gwn, what i learned, and it's 54 some days to ironman

that was tuff, but you know what? this year's edition of the great white north 1/2 ironman tri was awesome!
i have to admit, during possibly the worst sleep of my life i had thoughts of bailing...i even changed the setting on my handy dandy alarm clock at 5AM to 530AM...the kiss of death for me, cause that's usually when i usually fall into a deep coma, but heck, i had to climb out of bed to change the setting ( i learned that trick a while ago of makng sure the alarm clock wasn't within arms reach...it's across the bedroom, so i have to get up to shut off the alarm..and hey surprise, you're up!)...anyway, i'm up!and i'd taken my bike down to the beach saturday nite, so i had to go down to the start just to get my bike anyway, so i might as well race while i'm there, huh?....almost seems like way too much of a strategy..but if you know me, you know, i need a plan...
also the carpooling thing was a fantastic idea to...if people are waiting for me to get my ass in gear, again, i've gotta get going.
and i had a plan...and it started off well... i had a gel and some gatorade before the swim, loaded my bike with 2 more bottles of the stuff, filled my nutrition bag with gels, gummies, salt tabs, and you name it.......so that was fine...and i wasn't as nervous as i have been at previous swim starts...but that was at the start...after the gun went off, and i hit the water...man, i don't know what happened, but i freaked a bit, and had a tough time catching my breath and relaxing...at past races i usually calm myself down as soon as my head hits the water, this year was the opposite...the second lap was a bit better, but my heart rate was still racing...amd talking to others this year, i wasn't the only one that felt the panic...i'm really curious to see what my final swim time was, my worst at this race was just over 41 minutes...i know i was above that this year, just not sure how much...just because i kept backing off, looking for open water, and wandering way off course to find any.....gonna have to figure this one out before IMC in august, but i guess, you just have to swim and hope to make the cut off times, and relax, right?
the bike was weird too, but maybe in a better way. i really tried at the start to just back off a bit, get and keep my heart rate down, and just enjoy the ride, and for the 1st bit i did that. i got my heart rate down to the 130s, let people pass without giving chase, and planned to save myself for the run...but, then as soon as i got close to the hills, i just clicked into a different part of my head, and just plowed away.. don't know what it is about hills, but my body just seems to like riding down fast, really fast, and then forcing the legs to plow up the other side of the valley...i know that the people i pass going up hill are going to pass me back on the flats..but i just seem to want to go for it......and all in all the ride was good, think my time was around the same as the last 3 years, in the 3 hour range....but, the big but, i didn''t eat at all on the bike, i swallowed maybe a half a bottle of my Gatorade , and even as i was riding i knew that wasn't good, but i just find it difficult to do. i hate reaching down for my waterbottles, i hate trying to open gel packs, or anything, salt tabs seem like such a hassle...but i also know i need to take them...and by the time that bit of knowledge sinks into my head, its usually too late....like yesterday, the turn off of garden valley road into stony plain, i stood up on the bike and almost fell over, my quads just both cramped big time....and that didn't bode well for the run...also i was starting to feel a bit queezy or lite headed or something
i'm not sure what to say about the run...when i ran, i ran fine...i knew my quads were going to cramp up again...they always do...and this year was exactly the same, in fact the 1st time they cramped was the same place they've cramped the last 2 times i've done this race...about 1k from the bike transition...i tried to run through, but both legs just seized up...i just leaned against a post, did the old thigh stretch, they felt better, and just ran from aid station to aid station, and at every one they seized up yet again...and eventually they just became sore from me trying to unseize them, and trying to stretch them, and just from seizing.....but all in all the run seemed better then last year...when i ran, i ran well, i treated myself at almost every aid station, and ate and drank gatorade or water at everyone...i also had my gel flask with me....i took one sip from it, but it felt nice to have to carry it for 21K....
so, what have i learned here...pretty much the same thing i've learned from and after every race.., i need to teach myself a bit more about tri nutrition, and i need to slap myself across the back of the head more often...and learn to eat before the race,and during the race, i don't think i'll be able to get away with not eating and drinking at IMC as easily...so i better learn fast!

w

i'm actually looking forward to this...1./2 ironman, great white north///bring it on!

