South Carolina and xc skiing

Hey, don't have a lot of time to write, Mark just got home from BC and we are about to sit down to a good old fashion family dinner.
South Carolina was great, lots of good riding and decent weather, it was a little cold on the last day but not too bad.
Today I did my first XC ski of the year, the conditions were better then I thought they would be, they had just got a few cm of snow last night and was snowing throughout the ski. I think I am going to go back on Friday so conditions should be great by then.
Lastly today I went with my mom and Jackie and cut down a xmas tree from our farm, it was really cool not to have to buy one, just walked to the back cut it down carried it back and set it up!!
Cool, so here are some pics from SC
hope you have a great holiday season.

Getting excited

First off I would like to congratulate Gears Bike Shop on their amazingly successful evening Friday night. Simon Whitfield was there with his new book signing autographs and doing what Simon does best. Simons Gold in Sydney was the reason I made the switch to triathlon and I remember my first ever time racing him I actually beat him out of the water then rode with him for the bike. He did out run me by 10min lapping me part way through his last lap. After that race I knew I had a future in the sport because I knew I could compete against the Olympic gold medalist. I am sure every pro triathlete in Canada has a story as to how Simon has motivated and helped them reach a level of the sport they never thought possible.

As for myself, I have been getting back into training, doing a few trainer rides and running a fair amount. Just getting back into it slowly. I have been feeling pretty good and I am very excited about the new year. I have bene back swimming for the last 2 weeks and it is coming back quick although the 6000m workout Monday took a lot out of me and I think today is 40x100!!

To help kick off the new season a few friends and I are heading down to South Carolina for a mini camp of mostly riding. If you have never been it is a cyclists dream. There are endless mountain roads amazingly paved and courteous drivers. There is a national forest there as well that has miles and miles of gravel access road to run on and the town of Pickens has a 25m indoor pool which is only 20min away. We leave in about a week but it can not come quick enough for me!!!!

Enjoying the Nice Weather

Of course while I am training for Austin we get a cold spell that forces me indoors or to ride and run with countless layers on now that it is time relax and recover we get close to record temps and have not seem rain in a long time. This last weekend I was able to ride in shorts and jersey and was still sweating where this time last year we were digging out from the first snowfall of the year.

With my knee feeling a lot better I decided to head out for a mountain bike ride with Tyler Lord, Andrew Woegerer and Brian. We went to the Pines close to Belfountain and had a great ride, the trails were dry an were in great shape. It was the most fun I have had on a ride in a long time and it was great to get back out on the mountain bike. I did end up getting a flat about 200m from the end of the ride which was actually the first flat of the year, I kept on meaning to say that but I did not want to jinx myself but now that the streak is over I thought I would mention it. I would have to attribute it to the tuffy's I keep in my tires year round and changing tires when they become damaged. thanks to the guys at Gears Bike Shop for keeping me going.
This is not from this weekend the pic is from a few years ago but was the only one of me mountain biking I have!!! (notice the front wheel!!!)

Going to run tomorrow at York and test out the knee again, I think it will be fine but I will still take it easy. I am really looking forward to getting back into the grove.

Chill Time

Sitting at home doing some work on the computer looking out the window watching snow flurries drift by, glad I do not have to go out training in it for awhile. I thought I would be able to handle training in the cold and I thought I did a pretty good job leading into Austin, but after the race it was ovouse that I was lacking that last gear that would have allowed me to have a great race. I was just a little behind in everything and in such a tight race that little difference can make a huge difference in the end.

I am now taking a few days off to let some little issues get better then I will start doing the local run and trainer workouts to keep some fitness throughout the winter. I am especially looking forward to some xc skiing I will have an extra month at home this winter so there is a better chance for some good snow. The last few years we have been skiing mid to late November so not much more waiting. Maybe somebody with some skiing knowledge can gie me some technique pointers

In Austin

Got into Austin last night, got the rental car and got to the hotel, spent some time looking for a grocery store which was harder then I thought, but eventually found one.

