the devine footz

the end of a horrible year...but you've gotta have hope....

2011-12-17T20:25:00.000-08:00

This was awful. And I am actually happy it's almost over. This was it, my 52nd year on this planet, & it's been horrible. It's been so bad that all that I can point to over the last 300 and 50 odd days, is a had full of bike rides, I actually spent more time on my mountain bike this year then i did on my TriFelt, and my Cannondale never made it outa the garage! Swam a grand total of about an even dozen times, the wetsuit never made it outa the basement,except, well, to the garbage can where it now sits.
No marathons, no triathlons, a few runs, a couple of fun runs, wow even an organized 10K, a wonder, 1 wonderful 5 Peaks run, but that was it.
It has been a tuff 1, and it's about to get tuffer. But i guess I've got to look at this as a challenge. Maybe.
It's weird. I thought as time went by, well,I'd have more time. But it hasn't worked out that way. Not at all. It has become just tuff.
Tuff to find the time to train. It's been frustrating. Understandably so, that's just the way life has become, and has to become.
Along with that no time to train as i would like, I became a stubborn pig, a frustrated pig, and used every excuse to not train,or race, or to get fit.
I screwed around. I don't know if it was residual stuff after doing Ironman in Penticton, but I just have not felt like much of anything for a really long time. Long runs, long bike rides, weights, yoga, anything. I've drug my ass out a few times, if running 5 to 10 k on a consistent basis is something to brag about, well, i might be able to brag about that, but i won't.
I seriously, have just missed my life for a very long time. For a few years I lived the life. Ran, swam, biked, did lunch, and, well, enjoyed life. Now not so much.
Kids, house, work, a need to sleep, a little depression, actually a lot of depression, that seems to make me want to sleep all the time.
This year ends in about 14 days. I'm going to try and focus on one thing at a time. I'm going to attempt to focus on making myself better and fitting what I need to do, in with what i have to do, one day at a time.
The focus is to just get out of the house right now, even more so, just out of bed every day, and that goal will extend to just getting out of bed, remaining out of bed, and then getting out.

onward and upward,i can only hope

i was supposed to be in victoria, but, well, here we are......

2011-10-10T19:15:00.000-07:00

So this is sort of how all of this year, and most of last has gone.
was supposed to be doing the victoria marathon, um, yesterday (that would be about 10 races i was registered for, and ended up doing the DNS thingie)...but well, i never trained-well not enuff for a marathon, nor a half), and even after changing my registraition to the 1/2, there was no way this was gonna be good, so yet again i bailed..-.i just kept hopeing my head would get scrwed on straight -
it otherwise turned into a good can-con kanadian weekend otherwise , a couple of good runs, a good friday night swim, and a great saturday morning on the mountain bike. so nothing bad, but not what was intended.
so as i've said, and as i figured after finishing IMC in penticton just over a year ago, this was gonna be a year of no races, just trainin' and getting repaired, and having fun. so that's kind of what happened.
okay, well, maybe not always the fun fun fun, but it's been good at times, frustraiting during others, but over all okay. and i'm sort of looking towards 2012.
yep, the great white north triathlon in stony plain in july is something to look forward to, am sorry i missed it this year, but volunteering showed me the other side of that race, and that on it's own was great. i learned a lot, especially that i never wanna volunteer again, it's way too much work.
and i am thinking a spring marathon might be in order, and give me an early goal. they've changed the route for the vancouver marathon in may, and i like how it looks. seriously i have an urge to dig into it again, but no major hills, which, for vancouver seems weird. but it'll be a trip to vancouver, a weekend in vancouver, and though it'll mean lots of running in the cold and snow here in edmonton, i need a goal, a do-able goal, so that may have to be it.
actually the weather is not going to be my biggest hurdle. it'll be my free time to train. with the number one autistic son around the house still searching for work experience and not really sure where he's headed to next, i can sneak out for some runs and rides, and with winter coming i can always spin inside, but my free time away from home will be limited. so the gym, yoga, and swimming will be an issue, that i'll have to work around.
but i guess that's the whole thing about training when i can as i can. i'm seriously not sure how to do this, but, well i'm gonna have to figure it all out......i have no idea how, but i'll just have to find some way around this stuff...oh yeah.and SOON!..like beginning 2morrow!~

onward and upward

an awesome week followed by an awful week followed by a nice weekend

2011-10-02T19:39:00.000-07:00

today was great, well at least.
sure it was only a 5K fun run, the Run For The Cure.
but after a week of doin' nothin' it felt sweet. did i need a rest?
a couple of hours of mountain biking yesterday help save a week of sleeping, of watching TV, of doing nothin'
but today felt, nice.
one of the best things about doing this stuff is doing it with other people. sure there's something to that loneliness of the long distance runner/biker/swimmer, but we all don't live alone, and as social animals, well, sometimes it feels okay to run like a social animal.
but back to today, i seriously needed today, and yesterday too.
a day. a morning of mtn biking with friends (okay so i ditched the friends and went off on my own for a bit, but we started out together, that's the point) was amazing. finding new (to me/us) single track, getting some exercise almost indirectly, dodging dogs and dog walkers, and then blasting through hills, down hills, streets and yet more trails was so much fun. maybe too much, i sort of screwed up even more my screwed up forever healing right knee, but once the riding got hard, i seriously didn't feel a thing.
also unexpectedly running into some dear old friends was so cool, racing thru some trails with a couple of people i didn't know (man they were quick) then passing them up the keeler road switchbacks was just, well, just what i needed.
then today's 5k felt effortless. in fact it was a fun run.
after a year of missed and skipped races, never feeling completely rested, i need something, maybe a bunch of stuff to get my mojo back up and working.
I've had a few bits of ups, and then a bunch of downs, the ups were great, and felt great, but just never being able to recover afterwards has been, in a word frustrating.
i need to get over this soon. a bit of focus maybe, or maybe not.
i have started to look towards 2012, next year already, maybe to soon, but again, i guess you have to have something to focus on, too.
so, well, a marathon. the Vancouver marathon is 31 weeks away, so why not?
but, well, I've got this knee...
so focus? back to the physio, into the gym, yoga, and a bunch of running.....
but, well, there's the question of a 1/2 ironman in July, the ride to conquer cancer ride in June...and well, this getting older thing too.
how do i get back at it, how do i pick out what to do and why?
marathon training and triathlon training do not mix. the reality is, to do a triathlon is that you have to train to do a triathlon, not like a swimmer, a biker, or like a marathoner, but like a triathlete. and well, a marathoner doesn't train like a triathlete, so how on earth do you train for one and incorporate training for the other.
i guess that's what I've got to figure out...i guess I'll let you know how it goes?

onward and upward, one footz step at a time.

w

A year since IMC. Where am i now, and where am i going

2011-08-19T19:03:00.000-07:00

Hard to balieve it's been a year.
This time in 2010 I was in Jazper, chilling out b4 continuing on to Penticton for the 2010 Canadian Ironman Triathlon.
It was an interesting time. After not finishing the race in 2009, pulling out of the race after swimming 3.4 kilometers, and biking 180K, I pulled out, I'd barfed my gutts out while on the bike course, near the end of the bike course, and said enuff. So upon my return in 2010, I knew whatever happened, even if I had to crawl I WAS GONNA FINISH.
Long story short, even though I hardly trained, I finished. It took me 14 hours and 50 minutes to cross the finish line after, well, almost crawling the final 42 kilometers.
I was hurt. There was a lesson there, TRAIN DAMMIT!....but at least i was done. My 1st thought after finishing was, "I need some time off!"
Two years of sort of training. 2 trips to Penticton, and a trip to the NYC Marathon in 2009, my body was yelling at me, ENUFF!
I was hurt. I had an issue, and on going issue with a right knee problem that had been bothering me forever, an issue with my left shin and ankle, and well, I had a bathroom that I'd been working on for 3 years that had to get done. So as I drove away from Penticton 2 dayz after the race, I was thinking one thing, I need a year away, I need a year off.

Also I was stupid. I was doing all this stuff hurt. I hurt myself in the spring of 2010. Okay, way B4 then, but things just got worse at that time. And I know, I know, everybody knows, everybody that knows me knows, that any injury should be looked at and dealt with ASAP, or else, well, that injury will stay with u 4 ever, it bcomes chronic. But, well, Ironman was a big deal, okay a huge deal. Not so much the Great White North 1/2 Ironman triathlon I did 2 months B4 Ironman, but I had 2 do that as well. Well I just did, so there.

So where is this leading, well oddly enuff, now that it's almost that back 2 school time, September is almost here, that means, hmmm, 2011 is almost done, I am still working on that injured thing, but that thing seems to b getting better, and I've got 2 start looking at what comes next?

This year has been weird. I've been seeing a physio, doing my stretches, and some training, but hardly any. Struggling to run, hardly biking at all, and well, I think I've almost forgotten how to swim. It's been a struggle. I'm finally starting to run further, I haven't fainted 4 a few months, my right knee feels okay, my left ankle and shin feel even better, or else I'm just ignoring them better than ever, so now what?

Well, do I have to decide now? Well duh? Registration for the 2012 Ironman is in a couple of weeks, for the Great White North Triathlon is also in September, and well, do i do Death Race in Grande Cache in 2012? The Vancouver marathon, what?

And, well, LIFE? There's always that life thing. Will I have the time to train. I have a house and yard to look after, a full time job. I also have 2 kids still at home, both autistic. One heading 4 one last year at hi school. The other, well we're not sure. So that's gonna make me push the pause button at least once. So the question is, training. So that's life. So like life on a hi-way, I've got 2 figure out what I'll be able to do, with the time that I have.

The stranger thing, is, well, I've got a few things even more pressing 2 figure out. Remember that year off I mentioned way B4 the last TV commercial, well, I'm signed up, flight and hotel booked for the Victoria Marathon in about, hmm, 8 weeks!!!! EKKKKKKK?

Why did I do that? Well cause I need something in my life Bsides wine and ice cream. The stupid thing is, I haven't really trained. I feel strong-ish, and well, okay I have been running, but my long run up to this point has been one 15K, a few hill repeats have crossed my paths, and I have done a ton of 10Ks. So, um, is this an insane thing. Yep. But there's always a way to make choices, to make a change.

So what does that mean. Well, I'm gonna look at where I'm at. Which may be the point of this blog, 2Dayz blog. I can always switch 2 the Vic 1/2 marathon, and just enjoy the trip. I can always just go, do 10 and 1s (run 10 minutes, walk 1) and struggle along through the 26 miles, there's always choices. I know a friend once told me that I am an experienced marathoner, I know what I need to do. and how to do it, but, well, what do I want and what is my goal?

Actually my goal is to have fun and to enjoy myself. So now what?

This weekend is what.
2morrow I'm gonna go for a spin on the bike with some friends, Sunday I'm gonna run a half marathon (21K) to kick myself in the butt, and 2 C how I feel after 2 hours on my feet. A test. Testing the knee, testing my heart, and enjoying myself doing it. Spending time with friends that are heading off next week to do that Ironman race in Penticton, and then when I wake up Monday morning, decide on a bunch of stuff, but most importantly decide on Victoria, and then sort out what I think I can accomplish in 2012.

But that's life. I guess it's all about making choices, and there r a massive amount of choices.

onward and upward

explaining myself to myself and trying to figure out the way i am the way i am

2011-07-30T15:44:00.000-07:00

I'm weird. Yeah, i know most every1 thinks that, but i am. But i'm beyong that, i mean, weird. Like i know also, everyone thinks this on and on, why i am, what i am, and why am i, well, me?
Late night thoughts last night about some of this swirled around my head for most of the nite and this morning. I'm 52 - way too close to 53 to say i'm 52 - and i'm kinda sort of training for yet another marathon, the victoria marathon, in, well victoria, on sunday october something or other, and i thought to myself, i guess i should actually start training. well, duh?
but there's the dilema. this isn't the 1st time i've done this, planned on doing something, a marathon, a triathlon, whatever, and never actually sticking any kind of training program or regiment. i begin with honest intentions, and then, wel, life happens.
i've done a bunch, a few marathons (kelowna, edmonton, edmonton, victoria, vancouver, victoria, victoria and new york) and have been in 2 ironman triathlons, finished the 2nd one, and got through 2/3rds of the 1st....and can honestly say the only thing that got me through, was, well me. it certainly wasn't the training.
last year's ironman canada triathlon in penticton. a little known secret, the longest bike ride i completed before that race was the 1st day at the ride to conquer cancer, a 115k ride, and i did do the tour de albert 100k ride, but that was it. my running training was no better, i may have had a couple of 10k, and maybe even a 15 k in there something, but nothing close to a marathon distance. and that sort explains my results, a great swim, a fanatastic ride, and a 26.2k walk...okay, not totally a walk, i ran exactly 3 times (out of penticton, back into penticton to the finish line, and once because i was tired of following some shmuck during my walk)...but, wow i finished that sucker! how i have no idea, but i did.
marathons have been no better. i've never beat 4 hours in a marathon. close, but never under. WTF! not sure if that's just stupid, wrong, or just what it is. i love marathoning, i love running, but ttraining towards a goal, i guess, not so much, i know i know, it's an excuse to blame other stuff, u know life, but well life does get in the way.
and now a return to victoria.
i love victoria, vancouver island, the city, the region, and the run. what an amazing place to go for a run. pretty, beautiful, fantastic, amazing. i love it. but, would love to hhave a good run this year. i'd love to beat 4 hours. but, well i have to train for that don't i? i do have a training plan that i am following, well, sort of, but well i like sleeping in on long run sundays, and no matter what, missing a long run is hard to make up for, especially when you do that every week. so i make excuses, i try to make up for lost time with a couple of back to back long-ish runs, and i do do my speed and hill work, (honestly) but, well life is about to derail all of that (excuses, i know, i know)...next week, well, it's the edmonton folk fest, how on earth do i go to the fest, and also run a 2 hour run?......and then we're on our way to vancouver for a little family vacation, so family time, not exactly run time. and then there's work, house work, and llife.
anyway, the past 2 weeks have been amazing, actually june and july have been good. the training's been okay, well better then could, should be expected, but, well it's crunch grinch time. tomorrow is supposed to be either a 3 hour jog, or a 26k run...not sure which i'm a gonna do...but i guess i'll make the effort.....and keep this all senseable...and hope for the best once yet again...

onward and upward
w

the ride to conquer cancer the ride of a lifetime

2011-06-27T21:33:00.000-07:00

What an amazing weekend.

2 days, 2200 other bike riders, 200+ kilometers.

Calgary, Chain Lakes Provincial Park, Longview, Turner Valley, Black Diamond, Spruce Meadows, friends, wind, rain, dust and way too much sun...and some fun even!

The Ride to Conquer Cancer.

That's what it was. I won't lie, there were points where I wondered what the heck I was doing, There were points that were harsh. As someone pointed out to me though, it is, what it is. And it was what it was. Memorable.

The beginning, the first day began with us, the riders, family, volunteers, and organizers gathering together at Spruce Meadows Park in Calgary. Yep the horse jumping place - and it was on this weekend too, which was really cool to see - but on Saturday morning, we were getting ready and prepped to ride.

Unlike the beginning of a triathlon or marathon, this was way more relaxed. Yep I noted some very strong looking riders, and some that looked like they wanted to race, or wished that they could, but that's not the point of this ride. It's a fun ride. A fund raising ride. It's for others. A ride for others. To inspire, to support and to raise $$ for research, for treatments, for a cure. A cure for cancer.

For some reason, as always, I always forget the most important part of a ride. FOOD! Yep there was food waiting for us, lots of it. Fruit, ham and egg sandwiches, juice, coffee, whatever. Me, I grabbed something, quickly, an egg mcmuffin type thingy, and a coffee, and that was it. What the hey, I was there to ride, not to eat. And, well, it's only 100K, food isn't all that important. Well maybe i should rethink that I guess, but I never do (someday, honest. Maybe after the next time I faint.)

From the start the ride, I knew it was gonna be special. My wife and 2 of my kids were there to watch me begin. Then I hooked up with 2 new friends that i met thru the ride - at a couple of training rides -at the start line.

One lady spoke. A fighter, fighting to survive stage 4 breast cancer. An emotional life story, an emotional lift, that moved all of us, and reinforced the reason why we were there. Then the moment that cemented that thought. A bike is walked thru the crowd. A bike without a rider. A bike that had a rider on it a year ago, but no longer. It's impossible to not to have been moved, and not to think of that moment throughout the days ahead.

I knew what was ahead. Of course I did. I'd studied the map of that course. A lot of it was familiar. I'd been on most of it in 2010, but still, I'd forgotten about some of the hills. Okay all of the hills. I guess that's why it's called the foot hills...hills, foot, hills....I now understand that whole Alberta's coat of arms so much better....ohh, foothills.

BUT, unlike 2010, this year, I was the total opposite of trained, untrained defined. In 2010, I was training for a full-on Ironman Triathlon, so I was riding my heart out. This year, well, I just took things easy, maybe too easy. But, well, I wanted a fun year, and I guess this was it. Fun. 200+k of fun. Seriously. Serious fun. This was fun.

That didn't really matter though, at all, because it was a sunny, warm and beautiful day. Lots of bikes in front of us, bikes behind us, bikes everywhere, volunteers and ordinary folks cheering us on. The snow topped rocky mountains on one side of us, and fields of the prairies on the other. And again, those $#@! footzhills!

The first stretch from Spruce Meadows thru Okotoks wasn't that bad. The weather was incredible, the scenery stunning, and the speed was great. I kept hooking up with different groups and justkept on hanging on to the train (I recall, I think I began with, Phoebe from St Albert), and we had at least one helicopter following us along for the first half of the ride as well. Spectacular.

Even down into Longview the ride was nothin' but cool.

Then it got harder, but so what? It was every positive adjective in my thesarus. Lucky for me I was able to hang onto others stronger then me to power up some hills and I have to thank Carla from Calgary and a lady with a Team Garmin jersey on for dragging me into camp at Chain Lakes. I was hurtin', my hamstrings had cramped and uncramped, and even though I kept standing to peddle up the climbs, my quads were doing the same. But what amazing definition!

I was in and done at 1:15, and with an 8-ish start, I was fine with that. Fine that I was able to get in and shower and get a massage with plenty of time to cheer my amazing teammates in, and everyone else. All incredible people that soon populated a great camp site. Wow! blue tents everywhere, semi trucks full of showers, and food food and drink everywhere (FREE BEER!)

The weather on the end of day one was amazing, we couldn't have asked for anything better. Sure there was some wind, okay a lot of strong winds, but that's part of the joy of riding (no really), but the sun was shinning, it was warm way into the night, and, well it was the end to an amazing day. Maybe too amazing. Man did the sun did an amazing job on me, And lucky for me I went for 2 days without a mirror, cause most of me was sun burnt, beet red on red. Farmer tan red.

Of course we should have figured that didn't mean day 2 were gonna be the same. It wasn't OMG!

The first problem was, well, neither my tent mate, nor myself bothered to bring an alarm clock. I just figured, well, you know, I'd just wake up when everyone else did. Everyone else said they'd planned on being up by, hmm, 6:15 maybe. We could be on the bikes and riding by 7, didn't really have to be until 8, so i figured sure, I'd hear them. Good plan, great plan huh? I was in snore loudly village (the ear plugs helped a bit, but just a bit...a gun would have helped better, and would have been quieter!)

So, why was i awake at 5:30! I mean, that was okay, i woke up, looked outside, sure it was overcast, but it looked clear to the north (where we were headed), and fresh (and my head was wet, why was my hair wet?).

After a hot shower, a good small breakfast (that eating thingie again) and some coffee, well, baby the rain must fall. Must fall. And fall. It was rolling off of the top of food tents, and off of our tent. Being the big tuff guys we were, well, we went back to bed to wait for the rain to let up, and get some more sleep. Oh well, that was the plan, and well, plan b sucked.

It was raining just as hard, okay harder. There was rain, there was mud, and there was volunteers. Those wonderful volunteers digging mud out of our cleats so that we could get on our bikes, and to just ride. They just did it. They cheered us into camp. They cheered us out, they did everything they could, everything. What a wonderful troop. They also deserve a huge applause!

And you know what? it wasn't half bad.

I started off slow, thinking I'd just get thru this, until I tagged onto a group of 4 or 5 riders from Calgary and just hung on until they slowed down for our pit stop back into Longview (and my Lisa, that is a cute bike!), and then clicked into another strong group all the way into lunch in downtown beautiful (even in the rain) Turner Valley. It was a challenge to eat in the rain, but I got over that quickly..and a turkey sandwich, a Naniamo bar and a cup of gatorade later, I was in out and gone baby, just gone.

The route to the next pit stop was great, and flat. Though the rain was coming down harder, it seemed to be slowing down a bit, and we could see the sun breaking thru.

The final stop had no name (it probably did, but it was a spot at the top of another hill!), and, well, we were only 25K from the finish.

An amazing 25k. I was all but dead coming up that last climb. I followed the wheel of Matthew from, Calgary, and then passed him so he could do the same...which is when I also noticed we were both riding the same gear, the last one we had. But as soon as I rode out of that stop, the sun broke thru, we turned eastward in Hwy 22x, a 4 lane black topped wonder, and just flew.

And yep it was emotional.

I kept thinking of the folks that donated cash to this effort, that supported me, and for the lady, that special friend, Jill, who inspired us to ride in 201o, and in who's honor and memory we rode again in, well this year.

What can I say about that finish. I passed a few people, and swapped encouraging words, and rode in with someone who said, over and over again, just one word, wonderful.

I heard that cheer, I heard my name, and that was that. My wife, 2 of my kids, and hundreds cheering us all in to the finish.

As always, I usually, always walk away from these things thinking, is that it? And i did ask myself that yet again. The ride is the reason, the race is the reason, the finish is just that, for me it's always about the training and the journey. But then,this was different, this wasn't for me, this wasn't about me, it was something else, that was way more important, way special dude.

I have no idea what my future holds, I have no idea what my next ride will be, or will be like, or if I'll be back again for another serving in 2012. All i know is, this is one of those times, I'll never forget. This was special.

fainting?????

2011-04-21T11:54:00.000-07:00

what a beezar experience....fainting. better yet running and fainting. then fainting.
weird too, have no idea why, my md has a few ideas, and says it may be nothing to worry about, he had me do an ekg thingie just in case, but it may be just one of those things. funny? the weirdest thing is, when it happened, the 1st nor the 2nd time, it didn't immediately freak me out, i just got up and carried on.
but afterwards, well, wow? so what the f happened?
it was supposed to be a quickie, and quick 10k run, a quick and easy quick 10k run. i felt a little stuffed up, maybe allergy season is beginning to hit me a bit, but 10k, should be a piece of cake.
well, the start was okay, but then catching my breath became an issue, so i naturally did what all runners do, i started running harder. then felt a little dizzy, so i walked a bit more, and still felt a little lite headed, but nothing so bad. so hey, why not start running again? well, maybe i shouldn't have...cause that dizzy feeling returned, big time. so stopped, felt like maybe a i should sit down for a bit by the sidewalk, and well....then...i was lying down, wondering why my bed was so cold and since when did we have a tree growing next to the bed?....and where were my glasses?
well, i guess i passed out. and was lying down next to the sidewalk with my head lying on some snow next to the sidewalk.....what a weird feeling. sort of felt like waking up from a dream....
i kind of smartened up, as much as i guess i ever will, cause i turned around to walk back home. and that felt okay, i felt better, nade it a couple of blocks, and thought, why not try running a bit. yep stupid, but well....i felt a little dizzy still, but felt okay and started thinking about maybe running the longer way home. but, well, after maybe another block, that thought passed, because i was down again, just as quickly, this time, well, just as i was stepping off of a curb onto a road. and again, wow, just like that...what the f happened? looking up at the road, got up pretty quickly, but as ahzzy as ever......
so, a scare, a few cuts and bruses....now to figure out how to fix this...maybe i need to eat more, less, drink more...rest? sleep more...whatever...but well...a lesson to be learned?
onward and upward

w

a bit of fiction

2011-02-11T20:23:00.001-08:00

One of my favorite places when I was a kid/teenager (sort of) was the local rink on Saturdays. We’ll sometimes.
I wasn’t that great a skater, but wasn’t the worst. I was never the last to be chosen, which is always like the worst fear huh? But it always seemed I was expected to be a lot better then I actually thought I was.
It was just between whoever showed up at the old outdoor neighborhood rink. A lot of the time though, better yet, it didn’t even involve the rink, it all took place on the snow and ice covered street. On our street, with every kid in the neighborhood that owned a hockey stick. What made that even cooler was the ages of those taking part would range from mid teens to almost teens. Sides were picked, were evened up, and the older kids would coach the younger kids. And this type of hockey was always more fun than the organized kind and way more fun than sitting around watching Saturday morning cartoons – you have to remember this would be the late 60s/early 70s so, um, a 3 channel universe, so it wasn’t like there was much else to do.
What was always amazing was how we could stretch those games to all day affairs. Parents bringing lunches, some heading home, others showing up to fill in the spots. No one sat on the benches, so it was never just 6 a side. Sometimes it was less, sometimes way more. And usually a sponge puck – I know now a lot of kids play street hockey with a ball, but I don’t remember that – but, sponge or not, when you caught one, or attempted to stop a sponge puck slap shot with your nose, well, it hurt, and yep there was usually a lot of blood. Which again, was always, way cool.
There was one game at the rink one Saturday morning that I will always remember. See, we almost always had the same crew of friends, but this one day a couple school friends showed up, that I didn’t even know could skate! Ted and Kelly had been my partners in crime pretty much ever since we hooked up in 7th grade, our first year of junior high. I don’t know if that meant doing things that we weren’t supposed to do, but it just meant a lot of weird fun. I seem to recall one day biking over to the local exhibition grounds, finding an old building/cabin, a rope, and a huge pile of autumn leaves. Thinking about it now it’s amazing how we didn’t kill ourselves, but what a blast.
Anyway, it’s funny how the memory works, it just seems bits and pieces edge their way through. I just have this image of the three of us skating down the ice. Ted on one side and Kelly on the other, the three of us just flying, end to end.
That image remains because of a really cool day, and every so often I wonder, ‘whatever happened to..?’ I guess it relates to something I picked up a while ago, a bit of reality that life is built upon nothing but misery and monotony peppered with moments of joy and happiness. Maybe that’s what memories are, a bit of warmth to help you push through a lifetime of whatever. Or maybe they’re a tease to make you believe, that, hey, life doesn’t only happen in the movies.

2011-02-05T17:50:00.000-08:00

The end of a good week, sort of.

The best part was finally getting my head wet, twice.
My 3rd and 4th times into the pool since last August's Ironman Canada, my 1st and 2nd time in the pool since last October!
Yep, manged to jump into the deep end twice, and both times surprised myself.
Tuesday, I went in after a brutal day at work for a quick 1500m meters, and then last night/friday nite 2000 of those meter things!...i hurt a bit afterwards, and slowed down a lot towards the end of that 40 lengths, but then just put my head down and pushed even harder, but to finally get my freestyled ass back into the pool is huge.

I love swimming, i love being about to just stick my head in the water and just go and rock and roll.