so this is, 2 sleeps away from my 4th 1/2 ironman...cool huh? don't know why i'm still a little freaked, i shouldn't be...i've been there done that...this is the most i've actually ever trained for a race....all my swims and rides have been over the distances, so this should be fine..and i guess i am...my biggest concern, is WHY AM I SO TIRED!?....so my concern is getting rested, and just waking up in time for the race on sunday....i've done that before...slept passed the start time of a race just because it felt like the right thing to do at the time....and i've regretted making the decision almost every time....there's a couple of times when it was the right thing to do at the time, and that's okay, but this seems different.
but one different thing, is that i am actually looking forward to the race. that doesn't happen all that often. i'm not really concerned about my race times, i know what i'm capable of doing, and my goal is to sort of to meet them..but really, i just want to finish standing up and having fun...watching friends race, having a nice swim, a good ride, and hopefully a good run...better yet, a run... ...i've done this race 3 times now, and have yet to have a good run...it's just 2 10K runs, there's tons of support, there's a bunch of aid stations, it should be fine...and it should be fine..i just need to run...and just whatever happens happens, it is what it is.....and then it's onward and upward to ironman....

ironman summer

so this how the summer's begun.
i still have no idea how i'm going to fit ironman training into this life. in-between kids at home, and work, just basic life stuff, trying to fit biking, running and swimming into that life seems almost impossible.
the best that i can hope for during these last 2 month until the canadian ironman tri in pentiction is to stuff my weekends with all the training i can. the basics of swimming friday nites, swimming biking and running on saturdays and then runnining on sundays, will have to be my key workouts, because they may become my only workouts. i'll have 2 put everything i have into them, and i'll hopefully be able to throw in some time on the bike trainer and a few runs into the week, but that'll be tuff.
the good thing i guess is, and this may seem odd, but all this training, everytime i go out to do this stuff, it's all fun. yeah, some of it is really hard, but i'm having a blast. every swim, every run, every ride has rocked. like last week's 5 hour ride. the stops at the 2 lakes, and just the ride itself was a blast and a challenge. yeah i was pissed at some of the ruff stuff that we rode over, and i could have done without the final 2 hills, but in retrospect, i loved every minute.
this week so far has been a week of mtn biking with my youngest, my autistic daughter sasha, and that has been a revelation. it's good to see her getting into it. like our quick spin on trails around fort edmonton on wednesday morning was great., and she enjoyed it which is so cool. she needs to get stronger for climbing hills, but she seems to look forward to the rides, which is good. now if i could just get her to shift her diet, now that would be a great thing. i guess besides ironman, getting sasha to become healthier and fit over the summer has become my goal....this should be fun? it's kind of a shame, because the same thing happened last summer. she was pretty active from the day she got out of school until the day she went back in september. she/we swm, hiked, walked, rode and just kept active and kept outside. her diet didn't change much, but she lost weight, and when we did stuff, she seemed calmer. so hopefully, this year will be the same, and maybe one goal should be to keep it going into september when she returns to school.
my other autistic kid, my jim, is out of school for the summer now to, so that will add to the challenges, and hopefully he'll get a bit more active too. i think for jim though, getting him to become more independent will be important too. get him out of the house on his own, get him riding his bike out on his own, having him go over to spend time with his friends on his own as well. and to get him to become more social able.
in a couple of weeks we head out on the family vacation/adventure to penticton, and i can hardly wait. sounds like we've got a great hotel to stay in, we've planned stops in valemount on the way out, and in canmore on the way back which will be interesting, and i'll be packing my tri gear so hopefully i'll get to train while i'm there. i'm not expecting miricles, but i really want to do the rides up to yellow lake and through the pass, and i want to swim in okanagan lake a few times as well......i don't think i'll be allowed to head out on any major 6 hour rides at all, but maybe over the course of 5 days i can get the numbers that i need, and then fill them out when we get back to edmonton.
next weekend is a test of sorts. the great wite north triathlon, a half ironman. i have no goals other then to finish well, and to run most if not all the of the run part, the 21K. that's always where i've fallen apart in the past, but it's only 21k, so i'll see how that goes. my swim and bike has always been okay, and i'm supposed to look at this race as just another training day...so as such, which i always seem to forget, you train when you train, and you race when you race....but still, there's that pride thingie, and a desire to do well.....so i guess i'll make that a goal......and hey, like i learned last year, the thing that calmed me down the most, was to just realize that i was just doing what i loved to do, and just to also realize how much fun swimming with a thousand of your closest friends can be..that sound of 1000 people all swimming at once is amazing...and that's why i do this stuff...because it's a blast to do!

summer's here and school's almost out!!!!!

well today sucks. did a bunch of stuff, but nothing to do with tri training....good thing is, this is how my life is sort of gonna b 4 the next 2 months, except with kids...the bad thing, is that i should be making massive use of this free time......but i've been really tired this week, so guess i need the rest....

