Ironman x2 and training for #3!

Amazing news!

2009-11-05T12:31:00.000-08:00

Amazing news! I received an email the other day that I was accepted into the Sugoi Brand Champion program!

As a Brand Champion athlete I'm able to purchase Brand Champion specific clothing and be able to connect with other endurance athletes on their website! Everyone in the program has a very impressive athletic resume! It's inspiring, and I hope I can live up to the expectations!

Sugoi has always been my favourite triathlon clothing company. If you don't own any of their products, you definitely need to check them out! It's also awesome that the design on the clothing (Northwest Aboriginal Artwork) reminds me of my home province, British Columbia!

Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off the goal

2009-10-10T12:57:00.000-07:00

The Ironman World Championships are on and the coverage is highly inspiring! It's beautiful outside in Ottawa, but I'm absolutely glued to my computer! Chrissie Wellington is AMAZING!

I had a great week of training! And I am so excited to have a three day weekend, which gives me extra time to catch up on sleep and get a few longer workouts in (It's Thanksgiving in Canada)! I've been able to do some shorter workouts during my lunch break (running and strength). Having a gym in the basement of my office building makes it very convenient to fit in weight training! The weather is starting to turn in Ottawa, which means it's time to start thinking about getting my bike on a trainer and logging miles indoors!

I've been trying to focus on the forefoot running technique lately, and it's definitely not my usual style! I bought a pair of Nike Free's, which are supposed to help facilitate this technique! It will likely take a period of adjustment, so I'm going to start using them in short runs on a treadmill until I get used to them! My muscles feel fatigued as my body makes the necessary adjustments to wearing them!

One of my friends from the University of Western Ontario Triathlon club will be staying with me this weekend. He's in town to run the Fall Colours Marathon in Cumberland, Ontario. Brian is one of the most incredible runners I know, and he recently started a group called Mindfulness Running! I've signed up to volunteer at the race and I am excited to cheer Brian on! Check out his website, I know he would love feedback on it!

Here are the photos of my lunchtime run route in Quebec! With the amazing fall colours, it's a stunning route!

It's time to get back to the online coverage of the Ironman World Championships!

I'm wondering if self doubt is starting to set in.

2009-09-26T06:57:00.000-07:00

I'm beginning to realize that the triathlon goals I have set for 2010 are quite intense, and I am only truly beginning to understand the magnitude of what I have committed myself to! I'm ready for the challenge! Here's a photo of my good friend Pam and I signing up for Ironman Canada! She is an incredible athlete and it will be her first Ironman! I'm thrilled to be able to share the experience with her! A really good friend of mine (Eric) also signed up! Eric is also an amazing athlete and it will be his 4th IM!

My training goals for October and November are to remain as active as possible, through a variety of ways (NOT just swimming, cycling and running - although they do take up the bulk of the time)! I've been doing something at least 5 days a week, which includes S, B & R, but also weights, yoga, hiking etc... and once the snow falls I'm quite excited to introduce skate skiing into the mix! The ante will be upped significantly in December! Lately I've been listening to some awesome triathlon podcasts to help keep my mind in the game! Some of my favourites are by IM Talk, Kelownagurl and Zen Triathlon!

My contract with work was extended and I have returned to Ottawa until the end of the year (at a minimum). It feels bittersweet being back, and it was certainly difficult leaving my family and friends in Kelowna after a wonderful two-week vacation. It's going to be very hard not being home for Thanksgiving (it's rare for my whole family to get together these days, but this Thanksgiving everyone, including my two year old nephew, will be there! Except me). I've moved into a new apartment, which will only be home for the next four months until I have to move again. I've also become re-settled in a new position at work. I have made some amazing friends here and they have helped tremendously in making Ottawa feel like my new home!

I decided to take the plunge and drive my car back, so I could have greater mobility (as well as being able to bring my triathlon bike!!). Bringing my car definitely made it feel as if it was more of a permanent move. This stressed me out a bit. However, my mom joined me for the 4000+ kilometre journey and it was a relief to be able to share some of the driving! We took a route through the northern USA, which we heard may be a few hours quicker. It was still horribly far.

On day 1 of the roadtrip we were able to drop by Coeur D'Alene to check out the IM race site! Here's a photo of me from where (I think) the swim starts! Coeur D'Alene was really beautiful and being able to see it helped get me totally pumped to race! There's exactly nine more months of training left! I'm using this photo to help with my mental training!

We also saw some amazing scenery on the drive! Including the World Biggest Holstein Cow (New Salem, North Dakota) and the Worlds Biggest Nickel (Sudbury, Ontario)!

Oh! And I've also officially finished my Masters degree! I'll be returning to London in October for convocation in October! Yahoo! Here's a photo of me on my last day of school! C'est fini!

The quickest way to get faster is to put down the fork!

2009-07-25T10:14:00.001-07:00

I've already made it through 7 weeks of bootcamp and only have one more to go! I can't believe how quickly time has been flying by! Bootcamp has taught me some great exercises that I've been able to incorporate into my regular workouts! I've also been doing a strength training routine for the past three weeks and am really starting to notice benefits! I'm motivated and want to continue to see and feel more results! Only 11 months of hard work left until IM CDA!

