Love what you do

Ironman Lanzarote is trying to sneak up on me, and as it nears my training intensity is ramping up. I've gotten my first 2 real outdoor rides in this week, done a whole lot of running, and put in some quality time in the pool. And with the intensity has come some tired legs, fatigued lungs, and a few mental stumbling blocks. But this week I'm soaking in that pain and thriving on it. This week I'm actually relishing in my ability to keep pushing. Because I can.

Now I'd be lying if I said my mind has been focused 100% on my workouts this week. Especially those solo sessions. That's the beauty of training on your own; it gives you time to reflect. It's become a bit cliche to say someone is one of the nicest people you'll meet. And I try to avoid cliches.  But those hours of swimming/running/biking on my own this week have given me time to pay tribute to honestly one of the most genuinely beautiful souls I have ever met. I only met Sweyen Lam a couple of times and chatted on the phone a few times, but those brief encounters (and plenty of stories from my wife) were enough to make a strong impression on me. So it was with great sadness that I was awoken by a phone call from Dezz early Monday morning to tell me Sweyen was gone; taken from us unexpectedly and way too soon. 

I've never been one to believe things happen for a reason. The universe didn't dictate it. Some god didn't have greater plans. Bad shit just happens to some amazing people. All we can do is keep their memory alive and strive to enjoy life. Love what you do. It's hard to push away the grief long enough to see how any good can come of this situation right now. But in time I truly believe that greatness will rise out of people's desires to honour Sweyen's memory. The last time I saw that happen, I ended up doing a little triathlon in Jason Lapierre's memory. 6 years later I watched my good friend (and one of Sweyen's best friends) cross the finish line at Ironman Canada with a huge smile on her face. I believe Jay's spirit had a little something to do with that. And in time, we'll reflect back during some training ride or hike in the woods or dance off at a house party, and realize that although we'll only see Sweyen's smile in pictures, the memory of her amazing spirit will have lifted us to a place we never thought possible. Rest in Peace Sweyen.

I escaped...barely

Escape from Alcatraz is one of those bucket-list triathlons that I always heard so much about. But it wasn't until I was in San Fran coincidentally the same weekend as the race  last year that I even considered the race. After chatting with coach Jon (5th overall) and my clubmate Ari, it sounded like this race was definitely worth some consideration. And when they moved the race from June to March this year, perfect for IM Lanzarote training, I took that as a sign.

So after getting a lottery spot for this race, Grant has been incorporating training for Alcatraz into my IML training. Training was going well, but over the past couple of weeks life has been chaos...home renos in the new house and getting the condo ready for rental.  The move is complete now, but at the expense of sleep and training.  A less than ideal way to prep for a race.

We pulled an all nighter to finish the move, missed our 7:30am flight but caught a later flight and arrived about 3pm on Friday.  Perfect plan...Liadhan and Eamon had already done the grocery shopping. Good dinner, solid 12 hour sleep, ride down to package pickup, recon the course, salad for lunch, fish for dinner, prep and a 5 hour sleep before our 3:30am wake up.  After a light breakfast, Eamon and I rode down to T1 to drop off our gear and grab the shuttle bus to the ferry. Fast forward 2 hours and we were plunging off the edge of the boat into 10c water.

The swim was intense. Very choppy water and cold conditions were enough to throw off my first 7 or 8 minutes to the point where I was swimming with my head above water.  I eventually found my rhythm and tried to focus on technique while getting smacked in the face by brackish water. 56 minutes after jumping off the boat I was walking onto the beach...4 minutes past the exit.  The next delay came in trying to find my swim-exit bag.  I'm not sure where it ended up, so I made the 800m run to T1 barefoot.

T1 was very slow...putting on socks and arm warmers with cold fingers and reduced dexterity make the simplest things look ridiculously difficult. I spent the first few minutes on the bike spinning at high cadence trying to get my legs going again. And as soon as we hit the first hill it ws on. I tried to attack every uphill and downhill (and flat) and managed to make up a lot of the places I'd lost in the bike.  Unfortunately the effects of the swim along with the headwind hampered my ride and I finished the 30km ride in a disappointing 1:04. I do continue to be shocked by the complete disregard for safety that some triathletes exhibit on the bike and understand why roadies make fun of triathlete bike handling skills. Seriously people, wake the eff up and pay attention to your surroundings for everyone's safety! Please.

