Sprinting to Ironman

The Fall of the American Empire (?)

2008-04-10T16:42:00.002-07:00

These are some ideas I came up with this morning on the way to work. The inspiration came from a CBC article I read about U.S. credit debt.

The age of American dominance is over. This 'recession' talk is nothing. The U.S. is heading full tilt into a major depression at least equal to the 1930s.

Lets look at what we know. 8000 american families are having their homes foreclosed on them every day. People are simply unable to pay their debts. For approximately the last year, this problem has been escalating, and no matter how much the media and experts try to paint a silver lining onto the cloud, reports keep coming out about how much more trouble the economy is in compared to yesterday.

Now, reports are coming in that Americans are beginning to default on their credit card debt. This is ironic to me because I would personally be paying my mortgage before I paid any money to the credit card company. What use is a piece of plastic if I have no house to live in? Anyway, people are missing their payments, or putting down a mere fraction of what they owe. The credit card companies, in response to this, jack up their interest rates as punishment. Now the money the people couldn't afford to pay before is now not even covering interest payments, let alone the meager amount of principle the was at least being paid before.

Next will come personal loans, car loans, and basically every other type of debt millions of Americans are carrying every month. People are losing their homes, then will probably lose their jobs because they're showing up to work in rags, or not at all. The banks will be unable to make up their bottom line because all of the money they lent out is effectively gone forever. Bear Stearns has shown us that the largest of the large banks are not safe from this crisis.

People are going to be terrified to put their money anywhere but under a mattress, and rightfully so. We've been told for months that markets like China would be a safe haven for investors, and now reports are coming out that the Chinese market is going to suffer as much or even more in 2008 as the American one is. This seems pretty apparent to anyone who has money in a Chinese Equity fund: -30% growth over the last six months. If you put $100,000 into one of these funds last summer, you've lost $30,000 without doing a thing. Since outlook is pretty negative at this point, people are getting out and cutting their losses. I work at a bank, and I have seen this firsthand.

So, the banks can't get back the money they lent out, and no-one is putting money back in to make up for it. That sounds like a yummy recipe for disaster.

People are going to start running for the banks, banks are going to call back their money, and no amount of federal intervention is going to save anyone because the intervention needed to be done five years ago. It's 1929 all over again.

This could potentially have been stopped long ago had the U.S. not jumped headfirst into another Vietnam, only this time with a leadership too blinded to see that it was a hopeless cause. Why is it that nobody in the upper levels of government knows that a man will fight until his legs are gone, and then he will crawl through the dirt, all to defend his home. No amount of technology and no number of weapons will ever win a war where you are threatening people's homes and families. Iraq is a lost cause. It will take 100 years to restabilize the region. And for what? Oil that will be unnecessary if we simply tell big oil companies to beat it so we can fully embrace the electric and other alternatively powered cars that we've had available for mass production for at least 20 years now?

So we have a war that is sucking millions of dollars a day out of the U.S. economy and has effectively shrouded the growing credit problems that finally burst out of the war's large shadow last year. Now the U.S. is in a war it can't stop and a credit crisis that is only getting worse and worse. This is the U.S. economy in a freefall. As a history student, I learned and saw and read about the conditions of the 1930s. It's scary to know that in my lifetime I will have to go through it as well.

Or will I? In the 1920s the U.S. was the major player on the world stage. Europe had just finished a devastating war that killed most of it's younger generation and left all of the major producing economies in ruin. China was on the early path that would lead it to a Communist government. Russia was just gathering itself back together after it's own Communist revolution. All of the world that wasn't the U.S. was basically in shambles.

Today things are much different. The EU is strong and powerful. Germany has a (mostly) fully functioning economy, one of the world's strongest. Russia has gone through democracy's birthing pangs and emerged as yet another totalitarian dictatorship, though this one with a powerful black market economy and immensely profitable natural resourses. China's GDP is increase at something like 10% per year and is set to become the largest economy in the world. India and Brazil are emerging as major players in the world. Things in all areas that aren't the U.S. seem to be on the up and up.

So here is the question: will the U.S. drag the world into another great depression, or is the rest of the world powerful enough to keep itself, and the Americans afloat as we head deeper into the 21st Century.

In any case, here is what we know. The U.S. is heading for a major depression. Whether or not it is a Great Depression or a Pretty Big Depression depends on the resilience of everyone else. The U.S. is no longer the major central trading partner for everyone. We can all trade with everyone else and the U.S. The world needs to remember that as the next few years plod along. Cementing this great global economy is the key to preventing another serious depression and all of the potential problems that that can create.

We certainly don't need a WWIII.

Full Circle

2007-08-21T13:57:00.000-07:00

Ironman Canada is 5 days away. It feels weird to say that. Three years ago, when I decided to do this race after seeing a recap on TV, I was looking for something that would push my body to its absolute limits. I wanted a sport that would leave me wrecked at the end so I could feel a true sense of accomplishment.

Since that fateful day, I have grown to love this sport. My outlook changed; the desire to destroy myself in one glorious day of racing was replaced with a desire to live the triathlon lifestyle. Swim, bike, and run were integrated fully into my life. As I progress along with my training, my confidence (or should I say overconfidence?) grew to the point where I convinced myself Ironman would be easy and I should aim for a fast race with a good time.

Life got in the way however; I was forced to take a second job to make money and lost a lot of prime training time. Available hours were cut short and my workout sessions decreased in volume. Then a brutal IT Band problem appeared in my leg and all running was halted for four months. Ironman still felt within reach, but previous goals of glory and fast times evaporated.

Now, with only a few days to go, and having trained next-to-nothing (or so it feels like) for the last month, I feel like the race is going to be a mess. It will be hard, it will be hot, and I'll have to work my ass off just to finish.

That that makes me happy.

I'm back in the mental state where true enjoyment will come from being completely wrecked by the end of the race, no matter what my time. I want to feel like I was run over by a train when I cross that finish line, to hear the announcer (who I hope is Steve King) say I'm an Ironman, and then collapse into a blubbering mess, face kissing the warm concrete, content with all that has happened in my journey thus far.

Then again, maybe I'll go and end up with a Hawaii place. Crazy things like that happen, right?

New Balance Half Iron race report

2007-06-20T20:15:00.001-07:00

Copied from www.yournextrace.com/wordpress

For some reason there can never be peace and quiet for me before big races. Something always needs to happen to shake things up, usually some freak sickness that goes away a day before the race, leaving me healthy but worried of lingering performance-draining effects. Well, this race was no different.

First, I expected my run to be a total write-off thanks to a bummed knee, so that was hanging over my head right up until the end of the 80km bike leg (yeah, it was only 80km, so not a “real” half iron race). The real problem this time, however, centered around my girlfriend Robin, who was also doing the race with me.

The day before the race we were at the start line for a mandatory meeting and bike check. After getting our bikes from the car and bringing them to the bike check tent, we realized that somewhere between car and bike check dude, one of the pedals from Robin’s bike had magically fallen off. It fell off in a crowd of 600 people all listening intently to this important meeting, so finding it was nigh impossible. So, 15 minutes before the bike store’s closing time and at least 15 minutes of driving away from the bike store, we were off, in an unfamiliar city, racing through the streets trying to make it to a store on time so we could buy a new set of pedals for a race that was 13 hours away.

We made it with about a minute to spare and saved what could have been a very tragic situation, as this race is a)expensive like all long course races and b)a necessary test of our racing skills before Ironman in August. Being unable to compete in this race would have been a pretty harsh blow to Robin so close to the big kahuna.

After that little shakeup, we spent a couple hours driving around Victoria trying to find a restaurant that wasn’t completely full and ended up at a great pasta place close to our hotel, starving, starving so bad. I ate enough for three people. It was great! After a quick car tour of the bike course we got to our hotel and fell asleep, mostly ready for the day ahead.

The weatherman had predicted rain, but race day was just perfect, with ok temperatures and clouds with some sunny breaks. It was a day for PBs.

I got down to the late a few minutes before my wave was set to go and realized that 2km is actually a pretty damn long distance. The large orange balls they use to mark the course went off so far into the distance that I was having trouble seeing them. This was a little disconcerting, but I had faith in my skills and knew it would just take a little time to get through my worst of the three sports.

About 700m into the swim I pulled something in my shoulder, not because I was pulling too hard, but because I had only been in my wetsuit once before this and I wasn’t fully comfortable swimming in it yet and it threw my form off. So the rest of the swim leg was a little painful. I made it out in exactly 40 minutes, not bad for me, but pretty slow compared to everyone else. I had to pee in transition and wasn’t in a really big rush for some reason so I was pretty slow getting on to the bike. After about 30 feet into the bike leg my legs were burning and I realized I had pretty much ZERO power. Score!

I rode along, suffering, and after a few minutes ate a Clif bar I brought with me. After about 20 minutes and some Gatorade I was in business: my legs regained some life and my drive turned on. From this point it was 2.5 hours of passing people and going fast. I estimate that I must have passed about 200 competitors throughout the day, but it was probably more than that based on my swim start time and how I finished compared to everyone else. It might have been more like 300. In any case, I pedaled steady and kept thinking to myself “just reel them in one by one,” and so I did. One or two others passed me on the bike, either slower swimmers and better cyclists than me, or people in the relay teams that started after I did. Passing people is just great for the confidence and I used each person I passed as a slingshot to the next.

As I approached the end of the bike my legs were getting pretty tired. I averaged about 150bpm on the bike which is 5 beats below my aerobic max (calculated using Mark Allen’s method) and a little harder than I probably should have gone. I was still expecting my knee to give out at the start of the run and figured I’d be walking it anyways so I didn’t care too much if I blew myself on the bike.