Some of you may know that I really love reading triathlon books. It took amazon.ca five weeks to ship the book My Training Starts Tomorrow by Roman Mica. As a triathlete who can sympathize with the perils of learning the tricks to the sport, it was hilarious! The best piece of advice came from the back cover: The quickest way to get faster is to put down the fork. Well put! He has a sequel, No, Seriously. My Training Starts Tomorrow that I may order in the future! Some of the triathlon books I read are better than others and I'll try to remember to make reference to the good ones here! I'm always looking for recommendations as well!

I recently returned from a wonderful weekend in Québec City with my parents (July 17-20, 2009). I had to take the train back to Ottawa to return to work, and they continued east to the Maritimes. They'll be back in Ottawa on July 31! Here are some photos from our adventures:

The beautiful Le Chateau Frontenac

A cannonball has been embedded in this tree at the corner of rue St Louis and rue du Corps-de-Garde since 1759! Dad and I rubbed it for good luck!

Dad - Looking down Rue du Petit-Champlain, Old Lower Town

Sitting beside the St. Lawrence River in Old Port (before dinner at Le Cafe du Monde)

Place-Royale - An adorable plaza in Old Lower Town

Dad and Mom in the beautiful park on the Plains of Abraham

Québec City was a gorgeous, unique city! I've heard there is no other place in North America that has quite the same European feel to it. We didn't know it when we planned out visit, but our visit actually coincided with the end of the Festival d'Eté de Québec (Summer Music Festival). On our second night, we purchased day passes and watched a Sting concert (with 120,000 other people)! The crowd was unbelievable! Some of the other highlights included going on tours of the Parliament Buildings (Ville de Québec is the Provincial Capital), the Citadelle & second residence of the Governor General, Le Chateau Frontenac, watching a free Cirque du Soleil show, introducing my parents to poutine and generally enjoying the Quebecois culture!

The only other real news is that my apartment has been mostly repaired (I may have forgot to mention that the building caught on fire on July 7. I'm in a highrise and the unit three floors directly above mine was destroyed). The alarm was ringing, but on the PA system my floor wasn't being evacuated, so I was pretty shocked when firefighters were banging on my door and the hallway was full of smoke! There are so many false alarms, I had incorrectly assumed this one was as well! The firefighters came into my unit (apparently they thought this was where the fire was) and broke the window off the hinge, smashed the screen and caused other random damages. I had to make most of the repairs on my own (curtain rod ripped from wall, stereo wiring ripped out, water came in the open window onto the floor), but everything has mostly been looked after now. As soon as a new screen arrives for my window life will be back to normal, but it was a bit stressful for awhile. I took this photo from my cell phone when I was panicking and waiting outside.

It's my birthday this week and since I don't really know anyone very well in Ottawa to celebrate with, I'm thinking about treating myself to a shopping trip at Lululemon! Yahoo! I also booked a flight home to BC on August 25. My contract with work is over on August 21, and if it is not extended I will be staying in BC until I can find another job. I'm really sad about the possibility of my contract not being extended, I absolutely love my job! I guess I'll have lots of free time for triathlon training!

A quote worth sharing...

2009-07-11T15:45:00.000-07:00

When I read this, I found it was an accurate summary of how completing my first Ironman has positively influenced my perspective on life!

I was never the same person again after my first Ironman, and neither is anyone else. It does something wonderful to you, and it's not just the thrill of crossing the finish line. It starts when you make the commitment to the race and it continues well beyond. It's an amazing journey of self-discovery that carries on after you cross the finish line and continues for the rest of your life.

From Be Iron-Fit: Time-Efficient Training Secrets for Ultimate Fitness

Summer has arrived in Ottawa!

2009-07-05T16:53:00.000-07:00

The past few weeks have been fairly low-key, and the next few are going to be busy!

I'll start with tri talk...
It's less than a year until IM CDA and my training is still quite unstructured! I'm attending bootcamp 2x a week until the end of July, plus I've incorporated in a strength workout 3x a week into my normal routine. I'm basing my weight/strength training on a book I ordered off of amazon.ca, called "Strength Training for Triathletes". It's helped by giving me exercises for each discipline (for core, upper and lower body) that specifically target my weak areas. For example, when I do long runs, my posture tends to suffer, and the book lists specific exercises to do if you are having that problem. There are a lot of other beneficial strength exercises in the book too! The whole premise behind it is "Strength Equals Speed".

As many of you may know, my triathlon bike is still out in BC *sob*, but I have a super heavy, cheap mountain bike here that I've been using for commuting purposes. I cycle to and from work each day, and on the few small hills that I encounter, it's a great workout for my quads! I'm not sure if I trust it for longer rides, but may try venturing into Gatineau Park for a bit of a longer workout next Sunday. I've been running a fair bit, and try at least 3x a week to get out and log some miles. The distances vary, but I haven't been going farther than 15kms. I'm doing a Nike+ challenge with one of my brothers, which has helped a ton with motivation! Our challenge this month is to to be the first one to 70kms, and since I lost the challenge last month due to tendonitis in my foot, I really want to win this time! I swim when I can, but since it is one of my strengths, I try not to focus on it as much as running, cycling and weights.