I realized after a sluggish ride my goal time was out the window. I had a decent transition and headed out for a slow first km on the run.  All that brackish water sloshing around in my belly was not making for a very comfortable run. A quick pit stop and I was able to pick up my pace...only to be slowed at the first set of stairs. I literally had to walk up the stairs as this part was 2-way traffic and I hit a traffic jam. I've never done a race where my run pace was so dictated by others on the course.  No excuses though; I just have to get out the swim faster! The run course itself is gorgeous - pavement, dirt trails, stairs, beach, sand ladder, uphill, downhill. Following a sandy run along the beach, I hit the sand ladder - about 250 steps covered by sand. This was the highlight of my race with a 16th overall in my age group (yes they provide a sand ladder split).  Even after a fairly fast ascent I had the energy to maintain a good pace. Once I hit the downhill I picked up the pace and pushed it home.

I crossed the line in 3:27.  A much slower day than I had aimed for. Definitely some negatives on the day, but also a few positives to take away.  Like making it through the swim and having the mental and physical strength for a strong finish on the run. Overall it was a great race.  Eamon and I have spent the last couple of days discussing if we'd throw our names in the lottery agin...I'm still undecided. Today's winery tour wasn't such a tough decision.  Congrats to Eamon (we had a bit of a rivalry leading up to the race, perpetuated more by our TCTC club mates) who kicked my butt in the race.  And great job to Jorge and Katie from the club too.

Blogging about blogs. Oh, and training.

I recently read a tweet from Paula Findlay asking if blogging was still a thing.  And she wrote an accompanying blog just in case. Given that there were 6 comments on said blog, I can only assume that the answer to the question is yes, blogging is indeed still a thing. Well at least if you have fans. I’ve decided to finally write another entry regardless.

Lately when we go out with friends, I’m asked about how much I train, what races I’m doing this year, what I eat when training,etc. I’m not sure if it’s because people actually care, or they think I just have nothing else to talk about. It must be the first one. I’ll happily talk about travel (I’m racing in San Fran and Lanzarote this Spring), fashion (those new TCTC kits are gonna look sick) or music (Kanye’s Monster still gets me amped for races).  See. At any rate, this blog entry is dedicated to you.

With two early season races this year, my training schedule has looked a little different than previous years. I’m usually in the early stages of building my base back up at this time of year. But with Escape from Alcatraz coming up in 4 ½ weeks and IMLanzarote a mere 3 ½ months away, weeknight beers have been banished and the goggle straps are wearing thin. It is tough to keep motivated throughout the winter, but several people have been there to keep me going 6 days a week, especially my coach who has finally built some rigour around my training, and Dezz who all but kicks me out the door to make sure I get my training in despite just starting renos in our new house. And all that training seems to be paying off (well at least on the bike and the run).  

The newest addition to my training regimen is stair repeats in preparation for the dreaded Alcatraz sand ladder. Thanks Jon...no really, thanks. I’ve noticed a positive impact on my leg strength already. The only downside is tight calves. But last night I rocked the CEP socks during (instead of just after) my set, and today the legs feel like they are ready to hammer tonight’s spin (wait, can one “hammer” an E2 ride?).

All in all, I’m pretty stoked to see where the next 4 weeks take me, and then the next 8 or 9 weeks after that. If you already know what happens, don’t tell me. I prefer surprises.

Another year, another Sylvan.

The taper is an important element of a successful race. But forced tapers due to illness kinda suck. I went into the Sylvan Lake 1km-60km-10km feeling a bit under prepared due to 5 days of relative inactivity leading up to the race. But come race weekend, I was feeling about 80% fit.

After a leisurely drive out to Sylvan along the backroads (Shannon rode out while Dezz joined her by bike for the last 30km or so), we registered and met up with our J-Force teammates for a bite to eat. Following a solid 6 1/2 hours of sleep, I was up at 5:15 for my breakfast of thin bagel, banana and almond butter and then headed over to transition. My transition times have improved this year in large part to keeping my transition area much simpler. I took this same approach today giving me another day of quick transitions.