After a quick shoe change and another pee in transition, I was off on my run. This is where a miracle happened. I hit my perfect form instantly. In every other triathlon I’ve ever done, the run is usually a thing of pain and suffering (both a path to the dark side, as everyone knows), but this time I felt amazing. I hovered at my perfect HR of 155bpm and just cruised along, still passing people, occasionally being passed by the super fast competitors finishing their second lap of the course. At about 13km into the run my knee gave a little twinge that I expected to end my day, but I kept on running and kept it at bay. A Japanese man that I had been keeping pace with for most of the race was in front of me as we neared the end of 20k and I decided to give a final push, crossing the line feeling great and strong at 5 hours 9 minutes.

I couldn’t have been happier with my performance. Well, I would have liked a faster time, say in the 4-hour mark, but as far as body-feel went, it was perfect. If I can have a race like that in August, I will be a happy, happy man. If I don’t have a race like that…well, I can hopefully smile and at least remember what got me there.

Half Iron Fun!

2007-05-30T17:38:00.000-07:00

Less than 3 weeks to go until the New Balance Half Iron in Victoria and I'm still tentative about running. A little over a month ago I pulled something while running and I've barely been able to go for more than 20 minutes at a time since then without pretty sharp pain in my left knee. Yesterday I ran in the morning for 30 minutes and seemed to be ok, and found that things seemed to be more stable when I kept my ankle/foot more rigid (as opposed to loose).

Anyhow, that 30 minute success story inspired me to give up foolish ideas of not competing in the half iron and reserve a hotel room for the trip. I've been getting some great cycling in over the last month or two so I'm looking forward so seeing how that translates into race-day success.

I just need to keep on truckin, and hope for the best.

Ironman is less than 3 months away now. Getting a wee bit nervous.

Sick

2007-05-14T19:56:00.000-07:00

Sorta sick.

My body feels "tingly" and I'm a little weak-feeling. At first I thought it was just a regular cold-type deal, but now I'm wondering if it's training related. I went for a ride to see mom for mother's day on Saturday (60k, 3 hours) and the next day was when I started to feel bad. I've done much longer, further rides before without problem but maybe this is a bit of overtraining. I was feeling a little more sluggish than usual this weekend, to the point where I made a point of not doing anything on Sunday (partly because I had no time, partly because I wanted a day off).

Hmmmm. I'll have to see how I feel over the next few days.

Always Move Forward

2007-04-20T18:21:00.000-07:00

Obviously this is a phrase you hear from anyone who is going somewhere in life. Always look forward, never go back, etc. Well, today I mean it in a literal sense.

I've been unable to train for the last week due to a ton of work at my two jobs. This is good for the wallet, but bad for the legs. I got a chance to go for an hour long run today which felt great, but something was missing. I felt like I was working harder than I should and wasn't going as fast and I wanted. I attributed this to a lack of training over recent weeks, but then I stopped (mentally) and analysed my running style.

One thing I've been discovering in recent weeks is the importance of feeling the work I do propelling me in a forward motion. When I make myself do this, instantly everything I do feels much smoother and fluid; deadzones disappear, speed is increase, and effort feels less.

Today I tried to visualize a smooth forward motion while running and suddenly everything clicked into place. My form stabilized, power output went up, and effort went down. It was the perfect end to the workout.

Remember: visualize forward momentum. It may not drastically change your technique, but it will make you feel faster and more fluid. If nothing else it's good for the mind.

Hydration Matters (YNR Post)

2007-04-12T22:10:00.001-07:00

Today I learned the importance of good hydration on the bike.

I set out to do a multi-hour ride this morning and had a blast. I got to explore more of my city, enjoyed the cool weather, and made a second trek up the hill to Simon Fraser University, this time up the back side of the hill which was much nicer than the hell that was the other road I took up last week.

Three hours into my ride, I was having trouble keeping my heart rate down. Riding that felt easy was still putting my HR in the high 140s and low 150s, which made absolutely no sense to me.

…until I realized that I had only had about half a bottle of Gatorade and almost no water since I left my house. Generally, my main concern on longer rides is having to pee; actually, more it’s finding a place to pee when I have to go. Public restrooms seem few and far between in my town.

In any case, I said screw it and downed a full bottle of Gatorade while waiting for a light to change. The scientist in me wanted to know if it would get my HR back down to normal levels, and how fast it would take to do so.

Somewhat surprising to me, it did! After a few minutes of riding my body felt a lot fresher and my HR went back into the 130s where I wanted it. I don’t know if I was expecting it to drop back to normal so fast, but I was sure glad it did. I was thinking of taking a Skytrain and Bus home before that.

I recall reading somewhere that a lack of water in your body is just as sure a way to blow a race (or training) as having no calories/glycogen/food in your body. The body is a complex system and all parts of the engine need to be firing in order for you to reach your maximum potential.

I think from now on I’ll risk taking more pee breaks and focus on getting more hydrated as I ride. Maybe I should just learn to pee on the bike, then I’ll be all set!

Many Miles (YNR Post)

2007-04-08T11:10:00.000-07:00

By Lincoln Penner

Actually, it’s kilometres since I’m in Canada, but for the sake of alliteration…

In the last 7 days I’ve ridden 242km. Actually, it was over only 4 days with a bunch of work days in the middle, but it’s by far the longest I’ve ridden in any one week period ever. By more accomplished Ironman triathlete standards, that would probably be the distance you ride in one day, but I’m still happy with my success.

I really feel like I’ve gotten a good feel for how my body feels at certain RPE intensities and heartrates. I’m not sure how things will change once I get to 100 miles on an Ironman course, but it’s looking like I can maintain a good speed and cadence on flat-ish terrain at 125-135 bpm. Obviously hills and wind have differing effects on this, but during an IM race, keeping my HR in this range (so I’m told) is very important for success on the run.

Total training time this week was about 10 hours, almost all of it cycling. I’m really happy with this overall because I think cycling is the sport I’m most worried about vis a vis my overall triathlon fitness. I haven’t been in a pool in months and I still feel that my cycling needs to take priority. I’m not sure what that says about me…

…probably that I just don’t like swimming that much.

It's so good to be alive!

2007-04-05T16:20:00.000-07:00

Triathlon is a very "pure" sport. By that I mean it uses the most basic of skills and little or no equipment. Aside from the bike, you could be a naked caveman with nothing but your spear and hairy body and do a triathlon. Maybe you could ride a dinosaur for the bike portion...?

I sit here after finishing a good, fairly hard 60k bike ride and I can't help but feel some measure of pity for the multitude of people in our society who have completely lost touch with their physical selves. Sure, maybe they hit the gym once in a while and lift some weights, but they rarely get to know their bodies intimately. They eat crappy processed foods for every meal, sit at a desk all day staring at a computer, and get out for maybe 30 minutes of light exercise a week, if that.

I recently had hours cut at my job due to major budget issues and have been forced to look for a more regular job to pay the bills. A friend of mine got me a job at a bank and for the last three weeks I have been working two jobs during the day, leaving little, if any time for training.

It's driving me nuts.

I can't really imagine myself succumbing to that 9-5 lifestyle. I'm not saying it's a bad way to live life if it is giving you the satisfaction you crave, but for me I have become so used to being an athlete that I'm fairly certain any future career moves I make will need to head in that direction.

That was a bit of a tangent, but what I'm getting at is that through triathlon, I have really discovered my inner physical self. I feel very in tune with my body and it's a truly wonderful thing. I believe that if I was to lose everything I own, I would still be happy so long as I had a pair of running shoes and a heartbeat.

Life is too short for me to spend my life behind a desk, and being outside interacting with nature just feels so right. It really is good to be alive.

Your Next Race Contributing Writer!

2007-03-23T18:16:00.000-07:00

Wooo! I now get to tell more people about my crazy multisport lifestyle! I'll try to post here the stuff I post there. Without further ado...

Life Skills Development

It’s been pouring rain in Vancouver for a good week now nonstop…not a bad time to start a new job!

I have been studying the ins and outs of training now for about 3 years, since I got into the sport. I think a large part of my success so far (how fast I’ve gotten good and how I’ve remained pretty much injury free) has been because I’ve been able to read all of the information out there and really filter out all of the good stuff.

What the good stuff is telling me is that real Ironman training begins 20 weeks out from race day. I’ve seen a couple of people extolling the virtues of this, one of them being Mark Allen, so I’m pretty sure it’s good advice.

20 weeks out from Ironman Canada this year is the week beginning April 8th, so that is the day that my real work begins.

Anyway, I figured that now would be a good time to get into a new job since hours at my current job are going to be cut pretty heavily come May. What this means is that right now training has pretty much come to a halt. I’m training at one job during the day and working another at night. I’ve got about 20 minutes to myself during the day, 19 of which is spent preparing and eating food (never gonna give that up!).

So, until April 2nd, there will be very little running, riding, or swimming of any sort. It really hurts since I love doing those things so much. I’m coming off a month of highs, placing 2nd in my AG at the UBC Duathlon on March 12th, then coming in a respectable 49th out of 500 people at a St. Patrick’s Day 5k, so the fear of losing some of that gained fitness is making me a little nervous.

That said, I’ve taken more time off before and not felt bad coming back, and the mental time off is something I’m going to miss once heavy training begins, so I’m sure it’s all for the best.

Oh, and having a job to pay for this ridiculously expensive sport is probably a good idea too.

Training Hiatus

2007-03-19T22:26:00.000-07:00

Looks like training is on the back burner for the next week or two while I get my work life sorted out. Just started a second job today at HSBC that I need to do training for over the next two weeks before my other job. This means free time has officially fallen to 0.

I'm not sure I'll work every day of the week, but I'll be lucky to get in 3 or 4 workouts I think.

Oh well, the real thing starts April 8th, so hopefully I'm still good to go by then.

It's funny how this situation is putting my life into perspective. I'm realizing just how important Triathlon is in my life, pretty much overriding all other things. I'm willing to quit all work that gets in the way of my goal.

Last week I placed 2nd in my AG and 20th overall at the UBC Du. This weekend I finished 49th overall in a 5k out of about 490 people, running it in 19:50 (a new record, by a few seconds). My potential is definitely there, and all I want to do is explore it.