I've been having a tough time, and have been obsessed with nutrition lately. I mentioned before that I gained a few extra pounds during the last few months of grad school and I haven't been able to shed them as easily as I was anticipating. I only grocery shop when I know I can resist temptation, but I've had a few cheat days. It's summer - it's hard to avoid the occasional ice cream, and I'm just getting to know my coworkers and make new friends in Ottawa. If they invite me out for a beer, I'm going! My fridge is full of healthy fruits (literally more than I can eat right now - Bananas, Peaches, Grapes, Pineapple, Apples, Strawberries, Blueberries, Cherries...) and if I need something sweeter I try and snack on sugar-free jello. One of my coworkers jokes with me about the aspartame and artificial sweetener I consume, but as long as it keeps me away from eating higher-calorie sweets I'm okay with it. Sugar free jello has very few calories (10-20) per 2 cups. It's cold, sweet and filling, and I try not to think of what's in it while I'm eating it. I've also made the switch from eating cereal (even though I eat boring plain varieties, they still contain a lot of hidden sugars) to oatmeal. I found a great oatmeal (Nutritious Living - Morning Medley) at Costco that contains only rolled oats, rye flakes, sunflower seeds, barley flakes and flax seeds. No other added "junk". I'll also have a piece of fruit, and some sort of monounsaturated fatty acid (the "Flat Belly Diet" recommends incorporating a MUFA into each meal), such as nuts, avocados or dark chocolate (lately I'm on a walnut kick). Just within the past week or so I've noticed my pants are a bit looser, which is always a nice reward. But since most of my training has been including strength (bootcamp and weights) I've been re-building a lot of muscle, and I don't think I've seen a big drop number-wise on the scale, which is a bit of a downer for me.

Being able to spend Canada Day in Ottawa has always been something I've wanted to do at least once in my life! There were hundreds of thousands of people in the downtown core, and almost everyone was wearing red or white! In the morning I watched a flag raising ceremony, changing of the guard and RCMP Musical Ride on Parliament Hill. I wandered around in the afternoon taking in street shows, concerts and visiting with Miki and Sana. I was caught in the rain once - when I was sitting on Parliament Hill! A huge, but brief, rainstorm came in! I busted out my umbrella to hide under and it was hilarious watching everyone scramble for cover! A big group of us went out for Thai food in the Byward Market, and then we watched the fireworks together by the National Art Gallery. It was a great spot for viewing! I posted a few videos from the amazing fireworks show on Youtube. Sorry for the lamppost right in the middle of the screen! Here are a few photos from the day - the Ironman Canada shirt I was wearing was the only red/white one I have here, plus it has Canadian flags and maples leafs on it! Perfect! =) I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to be living and working in Ottawa!

A six-floor beer bong!

My parents are coming out from BC for a visit from July 16-August 3, but they won't be in Ottawa the whole time. On July 17 we're going to drive to Quebec City where we'll be spending the weekend. On Monday I'll be catching a train back to Ottawa and they're going to continue driving to the Maritimes. They'll return to Ottawa on July 31, and we'll spend the long weekend together before they have to leave on the 3rd. I need to brainstorm where I want to have a birthday dinner, plus what the highlights are in Ottawa that they need to see! I am really excited to show my parents the city that I have fallen in love with over the past two months!

While my parents are in the Maritimes I'm hoping to drive down and watch Ironman USA (Lake Placid) on July 26th! All of the hotels in Lake Placid are gone, so I need to try and come up with somewhere else to stay. Does anyone have any suggestions? If worse comes to worse, I'll borrow a tent or sleep in the car! I'm really excited to cheer on the athletes and pick up some sweet Ironman gear at the expo!

Work has been going really well. I still feel new, and very challenged by the position, but I absolutely love it. It was interesting, I was speaking to my mom on the phone the other day and telling her about how happy I have been since I moved to Ottawa. She made a comment about how nice it was to hear, since the past year of grad school in London (ON) I was absolutely miserable and very homesick. Even reflecting back myself, it's been years since I've felt this happy and excited about my life. I also recently received the most wonderful news - I have another neice or nephew on the way, due January 2010! Life is great!

Ironman Coeur D'Alene

2009-06-24T13:57:00.000-07:00

After weighing the decision for the past few months I've officially made the commitment to train and complete a second Ironman! My family all thinks I'm crazy, but I have their unconditional support! I secured an online spot for Ironman Coeur D'Alene on Monday, and when I checked this morning there was still space available.

The race is on June 27, 2010. Three weeks before CDA, I am signed up to race in the Oliver Half Ironman (June 6), which will likely be one of my last big workouts before beginning a taper! I'm quite excited and am thankful for everyone who has shared in this excitement with me over the past few days! I'm trying to brainstorm what other races will be fun to complete as part of my training (possibly a fall or spring marathon)! It's going to be an amazing year!