Today I went to the race site and swam, it was choppy but I think that will be beneficial for me. When I took my wheel out of the case I realized there was a little dent with what seemed like a crack as well, maybe it is time for a new disk wheel, I guess I will just have to win this weekend to be able to afford it.

I drove the bike course today as well, it was tough to follow, I did not have a map and when I tried to print one off at the hotel it did not work. So I was driving around with my computer open to the web page, I had a few wrong turns but I got through it all.

Until then it is resting up which I have been doing a lot lately but it is a welcome break from the last few weeks.

I know this was boring but I am pretty board, oh well, Sunday will be exciting.

Later

Cold Cross Ride

Had a great cross ride today. The last long hard ride needed to be changed up do to cold temps and strong winds, I knew I would be able to get a better workout riding the cross bike through the hills. Nat Faulkner came up for the ride as well. Started off cold as we headed down the escarpment for the first time, we realized that there was still snow on the ground from the night before proving that it was really cold out!! Even right at the end of the ride at 3:30 there was still snow in the shade. Seems kind of early for snow to hang around all day but you get what you get. We weaved around all the roads finding all the hills we could, the pic is of Lavender Hill just outside of Dunedin, those who think Southern Ontario is flat ask me to take you for a ride and I will show you otherwise. During the ride Nat and I came up with the idea to create a cross century ride through the hill. We are thinking that this year will be small among friends but if they like it we might try to grow it, it is one of the best places I have ever ridden, single lane gravel roads up and down the escarpment with switch backs and 80km/h gravel descents with trails and paved roads thrown in as well.

Just over a week until Austin and I am feeling really good, I had my best run workout of the year yesterday and I have been feeling great on the bike, one last race then I get to spend some good time getting the personal best coaching off the ground.

Later

Update

Not much to update on, the last 2 weeks have been some really hard training and with the weather starting to get cold it can be pretty tough sometimes to get out. I have not been dry on a bike ride in 2 weeks and with temps around 10 the long rides get cold. On the flip side though it is perfect running weather!! I am going to keep training hard for the next 2 weeks then start to rest for the last race of the season in Austin Texas, I have had some of the best weeks of training of my life so I am hoping for a good race.

On a different note, Krystal after a lot of time spent volunteering signed on with the Peel school board and is now officially a teacher! No one worked harder then her to get her spot and it proves that when you want something enough just keep working hard and things will happen.

Just started to rain again glad I am done training for the day. I am actually looking forward to the snow!!

Update

Another good week of training. It took a few days to recover from the race but I am feeling really good now. Tyler Lord and I put in a great day on friday but just our luck, after 3 weeks without rain in Caledon we get poured on. The last time I had to ride in the rain was when I last rode with Tyler up at my cottage.

Today I swam in the quarry but I had the rude awakening when I had to scrape the frost off my car before I could drive there. The swim felt kind of surreal though, it was so calm and there was steam coming up from the water I wish I had a camera but I didn't so you will have to take my word.

Tomorrow is the Kinetico 10miler followed by the Kids race, so far we have 800 kids racing, we were hoping for 1000 to set the new canadian record but that might have to wait until next year, still 800 is pretty good.

I was able to get a few more pics of the Muskoka race courtesy of Jen Coombs so thanks Jen for taking them.

A few Pictures from Muskoka

Muskoka 70.3

Just got home from Huntsville after a great weekend away up north. I was lucky enough to get a room with Bob and Caron at the Deerhurst resort it was the perfect place to prepair for the race because it was within walking distance of everything. Krystal and I got up mid day on Friday and in time to get some training in. Saturday I did my basic pre race workouts and also was part of a pro Q and A with Craig Alexander and Miranda Carafre. That was a pretty cool experience

Race day came and I knew I was ready to have a great race based on how relaxed I was. I was joking with Krystal and bouncing around the hotel room at 5am. I walked over to transition from my room and got everything set up then walked to the swim start. I felt great warming up and was ready to go.

the race started and I was quick to find feet I was 3rd in line and felt comfortable the rest of the way. I was 2nd out of the water and 3rd onto the bike. Quickly there was a separation and I was able to get away with Craig, Richie, and Paul. After a very quick and hilly first 20km it settled down and the 4 of us rode away from the rest of the competition. At the 70km mark we got back into the hills and I started to find the pace a little to rich for me. I made the decision to let them go and ride my own tempo the rest of the bike. I got off the bike about 90sec down but feeling good, I ran really well for the first half and was on pace for a personal best half but the fast pace at the start of the bike started to catch up with me and I slowed down. In such a competitive race it caused me a couple of places but I ended up 6th and first Canadian.