How to do that and maintain a standard of living suitable to both myself and my girlfriend is the big question, but I think I can figure something out.

Best Day Ever?

2007-03-13T20:35:00.000-07:00

Possibly.

First, the race: pretty damn good. It was raining HARD all day, and was quite windy, so not the best conditions for a fast race. I did the first run in 20:00 flat which is definitely one of my best times. I was even "trying" (read: not really) to keep a little in reserve, but that didn't go so well. Between the speed I was going and race nerves, my HR went as high as 191 in that first 20 minutes; pretty fecking high, considering my theoretical max is 194.

The bike was more like a canoe trip down some crazy rapids, but I made good time. The wind was against us moving downhill and at our backs coming back up which made for a nice balance. I kept thinking that superior aerodynamics would win the day here so I tucked in and rode hard. I don't think I passed anyone in my heat, but I absolutely blew past several other competitors like they were standing still. That's a nice feeling

(Funny moment of the day: me on my 2006 Dual passing a guy on a Cervelo One, then another guy right in front of him on a 2005 Dual. Somewhere, a cash register in Cervelo's head office is going "Ka-Ching!")

I went into the 2nd run feeling pretty good. Had one small calf cramp tweak, but that was it. I did have a problem feeling like I was giving it my all cardiolarly (new word), but not moving very fast, but my 2nd run split was 21:30 or so, so I definitely was moving pretty good.

This run was the first time in this sport where I went truly competitive against another individual. A man running behind me had passed me on the first run, so I knew he was a little faster than me. I dug deep trying to stay ahead of him, knowing that any slowdown would cost me a position.

I beat him by 20 seconds. Pretty f-ing cool!

So, the results: Race time about 1:24, 20th overall, 2nd in my AG. I GET A MEDAL FOR THAT SHIT!! WOOOOOOOOO!

I've decided I don't want to have to scroll down after a race to see my name, so I'm just going to finish all races on the first page of the results. I think it's better this way.

Today I fired off two emails, one to the ITU and one to the WTC asking about jobs. Both responded. The WTC forwarded my email to NA Sports, so I hope something good happens there. The ITU linked me to some volunteer work for the Vancouver World Cup happening in July, something I had totally forgotten about.

In any case, I'm stoked. I'm hoping to get a ton of experience from the ITU people (and maybe a job!) and see where my future goes from there. Racing or planning, it sure is looking bright right now.

Race Day Tomorrow

2007-03-10T11:08:00.000-08:00

Well, in a standard case of goal-inflation, I've gone from want to simply have fun in this duathlon tomorrow to wanting to win it. Why do I do it? I have no idea. Maybe I have this misguided belief that the field won't be as competitive at UBC (probably a big lie) and I have a good chance of placing in, say, the top 10. If I hit the top 10 on this race I would probable die happy. Then I would die for real as I probably would have pushed myself way past my limits physically.

I'm going to try incorporating some mental games into this race. I want people to fear me right from the start. I want them to know in their minds, even before the race begins, that they can't beat me.

Yes, dance puppets.... DANCE!!

Sick again

2007-03-07T22:02:00.000-08:00

I think I've been sick during the week before almost every single race I've ever done. It's really quite fun (NOT).

I went for a hard speed session on the bike last Friday, when flurries were coming down and the temperature was just around freezing. The last time I got sick this was pretty much the same condition, so I guess I should have known what to expect.

Snow = going to get sick

I could feel it coming on by Saturday night, but I think it's just about broken now on Wednesday night, like I expected. Just a general feeling of discomfort and the sniffles. Nothing too bad thankfully.

Race day is fast approaching. A couple more quick workouts and then it's off to victory!

I hope.

Goin' fast...

2007-03-02T21:41:00.000-08:00

Three months of long, slow endurance training can wear one down over time as it's quite monotonous. This week, however, is speed week, and comes with it's own set of problems, namely the urge to puke after a hard interval.

On Monday I ran hard, 3x8 minutes as hard as I could sustain. This meant a heartrate hovering in the high 170s, a place I haven't been since I can't remember when. I was pretty sure I was going to fall over after each interval.

It took my legs three days to recover to the point where I didn't feel pain when I walked, pain like when I used to lift heavy weights in the gym. I forgot that the simple act of running could do this to my body.

Today was my bike speed session, 3x8 again. I'd spent the last few days tinkering with my new Dual, getting the aerobar angles right, dropping the cockpit down an inch and adjusting the seat. The result is a bike that feels fast, and more importantly, comfortable. Awkward on the handlebars, being at a 78 degree angle (compared to my road bike), but natural in the aerobars, where it counts.

I did one hard interval and was ready to puke after. My legs were burning, my lungs were burning (it was starting to snow, so it was cold) and I thought my calf was going to cramp. The second interval was more up hill, and I couldn't seem to get the same power output (HR) as the first interval. By the end of the third I was ready to call it a day.

The shitty thing about biking hard is that you cover a lot of ground and it's hard not to run out of room on a stretch. Finding room meant 20 minutes of riding, which meant 20 minutes of riding back home.

Suffice it to say, I was pooped.

Race day is just over a week away now. I'm going to try cutting all caffeine intake next week and do this race au naturel. I can't wait!

Speed training

2007-02-28T12:39:00.000-08:00

Wow, haven't been this sore in a while.

Did 3x8mins hard on Monday (total workout time about 45 minutes) and now, 48 hours later, my legs are still sore. I'm impressed that such a short workout had such an effect on me.

I plan to do a hard 30 minute TT tomorrow or Friday and then just a bunch of short recovery-type stuff for the week leading up to the duathlon. I will consider the race a speed workout too, but I probably won't do any more before the race only because I want to be really fresh for it. I hope to place well in this race and want to go into it as prepared as I can.

No beer for a while either, which is something new. I have a habit of getting drunk the weekend before a race. It will probably have been 3 weeks without a drink by the time the race comes around, so I can factor out alcohol consumption as a reason for poor performance.

I think I'll do another speed week following the duathlon and then probably take a couple recovery weeks off until April 8.

At that point we're 20 weeks out from Ironman. That's when the real work begins.

Soooo Tired....

2007-02-23T21:17:00.000-08:00

Well, not that tired, but definitely fatigued.

Probably one of the biggest weeks I've done in the sport yet, so far up to about 9 hours training time. Not much by professional standards, but I'm working my way up.

The week went as follows: long (1.5hr) run on Monday, long (~2hr) bike on Tuesday, day off Wednesday, 2+ hour run Thursday, 3 hour ride today (Friday).

If I can work in a 1hr 2min swim this weekend, I'll hit my 11-hour training goal for this week, the last big one before the Duathlon in two weeks.

These long days are definitely tuckering me out, but if it allows me to go a little further next time, it's all worth it. I just hope I don't get sick in the process.

That 180km ride seems so long right now when it takes me 3 hours to do 50k (albeit on roads with cars, stop signs, traffic lights, etc). I'd like to average 30kph at the race, which shouldn't be too bad considering most of the course it quite flat.

Hey, if I can do a marathon run, I can do a 180k bike. Take that!

Breakthrough Workout

2007-02-16T18:40:00.000-08:00

Wow, talk about a good day.

It's funny how the best days I tend to have start of pretty shitty. I got on my bike at around 11:30 this morning planning to do a 3 hour ride. About 3 minutes in I felt sluggish; pedalling on the 2nd largest cog in the back was hard and the wind blowing in my ears was getting on my nerves. I sucked it up and kept on pedalling.

I had been planning on simply riding for 3 hours, but after an hour I decided to try something different. Instead of complaining about how weak my legs felt on the bike, I decided to do some strength work. I was going to using the big chainring for the rest of the day, not shifting down for any reason.

Well, this worked great! My speed was up, but my heartrate didn't climb as much as I thought it would. My cadence was definitely slower, but my legs felt ok all day and my HR stayed around 140 the entire time (a couple of spikes when climbing some steep hills, but otherwise good). I'd guess my average speed was 28-30 KPH on the flats, which is a good speed.

At the start of this workout I was worried about how long it would take me to do 180k in an Ironman. Now I know that if I work on it over the next 5-6 months, I will be a lean mean biking machine when August 26 hits.

I can't wait!

On the road

2007-02-06T15:10:00.000-08:00

As the start of my goal to train for 7 hours this week, I did a 55k, 2:30 ride to and around Stanley Park (4 laps) and back. It was a kind of BT workout for me in that I tried to keep my HR as low as I could, below 140 if possible. I'm pleased to say I was very successful, even climbing that ridiculous hill in the middle of the park. I think I was using 42-23 the entire time, but speed wasn't too terribly less than when I'm hammering (maybe 18kph vs 13kph) and I was pretty fresh for most of the ride.

Some guy on a shitty old bike thought he would race me on my last lap...we went back and forth but I won in the end. Unfortunately that whole "leave your ego at home" thing went right out the window as my HR hit 161 while proving my point, but it was only for a couple of minutes so I'm sure I can forgive myself.

Legs were pretty tired by the end; I'm not sure if this is due to a lack of calorie intake or just fatigue from not going this long in a long time. Probably both. I need to be consuming more stuff on longer rides (2+ hours) for sure. 1 bottle of Gatorade and a Vector bar probably isn't enough.

Quick update

2007-02-05T23:02:00.000-08:00

Plan for the next 4 weeks:

7 hours this week (Feb 5)
9 hours week of Feb 12
11 hours week of Feb 19
5 hours taper week before UBC Du (March 11).

I need to remember these goals so I can commit to them. It's too easy this time of year to let the weather dictate my training strategy.

Wunning Woes

2007-01-24T18:15:00.000-08:00

An interesting thing happened today. I was out for a pretty long run (around Stanley Park...took about 2.5 hours) and just as I was on the last stretch home (after Macdonald) my RPE shot up and I had trouble keeping my HR below 150, even at a snail's pace.