Into the lake, we started in knee-deep water. And once the gun went off...we walked. The first 100m were very shallow following along the shoreline, so it was a combination of walking, swimming and dolphin diving. And then I finally settled in. It was nice to be able to see the bottom for most of the swim and site off the boat line as the big yellow buoy straight ahead of us blended into the sun. After 22 minutes, I was walking up the steps and hustling along to the wetsuit strippers. Not a great time, but I was actually in the top half on the swim (just barely).

Out onto the bike, my legs struggled to find the groove. With no bike computer, I was going purely on feel. And by the 10km mark, I was able to confirm that I was indeed very sluggish at 19:32. Knowing my goal of 3 hours would go out the window if I could barely hold a pace of 30km/h over the 60km bike course, I tried to spin my legs up and started to pass a few people. Around the 15km mark I lost both my spare tubes so I prayed to Ryder Hesjedal for no flats (prayers answered). The rest of the ride felt very slow like I was pushing into a big headwind. But it must have just been one of those days as I actually averaged  35km/h over the last 50km to secure the 6th fastest bike split overall.

I knew I'd have to catch Jason and Chris on the bike to have a good chance of beating them. As I racked my bike and slipped on my running shoes, I saw Jason head out onto the run. Doh!  The run was 2 loops with an out-and-back, meaning I could see my teammates throughout the run. Although I made up some time on Schwanny after his winning bike split, I had no chance of making up time on Chris and Jason who paced each other to a blazing run. It was a hot run and I think the one week layoff may have taken it's toll on the final lap. A slow run, but I was happy with my overall finish of 2h56 (4th AG; 9th overall). It was pretty sweet to finish top 10 along with 3 friends. Thanks for pushing me a little bit harder guys.

Afterwards, it was time to relax and cheer on everyone else. Congrats to Shannon and Twyla who teamed up with Ricky for their first Team J-Force experience, Ms. Reid who had a blistering time for 2nd in her age group on the half, and Ted who won his age group in the half...always with a smile on his face. And congrats on the finish to Tracy, the latest Jason Lapierre Spirit Award Winner. I can't wait for next year already.

J-Force - 5 years on

It's hard to believe it was 6 years ago we got that phone call from Annabelle telling us Jay had been killed in a cycling accident. And almost a year to the day, July 21, 2007, Team J-Force had an epic day at the Sylvan Lake Half Ironman. Not epic in our results (with the exception of Kyle Marcotte who won the race), but epic in the sense that we all finished the race. A year prior, many of us had no inkling we'd ever own a road bike or be able to swim more than one pool length, never mind complete what would have been an insurmountable challenge save the fact that we promised our close friend we'd be there for her.

Sprint ahead 5 years, and we are gearing up for another Sylvan adventure. Over those 5 years, life has happened and J-Force doesn't race together as much as we used to - babies, injuries, the need for a new bike.  But more importantly, the friendships that grew out of that first race are still very strong. If there is one "A" race for the team though, this is it. Be it the half, the (newly created) Olympic distance, or a team event, the emotion and excitement still exist for this race year after year. I'm happily reminded where it all started every time I look down at the wheels of the Flying Scotsman.

As mentioned, they've added a new distance this year, I suspect to try increase participation after a small field last year. The new "Olympic" distance consists of a 1km swim, 60km bike and 10km run. Shorter swim and longer bike? Sign me up! After a satisfying result at GWN earlier this month, I've been feeling confident going into this weekend. And then I got hit by a cold. Doing a self-inflicted time trial with a cold (even if it was to test out an aero helmet) is ill-advised. A fever and headache ensued. So a couple of days of rest and skipping 2 nights of tri club (no small task I may add), I'm feeling like I'm on the mend. Not an ideal way to go into a race, but I'm hoping my fitness up to this point will carry me through. And if not, the adrenaline will be amped to max trying to chase down my J-Force and Talisman team mates on the run. Besides, I doubt a little cold would slow Jay down.

Let's do this J-Force!