime green 905 lightweight trainer/race shoe. They replaced the 904. I decided to use these for Austin, but they fit a little roomier than my normal shoes so I went for a half size smaller.

Rookie mistake.

They felt just snug when i tried them on at New Balance, which I figured would be perfect for the race. Not so. I forgot a few major things: A. My feet got swollen on the flight over, and I'm not 100% sure they went fully back down to normal size before the race; B. My feet would swell up during the bike due to the heat.

This caused the shoes to be a little too tight, and the run became a battle of will to push through the pain. Within 5 minutes of starting the run, I was starting to feel the pain in my feet. By the second loop my toes were crushed and searing with pain, and my feet were in agony. I had a lot of trouble just trying to focus on the race, all I could think of was the pain. Usually my New Balance shoes fit perfect, but this was such a noobie mistake. I wasn't happy with the 4 minute positive split on the run, but it was a huge learning experience. I took a lot away from the race.

My goal for Texas was mainly to go down and have some fun, and maybe enjoy some heat. It was really great to go without any real expectations. Under the conditions, I'm happy with my time. I wanted to break 4:10, but considering I haven't raced the half in over a year and a half, AND it was a PB for that distance, so all-in-all a positive experience.

My nutrition break-down for the race: breakfast was the same as always, wake up at least 3 hours before the race and have my oatmeal with a bagel and peanut butter. Then I started sipping away at a bottle of E-load, leading up to the race start. On the bike, it was 2 water bottles with a mix of 2 scoops E-load, 1 scoop Fly (E-load's carbohydrate formula,) along with about 3 E-load Gels. I took an extra gel off the bike, and went into the run on that, also grabbing water/gatorade at aid stations. I never had any lull's in my energy, I felt 100% the whole race. I've had the bogging down feeling at the end of races, somewhat like a bonk, but today I was feeling great all the way to the finish. I find the E-load and Gels work great with my stomach. I've had issues in the past with heart burn and bloating from other supplements, so it was great to find something that works well for me.

This was also the first race i used Compressport gear. I decided last second to go with the calf guards, and they seemed to help. I usually have sore calves by the end of the run, but not this time. The calf guards and quad sleeves really made a difference in my recovery during training as well, they seem to make my legs feel much more recovered then when I wasn't using them. Some people are skeptics, but I'm a firm believer they help. In fact I'm wearing the right now!

Next season will see a real focus on draft-legal short course, so it was good to end the season on a high note. I won my age group, and came 20th overall. Thanks to everyone who's supported me this season, I wouldn't be able to race and train like I do without you!

Cheers 'till next season,
Nathan

Was it the last race?

2010-09-22T22:29:00.000-07:00

So, I originally thought that Vancouver Triathlon would be the last race of the season. Then I'd have my usual few weeks off, then get into the off-season base building.

But this, evidently, is not the case.

Let me start by saying, I am extremely dedicated to my goals in triathlon, and they are, at the moment, all short course goals. Some are short-term goals, some are long-term goals. But all short course goals. That being said, I started triathlon racing the half ironman distance. All season I have been focusing on short course racing, while watching a fair amount of my friends race in the longer distance races. I've been curious as to how I may fare in a long course race, having stuck purely to speed training over the summer, whether or not my speed would be able to hold itself up in the longer races. Well, it appears I'll have an answer to that question soon enough.

After much pondering, and some light convincing (Jimmy,what have you done!!!!) I've decided to end the season (for real this time,) with a fun race, one of the long-course variety.

Austin 70.3 Texas.

I am going to race it purely for fun, going in without any big expectations, just that last kick at the can. It should be a good time regardless of the outcome (although a good result would make my dietary splurges post race that much more satisfying! One more scoop of ice cream?) I'm going down with a friend of mine, as well as my coach. Looks like Jeff Symonds and Anthony Toth will also be racing. You can bet I'll be cheering for them on course, hopefully they can bring home some gold. Canada REPRESENT!! The bonus: sun and heat in october! Weather will be very warm while we're down there.

Since I decided to race, my training has been more endurance focused. Wow it's been a while since i put in the big volume weeks like I have the last few, just putting in the last big push until my taper starts next week. For instance, today i harassed my body with a 3200m swim, followed by a 145km ride (4:30, avg speed 32km/hr,) with a 30min brick run off the bike (8km.) A really wicked day, but definitely different to what I'm used to. I feel a little more worn out some days, especially after a few big days of training.

I'm looking forward to the race, it will be a blast no doubt. Rest assured though, I still have every intention of racing ITU and short course next season, so after Austin it'll be back to the drawing boards to make sure I get where I want to go.

To go the distance, you gotta take it one day at a time.

Last Tri of the Season?

2010-09-07T11:34:00.000-07:00

After a very humbling race two weeks ago in Kelowna, I came into the Vancouver Triathlon with a little higher hopes. Having worked nights shifts on both friday and saturday nights, I was probably a little under rested. I rolled into transition very early on race morning, as I always do, just so i can be a little more relaxed in set-up and warm-up, and not have to rush so much. After getting everything set up, and a short warm-up run, i returned to my transition spot for final prep before the race. There i saw Facundo Chernikoff, a friend of mine and fellow elite triathlete, who also let me know that Mike Adams was racing as well (another elite ITU athlete.)

I knew it was going to be a tough race with these guys here, both of them being more experienced than I, as well as WAY better swimmers than me, Mike Adams being a phenominal swimmer.

The start was very hairy; huge rocks covered in barnicles and broken shells littered the shoreline and the first 50m of the swim (which was probably about 1.5feet deep.) Many of us got pretty beat up in the beginning, half the people swimming, half dolphin diving, EVERYONE jumping on top of everyone else. It was mayhem, but that's a typical triathlon swim start for ya. I had a bad start and couldn't quite get into a good pack; I ended up swimming most of the swim by myself.