Now, I had just eaten and Eat More chocolate bar, so I suppose it could have been due to digestion, or it could have just been fatigue. In any case, I should watch and see if/when it happens again.

As an aside, today was absolutely gorgeous. The sun was bright and it had that "triathlete" feel for me, the memories of early morning races in the summer sun.

Ahhh, what a wonderful life!

Weight

2007-01-17T19:23:00.000-08:00

It's kinda fun evaluating these parameters...especially when you see progress in areas like VO2max (which appears to be reliable within something like 6% of actual tested maxes).

Anyways, current weight appears to be:

175lbs

It appears I've lost about 5 pounds over the last year, give or take. I'm not sure where I lost it from as I'm pretty slim as it is.

A lighter weight tends to equal a higher VO2max apparently, so I'll have to retest that in the next day or two and see how it differs, if at all.

VO2max and HRmax

2007-01-16T17:29:00.000-08:00

I did two fitness tests with my Polar S210 last night and this morning. I'm not sure how accurate Polar's testing software is for calculating ones OwnIndex (VO2max), but to its credit it did give me the same readings both times (once late at night after work and once first thing in the morning).

OwnIndex/VO2max - 68
HRmax - 194

My VO2max has gone up 3 points since I last did the test in May when I first got the HRM. My HRmax has dropped one point.

I'm not sure just how accurate this test is, but I have a very high, and obviously increasing VO2max. To say that I'm excited for my prospects in this sport is an understatement.

Lactate Threshold Test

2007-01-13T11:23:00.000-08:00

First the parameters:
2 hour easy bike on trainer yesterday
1.5 beers last night
~7 hours sleep, maybe less
Uncertain about resting HR, but it seemed on par when I put the monitor on.

Test consisted of running 10 minutes to track (too wet/snow covered to use) then going 20 mins all out and using that average as my LTHR. Apparently this is Joe Friel's method.

Results:
179 bpm HR average

(Distance was only 5k. 10k might be a better indicator, but I still felt like I had some gas left in me by the end so I'm not sure how much it would change.) I'll do another test in a month and see how it differs.)

2 hours on the trainer

2007-01-12T14:32:00.000-08:00

...smashing my previous record of 1 hour. Yay! I watched the entirety of Spiderman 2 whilst pedalling away, with a few short breaks here and there.

I think that's my longest ride this year, indoors or out. Not too shabby...

Half Iron coming up...

2007-01-10T21:35:00.000-08:00

June 17th (I think)

New Balance Half Ironman triathlon.

I told myself I wouldn't do a 1/2IM this year because it was too expensive, but it's hard to deny that a nice structured race is far superior to the idea of simply "doing your own 1/2IM on a Sunday." Aid stations are very nice, as is official timing. You can also compare yourself to the 549 other athletes out there in the field and see how you stack up (probably not too high, but I haven't been tested at a long course yet so who knows?).

In any case, I'm looking forward to it.

In related news, training is slowly starting to get back on track. I've been running and cycling with increasing frequency, which is nice, but swimming, um, never, which is not nice. Hopefully tomorrow I can drag my ass to the pool for 30 minutes and start getting back on that rather high horse.

(As an aside, it looks like I will soon be working for HSBC. Rob is confident that I will get in there, and soon. I don't doubt his good intentions, but I will wait until they actually offer me a position before I get too excited.)

Christmas week

2006-12-30T13:04:00.000-08:00

A week off work is a good time to get some training in.

Like most people, I consumed about a million calories over the two or three days surrounding Christmas this year and figured with Robin and most other friends gone for the week, I would be able to get in a good week of training.

Aside from some marathon sessions of Oblivion, I managed to get out almost every day so far for at least an hour of exercise, alternating a day of cycling with running. I feel good and have decided that now is the time to jump into Base 2 training (my version of it anyways). I've moved from keeping my HR below 135 to aiming between 124-155, as calculated from a formula Mark Allen prescribes on his website (www.markallenonline.com/base.htm I think). This means slightly harder workouts, which I have been craving lately since staying below aerobic threshold means going pretty slow and light.

Viva la aerobic training time!

Not much happening

2006-12-24T13:01:00.000-08:00

Well, between late hours at work (1am) and Christmas fast approaching, training time has been pretty scarce. I think I'm going to work my ass off this week starting the 27th and really get back into things. I'm hoping for some dry weather in January so I can start getting outside on my bike. Indoor training really sucks...

Birthday crazies

2006-12-12T17:52:00.000-08:00

Best weekend ever!

Robin surprised me with a trip to Whistler for my birthday. It was myself, her, the roommate, and about 6 other friends just drinking and having fun for the weekend. It was only two days but felt like a week. It was probably one of the best times I've had in years.

As for the training, I may have set myself back a few years with all the calories I consumed over the weekend, but it was so worth it. It looks like I won't be able to take any trips this Christmas due to lack of funds, so hopefully I'll be able to work out like a madman for the week or two I have off.

No swim, bike

2006-12-08T18:23:00.000-08:00

As the title says, I didn't swim, so I rode.

I must say that I really enjoy having that indoor trainer sometimes. I'm currently in the middle of working late "exam hour" shifts at the library till 1am every night, so getting up early is rather difficult. Mustering up the will to get to the pool on a limited timeframe is also rather difficult, as I found out today. So, instead of tormenting myself with the "oh shouldn't I or should I," I just got on my bike for an hour instead.

Convenient.

Got to watch some Office Space there too, which is always good. I tried playing some Link to the Past but found it hard to kill enemy soldiers whilst maintaining a good cadence. Apparently "DOUCHE" wasn't up to the task...

Remember the light at the end of the tunnel

2006-12-06T17:33:00.000-08:00

After this last week of doing nothing, I was feeling pretty lethargic and wasn't sure if I could motivate myself to go out and do any training. However, after todays run and yesterday's bike, I feel like I could go on forever again.

It's important to remember that no matter how down you feel with respect to training, a day or two back in the saddle will cure any ills.

Sick = Teh Sux

2006-12-05T18:12:00.000-08:00

Nothing like an illness to derail you.

On Saturday last week I was getting ready to ride my trainer for a while when I looked outside and saw little snowflakes begin to fall. Since it never snows in Vancouver, I thought it would be great to go ride outside and experience it firsthand.

I did a loop around UBC (1 hour) and got pretty cold. It was nice out and totally worth the ride, but the next day I started to feel sick. What followed was one of those somewhat annoying illnesses where you feel weak, warm, and fuzzy, but too lazy to do anything involving exercise.

So, I did nothing all week, and only went to work for two days. I basically stayed at home and played Final Fantasy, hoping that the week off would allow me time to finish the game (it didnt).

Fortunately, that sickness landed on my rest week, so I didn't feel too bad not doing anything, but getting back on the saddle this week has been tough. I did a 1 hour ride today finally and got my mojo back, so to speak. Tomorrow I run and see if I can keep this momentum going until around Christmas.

Another week down

2006-11-25T17:29:00.000-08:00

Well, it started snowing today. It never snows here, so that's pretty cool. I was humming and hawing about going out for a ride, but seeing the snow, and realizing that I've never ridden in snow before, motivated me to get outside for a little while at least.

I bundled up as best I could, but after an hour I couldn't feel my feet at all. Actually, thats pretty much all that was cold so I guess my other layers were enough.

Friday I took off because I went for my longest swim yet (1 hr 10mins continuous) and felt pretty wrecked after that. I just had no desire to go out after that so Friday was Christmas shopping and Wii-hunting day (Monday or Tuesday if I really want it).

Hour and 10 minute run on Wednesday was good, but I was pretty sore after it surprisingly. Maybe my body isn't as used to long runs as it was a few months ago?

I've taken some of the seriousness out of my training lately since the cold weather is going to hinder me quite a bit in the coming months. I'm following a more "take it easy and enjoy youself" regimen now, while still trying to follow the exercises I have set in my schedule. I think it will keep me fit and happy until March or so when the real fun can begin.

Long Swim

2006-11-16T14:48:00.000-08:00

1 hour of almost non-stop swimming!

Today was a good day. There were one or two down periods during the swim where I thought I was getting too tired to continue, but I wanted to stay in the pool for an hour so I just worked through the shitty time and found that it eventually went away.

Swimming has always been somewhat tough for me mentally. I like it least of the three sports and tend to leave early as soon as I don't feel like going any more. While running and biking, I almost always just work through those down times and come out of them feeling great. I looks like I'll have to start doing that during my swims too.

Ah, the life of an endurance athlete...

November long weekend

2006-11-15T13:18:00.000-08:00

No exercise this weekend. 6 month anniversary with the girlfriend, and obviously spending time with her is a lot more fun than pounding out some miles in the cold rain.

Tuesday did a good indoor bike session for 1:30, watching the entire movie Equilibrium. Pretty good workout movie actually. Lots of action and cool music. Ran for 20 mins after. HR was high, but I was feeling light of foot and wanted to go fast for a bit.

Wednesday (today) did a supposed long slow run, but I think I'm getting sick because my chest felt crappy and keeping my HR down was hard at first. I called it quits after about 50 mins. It's hard to do the long runs in the rain because you really aren't going fast enough to truly warm up. It's always just cold...

My baby

2006-11-11T16:24:00.000-08:00

I love my Cervelo Dual.

Lighter than my Trek 1200, but with a full Ultegra drivetrain makes it snappy and cool. The yellow colour also makes it go faster (or so I'm told).

Yesterday I got this in the mail:

A brand new Arione Tri saddle.

I've only tried it out for a few minutes, but I can already tell how much more comfortable it is then my stock Cervelo/Selle Italia saddle. Definitely a good purchase. Can't wait to check her out on a long ride!

Gametime (/TheRockfromDoommovie voice)

2006-11-09T18:52:00.000-08:00

Training has started up again (finally). Not sure how much fitness has been lost, but swimming still sucks so that will be my big limiter to focus on for the coming months. Something tells me this winter is going to go by pretty fast as my life is in constant motion these days.

