Monday, August 28, 2006
Change of Season
Well, the last family vacation of the summer was this weekend. We went to the Highland Games in Almonte. Had a great time, and now it's time to get ready for school. All three kids are full time this year. My wife is taking her nursing degree, so she's full time too. It's like a switch has gone off in my head. I'm nearly out of tri mode, and thinking about xc skiing. My skis are classical ones I bought when I raced in high school 20 years ago. They're still pretty good, but I found out my brother-in-law got brand new skate skis for xmas 2 years ago and doesn't use them. So I have complete use for the winter. Woohoo! So that's it. I'm officially in the off-season. Just magazines and blogs to keep me motivated for next year.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Altered plans
 Well, I'm going to have to cut my season short. As it turns out I can't make the Bordern duathlon, and the Masters race is on Sept. 10. This may not seem like a big deal, but since I'm a firefighter, this is the day before Sept. 11. You'd think I'd have noticed before this. I'll be in Ottawa that day for the National Firefighter's Memorial. I'm a member of my Dept. Honour Guard. It will still be a workout, though, since I'll be marching and playing bagipies at the same time. My own version of a duathlon, I guess. So I can now focus on next year. My modest goals are 180lbs, a half marathon in under 2 hours, and an olympic tri in under 2.5 hours. Modest goals by some standards, but a lot of work for me.
Friday, August 18, 2006
Pain
Went on a nice 40K bike yesterday and felt great. This morning I awoke with a sharp pain at the insertion of my right clavicle. I don't know if it's a coincidence or the bike caused it. Anyone else have this problem? My family will be back today. They went to Manitoulin for 3 days, leaving me here. It wasn't parties and fun, though, since your favourite firefighter had to work night shift the whole time. I have some cleaning to do now.
Monday, August 14, 2006
The long run
Did a 1 hour run this afternoon. For me that is a pretty long run. The usual pee break at 3 miles. That drives me nuts. And it happens on every run. Luckily I live in the bush so I have many discrete places. Our weekend trip yielded 2 new Nike dri-weave shirts for my 2 oldest girls, so we went for a run today to break them in. They look like real athletes now!
Friday, August 11, 2006
Morning Ride
Got up and went for a bike before work. Had to keep it short, but early morning training is great! Went to a small bike track in town, 1K per lap, and did 15K. The track has a couple of hills and some tight turns, but it's still boring. Here's an aerial pic:
 That's it. Early run tommorrow and off to Barrie for a wedding. Need to be careful, bear in my yard this week. Ah well, I like it out here.
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Plateau
Anyone who's tried to lose weight will be with me on this one. Plateaus are hard. They take all your mental energy because you're not only discouraged, but you spend every waking moment figuring out how to break out of it. In April I weighed 220lbs. That's a lot on a 5'10" frame. I've been at 195 for about 2 months now, and it is frustrating. The difficulty is that I'm also doing all this training, so I have a huge appetite. I'm not eating junk, just tons! I realize that the scale is a poor indicator of body fitness, but my knees don't care if its fat or muscle, it's still heavy.  This winter will be my proving ground, I think. No races to think about, just training. Cross country ski season is fast approaching, and that was always good to shed the pounds. This process of transforming a former power lifter into a triathlete is hard, but necessary. I want my knees and ankles to last a long time. My shoulders and wrists even take a beating leaning over the handlebars. I'm hanging in and working hard. Hopefully my next wieght related post will be good news.
Monday, August 07, 2006
The kids are alright
My daughters have been to my 2 races, and are becoming interested in fitness. The older ones are 9 and 7. They like to run with me, so we do about 1K together, then I do my run or bike. The run with the kids is a great warm-up. On Saturday, we did a little aquathlon. A swim to the raft and back, and a 500m run, with a transition area on the patio. What a great time. I'm hoping the girls get in the habit of exercising, even at this age. Heck, I was 10 when I started competitive swimming. 
Friday, August 04, 2006
Parry Sound Triathlon
 My 2nd race of the year (of my life). Checked out the area the night before, arrived very early, racked my bike, and registered. So far, so good. 20 minutes before the start, a bunch of us entered Georgian Bay to warm up. Overcast skys looked threatening. I was about waist deep when it happened; lightening struck the water 200m from shore! Lifeguards were yelling, and we were headed for shore in a hurry. No one was hurt. Then the rain came. It rained so hard that we couldn't risk biking either. The organizers put on a 10 Km running race on the Saturday, just so that there would be something. They ran the sprint tri on Sunday, along with the half ironman race. Arrived early again, and everything went smoothly. The swim was very nice, I thought it would be colder (I don't have a wetsuit). That dark water is a little spooky, though.  I pushed myself harder on the bike. I have a 15 year old steel racing bike, but it does the job. I was wayyy faster than everyone else on the downhills. It must be the physics of a heavy object in motion. The run went well. With about 1 Km to go, a fellow caught up to me, and began coaching me on my pace. I have no doubt he took 30 seconds off my time. He even told me when to start my finishing kick, and he stayed back. This is a guy in my age group! I can't thank him enough. Some of the friendliest people you'll ever meet are at triathlons. Thanks to the rain delay, we only had 52 competitors this year, but the event was still a success.
Time: 1:20:00 - 24th overall
Swim: 17:11 - 2:18/100m - 20th overall
T1 - 1:41
Bike: 35:17 - 30.6Km/hr - 29th overall
T2 - 0:30
Run - 25:24 - 4:37/Km - 24th overall
McKellar Triathlon
 My first race ever, a tri sprint race in McKellar, just east of Parry Sound, Ontario. I was surprisingly calm, even though I arrived way too late, rushed through registration, rushed to rack my bike, rushed to the water. The swim started and I went out fast. (I must confess, I haven't trained for swimming at all. I'm relying on my background in swimming for this summer. My bike and run need a lot of attention). I was soon doing breast stroke to catch my breath. The swim was alright, though. The bike was great; long rolling course with low hills. The run was equally good, except fot the cattle pasture in the 1st Km. A great experience, and a beautiful location. I recommend this event to everyone. With only 41 competitors this year, it's a great first race. Time: 1:30:03 - 17th overall Swim: 16:09 - 2:10/100m - 9th overall Bike: 45:34 - 26.3 Km/hr - 30th overall (yikes!!!) Run: 28:20 - 5:40/Km - 20th overall
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