Coming out of the frigid water and up the beach to T1, I was told I was in 8th place by my friend Jeff Seeley, who was waiting to start his sprint race. I had yet another bad swim.

I knew i had some catching up to do on the bike.

This time i was a little more careful getting onto my bike, so I didn't bail again. The weather was freezing out, i think winter might have come early this year, it was about 10 degrees C out. I went into the bike with a plan to get faster each lap, and I did just that. Even with torrential rain, on a very technical course that required me to coast and slow down a lot more than i would have liked to, my average speed for each lap increased. Having the aerodynamic edge with my Jamis Xenith T2, and Pro-Lite carbon tubulars that i borrowed from my pal James Fry (thanks Jimmy!) i was able to post the fastest bike split of the day by about 1:30. A good hit of energy from an E-Gel right before the end of the bike and I was ready to try and close the gap on the leaders.

Coming into T2, I was told I was in 3rd overall. Facundo was just putting his shoes on as i came in to rack my bike, and he took off right after. Going into the run I could see him way up ahead, and the chase was on. I know Facundo can run, he generally runs about the same times as i do, so I knew i would have to have a fantastic run to catch him. Cruising in my New Balance 205KIM's, I was slowly gaining on him, and at the turn-around point in the first lap i had closed the gap considerably. By 2/3's through the first loop i pulled in behind him, paced him for a bit, and then put on a big surge to go by. By this time i had taken a fair chunk out of the leader's gap, and set my sights on catching Mike. By the start of the second loop i had taken about 1:30 out of his lead. I started to run harder, and at the turn-around of the second loop i wasn't that far behind him. Mike made a huge push for the end of the race, and i just wasn't able to catch him. It was awesome to be racing with all my friends and hear all their support for the chase out on course, as well as from the people watching. I finished second to Mike, a result I am happy with. Having the fastest bike and run splits of the day was a big confidence boost.

As for my swim, it was pretty slow. I need to put some major miles in the pool over the next few years, as ITU racing is a swimmer's and runner's game. I've been swimming for less than 3 years, and it shows, but I'm confident i will make some big improvements in the next year on my swim.

Guess it's back to the drawing boards for the off-season.

Thanks again to everyone who made racing this season possible, especially to my parents, who made it out to the race despite the ugly weather, and who have made it to almost all my races this year. A thanks goes to New Balance Vancouver, E-Load, Secret Cycles (who've bailed me out a few times this year with last minute emergencies,) Popeye's Supplements Coquitlam, and Jamis Bikes (for all the sweet race rigs they've supplied me with!)

The First Elite Race EVER!

2010-09-07T10:33:00.000-07:00

So, two weeks ago I raced my first ever Elite race at the Kelowna Apple Pan American Premier Cup race (ITU Continental Cup.) Pretty much going to serve that one up to experience. The swim was absolutely horrible, i froze my ass off before i even got in the water. The weather was insane, windy with some very heavy rain at times. My bike wasn't bad, and i set a personal best on the run with a 35:06. But a fall before i even got on the bike definitely slowed me down, and healing has been a little slow. Coming out of T1 completely frozen from the swim, i couldn't feel my legs at all (or any part of my body for that matter,) so when i went to jump on the bike I tripped up and didn't quite make it over the seat.

Have you ever seen an indoor volleyball player make a huge save by sliding on their knees to get to the ball? Well that was me, sans knee pads, plus more pavement. But in my defence, after being instructed very sternly by my pal Charlene Croteau (who also graciously offered her parents place as a homestay) "for the love of God, Bucky, please stay vertical," I did indeed stay vertical. The bike nor I went down. I just got a little lower to the ground than I'm used to. Hearing the crowd full of hundreds of spectators go "oooohhhhhh" is not a good sound to hear. Swim-to-bike = EPIC FAIL.

After dusting myself off, I continued on with my Jamis Xenith Race. I put the ZIPP 808 Clinchers on it from my other bike, the Jamis Xenith T2 time trial bike, and boy did they perform beautifully! During the 6 loop course i ended up in a pack of 4 riders, and we rode to a pretty good bike split, keeping away from the lead pack (in the ITU if you are going to get lapped they drop you out of the race.) The rain didn't help much, but the Oakley Radar's that my buddy James Fry lent me definitely kept the rain out of my eyes.

My E-Load and E-Gels kept the energy flowing as I went from the bike to the run. I hit the run hard and fast right from the get-go, as the field was definitely a fast one. Two of the guys coming out of T2 with me were just too fast to hang on to, but i spent the entire run slowly reeling guys in, passing a fair amount before the finish. I don't think i was recovered completely from a hard 10k effort the weekend before, but i was very happy with the run. My New Balance 205KIM race flats were extremely smooth and comfortable, fitting like a glove. Even with some major road rash on my feet, they were still fantastic, never at any time being uncomfortable.

For my first ever Elite race, and this only being my third season, i would say the race was fairly successful. My swim is obviously my weakest point, and will need a lot of work for sure.

Thanks to everyone who was out there to cheer me on, your cheers of support definitely helped me push harder. Every time i heard someone yell out my name, it gave me a little shot of adrenaline to feed off. Thanks to my sponsors for all their support. A big thanks to my coach Shaun Callaghan of Pacific Rim Multisport Coaching, who was there to ensure i got to the start line ready to go, and gave me a lot of support during the race as well as post-race. Without all the people who offer me support in various ways, i don't know how I'd manage in this sport.

Nathan (aka "Bucky")