The coolest thing is when i get into a lane with a few other people, either quicker or better yet slower. Not that i need to pass people or chase other swimmers, they just both provide different stimuli .
Of course the faster swimmers give my ass a kick, because u don't wanna get passed, well too often...so the quicker swimmers get me to put my face in the water and just swim,. The situation also forces me to watch my form, because the better the form, the quicker the swimmer.

The slower swimmers, or the less experienced are also interesting to swim with. Especially those that stop at every end of the pool. Why? Well because when they stop, well, you can't. I usually try to split my swims into 6's. That's 6 lengths and then switch to a drill set for 6, kick board for 6, pull boey for 6, or whatever, but there's always a plan to take a quick extra breath or take a break after every 6 lengths, or 300 meters. BUT, if there's someone hanging on the wall resting, well, i won't. i'll just dig into the next set. So that swimmer forces me to work on my endurance, whether i'm up to it or not.

A good spin on the bike trainer, a good run, and looking forward to another good run tomorrow...so this was good. It's 20 weeks to the great white north triathlon....19 weeks to the ride to conquer cancer...so it's time to get serious...well as serious as i ever get...not!

onward and upward
w

today's run is one of the reasons i love this stuff

2011-01-30T17:43:00.000-08:00

2day could have been a complete waste, but sort of demonstrates why i love doing this stuff.

It was cold, i had a ruff sleep, i was tired, dammit, and i needed my sleep, and yep, i needed 2 sleep in. BUT, i still felt the urge 2 get a run of some sort in.

But, did i say it was cold. -20+C. Sunny, but friggin' cold. But, well, i have run in colder weather, it's just starting to get weird, maybe it's a part of getting older, but i seem to chill way quicker. i use to run with a minimum look, a long sleaved t-shirt, jacket, short socks, and that was usually it.

Now it is 2 pairs of gloves, 2 shirts, a warm jacket, a belaclava, a sock hat thingie...okay, so still the short ankle high socks stick...my ankles get cold, but they look so cool!

So had breakfast, a big breakfast, checked facebook and emails, did some on-line banking, and well, by then, it's noon! How did that happen?

Still - 20C, and still sunny, bright and sunny, sonny, but ya gotta run, cause there's that urge.

Anyway, got the 2 gloves on, the warm shirt, the breathable other shirt, the big warm yellow rroom jacket, belaclava, hat, garmin in and i was gone. and who knew it snowed!...so it's either shovel, or run? hmmmmm....

The odd thing, i hate starting out on a run, or before that run. but once i start running, those first 2 or 3 steps, i feel great, into the great wide open!

The other thing, is things are going great and are going to great when i start out on a set route, one of my set routes, and i begin improvising. As on 2day. I headed out on what i'd call my lacome lake 5k loop. a loop that i've run so many times i could run it in my sleep (and i thnk i have). it's 5.15 KM, exactly, and it's easy, a couple of small hills, all paved, usually plowed, and usually pounded flat because it's a route that dog walkers use (it leds to an off leash area) and a route kids use to walk to at least 3 different schools in the area, so again, it's an easy route.

But this morning. Well i added today. Added a path through the woods, a quick run up a new paved path, and then home. A 5.15 k run became a 6.5K fun run. Speed was okay, distance felt good, and i felt good, a good run.

The best thingie, is i felt good afterwards. In fact about 6 1/2 hours later i still feel great. I may be fit, it may have added a bit more fitness to my fitness, but it was fun, enjoyable, which is the whole point. Running, biking, swimming, weights, yoga, whatever, it's gotta make u feel good, more importantly it's gotta make me feel good. i don't care about the fitness, i don't care about the health, i don't need anything else, it's just got to make me feel good, or better yet great!

And like any good drug, it just want's be to do more........

onward and upward

after a fantastic 2010, a wasted january 2011..but a good time to reflect on things and sore knees

2011-01-28T16:47:00.001-08:00

This month, the month of January, the 1st month of the New Year, when optimism should reign supreme, well, I’ve kind of, sort of wasted it. A couple runs, a few spins, and 1 visit to the gym and not one dip in the pool. WTF?Well, maybe I needed a month to reflect, or something hippie dippy like that.

As I sit here on one of the final days of January 2011, and looking back on the year that had past, I’ve been thinking, wow! What an amazing year it was! A funtastic bike trip to Drumheller with the Edmonton Tri Club, then finally beating 6 hours at the Great White North 1/2 Ironman Triathlon, which took place just after a weekend riding the 200+K Ride to Conquer Cancer ( raising about 3 grand for the cause with the help of a ton of friends), and then finally finishing the Canadian Ironman Tri in Penticton in August!

A lot of fun, and loved every minute of it. So, um, what's next, or was that it?

I guess pouting about the start of 2011 is a big huge waste of whatever, and I should just suck it up, get my huge and ever expanding ass off of this couch and out the door.

The thing is, (and I told this to too many people) that I was planning on taking 2011 off to just relax, repair, restore, and skip racing for a whole year. Okay so I lied. A bit.

I am skipping a lot of stuff, but I didn't plan on missing out on all the training, I love the training. Training with other people, with friends, with old friends and new friends. So maybe I should change, or exchange my brain and change my plans a bit and get my quickly expanding ass out the door, and just train (which has become an ever expanding and recurring theme u may have noted).

Eh huge example of why I love doing this stuff was the Run for the Cure 5k fun run back in October. A fun run, with thousands of people, and a few very special friends. Getting ready for that run brought back a load full of memories, as it's a run I’ve taken part in every year for almost 15 years. And as I’ve been running for 15 years, that run has always had some significance.In the days leading up to the run, I dug through my pile of old race t-shirts, and found the shirt from that 1st, my 1st, in 1996. That run marked the beginning of my life as a runner, something I thought would only last about 10 weeks, but I’ve just never stopped, I guess because I’ve never found a reason to stop.

Maybe it's being 52, maybe it's this brutal winter, but i miss a lot of stuff. I miss long runs, i miss long runs exploring St. Albert, I miss just going out and having fun. I miss hitting the gym right after a run, or my head hitting the water of the Kinsmen swimming pool after a run, and i miss live music, lots of it, i miss being a freelance writer, i miss interviewing people, i miss exploring new music, i miss a ton of stuff. I miss being 18.

So what? How to get back on that road, or a different road? We'll maybe I'll start using this blog to explore some stuff, and set out a road map, or create one as i carry on.

More then a few friends that are about as far along the old age trail as i am have made a point of making a point, that they're going to make this their year of years. I kind of like that idea. I've been pondering that, well, that new road, should have begun 2 years ago when i turned 50, believing that 50 would be a good place to begin. Maybe it was, it just took me 2 years to figure that out. It's hard to figure things like that out i guess, and like any 2 year old, it took me a little while too long, but here i am.

So what to do, what am i going to do, i have no idea, but it begins this weekend, and I'll keep you posted.

onward and upward

starting over and over, getting better, looking forward

2010-12-09T18:07:00.000-08:00

Life's frustrating. At least mine is.

Nothing's really linear, nothing really makes any sense. I don't know if this is a normal thing, if
this is a mid life crisis thing or what(crisis what crisis?..great supertramp album)?

Does everyone go through this? and how does 1 focus if 1 doesn't know what 2 focus on?

Anyway, this thing about working my way back 2 being fit this week has hit a huge road block. Spent most of the week at home with a sick kid, and during that time, well, i knew i was also kind of ill...and this morning, guess what? really sick.

A lot of us runners and such know, or at least think we know, is that, yep, when we're sick, it's time 2 be sick. Yet there's this thingie that if the sick is above the shoulders it's okay to train, if it's below the neck, nope, don't.

The 1 thing we never factor in though, is wondering if it's safe enuff train and not die?
Will running or swimming or working out make us worse or make us better? or is it just an innocuous type of thingie?

well, think about it? You're not resting, your heart rate is elevated, your lungs r working extra hard, you're tired to start with, so training, hmm, i'm guessing will just wear u out more, and prolong whatever u have, or it will forever keep coming back, whenever you start pushing again, and become 4-ever chronic.
It's sort of like treating an injury. do u wait for the broken ankle 2 heal, or do u start running as soon as the cast is off? i don't think it's an either or thing, i think u get better, u feel better, u wait a day, and then get out and test the waters. i know, i know, i've blown a whole week of training this week, but, i can't build that all back up in 1 work out, on day 1. I can, though, just start where i left off, and build up yet again from there.

I guess it also depends on the reasons, the goals.
My main goal for 2011 was and still is 2 get better, 2 get healthy, 2 get fit. I have a ton of things that hurt, and have hurt for some time, so it's time 2 get that all fixed, and it'll be an on going process. Also I don't like my diet, there's things i want 2 add and things i want to take out, so that's another goal. A goal. I wanna stretch, i wanna yoga, i wanna finish 2011 better then i'm going to leave 2010.

i want it to be a year of maintenance.
yep, i'm going 2 do a few races, a few fun runs, maybe a couple of triathlons, but nothing that i'm planning on building up 2 or specifically train for, i just want 2 train and learn as i go along. Mostly about myself, and about what makes me tick.

I also need 2 plan for the end. I'm getting older, i'm an aging guy, and well, in 3 years and 22 days i'll be a retired person, with what's left, ahead, 2 do with whatever with.
There are a few truths that I understand. Well, maybe just 1.
As we get older, we will find it hard to keep up the speed, the endurance, everything we're used 2, and recovery may take a bit longer, and is even more important. BUT, most of that is all only true if we've ever become all we could. If we've reached the peak of our potential, yep, it's all downhill. BUT, if we have never reached that plateau ...well, we're still reaching, and the sky is the limit. I'm pretty sure the recovery thing still stands, is even more important, and will take longer, but the strive to be all u can b, well, there's no reason 2 expect anything but whatever we've been dreaming about.

A friend sent me an email this past summer, a couple of months before she passed away, that i'll always remember. She told me 2 always strive 2 follow my dreams. 2 b what i wanted to be. I think that's advise we all should live by, i don't think anything could be more true.

The other thing is, it's that time of year. Yep, New Year's is a time of renewal, but the holiday's r also a time to kick back, relax, eat drink and be merry. So u've gotta do the stuff you wanna do, and need 2 do, but just as with everything else, in moderation. Just think b-4 u do anything.

onward and upward, huh...w

the goals..next year, and what happens after january 1st 2013

2010-11-06T18:28:00.000-07:00

Okay it's time to turn this blog into a mirror on me.
The road map has gotta be laid out.
I've got to work out a plan, decide where i want to go and what I've got to do to drag me there.
The first thing is to see where i am now, and what i need to do.
I've got a lot of things that hurt. A sore right knee, a sore right toe, sore right elbow, a weird left shin, a sore neck, a blister just popped on the bottom of my right foot, and a real hard time getting rested.
Emotionally I'm getting better. It's never going to be perfect, I'm always going to have my bad days, and not so bad days, but I'm managing a bit better then i have.
I've changed a ton of stuff, and am starting to do things i want to do and need to do. I've just begun to stick my toe in to feel the temperature of the water.
So now that 2010 is almost over, I've looked over at 2011, and have decided that i want to have a clear and easy season, where i focus on me, me getting better, healthier, and less on races, marathons, and triathlons. I want to watch, listen and learn. I want to make connections, i want to be with people that are where and are heading where i want to go. So classes, lessons, back to school, reading, watching and taking notes.
Also i want to make use of everything i learn and pass it a long, and use myself as a template. a 50 something guy trying.
So 2011, the only race will be the Victoria marathon way off in October. nothing else. Sure I'll raise $$ for the ride to conquer cancer, and i will fumble my way through the great white north triathlon in July, and that'll be it.
As soon as i can I'm going to sign up for a couple courses, on-line courses at NAIT, for their personal fitness trainer course. It'll be a start. I think i know what i wanna do, i want to train others. i figure, I'm going to be 55, and there are a lot of other people around me who are also going to be 55, so why not train myself to be able to train them. Also, I'm the dad of a couple of autistic kids, almost young adults, and getting them healthy and fit would be a challenge, and that may be a good way to go too. Believe me, it's a challenge that may take every day over 2 years to got to.
So where do i begin? Well tomorrow, a group run out of the Callingwood running room at 8:30AM. i just wanna do a 10K, an easy 10K, maybe explore some stuff, relax, and get my ass in gear.
Then plan the rest of the week...an MD appointment on Monday, and Remembrance Day, the kids home for the long long weekend, and of course work. How do i fit things in.
The one thing i wanna do is focus on my knee. I've exersizes and stretching that my physio has given me that i've got to get into, and just do. that's step one, and an important step, i've got to get over this before i can move on to anything else.
so stretch, ice and repeat.
it's amazing how much this knee hurts, oddly enough only when i sit. at a concert last night i was just short of fainting or screaming. the knee hurt so much. it feels fine when i run, it feels okay on the bike once i've warmed up, but sitting, especially in a movie or at a concert, or even out to dinner, it screams at me to do something. so i will.
So until next Saturday, this is it, onward, upward, and what the hell

w

my favorite album covers, Lava Hay, Uriah Heep, and whatever

2010-10-15T12:47:00.000-07:00

Something someone at work brought up the other night got me onto a contemplation type of turntable mood.more 33 1/2 rather then 45rpms.

Normally reminiscing is something i cannot stand, and try to avoid. It's something old people do, or at least older then me, and when others start to remember when, i usually remember to either make fun of them, or just leave. But this subject matter jarred a few lingering thoughts. Even though a listing of anything favorite, is meaningless, and is flavored by a whole pile of things - like what happened this afternoon, or 33 years ago, but maybe there's a point. Must be, because i'm writting about it.

My immediate list was album covers of old, and rare stuff that anyone born after 1970 wouldn't have an inkling of. stuff like Rainbow Bridge by Jimi Hendrix, or Fleetwood Mac (Bare Trees),

And yep, something just to impress (ELP's Brain Salad Surgery).

After leaving work, i gave this subject a bunch of other thoughts (while i was attempting to go to sleep, you bastards!), and started thinking of the 1st albums i bought, and then thought of albums that were special not because of the album art, but of because where they came from, and what they were, and the record stores that they were bought from.

For instance, Uriah Heep's Magician's Birthday.

I remember 1st hearing that when i was in Grade 7 at Eastwood Jr High School, and marveled at the album art, and of course the music inside that gate fold sleeve. But that's not all of it's magic (pun intended). I remember the store i bought it at as something to remember.

only old timers will remember this, but in downtown Edmonton at one time on 101st street there was a stretch of 2 story buildings on the west side of the street, and in amongst them was a store call 'the place for pants,' (which eventually became, thrifty's, the place for pants, then, yep, just thrifty's. catchy huh?)...to get to the record store, one of the 1st A&A record stores in Edmonton, you had to walk into this clothing store to a door in the floor, and walk down a ladder . Weird huh?..or at the time really really cool.

Then there was my very 1st Bob Dylan album.

Think i was really really young when i bought this, because i remember buying it with my folks in tow at the Opus Music store on Jasper ave and about 106th street?....I think i was a youngster at that time because i remember wanting to become a member of the Monkees...but the thing about buying the record was the empassioned pitch the guy at the store made while making the sale. it was a 'campus import rareity,' whatever the hell that meant. But also, what that album did to me is important, because it was out with the Monkees, and in with whatever was blowin' in the wind.

Bruce Cockburn's High Winds, White Sky was the 1st album i'd bought at the old record store that was located at the University Of Alberta's HUB mall way back when. Actually there were more then a few seminal albums bought at that shop. Murray MacLauchlan's Sweeping the Spotlight Away, A double album collection of Richard Thompson's solo stuff, (called Here and Now, i think), and i also bought my 1st Chris de Burgh album there as well (Crusades). that store and those purchases had a lot to do with why i now listen to what i do now, and why i never seem to listen to what everyone else is listening to.

At the same time there used to be a program on the local indie radio station here in Edmonton, CKUA on the dial, called the Ritz, that pretty much shoved my high school mind off the beaten path. i used to drive around Edmonton in my 1968 Newport Custom, and just listen. Joe Pass, Larry Coryell, Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span, Shawn Phillips, everything and anything that wasn't being played anywhere else. That music, and an older family friend's extensive collection led me to the section of music that wasn't in the Top 40. And that's where it started.

A funny story too, was the 1st time i walked into that record store i was looking for an album by someone else (don mclean), and i knew what the album cover looked like, and grabbed Sweeping the Spotlight Away, thinking that was it. It wasn't, but an amazingly influentual mistake it was.

Lava Hay's Picture In Mind album was something i didn't actually have to buy, it was one of the 1st albums given to me by the guys at Nettwerk Records in Vancouver when i began writing, and hosting a music/video show in Kamloops, way back when. The 1st thing i did on the beginning of that journey was attend a parking lot BBQ at Nettwerk's digs next door to Mushroom Records, and Lava Hay were the act on stage. Sarah McLachlan was also on hand, just arriving from a gig in Edmonton with Jr Gone Wild at the Fringe Festival. It was an amazing time, and pretty amazing, and it blew me away that i was even there.

The other cool thing was when i 1st moved into the lower BC Mainland in about 1981, i remember settling into my apartment in New Westminster, and these 2 girls came to my door selling these amazing homemade candlles out of a card board box, and when they noticed my guitars, mentioned that they jammed together at a club called the Barrel i think, and i should come out one night (of course i never did) for some reason seeing the Lava Hay reminded me of that, yet another important time in my life's story.

So favorite album covers, it's intersting just how a thing like that can jar a host of memories....not sure if that's a good thing, but it just is.....now , i wonder where these thoughts will send me, and how they'll shape my future

oh wait a minute, they have. just found my new fave album cover, and album ever. colleen brown's newest, because it's local, because i bought it at my fave local music store (Blackbyrd), and because of the tunes inside.

6 days and it seems like it was yesterday..cause everything still hurts!

2010-09-04T18:49:00.001-07:00

Well actually it's getting better all the time. sorta of. well, maybe?
For one thing i can walk on the bottoms of my feet again. the blisters have, well, quit hurting quite as much. and i don't feel much like throwing up whenever i look at my toes anymore, so that's a good thing. But a few things that have always hurt, and hurt a lot during last weekend's ironman triathlon, well, still hurt.
Yeah, some things have been a problem for a while, like a right knee that just won't listen, and a left shin that's never been right, a right shoulder that never doesn't hurt, and well, i think that's it.
the knee? it's been a problem forever, and finally, one of the benefits of doing the ironman was that, well, now i'm pretty sure i should get this thing, and a few others looked at. well, eventually.
The knee, honestly, i seriously thought, the 180k bike ride would have fixed it right up. sure i was having problems just sitting still without being in incredible pain, and groaning every time i rolled over in bed, but it wasn't that bad, all the time. well, okay it was, but i suffered quietly.
the night before, at dinner, i kept having to stretch it out, cause, well, bending it was an issue, but that's part of the training right, no pain no gain?
i get this feeling like my left shin is some day going to split in half. which would be cool, a flexible shin?...but nah that's not right, and my right shoulder has never felt good. in fact, i can't remember the last time it didn't hurt, but it gives me something to focus on it whenever i swim, and my right elbow, it's supposed to hurt (biker's elbow?).
anyway, the recovery has begun. i swear, i'm going to stretch every day, well almost every day, well every other day, when i can. went for my first massage in years yesterday, and guess what, found even more things that hurt!...wow!...
i did feel a bit better afterwards, but nothings going to help this knee. i've actually booked an appointment with my MD this wednesday, and who knows maybe a physio can help, and i guess i could attempt active release or something, and i've been hearing yoga at the kinsmen calling my name already, so will give that a try, but eek, how do i do this,
do i fix one thing at a time, go in to see my doctor with a list?....or do i just give up and take up golf?
i've sort of decided that, and i decided this during my 26.2 mile walk at IMC, that i should just take some time off of focusing on triathlons or runs, and just spend months getting myself repaired. but i guess i've become a little insane thinking i can train through this stuff while i'm being repaired. but how do i walk away from this stuff. running, swimming, biking, mtn biking, and winter's coming so add xc skiing and skating to that list, do i just not?..oh well, i guess for the next little while watch this space, i may become an invalid. onward and upward

w

it's done, and it was fun?fine?enjoyable?well, okay

2010-08-30T15:39:00.000-07:00

so it's the day after. a day to chill, soak, drink (stuff), and reflect.
Ironman Canada in Penticton yesterday, in a word, was long...15 + hours long.
some of it was hard, some of it was harder, some was frustraiting, and most of it was amazing.

the start of the day was early. up at 4am for breakfast, and to get our stuff together.
it's amazing how often you can 2nd guess yourself. months of training and working out your nutrition plan, deciding what to take with you on the bike, and how to approach the run, is always being fiddled with. even though through trial and error for 24 weeks, you plan everything, you train and train and decide what works and what doesn't, even the morning of the big race, hours before the race, you're still rethinking everything, and repacking your bags.

anyway, it was go time, as in go and hurry up and wait for the start at 7AM.
was i nervous, nah, well maybe a bit. was i ready, i wasn't totally sure. before for leaving i decided to check my email one more time, and among the much needed encouraging words from friends and family, and messages, there was a note from a friend, noting the passing of another dear friend. that was a hard thing to take in. it wasn't unexpected, but it stopped my heart for a moment, an emotional minute, and in that minute i knew, i knew that today was going to be a day for jill. i knew i would think about her through-out the day, her constant warm and encouraging words. Though sometimes the sadness of the day would be overwhelming (thank goodness for dark sunglasses), there were times when i felt that extra push, that parting of the waters on the swim, and that feeling that someone was walking with me towards the finish line.

the swim was frustrating. even though i was about 4 minutes faster then last year, i just took forever to find open water. there were over 2800 swimmers in the water, and it seemed like not one of them knew how to sight. for the 1st 2 thirds of the swim i was bumping into others, others were crossing in front of me, and crossing back. i have to admit to being more then a little pissed off. the last 3rd, the swim back to the beach was a bit better, i was able to finally put my head down and just swim, and pass people. but again, i would start to blast past someone, and they'd move over and bump into you, or block you. which just got me to swim past them faster, so i guess that was a good thing...(oh yeah, did i mention that i barfed in one of the porta potties before the swim...and i actually saw that as another good thing).
i took my time getting to my bike after the swim, i just wanted to make everything just right.
and then i was off.

the start was a disaster. i headed off, trying to get up to a quick 30kph, and had to push extremely hard to do that.
the ride out of penticton, up main street is a bit up hill, but it shouldn't have been that hard. i then noticed a weird sound, and looked and hmm, my back brake was locked up against my back tire. i was riding with a back tire that took all my strength just to move forward, moving forward at 30KPH!...all it took was for me to squeeze my brake handle to release the thing, but by that time i was already bushed. and still 175KM to go!
the ride was amazing. some was incredibly hard ( i felt like my bike tires were flate for some reason on the way up to yellow lake), and richter's pass was fantastic. i just sat down and spun. i must have passed dozens of riders. i took it easy going down the hills, just letting gravity do the work, but on the way up, even on yellow lake i just did what i had to do.
now the run, or in my case, the walk

i knew on way back into penticton that this was going to be an issue. i've got a bum right knee that i seriously need to get looked at, a left calf that isn't doing so well, and i was using shoes that i hadn't used on any seriously long races ( a big no no, and now i know why big time blisters, ouch!).
i tried running a bit through town, especially when someone i knew was watching, but instantly i knew this wasn't gonna work. so decided early on that this was going to be a 26.2 walk. it was a strong walk though, i started out at about an 8:30 minute K....wow huh?
i won't say i was walking as fast as some people were running, but none of the other walkers passed me. and the nice thing about a 42K walk is that you have a ton of time to think and contemplate life. so i did a lot of that. the only mistake i made was not grabbing an old pair of glasses from my run special needs bag in okanagon falls. so, oh well, i was walking in the dark, around skaha lake and through penticton in dark sun oakleys.
i seriously wanted to run more once i got back into penticton, at least for the final 5k, but naw, there was just nothing there. i ran the last 500 meters, and that was the hardest 500 meters i've ever run, but the loudest. i've never had a finish like that. it was amazing, and experience i'll never forget.

someday i'll be back. i learned a lot during my DNF in 2009, this year i had a quicker swim, a quicker bike, a stronger bike, and i hardly trained. my longest ride i think was between 100 and 120 kilometers, and my longest run was the 21Km at the great white north 1/2 ironman triathlon...so if and when i return to penticton, well, it's got to be at a point in my life when i can put the effort i need to get to where i wanna be.

i'm thinking next year, 2011, will be a year to get myself together. get things that aren't working properly working, getting things fixed that need to get fixed (and yep, it's time for contacts!), do a few things i haven't done for a while, start the countdown to turning 55, and get to the point where i am operating at 100%
anyway, this was an experince to remember, and one i'll never forget, and yet another special moment to add to that list.

w

7 days...then it's over. 1 way or another. one way or another

2010-08-22T17:26:00.000-07:00

it's Sunday, august 22nd, 1730 Penticton time.
At this time, in 7 days, i hope to be at the very least, 1/2 way, 21KM into the run part of Ironman Canada. I'm already planning on at least 1:30 for the 3800 meter swim, 7 hours for the 180km ride, and then whatever for the run. if i have 8 hours left to finish when i get off of the bike, I'll make use of it. hopefully it won't take all of that, but i want a cushion.

this has become my traditional weekend before the big event. a weekend with the family in Jasper. some hiking, some hanging out, some laid back eating, and lots of soaking in the hot tub, every hot tub i can find.
on our few hikes i've noted my right knee has been hurtin'..not just a bit, but seriously. i've spent most of the summer ignoring it, and plan on having it looked at AFTER ironman, but ouch, bending down and then standing has been giving me some serious discomfort. oddly enuff though, when i run, as i noted on a 10k run this afternoon, it doesn't bother me, it isn't even an issue. so we'll see what happens during the 42kms.
oddly enuff, even with a wonky right knee, i'm still not freaking out. is that bad? i'm not even really thinking about what happens next sunday morning at 7AM sharp. okay i am, cause i'm typing it out here, but, well, i don't know what the next 6 days will bring, but i just feel like i'm rolling with the punches, taking it easy, not really worrying about anything at all, just flowing along.
i have started looking at what i've packed, and making a list of what i need to get in Penticton. like, my OMG, i forgot to pack my compression bike shorts?...how the f did i do that, i thought i packed 2 pairs of bike shorts...oh well, hello bike barn!
am still struggling with which shoes i want to use for the 26 mile run. i still am in love with my k-swiss shoes, they feel like i'm running in socks, so light and feel so good!..but for 26 miles?...or should i play it safe with the new balance motion control heavy weights?...tough one. i'm seriously thinking the k-swiss, just because, but i may do 2 more short runs this week and decide. may do a short run down in ok falls and decide there.
i'm actually looking forward to this. once i arrive in summerland this tuesday night, until race day, everyday will be all about Ironman. some easy running, open water swimming, and maybe a quick bike ride over yellow lake. some food, okanagan wine, and lots of resting!
the bib numbers are out for the race, i'm number 1782!.....in the 50 to 54 age group, and unlike last year, no pink hair!......
one thing i've been thinking, and thinking a lot, is what do i want to accomplish, what's my goal, my overall goal. yep, i wanna finish, but besides that. i wanna have fun doing it. i do not wanna be one of those guys you see on the ironman broadcasts where you see people laying down on the road, falling over, collapsing, barfing, and self destructing. i want to enjoy every minute. i want to hi five those that are doing the race with me, i want to get a rush from friends cheering me on. i wanna continuously be turned on, but also i wanna enjoy every minute of it.
i think i have my nutrition nailed. i'm gonna make full use of all the aid stations, especially during the run, and i'm gonna feed myself silly on the bike. every 30 minutes, something's going into my face. salt and electrolyte tabs, gels, and gatorade. the one thing i learned last year though, is i know i need variety, gatorade, and more gatorade is just gonna make me sick again. so water will be in play too.
and burping. something i've learned this year, at the tour de alberta, at the ride to conquer cancer, is to never hold back. if i have to pee, pee, and if i have to burp, burp often. last year at IMC 2009, i felt like i needed to, until i finally barfed...so all that lake okanagan water i swallow, is gonna come out one way or another before i hit mclean creek road this year. i'm gonna pee on the bike, i'm gonna hit to porapotties, i'm gonna pee ion the wet suit..there's gonna be a whole lot of peeing going on. i'm gonna pace myself, i'm gonna print the letters HTFU on my arm somewhere (as in harden the fuck up!)....and i am gonna get this done.
and besides ironmaning, i plan on sampling as many of the local wines as i can....starting with everything tinhorn creek has to offer!...and think i'll load a case of wine in the car for the long drive home!

onward and upward
w

the heck with the ironman triathlon, bring on the penticton and naramata wine!