The race was a huge confidence booster and motivator for the rest of the year.

Thanks again to Bob and Caron for allowing us to stay with them and of course to my favorite person in the world, who keeps me relaxed and focused leading into the race and who gives the best pre race massage, Thanks Babe

I should have pics soon.

A fresh Start

Just a quick update about the last few months, again I am saying sorry for not updating but I spent some time freshening up my blog in hopes to get motivated to keep it up to date.
the first couple of races were not the greatest but I ended up winning the prestigious Muskoka long course. I then did a few hard weeks of training for the National Long course Championships in B.C., I did not race very well but learned a lot. The nest big race I did was Steelhead 70.3 in Michigan where I did race well running within 2 min of Andy Potts for the 2nd fastest of the day. That day I ended locking up a few bones in my foot which did not allow me to go to Nationals, the first one I have missed in 7 years. I decided to take a few days off and went camping with Krystal which was great. I am over the injury now and have put in a couple good weeks getting ready for Muskoka 70.3.

I will let you know how it goes

Last Month

Although it was tough to leave family and friends Nat and I headed down to sunny warm Tucson to start to get our early season training underway.
The first week in Tucson had a little bit of everything. After spending 3 days in a car you can imagine we felt a little rusty for the first couple of days. We did a couple easy rides and swims kept the running to a minimum while our legs got rid of the rust built up over the off season.
The weather was perfect the first week here, we did not see a cloud and it was close to 70 every day. I think the first cloud we saw was exactly a week after we got here, we didn’t know what to do.
We have been here for 3 weeks now and can really feel the fitness coming back. We have been riding a lot more, this last week we got up to almost 400km and starting to run a lot more. One thing about Tucson is there is never a shortage of running trails. It is a runners paradise, all roads have wide gravel shoulders or if you want to drive a little out of town there is an endless maze of trails and you will never be able to run them all.
After coming to Tucson for the last 3 years I am starting to really know my way around but I am still finding new places to ride and run. Today we ran at Golder Ranch and followed the 50 Year Trail then went for a ride and headed up Oracle Road and decided to take Hwy 79 north towards Phoenix. We found a side road and followed that for a few more miles. It was such a quiet road through the middle of the desert. Unfortunately I had mechanical problem, a stick came up and took out my derailleur which in turn caused my hanger to come out of place which ended up smashing into my rear dropout cracking the carbon. Needless to say I had to hitchhike home. The third car to go by picked me up and brought me back to my car so it was not that big of an issue besides my broken bike.
The next week looks like it is going to be much of the same, perfect weather without a cloud in the forecast, slowly getting back into shape and enjoying the time here more and more.

Until next time

Back at it!!!

Officially I am now a University Grad with a B.A. Geography/Geology from Mcmaster. It took a while but it is all the same in the end. I am just glad to have that monkey off my back so I can get back into the job I love being a Triathlete.

After spending time at home with my family and Krystal over the holidays, it was time to get down south and start to get back into shape, I let my fitness slide over the last few months with school and the injury but now I am rested, healthy and ready to get fit again.

I just finished my second day of training here in Tucson and I am a little more out of shape then I thought I was, today we did 2.5h easy on the bike, with no real climbs, followed by 40 min running exploring the trails around our house. We did not find too many but there were a lot more options to try another time. Lastly we did another easy swim at the Oro Valley pool.

The house we are staying at is really nice and fully furnished so unlike 2 years ago where the only chairs we had were fold up lounge chairs it is nice to have a place to put our feet up other then our bedroooms.

I really hope to keep this blog up to date through out the year so i can keep everyone in touch with what I am up too, and my journey back to peak fitness.