Jerrod's Ph.D. Graduation in San Francisco!

2009-06-21T16:31:00.001-07:00

1st lesson learned: Traveling from Ottawa to San Francisco is a heck of a long way for a weekend getaway!

My adventure began in Ottawa on Thursday night. I arrived at the airport only to find out that my flight would be delayed two hours due to thunderstorms in Chicago (I was scheduled to fly from Ottawa to San Francisco via. Chicago). With less than two hours to make my connection in Chicago I immediately knew this meant trouble! Since no other flights departing that evening had open seats I took my chances and waited out the delay. Finally after 2 hours and 15 minutes we were airborne. Because of the headache United caused I was upgraded to first class, but the flight itself was uneventful. I appreciated the gesture.

We touched down in Chicago at 8:30 PM. My connecting flight left at 8:39, I was a bit stressed and was fully prepared to spend the night in Chicago (Finding Oprah and eating deep dish pizza were on my agenda). By the time we pulled up to the gate and they opened the door it was 8:35. I was not expecting to make my connection. The Chicago airport is HUGE but luckily my connecting gate was in the same terminal. I was the first person off of the plane and started sprinting (I looked like an idiot, but what did I have to loose?!). I arrived at the gate, the door was closed and there was nobody there. BUT - the plane was still sitting outside. So I started pounding on the door - Quite loudly too. I wasn't paying attention, but I'm sure it attracted attention. There was a little red "call" button beside the door so I pushed it hoping it would speak to someone on the plane to come open the door. Turns out it was an emergency use only button and I was scolded from some chick who answered. But I kept on pounding - she clearly didn't understand that this was an emergency (Hahaha - saying this reminds me of my days as a 911 operator and the "emergency" calls I used to answer)! Surprisingly someone actually came and opened the door and I made it on the plane! I knew that there was no way my luggage would be joining me though, but I was okay with that - I was absolutely elated to have made the connection!

2nd lesson learned: United Airlines oversells their flights. To avoid potential disaster DO NOT book with them again!

I met my family at the airport (they all arrived on earlier flights) and we drove to the hotel in Palo Alto. It was late by the time we got settled and climbed into bed (1AM pacific time, but it felt like 4AM to my confused EST adjusted body)! The next day we spent almost 6 hours at the California Academy of Sciences, which included a four-story rainforest ecosystem, a T-Rex skeleton, a planetarium/IMAX and the worlds largest indoor coral reef! We wandered around the Japanese Garden in Golden Gate Park and had a very delicious Indian dinner! It was also the first night that Sarah's (Jerrod's girlfriend) family and my family met! My luggage finally arrived around 9PM - It was quite nice to have a change of clothes!

The following day we had a full day of festivities planned! In the morning we went to Krispy Kreme, Costco (cheap entertainment!), and the Computer History Museum (some of the exhibits such as a NINTENDO, made me feel old!). We then drove to the city and went to Alamo Square, The Cable Car Museum, Lombard Street, Fisherman's Wharf, Sausalito and walked across the Golden Gate Bridge! I hadn't seen my brothers since Christmas and truly appreciated the time we were able to spend together!

Sunday was graduation day! There was a massive ceremony in the football stadium for all of the Stanford graduates at 9:30, which was preceded by the famous "Wacky Walk". All of the undergraduates parade into the stadium in outlandish costumes, holding signs and generally just being silly! I've added a few photos below of the walk! After the ceremony we spent some time walking around campus, celebrating with champagne and relaxing in the sun! There was a separate ceremony for Jerrod's department (Bioengineering) late in the afternoon where he received his actual degree from and then took us on a tour of his lab. It was a beautiful day out (I even got a bit sunburned)! We finished off the day with dinner at a taqueria and a challenging game of mini golf (on the wildest course ever! It even had water hazards)! I am SO proud of my brother and can't wait to see what amazing and wonderful things the future has in store for him!

3rd lesson learned: Anyone who has achieved a Ph.D. has my absolute and utmost respect. Getting my masters has been hard enough! I'm having a difficult time fathoming another 4-5 years of independent research (although I have not completely ruled it out...)

Here are some of the highlight photos from my wonderful weekend in San Francisco!

The Wacky Walk

The Wacky Walk Part II - The kids on the ground were being dominos, there's sumo wrestlers in the background and people with signs everywhere!

Just a few of the folks who came out to support the graduates (plus to hear US Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy speak)

Stanford gives out free sno-cones after their convocation ceremony! Amazing!

My family celebrating Jerrod's Ph.D. graduation!

My Mom and I at Alamo Square (aka "Postcard Row" & the Full House House)

Looking back towards San Francisco from Sausalito

Walking across the Golden Gate Bridge

This race is totally on my radar for next year... =) Andy Potts won Escape from Alcatraz for the 3rd year in a row this year - although it was a "normal" triathlon - not a "Dig, Dash and Dive"!