2010-08-14T19:37:00.001-07:00

so. i feel ready.
actually i have no choice, so this is what it is.
as always, as it has always been with whatever event i've taken part in, i think, i'm sure actually, that i've short changed myself, but i feel okay with that.
i always run, bike and swim, so the training's no big deal. i just do what i always do, i'm just not sure that i've done enuf of it.
but at this point, that doesn't mater, because no mater what, in a couple of weeks, in a couple of saturday nights, i'll be laying down about now, and waking up at about 4AM, and getting ready to, um do the canadian ironman triathlon. whether i'm ready or not.
and as always, the 1st two parts of the event does not bother me in the very least.
swimming with 2500 others, 3800 meters, not a big deal. i know i can do it. sure somebody may give me a kick to the ribs and end my day, but, oh well.
the same with the ride. yeah sure, the new bike has me a little concerned about the climb up a few of the mountains, but bah, it'll be fine, just another 7 hour ride in the canadian rockies.
and then there's the run. if last year is any indication, i should be out of the water at about 8:30, and off of the bike at about 4PM, or maybe a bit earlier, which leaves me about 8 hours to travel 26.2 miles...running, walking or crawling. um, okay, sounds like fun huh?
one thing that's starting to bug me, is that race thingie. i'm not in that top 10%, i'm not racing for a podium position, so calling this triathlon a race seems a stretch. all i seriously need to do, is to finish, that would be my PB, my personal best, my personal record. i may never ever do another ironman, so it would be my only ironman PB. that's all it is. i just have to do what i can do. i don't have to look at who's catching up to me, i don't have to chase down that kid ahead of me, i just have to get from point a to point b, and finish.
what i'm really feeling right now, is the excitment of getting to penticton, spending a weekend with friends, eating, drinking some okanagan wine, visiting, doing some running swimming and biking, and having a relaxing fun time. i just want to drive in from merritt, finding the house that i and a handfull of friends will share, then heading to the beach for a swim. a dip. and then a meal, complete with something i'll pick up at the wine shop, and take it from there. i'm planning on enjoying every minute.
i don't know if it's a sign or something, but i've already started to look beyond. there's few things i've lined up for the rest of the year, but next year, i'm thinking of taking a year off. maybe do a few shorter things, but just getting back to doing some other things. i love training, but this training for an ironman really takes over your life, and i've got so many other things i need to do, the 1st being, turning 52.....yikes
onward and upward
w

22 Days to Ironman Canada....yawn!

2010-08-07T18:45:00.000-07:00

let's get on with it already. i'm more then just done!
Every thing hurts, i'm always friggin' tired, either hungry, starving, eating, waiting to eat, and still HUNGRY!!!!!
It's kind of freaky that the big dance is a whole 22 sleeps away, and that i'm down to the final few weeks of serious training, and doing that big taper thingie. But it's weird you know, i'm really not even thinking about that, that there's a race at the end of all this training stuff....i have no idea how i'm going to feel on race morning, or race week, but right now it seem like it's just going to be another training day with 2800 of my closest friends.
3800 meters, 180k ride, 42k run....baha!........okay it's gonna be tuff, and yep i'm a little worried that my training has been a litttle slack, but whatever, let's do it.
i'm at the point where i'm just going thru my gear, know that i need new shoes, new rubber for the bike, and i could use a new set of goggles. and i've gotta get my nutrition stuff together. and i guess i'd better get that done soon-ish, cause, well i leave st albert 13 days...13 DAYZ!!...
i've been looking back at what i did to get ready for this triathlon at this point last august, and wow...i hardly trained at all last july and august. i think i had a few longer rides, but i missed a lot of training. and i don't think ifelt half as sore and tired as i do now...so maybe that's a good sign.
i've also been craving sugar a lot, lots of coke and tea. yum. i'm thinking of cutting out that stuff for the last few weeks, but i don't want to f*ck with the diet that's working, so what-ever...
the best part of this whole thing is just doing stuff. riding to and from work on thursday, running on my own, then swimming at hubbles lake with friends friday night, riding this morning, running again tomorrow morning, this is what it's all about. having fun, doing things i enjoy, with people i enjoy being with. that's life.
i've learned to love riding at night. it just seems so cool as compared to riding to work during the daylite. you have to keep your eyes open, pick your spots, figure out which intersections to ride through, run the odd red light, and keep out of the way of cars, and crazy drivers. it's a blast. i love it. maybe i'll try and find a triathlon that takes place after midnight. i'm sure the lake swim would be a bit of a challenge, but like wow huh!
anyway, a bunch more swims, rides, and runs..a few restless sleeps, a drive out to penticton, lots of feed and okanagon wine, and it's onward and upward to the big dance....and then more wine and food afterwards. i can hardly wait.

w

32 days to ironman canada...i can hardly wait!

2010-07-27T12:14:00.000-07:00

well this is it
32 whole days to my return to one of my favorite places on the planet, penticton.
even though i didn't finish the ironman tri there last august, i have no actual bad or awful feelings about that day, or that week...everything was amazing!
i had so much fun, and felt so good.
and as for the race, for what i did, even after i got sick, everything was so fun.
I LOVED THAT SWIM!!!...i sat back at 1st waiting for everyone else to start, but when the gun went off, i went in and joined the rest, and had a good swim. loved it, for 1:21, all i did was swim. picked my spots to pass people, and kept swimming until i found open water to swim in on the way back to the beach.
yep i did stop when i thought i was way off course, was run into by the 3 people that were drafting off of me, and then stuck my head down and swam even faster!
only thing i think hurt me, was, i think i drank way too much of lake okanagan...and that played out badly with my gut on the bike, but otherwise....FINE FUN!
the bike was cool too. i can't even remember the ride though penticton...it was a non-issue-event. and it was fun, the hills through mclean creek road, the climb up richters pass, the rollers after that, even the climb up yellow lake (thanks jordan) was fine.
yep, maybe getting off my bike to stretch just before topping the yellow lake climb was a mistake (cramps, oh my god my quads were rocks!) but i got back on, and finished that.
and yep, i finally barfed a bit after the climb, and watched my heart rate jump, but you know what, i made it to the finish line, 7:08...not great, but with 3 stops, and getting sick, i'm okay with that. the climbs weren't a big deal...
now, why didn't i run. well the climbing heart rate scared me. getting sick a bit too. and at that point in the ride, i decided, naw...i had a marathon in new york coming up, and, well, did i really wanna start running just to pull out in the middle of nowhere?....then of course, i walked back to the house we rented up the hill, had a shower, joined friends cheering people down main street penticton, feeling okay...so maybe i should have tried to run...so this year???
my training feels fine. swimming, i never have a problem with. i'd like to be quicker, but 3800 meters in a wet suit among 2800 of my best friends, not an issue (except for my nerve maybe..i'm a nervous starter, no matter what race)......biking is fine. i guess i could be stronger, but again the distance don't bother me, the climbs, no big deal....as long as i keep my nutrition taken care of, and just ride and enjoy myself, it'll be fine.
now as for the run, yes, the run scares me. but you know what? when i finished the bike last year, i had almost 7 hours to finish 42Km....so, yes i'm nervous about that, but, well i'll crawl if i have too!
anyway, about 4 weeks to go, and yep, i'm excited, nervous, but looking forward to another week of having fun and the time of my life in the okanagan, and lots of penticton wine!

onward and upward

another great white north triathlon...5th time...

2010-07-03T16:29:00.000-07:00

well, here i am yet again.
the great white north triathlon.
a long course, 1/2 ironman.
2000 meter swim, 90km bike ride, 21k run.
waking up at 5am yet again, loading up the gear, driving to hubbles lake/allen beach for the start.
the race to the porta potties, and then the mass rush from the beach into the water begins.
why?
i'd say it's fun. which it is.
the challenge? don't know, don't care. i just do this stuff because i like doing it. among friends, among fellow competitors. i like to swim, i like riding. not so fond of runnning, but it can be enjoyable, given the right set of circumstances.
my 1st shot at this was in 2004. a finish time of 6:06....i haven't been that fast since. 2007,2008,2009 and now 2010.
i was registered for 2005 and 2006, but bailed out both years. so just showing up for me is an accomplishment. finishing is never a mystery, i'll crawl if i have to.
don't know why i bailed out those two years, something about being really tired, ill, or just not into up for that challenge.
the goal for this year, finish, as always, and to enjoy myself.
and, well, to get a good nite's sleep.
after last week's ride to conquer cancer 220 km ride, have been really tired, so don't imagine the race is gonna help. will just have to try and survive.
i've always had a good swim here, and not a bad bike, but except for my 1st attempt, i've always cramped as soon i've gotten off the bike, then it's always been a run /walk between cramping quads. except for that 1st attempt. maybe it's an age thing.
oh well, i will swim, i'll bike, and i'll attempt to run. and i will show up. i have to my bike's there.
above all, it's all about yet another t-shirt, and it's all about doin' shit with my friends.

w

the ride to conquer cancer . the wind beneath our wings

2010-06-30T11:16:00.000-07:00

this was one of those experiences that will last forever. emotional highs, or just emotional period.

when i got the word from my friend rosa last august that she was putting together a team for this 200k bike ride out of calgary, in support of/in honor of/on behalf of our friend jill who'd been hit hard with that word, cancer. i was before i took another breath.

rosa was thinking like all of us, ' what can we do?'.

we're not oncologists, we're just normal, everyday people. we run and bike and swim, and are active, so we have to do what we can. we run the run for the cure 5k fun runs, whatever, and this, this ride to conquer cancer, well that's just one more thing. we can raise cash to go towards research, towards finding treatments to cure, to diagnose, to create more survivors.

there was nothing about this weekend that wasn't fun, amazing, or enjoyable. it was one feel good moment after feel good moment. right from the moment we arrived on the friday night to drop off the bike, the dinner with the rest of my teammates/friends the night before, and then the next morning, just getting on the bike and riding.

i have to admit i was concerned when the route and the distances were reveled. we'd all heard rumours, and tried to out guess the organizers, but were still a little surprized when we were advised that the distance on the 1st day was going to be 115km, and that day 2, 105k. not sure exactly how that all adds up to 200k, but it must be the new math.

the two rides were amazing and both very different. 1st day was at times easy, and flat. but towards the end, we hit some very long and tuff hills (foothills?). one was about 7 or 8 miles long, and i went from spinning at about 30 kph, and by the time i made it to the top i was down to about 8. but that's all good. it makes you feel like you've accomplished something. and afterwards it was something you could brag about.

day 2 was amazing. we still has some hills, some climbs, but it was fast. i had planned on about 4+ hours for day 2, with a finish at about 12 or maybe 1PM...but man we flew. as yep, there were some rolling hills, but 3:30 later i was done, i hit the lunch spot at about 9:30, finish line 11:30.

the toughest part of the whole ride was that final 5k. it wasn't because of the distance, or even the riding, i just felt a lot of emotions bubbling over. just thinking about why we were riding, the reason that we were out there, the reason we signed up. after day 1, a few of us were talking and wondering about what we'd do next year, for 2011. and during those last 5k, i keep thinking on that (and yep, there's no way i'm not doing this again), i thought of those friends and family that i was riding for, the reasons (elaine, barb, brit, lori, dan...so many), and it's overwelming.

the ride to conquer cancer's slogan is our sweat is nothing compared to their tears. and man you think about that, and nothing can compare to what those actually fighting this fight are going through. i can't even imagine what it's like, how do you deal with it. it just amazes me, the strength those that hear that word, cancer, have to have. they and their families, their loved ones.

no mater how tuff i feel riding, it's nothing close to what that feeling must be like. they just have to suck it up and do everything they can just to keep on living. that basic human right, just to be. and yep, as that song once said, tears seriously are not enough....we've got to give everything we can.

the other rush was thinking about my team mates and what they'd accomplished on this weekend. we're all athletes of various abilities, but this was not an easy weekend ride, it was tuff in a lot of ways. 220km is nothing to sniff at, but to throw in foothills into the equation, on a really hot weekend, and just seeing marty, katie, jo, sheena, jit, ann, and rosa cross that finish line, just a group of friends out to support one of our dear dear friends, yep, tears were flowing freely.

i know i've a 1/2 ironman race this next weekend, and a full out ironman at the end of august, but this was special. thanx rosa

eastwood RIP...hello old friend

2010-06-17T20:56:00.000-07:00

it's been 36 years. 36 years since i last walked these halls since i stood on this stage, since i was a student at eastwood.

then, there was no such thing as an inner city school. it was a school, elementary and junior high .
during that era, we all watched paul henderson score the goal that beat the USSR hockey team in 1972, neil armstrong walk on the moon.
the cromdale hotel was still a local hot spot, the oil kings played in the old edmonton gardens, and rock concerts were held at clarke stadium, and in the kinsmen fieldhouse.
the only mall was westmount, our shopping experiences were at the store across the street, killing time before, after or during the school day, or at mac's store in fort road shooting pinball.

greenpeace was born, we protested while the newly formed protest group sailed a fishing boat up to alaska to protest the US testing a nuclear bomb in the aleution islands.
expo 67, a new canadian flag was introduced, woodstock, the vietnam war, watergate, robert kennedy, martin luther king jr., the WHA. the beatles began and broke up, the monkees, the first manned space flight.
big big hair was the style (remember miss rodney's afro, and well, calvin mayes' natural)
for the 9 years that my classmates and i attended eastwood, the world, well the world around the world changed, as did the world around our school.
our school reflected that. we had the coolest teachers. long hair, mini skirts (who could possibly forget miss rodney) long sideburns (mr jackson, mr ox), old volvos, vw's, guitar playing teachers. the teachers were hip, we were hip. heck even our principle, mr frost - he of the booming voice during the christmas carol time - was hip.
it's an amazing building. some have said it looks like an old shoe factory. i have no idea what an old shoe factory looks like, but on the inside it was unique. 3 floors. a glass floor in the center of the 3rd floor, which was the ceiling of the 2nd floor.
kissed my first girl in miss love's 1st grade class. twice. had a few fights, watched a few, won a few awards, played my guitar at a few school concerts, danced at a few sock hops, made some friends.
experienced multiculturalism before it became a buzz word. went to school with people of many colours, ethnic groups, and religious affiliations. we sang god save the queen, we never questioned why some remained seated when we said the lords prayer every morning,we never thought to, we didn't care. ethnic diversity, we were it.
this was our world, a world before special needs, racial profiling , and before we even understood what the word Muslim meant. we sat in classes, played sports, performed and watched some amazing school concerts and school plays, and when the temp was bellow minus 32F we all ate our lunches together.
we attended school dances, we cheered our school teams, we hung out before and after school, traveled side by side on school fieldtrips, and we were all the same. we didn't care what everyone's financial situation was, who were being raised in single parent families, or who's parents never seemed to be around. it was just what it was. those really were the days, my friend.
it's been 36 years. some things have changed since then. but, a lot changed around us while we were all in attendance at eastwood. but hopefully, some things haven't, and never will.
hello old friend, and good bye

should i stay or should i go go or just wake up

2010-06-14T20:53:00.000-07:00

well, it's the beginning of week 14 of 24 heading towards the big daddy, ironman canada in penticton, and for some reason, well, i just don't seem to care.
i'm half assed training, as always. i'm biking a ton. just spent yet another weekend in drumheller with the family, and managed to get in a couple of rides on the new Felt bike that felt great. they were both kind of short (48km, and 72km), but they both did the right things and pushed the right buttons. the short saturday ride took me up and down a couple of decent hills, and sunday's was against the wind in one direction, and really fast, or at least a little bit quick on the way home. and loved them both. heck love the bike. i have a few quibbles, though. I still do have a few issues with going aero, i just can't handle it in the wind, or on narrow shoulders, and i'm still getting used to the grips on the handle bars...or with my hand placement,,,oh and teaching myself the art of eating and hydration. i can spin forever on one bottle of power/gator/whatever aide....but that's not so good when i have to run afterwards, i need my nutrition....so i've gotta practise that way more often.
swimming ain't going so bad, but would like to be more consistant. last thursday, 4400 meters at the kinsmen pool. i shuffled the routine a bit with pulls and flutters, but still, 4400 neters!...and that was because i screwed up, and added 800 meters more then i was supposed to. oops
and i as always am not so sure about the run. i just cannot seem to fit it in. it's like weights and yoga, i just never seem to have the time to go long. there's always something else!

my biggest decision is coming up in a couple of weeks. i've got a 1/2 tri coming up in stony plain, which is exactly a week after i ride the 200K ride to conquer cancer!...there's a lot of personal reasons that i don't really wanna do the great white north triathlon, but there's a few reasons why i should, but the week after riding 200K?........i know, i know, i'm supposed to look at it as a training thing, and that i can do the race and just hold back and treat the whole thing as a training day, but i'm sure that would last about until i hit the 1st hill!...so don't know. i've got 2 weeks to ponder about it.....

2010-06-05T15:29:00.000-07:00

well this was a good week, or at least a so so week , well okay a really lazy week of training. some running, a bit of biking, a great swim, and most importantly, a bit of down time. guess i've begun my 3 month taper for IMC.
i've also been kind of sick all week. it took me a while to figure out was going on. i woke up everyday feeling like crap. stuffed up, ragged, a huge headache, and really really tired, and my gums and teeth itchy? ever tried to scratch your teeth?
i thought maybe the flu, maybe something more serious, the pneumonia thing, maybe i've been overtraining...took my cold fx, and everything else i could think of (which all just made me even more ill...but you know what i found was the best thing....coke! whenever i feel wasted, sick, ill, lite headed, or whatever. a really really cold can of coke perks me right up!), and then it hit me, my allergies, they're back!..it's a bit late in the season, but yep, i guess because of all the cold, the snow and whatever we've had this spring, it's taken a while for the snow mold, the pollen, and whatever to catch back up to me. so sleeping's been tuff, getting my get up and go to go, every morning has been hard, but now that i figured out what this thing is, i know it's not something that'll seriously hurt me. i know even training with a head cold can cause serious damage if you try and train through it, but just being tired and stuffed up, just means i'm able to do what i can do, need to do and still survive. i'll just get tired sooner, and will be blowing snot bombs off of the bike all the time. actually after today's ride i had fluid flowing freely out of every opening in my body. nose, eyes, sweat, snot....i must have looked a mess, and yep i do need a serious haircut, but i felt great.

this was supposed to be a recovery week, so i took that for what it is. after skipping the coronation triathlon this past sunday, i just kicked back and relaxed. a good run around st albert on monday, biked cloverdale hills and a short run on tuesday, mtn biked around st albert wednesday,and swam my ass off friday night, and then had a great quick 90k ride today (saturday), so actually kind of a good week.
today's ride was amazing. i was just gonna go out for a couple of hours, not thinking distance. but as i started up, and started battling a pretty good head wind, i thought, well, it usually takes me 3 hours to ride 90k, so if i ride for 3 hours, well, it should end up being a 90k ride. but that 1st 10 miles was hard. the wind was pretty strong, and riding west of st albert on villeneuve road, there are a couple of pretty decent rolling hills, so wasn't all that sure. but i bit big into those hills, and the reward was a nice ride into stony plain. the newly paved highway 779 is the best. wide wide shoulders, and quick with fresh new smooth tarmak!..and when i turned and headed eastward on the alternate highway running next to the yellowhead, wow, i just felt fuel injected! this one guy blew passed me pretty quickly, and i just took off after him, and that was something i needed. he was flying along, and i hooked onto his back wheel, and flew along with him for a while, until he stopped at the next intersection, and i just kept going all the way back to highway 44, where i turned back up towards villinueve, through st albert to starkey road, and then back into st albert along sturgeon road. a great day on the road!, and what was gonna be short-ish ride, turned into an 80/90 k ride.....yep, cool and good!

i've decided to change my training strategy to training mostly on my own. i've found, even when i train with others, i usually end up on my own anyway, so no big deal. and i have to do what i have to do, so training with others on other schedules and training routines seems a waste of time. i know what i need to do, and driving an hour to ride with others, when i know after about 30 minutes i'll be out on my own again for 3 hours or more when i can do that right from my house is kind of stupid. and the same thing happens whenever i run or swim, so i'm back here again, out here on my own.
but now it gets tuff. 2 things. 1 it's race specific training time, and 2, the kids are almost out of school for the summer!
the race specific training is no big deal, it's just trying to find the time to do it all. i'm a big advocate of training when you can, if you have an hour, 2 or 3, to train, you have to do it. when your life, wife, kids, and workget's into the equation, it's hard to try and schedule everything. right now what i'm having to do is looking at things week by week, looking at what is set in stone, what my wife is working, looking at my work schedule, figuring out when the kids are in school and when they're out, and looking at what's in the fun family time and need to do schedule. like a trip to drumheller with the family next weekend, the ride to conquer cancer in a few weeks, and the day after that the kids are no longer in school, when i ride, swim and run really get's complex to find the time to schedule. i know i can, and will have to, train my ass off on fridays, saturdays and sunday mornings. and during the week, how do i fit in the bike training, the swims, and a hard run or 2/
oh well. onward and upward

w

throughts on a 1000 meter swim......

2010-05-28T14:30:00.000-07:00

yep, it was only 1000 meters....think it was about 20 minutes, don't know for sure, don't really give a sh*t. i know my head hit the water at about 1:05, and i got into the hot tub at about 1:25...but whatever.
i just took it easy, got a little pissed when the girl swimming beside me kept passing me...but then noticed fins, so that was okay then. then after i got out, i watched her for a while (no not because of that, i'm not that creepy...well a little, the lifeguard was pretty cute)...but it's always amazing to watch someone with such an easy stroke, just flying. i'm envious. i know that's a goal of mine, and i'm not sure what i like more, a smooth stroke that just breaks the surface of the water, or like a girl i remember seeing at the kinsmen pool years ago. short, Japanese, and just flying in a sea of foam..and again just flying through the water. it's amazing to see.
oh and yeah, it would be nice to fit a flip turn into my routine! dammit, i just never seem to have the time. i know, i know, there's no flip turns in a lake triathlon swim, and during a pool swim in a tri there's no room...but it just looks so smooth. even for the slowest swimmers, it just looks so cool to do. guess i just have to find a day to practise just that. maybe next week.
i do have a pet peeve though. why do people show up and just show up to swim. and then just dog paddle back and forth. i know it's bad to critique others, but there was this one huge guy wading through the water, then sitting in the hot tub, and not really doing anything, what's the point? 2 things, if you're going to go out to do anything, at least try and look the part. you don't have to be fit, skinny, or fast, or strong, just dress like you're there to do something, use an actual sports bag, not a friggin' sobey's shopping bag!...actually make an effort. even if you're doing a dog paddle, put some effort in to it....swim, you're in a swimming pool.
i've always believed that you have to do the dance. maybe sometimes that's been to my detriment, but if you're gonna ride, run, swim, ski, whatever, make that effort. otherwise what's the point. and never do this stuff to get fit, ever. do it because you want to, because it's enjoyable, fun even....and look the part.

anyway, am i ready for the coronation tri? on sunday...nah. today's swim was just to see if i could actually do a 1000 meter swim....i guess on sunday, i'll just put my head down, give the effort,aand whatever happens after that happens....it'll be what it'll be....and after it's all said and done, the goal will be to say, 'that was fun!"

w

4 dayz in drumheller and a day at the kinsmen

2010-05-26T19:23:00.000-07:00

This is a strange weird spot of this season/year of forever training. week 12 is underway, leading up to the big daddy, Ironman Canada in Penticton on August 29th. i've got a whole 12 weeks left to go, and i'm not yet plugged into my all out panic mode, that'll come soon enuff, now it's just, 'oh my god do i ever need to train!'
this past weekend was just another part of the training, maybe. it was a weekend of some of the hardest riding i've ever done, well that i can remember, well, right now.
but rode just in and around Drumheller with other members of the edmonton tri club, which, hopefully helped build me up, leading me up to the my 1st Tri of the year, the Coronation Triathlon this Sunday, that should get me up and fit for the 200Km Ride to Conquer Cancer on June 26th and 27th, which is the week before the Great White North 1/2 Ironman Tri, which of course leads onward and upward to Ironman.

The past 6 or 7 dayz is why i love doing this, and what i want this stuff to always be all about. It's about the fun, the hard work with friends, the stuff that happens between the training, during the training and after. okay, so maybe it's not always laugh out loud fun, but enjoyable, yep, and it all feels so good, afterwards..and sometimes during. and hell, while humming your fave windy song (against the wind, stormbringer, dust in the wind, ride like the wind, whatever) you can always look forward to whatever comes next..like, well, another hill, more wind...or a steak dinner afterwards!