In any case, I've decided to separate my training log/diary into two parts, namely a training log (spreadsheet) and a diary (this blog). This way I can document my training online for all to enjoy (all me that is since I don't think anyone knows of this place yet), and I'll have access to it wherever there's internet (everywhere but Siberia, but I think they're getting it on Tuesday).

I'll start next week, with maybe a recap of this week on the weekend.

Downtime

2006-10-25T21:56:00.000-07:00

Not a single day of exercise in two and a half weeks.

Fun!

I'm not sure if I really deserve so much time off since, aside from that last marathon, I didn't have a terrible strenuous end-of-season, but sometimes it's nice to just lay around and do nothing at all. I can hang out with friends and the roommate without thinking about training. I can play videogames without feeling guilty for not running. I can lay in bed until 10am with my girlfriend and not feel like I should be at the pool.

Yeah, I could get used to this life.

If only my desire to go out and run 20k, Bike for 5 hours, and swim 4000m wasn't so damn high!

I'm getting to the point now where thinking about going for a workout is making me excited. I can't wait to start training again. I'm hungry for some miles!

Watching Hawaii last weekend was absolutely great. I watched a man people said wouldn't win this race twisce take his second title, defying those who said he couldn't run. Way to go Mr. Stadler!

Next years' training plan is almost complete. Ironman is within my sights now, and when you see the race on paper, only 45 or so weeks out, suddenly it ain't so far away.

Downs and Ups: Okangan International Marathon 2006

2006-10-11T11:16:00.000-07:00

I finished my first marathon earlier this year with a time of 3:33, which is (I'm told) totally awesome for a first time marathoner. I'd only been running for about 2 years so I was pretty happy with my success at that point.

After a summer of pretty good, heavy training, I was hoping to do 3:15 in Kelowna. 15 minutes seemed reasonable to me.

By the time raceday had come though, I had dived headfirst into a classic case of goal inflation. I wanted to do 3 hours and qualify for Boston. I figured I could run 2 1:30 half-marathons no problem. Silly silly me...

I had to run back to the car to drop off my jacket and pants right before the race started and got stuck near the back of the pack when the race started. This was cool in a sense because I knew that I would get the mental boost from passing all these people. Unfortunately I didn't think that would actually get stuck in the back, unable to pass the throngs of people running down the street. It took a long time (20 minutes?) to get myself seeded in a better position where the people around me were running more my pace.

Or what I thought was my pace.

I was breathing pretty easily for the most part, breathing on every third step. Unfortunately race nerves had my heart rate up before the race even started, and my HRM was telling me that my heart was going at 160bpm, which I sure didn't feel like I was going. I would have said 145 max based on feel. Anyways, in fear that I would blow up later on in the race, I stayed where I was and tried to enjoy myself.

Kelowna is the town I grew up in (well, not quite, but I was there from Grades 7 to 12, so all of my adolescence was spent there) and the reason I wanted to do this race was to experience my old town from a new viewpoint: running through it. Being there again and running through the various neighbourhoods I used to live in was a great trip through memory lane, bringing up memories I thought I had forgotten about after 7 years in Vancouver. The marathon was completely worth it for that experience alone.

At the southernmost part of the course we got on to a dirt road that was under construction and began a short but steep climb. I had hit the halfway point and realized that it had taken me 2 hours to get there. I couldn't believe that I was going so slow! It was at this point I slowly came up to and passed the 3:45 pace bunny.

Something inside me snapped. There was no way in hell I was going to finish this race in 3:45. The thought of doing worse than my last marathon wasn't comprehensable to me. I decided it was time to start running.

I came down the hill knowing that the rest of the course was pretty much flat and decided to book it. I ran my ass off, starting at about the 23k mark. I wasn't feeling great, but that wasn't going to stop me from trying to catch up to the 3:30 pace bunny. I was determined to do better than my last race.

I ran at probably the fastest pace I had ever run (training or otherwise) for a long distance run. I was passing runners like they were standing still. I knew they figured I was going too hard and would soon see me walking on the side of the road, but those thoughts only compelled me to run faster. Failure was not an option. My heartrate was hovering at 175 (90% of my HRmax) the entire time. I had no idea how I would be able to maintain such a hard pace for 20k, but somehow the miles ticked down and I was still going.

At the Vancouver marathon I really hit the wall hard at about 30k into the run. My legs felt like lead at that point. This time I was feeling pretty good until about 35k. All I could think about when the pain started was how happy I was that I managed to get an extra 5k further than I did last time. I was still booking it pretty hard, drinking gatorade and throwing back Powergels any chance I could get.

The last4k was absolutely brutal. I was still moving and passing people, but my legs were shutting down. I was worried I was going to bonk hard and have to stop, but I just kept on putting one foot in front of the other, determined not to stop until I hit the finish line. I walked through the last 2 aid stations just so I could hydrate and give my horrible stomach cramps a chance to lessen.

Getting running again after those stations was probably the hardest thing I've ever had to do. My legs were putty and walking was brutally painful. Yet just getting that first stride going and re-initiating the run made me feel a little better. Even the slightest bit of gatorade and a splash of water on my head gave me a %100 energy boost (which unfortuately lasted little more than 30 seconds, but it was enough).

With about 200m to go my calves decided it was time to start cramping. I remember laughing at the fact that it happened now, with the finish line in sight. Thank you calves!

I passed an older man on my way in and he joked about how he would draft off of me on the way in. We laughed and joked as we ran down the finishers chute and I shook his hand and thanked him for the laugh once we crossed the line. Sometimes I think the random encounters like that in a race are what make doing this stuff so much fun.

My final time was 3:36, 3 minutes slower than my Vancouver time, but my splits were the real victory here: roughly 2 hours for the first half, and 1:30 for the second.

In Vancouver my lesson learned was that despite the pain, I could keep running and endure any suffering. In Kelowna I learned that I could endure that pain while hammering on my body at a pace I didn't think I could maintain for more than 10 minutes. I may not have met any of my original goals, but I learned some invaluable lessons that I will take with me into the races I do in the future.

I think the racing season is over for me now. Time to rest, eat lots of food, play some videogames, and start planning for next year.

Burnout?

2006-10-05T19:41:00.000-07:00

Thinking of upcoming training has me feeling blah.

It's wierd that I'm excited for this upcoming marathon (3 days to go!) but ambivalent about all other training at the moment. Likely this is because I've not really ridden or swam since the Vancouver tri back on Sept 4th.

Another part of me thinks that hearing about Pros needing time off every once in a while (once a year?) to do nothing and relax away from the world of Triathlon might be rubbing off on me in a negative way, as in their need for time off has suddenly become my need for time off.

Well, I'll have next week off for post-marathon recovery, so hopefully that will give me the rest I think I desire.

Still haven't decided if I really want to do the 100k run yet, but that is mostly associated with the cost of it (race entry and fuel for me and the trooper). I imagine I will do it in the end, if for no other reason than to say that I tried...

100K?? Are you nuts!?

2006-09-20T22:25:00.000-07:00

I'm "considering" (read: pretty much firmly decided) doing the Haney to Harrison 100K Ultra run on November 4th. Keep in mind that I've only ever done one marathon before.

Have you ever run 100m? Well, take that number, and multiply it by a thousand.

Yeah.

I want to say that I'll see how I feel after my second marathon on October 9th, but really I think I'm committed already. My only concern is poor Robin, who will have to get up at like 2am and be my support crew until 5pm or so, depending on when I finish. Do I want to put her through that? It doesn't seem like a lot of fun to be driving in a truck all day...

Yesterday, when I decided to do this, my plan was to get to 50k. I can do that with "ease" I'm sure. But over the course of about 13 seconds, that changed to "finish the whole 100K."

In any case it should be fun. Hah!

Lessons Learned

2006-09-05T13:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the Vancouver Triathlon, Olympic distance.

My time: 2:29:10, 78/271 in the Oly distance overall, 10/25 in my age group. 5 minutes faster and I would have moved up to 6th.

My time in March at the UBC Triathlon was about 2:36, in a swim where I blew my shoulder in the first lap, and didn't have aerobars on my bike.

The moral: despite the many many hours of training I've put in since March (6 months), my time really hasn't improved much, if at all. My riding leg was good and hard, and my swim was about 5 minutes faster than before thanks to my Ironman Stealth wetsuit. My run was slower than before though due to going a little too hard on the bike, so everything balances out (though I'm not convinced that the run distance was more than 10k...it felt really long compared to other races/training I've done).

In order to get good in this sport, you really have to put in a LOT of hours. Natural talent can only take you so far.

Now, it's possible that I'm simply not as good at shorter distances (my first marathon was 3:32 back in May, a time that was very good compared to the other 3550 racers, and a race in which I placed 442nd) and my times in a half IM and IM will be better, but I think I really need to use this race as a reminder that I need to put in the hours if I want to hit a podium finish (probably less than 2:15 for this age group).

2 weeks of heavy running begins tomorrow or Thursday (if my legs aren't too tired still) so I can try to improve my marathon time by 15 minutes for the Thanksgiving weekend in Kelowna. Thankfully running is my best leg by far (49th out of 271 for the Oly. distance in this race, 4th in my AG) so I think a 15 minute reduction is possible.

Hopefully my legs won't hurt as bad this time...

Addendum

2006-08-30T19:30:00.000-07:00

I really like my girlfriend and feel like the two of us have a great connection, despite some of the glaring differences in our lives and past. However, her signing up for Ironman with me changed something within me. I feel so much closer to her now, knowing that she'll hopefully be able to understand the thoughts that go through my head better once she begins the big training for this race. This kind of stuff can only make a relationship stronger...I hope.

For the record, the trip back was great. Despite being tired, I think we both had a great time simply talking and bullshitting with one another.

Traffic sucked at the Port Mann though. I hate that part of the freeway...

Ironman Canada 2k7 signup

2006-08-30T19:12:00.000-07:00

All right, time for a change. I had planned to do a blog to record my training and feelings and whatever else I wanted in the year leading up to my Ironman race, so here it is, built upon the ashes of my old blog. Not that many will be reading this anyways, but you never know.