I was out riding my delightfully heavy Canadian tire mountain bike through Ottawa today and I stopped at a streetlight beside a man with an Ironman tattoo (I just happened to be wearing my IMC finisher shirt) and we started chatting about races. Turns out this man completed SIXTEEN 70.3 races last year and each one of them was in a different country! I wish I could have chatted more with him, but it was a bit awkward keeping pace while he was running I was trying to cycle down a busy downtown sidewalk! What a phenomenal life adventure he had! I'm inspired!

I'm sitting here now enjoying a glass (okay, my second or maybe third glass) of Ganton & Larson Census Count Chardonnay and following IM Coeur D'Alene online (It is actually not easy to find good Okanagan Valley wine here in Ontario!). I'm going to try and get an online spot tomorrow and hope that the stars are aligned for everything to work out okay... I've got my fingers crossed and will update ASAP!

Back on the triathlon bandwagon

2009-06-09T17:16:00.000-07:00

Did I ever actually fall off of the triathlon bandwagon? My love for the sport has never disappeared, however my training level has certainly decreased over the past few months! It may be a bit unrealistic for me to continue using my pre-ironman training months for comparison purposes, but I do. Finishing grad school and moving to Ottawa definitely caused me to re-evaluate my priorities. For a few weeks early this spring it was significantly more important to graduate and get settled in a new city than it was to train!

To try and give my training a bit of a jump start I signed up for an 8 week outdoor boot camp that runs in a park close to my apartment. We had our first class last night and I am definitely quite sore today! However - I've committed myself to this class and am really excited to start feeling (and hopefully seeing!) some results! The past month and a half has been awful for injuries and I've been feeling pretty crappy since I haven't been able to be as active as I would normally be. Cross your fingers, but I'm finally getting an upper hand on the injuries and am optimistic I can return to my normal activity levels soon! Although I have enjoyed the time spent relaxing on the couch while icing my ankles and hip I'm definitely ready to start moving again!

I was pretty bummed this past weekend. Back in the fall I had signed up to race in the Oliver Half Ironman (the race sells out early which is why I had to register in advance). I did the race in 2008, loved it, and had been really excited to race again this year and improve on my time. However due to school and work circumstances that were beyond my control I wasn't able to be there. I heard it was a beautiful day for a triathlon and I'm really excited for several of my friends who had amazing results!

On a non-triathlon topic Kristy and I went to Montreal at the end of May! It was my first visit to the city and we had an amazing (and busy!) two days adventuring around! Some of the highlights include the Biodome (the former Velodrome from the 1976 Olympics which was converted into an odd zoo-ish indoor ecosystem), smoked meat sandwiches at Schwartz's Deli, the Tam-Tam concerts (a huge drumming party in a park) and shopping on St. Catherine Street. Oh! And in Old Montreal we found a traditional Quebecois food fair and Kristy insisted that I try a classic Quebec treat. Hot maple syrup poured on snow (or in non-winter conditions crushed ice). This photo summarizes it nicely.

Yum. Maple syrup on shaved ice - Pure sugary goodness.

Work has been going really well lately and I'm loving being in Ottawa! On the weekend, to celebrate my friend Sana's birthday we went to La Fleche Aerial Park! We spent nearly four hours swinging through ziplines and climbing around awesome treetop obstacle courses! I highly recommend it if you're in the Ottawa area and are looking for an adventure (or if you have kids that have too much energy and need to burn some of it off)! I feel so lucky to have friends like Miki and Sana in my life!

I'm heading to San Francisco this weekend to see the convocation ceremony for one of my brothers who is receiving his PhD! I am so proud of him and very excited to be there to celebrate this amazing accomplishment! Sunday is also the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon - however I'll have to return on another year in order to tackle that challenge! I'm going to have my parents bring my wetsuit with them from BC so I can bring it back to Ottawa. My chiropractor (a fellow IMC athlete) invited me to join his swim group at Meech Lake in Gatineau Park. Early morning swimming in a lake that looks like a sheet of glass is one of my most favourite things in the world! Yet - waking up at 4:30 so you can arrive at the lake to swim in that sheet of glass is not. It's a tough call that challenges your commitment to the sport!

Here are a few more photos from our weekend in Montreal...

Schwartz's - Legendary for Montreal smoked meat sandwiches

Kristy and I with the meaty goods. Oh, and a giant pickle.

Crazy giant bird that had a turkey-like head. He was just chilling - Montreal Biodome

Beer, wine, pastry & chocolate. What more could you possibly need?

What could possibly be more inspiring to get out and cycle than seeing a bike made out of rainbow plants?

National Capital Half Marathon

2009-05-27T16:15:00.000-07:00

I was quite pleased with how the half marathon went, especially given the problems I have been having with my back and legs over the past few weeks! I'll try to recap as best as I can!