There was nothin' i didn't like about the weekend in the home of the world largest dinosaur. even though the weather didn't always co-operate, it teased us, and toyed with us, and the undulating hills were amazingly, toying? every day something amazing happened. the 1st day of riding started out great, even with that 1st hill that eventually took us to downtown rosebud ..and then, well, it got windy, and coldish, and did i say windy. i only rode about 98K of the 107-ish, i'd volunteered to drive one of the support vans, which was cool too. i actually liked the break, and it was interesting to support, and watch how the other riders rode. and, oh, it was warm.....and so comfortable.

day 2 started freakishly kinda the same-ish. there was that moment at the beginning with a lot of sun, no wind, some side wind, some back-ish wind, a small hill, and then again, we took a turn for the worse, and wow, big wind, big hill, and it never stopped. it's kind of weird to be riding downhill and having to peddle just to move, down that hill.

the one common element to both dayz was i was trying to catch roommate mike's back wheel. i'm not used to that. usually when i'm riding with steve and the gang, i take off....finally, someone else leading, how the f*ck he kept pulling away into the wind beats me, but it gave me a challenge. which is just what i've always needed.

actually that was the best thing about the weekend on the road, a group of iron people where i had to push just to keep up, and i learned so much about riding with others, flowing through a pace line, and also learning how much fun this stuff can be. and riding with some that have done this a lot longer then i have taught me so much. just how to ride, how to ride in a group, how to support, and just learning what can be ridden through. man, that constant wind, even on day 2, before and after lunch in downtown delia, was tough. but it was so do-able, and you know what, even though it only meant riding about 75K (yep, i drove support yet again) the 2 days made last year's ride in Penticton seem easy. and lunch in the senior's centre in delia was an amazing deal, thanx christine!...and now i know where delia, dorothy, and rosebud are...wow! i feel so fulfilled.

we lucked out for day 3, our final ride before heading home, we, well i chose to go to dorothy, i could have gone on with the 100k people to some point beyond. but seriously i was tired, my bum hurt, and about 70K felt like a good thing to do. it was so nice to ride in sunshine, really no headwind, and what wind there was, blew on our backs as we all rode home, quickly. i loved it, loved it. in aero most of the way, counting off the locations and towns on the way back (hello rosedale!), i actually considered the hill that we started up on saturday for a little diversion, but nah, i needed to get home. yep, loved every minute of it!

and yesterday was the flip side of that. felt like crap this morning, i knew i needed to get a hard swim in, and knew that i wanted to get the bike back out for an easy spin, but ewww, that bed was calling me back. but as usual, once i dived into those waters in the kinsmen pool and started my dayz training, it was hard to stop, and after 3800 meters, and 90 minutes later i was done. and it just kept getting better. then i just finished the morning off spunning around the U of A area, through the ramsey ravine, through the alexander circle, up groat road south, around sask drive for about an hour. and it felt good. my legs were still tired, but with the coronation tri coming up, again, it's just what i needed.

same thing with the swim. here i was worried if i'd be able to handle a 1000 meter swim and a 26k ride....well, 3800 meters, and a relaxing 20K ride

then this morning, went out for a short-ish 12K run, that just felt so good to do. i seriously don't run often enuff, and i need to do that way more often. not just because i have to, to get ready for my upcoming races, but just because i luv to run. it just feels so good. this morning, back to the ramsey ravine i peddled up on wednesday, up groat road north, visiting a few neighbourhoods, up vic park hill, over the high level bridge, along sask drive....didn't really care how far i was going...the head and body just said let's run, and i just ran.

and well, though i was worried, i'm not so worried any more...about coronation, the great white north, or ultimately, Ironman...bring it on!

now, relaxing here, watching (or-rewatching the lost finale) feels so perfect. i'm not sure what's up with 2morrow. i 'm supposed to rest, but, well i could do a short 30 min run (maybe) a short 1000 meter swim (possibly) or an hour ride.....but whatever, even if i just rest, it'll all still feel so good. onward and upward.

w

i'm gonna train when and where i wanna train, because i have to

2010-05-16T12:19:00.000-07:00

i learned somethings during my bike ride yesterday. besides the fact that i've gotten pretty good at changing flat tires, and that i need to make sure both my co2 carts are new...took me a while to figure out why one wasn't working, oh! that's why it already had a hole in the top of it? i learned that the only guy i have to look to when i need to train is the guy i see in the mirror every day. yep, there are always other things i could do, there are always others pointing out that i should be doing other things, but you know what, when i step into lake okanagan at the end of august, no one else is gonna swim bike and run for me.
the schedule said, 2 to 3 hours, i did just over 3 hours....a fun, and at times fast 3 hours, 3 hours i really needed. for the most part, flat, and against a bit of a wind on the way home, but when i was done, it was well done, and it felt like the right thing that needed to get done. much like my 90 minute swim the night before.
i spend too much worrying about stuff like that. i'm always looking at what others are doing, changing my plans to train with others, cutting stuff short, waiting around for others to begin, worrying that i might piss others off if i go my own way, and worrying about what kind of support i may need, instead of doing what's right for me. that's gotta change. if i need a 4 1/2 hour bike ride, doing 3 hours because that's what everyone else is doing isn't gonna cut it on race day.
also, i'm fidning out another thing...i'm old. i am not recovering all that well between workouts. take this weekend, run 16k and swam 4k on friday, rode just over 80k yesterday, today feels like a recovery day...not because it's scheduled, but because the body says, hey buddy, your taking the day off. i know others will point out, that it's sunday, i should be out running with the rest of the group, because that's what the rest of the group are doing...well, i guess i'm not the rest of the group....so today i rest, tomorrow i train...and onward, upward....and i'm answering to one person, me.

w

what i think about when i ride

2010-05-08T19:31:00.000-07:00

well this was living the dream, the reason why i do this stuff. i woke up and got to ride my bike! i just sat on the old trusty cannondale, and started to spin, and cool.
the 1st half, or my 1st half was so special. parked at the kingswood parking lot, and just rode. a spin around the parking lot, and then a spin through some of st albert, explored old mine road, and then the loop, hwy 2 north to 37, hwy 37 to namao, and back to join the gang at kingswood park. i love that loop, some flat, and then a nice hill down, and a nice hill up to hwy 28. love it. a nice way to warm up.
and it's always to ride with a group, well at least begin with a group.....and then back to that hill up to hwy 37!.....i love hills, i love hills, i love hills.....then north to bon accord!...i've never been to bon accord before so that was interesting. getting there was a little boring, a straight road, kind of flat, and not much for scenery, but a wide shoulder, straight, and a lot of room to ride aero...
and getting into non accord and then spinning back out to ride in with our group was kind of cool too....it was good to see a large group, with a bunch of new riders getting in...the look on their faces when they realize that they've made it this far is kind of neat to see.....they're hooked!
bon accord looks like a nice town, i took the quick spin tour....before heading back for a quick trip through the namao base, and back to kingswood......just wished i'd went a litte longer...100K sounds way cooler then 95 something.....but a great day, a bit of a wind burn, and am amazed at what you can do on a bowl of cheereos, a glass of oj, and some magical baked goods...thanx suz

my inspiration

2010-04-30T20:27:00.000-07:00

Love this picture....actually, i don't know why?....guess cause it's a picture of what i still love to do.

it's hard. sometimes it's just hard to get going, sometimes it's hard to get out of bed and get going, but once i do, man it feels so good, so natural, so fun..okay, maybe not always fun, but always enjoyable, but in a fun sort of way. and also, well, the picture says it all....outside, along the river, is my favorite spot in this city, just running and enjoying the view.
This is the end of week 8 of the 24 weeks leading up to the Ironman Canada Triathlon in Penticton. It's pretty much where everything has to come together, where every workout counts, and every workout cannot be misssed. and well, i missed a couple of them. Missed one swim, and and a day of biking hills. The missed swim, no big deal, i had 2 really strong swims on monday and thursday...well a short 1 on thursday, but really strong, and i get to hit the bike tomorrow, but the run is a big, huge question mark. I ran fine on monday and thursday, but these sunday morning runs have become a problem. i just cannot seem to drag my butt out of bed on sundays. i know i always have a free day during the week, most often on monday to get that long run in, but the idea is to ride hard on saturdays, and run hard the day after. and being tired is sort of the idea. but, think this weekend i'm gonna make a change. one truism, i love running out of the kinsmen fieldhouse always, everytime. and i look forward to running in the river valley. i just hate running to the river valley, i hate waiting to run, and there are so many places that i want to run in and to, that are difficult to get to whenever i run out of the callingwood running room. so, i need to do a long run of about 105 minutes on sunday, and i think i'm heading for the river valley, probably to the kinsmen, for a run on my own.....and will have to see how that goes.
the bottomline is, i know i need 2 things to get me to the sarting line this august, rest, and consistancy. this week i got the rest, but, well, not so consistant. yep, i ran, and i swam...but well, with the snow, i just could not bring myself to drag out the bike trainer...nope, no way..it's outside or not at all!....so instead i went bike shopping, and on wednesday, well, finally grouted the bathroom!.....i guess i'll call this my rest week, and next week i'll try and kick myself in the butt....
there's a busy busy season coming on quickly, and it's gonna get crazy.....the ride with the edmonton tri club in drumheller in a couple of weeks (i can hardly wait!)....the coronation tri at the end of the month, my son headng off for orientation at lakeland college in june, the ride to conquer cancer at the end of june, the tri camp in june, the great white north tri in july, and then, well, august.....it's gonna be a challenge...am i up for it...well, as long as i just wake up in time!

w

126 dayz 2 go????

2010-04-24T16:41:00.000-07:00

okay, so here we go again?....it'z amazing how quickly time flies?...i thought i had plenty of time to the big event, again....but week 6 of 24 is done 2morrow!....
it's strange how memories fade, at this point last year, i had yet to ride the cannondale outside!...i was bitchin' about the cold 2day, but well, oops, we did? ridin' out of claymont on april 11th last year, and yep it was cold.....but so far this month, i've been out a ton...hill repeats, mtn biking, and a couple of good longish rides...but feels good. maybe a bit effortless at times, but still it's time to put down some distance.
running's, my 1st love,is going fine too. i was iffy up until last sunday, but doing the st albert 10 miler felt okay, and was just what the Md ordered. it should have been quicker, but i had fun actually. it was actually my longest run this year, and i was worried about it at the start, and i held back right at the start, but as it went along, it felt fine......
swimming just sucks!... i just can't get my behind to the pool. don't know why, but i have no problem getting out for a run almost anytime, biking too, but driving to the pool for a swim, i just always seem to feel more comfortable doing something else, anything else....maybe next week will be better.
2 things i'm gonna focus on this year, is running. and racing, and trying to not miiss many, or any. so far so good, only missed 1 race (the st pats day 10k), but running has become pretty consistent, and if i make it out for tomorrow's 1/2 marathon, well good for me. i'm not actually looking as races as races, but just a chance for some serious training. tomorrow, i hope for an easy 2 hours or less on the road and trails, and just, well, showing up!
2 things i'm looking for this year, okay maybe 3...to have fun, to train consistently, and to finish ironman in august. i think if i get the 1st 2 done, the last should happen. i'm not sure how focused i am, but i look forward to the training, i love the training, as someone asked me a few years ago, am i going to race like i train, or race like i race? a fair and good question...i've thought about that a lot. i love training, on my own, or with friends. i look forward to it, i plan a for it a lot, some times it's all i think about...but for some reason, at races, at some point, i fall apart. so far this year i've thought a lot about tattooing the letters HTFU onto my wrist or arm or somewhere....HTFU of course stands for Harden The Fuck Up...and don't know how that'll happen, but maybe that's what i need to do...just trying to enjoy the day doesn't seem to be working.....and i need to work on finishing stuff. when i think of the 3 tri's i did last year, my swim times were all good, bike times were okay, not fantastic, but good, and then my run became more of a walk...and in the case of IMC, not at all....and the NYC Marathon last November was a struggle, more then it should have been...so i guess, gotta work on the runnin', and the finishin'...and work on the nerve, and perhaps reliving the pressure...
oh ya, the best thing about this year so far, my kswiss trainers!

2010...ironman canada 2009, 2010..what is and what will b

2010-03-06T19:14:00.000-08:00

51st year?
I feel good, I feel alright. Swimming is going good, I’m running, and spinning, is spinning. I have a lot of other stuff going on (again), but this year, everything is about 1 race, Ironman. Yep, I know, I know, I’ve got this Ride to Conquer Cancer thing in 25 Weekz to Ironman…and a few stops along the way……

So here we go again. Last year at this point, I was almost at the same point as I am 2day. Just about 25 weeks away from a shot at finishing a full ironman triathlon. Last year, well, there was a lot of hope, and a lot of unknowns. This year, I’m more hopeful, but I know a bit more going in.
For one, I need to train. Not sure if my training wasn’t spot on last year, but need to practice my nutrition more, need to run more than I did last year, I need to do more transition, brick and just plain runs.
The cool thing about last year was that I had a lot of fun. Did a lot of stuff with friends, ate a lot, and generally enjoyed myself. The bad thing, I trained hard, but when it came to racing, well, I didn’t race as well as I trained. Coronation, and Great White North, both were okay…the swim and bike portions were fine, but the runs, well, were not what they should have been, and thus, both races ended up, well, sucking. But again, I had fun, so…..what does that mean?
And then there was Ironman Canada, and the NYC Marathon. Ironman, was, fun, a blast, except for the not finishing thing. The swim was amazing, 3800 meters of fun. I just felt stronger as the swim in Lake Okanagan went along. And the 180K bike ride was fine. Richter’s Pass, the ride up to Yellow Lake, not a big deal. Yep I got sick at one point, and yep my heart rate rocked up, but I did it, I was passed a lot, and I passed a lot of people, but I enjoyed most of it. And should I have attempted running the 26.2 miles instead of bailing when I did? I felt okay after I got off the bike, I was okay enuff to walk back to our house on the hill, but, I thought, did I really wanna start the run and then have to have someone drive me back to the start? And well, there was a marathon in New York coming up…so did I have to finish? Should have could have, I don’t know. I didn’t feel that bad when I decided not to finish. But now, well looking back, I’m not so sure. But at the time it felt right.
The experience was great, as was the NYC Marathon in November. Am I happy with the results, nope, but they are what they are right? It is what it is. And the experience was amazing, what an amazing 50th year. Now for hopefully an equally amazing 51st. Yep there's the The Ride to Conquer Cancer at the end of June, and yep the Great White North ½ Ironman Tri a week after that, but they’re just stops on the way to the big dance. The 200k Ride to Conquer through the Rockies will be a nice 2 day training weekend, and I’ll try and slip in a couple short t-runs. The Great White North Tri will be much of the same. The only goal is to make sure I run the run part, and run strong. I always manage to swim the 2000 meters strong, and bike the 90k alright, but always struggle with the 21k run. This year has to be different. Has got to be different.
So, well, another year of lotsa swimming, lotsa biking, lotsa running, lotsa eating, and lotsa resting and stretching and thinking.
So all of this is starting again, and actually has already begun. All I really hope for, is a year of hard training, lotsa food and wine, lots of Okanagan wine….all capped off with racing Ironman in Penticton. Who knows, the goal is to finish, and what will happen, will happen.

W

6 dayz later, a little perspective on nyc and the marathon from heck

2009-11-07T13:40:00.000-08:00

It's easy to look back at something with a little perspective, but you know what? That perspective came right at the end of the 5 hour and 11 minute journey just about a week ago, and nothing has changed since. It was it was. You can't return and change things, and, as slow as my adventure was, it was still an amazing day. Every minute of it,and yep, i think I'll return again in 2011.

Actually, of the whole 7 day adventure, the only hiccup, the only black spot, was the roommate from hell. Yep, now i know better. Next time no roommate. But who knew? When the organizer of our tour group suggested it was a way to save a little money, I'd hoped for a tall Swedish blond, or even a short Swedish blond, but the snoring coke chugging roommate from hell? The behemoth almost derailed what was to be an amazing time. Yep i did consider bailing, and getting a good sleep instead, and just enjoy the trip to NYC. But one of the huge disadvantages of doing this race with a tour group, is that you can't re-enter for the next year and automatically get in. Everyone else, can and would, tour group people, not! No sleep for the two nights before the marathon began to put a bit of damper on things, . It meant that i missed the friendship run with Lance Armstrong (while everyone else,even my roommate ran, i slept!), and i did drag my ass around 1st and 5Th aves during the race (okay, i did try and sprint through the Bronx...i mean yech!) the whole thing was amazing. The start, the finish, Queens, Brooklyn, Harlem (the music and the bands on the course were worthy of a stop and a listen!) and that start, wow!

Yep, i was hurtin'. I have to say i wasn't really trained (my longest run this past year, was maybe 16 miles)....but man, when Frankie started singing new york new york as my wave started up towards the verrazano narrows bridge i shed at least a little tear, i was seriously choked up. I mean wow, watching the 1st wave, including the pro men, head out over that bridge ahead was a wow and a holy shit moment! i was really there, and i was really doing it...it was definitely a watershed moment, or a Kodak moment (yep, i wished i had a camera..again wow!)

The organization at the start was amazing. Amassing some 40,000 runners seems a daunting task. there was plenty of food around as we waiting for the start (Gatorade, bagels, coffee, tea, and hot water) it was a little chilly, but began to warm up quickly, porta potties everywhere, and some short lineups, but nothing deeper the 2 or 3 people. I've done a lot of races, and nothing matches this one for being easy to do. as runners, we just needed to do what we came to do, everything else was looked after for us, no fuss, no muss, nothing. Right from riding that bus from the front of the new york public library (yep, that one from ghost busters) to Staten island, from the moment we got on that bus, we were in the hands of the volunteers, and we were all treated like pros. directed to our corrals on the island at fort Wadsworth...funneled through the fences to our start (i was lucky, 2nd wave, so as advertised i started at exactly at 10AM right on time!) It be kind of cool to volunteer some day at this race to see it from the other side. All the volunteers all over the course, all day long, were all amazing. Other races should look at this organization for lessons on how it's supposed to be done.

And man, that 1st run across the 1st bridge was, fantastic. i tried to hold back, and i did. i just kept picking people to pace with. A Cops For Cancer guy spotted me and my Ironman Canada cap, and tried to go with him which was cool - the one other Edmonton person in the race that i knew as a friend of a friend, how's that work- and i had planned to use my garmin's 11 minute alarm to try and stick as close to a walk run, or at least as a run slower signal, but you know what? the crowds were so loud i couldn't hear nothin'!.....people stacked up, on both sides of the streets, everywhere. Cheering everywhere, just kinda pushed me along.

Brooklyn was a great place to begin.. People, people, everywhere, and every block or 2, music everywhere. mostly cover bands, a few solo folks on guitars or keyboards that i don't think were part of the official party, but added to the whole atmosphere, and kids, kids, everywhere, all wanting hi 5s...h1n1 be dammed! And as most of the race followed straight lines, you could see how many masses of people were up ahead, and if you took the chance to look back, how many were behind! the numbers just seemed staggering.

i couldn't believe how quickly Queens came on. it seemed like we crossed a short bridge, and there it was, welcome to Queens! and if possible, it was louder even then Brooklyn The coolest part was Williamsburg. I had heard/read that this might be the quietest part of the run, being the Jewish enclave of NYC, and it was to a certain extent, the males in their traditional dress, and women as well for the most part ignored us, but their kids seemed pretty involved, and they wanted to be as well. More then a few of them were out, standing near the roads on the sidewalk, a couple of them handing their own candy out to the runners, and we ran past one school full of school kids (Sunday for them is a day of work/school) and i think they thought my pinkish hair was, um different, Also there was at least one band playing in the area, just as were about to cross over the Williamsburg bridge.

i was still feeling pretty good here. i was making sure to hit every aid station for Gatorade, and popped at least one electrolyte cap in at every one, and man i was tired/exhausted ( i could have layed down by the side of the road and fallen asleep any time) but the crowds, the massive amount of other runners, and it was just fun! so much fun, you just had to have a smile plastered on your face, and then came the 59th street bridge.

here, things began to start to fall apart a bit. i finally took my first walk break, at between mile 15 and 16 - maybe i shouldn't have -because once i did, i had a hard time getting the body moving again. i had hit the half way point (about the middle of the bridge to forever) at 2:14:57, which wasn't bad, especially if i was looking for that faster 2nd half split, (but today that wasn't going to happen) but from this point on, things began to hurt, a lot. 1st one thigh, then the other, then one knee, then the other, left ankle all the time. i kept trying to keep to 10 and ones, or at least running the 1 mile distance between each aid station, and then walking at the aid stations, and sticking to 1/2 water and 1/2 Gatorade at this point,.but i was pretty much done. running north on 1st ave in Manhattan towards Harlem and the Bronx was tuff. i felt a little down on myself at this point, because the crowds here were massive. each side of the wide wide ave were filled up. 3 or 4 deep, all screaming and shouting - amazing -and i kept trying to suck it up and i did run, hobbled a bit, as much as i could, but most of the time just couldn't, and then my lower back started to ache at this point (shoes, could it be older shoes?), but again too, wow!

the less said about the Bronx, the better. know it's one of the 5 boroughs, but dam, it was like running through an industrial park, wait a minute, it was. not that many people cheering. okay at one point where a huge vid screen had been put up, there were a few, but until we crossed back outa the hood over the Madison ave bridge back into Harlem, and Manhattan island there just wasn't that many people out this was the low point of the run overall

my time was starting to slip quickly (mile 21, 4:01:31) and this is where i think i started to die. which was kind of weird, and just seemed to work out oddly, because when i ran, i ran strong, I'd pass people, I'd weave and find my spots to pass, but i could only do that for so long before my legs would cramp up and say hey bud, what the f do you think you're doing?

then, the bands started to pick up again, that's another reason that the Bronx was such a disappointment, no live music up!

the best were the school bands though out Brooklyn and queens, and the bigger groups in Harlem, wow, over and over again.

then all there was 5th ave...it took me over an hour to run between mile 21 and 26.2? how is that even possible?

Then bopping into central park was so amazing, and then seeing my insane sister screaming her head off and running at just the point where i was gonna give up and walk in, what another awesome moment! my own Canuck cheering squad, flag and all! - found out later that she'd fallen and scraped herself up a bit while trying to keep up. but thanks sis, i needed that. And that final 1/2 mile, then 800 meters, then 400 meters, and finally 200 meters to the finishing shoots wow!And yep, I choked up yet again What a feeling.

looking back i still can't believe it was a 5:11 marathon, it didn't seem that long, a lot of that i think has to do with how many runners and just people cheering there were, there was never a point to think, or moan, it was just what it was. but 4:01 at mile 21, and 5:11 at 26.2....even walking that would be slow, so i don't know, don't care, why? because it was all fun!

okay, so a week later, my right knee still hurts, my left ankle may need a brace again....I'm thinking of starting to run with my orthotics and my toes still look a bit like scrap metal (3 of them have blisters (popped blisters) under the nails, and it looks like my shoes/socks pushed my cuticles a few millimeters back from those 3 and a few others) but i feel almost recovered. my skilled massage therapist did an amazing job on my thighs and IT bands this week, I've been stretching, and yoga may be in my near future but i feel okay. Okay with the race, okay with my time in NYC and CT. it was an amazing 7 days. the Brooklyn bridge, NYU and Washington square park, the empire state, the top of the rock, the museum of modern art, and just hanging in westport, the subway, the comm trains, the people, grande central station, all of it, even the hotel (the Roosevelt)..it was all amazing (have i said that already)

it was the perfect way to end an amazing season..the great white north tri, ironman, and now this....wow....and wow again...who knows what 2010 will bring...but this has been an awesome way to welcome my 50th year....50 rules!

a run to cure...a ride to conquer?

2009-10-05T12:02:00.000-07:00

a time to move...move on?
yesterday was the annual run for the cure here in edmonton. an amazing event. 10,000 people running or walking, just moving, with just 1 thought in mind. cancer. breast cancer, but possibly cancer in general. those with it, those fighting it, those that have had it and survived, those that haven't.
are we running scared? possibly, but probably running for hope, with tears in our eyes, and aching hearts, but with hope in our souls. the power of positive thinking, in motion.
5K...the wonder of the distance is that it's just enuff. it's enuff for a bit of fun. it's long enuff for passing people, for people to pass you, but it's also enuff to get a handle on the people running or walking. seeing the team names on the backs and the fronts of the t-shirts. what the names mean, who they are. kids from schools, friends, families of survivers, of those that have become angels, those struggling to remain among us. some that have returned to this event, some that have returned alone after having been a part of this event in times past as part of a couple, a part of a family, as a part of a circle of friends. some run hard, some giving everything they've got, some just wanting to get through, to finish. but during the run, what are we all thinking?
and when it's done...what's left. we cheer, we clap, we clap and support those still out there, we wish everyone well, but eventually the event ends, and all that's left at the square is what's left.
hope.....
about 10 months from now, the ride to conquer cancer begins. a 2 day ride through the rockies, again to raise funds, to raise hope.
this'll be my 1st ride with this group, but at this time, it just seems the right thing to do.
can we conquer cancer? i think preventing may be all we can hope for. but who knows.....but we can hope, provide hope, and believe that, what we do, will make a difference. we have to....i don't think there's a choice.

w

staying pink???

2009-09-12T15:42:00.000-07:00

SO?

The question is, what to do with the hair?...

The pink is kind of cool and kind of different. and it's amazing how people react to it, how many understand the why part, how many people it offends, how many actually like it, how many wish they had pink hair.

there's a personal reason why it's pink, and those that know me know the why, but it is also a general reason, of course, breast cancer, and the run for the cure, specifically.

I've been registered for the run for the cure every year since 1996. there's a few years that i was just registered, but ended up missing the actual event, due to a few things....work, family issues for 2 reasons....but it's something i feel is important enuff to get me out of bed every 1st Sunday in October.

The 1st time was a bit different, it was the first organized run, fun run, that i'd ever done. it was perfect. it came at the end of a learn to run clinic at the running room, and it seemed perfect, a measured 5k, everyone in the clinic said they'd do it...sort of a graduation, a test, and hey, it could be fun!

well it was, that was in 1996...the run was held in the university area, with the start being at the butterdome, and it was an amazing 24 minutes of fun. at that time, the reason was immaterial, it was just a run. but as the event progressed, the reason, it's importance clicked, and became, um, more important.

every year, as the years have passed, it seems like every year i've more and more reasons to be involved. the race bib number has migrated 2 the back of my race shirt, and the page that lists my reasons for running has more and more reasons added to it. an aunt, one of my kid's elementary school teachers, a friend, another family member, and finally all those and more. and yep i raise money, but it just seems the right things to do, it's something to do. i don't know if the $ is actually just little more then a drop in the bucket of what is needed, but the reason seems more important. we may never solve the question this ailment presents. we may never find the reason some spot on the dna map causes this monster to appear. But, we can hope, we can give hope, we can believe in hope. we can be positive, positive that those so afflicted will have a cure, will have lives that will carry on, will bring that power of positive thinking to those that need it, those that have no choice but to believe.

so what does hair have to do with this? well, hopefully people see it and think. think about getting involved, think about those that they know, or knew, thinking about, hope.

so what do i do with it?...well, i could just keep on keeping on. let it grow, and fade...it's pretty much almost all blond now, the pink is quickly fading to the bleached stuff under neath. and my natural hair colour is beginning to reappear....dark and grey....

a few years ago, i did shave itall off. on Halloween, i braved the shave, and went bald...and dammit, it was so cold. cool, but cold. and i swore i'd never shave it in the fall or winter again...but yet again for the cause?....yep...

the run for the cure is about 3 weeks away...and i'm thinking, i want it pink for that...so.....i'm leaning towards getting it coloured yet again.....but

i have a marathon in NYC on November 1st..and yep the pink would make me stand out, but do i want to be in bad old new york city with pink hair?....

i have thought of just leaving it, and getting it cut as soon as the run for the cure is over...but, i don't know...i don't know?...but then i think, there's a reason i did this, that reason still exists.....so.....?.....i think i'm keeping it, i'm gonna probably enhance it...and then decide after the run for the cure what comes next.....the only thing that'll remain, is the reason, the hope that someday being a breast cancer survivor is what will be expected, the norm, and not what's hoped for.

w

reflection..ironman 2009 - what it was, what it is..what it will be

2009-09-02T09:44:00.000-07:00

SO!!!!!!!