This story begins on Saturday night. We (my girlfriend and I) went out and got pretty drunk for her roommate's birthday at an east-coast bar. Good times, lots of beer. Unfortunately this meant a hangover for the roughly 4-hour journey to Penticton. Not cool, but necessary. I would have felt bad if we were forced to leave Paula alone and sober on her birthday.

Sunday morning was fraught with peril. We were late in getting the car, and when it finally arrived, Robin somehow managed to break off the key in the trunk's lock. It's funny that I wasn't concerned or mad or anything. I had just resolved that if this turned into shit, I would simply hop on a bus and go to Penticton that way. There was no way in hell that I was missing this signup for anything. Fortunately, after an annoying phone call, we picked up another car, packed up our stuff, and were on our way.

The drive was fast and pretty uneventlful. By the time we hit Kelowna I could tell Robin was sick of driving, but that last leg was short and we were both happy to be out of the car by then.

We arrived in Penticton at about 5pm, just as the pro women were coming in actually. Robin and I walked over to Main St. and saw the 3rd Pro woman run past, as well as a bunch of the top men, all finishing their day, while the slower cyclists were either still coming in or just starting their runs. Knowing that they still had a marathon to run made me feel for them, remembering the horrible pain I had during my first marathon earlier this year.

We walked over to the finish chute and got to watch a bunch of extremely fit athletes cross the finish line. My girlfriend had been toying with the idea of signing up for the race, due to both myself and an ultra-distance runner friend of her's at work telling her that a full year of good training could take a new triathlete (her first was about 2 weeks earlier) to Ironman triathlete with relative ease. I think seeing these people crossing the line sealed the deal for her, as it did for me 2 years ago when I saw a recap of the finish on TV.

The we walked behind the finish line to see what happens to the athletes there and her resolve shook a little. Many of the men, once over the line, slumped into the catchers' arms, or collapsed on the ground and had to be picked up. Some ended up on stretchers with IV's in their arms, and the sound of ambulances could be heard until about 1am.

We left the finish line and went to check out the lineup for next year's race and were shocked to already see about 100 people in a line snaking down lakeshore drive, over a bridge, and into a little park by a roundabout. Not wanting to miss a chance at signing up, I decided to get in line then. We put some chairs down with out stuff in line, then figured we could get some food and watch the last finishers between 10pm and midnight.

Watching for those last two hours was an amazing experience. Unlike before when the faster people ran through with less fanfare, now every competitor was cheered on by a ferocious crowd and usually ran through with family and friends. It was quite a thing to watch. The music was blaring YMCA and a surprisingly spry Lisa Bentley came out and was jumping around like crazy, no signs apparent that she had placed second in an Ironman only a few hours before. She was later joined by Belinda Granger, Jasper Black, and Courtney Ogden, all signing autographs and throwing stuff to the crowd. Pretty awesome.

The end of the race came and went, and we were all saddened by Madonna Buder's DNF (she got sick on the run apparently and pulled out), but another man was coming into the finish at about 17:10 and it was decided that, despite being past the cutoff, he would still receive a t-shirt and finishers medal. This was because he stopped twice to help other competitors with flat tires, then stopped again to help out Madonna Buder on the run. Had he not stopped, he likely would have come in under 17 hours. It was a show of sportsmanship the likes of which I don't think I've ever seen before.

After this we headed back to the lineup where our stuff was where we left it. We crawled under a blanket and slept until about 6am when the line started moving for the 9am registration. Why these people were in a rush to get up and stand around for 3 hours when they could be lying on the nice comfy grass I'll never know, but when the line moves, you move with it. I do recall being briefly awaken at about 4am by the sound of people moving, wondering if the line was already moving then, but it turns out that was just a bunch of people who had the misfortune of sleeping next to the sprinkler system being forced to move out of the way. The comments of one man "I was wondering why the grass here was so green!" made us all laugh, then fall back asleep.

The morning was cold, but once the sun hit us it heated everything up pretty fast. The registration started 10 minutes early and we were through in a matter of minutes. Pretty slick. That is how every registration ever should be done for anything. Actually, it was kind of anti-climactic as we didn't even have to pay any money, so it didn't seem quite as real. That gets done online after. Oh well. I'm happy in any case as I met a huge goal in simply signing up for the race.

Prior to this, I was always say that I was "planning on doing Ironman," implying some vague future date, whenever someone asked me, even knowing that this is the year I was planning on doing it. Now I can say with confidence "I'm doing Ironman in 361 days." Wow, I guess I should learn how to swim!

Running is just fucked...

2005-08-05T21:08:00.000-07:00

seriously, why do I do this stuff? Ryan in Kelowna asked if I would do the Kelowna Marathon on October 9th THIS YEAR. I said no at first, but then figured "hell, I've got two months. Doing a half marathon a little over a month ago KILLED ME, but yeah, a full one shouldn't be too bad..."

Another 22-ish kilometer run today....maybe 25k... I really don't know. 2 hours in any case. Assuming I keep my standard pace, I'll finish a full marathon in little over 3h20m.

That's a FUCKING HOUR + over my current best run!!!

I can't move my legs. I think I need a doctor, only I can't reach my phone on the bed 6 feet from me because I fear my legs will cramp and kill me at the computer. At least if I publish this blog before moving, all will know how I perished.

After the Penticton tri, I said I would take a break from the training thing, but TWO DAYS LATER I was out running... I know I'll be back in the saddle in a few days after this.

It just hurts.

Badly.

A Crazy Year...

2005-07-18T07:05:00.000-07:00

From sitting on my ass watching TV to finishing the Peach Classic Triathlon...wow. Hard to believe. For the record, let me say that that Penticton course is HARD. Heat and hills, that's all there is.

I came it at 2:55:49, which my friend seems to think is awesome, but I felt a little disappointed, which is strange since I didn't expect to be able to race an Olympic Distance race this year. Still, I had it in my head that I would come in between 2:30 and 2:45. I have to remind myself that this is my first year in the sport (without any background in any of the 3 events, which others tend to have) and that what I've done thus far is impressive to say the least.

This race is also more elite than the others I've done. Many excellent competitors showed up on Sunday, many who were either finishers or champions of Ironman races past. Peter Reid, current Triathlon Canada champion was there...had I seen him I would have said hi.

So, the moral is that I have a long way to go, but my goal is to place top 3 in my age category (and finish an Ironman, but that will come along the way methinks) so I must continue training. Harder, Faster, Stronger...etc

11 months and a week since I first decided I wanted to do this sport, and here I am, a lean, mean fighting machine. I think I will spend the winter working on my swim, which needs to become faster, and my bike, which needs to be replaced with something, oh I don't know...FAST (though she has held up beautifully for me).

I still may do the Vancouver Tri, but I'm not sure. It's in September so I have time, and there a sprint dist on Sept 18 that may be a nice way to finish off the season and show me if I've improved on my Delta time at all.

Until next time, adios me!

Half-Life 2

2005-07-05T19:23:00.000-07:00

Personally, I never saw what was so great about the first Half-Life. To me it was just another FPS. I didn't have a computer to play it when it came out, so maybe I missed out on the initial craze. The furthest I ever got in the game was being transported to the alien dimension. By then I had no life and was getting attacked by electricity mofos left, right, and centre. I also constantly felt that I had no idea what was going on in the game. Someone would say where to go but I would forget after 10 minutes of intense combat with either aliens, zombies, or marines.Still, it was a good game.

HL2 was pure fun though. I still had the whole "what am I supposed to be doing again?" feeling once in a while, but storyline stuff aside, the game is just pure fun. The game took the idea of "immersiveness" to a whole new level with the physics engine they used. I remember being in the city knowing that I was going to be attacked around this corner by some combine troops. I looked around and saw an explosive barrel next to the stairs I had to go down. I decided to push the barrel down the stairs and shoot it as it hit to kill whatever was hiding on me.

There was no one there, but the fact that I could do that if I wanted is a big step in video game history. I look forward to the endless possibilities that games like this will present to us gamers as time and technology improve.

HL2 has taken the idea of the fps and added a tactical/strategic element (in terms of environment) that the genre desperately needs to help redefine itself.

/my 13 cents

PS. THE GAME IS SOOOOO PRETTY!

Das Marathonen / 2 (also known as the Half-Marathon)

2005-06-26T16:56:00.000-07:00

During one of my many internet adventures, I came across the blog (or some sort of post) of a girl who was writing about her first marathon. I thought I'd follow suit.

I came to the conclusion at the end of my race today that running a marathon is like reading a story. It has intro, building action, climax, denoument, with various trials along the way to help develop the main character, which is me in this case. So, without further ado...

Commencement

Woke up at 5:30
Had a quick shower
Ate a bowl of Vector. I must say there is something about the fact that it is "officially" a "meal replacement" that makes me want to eat it when I have a race or intense physical activity of any sort. Then again maybe it's the fact that it has crazy carbs and protein. In any case, I've had it for brekky for all three of my races this year and I've done well, so maybe it does work.

I read, on Friday conveniently, that caffeine has been found to increase carb absorption in athletes by something like 26%. I tend to run better with some coffee in me, so this kinda sold me even more. I had a smallish cup after my cereal, and half a banana since those are my magic "wow, I don't feel tired anymore" food for runs. I got changed into tank top and shorts, new running socks (which are AWESOME), put on my shoes, grabbed my race belt (for number only, no liquid things), and rolled out like Optimus Prime on a mission.

I jogged to the bus stop and felt GREAT, considering I've been down for a week with some weak cold thing that was just bad enough to mess my lungs up for running. I coasted, for lack of a better term to the bus stop, and was surprised at how good I felt.

EVERYONE on the bus was dressed and had numbers pinned to their shirts. I felt sorry for anyone who got on and wondered what the hell was going on with these people.