My friend Miki recommended a chiropractor to me 2 weeks ago and I started seeing him immediately for active release therapy on my lower back. After any running or long walks it was going into crazy, debilitating spasms. My walk home from work is 50-60 minutes and it was giving me problems! For awhile I was doubting if I would even be able to run! However, the active release has helped significantly, although as a result of how painful my back has been I feel as if I've adjusted my walk and posture - which totally made everything in the rest of my legs a bit out of whack. It has been especially painful in my IT Bands and in the little tendons and ligaments on the top of my foot that connect with my ankle. Ice has certainly been one of my best friends!

The evening before the race my friend Kristy (visiting from BC) and I went to cheer on Miki and her husband Sana running in the 10 km race. It was a great race to watch! Deirba Merga, the winner of the 2009 Boston Marathon just four short weeks ago, was only seconds away from breaking the 10km world record and taking home a huge cash prize ( 22 seconds faster and he would have won $100,000)! He ran in 27:23! Phenomenal! Canadian Rick Ball broke the world record in the single leg amputee category (37:55), although I believe the cash prize was only available for elites - which is unfortunate! What an amazing, inspiring runner! Kristy and I ended up getting back to my apartment around 9PM, which was significantly later than I had been planning on eating dinner at (I usually like to eat my last meal the night before a race around 5PM). I had a bit of pasta, garlic bread and some fresh fruit.

I didn't get a great sleep the night before the race, but had enough sleep on Friday, so I knew I would be fine. I had a banana and some toast with peanut butter for breakfast, and started alternating sips of water and gatorade. We walked from my place to the start line (about 1km), and had some time to kill. I did a short warm-up jog & stretch and had a gel with some water about 15 minutes before starting. I found my start corral and Kristy went off so she could be in position to take photos in front of Parliament Hill (I was still smiling at this point - see above)! Kristy has always been such an amazing supporter!

I have never done (or seen!) a run of this size before and it took nearly 10 minutes after the gun went off before I actually crossed the start line! I really wasn't taking this race too seriously, and my goals were to have a fun weekend and feel good when I crossed the line (Actually, when my mom asked me what my goal was for the race I told her I would be happy as long as I didn't keel over and die either before, during or after). My strategy at the aid stations was the same every time. Gatorade, then water. Usually just a cup of each, but sometimes more (it was getting VERY hot and most of my training runs have either been in the rain or on a cool evening). I even felt a bit dehydrated at times. At 9km, right before crossing the bridge from Quebec to Ontario, they had a gel station, so I skipped the gatorade and took in a gel with some water. The aid stations were the only places where I would let myself walk.

At the final turnaround at Dow's Lake (I think around 16km) I was starting to fatigue a bit when I noticed one of my coworkers standing on the side of the road waiting for me! She had told me originally she was going to be on the other side of the canal a few kms back, so I had been thinking I missed her! It was totally the pick-up I needed! I pushed hard after that and realized if I held a steady pace I could finish in under 2:30! Miki was there cheering around the 20km mark and then Kristy was quite close to the finish line! She took the photo below a few hundred metres away from the line, and although it's not a closeup, you can see what a wonderful turnout of spectators there was! I'm in the pink shirt about smack dab in the middle of the photo!

I knew that the 2:15 pace bunny was ahead of me, and there was no way I was going to let the 2:30 one pass, especially in the final few kms! Apart from the aid stations, I never stopped to walk! I finished in 2:27:15, and although I certainly didn't feel wonderful, I know I could have felt much worse! This was my first non-triathlon running race ever, and it certainly helped me set a benchmark for what to expect in future races!

The recovery has been okay. It's been busy having Kristy out here visiting, and there hasn't been much time for rest! When I'm not at work, Kristy is exploring Ottawa by herself and after work it's totally unacceptable to sit in the apartment an be boring when your best friend is in town and wants to be adventuring, eating, drinking and sightseeing with you! I'm going to get to bed early tonight, go in for some more active release tomorrow after work, and then on Friday I'm heading to Montreal for my first time ever! I was hoping to get in an easy jog this evening, but it's raining cats & dogs, I'm exhausted, and still a bit stiff from Sunday. Hopefully after a good sleep I'll be rested and the sun will be out for a run tomorrow =)

Procrastination...

2009-05-10T10:22:00.000-07:00

It's a balmy 5 degrees outside and I have literally been doing everything possible to avoid going for my 20km LSD run (napping, reading, writing cards, facebooking, cleaning, and even a little bit of real work!). To see if it would encourage some motivation, I tried some Vega Sport Performance Optimizer (in acai-berry), but unfortunately I was not able to gag down the powdery brown looking concoction. The title of the product sounded appealing, but it definitely was not. Oh well, nothing gained, nothing lost.

My lower back has been having some major spasms lately. They seem to be exercise (well, walking or running) induced. I don't notice it too much while I am moving, but the second I stop, the spasms happen and the pain travels down my right leg. I've never felt anything like this before (it doesn't feel like a tight muscle). It's hard being in a new city and having to track down a chiro/massage/sports therapist, but I'm going to have to do my best to find one this week. Some active release therapy is in order.

On the running topic, a good friend from school qualified for the 2010 Boston Marathon this morning! After missing the cut by 14 seconds last year, she qualified by running a sub 3:40 in the Forest City Marathon in London! I am so proud of her, and hopefully the pace tattoo helped!