Ironman Canada 2009 was over and done with almost 4 dayz ago...4 dayz. hard to believe. it seems like another time another place. Oh wait a minute? it was. it was, it was what it was, it was a bunch of beautiful dayz, that culminated with a beautiful day, a hard day, a disappointing day, a hard to believe it was just one day, it was a hot day, it was one of the toughest dayz i've ever experienced, it was a day that beat me- this time - and it was a day i'll be back to repeat in about 360 dayz. but all in all, it was a beautiful day...with apologies to U2.

SO!!!!!!

What happened?...we'll i won't bore into the time leading up to the start of the race, other then to say every minute of every day was amazing...there were a few fawlty tower moments in our house on up the creek-side, but all in all, everything we did, steve, ted, suz, DD, pete and jan set everything up for an amazing race day. you know what? i could bitch about a couple of things (JAN QUIT SLAMMING THAT B-ROOM DOOR!)...but that would be so unlike me...the food was great (thanks u guys!), i slept well every nite...well except for the 2 nites before the race, but that was okay, it was nerves, or the wine, or something and...all the food and wine made up for everything...and all that put me in a great frame of mind, so much so that i was going into the race, on sunday morning, with absolutely no fear. what me worry?

SO!!!!

the swim, the 3800 meter swim was my biggest fear. swimming with 2500 of your closest friends is tuff enuff, but when they're all swimming towards the same place is even tuffer. i was worried about the bumps, the violence, the crush of humanity, so much so that i waited on the beach for most of the racers to take off before my face hit the water. but that seems so stupid now. as soon as i took a few strokes, i'd caught up, and then it was all about finding my spots to pass people, looking for open water, and just putting my head down and swimming.

the first 16oo or so meters to the 1st turn was very congested, but by the time i turned for home and started stroking, that final 1800 was amazing. i actually found open water and was suprised as to how calm i was. my heart rate must have been it's usual 65 to 70 bpm....also by heading out to open water i may have added a few extra meters to my swim, but i think it was worth it.....my time of about 1:21 wasn't amazing, but i was okay with it...and my 10 minute transition time was okay too. i'd heard that rushing through the swim to bike transition wasn't the best thing to do, it was better to make sure you had everything on properly, that the feet were dry and the socks were on, and that the sunscreen was liberaly applied...so i did all that, and once i was out on the bike, i felt pretty cool.

the bike was weird. i had a plan (honest), to keep my heart rate between 120 and 130 bpm, and to just to ride within myself, keep everything aerobic, and stay out of the anarobic zone. and i did that for the first part out to the bottom of richter's pass. i let people pass without giving the chase. even when ted sped by i stuck to the plan, steady the course mate!...just get it done.

well, except for the climb up to the creek road. and a few of the hills after that...i tried to hold back, but, well dammit, i just can't ride that slow going up hill.

i think that's where my downfall began (you think?) the whole point of staying aerobic was to prepare myself for richter's, those rollers, and the final climb up to yellow lake....but. well, as soon as i got to the bottom of richter's, well, even though i was in a granny gear, i just got tired of following people, and once you start passing, you have to pass, right?...and, i never had to stand up on the peddles to do so, which was strange, and weird too. i just kept spinning...i caught ted just about at the 1st summit, and then (oh my god!), jordan as well...that's when i should have realized that what i was doing was stupid...but, i'm a guy, and we're born with that stupid link in our DNA somewhere....so, even though i felt a bit sick, and i could feel my legs starting complain, i just kept it up.

the other deal with going up and down hills, is, well i found my nutrition plan to fall apart. actually it began right at the beginning of the day.

on saturday night, i'd spent the night filling up small containers with my endurolyte/electrolyte pills, and then screwed everything up. for some reason, even though i really needed the things on the bike, i'd put one container into my bike to run bag, and left one in my run special needs bag, and none with my bike, or on my bike. ...stupid, stupid, stupid....

i realized my mistake early on, and started scrambling, trying to decide on how i was going to make up for this nutritional mini-disaster.

the best thing i could come up with, was to eat and drink a little or a lot of everything else i had with me, and to drink like a fish at every aid station. so i stuffed myself with various flavors of gatorade, the 2 bottles i had on board, and whatever the aid stations had, plowed through my cut up power bar, and finished off a bottle of my perpetuem, thinking something in there should have something that would replace the electrolite stuff. but nothing seemed to be working. i was feeling a little woozy by the time i got to the out and back section of the race course, and to my bike special needs bag. what a waste that thing was. all i'd put into that special needs bag was a peanut butter and honey sandwich, and a bunch of fig newton bars...yeech!..i couldn't look at them even though, nor even eat any of it.....it just all seemed so dry, and nothing i needed. or maybe....?

the next mistake was getting off of the bike at the bottom of the climb up to yellow lake. i just felt like i needed a stretch, but as soon as i jumped (yep jumped) off of the cannondale, both my quads cramped rock hard. i could hardly stand. i acted like nothing was really wrong, and when jordie rolled by,and i think sheered me on, or challenged me, and i figured, you know what? i'd been up this hill before, i know, i know it's more about perception then reality, so why not...so up onto the bike, the legs seemed to release themselves, and up i went...and wow!..here i am, at the top of yellow lake, it's all down hill from here right?.....big deal, a few k after that, at a point that goes past a golf course, i did my norman stadler impersonation, and started blowing chunks. barfing all over my bike and my aerobottle. pretty much all the way until i reached the final aid station before the final decent, and by then i was a vomit comet.

and that by itself would have been okay...drink some water, cold cold water, and i should be okay, right?, well maybe not. on the way down, my heart rate monitor hit 300 bpm....300!?....i didn't know it could go that hi!....that's pretty much when i decided that this wasn't a day that i needed to, or could run 26.2 miles.

there were points on the way back into town, and through town when i thought, well maybe, but then i'd feel faint, see my heart bounding up yet again every time i tried to pick up the pace, and reality set in.

then, when i got to the transition area, when the volunteers couldn't find my bike to run bag, i guess someone else had grabbed it, i took that to be a sign from some higher power. i was done, and you know what, i felt fine with that, so maybe that was another sign. i knew there'd be another day, and while i sat down and drank some Gatorade and water, and saw ted head out on the run, and my cousin jillian head into the change tent, while the vounteers kept checking on me, and asking me over and over and over again if i was sure i wanted to drop out, i was fine.

i know, i've seen people who've dropped out of races really look disappointed, i've heard the stories, the tales of woe, but this seemed different. i sat on a curb, watched other racers head out on the run, and i felt okay. i walked back to our house on the hill, and reflected, and felt okay. had a shower, drank and drank and drank (water and coke you fools) and felt okay.

then going back 2 watch the finishers, watching friends finish, with other friends, was amazing. it was fun. wished i could have been out there still, but okay with not.

am i disappointed that i didn't become an ironman, yep. am i okay with how i ended the race, well, yes and no. i could have dropped out before coming back into town. there's were plenty of opportunities, there were ambulances all over the place picking up other people, i could have joined one of them, but i never even gave that a second thought. i was gonna finish that bike ride, even if it killed me. maybe if i'm really disappointed with anything, it's that i couldn't up my pace on the bike to the finish. i sort of gave up a bit too soon. a 7:08 bike is okay, but something closer to 6 hours would have been better. ...but then, well, i did give up a bit.....

but again, there's always next year, there's always another race, and yep, there's that NYC Marathon in November. also, i'm looking at the whole, the whole adventure, the training with friends, the fun i had swimming, open water swims, the rides, the places i've seen on those rides, the runs through the river valley, and all those i've crossed paths with on the way to this point. indeed it was all about the journey, not the destination. this isn't about a life, it's not a bucket list sort of thing, it's just about fun. i swim, i bike, and i run, because i enjoy it. that's it. for me, that's all it's all ever been about. anyone that knows me, knows that about me. if ain't fun, i won't be bothered. and that's what this ironman thing felt like, fun. it was a lot like my time racing death race up in grande cache every august long weekend. as soon as i drove into penticton, it was a lot like driving inton GC, it felt like it was some place i was meant to be, it felt like home. i felt that way during the swim as well. it just felt right. and for most of the bike i felt that way too. and during our training rides, swims and runs in penticton, it just felt, well, this is what life's all about. it all felt right.

so now what? well, the NYC Marathon of course, and then, well, i guess it's back to the drawing board, it's back to mordor, it's back to begin yet another journey.

but at least now, i know now,where i'll be going.

i'm sleeping in for the next 5 dayz...then, i guess it's show time?

2009-08-24T20:07:00.000-07:00

so this is it, sorta
tomorrow the big dance begins...and i don't have a date?......
nope! boo hoo
am i scared...nah, worried, nah.....concerned...you bet.....
anyone that knows me, knows that i spend a lot of time overthinking things...
i plan conversations months in advance, and then analyze everything for years afterwards (you betcha...so what did kim really mean?).....
so this ironman thing, i've dreamed every scenario over and over...visualize the race?, i've visualized races....and you know what, i always finish....sometimes in those dreams, i finish late, i don't finish looking good, but i finish....the two things that always look good..the bike and the run, nope not the swim...okay i must have finished the swim in these dreams, cause i finish....but the bike...always looks good..i get bored to death riding to richters always feels slow but fine, yellow lake get's done...and then i walk and run....so am i worried....'what me worry?'....yep, but not too much, i'll worry sunday morning...but the swim, what do to about the swim?
i know i can swim 4000 meters, i know i can swim the distance, i know i love open water and i love my wetsuit (it's a speedsuit dammit.....what's not to love?)...but swimming in close quarters...getting hit, smacked, pulled, pushed under, whatever...i took a long time to get comfortable at the great white north swim this year...but i did eventually catch my breath, and i did calm down, and i did just do what i had to do, and enjoyed it...but this will be with about 1500 more swimmers...and i know, i know i'm supposed to be a strong swimmer (whatever that means)..but do i want to push that, or do i hold back and pick my spots..there's always gaps, there's always a huge group to draft behind...but i could get away with that at GWN, i'm just not sure about IMC...can i break out to open water...i think i can handle doing 3800+ meters if i have to, and my goal is to make to cut off time...(i'm hoping for 1:30...)...so we will see, what will be will be....and yep mary poppin's i'll need some sugar on that!..
again the ride will be the ride....i know that last 30K is gonna be harsh...yep it's downhill, but i've gotta keep pumpin' the salt in so i don't cramp, and gotta be ready for that run/walk...so my nutrition is gonna have to be dead on (and there'd better be porta potties!!!!)
i'm planning on turning my bike into a smorg...so i'll have variety, so if something doesn't sit right, or doesn't seem to be working, i'll have a choice...and tums, gum, whatever...gels, Gatorade, powerbars, whatever.....and they'd all better be outa my system once i'm off of the bike, hopefully around 1600 (that's 4PM to all you normal folks)....
what about the run though...i've had so many thoughts about this point, i think much like my diet on the bike, it'll depend on how i feel in the moment as to what i do...walk, run , walk the aid stations, walk the hills, run 10 and 1s, whatever...gels, broth, cola, whatever...as long as i get in before midnight...thant's all that matters and nothin' else....i kinda like the idea of starting off with a 2 minute walk though...
but you know what'll be nice...no longer thinking about nothin' but this race!!!....i wanna get back to just training, cause i love training....this thinking about IMC day in and day out, every night before i go to bed, every day after i wake up, and even in my dreams (and yep, sometimes i am naked with dark socks)....i just want to get back to havin' fun!
on the other hand, like just about everything i've done with the gang, this has been fun. to be honest, if t wasn't for the gang, i would have never run a marathon, raced a triathlon, got hooked on death race, whatever, and i'm seriously thinking IMC may become one of those fun with friends things.....you know i love this stuff. i love getting into Grande Cache every august long weekend, i love bopping into the coronation parking lot every may. the 1st sunday in july, it just feels right hitting hubbles lake....it's just living, it's just life, it just seems normal..and it's doing stuff with friends, people that all do the same things, like doing the same things, and people that don't take most this stuff so seriously that they forget to have fun.....and boy are they in for a treat when i get to penticton this year....6 dayz with this basket case, should be fun...for me.but,so i'm thinkin' once i drive into penticton tomorrow...that feeling that this is the right thing to do will kick in.....well hopefully sometime before sunday...

w

8 dayz left....this is it!!!!...maybe i'll give up and buy a skate board instead?

2009-08-21T13:32:00.000-07:00

this is a weird feeling.
i'm 8 dayz away from standing by the big peach, in lake okanagan waiting for the starting gun and 4 ironman canada to get underway. And u know what? i can feel my head hitting that water right now, and i know exactly what it's going to feel like. ....weird. and i'm okay with it....nervous, but okay....well, you know, nervous, nauseous, but okay...it'll be fine. i'll be fine.
of course i'm basing all these feelings on the great white north triathlon, and every triathlon i've done. i know, i know how nervous i am at the start of every race, and i know, i know how quickly that disappears as soon as my face hits the water and how quickly i can get into the moment, the minute....
i have to do that.this will be whole crew of people just having a fun day. 6+ hours of this at the great white north 1/2 ironman was so cool, so i'm thinking 15+ hours of the same thing should be, um, painful, but fun!...i'm looking forward to the ride up to yellow lake, i'm looking forward to riding back to okanagan lake, and running along skaha lake to okanagan falls.....or maybe walking to okanagan falls, that'll be fun too. it'll be a long long day, but i've had those before...and there'll be food and drink with me, the scenery will be amazing, there's aid stations everywhere, and i've got 17 hours, so i guess the plan should be to enjoy every moment of it.
but you know this a friends thing. i love doing this stuff with friends. it's possibly the only way i wanna do any of these races. i'm cheering as much as i am racing. it's the fun part.
yep, i can be a basket case, i always am anyhow, but the dayz, the hours, the minutes before a race, even more so. i over think everything, i start thinking about all the training dayz i missed, i remember how badly i've screwed up my diet, and yep, i never seem to remember how good the training i did went, and how much i loved every stroke, every moment on the bike, and the runs.
i have to keep telling myself, that nervousness, will go away as soon as i take my 1st kick, my first stroke.
the race will be the race, it'll be what it is, and as always, the swim doesn't bother me, the ride neither. i know i'll be finished both well before the cut off time, which will give me 7 or more hours to finish the marathon portion of the whole thing. i just don't know how i'm going to deal with the run....that's the big, huge question.
this year, i just have not been able to run, as well as i'd like, i'm injured a bit, but i've been keeping that to myself. so, 26.2 miles, 42K...well, i know i've got a plan to start with. walk the aid stations, and to go relaxed, laid back, take it easy, but definitley run. if everything goes well, if i do the nutrition on the bike right, if i hydrate, hydrate, and take my gels, use my salt tabs, keep the tums handy, i should be fine. but 26+ miles?...i know i can probably walk 26 miles in about 4:30....so as long as i don't completely cramp up, it'll be good.
now, packing...yikes, how much crap do i need? to swim, you need a swim suit, a wet suit, goggles, that should be it, to ride, a bike, a helmet, that's it, and for the run, a pair of running shoes, that's it.....so how come i have 3 bags full of stuff!...and i still have to buy a bunch of things in penticton, because i don't want to pack anything else into my car!....wow!...
oh well, it's all ready to go, i'm ready to go, and again, this will be all that it is. i leave with the family for jasper tomorrow morning, spend 3 dayz in jasper, ship the wife and kids by train back home on monday, and on tuesday morning i leave for the okanagan. ...oh well, at least i can spend a bunch of time on the beach....with friends....volleyball anyone?

3 weeks..and how much food can i stuff into me before i throw up?

2009-08-08T19:11:00.000-07:00

okay, so as bug bunny would say, this is it!.....20 some days to ironman, the long dayz of training are pretty much over, we're into big time tapering mode, and nothing i can do now will get me through ironman......but who knows, maybe there's a few things....

the only thing i do know, that almost everything is coming down to just how much can i possibly eat?.....when i'm recovering, and during the race...right now, after a pretty interesting day of riding and running....i'm just eating. eating everything and anything thing that remotely looks like food. some of it good, some of it not so good. some of it i'm pretty sure i'll regret in the morning. but i'm hungry, i know i lost a few pounds on this morning's ride, and i need to put that stuffing back in. it's all about calories baby, and energy, and stuff i'll need to burn during tomorrow's run.

and it's all about what i eat during the ride. 2day was okay. i didn't seem to lose much weight at all, i drank a lot, ate a bit, and felt okay. i think i've found stuff i like....banana flavored nuun, caffe latte perpetuem, water and gatorade...stuff i like, stuff i actually seem to crave, and nothing that's been too hard on my gut.

the biggest surprise has been the perpetuem. i was warned about it, and a few people advised me against using it, but i like the taste, it's easy to make, and i think it's giving me some of the calories i need. and i like the taste. a lot like chocolate milk actually, or maybe more like quick mixed in milk...now i'm not really sure about running after drinking a ton of it, but it seems to be fine, so far.

the thing is, according to everything i've read, it seems like i need to take in somewhere between 2800 to 3000 calories on the bike. along with the stuff i've listed, i've tried adding fig newtons, which were good, gels, sharkies, and other easy stuff to carry and use. i can't handle dry stuff, potatoes, bagels, whatever...think i wanna try peanut and honey sandwiches, maybe this week, but that's what i've got to work with. i get the feeling that on race day my bike is going to look like an all you can eat buffet, but i think as long as i have choices, a variety, i'll be fine.i hope.

tomorrow's going to be an important day. i had a great sunday morning run last week, and i definitely need another one this week. about 21+k would be nice, somewhere around 2 hours would be great..but i seriously wanna feel good after. that's my key.

i don't know what i've gotten myself into here...why a triathlon?....and i'm seriously wondering what my answer will be during the bike, or more likely on the run? when i ask myself, why am i doing this?...my pat answer is, because it's fun...it's not a fitness thing, it's not about me trying the prove anything, it's not a stamp on my life just turning over the digits to 50, it's not me trying the prove myself to myself, or to anyone, it wasn't a challenge? i just find this all fun?....i've thought about that during my last 2 1/2 ironman races in stony plain...it just feels so cool to hit the water and swim, draft behind a bunch of other people doing the same thing, i like the sites, the sounds, and once on the bike, i just like riding, i love hitting the hills, i love speeding down the other side of those hills, the transitions are fun, watching other people, other friends racing and enjoying themselves, it's just, um, fun. and even though i've been sucking on the run lately, i don't even mind that. just as long as i keep moving, drinking, eating and taking it all in...it's fun....and of course there's the crossing that finish line. what a rush!.....but why?...maybe i can figure that all out before august 30th....hopefully. i'm thinking that would be the wrong time to find that answer.......or maybe the ace itself, is the answer?

2009-07-29T21:23:00.000-07:00

so this is what tri training is all about?

this stuff is getting good. which is good, because it has to be. there's less then 4 weeks left until the ironman tri, so i'd better be ready. good and ready, because i have no choice....if i ain't ready when my head hits that water in penticton, i guess i'd probably drown....

i read somewhere that you have to trust in your training, and i'm starting to. the swimming is going cool. i love swim training...actually i love all the training parts, but the swim seems to be my strongest part of this whole package. my head just hits the water, and i am gone. i for some reason had thought that the cut off for the ironman swim was 1:40....apparently that's wrong, and by my 40 minute swim at the great white north 1/2 ironman tri, i think doing 3.8K should be good. i'm a little freaked about swimming with ogopogo and 2000 of my closest friends, but i guess i'll just have to suck it up. i seem to be pretty good at finding open water, so i should be okay? i just dipped into the coronation/peter Hemingway pool for solid 3000 meters and it felt amazing. i just stuck my head down, and just kept swimming, it seems weird, i can remember when just a hundred meters seemed tuff, now i just think, what the heck, what another 10 lengths?...what's another 10 minutes....i don't feel that particularly all that strong, just able, confident, and i just feel okay in the water.

biking is good. i don't particularly feel strong or fast, but know i can keep a good pace, hills/mountains do not scare me, especially now that i've been to, have seen, and have ridin' in penticton, been up the mountains, and up to the lake....i know as long as i keep my heart rate down, i'll be fine for 180 k.....it'll be tough, but again not an issue. i can ride, i can relax, and i also know the scenery will be fantastic...so what could be better...maybe i'll stop and check out the fruit and wine while i'm out there.

now as for the run, hmmmmmm. i'm never sure about the run. this year, this time, my run seems to be dragging. but with a good swim and a good ride, i should have plenty of time to finish the run..and if i have to walk the feed stations, or if i have to resort to 10 and 1s, whatever..i know i can manage.....but note to self, i need new shoes..about half a size larger then what i have now...i must have grown a bit because there's way too much toe rubbing goin' on. i know it's getting late in the game, but i'm still figuring some of this out.

and i think i may have solved the nutrition issue...lotsa Gatorade, lotsa gels and sharkies, some other stuff like dad's cookies...and perpetuem...i was warned that this stuff might turn my stomach...but like the taste (caffe latte), it's wasy to use...and i just don't think i could handle dry potatoes or bagels at all...my mouth get's rather dry rather quickly...so i need wet stuff...also i like lisa bentley's piece in a Canadian triathlete mag...about carrying all your nutrition on board the bike....i like that idea, and once i figure out my aerobottle i'll be set....i just doesn't fit my aerobars....but i'll figure out something.
what has really helped has been checking out the bloggers...2 in particular.. shawn burke's, and dc rainmaker's..both had great write ups on their races last year at IMC, and they both seemed to have struggled on the run, so hopefully i can learn from their efforts...or i may just add another chapter...but what i've really learned from both, it seems to be it's all about the nutrition.

i know this is gonna be tough, i know this weekend is gonna be the hardest weekend of the big bad old training schedule, and i know my training over the past month has been here there and everywhere...and i know i have to realistic....i'm not gonna set the world on fire, i just need to have fun (as fun as 146 miles can be)...enjoy everything at the race, before the race and after.
the thing is, this has been a weird year so far. a lot of tuff stuff going on all around. and i'm thinking, i'm 50, i've got pink hair, i'm getting ready for an ironman tri, and i better do this, because who knows? some day i may not be able to.....and why not do this tri for those that i know that can't, and be a positive thing, think positive things, and be a positive person...
oh, and even though the nyc marathon is on nov 1st, i'm thinking more and more about the run for cure this fall, and the ride to conquer cancer in june....the goal isn't the event, it's to tri and help make a difference.

w

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

2009-07-06T10:08:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-07-03T21:19:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-25T20:09:00.000-07:00

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!!!!!

2009-06-18T12:26:00.000-07:00

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.....

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

2009-06-06T18:57:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-05-25T10:14:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-10T19:06:00.000-07:00

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

126 dayz 2 go

2009-04-25T19:45:00.000-07:00

that's it. 4 months left to go? that's it? my god, is that enuff time? oh well, i can't travel back in time, all i can do is sit back, and let my training do it's thingie.
this past week was another great one. it was supposed to be a recovery week - why do all my training weeks seem like recovery weeks - but i felt good before and after every training day. there's a couple thins i would have liked to have done, maybe another after bike ride/spin t-run, and another swim, but all in all, an okay week.
this weekend seems to be a big hurdle to over come. i needed a good solid 3 hour ride. well, a few things worked against that, the biggest time suck was this spring allergy thing. where the hell does this stuff come from. after a strong swim last nite, and dinner with my tri friends..i suffered through a tough nite with really no sleep as i wheezed my way through. i just could not breath, and even rite now that seems to be a challenge. so that lead to the start of the day, 2 wickedly tired to get out for an early slow run, and then i looked outside. snow! give me a friggin' break. it's april, almost may, and there was snow on the ground!..so there goes a good morning 3 hour ride. ...instead i managed a 90 minute bike trainer spin, and that was it for 2day. i know, i know, some folks can manage 3 + hours on a trainer. well not this geek...i need fresh air in my face to get that kind of time in on the bike...spinervals, okay i can manage some of that stuff, rollers for a bit, but 2 to 3 hours on a bike is insane....and again, it's almost may!
i'm gonna stuff myself full of some antihistamines tomorrow morning to try and pull a 80+ minute run in tomorrow..it'll be a miracle if i pull that off, but i'll see how it goes.
that'll cap off a great week, that got off after a week start...but after sleeping through last weekend, i managed a couple of great runs, a couple of good spins in the pool, and a good ride out of st albert, so that's all good...and it is all good.
tuesday's outdoor spin is a case in point. it wasn't the nicest day. it was windy, it looked like rain, it wasn't all that warm, but as soon as i got on my cannondale and rolled down the driveway, everything felt good, and when i headed down the villinueve hwy i felt great, and it all felt so easy, and the bike felt so lite, and the fit so good. it was just a 20 mile ride, but wow.
and last nite's swim ruled too. it's no secret that i luv swimming, but last nite just felt so good, with a few hickups....as usual, the 1st 800 meters felt hard, but the more i did, the stringer and faster i felt. i seemed to be swimming a bit odd, i seemed to struggle to stay in a straight line..maybe a sign of an injury or something, but after 3600 meters, i felt great.
but then again, after that i had to deal with a ruff sleep.....will have to see how the body deals with that over the rest of the wqeek...but 126 days 2 go...and counting

3 weeks into inronman training

2009-04-03T08:04:00.000-07:00

so week number 3.

2 of the kids r off 4 spring break, and it's supposed 2 b a recovery week, so that sorta worked

I think i've taken it a bit 2 easy. i've spent most of the week working hard on catching up on much needed sleep, spun a bit on the bike, took the kids out 4 a couple of decent walks, and have plans 4 a good weekend of training (mtn biking any 1 ?)

it's way 2 early 2 start growing new worry lines, and i've got a feeling that won't happen until it get's much much closer 2 race day. and still, maybe it won't happen, cause i love training, and the more training the better.

the good new is, that it's onward and upward....

this will b the final saturday 4 spinning indoors..i'm actually thinking of getting the bike outside on monday or at least sometime next week (the weather's finally turning...yeah!)

and i really want 2 start figuring out how i'm going 2 fit a bike ride 2 work into my schedule (the roads into edmonton are all a mess, and there is no road in 2 edmonton from st albert that doesn't have some sort of construction on it...so a challenge of sorts...may wait until the days get way longer!

the big deal will b my ultrasound next week, and also the wait 4 my allergy season 2 begin..i worked my way through it last year, so hopefully i can do that again with a minimum of medication....and i've got 2 get in 2 c if contact lenses r an option 4 me...or if i have to fork out for prescription sunglasses this year...gotta do something cause squinting is no longer an option....my old crows feet r deep enuff as it is

but, up until, the training is a blast, every run, swim and spin has been fun...the harder, the longer, the better....bring it on!

well, 23 weeks to go, more or less

2009-03-20T16:59:00.000-07:00

so this was/is week 1??....
yeah, it's not done yet (is it sunday thru saturday, or monday thru sunday? or does it really matter?)...but so far so good. could have done more, but it's a good start, every thing feels okay, some stuff feels sore, a good sore, and yes, i'm hungry and tired, and just a bit bitchie, but still okay, and u can't ask 4 much more then that. can ya?
i wanna get a good long run in on sunday, and at least spin and do a t-run 2-morrow
that would finish off this week numero 1 nicely. the only thing i really didn't do often enuff was swim...dammit...that's gonna b my Achilles heal for this entired training thing. i can spin in front of my tv or ride from my front door, and i can run rite out the front door as well, but dragging my ass 2 the pool 4 a dip is gonna be a struggle. but if i'm gonna ironman, i've gotta train like and 4 an ironman, so i'll just have to suck it up princess and do it. i managed to swim on tuesday which was awesome. it was only 2500 meters, but a good and strong 2500 meters..and i thought that swim would get my out 4 my next 2 swims, but getting out 2 the pool (kinsmen of course) for 2 more swims was a struggle that i lost.
what woulod really help would be if i had a decent pool nearer to home....fountain park is a sucky 25 meter pool that's only open at weird odd times, and it's schedule isn't mine, coronation/peter hemingway is about the same, and it's a filthy facility, so nah, it's diving into the deep 50 meter pool at the kinsmen or nothin'..i just have to get over the drive....
So the goal for this week 1 was to get my ass in gear, and i sort of did. the goal for next week, is to put it all 2 gether, fit everything in and around the schedules of my wife and kids, just train when i can and have a little less couch time, and more training time.....i see 3 swims, 2 runs and 3 spins..3 t-runs, i want the 2 regular runs to be longer....sunday of course will be long, but i want my midweek run to be a bit beyong 10k...the roads and sidewalks are starting to dry up so that shouldn't be a problem anymore, and hopefully soon the shorts will come out, and we'll be biking on the roads as well......

w

24 weeks left til ironman!!!