Arrived at the start line at about 7, with 30 minutes to kill before start time. I felt no anxiety or trepidation at all, which was a first I think. After my friend Erin told me that I have a great running pace, I realized that running was something that I could do really well, and a little more practice showed that she was right. I have a gimpy leg of sorts, but it appears not to affect my ability to run or overall fatigue, which is surprising after about a decade of being unable to run due to a shitty ankle on the same leg.

Anyways, after a quick bathroom stop, I returned to hop in the crowd for the starting gun. I had been wanting to place in the top third of everyone since I felt that that was where my skills would place me, so I moved up towards the front. My starting position was more like where the top 10% would be, since there were so many people I couldn't see very far behind me. I actually thought I was at about 1/3 of the way to the front...no no no, foolish me.

Rising Action

While hopping around warming up, a loud horn went off. I guess the race was starting. I started my leisurely pace while a LOT of people were running past me, or trying to go fast in general. "Have they ever even run this distance?" I thought to myself. I knew that there was a considerable amount of distance to cover, and dying in the first kilometer would be completely foolish. Sure enough, after about 5 whole minutes, I heard a lot of heavy wheezing around me and suddenly I was beginning to pass people, still running the pace I had started on.

Things picked up on the left turn on 16th Ave. Here we were to run to Blanca (or so I thought), then turn around and head back to Southwest Marine Dr. After the turn, all those people who though gunning it was a good idea were beginning to fall back, and I started to pick up my pace. What followed was about 10 minutes of my passing people by the 10s, and gloating over my obvious awesomeness. Well, maybe not much of the last part, but I was passing a lot of people.

Blanca came and went.

"um...."

Oh, the turn around was just beyond Blanca, over a little hill. Before the turnaround, people were pretty spaced out and running in a giant mess. After, the line became more of a line as everyone started falling into regular pace.

5k in 22 minutes, a new personal (recorded anyway) record for me.

I was in a good headspace turning north onto Marine Drive. I passed the second water station without getting anything. I figured that since I can usually run for 1.5 hours without water, I shouldn't have to here.

Conflict

After a while, SW Marine starts going downhill and we turned to go down an even steeper hill, a hill renouned for its general steepyness among hill lovers. It was hard to slow down on this hill, so I let the legs do what they wanted for the kilometer or so. Then I felt it, a disturbance in the force of my legs. Actually, a disturbance in two part of the same leg at once, one in the hamstring, another up where the leg connects to the torso (I don't know the exact name for the muscle anymore...maybe the hip flexor?). So, I had pulled something. With every step I could feel the pain building, miniscule at first, but slowly growing. I knew this was it. I was done. This would grow and grow and grow until I was forced to stop and quit. Then the pain suddenly stopped. I don't know a what point it occurred, just that it was gone and I was happy. At the upcoming water station I decided to grab some Gatorade since the quick jaunt down the hill had taken some energy out of me.

Now, trying to drink from an open cup while running is no small feat, and one that I'd never even tried before this race. So, as was bound to happen, I got some Gatorade in my mouth and the rest on my chin and shirt. Sweet. I was going to smell Gatorade for the rest of the run.

At this point I was starting to tire. I had passed KM 14, which was just over half way, but I was starting to feel fatigued. Also, because I'm a complete idiot and thought I would tighten a shoe lace before the race, I was beginning to feel the pain of having a too-tight lace digging into the top of my foot, causing some ferocious owie-time pain. My ankle, for the first time in, oh, I don't know, 10 MONTHS, decided it was time to start hurting again (same foot), so pain was now on my mind and my concentration was shot as I began a shitty slow uphill climb to 4th Ave.

At this point, while my pace was remaining pretty constant, the fast people who started further back in the pack began to pass me, one at a time, just slowly enough that I would hear their footsteps becoming progressively louder as they approached from behind. I had never experienced this before in a run, and it is disheartening to say the least. I took some solace in the fact that I was not passed by anyone that I had passed earlier, but it still sucked to have people effectively whizzing by you. If my foot pain wasn't enough to hurt my concentration, this certainly didn't help my spirits any.

The next water stop was approaching and I still had a pooey taste of Gatorade in my mouth from the last stop, so I thought I'd grab some water to rinse my mouth out. Bad idea. I took the tiniest gulp of water, KNOWING FULL WELL THAT IT MIGHT CAUSE ME CRAMPS, and instantly felt a little revived. Old Gatorade stuck in your dry mouth is not nice, and the water was a godsend.

Then I was knifed by a homeless man, and while lying on the ground that homeless man's friends ganged up on my and kicked me in the abdomen repeatedly...

Maybe not, but I did get a cramp.

I wasn't a "stop racing and breathe" cramp, but more of a "everything hurts, I should really stop racing and breathe" cramp.

So, now I had a pain-ridden foot, people passing me regularly, and evil breath-taking cramps that seemed to find pleasure in moving from the right side to the left side of my body and back.

Passing MacDonald St. was a relief, since I was now in MY run territory, the path I take almost every time I go running. Now I knew what to expect all the way to the finish and could begin to regain some psychological composure. The cramps were still there, but I picked up the pace and felt better getting to the Burrard St. Bridge. Passing the gross smell of bacon at the local White Spot didn't help though, nor did that evil bridge, glaring at me, knowing how much I hate it. It's a long, slow, painful incline, and while I would normally be running on the sidewalk where I could look out on the bay to distract my mind, I instead had to look at concrete and cars. Yay.

A left off the bridge and we were on the home stretch. The passing of yours truly became less frequent, which was nice. I had my running mindset back, but my legs were starting to become useless from too much wear and tear. The run went down to the seawall off Beach Ave (I think that's it), but I was tired and was just trying to keep putting one foot in front of the other in a regular fashion.

Climax

As I passed the sign denoting the entrance to Stanley Park, some guy around my age slowly caught up to me. I looked at him to see where he was going to pass and he nodded at me. For some reason, for the first time in the hour and a half race so far, I decided to talk to this guy, with about 1 kilometer to go. He told me that he was normally a trail runner but this was his first road race. Cool, I thought, a newb like me. I told him this was my first running race as well (too much breath needed to talk about Triathlons at this point). He conceded that he was "out of gas" just like me. I felt some strange affinity for this guy who I had just met and decided to keep up to him as we ran towards the finish, only a 100 or so metres away now. Then I decided that I wasn't done, that I had just enough to sprint the finish and make it count. Just as I was about to jump into a sprint, dude next to me speaks my thoughts: "All right, lets do this." We gunned it, running full out through the crowds and across the line, a private two-man race in the midst of this great event of 4500 competitors. I passed the line and felt more dead than ever before. No Triathlon finish left me feeling as tired and fulfilled as I was at the end of this race. I looked around for my race buddy, saw him keeled over behind me, breathing heavily. We shook hands and congratulated eachother. I thanked him for the motivation, but I think it came out more like "wheeeeze...wheeeeeze...goood motivation.....wheeeeeze...thanks...." If I ever see him again I'll buy him a beer.

Denoument

After about a minute, my breathing and heartrate returned to normal. I'm absolutely fucking amazed at my ability to just "turn off" race mode when I'm done and walk around feeling perfectly relaxed, if a bit sore. I got gatorade, gatorade, water, water, water, gatorade, water, banana, power bar protein drink thing, banana, propel fitness water bottle, water to wash the shitty propel fitness water taste out of my mouth because it SUCKS. I also had an orange...and more water.

I went to watch the other finishers during this, clapping and cheering them on. Some of the girls I saw finishing were crying, and I was myself almost moved to tears. I pictured these girls as having overcome some great obstacles, like cancer or something, to do these races. Feeling as tired as I was, even finishing something like this is a victory in itself, and to all those who fought the odds to complete this Half-Marathon, I thank you for showing the rest of us what true courage is.

I was about to leave the race area when I saw an old man jogging up at about the 2 hour 50 minute mark. I heard the announcer say that this man was in the 80+ age category. I stopped instantly and started clapping for this man, telling him that he was done and way to go. To do this event again when I'm 80-something and finish it...I couldn't imagine the balls it would take to do something like that. If I get to be that man when I'm 80, crossing the finish line for a Half-Marathon, I'll feel like I did something right in life.

Mid-June life update

2005-06-15T19:42:00.000-07:00

What's been happening as of late...?

First - had medical exam and interview with the Canadian Armed Forces yesterday. Medical went smoothly (which surprised me somehow - I always assumed that either my feet or something else would cause problems for entry into the army) and the interview was fun. All systems are go, but aside from the 6 month waiting period between the hiring of officers, the competitiveness of the hiring process may leave me behind unless I can get some leadership experience under my belt.

Now, I'm certainly not a follower. I tend to cut my own path through life, and others tend to follow me because it's more fun my way. In my point of view, if you have to tell yourself that you're a leader, then you probably aren't. When you embody certain characteristics that others find admirable, then you will have followers. However, I'm also more of a lone wolf, so the concept of leading and being around many other people all the time might not be the most appealing. I will have to try it out and see how I feel to be sure...

Second - I discovered the presense of a half-marathon yesterday while walking by Forerunners. Not only is it a distance that I know I can do, but it also takes place right near my house, starting at UBC and ending at Stanley Park. I have the money, so I see no reason not to give it a shot. It would be nice to have an official time under my belt.

Public Service Commission Testing

2005-06-02T21:31:00.000-07:00

Dang!!! (In a good way)

Graduate Recruitment Test
Minimum Needed: 23/55
My score: 46/55

I have to say that that was a hard fucking ass test. However, I think that I did quite well based on that score. Needless to say this comes as a shock. Only 74/100 on the Situational Judgement Test, but I was expecting 0/100, only because it was really hard to know the correct answers for those situations.

This is sweet!

Now I need to find out my score on the Writing Proficiency Exam (hopefully please please be good!!) and to await a job offer or something (hopefully please please!!).

Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith

2005-05-19T18:33:00.000-07:00

First post in a while, but I just wanted to write some thoughts I posted at Futuremark about this movie... may add more as I think of them, maybe after I watch the movie a second time.