On a side note - The Tulip Festival is occurring in Ottawa right now, and there are over a million tulips in bloom. Each year the Netherlands give thousands of bulbs to Canada to show their gratitude for us hosting the Dutch royal family during WWII. The tulips certainly brighten up the city!

Now... time to find the motivation for that aforementioned run...

Time goes by so quickly!

2009-05-05T17:13:00.000-07:00

My week at home in Kelowna was amazing and muchly needed. I was so fortunate to be able to catch up with some great friends, visit my family and bake some of wonderful treats that I had been craving over the past 8 months! Oh, and I managed to get in a few workouts in as well!

On Wednesday I made it to an early morning CSR swim practice (Coach Rob from Critical Speed Okanagan is amazing, and always welcomes me back to the team practices with open arms!) and I went for an 8km tempo run on the Mission Creek Greenway. On Friday my good friend Pam treated me to a fantastic massage, and I am pretty sure I spent the rest of the day relaxing! On Saturday I went for a steady 6km run around the Mission neighbourhoods and Sunday I did an 18km LSD on the Greenway! (Keep in mind that the National Capital Race Weekend is in less than 3 weeks, so my focus right now is on running!) The 18km run felt good and I started to get into a better rhythm the longer I went. On my long runs I try to take in a gel (or some form of nutrition) around 10km, which is what will happen on race day. I was a bit stiff after the long run, especially in my knees. I'll attribute the pain to the 10 extra pounds I've accumulated over the past few months from an unhealthy graduate student diet while at school. I've made a commitment to myself to shed them quickly.

However, I am sad that I wasn't able to get my triathlon bike out for a ride during my visit. Unfortunately I was so busy with visiting, packing, running and "relaxing" that I didn't even have a chance to brush the dust off of it! I haven't been out on it since IMC which totally sucks!

Sadly my visit home went by so fast! On Monday I flew to Ottawa (via. Toronto) and got settled in my new apartment. I'm a 10 minute walk from Parliament Hill and am living in an area of town known as the Market (Bordered by the Ottawa River, Rideau River, and the Rideau Canal). From my bedroom window (a 14th floor apartment) I can see the Chateau Laurier, Parliamentary Library, National Gallery and Museum of Civilization! It's a great view and I have found myself several times staring out the window in awe!

I did a "test-walk" to my office today and it took 45 minutes, which was much longer than expected. I'm going to try and take a bus tomorrow, since a 90 min round-trip walking commute is a bit excessive to be doing five days a week! I'm nervous, but excited, for my first day of work tomorrow!

Here is a bit of a reminder as to why I love Kelowna so much...

I did it!

2009-04-18T12:32:00.000-07:00

I climbed the stairs of the CN Tower this morning! It was an unbelievable experience that I will never forget!

Our day started out early, we (Pete, Christina, Lauren and I) got to the tower around 7:30 AM, and had to wait in huge lines until we were able to start our climb two hours later! Nine of us from the MES Program did the climb, and together we raised over $1500 for the WWF to help fight climate change!

The actual timing occurred over 144 flights, and there were nearly 1800 stairs to climb in total. However the timing itself didn't start right away (they gave us 2 flights to "warm up", and then they stopped timing and we still had about 10 flights more to go until we reached the observation deck level)! Sneaky! It was one heck of a climb! I finished in 20 minutes, 51 seconds, which placed me 482/2362 in the female category or 1505/4189 overall!

There were no windows in the stairwell itself, but they had posted school kids artwork to help brighten up the concrete walls! Some of it was really good, and super cute! The posters were great reminders of the reasons why we were doing the climb!

As for the climb itself, I definitely started out too quickly and had to slow down as I got closer to the top, but I never stopped for a rest. Many people were keeled over at the landings and I felt badly for them because I knew how painful and difficult to breathe it was! Every 10 flights or so there was a paramedic with O2 and a defibrillator. I hope nobody required them! By the time I got to the top I was definitely exhausted. I was actually quite ready to be done (I started cursing under what I had left of my breath) around 80 flights, but there was no way in hell I was stopping! It would have been too hard to start again! I saw a few empty gel wrappers on the ground in the stairwells, but never really thought to bother with nutrition (other that being careful what/when I ate before and ensuring I had a recovery snack). Is it worth it for a 20 minute climb? I didn't think there would be any benefit, but I would love to hear another perspective!

Security was really tight, and nobody was allowed to bring any electronics (or anything, really) inside the tower... so I had to settle for a photo outside! I'm flexing for the camera!

It was a truly memorable day, but time to start focusing on the next challenge - 5 weeks until the National Capital half marathon!

WWF Canada - 19th Annual CN Tower Stair Climb

Climbing the CN Tower TOMORROW!