2009-03-17T12:26:00.000-07:00

so this is it..the countdown is on...the house for our penticton home base has been found, and the training, building that base is going strong....last week was okay...could have got in one more run and one more swim...but...what i did do was good...and the weekend was awesome!!...and

this week has started off well, a great dip in the kinsmen pool!

this morning had yet another road block that i've gotta learn to hurdle. felt like crap getting out of bed, and actually thought about heading back into bed..but...thought, what the heck and as soon as i was out the door i felt good, and as soon as my head hit the water at the kinsmen i felt right at home. i kept trying to slow myself down...but the only time i really did was when i used the kick board...i think i've finally figured that piece of equipment out..and as always loved the pull thing...and 2500 meters later..well, that was so nice.....still have a 3000 and a 3500 meter swim to go this week, and would really like a 30 minute swim somewhere on saturday..but whatever..this is a good start...and a great start to the day...even starbucks can't beat this...well, maybe not

25 weeks 2 go

2009-03-07T18:21:00.000-08:00

well this wasn't so bad? i've actually learned some stuff this week.. like when i feel the least into training, when i feel like crap, and when i manage to convince myself to finally drag my butt out, i have a blast. like last nite for instance. due to some scheduling issues, i'd only managed 2 miss out all my swims this week, so i had to get out, but felt like awful and tired too...i'd spun for 70 minutes in the morning, skated with my kids at hawrelak at about noon-ish(was fun, the ice was the best i'd seen it in a while,and at least sasha was skating strong),,,BUT, the kids wanted mcdonald's 4 lunch, so dad had 2 as well...and, man, i should know better...and yeah, it was bad, and it all went through me that quickly too (yech and ohh i know)..and counter it all when we got home i started stuffing myself with every healthy thing i could find in the house ..and again, that never works...but my head hit the water at coronation at just after six, and as soon as i finished the 1st 50 meters i felt awesome...only ended up doing 2000 meters, a good 2000 meters....but i've gotta do that more often. much like last friday i felt strong, fast, and left the water feeling like i could have done more....but, well, battlestar galactica was on so i had to get home right huh,huh?

this morning's spin was much the same...felt like crap waking up, took a few false steps to get out the house ..like making sure i had my front tire with me, and my wallet, and my Gatorade...but once i got together with the gang, and started spinning...wow, what a blast ...who knew sweating could be so fun......i had wanted to do a t-run afterwards..but not in that snow!....

so i managed to get all my rides and runs in this week, still have one more week before the serious stuff begins...the goals this week are to run a bit further and stronger....make the t-runs closer to 30 minutes and my midweek run at least a solid 10ks, spins all about 90 minutes, and swimming 3 times would be nice, and again with going longer as well....I actually want to do the first week a week before the first week of the 24 weeks.....and yeah, the diet has to improve.....no more McDs...and yeah kerri..more chocolate mo-mo juice, and smoothies......oh ward and up ward huh!

2009-02-28T16:44:00.000-08:00

this was yet another great week-and pls excuse the picture, i just wanna get my bike outside, this girl just wants to have some fun,fun,fun.yes that badly -i still still feel it could have been eh better wekk. i'm still having trouble getting my priorities in place (like just getting my ass out the door in the morning..why is that still such an issue? and doing more then just spinning with the edmonton tri club on saturday , i need 2 add a run and a swim to that day)otherwise the week went well. 3 good spins, 2 on my own, and 1 with the etc, 2 awesome swims...and a couple good runs...so that's all i want at this point.....well maybe ...mayber not

i have to keep reminding myself that this is working, and how much i like my days like this past thursday, which was about as close to perfect as i want,need, and i have to keep reminding myself to have more of 'em.

the big key is getting out of the house early. so thursday after a quality breakfast and that last cartoon before heading off to school, getting the kids out the door, and as soon as the front door shut, i was out the back door to the car to head out to the kinsmen field house....and, yeah, it was cold, the road reports were bad, but i had to stick to the plan and bam, just get out the door and on the road.....the drive was interesting. it didn't seem to bad, but one car in the ditch just south of the groat road bridge in the northward lane, two cars getting hauled out of the southbound lane on the groat road south of the bridge, and then yet another moron in the ditch just half way down the hill on the walterdale hill...woops, to bad your poor sap....and yeah the run was a little cool...but it was fine. i was dressed for it, but one question, how come everytime i run out in the cold, the first thing my body wants to do is piss?

anyway, the other question is why do my thumbs always freeze...the rst of me warms up fast, but my thumbs always freeze...and when the hell is winter going to be over?

anyway, iit was a gorgeous day, and the 5 mile run was amazing..sun shining, dog walkers out walking their dig, runners our running (okay, it was only me and my shadow, but a guy can dream..there could have possibly been others out).....and then an amazing swim....the 1st 300 meters were tough, but once i started doing drills, i felt like i could have gone forever..and friday night's swim was just as cool...i felt strong, maybe not as fast as the fast guys, but still it just seemed easier the farther i went....so that's a good sign, hopefully running get's there too......so, onwards and upward

2009-02-21T19:39:00.000-08:00

okay, so i really hate this picture! i can't stand it actually. but hey it's me, and it's not like i'm gonna use my rippling abs, and my bulging biceps to pick up babes at this point(like, i wish)...it is pretty much what i should look like on august 30th this year(just hopefully a little more studly).. if the past 8 weeks are any indication, this shall be a good year though..i can hardly wait for a bunch of things to start..like biking and swimming outside for instance..i love the pool, i love spinning, but i am anxious to hit the pavement and to dive intothe weeds... i'm also very anxious to start racing(because i am stupid and need a few new t-shirts). i think i've pretty much signed up for all the races i'm going to do this year. (well okay,maybe,just maybe)..but also as usual i'm signing up for everything and everyrace i can see almost....the st albert 10 miler for instance, because it's always so much fun and so easy, at least to get to..heck i live on the route, so i've got no excuse not to do it, the policemen's half marathon which should be fun, i like the half marathon distance so it'll be fun, then there's the coronation tri and the great white north tri...both are a blast...always!!!...i'm really looking forward to the coronation for 2 reasons...the bike..having that chance to rip up and down groat road is so cool..and oddly enuff i like the ride up groat road almost more then going downhill..i just have seemed able to pass more folks going up then going down (and also it's close to my favorite store, elements, so i can shop after the race)...and, yep kerri, i low balled my swim time once again) i just never think i can beat 25 minutes for 1000 meters...but, i've never actually trained in the pool over the winter before as much as i have this year..and swimming has actually gotten really cool..i keep feeling stronger and stronger as my time in the water grows longer...this past friday in fact was the best, i had gone 2000 meters, and just kept adding more laps, and felt like i could easily have gone on for another 10 laps,or um, 20 lengths if you'd like..in fact i may go early and try that this friday, it's so much fun....yep, fun!..and something i learned this last week, it's a good thing to put yourself into situations that make you feel uncomfortabke, and i did that friday nite, dipped into the pool before my peps showed up, and just kept swimming, passing people in my lane, and trying to keep up to the kid being coached in the next lane..now that was cool...and i still made it home in time to watch battlestar g and the sarah connor terminator thing was great(okay, battlestar's season is over in 4 episodes, and i think the terminator is almost done too..so that'll cut down on the speeding tickets back into st albert, i hope)....re's spinning on saturday morning has been so much fun too..the harder it gets, the more groovy it gets.....the only one thing that bothers me right now though. i seriously need to kick the run into gear,or at least into a gear, so hopefully the st albert 10 miler will do that...i know that i can't amd shouldn't run as much or as often as i would if i was just training for a marathon or something, but it is really hard to get out of that mindset...i love to run, and i run to um love?????.....

also i need to get my priorities back in place..or um, in place...i just have to train...i can't skip or miss workouts, and really, i have no life, so i have no reason not to...and i have all day, almost every day to train dammit..up at 6:30 every day to kick the kids outa the house and off to school, then train, train, train dammit....not, kick the kids off to school, surf the web, go back to sleep, and then go to work.....(yes, i need a lot of kicks to the ass..often...any volunteers!)

now,um, am thinking about registering for yet one more triathlon...there seems to be a new tri out in spruce grove in june...it's a short one, and it is close to the great white north...but it is another chance to get race fit, and another,well, another t-shirt(i need something to wewar to my kid's grad)...and it's another race i can do in the morning before i go to work...so, now there's another insentive...but is it too much??? i don't know, i'll have to think about it..because that would also take away yet another chance for another long run day....

the other issue is going to have to do with training when the kiddies are out of school....i know i can always swim friday nites,bike on saturdays and run on sundays...and i can always add bike on fridays, run and swim on saturdays, but how do i split up the rest of the week. (i've got to train whenever i can, and when i can't get creative....)....oh well, that issue should only come up during spring break and once they get out of school in july, then it'll be another issue, and then i'll worry about that then(what me worry)...until then, i'm just gonna have me some fun!...and just drive everyone around me nuts...completely nuts......or am i already there

w

okay, so it's gotta be all about ironman,but......

2009-02-13T18:51:00.000-08:00

okay, so this is what i'm aiming for. i wanna be that guy just getting into the big pool,and watching the rest of the fish swim before i make my move?...hopefully that's when i head out to sea and not back to the beach...and hopefully i don't decide to sleep in on sunday august 30th...i've got a reputation of doing that don't i kerry?
the best move i've made is buying a copy of the ironman book start to finish by paul huddle and roch frey...the 24 week ironman program they've created is perfect,and do-able...nothing to to really extreme. a FEW long rides, and bunch of swims, a few good runs,and all that i should be able to do....only thing seemingly hard to fit in has been the weights...but that i think will be a blimp in the whole process. i have to get the key stuff in, and not screw with the life of a father,husband,and an employee any more then i have to. as long as i can get the key swims,runs and bike rides in,and some of the optional extras i think i'll be okay...also as long as i can keep my head in check too....just hope a strike or a lock out is in the cards at cnr for this year.
today was a bit of a waste though, and so were a few of the days leading up to today. i thought i just didn't have my priorities in check.but since monday i've put in 2 good runs, spun the bike on tuesday and wednesday, swam monday really well, actually the best yet, and that's gonna be my key for the rest of this story. the biggest key though will be my fridays,saturdays and sundays. i know the rest of the week is always going to be an issue. especially once spring break and summer vacation kicks in. it's gonna have to be train when i can, whenever i can....but i've just gotta keep training....and training and training. and as long as i swim fridays,bike saturdays and run on sundays,i'll live,have fun,and be ready to race..
i've also have to sleep and eat. and eat well. i know i've gotta stuff in the calories, but i've got to start to lean towards good calories, and less of the crap...i'm not sure if almond butter is crap,but that has been added to the diet now. and i've gotta sleep.i am thinking more sleeping pills,but don't really want to, sleep and rest is gonna be a key. like 2nite, i was supposed to swim, but with no sleep last night, that had to be dropped. i ran this morning, a good solid 10k, and that felt good and quick, and i felt strong.......
anyway, we're something like 28 weeks away from penticton, it doesn't seem that far away does it?...and the goal, something other then a dns..

w

this feels so cool...what a great week off!!!

2009-02-07T12:58:00.000-08:00

wow...this was definitely the week that i was looking for, and

i feel so much the better,um, for it.....well,okay i feel sickly, and can feel a cold or the flu coming on, but i think i can hold it off...but what a week!!!..okay, a little more then a week....make it a Weeks or something...

but since last Saturday, training has kicked in big time, something awakened inside the monster head game thing of mine, and the groove is in the house!...still have missed a couple things, like a should have could have swam Wednesday morning, and have yet to figure out how to fit yoga and weights into the schedule, and they may all get lost in the gutter ball part of my life, cause baby, there just ain't enuff time in the day for everything..you know, there's always room for jello, but not much else...okay my diet has to improve a lot....I've gotta remember to eat..and that's eat more then wings and beer and pepperoni sticks! and cookies, and whatever i can find in the house that's edible...and sometimes even uneatable...but i've gotta stuff the throat of this food monster!!!....cause i'm tired and hungry all of the time..gotta have more protein, so this may be a good week to try proten shakes, so i can stop my shakes as well...i've started to do that late at night...kind of makes it hard to drive at time...but you got to give into the vibration sometimes too,,,,,it's a weight control thing (a whole lota shakin' going on baby!)

anyway, think i've narrowed down what's finally kicked me in the ass...it's the spin stuff on saturday mornings!!...i know, i know, it took me a few weeks to get my butt outa bed early on saturday mornings (come on i need my beauty sleep dammit),

but this has been so much fun..it's hard, brutal even, and i sweat like a fat kid looking for that last m&m, but what a blast!!....then, um, swiming with the gang yesterday nite also flipped on yet another switch. i love swimming, and i love when my body finaly gets into the swimming groove...and that's it!!!..the mind, ther body, the muscles (yep, i think i have a couple) wake up and everything says, yeah, i really wanna do this.....and then i don't want to do anything else. take last night for example dude, even driving out to coronation pool (okay, peter hammingway!)...i thought of turning around and heading home, then i thought i'd try and do 1000 meters then call it a day...but even though towards the end i was hurtin' (i fell a couple of times shoveling snow, so the elbowings and knees and shoulders were hurtin' man)...but 2000 meters felt GREAT!!...i've gotta do that again and again.

and then this morning, thought of just staying in bed and sleeping off this frog in my throat, but hoped into the car and got my sorry ass out to wolfwillow, and wow!.once we started the spinning warmup (does that make me a spinster?)..i was ready to sweat baby sweat.....so if i do do do do the same tomorrow for a the lingish run, that'll be a week of 3 spins on the bike, 3 runs, and a couple of swims....cool...ironman here i come!

a fair week, maybe a gud weekend 2 follow???

2009-01-23T12:32:00.001-08:00

SO , this wasn't so bad....i've had better weeks, i've had far worse...but this was good..with only 33 weeks or so left to ironman canada, and few more after that to the nyc marathon, it feels good....i could have got a few more training hours in, but seems like things are progressing along...a couple spins on the bike trainer, a couple of good runs, and a couple trips to the pool...feel okay.

WELL not really.....for some reason my left hamstring is throbbing right now..and though i thought the magic of my physio had heeled all, well, i guess i'm still in recovery...so ouch, but it's a pain i can handle. think i may have something with running out in the cold...i felt it during the run and then during yesterday morning's swim. really struggled with my kick board drills..and actually, then it wasn't my hamstring that hurt, but more like my left hip...oh well, no pain no gain right????.....that's why my hearts so big and tough....

ACTUALLY THE swim yesterday was okay, but left tougher then it should have been. only 1400 meters, some kick board and pull thingie drills, and struggled. after a short 5 mile run, it should have been better then that...will have to give it another go on monday and just put my head down and go 4 it.

LOVED the bike this week. the spin class with the edmonton tri club i think was just what the Md ordered. it was first spin, except for doing stuff on my own with my spinerval dvds, and this was definitely more fun....it was hard, the core stuff afterwards was great too...but the key was, it was fun!!

I KNOW THAT ONE OF MY resolutions for 2009 was to get out and swim with the gang every friday night, but that just doesn't seem to be happening. with the spin at 8:30 saturday morning, i just can't see staying out, swimming my ass off, and then being any kind of shape to spin the next morning. think i'm gonna give swimming at either the kinsmen or peter Hemingway saturday afternoons next week...i really wanna get everything in 3 times a week each....i should be able to handle that. it'll be tough once the distances get more demanding, and co-ordinating schedules with the kids and my responsibilities at home...but the long stuff is always on the weekends, so i can't see that being a problem

TOMORROW should be interesting....am taking the hyper ADD autistic Sasha to see disney on ice at rexall place tomorrow afternoon.....i know she's looking forward to, it's going to be something brand new for her...just hope she stays relaxed and focused enuff just to enjoy it......will just have to see, play it by ear, and hope for the best....i don't think the performance is extremely long, so that'll help

...

skating on thin ice and thinking about those 50 things

2009-01-16T14:30:00.000-08:00

well.....i have been thinking about that new years resolution thing, and have also been thinking about the year past, the year ahead, and have just been thinking, that maybe i should do the valdy thing and stick to keeping this life in the simple life vein.

the big issue this year, is gonna be the kids. yeah, ironman canada in august and the nyc marathon november, yep, big, huge things, and 2 things that will be my focus, but the 3 kids, especially 2 of them, big time focus.

their both big. jim and sasha. and both have very fuzzy futures ahead of them, both will have big changes taking place in their/and our lives, and i think this is gonna be a huge struggle.

jim graduates grade 12 this year...wow huh?....it's been 12 years already, and i know this is something to look forward too. he's actually a great kid, and as long as he keeps his focus, he's fine. But, he's also autistic, he still needs a lot of help, and there are gonna be huge hurdles for us to overcome together. the big question is, what comes next? he's going to be 18, the plan is to return to high school for a 13th year, and yeah, maybe that'll move him up the knowledge ladder a bit, but then what? does he go off to post secondary, and where and doing what? my hope is something at NAIT, but why not GMCC or even something at the U of A?. there are trades he'd be perfect for. but do we wait for him decide, do we decide for him, do we try and lead him, do we wait, and how long?

I know he has strengths that others seem not to notice. he's smart, at least in things he takes and interest in, and he doesn't mind passing on and explaining things he's interested in. i think he'd be perfect as a guide or interpreter somewhere (a museum), but the challenge is getting others agreeing with me.

and then there's sasha??.....wow, she's 16, will be 17 next november, and it seems the older she gets, the more time passes by, the tougher it gets to understand just where her head is, um, headed....and she's got so many issues...ADD, autism, whatever...

she used to be a slim, healthy-ish girl, who loved being outside, being active, and while not exactly quiet, not exactly loud and obtrusive either, she could be calm and focused....but that has changed a complete 180 now. partly because of all the drugs she's on, her metabolism has slowed, and i guess because of that she's packed on more then a few pounds, she's a big, and strong girl. she's very emotional, very stubborn, and very difficult to keep focused, relaxed, and active...which frankly drives me nuts, and is something i have to admit i do not handle well, and really don't know how to?

today was a case in point...took her out skating, which she didn't really want to do, but seemed to enjoy for the 1st 10 minutes we were on the ice, and while her first steps of the year were slow and not really smooth....she really picked up the speed and caught on to the deal quickly, and seemed to enjoy what we were doing, but that quickly changed for some reason, with her complaining of being tired, and sore, and who knows what...with a ton of complaining, wanting to stop, and it took all i had to get her to do one loop around the lake...and even then, she wanted to just quit. even a year ago, yep i would have had to prompt her, but she didn't, never just quit. today, she did. it wasn't a happy experience for her, nor for me, and yep, i don't think i handled it best way i could, but frustration is a big big part of this job.

she's been struggling at school, and being a stronger girl, she's hard to keep on the straight and narrow, when she refuses to. i know the teachers are doing their best, and i know there's things sasha loves, and she loves going to school. she wakes up every school day with that thought, and that intention, she's going to school. what she does there, well, i guess that's the problem.

what happens next, i don't know. i know that i don't like or agree with all the drugs and medication she's on, BUT, who am i to really argue?...my wife seems to agree that the drugs are what she needs to remain calm and focused, but when does it all become too much? i actually think there's a point where now sasha has no idea what she's doing, or where she is even, to the point where she's just reacting irrationally, to anything. she doesn't seem to hear or see, and her concentration, and her understanding of what she's doing seems lost...and trying to control her at that point, i think is just not possible. she actually seems high, and completely out of it...which is scary and frightening, especially when it's your kid. and you think, and wonder, where is this going, and where will it end, well, end up?

so the goal is, well, to try to get her to straighten up. we're going to make some major changes in her diet, cut out some things that may take a major effort, but i think we have to. and we have to get her fit. her size, her weight, i'm sure are factors, problems...this is the first time i've ever heard her say she wanted to quit something just because she was tired, so yeah, she needs to stay active. we actually started that this past summer, with doing something every day. with the change in the weather, we seem to have slacked off, but, yep, even if it's just walking around the mall for and hour...whatever, we've gotta get her moving and dieting...once that's under control, then i believe everything else will fall into place, or will just be easier to deal with...again she's 16 going on 17, grade 10 going on grade 11....the future just doesn't look bright...we have to work to make it brighter...i guess onward and upward!!

and oh yeah, as well, i've gotta run, bike, and swim my ass.....so i'll be dragging sasha and jim along with me, they can chance dad to ironman and nyc!

my bucket list???

2009-01-04T10:18:00.000-08:00

have yet to actually c the movie, but have a little idea what it's all about alfie...
so why not?
the b-days come and gone, there r eh few days until this 1 is done, so why not a list of 50 things 2 get 2 b-4 i turn 51?????.....well b-cause i want to that's why...!!!!
so here it goes...and anyway...it's way too cold 2 run outside and i need to kill some time and hope it warms up soon cause i really really really need to get outside...need that vitamine d stuff...so here it goes.....

what i wanna get done before jan 1st 2010!!!!

1. finish the canadian ironman on august 30th
2. finish the new york marathon
3. finish renovation the bathroom
4.wake up at 6am EVERY DAY
5. stretch every morning....ohhh wow huh?
6.cook dinner for the family at least once a week....
7.try to go 1 full year without a speeding ticket!!!
8.swim every friday night
9.bike or spin every saturday morning
10.run every sunday morning
11.see one local live concert a month
12.attempt yoga at least once a week
13.learn to downhill ski
14.mtn bike once a week
15.when the weather warms up, bike to work once a week
16.xc once a week at least
17.walk more
18.take a course in something at nait and at GMCC
19.clean out the garage and basement
20.new roof and gutters on house
21.new windows on house
22.new floor in kitchen
23.clean up and landscape more of the yard
24.recycle.reuse,donate, junk more often
25.change sasha's diet one week at a time
26. make sure sasha exersizes 1 hour every day
27. swim at fountain park and work out at servas place at least once
28. go to at least one ballet
29.go to the symphony at least once
30.explore more of st albert
31.explore more of edmonton
32.buy a lap top
33.buy a HD tv
34.backup and upgrade this computer
35.paint interior of the house
36.paint exterior of the house
37.get out to see the golden bears and the pandas more regularly
38.quit drinking coffee
39.keep a journal
40.write something (other then this blog)
41.play my guitar more often
42.get a friggin' passport
43. hit the weight room more often (live at the Kinsmen)
44. spend less time on this computer
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.

okay, so it's a work in progress.....but hey, there's still time...just a little less of it...
so here we go

wow.....this is it, this is 50..and the year has begun, and is pretty much already planned out?

2009-01-01T19:09:00.001-08:00

so that was it....that's all....as of about 3AM 2-day i turned the fabo 50!!!!...it's done, and i can hardly believe it myself....i think i actually woke up at about that time 2 celebrate...a bit..then i rolled over and went back 2 sleep!!!

but what a cool day to ring it all in.........i managed to sleep in a bit, did a really cool 5K resolution run that i just loved...yeah, i was f%#king cold, and yeah i could have used maybe 1 more layer...but it took me eh bout 25 minutes, and i was happy at the finish....and it just felt fun and good, and i just wanna feel that way 4 the next 364 odd days..that's it...anything else, i just don't care...don't want to sweat anything, don't wanna stress, just wanna feel gud and have fun!!!!

and what else does an old-er guy need......a nice afternoon smoozing with friends, who managed to pull me through yet another year (thanx guys!!!)...the best thing about my life is family and friends, and i've got the best of both....whenever i'm down, well, they lift me up....whenever i get to stuck up on myself and need to be woken up, they're there....and with a hug, a hand shake, and a few nastry emails, they make me even better, always...

and yeah, now the real work of the year b-gins......i don't know what the hell i was thinkin' when i signed up for the canadian ironman tri, but i've got 'til august to train for the thing, i've got quite the collection of people to train with...some who are doing it, some who are doing other things, so i'll b more then happy to train with them through this......and yep, the race isn't tomorrow...so now sweat...slow and easy...and yeah, just feeling good and having fun training.....BUT

apprently i'm also doing the NYC marathon in November....november 1st as a matter of fact...so this could get serious.....but then again, it's a marathon...i've done other marathons...it's 2 months after ironman....so it'll be like a taper before yet another race...so i think that'll be alright...and again, the race isn't 2-morrow...so like, there's no need to sweat in the present...

and just to make things even better...i've set myself another goal....and that's to watch every lidsay lohan movie ever made over the next 12 months.....now i'm thinking that'll be tough...maybe tougher then both the marathon and the ironman...but i'm fit, getting fitter...and i am sure it's an accomplishment that i'm set to tackle.......wish me luck??

the day b-4 the day b-4 50.......re-thinking, and 2 much thinking

2008-12-30T10:26:00.000-08:00

so this is really running down to a denouement quickly....sort of like an end to a really bad book, with no real climax, no real excitment, and kinda safe....but in a couple of days, 50....and a new year and all that entails...

i did most of my new years resolution lists back in september...didn't do a lot of good, as a matter of fact, nothin' i put on that list of things to change, things to do, and whatever, well, let's just say it was a list of wishes, and if wishes were...well, whatever...but talk about pressure now...50 years have gone by, it's new years day, and what the hell is there to look forward to?

the only thing i really hope for, is that i learn exactly what being 50 is all about?..

...and what is it, i mean, how do i act 50??...do i suddenly become more mature (yeah, i know, i've got a long way to go!)...do start dressing different?...and is this the begiining of a count down to an end..yeah i know, i can retire in 5 years...but then what??..

i know i want to keep doing some of the things i'm doing now (runnin' bikin' swimmin' and writin') but is now the time to get serious, or to just have fun...and planning now, wow, the future is either right now, or has gotten a lot closer, and quicker in arriving....

oh well, i've used this blog things for a lot of things, but maybe its time to use it to plot this march after 50...maybe the next 50 days?..years?.....how to stay fit after 50, or sane?...i don't know, but yeah this stuff is scarey, i can see why a lot of people have been totally freaked out by this 50 thing, because frankly, i am....i'll keep you posted

“A young man's ambition is to get along in the world and make a place for himself-half your life goes that way, till you're 45 or 50. Then, if you're lucky, you make terms with life, you get released.”
Robert Penn Warren quotes

2008 over...look out 2009, i f'n 50!