the training up to today has been fine....the rides, the runs, and the swims...oddly enuff the running's been an issue...i always manage to find some reason not to run...swimmming i love, biking hill repeats or whatever has been okay, but run?...oh well...it'll b fine

the tuff thing is this is where to hard core training is...for the next 8 weeks or so...but?...i've gotta make sure i get all the core stuff done every week...just make a list of what i need to do each day, each week..and when i have some free time, do everything i can...if i have half an hour, i've got to run and/or bike for 30 minutes...if i have a couple of hours, just go out and do stuff.....and i'll have to keep the kids active...and at the same time keep me active...and my weekends will be full...hopefully they don't kill me...like this weekend for instance...tomorrow i've got to get a good hard run in early tomorrow morning, then there's an open water swim tomorrow night, a 5 hour ride and a 45 minute run saturday, and of course a long run sunday (i'm thinking 2 hours)...and then i guess collapse on monday???......

and it's time to get the kids out and fit yet again...the big issue again will be my youngest daughter sasha....keep her hiking, biking, swimming, and whatever.....and jim, well the same goes for jim....the goal is to make them so sick of dad that they can't wait to get back to school.....so that's yet one more challenge.....

w

84 days to ironman canada 1 day at a time. and having fun doing it!

today, and maybe even this week is the reason i luv doin' this here stuff!...2 dayz ride was awesome. the weather was kinda awful, but kinda, kinda not 2 bad....a bit of wind, overcast, maybe a little cool....but at times , even in2 the wind i felt really good. a little tired, probably b-cause of a little lack of sleep time, and a not too bad of a week training, but the speed was there...and if i hadn't been stopped by a CN train at the 199th street crossing, my time would have been even betta!

on the bike i just felt great, and cool. i've been struggling with hills this season, and that wasn't any different 2day, but i attacked 'em anyhow. even on the way back. don't know if the hill repeats have helped, but gotta keep doing them, and keep gettin' stronger.

i have to admit i was a bit worried this week. after a pretty pedestrian 2 hour run last sunday i took monday completely off just to think and regroup, and to rest a bit. and did the same thing again on wednesday, both days that i should have swum, but i felt i needed to recharge my batteries, and i guess i did...the work outs that i did get in were great.

doing hills on tuesday went well. i've said it b4 and i'll say it again, i luv doing hills. i don't know why, i don't always feel strong on hills, but maybe that's it...the harder it gets, the more i like it?..i'm still not as fast nor as strong as i'd like 2 b, but ya gotta keep doing them. this week was perfect too. good weather for an early morning ride, not much traffic, the spin through l-park was nice and relaxing, the gears shifted well (thanx to cam the man's tune up), and every ride up seemed to get quicker and quicker....and even the lady that took a right turn in front of me didn't faze me, much....yeah i swore like a sailor, but i was smiling as i did...stupid b***....

the t-run after was so cool. i know my running's gettin' better when i begin to explore, and explore i did...found a neat trail into the dog park that i'd never been on b4..it was another, oh so that's where this trail goes kinda day...and did i say it was warm and sunny?....and i know, i know, i'm supposed to refill and refuel after a work out, but a trip to wendy's for a large double combo just felt, la ta ta ta great...lovin' it in deed!

thursday's run was fun to. i don't know if it was the new sunglasses or what, but i felt like i was flyin'...and really didn't care where i ran, i just ran, explored a bit, took in the sites of the edmonton river valley, hit a few hills, some off road stuff, some blacktop, sprinted up emily murphy hill, and felt so cool...

then last nite's swim, you know i like doing stuff on my own and with friends. both have their attractions ( what can i say i like my own company sometimes..i even answer myself sometimes)...but the friday nite swim has bcome a must. i hadn't swum all week, so i needed to make it a key swim, and swim i did. 3500 meters, that started out brutal, and felt tough the whole way through. what kept me going is knowing what i needed to do...especially the 7X300 meter repeats were a must this week. what kept me going was sharing a lane with just liz. she's got a lot of speed, and i needed to keep going to keep from getting passed. also i knew what i had to do, had it all written down on my left hand, each rep, each drill, when i need to use the kick board, the pull thingie, and just what to swim. and instead of counting lengths, i knew when i was done, i was done, and only then did i know the distance...just 300 meters short of IMC distance...now to do that in open water?

today's ride was what this stuff is all about. riding with friends, riding hard on my own, riding with a stranger, then starbucks afterwards!....i love the group thing again. people that know me know that i need a lot of support, and that's what this stuff does. the support, the fun...especially the fun, it's very very important, because i know i couldn't do any of this on my own. then when i get to fly, i love to fly. i always just assume that when i take the lead that the rest of the group is riding my wheel...but sometimes i just hammer, and then after a while look behind me, and no one's there....i don't really like that, but then i also feel free to rock.

and today i felt confident. there was one spot coming back on sturgeon road where i spotted someone riding ahead of me, and just sprinted, and then struggled up sir winston churchill hill, and when she caught up, i just sprinted it yet again...wow huh????