2009-04-17T05:46:00.000-07:00

Wow - I can't believe how fast this day has arrived! Tomorrow morning I will be climbing the stairs of the CN Tower (as part of a WWF Fundraiser to help fight climate change). There are 6,500 climbers who have signed up for this wonderful event, including nine others from my graduate program! On average the climb takes 20-30 minutes and I am anticipating to feel the burn in my calves and quads after about 5! Organizers sent us an email saying this was a "hands-free" climb and no cameras, phones, ipods etc... were allowed, but I will try my best to get some great photos to capture the feeling of the climb! Here is a photo of how the CN Tower absolutely dominates the Toronto city skyline! My stomach starts to churn just looking at it!

PS - I only have 11 days left in London (and until I am done my Masters degree)! I'll be home in Kelowna from April 28-May 1 and then off to Ottawa/Gatineau!

National Capital Race Weekend

2009-04-11T08:03:00.000-07:00

After reading on the Running Room Forum that the National Capital Half Marathon sold out early last year, I decided that I didn't want to be disappointed so I jumped on the bandwagon and signed up!

Six short weeks until race day (May 24)!

Running Room Forum

National Capital Race Weekend

PaceTat

2009-04-09T16:18:00.001-07:00

Has anyone tried a PaceTat before? It's a temporary tattoo for that you plaster on your arm that has all of the mile splits and corresponding times that you need to meet in order to achieve your goal!
After seeing ads in Runners World, I ordered some up the other day (for myself for the Ottawa half, and for my good friend Mary as she races to qualify for Boston by running the Forest City Marathon on May 10)! I'll let you know if they were useful or not!

PaceTat

Moving to Quebec!

2009-04-07T08:58:00.000-07:00

The past few days have been hectic to say the least! I was made an offer by Parks Canada for an internship beginning in May. It's in Gatineau! This means that in less than three weeks I need to find a place to live and deal with the stresses associated with moving (Gatineau is actually just across the river from Ottawa, and I think I may live there and commute)!

I also have the added obstacle of trying to get my 2009 Oliver Half Ironman entry deferred to next year (fingers crossed!!!). It will make June of 2010 quite busy, but I think that "racing" a half ironman two weeks before IM CdA will be a good final workout before starting a two-week taper!

The next few months are going to be quite an adventure! Here's a bit of how the summer is shaping up so far...

April 18 - CN Tower Stair Climb (WWF Fundraiser)
April 28 - Fly to BC and then drive cross-country!
May 6 - Start work
May 24 - Ottawa Half Marathon
May 31 - 100km Metropolitan Challenge *
June 7 - Tour de I'lle de Montreal *
June 14 - Jerrod's PhD Graduation in San Francisco
June 22 - Sign up for Ironman Coeur D'Alene!
August 21 - Finished work
August 29 - Jenn and Chad's wedding (in BC!)
August 31 - Sign up for Ironman Canada!
September 13 - Muskoka 70.3 * (maybe.)

Now all I need to do is to figure out how to get my bike here! I'm sure I will find some races for July and August, but for now it's an empty slate!

I'll try to post some photos soon!

A snowy day in March...

2009-03-30T15:33:00.001-07:00

I woke up this morning at 5:30 to go to the gym, and was quite surprised when I looked out the window and saw a blanket of snow covering the ground! Unfortunately I gave all my winter gear (jackets, boots & sweaters) to my mom to bring back to Kelowna last week, so it made for quite a chilly walk to campus! (It is too early in the morning to catch a bus and I wasn't comfortable cycling on the ice)

My workout included a 60 min spin class followed by a solid 45 min LSD swim. There is a brand new 50m olympic sized pool that opened on-campus in February and for the last 20 minutes of my workout I was the only person in it! I felt kind of guilty swimming while having two lifeguards "supervise", but it was a great workout nonetheless and it felt amazing to be in the water. The Rec Centre membership fees are included in my tuition, and it is definitely one of the perks that I will miss after I move (that's the new pool in the photo below)! However, after a full day of school/work I'm quite exhausted!

When I wake up early to go to the gym I find that I am extra hungry for the rest of the day. Advance planning is required! Today I packed a great lunch full of red grapes, cantalope, rice cakes spread with organic peanut butter, a natural granola bar, carrots and a light babybel cheese. I just got home and had a bit of fat-free cottage cheese, a spinach salad (with plain soybeans, avocado and broccoli) and a bowl of fruit (but I will likely be hungry again in a few hours)!

I'm going to hit up a Moksha (hot) yoga class tomorrow morning, and then have group meetings for the rest of the day. London still has $4.99 movies on Tuesdays (which officially makes it my favourite day of the week) so hopefully if I have enough energy to be able to catch one!

Only 29 more days to go (until school is DONE)! Still waiting to hear on job placements...

Starting to feel a bit of pressure!

2009-03-28T10:33:00.000-07:00

I'll have a big decision to make in the next few days... I'm in the final few weeks of my Masters degree at the University of Western Ontario and need to decide where to move to start work in May. Not only will this decision have a huge impact on my future career, but also on my 2009 triathlon season!

Once the decision has been made I am excited to start planning for 2009 events!

In the meantime (before the big move!):
April 18 - the CN Tower Stair Climb! Thank you to everyone who has helped me EXCEED my fundraising goal!