2008-12-27T11:53:00.000-08:00

mid life crisis come on down!!!.....i'm old! older then dirt, a well aged wine, or whine, something that should have been traded in for a new-er model long ago. My overdue, return before date has long since passed, and this old thing definitely makes me feel like a fish outa water, lost at sea, out of sorts, and well, just lost a lot...lost, lots?

anyway, if 50 is anything like 49, i guess i should be okay, but dammit, this being old, looking old, feeling old sucks. And yeah, i'll say it, i am depressed!...I didn't think i would be, but yeah, up until i definitely used to believe that you were as old as you felt, but i feel, well old. I really noticed it while xmas shopping at west-ed mall this christmas. Just the looks us old people get. Where i felt comfortable, where i didn't.....i no longer feel at home, i feel like the old man, the dad, the token old guy........i know, think of the positive stuff, but it's hard to be positive when, well, life's pretty much done...A mid life crisis? now i know how a horse feels when becoming glue is the only option....there are no positives in this ...none...being in a new age group, qualifying for grey power insurance, nothin'......remember being in high school and always thinking the older girls/women always looked so hot....well they're now in their 60s and 70s...and, well, i'm friggin' 50!..and yeah i am gonna be grumpy about it...it's a wonderful life!!!, yeah rite,more like, take me to the crematorium and get me ready....i've gotta start picking out quotes, my favorite song, some way to define my life, when life's over....it's too late baby to re-define it, it's too late to make changes...this is what i am, this is where i am, there's only being a grumpy old man to look forward to...at least the women had/have shirley valentine as a guiding post, us old guys have a choice of alice cooper still grinding out 'i'm 18'...or george burns with ' i wish i was 18 again!"...and yeah, i do want to go back and start over again at 18 again....but NO!!!!

don't tell me i don't look or act my age....i don't know how the f to do that, and i do look 50...every cell, every line on my face, every joint that's starting to find it's way to arthritis and everytime my back aches and i hunch over every time i get out of a chair.....and there's nothin' new....when i run the resolution run on thursday, i'll be doing it as an old man..i am the old man...i'll be the old guy dressing sensibly, i'll be the guy at the brunch looking for the seniors menu....i'll be the guy driving slowly in the passing lane, cause i've been passed, life has passed me buy, and at 50, catching up will no longer be an option......i'm even older then classic rock radio.....

and there's no hand book, there's no life coach for this crap.......so, this is it....bitch, bitch, bitch...that's what i've got to look forward too.....and i'm old!..dammit, how'd that happen!?

found on the back of a picture

2008-12-13T09:22:00.001-08:00

i was going some old shoe boxes full of old-er photog's and found this one...yeah, it's from the top of the world trade centre in nyc, taken in march 2001...sorta cool, a cool memory......but even cooler, i flipped it over and found a list i'd written.....a list of writers, books, and stuff i guess...so i guess both sides are a point in time captured...none-digitally

- milton acorn

- leonard cohen - let us compare mythologies

-Robert graves - the white goddess

-Northrop Frye

-double Persephone

-Nietzsche

-AL purdy

- the king must die

i Claudius

-Julian

-Jung - symbols of transformation

edible women - Margret Atwood

seven pillars of wisdom - Lawrence

a wreird but interesting list.....

still searching for the clarke

2008-12-12T12:44:00.000-08:00

okay, this is the old guitar and i'm no closer to finding it...nothin' on ebay, nothin' in goggle....

i know is old it in vancouver along with my princeton amp (has anyone seen what that amp is worth now!!!...i let mine go for i thing one hundred bucks!!).....

oh well, still searching....it's gotta be collecting dust in someone's basement or something somewhere!

a okay, but not great week..but i'm trying!!!!

2008-12-06T11:38:00.000-08:00

don't know what gives, maybe it's the season, the snow and cold, the still sore and aching hamstring..the fact that now it's both of them, or what, but i still feel like i'm stuck in 1st gear!
had 3 great training days this week...ran, swam, spun the bike, did weights...but spent 2 days roaming around the house killing time, the clock, and wondering why it's such a chore to get my ass out the door.....but the runs were great!!...i really need to keep that part of my routine intact..as soon as i get my vehicle into the kinsmen parking lot, i know i'm gonna have a good day..and the river valley has been looking awesome..the cold, the little bit of snow and the occational blue sky makes running worth it...and whether it's in the valley, or through some of the neighbourhoods, across the hi level bridge, through the trails, it's all that makes life living..think this week just to change things up i've gotta take the mtn bike through the snow at least once......i haven't been out to yoga this week, and i missed this morning's spin class, so i'll have to add that to yet another busy busy week (christmas yeah!!!)
found a few old buds on facebook this week, names from my music and writing past..and man, do i ever miss that era...i started digging out old articles, old CDs and man that was a good time...listening to babe gurr, katherine wheatley, ron nelson and the courage of lassie, eric's trip, dobb and dumela, memory day, the wyrd sisters, and everyone else...the 90's on the west coast and across canada ruled at the time..and it's sorta cool to remember being a part of it...know i can't go back, but with retirement and old age looming, maybe i can make an effort to get back...maybe

anyway, christmas is coming, christmas break for the kids, training is gonna be harsh..have no idea how i'm gonna squeeze anything in...put it'll be good practice for spring break and training when the kids get out of school in july and august before ironman...am gonna have to become a genius at scheduling!!!

w

finding my old clarke guitar..and still training...

2008-11-21T13:03:00.000-08:00

okay dokey...this has been a pretty good week for training and just about everything else.....swam, ran, rode the bike trainer, bought new aerobars and a seat forward post (don't ask, i don't know why, nor what it'd supposed to do either...but if cam out at elements says i need one, who am i to argue)...am considering maybe plucking down for a better set of wheels (maybe after the xmas rush)..and the cannondale should be just right and ready for penticton....now i just have to get ready....

have been kind of been reminiscing a lot this week...don't know why, but have also been picking up my guitar a bit more, and actually wanting to.....it's just my little simon and patrick acoustic...got avenue guitars to set it up and put new dean markleys on it and it sounds great..i'm actually tempted to dig around for an amp for it even...well maybe baby

not that my playing has improved a lot over the years (i'm a little out of practise)...but i can still manage a few older tunes, and can pick up new tunes pretty easily, but am still more of a strum and sing guy then a pick and grinnin' guy...and am not really sure if i want to go back and start playing the old doobie brother, alice cooper, eagles shit that was all the rage when i was in hi school...oddly enuff i don't feel the same way about the old murray mclauchlan, bruce cockburn, gordon lightfootz stuff though...probably says more about being about 42 days away from being almost dead (or at least 50) then anything else.

anyway, i've started searching the net to see if i can track down my old guitar and amp...way back then i had an old clarke guitar and an old fender princeton amp...sold both when i was living in vancouver back in the early eighties....the acoustic ovation i had at the time was more then enuff for me at the time...but it was a great little package

i bought both at the old award music store that used to be on 95th street here in edmonton back in the 70s. (back then the cool music stores were all on jasper ave...ward, mothers, and kean craft was at 109th just bellow the old hovel)....and the more i think about it, the more cool that guitar seems...as most probably know, bob clarke built the clarke guitars here in in edmonton, he was a local legend, having played in a number of bands, and is mostly known for his days here with wed dakus's various outfits.....and a band that included a guy named barry allen, who i first remember seeing playing on tv with a band called Cheyenne Winter (who along with Privilege and Jason Hoover were sort of known)...at the time i was taking lessons from a guy whose name i can never remember (mack?)...and i still remember picking a song that bob clarke had actually written on a guitar that he made, which i still think was way cool....

anyway, the guitar was great....i changed out (upgraded ?) the pick ups on it, but with the goover heads and the bigsby it was all the guitar i needed...and it had a great feel...i hated strats and les pauls at the time (was i a snob?), and loved the clarke because the neck was wider then a strat, and had a better feel the most most of the olther guitars i tried out at the time...but i still suffer from the same issue i had back then too...i want my acoustic guitar to sound like a solid body, and always wanted the solid body to sound like an acoustic.....

anyway, guess i'll start searching ebay and whatever to see what i can come up with..i know with the princeton being a tube amp it may be in a junk yard somewhere...or in one of the pawn shops on hastings in vancouver....and the clarke has to be out there somewhere...i'll keep adding pix of it to this blog and to my 43 things pages ..i've got a bunch just on slides and negatives now...

anyway, as for the ironman try, it's preseason....i have picked out my training program out of triathlete magazine's "essential week-by-week training guide".....and the book has a great pre-season section, so i should be set..and if this week is anything to go by, it seems all do-able

i need a really good week....

2008-11-11T10:49:00.000-08:00

but so far this

sucks.......it's tuesday, i actually haven't left the house since sunday, and that was just to go to work...did ride the bike trainer twice yesterday...but other then that, my get up and go has got up and left....i know, i know, ironman is 10 months away, and i don't have to run it yesterday...but now that i've got the go ahead from my physio it would be nice to build on what wasn't such a bad week last week....the goal this week, or what's left of it anyway, is to get in at least 3 good runs in between now and sunday, a couple of visits to the weight room, a couple of good swims...if i can get all that out of my system, i'll feel a lot better, otherwise i'll be primed to star in run fat boy run volume 2

gotta get out of the house????

2008-11-06T08:06:00.001-08:00

i hate this....the weather, this computer, waiting for the sun to come up, planning, indecision, positive stuff FIGHTING the negative stuff...i know i've gotta get my ass out the door and run...EVEN IF IT'S JUST 5 K...and then get a long with the rest of my day..but there's just too much and this is all too much...i'm conflicted (i'm that a lot)...i know, i know, i've got an ironman tri to do in, um, like 10 months, so i'd better get training, but to do that i've gotta get out the door, but then, i also wanna listen to this new eliza gilkyson CD (wow!!!!)....she's in town at the arden tomorrow night, and man, i saw her at the edmonton folk fest this past summer, and liked what i heard, but this CD is even better, and imagine i'll be saying the same of the show...so i guess i'm not running right now, but'll be bouncing around the house listening to this thing for a while.....screw ac/dc, this is way better....the whole point is that i've got to get into and onto stuff that i like..and just do them, maybe that's the curse for the common depression...GET OUT OF THE HOUSE...before the day make my decision for me.....just have to list things i like to do, and um, do them....runnin', bikin', swimin', pounding out the weights, live music, lunch and coffee....and um, just music too.....the new little miss higgins cd's great too (how can you tell i've been to megatunes lately?)....but yeah, and have to add writin' to that list...how do i fit all this stuff in, guess that's the real frustration thing...which way to turn...do i run, do i do this thing, just how do i do all this stuff at once...i keep planning, and then when it's time to institute the plan, well, the follow through just isn't there...i hit the sack knowing what i want to do the next morning, but when that morning comes, i'm, um, here in front of this keyboard....it's sort of irritating to keep confirming things i already know....like taking a facebook depression/stress test....and guess what, surprises of all surprises, heck, it tells me i'm really depressed...and now, depressed even more by that confirmation...cool...now what, HECK I'M 50 IN JUST OVER 50 DAYS, I SHOULD BE DEPRESSED!!!!.....man is that old or what?...when you're older then most of the people you know is bad enuff, but when you're older then THEY'RE PARENTS!...now that's depressing...I HAVE CLOTHES OLDER THEN SOME OF THE PEOPLE I KNOW!!...50, 50, 50.....sucks big time...i ain't just getting older, i'm, well, well i just am getting Much older......

yechhh......and oh look, it looks like it's about to snow...what could possibly be, worse???

i guess it could be worse, am just getting into levon helm's last album, and heck, he's old, he's a cancer survivor ..and listening, man you can hear a ton of life in his voice, that's inspiring...so i guess there's life after 50.......but cancer?..old people get cancer...i'm old..i better get tested i guess..oh wait, i'm waiting for results of yet another blood test...do i or don't i have hemochromatosis...just love waiting for those results, then what the heck will a positive test mean??.. i know a ton of blood donations, but what else...with less blood in me will i weigh less, will i run faster?..or at all?......oh well, i guss it's time to get out and test out the weather (will i need gloves?)....and try and get a run run at least.....maybe that'll cheer me up...writing this stuff certainly hasn't helped!

this is getting frustraiting....oh and i do need a new bike!!

2008-11-01T11:07:00.000-07:00

oh....................it's nice out, so nice out..but i've gotta

be strong about this, i've got to heal, i've got to stretch, do my exersizes as dicated by my physio, and i've gotta be paitent...and i've gotta convince my wife that i do really (really, really) need a new tri bike!.....

this has been yet another frustraiting week....no runnning, a few turns on an eliptical trainer at the kinsmen (ahhhh....while watching people run around the indoor track! IS there anything more frustraiting....)...and i've been learning to swim with a pull buoy (which is kinda hard actually, but actually feels good, and think i may stick to doing more of this drill stuff even after i'm healthy)....but the physio at the kinsmen is starting to sound more and more positive, and probably knows that i'm getting anxious, and may just start running anyway...but i am nervous. the hamstring thingie has been a problem for most of the summer, it just took a while to sink in. i actually knew i had a problem last june...i was doing squats, the bar wasn't even across my shoulders, and i decided to push up really fast, and BOUNCED the bar a bit to the right, and yep, that hamstring didn't like that much...and all summer long, it just kept getting worse, no matter how much i ran or biked with it....i rubbed dirt on it, i walked it off a bit, and whatever, nothin' helped...but when i was reduced to walking most of the great white north tri, and then 2 or 3 k's of the victoria half marathon, i guess i had to admit to myself, that, even though a guy should be able to fix anything with a few nails, glue, duct tape and a hammer, i needed help..so admitting to that after much grief counseling and taking those 12 steps, i guess i should be paitent, go through the whole process and treatment, and THEN start the countdown to ironman...it's not like the race is tomorrow, it just feels like it...

...oh and the other frustrating thing...DO I NEED A NEW BIKE THEN.....i have to admit, i'm leaning towards a new seat forward (or forward seat post) and a new set of aerobars...and maybe getting cam to fit the bike to me yet again...the new felts and specialized tri bikes look so spiffy..and going to somehting that's got the actualy word tri in it's name, and something carbonframed would be so cool....but then again, at the few races i did do this year and last, i passed a lot of those on my handy old aluminum cannondale roadie...so maybe, just maybe, i can suffer through it on the 180 k's in penticton...or who knows, maybe i'll win that lottery tonight??.....also there's the chance that if i do shell out for yet another bike i may end up having to sleep with it..so, um, i guess i'll stick with what i've got for one more year...what the heck

i'm a total mess.....and it may get worse!!!

2008-10-24T13:49:00.000-07:00

so this ain't cool....i can't sleep, i'm always tired (zzzzzzzzzzzz), i've got a buggered hamstring (ouch, ouch, ouch), and now i've got an over-abundance of iron in my blood stream!!!.....not too little too much..how the hell did that happen and when??? okay, so the hamstring is starting to,um, heal buddy....2 trips to the physio so far, and i have been behaving...i know i want this thing to be in tip top marathoning shape, and in order to do that i better stick to the big old physio's orders...absolutely no, not even a little!, NO RUNNING, i can SWIM WITHOUT USING MY clean shaven LEGS, and i can bike as long as i DON'T CLIP IN!!!......so that's cool, i should be able to do that for 6 to 8 weeks, hell, i've been going good for almost 10 hellish days now...that's almost 2 weeks (well, it's close enuff mom!), and though i really, really, really (really, really, really) wanna run this weekend, i can behave i think (lock the doors)...i'll just pull out the mtn bike again for a bit on sunday, and may just relax tomorrow (or maybe i should finish sanding and scraping, and staining the trim on the house before it snows ...that'll be fine. i just hope this get's fixed (like i did a few years back...who knew you could do that with a rusted nail)...i've been having hip and anke problems as well, so maybe the rest, stretching and whatever will do me good.
-have attempted to do the sleep clinic thing to see if i have apnea or whatever...i don't think i do, my problem isn't sleeping, it's falling asleep...but i'm also always tired so who knows?...the sleep test thing is a pain. i don't know who designed this thing, but i figure, i have enuff trouble falling alseep as it is, add a couple of plastic tubes running down my nose and sleeping is impossible. it took me 3 tries, 3 nites, and i have yet to hear from the sleep clinic people, so a) that means the tubes must have stayed in my nose for the entire night, and the sensor stayed on for the entire night, and b)i did actually fall asleeep for a total of 4 hours or more so that they could get a gud enuff sample...so the next step is for them to let me know the diagnosis..i guess thatll come some time next week...but wait, they're actually may be a reason why i'm always tired!!!!
hemochromatosis...maybe baby.....so far this year i've had 4 blood tests (actually over the last 4 months)...1st one was just a regular medical check up one, and apparently my test showed a hi level of liver enzymes in my sample (huh?)...so my Md had me take another test just to make sure this wasn't just an odd thing...and i thought that test was normal because i never received a call back to tell me it wasn't (you've gotta figure)...jump ahead a few months, and i'm back at my Md's office, complaining about not having a good night's sleep and always being tired for the last decade (started about the time i 1st met kim and beena...is there a connection?)...so off i was for yet another blood test, which again showed yet again higher then normal liver enzymes, and yet again i'm sent off for yet another blood test just to confirm...with, at my request, a check on my iron levels...as a runner and a sort of an active person i thought that might be a problem, and guess what IT IS!!!!!!...only i thought maybe too low..BUT NO!!!..i've got way too much iron in my system (anyone wanna borrow some?)...so now, wait for it, i'm off for yet another blood test..this time it's a genetic test to determine if i have the demin jeans that cause this...so i should know for sure in a couple of weeks??...oddly enuff 2 signs of this problem are chronic fatgue (check), depression (check..i'm 67 days away from 50, i should be friggin' depressed), abdominal pain (check)..okay that's 3...but i've got them...other symptoms are aching joints (check), loss of sex drive (okay, no check mark there...that's never,ever been a problem...okay the sex drive may be a problem, not the lack there of) and a discoloration of the skin (no check mark there either...as far as i can tell)....so i've got 4 out of 6- so possible???....i guess i'll find out...SOON
seriously though, this will be pretty funny, because anyone that knows me will know that the treatment for HHC will probably kill me....blood letting!!!...i faint pretty much everytime i go for a blood test, i have fainted (big time) during my one attempt at donating blood...so having to give up a ton of blood on a regular basis is gonna be fun...NOT..the treatment is to remove enough blood on a regular basis to bring the iron levels back to normal, and the 2 to 6 times a year, remove some more....AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, i don't think i can do this????
but, not getting this thing fixed could led to problems, type 2 diabetes, cirrhosis, liver cancer, hypothyroidism, heart disease, and arrhythmia....so yech!!!!....and yech again...
but this ain't for sure yet...but ha!!...getting to sleep is no longer going to be a problem, because i'm probably not going to sleep again, ever..or at least until i know for sure what i've got and what i don't....
and on top of all this there's iron man next august........what have i got myself into dammit steve!!!...
oh well, maybe a i can get myself a part time job at an all night diner or i can train 24-7 for next little while....THAT SHOULD HELP HUH!...

w

a waste of time?

2008-10-22T08:33:00.000-07:00

so day

7 of no running...and not much of anything else....70 days to 50, a bunch of days to ironman canada, and i'm still on the injured reserved list..oh well....did weights and physio yesterday, physio was harder...sounds like i may be back up and running in the next few weeks...this should be funny, the physio he'll only have me doing some short easy runs (yeah right....)...and am going to attempt to swim tomorrow (without kicking my legs)...looks like snow for the weekend, so don't know what that's going to mean for mtn or road biking outside, but maybe it's time to get the snow tires on, get the xc skiis glide waxed, and get bundled up..

how's hefer get twins????.....

2008-10-17T15:00:00.000-07:00

i don't get it....50's just a few beaths away, and hug hefner, who's like in his 70's, has 19 year old twins hanging off of him??....does that mean there's hope, or this is just getting hopeless!!!..he's got twins and i can't even get a second look???...
anyway, today's a waste, tomorrow's day 3 of no running forever....or at least 'til sometime in november...and it would have been a great day to get out and about..oh well.....time to mope!

w

okay this ain't so bad...but, um how many days can i swim?

2008-10-16T13:35:00.000-07:00

okay, so day 1 of no running, after a night of no running and most definitley no drinkin'!!!
and yeah, that was dumb, i know, i know the physio said no running, and that this hamstring thing's gonna take 6 to 8 weeks to heel...that's 42 to 56 days...that means back to what i'm used to by at the very least that's november 26th (wow party time!!!..mark that date down!)...wonderful thing is, well, um, i turn 50 thirty five days after that...wow huh???
anyway, running last night was either a waste of time, or a wake up call...no, i can't run a painless 8k....but oh well, hit the kinsmen weight room and the pool this morning, bought a few pool toys, so i guess i can play in the water for a while, will get the mtn bike out for as much stuff as i can..and just do the exersizes and stretches as the physio insists, and hope for the best..i guess the older you get, the longer it takes to heal (a broken heart?)...but there's not much on the race calender for the next while (maybe the resolution run on my b-day, jan 1st might be a good place to start)..and while i was thinking of a spring marathon in calgary, screw it, i'm gonna focus on just tri's until next august 30th, then may head back to victoria or somewhere else in the fall for the full meal deal...but for now, relax, paint the trim on the house, finish that %$#@!!! bathroom., maybe sell one more bike, buy myself a new machine, and maybe plan on a string vacation with the family somewhere next year......i don't know, liked that weight room stuff though....oh well, on ward and up ward!

w

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

2008-10-15T11:45:00.000-07:00

okay, one trip to the sleep clinic , and one trip to the physio, and now what?...tonight's run beer and wing night, and for my sleep test i'm not supposed to drink, and my physio says no running for 6 to 8 weeks, i can swim as long as i don't kick, and i can bike as long as i don't pull on the pedals....what the hell...maybe i should take up shuffle board?.....
anyway, tonight i may still do run beer and wing night...i'll just start the no running thing tomorrow.....shhhhhhhhhh, don't tell anyone

but is this it...6 to 8 weeks, i'm 6 to 8 weeks away from turning 50, 6 to 8 weeks from kicking the training back up and into gear for 2009...6 to 8 friggin' weeks...what the fresh hell is this?...is this what all us old folks have to deal with??....

seems not that long ago you just walked things like this off, and kept on going...but now, i'm friggin' hurt and i'm supposed to baby myself...what's next, the seniors centre?....if this is 50, what's 55 gonna be like???

oh well, i guess you've gotta do, what you've gotta do..if i don't let myself heal as it should, this could be chronic, and then i'll be even more grumpy then usual..or ever.....but i guess i can still walk some, mtn bike a bit, swim some, maybe get my ass back into the weight room, maybe do some yoga (though i've been told to avoid even that for a few weeks....could this get any worse?)....50???...some people don't even live to 50, but these next 6 to 8 weeks, is that gonna be living, or a living 'ell?.

...wonder if doing lunch could be considered tri training?

well, that was both fun and not..but ended even more fun!!!

2008-10-13T13:06:00.000-07:00

well i can't say i had hi hopes this past weekend for the victoria half marathon, and i knew i'd have problems to deal with, but man oh man did that hurt!...i've never hurt that bad, and still managed to run. i'm thinkin' even when i fractured my lower left fibula about 9 or 10 years ago, running on that was even less painful..

yeah, i know,

i was thinking all along, that i was going to maybe somehow manage to salvage a marathon out of my year...but to be honest, when i pulled up with a lame hamstring a couple weeks ago, i knew that was kind of doubtful, and maybe being sick all last week was a blessing of some sorts, because i didn't run at all and managed to force myself to rest up at ham, but just walking from my car to the airport on friday, i was convinced that i should be happy to finish the half..and maybe save myself for ironman or something else next year....

and yeah it's hurt all along, it's been hurting probably for a month or two, but i thought, i could walk it all off...NOT....anway, when i got to the race package pickup on friday, i switched to the half, and was really happy that it was so easy to do...i was really worried that i'd have no choice, but that was fine, i can live with a good 1/2 marathon, except as part of the great white north triathlon, or the st albert in sept 2008, it's been a while since i've run a 1/2...so this could be cool..and it's victoria, so it was also gonna be spectular..

and it was...for the 1st 17 to 18k's ....i was actually cruising along quite well....my pace was around or just above 8 to 8:30-ish minutes per mile, i was not suffering at all, in fact for most of me it felt easy, except for this stinging sensation behind my leg that began just behind my right knee...but i thought, well eventually it'll start to just go numb....then up that last hill into prospect park, ouch!!!!...okay, so i'll walk it off, NOT!...i kept trying to run, a few feet, and then admit defeat, and walked some more....and managed to do that for most of the final few km's....

it seemed to hurt more when i changed directions, or had to turn a corner more then anything, but it felt like a bee hive had attatched itself to my hamstring, and was beginning to move up to my butt, and down to my heel, stinging as it went along....i managed to kick it up for the final k to the finish and that was fun...just felt like what the hell, might as well end it with a bang, and when i saw this one girl beside me do the same thing, the race was on!!...(yeah, she beat me, i'm a gentleman if nothing else)....but that was so cool, and it was cool to finish...it's funny, according to my garmin i was running between 3 and 4 k's per hour...be nice if i could some day keep that up for the entire marathon!.....

so according to the garmin that was a 1:59 1/2 marathon which sucks...will have to see the offical results, but again it was victoria...what a place. so i'm not that dissapointed, and am now trying to figure out how to convince my wife that we should both quit our jobs, sell everything we own, and move west to the island...and failing that, i guess i'll be back for next year....

324 days to ironman canada, 83 to 50

2008-10-09T10:35:00.000-07:00

so this is it, this is the deal. this week so far

has been a waste. i've basically have been sleeping and working and doing nothing else, because i've been too sick to do anything else, well anything else but worry. is this being sick all the time a sign of getting old???...or what?...and just how quickly can you empty out a bottle of cold fx?

oh well, i guess this is all good, i get to re-evaluate this up coming weekend in victoria. there is no way i'm gonna do the full marathon....i've got to admit, my training hasn't been what it should have been, and healthy, i could fumble my way through another 4 hour marathon, but it would be painful, and not any fun...i'm gonna switch the 1/2 marathon and have some fun! the whole idea of doing the 1/2 just feels so right. i know i can run 21k without many problems, and knowing that it frees me up to enjoy the whole weekend in victoria a little more..i can maybe mtn bike somewhere on saturday, maybe swim after the race on sunday..and just enjoy things, and have a fit weekend in victoria...without stressing, and resting.

also, i have been hurting a bit, but that's something that's never stopped me before, and probably wouldn't now, so i won't use that for an excuse, but this hamstring thing has me a little concerned, and concerned for the long term. i one who's always scolded others for not letting things heal, and not getting checked out, so i guess i should heed my own words.

also have to start building that base for ironman (how on earth did i get talked into this!!)..that's the other reason to get myself heeled..also, next week, i'm off work for almost 8 days, so i can get some stuff done around the house (yeah, finish that bathroom!)...and get stuff organized, so i can train without feeling guilty that things i need to get done, well, aren't getting done...so scraping and painting the house, finishing the bathroom....and going to see the chiropractor, the massage therapist, the sleep clinic and all that stuff will have to get done....oh well....on ward and up ward

what a wasted day....