anyway, the big cheeze peice is a few months away, i need to feel this good for all that time, but the big thing is, i feel confident, i'm having fun, i'm comfortable, and i have to keep thinking, while most folks are sitting around watching TV on their weekends...i'm swimming, biking, and runnning....drinking coffee, and enjoying every minute!..i just keep remembering last year's great white north triathlon. during the swim i stopped, stuck my head out of the water and just listened to the sound of hundreds of people swimming on hubbles lake and realizing that there was no where else that i could possibly ever want to be....

so that was the coronation tri....i sucked...

okay, so i should get over myself...i made up a whole 4 minutes over last year, was slightly faster in the swim and on the bike, but they both sucked....
i should have been way better in the pool. i know, i lied, and told my lane mates that I'd probably take 25-30 minutes, and placed my self at the back of the pack at the start, thinking that if i felt cool i could pass people at the ends of the pool, or not. i hate passing people in between, for one thing, the lanes at coronation are so narrow, and there were so many in our lane, there's just no way i could have without a head on collision, and no mater how close i was to the guy in front of me he just wouldn't take a hint. but that i guess okay, i drafted, and he was just following about 4 guys ahead of him...so i sort of screwed myself, but still, I've been swimming well....so i was hopping to break 20 minutes easily, but maybe next year..and maybe life will be better when i can swim on open water?
the bike was just weird....i' ridin' stronger, and i love doing groat road...it's why i sign up for this race every year...but my get up and go just got up and left...still, faster then last year, but not fast enough. is it the bike???...i'm thinking....yes, but this bike has to take me over richter pass and yellow lake in august, so i better just get used to it. .....
and the run, the less said about the run the better. when i ran i felt good, and only really walked at the water stations....and, well, the portapotty stop probably affected my time...but again, it's got to get, at least stronger....
oh well, am gonna take today to reflect, and ponder, and look to the future. i think my training is pretty spot on for the great white north 1/2 ironman, and for penticton...just have to keep to the program, trust the program, and, um, what ever happens happens right?

111 days left to ironman canada

well this is how it's supposed to be. it took me a while to get ironman scared, but i've finally been scared into kicking my own ass a bit. don't know what's woken me up, maybe realizing that we're only a few months away from ironman canada, or whatever, but this week i finally realized a few things, and changed a few things, that has all seemed to work.

first, i have to make full use of my weekends! with family demands, work things, and just general life stuff, i have to make full use of whatever time i have to train. i know one thing for sure. when my 2 autistic kids get out of school at the end of june, friday, saturday, and sunday are going to be sure things, days that no matter whatever else is going on, are going to be the days i train the most, my focus, the key to this thing. during the week, it'll be time for the kids, and even then, whenever i can get out for a run or a ride, or heaven forbid, a swim, that'll be a bonus.....the 3 days of the weekend, is for working ,my ass off.

until then, the same holds true. when my youngest, sasha, heads out to school, i've gotta drag my ass out of the house, and just train, and get what i need to get done, done. i've wasted to many mornings, screwing around the house until 10 or later,, and then found myself with not enuff time to do any significant training before heading out to work. but no matter what, i've got from 8:30 on, every morning to swim, bike, and run to my hearts desire, before i have to head out to work. and that's something i have to work on too. i don't have to be at work until 2:45.....yet, for some reason i always cut training off at noon???....heck, i'm screwing myself out of 2 hours of training...i don't really have to head off to work until 2PM...EVERYDAY!....so there's 2 hours i could still run, swim and bike somewhere, somehow.....so that's a thing i've set to work on over the next 2 weeks....train early, and not cut myself short...

again, that sort of worked this past week...ran monday, biked hills and ran on tuesday, swam wednesday, ran thursday, swam friday, biked with the gang on saturdays, and had a crappy run today....i'll get back to that later....but again, i should have run longer on thursday...finally drug myself outside late, only had time for 3 miles...a quick 3 miles...when i should have been on the road at 8:30 and have run 10 miles....but monday's run was good, the swims were amazing...and biking hills tuesday, and the ride in the rain and wind on saturday were great...but i've got to get running more, further........today's run sucked....it was 10 miles, it took 100 minutes...at the very least 15 minutes too slow. and i felt crappy....i managed to sprint up a few hills, and it was a route i loved....and when i ran, i ran hard (practically sprinted up victoria park hill)...but i kept feeling winded, and just could not keep up a pace....so i've gotta fix that, NOW!...i love running, i just haven't been doing enough of that, so i'll have to fix that quickly....maybe by running more, adding runs to swim days (i love running before a swim) and just not miss anymore sunday long runs...that might be the biggest key to this thing

but, otherwise, yep, i've gotta eat more, and have to watch what i eat a little closer...but, 111 days...that's it???.....wow huh