I was kinda shocked coming out of the movie. It was a great film, but it was much different than all the rest. Very gloomy and dark. Right from the start you can feel a sense of forboding that follows through to the end of the movie.
Obi-Wan fighting Grievous felt kinda tacked on because it was supposed to be tacked on. The only reason Obi went to fight him is because Palpatine told the Jedi where he was. They didn't have to kill him really (trade fed guys were already ready to leave after Tyrannus' death, others would follow). The point was to get the council not to send Anakin. That way A) Anakin's teacher/brother is gone so Palpatine can have his way with him, and B) Palpatine made it sound like Anakin was the right choice to go, and when he wasn't sent, Anakin was angry, just as Palpy wanted.
My only real gripe with the movie was the dialogue. Some of the scenes had shitty lines, others had shitty acting, but this is Star Wars after all, and that is to be expected. And whoever said that this shows Lucas's weakness as a writer and director is obviously new, and doesn't realize that this is the same in every Star Wars movie, and that these movies have made Lucas [b]BILLIONS[/b] of dollars...
Padme was poorly done in this movie though. She went from being a fearless fighter in Eps 1 and 2 to simply being a plot device here. She just sat around while everything happened around her, like a piece of meat sitting on a sidewalk that everyone just walks around. It was annoying, but it fit with the movie, so I guess it's ok.
Overall though, Anakin's slide to the dark was well done. I was annoyed that it wasn't a "click" and more a slow decent, but I think it worked out great in the end, and his internal conflict is evident right up until he gets worked by Obi-Wan. It also sets the stage nicely for Ep 6 when Luke can still feel the conflict within Vader on Endor. Cool stuff. It's nice that good and bad isn't so easily discernable in these movies, and that there are varying degress of good and evil. Move complex than I expected out of Star Wars, but most welcome.

More added later:

I think he realized that he crossed a line and that the Jedi would simply kill him for killing Mace. Anakin's powers are incredible, and allowing him to get away will killing a Master would not be allowed. Having someone that powerful being tempted by the dark side is too dangerous, as the movie shows.Also remember that this movie revolves around the fact that Anakin will do absolutely ANYTHING to keep Padme from dying. Palpatine says that he can give Anakin the power to prevent death, Anakin believes him and submits willingly. Once this choice is made, you can see how the dark side quickly begins to corrupt him, so that by the time he and Obi-Wan are fighting, he no longer sees the Jedi Order as keepers of the peace, but ruthless power mongers.It is such beautiful irony when Palpatine tells Anakin that he killed Padme (this after he gets the suit). He caused the very thing that he sold his soul to prevent. The internal conflict is so perfect at the end of this movie, and sets the stage for Anakin's final coup de grace against Palpatine in Episode 6. Holy shit, the more I write about this movie, the more I want to see it!

The Triathlon, Part deux

2005-04-24T19:46:00.000-07:00

Wow...a much different feeling than the one following the UBC Tri. First, the results (just so I have some place too look them up when I have to):

Swim: 14:45 (2 minutes faster than I expected)
Bike: 51:06 (ugh)
Run: 22:27 (Great as far as I'm concerned)

The swim was great. The whole experience of changing, waiting for them to call you and lining up felt very much like an epic movie soundtrack. Think Gladiator, the first scene where the Romans are fighting the Germanic barbarians. The music starts off soft, slowly ramps up, and reaches a fever pitch just as the cavalry smash into the barbarian army. Then, silence. Nothing but the sounds of war for 5 minutes as men attempt to kill men in the most basic of ways.

This is what the start of a triathlon feels like. I could hear the soundtrack playing as I donned my swim cap and goggles, and jumped into the pool. Waiting for the counter person to say "go," time seems to stretch on into infinity. Then you hear the word and everything stops: the race becomes your life. You leap into the fray. 7 or so other competitors, already in the water racing before you, clamoring over eachother, trying to finish their 28 laps (or 14, depending on your counting style) in as short a time as possible. All you can hear is water and yelling and cheering, but in alternating ears as one side of you head exits the water, then the other, in time with your stroke. It would be beautiful, if it weren't so chaotic.

Now, I swear I was on lap 10 of 14, when suddenly I see the yellow board in front of me signalling that I have one lap left. That was a shock, but I welcome one. I was feeling great in the swim. I was going fast, my stroke was perfect as far as I was concerned. I didn't feel like I had to gun it for that last lap, so I just kept on my pace. I hopped out of the water feeling great and ran to my bike.

The cycle portion was flat, except for a bridge where you had to cross over the highway (hwy 17 I believe). There isn't much to say about this portion expect that my mountain bike is in no way suited to road racing. I was pushing as hard as I could, and was still being passed by people. It is truly frustrating to know that you are being held from your true potential by something you have no control over (in the race situation anyway). So, my bike time was terrible. 240 of 296 competitors. Not good. I don't think I'll do another tri before getting a different bike. I think I could have easily shaved 10 minutes off my time with an actually road bike.

The run was great. I hopped off my bike, tightened my shoelaces, and ran like hell. I increased my cadence near the end of the bike portion (as a book told me to do: thank you Triathlon Training!) so my legs felt good (not wobbly). I reached a good pace and finished in a better time than the UBC Tri, so that was good. Oh, note to self: no black shirts, sleeveless or no. Too damn hot with the sun shining.

Today, the next day, I feel different. Last time it was the sense of completion, that I had reached the goal I had set for myself. Now I feel like I have been properly inaugurated into this incredible sport/discipline. I know how to improve my times, how to improve my performance, how to improve my technique.

I needed to sign up for a second Tri to get myself motivated to train again after March 13. Not anymore. I'm in this sport for the long haul now. I will train for the sake of training, knowing that every minute I put in will make me that much better at my next tri. I wanted originally to do one at each distance class, but now I'm content staying with Sprint dist. for a while and working on my times there. The best racer did it in 59 minutes... I can do that too.

Then again, he had a $2000+ bike.

Definately need a new bike...

Inaugural Post

2005-04-21T22:32:00.000-07:00

Ok, a friend of mine at work (you know who you are) suggested the idea of starting a blog at myspace.com. I didn't like the idea of having a blog address at www.myspace.com/3865638238467593856300021223857590210 so I'm going for the more straightforward approach. I figure this place will become a diary/journal of sorts, something I've been wanting to make for a while since I need to keep track of shit.

I chose the name Atropos as a callsign of sorts for online gaming (In Greek Mythology, Atropos cuts the thread of life when you die; it seemed to be appropriate when killing people in Desert Combat and Jedi Knight II). Anyways, that's why I use the name. It stuck, and I like it. Maybe I'll name my dog Atropos one day.

Now, lets see if I actually use this space for something useful...

The Triathlon

2005-04-21T12:31:00.000-07:00

In case you're wondering, this is where the "Aero Tires" part of my strange title comes in...

I was a lazy kid. I was also overweight...well, that's a bit of a misnomer. I had the spare tire and jiggly stuff all over, but no muscle. At all. So, technically, I was underweight. In 1998, after a few months of being yelled at by my stepmother to do something that didn't involve watching TV, I started working out at Gold's Gym with High School friends. This was back in grade 11, the end of March to be exact.

5 years later I was still working out at gyms, but liking it less and less. Over the course of a few years my workout intensity grew, in that I was constantly trying to kill myself physically. I wanted to work out to the point where I couldn't move if I wanted to. That was the sign of a successful workout, to me anyway. My feeling of satisfaction slowly declined however, and by the time I was done University, I had pretty much given up gym workouts.

Fast forward to August 2004 (one year after my last real gym workout). I saw the recap of the Pentiction Ironman Triathlon and the look of absolute fatigue on those peoples' faces, and decided instantly that I had to try it.

The only problem was, I wasn't in great shape...

Rollerblading to work during the summer had built up my cardio strength to a respectable amount, but I've never been able to run for very long due to a bad (read: totally fucked) leg. I decided to give it a shot though. One summer day I decided to take a quick run around a highschool field near my house. It sucked, but it was the beginning of a ridiculously painful, long journey to my first tri.

The Triathlon is in interesting event. Anyone can do one. All you need is a bike, some shoes, and a pair of shorts.

I had shoes.

I had never swam. I went to the beach and pools and stuff, but I had never done a length or lap of any sort before September. If there is such thing as a perfect swimming technique, I was doing the exact opposite. I flailed, I sank, I drowned. I thought I was going to die after doing 25 meters. It was shitty, but I was determined to learn, so I simply toughed it out and built up muscles that I hadn't used before.

I had no bike, but with the decision to try a Tri, I commandeered my mom's bike. It creaks and groans for some reason, but it works. I could definitely use something better, but I'm sure as hell not going to complain. If nothing else, it was free.

My initial goal was to simply compete in and finish the UBC Triathlon, which was March 13th. That gave me about 6 months from the real start of my training to get into good Tri shape. Only, I didn't know how to guage my progress, having never done a Tri before. So, I assumed I would never be in good enough shape and proceeded to put my body through the rigours of daily runs, rides, and swims. However, as my skills in the 3 disciplines improved, my goals changed. I went from simply competing, to wanting to finish, to wanting to finish with a good time, to wanting to get first place in my division. Little did I know that by the time March 13 came around, I would be physically prepared to do a much longer Tri.

As a result, my first Tri was too easy. I placed in the middle of the standings, which was fine. I competed in a Triathlon, and I finished, which was what a I wanted from the start. However, something was missing. It was a lot of fun, but not hard enough.

I got into this discipline hoping that it would fulfill the need I had for intense physical exhaustion. Seeing those people finish the Ironman, barely standing, I wanted to have that feeling, for looking and feeling like that would mean that I had given it my all, with nothing left to spare. I did not come out of my first Tri with that feeling.

So, here I am again. April 23. Delta Triathlon. Same distance run, but twice as long swim and bike than my first Tri. Lets see how this one goes...