2008-10-05T13:26:00.000-07:00

this was really the worst way 2 end the week b-4 the victoria marathon....ddead tired. i know why it happened, i've been on sleeping pills for a bout a week to make sure i got a good nite's sleep every nite, but last nite decided 2 go without....and just spent the nite spazzing out about everything and anything...u name it, the marathon (do i struggle thru the full, or blast thru the 1/2), trying to get the trim around our house scraped and stained b-4 the 1st snow fall, starting to actually train 4 next year's ironman, work, life, whatever, it all kept driving thru my head, and the more i tried to ignore stuff, counting back from 100, whatever, i still could not fall asleep....that is, until about 8AM, that is, then i started to doze off, then after dragging my a out of bed for a little breakfast and some NFL, now i start falling asleep!!....
anyway, i guess b-ing tired is sort of a good thing, i'm going to take the week easy, and decide on what to do in victoria on the flight to victoria on friday..i'm leaning 2-wards the full, but i want to make sure nothing hurts, and that nothing will get hurt 1st..and b-sides, the full shirt looks way cooler then the 1/2..and after, i can head home relax knowing that i'll b off work until the 20th, and i can spend the weekend getting the house winter ready then....rite??

w

50 in 94

2008-09-27T17:57:00.000-07:00

well, this week has ended quite well. while i'm not even close 100% yet, i'm starting to feel almost ready for the shuffa bone rhythm and maybe just maybe lookin' at the up side of life...

two big things have helped, and i think the md. prescribed sleeping pills have helped a ton, and getting my ass out to the kinsmen fieldhouse a few times, a couple of good runs, a couple dips in the pool, and i'm feeling more like myself and my head is turned the right side up, rather then down.

so the goal is ironman canada next august, getting my kids through this school year in a positive way, and um, to just survive....and there's not much that can derail that, but man it's getting trying. reading a book called 'what i talk about when i talk about running by haruki murakami has helped immensely, and has made me think a lot about where i am, where i want to be, and the whole point to this whole getting older thingie. i know i sound kind of like i'm completely getting freaked out by the 50 years old thing (some people don't live 50 years), and more then a few people think that i am, but seriously, yeah i am thinking a lot about it...and my feelings about the big 5-0 change like the edmonton weather, sometimes it's cloudy and i'm humming hank william's i'm so lonely i could cry, and other days i'm pumped up and feelin' groovy....it's sort of like this cd i'm listening to right now...an old bill bourne/shannon johnson thingie called victory train...2 great edmonton artists, bill is like the guitar playing guy we'd all want to be (come on, sure you do) and shannon's the girl we all wished we dated in high school, and since...and man can she fiddle!....but by the time the cd reaches my fave tune of the moment, like a poor boy, i'm ready to dance, drink and dance the night away yet again....

the other thing that sort of stoked my spirits this week was a walk in the woods with the kids, jim and sasha.....just a short walk from emily murphy, across the hi level bridge and back to our car....it's was a bit of an adventure, but they seemed to like it, and i loved it...it's cool to get out, watch what sasha watches, see what she sees, and encourage her along. somethings she doesn't get (like collecting autumn leaves), other things she just get's into on her own, and never seems to surprise (like giving a hi five a runner as he ran by us...cool!)...and seeing all the runners out sort of pumped me up to...cause that's my crowd man. i may not know all of them, i know some by site, and some i see every day, every time i work out or run or swim or bike. don't know there names, they don't know mine, but we're all out doing the same thing...some are old, and some are young, and some of the girls are really cute (what is it about a blonde pony tail bouncing down the train...wow)....

anyway, doing that building the base thingie now, this week was good, have decided to do the victoria marathon after all...i'm not really trained, but it'll be a fun and relaxing weekend, and i just look at the 26.2 as another training run, taking me to the ironman. the one thing that's hit me this week, and something that's popped into just about everything i've read, is that unlike a marathon, or the great white north triathlon, i can't just take this thing lightly and mail it in, i have to set a training schedule, and stick to it, one plan right down to the end, to august 30th...oh, and i've gotta find a place to stay in penticton....for some reason i'm thinking that may be the bigger challenge!

98 days to 50.......yikes already?

2008-09-24T12:04:00.000-07:00

so life's almost half over.....well, what can you do? all i think i'll focus on is the next few weeks....
was planning to head to victoria to do a marathon actually 17 days, and am still not sure whether i'm going or not. i know, i know, i always do this, but this year's a little different. even though i'm famous for not actually following a training plan, this year, i've really not trained. three 3 hour runs so far, a couple of 16 mile runs besides that, some weekly runs that involved some hills and stairs, but seriously, nothing that i would consider regular marathon training. if i go, i'll do the run, just to do the run, but is it worth it?...actually i guess so, i love victoria, i love the race, and everything around it, i just don't want a bad race to ruin it. and as i'm not planning on any marathoning next year, this could be it until 2009.....so think i'll decide all that this sunday...if i have a fair run, i'm in, if not...i may just stay home and scrape the house.....
the big thing to is, the run for the cure on the 5th. i 12 years i haven't missed it once...it's a cause i believe in, support, and have worked at keeping my family involved...BUT, this year my wife has said she's not interested??..should i force her..all i know is that i'm signed up...i've got to, and it a run, a thing that i look forward to. the run for the cure was my 1st race of any kind when i started doing this running thing, and it always feels just right......but really wanted it to be a family and friend thing...but as usual, i guess i'll be on my own...oh well, yeah me!

w

i need to focus...50 in 102 days!!!

2008-09-20T15:15:00.000-07:00

so this wasn't such a bad week, but 3rd week of kids back at school, 3 weeks to the victoria marathon, and 343 days to ironman canada...so a lots happening, lots to get ready for, and well, all is not all well, or as well as it could be.

2 out of 3 kids seem to be back into the routine and enjoying life back at school, but the youngest, sasha, not so much, and don't know how this is going to play out. starting out grade 10 and getting kicked off the school bus isn't such a good thing....not really sure what happened, or all that happened..and am really concerned, because one of the things that have been constant in sasha's life has been running out to that school bus every morning...she waves to the driver as soon as it pulls up, grabs her seat, and i thought really enjoyed that start of her school day. but i guess not so much, apparently there was some sort of an altercation with another bus rider, not sure what or why, but the solution that everyone else has is to kick sasha off the bus, so it's a taxi ride to school for sasha every day....i don't like the idea period, but, again sasha doesn't seem to mind.....i'm not sure if the medication thing has anything to do with this, or just something she's going through, but just really hope all goes well from here on in...i know, i know, it won't, because there's never a dull moment, and if i've learned anything about jim and sasha, there's always something new waiting around the corner.

training if nothing else is going well though....4 good runs, finally a dip into the kinsmen pool...1000 easy meters...have yet another busy weekend coming up, the training has to slow down and taper for victoria, but at the same time i want to get my focus, um, focused, and keep myself on schedule..oh i know, there will be phone calls from school, a life stuff...but as long as i have a schedule things will be fine....as haruki murakami says in his great book 'what i talk about when i talk about running'..."you really need to prioritize in life, figuring out in what order you should divide up your time and energy. if you don't get that sort of system set by a certain age, you'll lack focus and your life will be out of balance"......at 50, i guess i better work on that

things are running along...quickly

2008-09-13T17:22:00.000-07:00

okay, so i know the Canadian ironman is 50 weeks away, and i'm smart enough to know that i've got a lot of stuff to get through before august 30th 2009...like turn 50, and oh yeah there's the matter of the victoria marathon in 4 friggin' weeks...but you know what, i need a little focus, a little reality, and a goal. this year has been pretty aimless. i did a few races i really liked and had fun at (yeah, the great white north was fun....even the run was okay, but i had fun)...the coronation tri was cool, and as always, death race was a blast (even if a few of my favorite people weren't in it, or better yet not even there this year)...and i'm sure the run for the cure and the vic marathon will be fun too...but bottom line, i just sort of breezed through the summer, without anything to drag me out of bed in the mornings..and i need that.
okay i need 2 things...fun, and friends around me as well. that's the main thing, i've gotta do stuff with other people to keep my mojo working. yeah, i don't mind the image of the lonely long distance runner..and i do a lot of my training on my own..because i have to. but running, swimming, biking, mtn biking, or just hanging out...there's gotta be someone else there, or else i'm outa there.
anyway this has been an odd week. 1 kid (sasha) was home sick from school for a couple of days...and what a waste. i've got to hit myself in the head when something unusual like this happens. so she's home, so i've got to keep her occupied, and make sure does what she needs to do to get back up and healthy, BUT, why sit on the couch watching TV while that's happening. yeah i thought about dragging the bike trainer out and spinning a bit, and i thought of yoga or some stretching...BUT, well i just did some stuff around the house, looked at out bathroom reno project, and watch csi miami and a bunch of other stuff....what a waste of 2 perfectly good training days...and did the same thing on friday!..i should have run and swam last night, but no..i guess watching another DVD (the commitments) was more important...but ther's a couple more miles i could have used.
the best thing this ironman thing could do for me, is to maybe strike some fear into me. i've yet to actually follow any training plan all the way through, i've never actually got to the starting line of a marathon or tri fully trained (no wonder i'm always nervous). this year's great white north tri was a perfect example....i swam some, bike some, and ran even less then that..i saw what everyone else was doing, and did about 1/3 of that.....no wonder i didn't break 6 hours..and no wonder my run sucked. pretty much whatever i've done in any race i've done, well, that's just what i'd have in my arsenal almost untrained. i've got to start imagining what my results would be if i actually put in the time and effort.
so, if looking down the road and seeing that the only way i'll finish ironman is if i actually train, and focus on that, scare the lazyness out of me...that could be like the best thing that could ever happen......
and i cannot blame lack of time, i've got all kinds of time. i've set up my work life perfectly. i'm up every day at between 6 and 6:30, maybe a bit later on weekends, after my kids are all gone to school i've got until 2PM before i've got to think about heading out to work....i've got all day friday and saturday pretty much to myself, with some consideration for quality family time, and i've got all morning sunday....no excuses...
so maybe i should make a copy of this blog somewhere and tape it to every wall i look at everyday...everymorning...and yeah, maybe i should hier someone to just yell at me constantly when i decide to get undressed and go back to bed on training days...cause, i've just got to get healthy, fit and start building that base

w

the countdown is on 351 days to ironman!

2008-09-12T11:21:00.000-07:00

i turn 50 at the start of next year. on january 2009 i will be 50 years old. i've run 7 marathons, 3 1/2 ironman races, and a bunch of other stuff. i've been a freelance writer, a railroader, a father, a husband...but i want to accomplish something big, something that i can say i've done well, and this is it. a full ironman race, a full year of training, and no excuses. it'll be something i can't fake, something i can just walk on and do, i've got to prepare, and be ready on august 30th 2009, to just do it, to the best of my ability, and have no regrets...so here we go...today, is friday september 12 2008, and the adventure starts here and now......
w

the road from space cadet to ironman???

2008-09-12T06:46:00.000-07:00

oh this will be fun....
okay so i've decided to skip death race solo next year, and settled on doing ironman canada in penticton next august instead. am i insane!!!
i must be?....i'm not even sure how i sucked myself into this. up until 2 nights ago, i was go go go, let's do the 125k death race to celebrate my 50th year on the planet. i know, i'd thought about IMC before, and thought that would be an even greater gift to, well, my self....but, well, after getting the call from steve buddy wednesday night that a few more spots at IMC were opening up, and after a restless sleep, and a short quick run, i figured, why not....also, possibly, the challenge of getting first in line, on line, to snag one of those entry spots got my competitive juices flowing, so that may have pushed me into this insanity....
now the question is, what do i do now???
after following friends training for ironman this year, i have a pretty good idea what i need to do....but can i do it, and what do i need to do? DO I NEED A NEW BIKE, OR DO I JUST NEED TO REALLY UPGRADE THE OLD CANNONDALE CAAD 8? I i have yet to sell my old r-300, and if i wanna move on to a true tri bike, well i have to sell at least, well, both.....and do i get a coach, do i get an on line coach, which training program do i follow, do i start training now...and the biggest question....when do i tell my wife?????
i'm just re-reading my buddy kerry's entry after this year's ironman, and know i've got a lot of my own issues to deal with (i can be a bit of an idiot if you didn't know that by now)....AND I'LL HAVE TO WORK HARD TO KEEP THE TRAINING FROM SLIPPING...I DO that way too often....
i found a couple pretty do-able training schedules on the net yesterday, so i guess, choose one, stick with it for the next 50 weeks, and just go for it....
for this and next week i guess..i'll decide on the bike issue, focus on the victoria marathon for the next few weeks, get my ass into the pool and on the bike, look at some tri bikes, balance the books, finish my house chores (yeah, the b-room should be finished by sometime in october..in time for the hawaii ironman maybe)...i want to get one bike window installed, the rest of the house trim scraped and painted...then
focus focus FOCUS!!!

W

1st week of school done, 1st kid home sick, 5 weeks to the victoria marathon!!

2008-09-08T08:10:00.000-07:00

so the 1st 4 days of school are done. and so far so good. sasha's fitting in and seems to be happy to be back- new thing, she waves at her school bus driver and friends on the bus when it pulls up to pick her up, she sits near the front as well...cool! -

much like past years though, she's home sick with a bad cold today. hopefully just a one day thing, but if she sticks to what's worked in the past, she'll be realatively calm to day, sleep lots, and then by tomorrow morning be fed up with being sick and will be anxious to get back to school and back at it. even today, she was up at 6, and took a few minutes before she realized that, nah, she's still sick.

big problem though, is that also means i'm stuck at home. so no running for me today, and with 34 days to the victoria marathon, i can't have too many of these stuck at home days. have considered dragging the bike inside for a ride on the rollers, but that would be too painful, and just feels wrong..so will take today as a rest day, and head out to the kinsmen tomorrow for maybe a long-ish 15k, some weights and maybe a swim?.......and i guess i should be looking at the big picture, death race solo is less then a year away...so yeah, i can still rest a bit

the 1st day, kids back at school..a new year, a new beginning

2008-09-02T10:47:00.001-07:00

so this is it. September 2nd, the 1st day of the new school year, and it feels like a good place for me to begin yet again.

i can't say i'm not nervous. after a few wild episodes with my youngest daughter sasha last month, i'm really worried what the new school year will bring. since we returned from our banff vacation a couple of weeks back, she's been fine, for the most part. a little restless perhaps, but okay. during our morning bike ride out to lacombe lake yesterday, she seemed a little out of sorts, and became really apprehensive when we rode around the man made lake and a few dogs approached her. she's always been afraid of dog and cats, but hasn't reacted all that badly for a while, but yesterday she was just freaking out. i keep attempting to get her over that fear by dragging her out for walks through off leach areas, and to places where she'll (hopefully) encounter well some behaved pets, you enjoy throwing stcks for them to fetch, petting them, and learning that there's really nothing to fear. but, that hasn't really worked out that well yet.

my hope to cut back on her prescribed medications didn't work out. my wife nancy took sasha in to get some advise from her MD. at the glenrose last week, and instead of cutting back, the dosage is being increased. i guess we'll have to see how that goes. i know she needs the drugs to keep her focused, and to keep her calm, but i keep feeling like they may also be holding her back, and may be making it hard for her to tell right from wrong, to understand what i always being said to her. i know, to test out my hypotenuse, it would have been better to try it at the beginning of summer, rather then the start of the school year, so i guess we'll see how the school days go....haven't got that mad panic call from the school yet today, so, so far, so good.

which is good, because i'm about 5 weeks away from a marathon. wasn't going to do it, haven't really done much in the way of serious training over the summer, but, well, what the heck, i've got a week off of work, booked a not too expensive flight, a pretty good hotel room, and i'll just shuffle througb it and a weekend in victoria. should be fun! (how on earth running 26.2 miles could be fun, i don't know, but it somehow is?)

the big thing is, and this is to mark on the calender, death race 2009 solo, all 125KM of it..that's the goal, that's the aim, and hopefully (with at least support) i get there.....i just have to be able to put one foot in front ofthe other for 24 hours or less, over 125 km's of hills and mtns and stuff...how hard could it be?

back in training

2008-08-17T14:07:00.000-07:00

okay, two days after the big vacation ends..or at least the tripping part, and still feeling a little funky, nervous, and hot, man, is it ever hot....they say that in the next 20 to 25 years it's gonna get continuously hotter...guess i'd better invest in air conditioning, and ocean front property in denver....
it's a quiet weekend, which is good...managed to finally drag my ass out for a 14 mile run this morning, and though was feeling a little (okay, a lot) light headed..it felt good to get out...clear the cob webs outa my head, and feed my starbuckers habit...wasn't particularly fast, and hurt a lot (i need new shoes, got to get those orthotics back into those shoes, and stretch, gotta stretch..and run even more..if it hurts, rub some dirt on it and walk it off!)
and the big thing, jim and sasha are chilling out...think they're all happy to be back home, back in to some sort of routine...but the count down is on. 15 days and they head back to school, and hopefully things inprove, hopefully jim hops on the right bus and ends up at st albert high, and not wandering around spruce grove for the day...and hopefully sasha fits in. i've got a lot of thought on what should happen with her, and i'm sure my wife and her teachers and her Md's do as well...i'd really like to see what she'd be like if they cut back her meds, or eliminated them all together...but i'm also thinking at the start of the school year may not be the best time. i admit, they've helped...once sasha was put on Ritalin, it was like taking a record (you know, vinyl) and and switching it down from 78 RPM back down to 33 and 1/3...she could finally slow down to learn, to listen....so no doubt it all helped..but now it just seems that when ever she has an episode like the trio last week at the folk fest, with my mom the bay sitter, and then again in banff...the medication gets increased, and i'm not convinced that's the best option....there seems to be too many times when i'm not sure she even knows what she's doing, or what planet she's on.....but we'll see....again, once she gets into a routine, and the teachers know what to expect from her, and what they expect from her, things should all improve....but also again, with her size (i'm thinking power lifting should be in her future!)...strength, and determination..if she decides she wants to do something, or doesn't, things could get out of hand, and that's my biggest fear..she could actually hurt someone, badly..or even herself....but i guess we just wait on pins and needles waiting to see......there's a visit with her Md planned before school starts, so hopefully that'll be a good place to plan.
the one thing i've learned about sasha this summer is that she likes to be active, she may say no to a bike ride, a hike or a walk...but once she gets outside, she loves every minute...and i think she'd love to be fit. the one thing that her medication does is slow down her metabolism, so she has gained a lot of weight, and achne is also an issue...which can't be helped with yet more medication...but man, sasha on a bike is something to behold!...so maybe if her teachers realize this, they'll add more physical stuff to her program and routine, because also, after doing something physical, she's way calmer.....and you should see her hit a baseball...lotsa power!
and hopefully music is in there...she loves to listen, and has an amazing singing voice when she chooses to use it..which is way to rare, and so rare that a lot of people do not know that she has it.......so now that summer's over, i guess it's time to switch things over..and just listen and watch...and hope for the best
w

d-race-jasper-folkfest-banff-the sasha melt downs-and how burnt can dad get!

2008-08-15T16:00:00.000-07:00

so, this is it...day 15 of 24 days of vacation, and so far so good. a lot of running, a lot of fun, some climbing, hiking, eating, swimming, some good stuff, some really bad stuff, a lot of really great music, a lot of sun, some neat hikes, and some quality family time.

i find it hard to believe that death race was alost 13 days ago and that the edmonton folk fest ended 5 days ago...and what a good time that was!!..i missed the 1st night (darn, so wanted to see and hear aimee mann!)...but what i saw after that was just great!!....a lot of names that i knew (the duhks, broken social scene, ron sexsmith, serena ryder, martha wainwright and hawksley workman) and some that i didn't (outlaw social, alison brown, dan frechette, la musgana, karine polwart and michael rault) were all amazing. it's funny, i always love everything i see and hear on the side/session stages, and always leave before the end of the main stage acts finish...but love the hill (why is it so hard to do hill repeats on this thing, and so easy to repeat them during the fest?), the food as always was great (green onion cakes rule man!) and for once the weather, the hot hot sun, rocked!!

the best act of the weekend..that's tough, toss up between newcomer samantha schultz and maybe karine polwart...but alison brown and the carolina chocolate drops were an amazing surprize as well...bellowhead, catherine maclellan, and broken social scene ruled too!!!

before the folk fest of course there was 3 days in jasper with most of my family....left the oldest, jessica, at home (she's a working girl...)but brought the rest, and it was a good mini week. managed to nail a couple of good kiddie hikes...mtn edith cavell, and overlander falls were highlights..and was amazed that the kids and the wife enjoyed some of the hikes..not all, but they especially picked up the pace when they knew we were almost done.

and after folk fest, we headed for a week in banff..and wow, another good week (with a couple of exceptions....)..got in at least one hike a day, grassi lakes, the top of tunnel mountain, around lake louise...and ate a lot....and wandered around banff and canmore more then i ever had...in fact, had never been to lake louise either, so i discovered as much as the kids did...

BUT

had a few bad days too....at the folk fest and in banff sasha had a couple of complete meltdowns, and the first night that me and wife did the folk fest, she really lost it with my mom the baby sitter...and there were major events!...again, sasha's a very strong girl, and strong minded too...don't know how were gonna get her to focus more, learn how to control herself, and really understand what's right and what's wrong...think she knows all this, but when she goes off the deep end, all her sense of reasoning seems to go out the window...don't know if we have to alter her meds, get her into some intense therapy, or what, and what this means for her future..she's 15 going on 16, about to enter grade 9...so the future's coming fast...biggest problem now is, we've lost a baby sitter (my mom), any chance of getting an aid in the near future...a visit to her Md before the start of school may help, and hope getting back to school and back into a routine helps, but again...what happens if she has a melt down at school?....i keep thinking if approached wrong, she could seriously hurt someone..not on purpose, but i don't think that matters...i'm thinking september is gonna lead to some interesting times, and hopefully good times....

anyway, tomorrow morning a 5 peaks cross country race, next week it's a olympic distance tri..and then it's back to work...ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

oh, and did i mention that i managed to faint in the banff hot springs pool???

death race weekend

2008-08-07T15:33:00.000-07:00

what a fantastic weekend....death race as usual rocked!!...i really had no idea what to expect going into the weekend, and was really unsure how the team thing would work out..who was on the team, who was running what, and would i be able to keep up were a few questions...but also, these things seem to go in 3's for me..the first couple of rounds usually work out fine, but by the time the third time around comes around, things really start to suck. for instance the team we had in 2001 was a lot of fun, 2002 okay, 2003 really sucked..i hated d-race that year, and swore i'd never return......then two babes sucked me in to coming back in 2005, which was a blast, 2006 was the most fun a guy should ever be allowed to have...BUT, wasn't really too to happy with 2007....just a bunch of stuff happened that sort of turned the event and the weekend upside down...so what to expect with sort of a new team in 2008.....well, i am glade to report, a hell of a lot of fun...not only with our team, but with the whole gang that we had out yet again!!...my team mates rocked during the run, and the room mates made it a whole lot of fun...still not up to 2006 standards (one of the main ingredients, and one of the best team mates a guy could hope to have, wasn't there)...i cannot wait for 2009...cause wrap it up baby, i'm a comin' back

it's death race dammit!!!!

2008-07-31T11:40:00.000-07:00

!!!!this is the weekend that I live for, think about almost every day of every year...screw the great white north tri, the tour de alberta, whatever...this is it baby...a weekend, like every day should be...running, racing, hiking, friends, new friends old friends, new stories, older stories embellished stories.....and nothin' but fun and good times for 3 days more or less.
the past has always been amazing..the missed connections at the change off points for the relay teams, watching those that are going solo finishing, or sleeping in and missing them finish...people getting lost, losing thier coin or timing chip, and then finding them...finding ways to slide down those mountains, to march back up them again, how much fun it is to run through ankle deep mud puddles, falling in them, finding rivers knee deep or deeper, seeing how many people you can fit into a hotel room at once, the joys of showering with your clothes and muddy shoes on......jjst hanging out, mtn biking, hiking, exploring all the sites around GC, hiking old spots (sulphur gates), finding new hidden ones (muskeg falls!).....and emptying the town of food booze and clean water (how many can fit into that hot tub anyway)......can hardy wait!!

w

sasha

2008-07-29T11:30:00.000-07:00

so summer's half over, and one my my main goals hasn't really been close to being reached.
of my 3 kids, 2 are autistic, the youngest sasha is our biggest and constant challenge. while her older brother may be slower the most, he can communicate, has a sort of varied diet (he's a meat and potato kind of guy, as long as he doesn't have to eat the potato), and is about to enter grade 12 st st albert high, and seems to be doing alright, has a good circle of friends, socializes, and being 6'2" and 185lbs he's a force to be reckoned with. but he's the most easy going guy too.
sasha on the other hand is anything but. language and understanding will always be an issue. things do improve slowly, but for the most part, you have to know her to understand her. she reacts unusually to situations, and can be pretty hard to predict as well. she's also gained a lot of weight over the past few years, partly due to diet, partly due to medications, and has a real achne problem as well, and she has pretty restricive tastes when it comes to organizing her diet. The sad thing is, of all our 3 offspring, she could easily be the most active, and likes being active. swimming, skating, biking, hiking, tennis, baseball, she tries and will participate if given the chance. i still remember walking her to school one day past our local outdoor rink and she found a puck in the snow. and had no place to put it because one pocket already had a mini football in it, the other a softball..because of the communication thing, not having many real friends away from school, she spends a lot of time in front of her computer, or watching dvds, or keeping track of her extensive collection of japanese cartoons.

she also loves music, and as she shows way to little, when given the chance, and when teachers notice, she'll command a stage with her voice.
the goal this summer was to vary her diet, keep her active every day, and to get her communicate and control herself more. while getting her out for a walk or to ride her bike has been going great. she usually doesn't show a lot of interest, but when she goes, she goes...fast. last friday took her out for a 15k ride out to big lake to throw rocks and stuff, and when she ran out of rocks she of course threw her bike helmet into the lake....which was fun too. but she had fun and enjoyed it, and managed to get some exersize. and it has been working, i think she's lost a bit of weight, and is looking more fit. she doesn't tire out as quickly..and when she is getting out and about, she's also calmer. but that communication and self control thing has become a huge issue.
usually for the summer we get an aid to help us out with either both jim and sasha, or , as with this year, just with sasha. the one thing to remember, sasha is big, strong, and doesn't always react appropriately to different situations, especially if she's stressed, or tired, or whatever. we started out this summer with a new tiny aid. and i thought she'd be great, but i was also concerned, because the aid was young, and um small. things went well for a few outings, bike rides, a trip on the LRT into edmonton, which sasha apparently taught the aid how to use!!..but a trip to mill creek pool was short, a walk ended up with sasha pushing and shoving the aid, and then after a trip to the local water park resulted in more of the same, the aid said enough, which i understood. it's ahrd to control someone, that doesn;t want to be controlled, and doesn't always want to do, what you want her to do.
anyway, we're off on vacation for the next 3 weeks, school is about 5 weekes away...don't know how they'll go, but i guess as always, day by day....

w