It felt like a Saturday...

The day started off with a great sleep and first thing I did when I woke up was do my pre race bike and run. If tomorrow is going to be like today, it's going to be a hot one. Right now they are saying it will be 80 F and may have thunder showers. I felt good during my pre race sessions, the only slight problem was that my back was still a little sore.

By noon we were at the expo and picked up my race packet and bought some Ironman wear. I got a great looking Steelhead branded cycling jersey and shorts. Whenever we go to Ironman events, Alice and I add to our wardrobe. They had a lot of great looking stuff. It was a pretty good expo and it's a big race. I think there is going to be about 2500 athletes. The rest of the afternoon was finding out where the start of the course is, eating lunch at Chilli's, which is Alyssa's favorite, and taking the family to Target, which is also Alyssa's favorite. When we got back to the hotel I was able to get a couple hours more sleep before dinner.

When I woke up I took my bike to the transition area. It was the longest transition area I've ever seen. It's located right on a beautiful beach. The first swim wave starts at 7 am and there is a lot of waves, I'm wave 12 and go off at 8:07 am. Unfortunately, I've got to be there by 6:15 am to get my gear ready and then I've got to wait almost 2 hours until my wave starts. Like I said, it's a big race. There is a lot of Canadians here and we met a couple from Windsor that are staying in our hotel. They also ended up at the same place we ate dinner. They seemed serious and nervous, I think they were surprised I was having a beer. On the ride home, Reid kept telling me he wishes he didn't have to come to triathlons. I told him he doesn't have to get up early, he can sleep in, so what's the big deal? Plus, he gets to go and see new places. It didn't seem to matter, he wasn't convinced.

I'm feeling calm about tomorrows race. After the Morden race I decided I'm no longer going to put pressure on myself and I'm going to enjoy it. So far, so good. Even my back is starting to feel better. Hopefully I'll have a good swim tomorrow as I wasn't able to get my swim in, it's been the longest I've went without doing a swim in a long while. The kids went to the pool this evening and some of the athletes were sitting in the hot tub having beers. I'm crazy, but not that crazy.

Pre Race Bike - 16:00 / 9.4 km / 33 kph /

Pre Race Run - 15:07 / 1.98 miles / 7:37 pace / 135 avg hr

2

Benton Harbor, not a vacation hotspot...

We drove last night until 1:30 am and then found a hotel. I was tired. Trying to get to bed was a challenge because Reid was in his "funny guy" mode and was making me laugh. I think the funniest was when I was trying to sleep on one bed and he was across on the other bed and started reciting the lines from the movie "Step Brothers". I can't remember exactly what they were, but he was looking at me and acting out one of the characters and told "his dad doesn't like me or something like that". It's hard to fall asleep when your laughing, and he knew the lines word for word. All I could see was Will Ferrel and John C. Reilly in my mind.

I had an okay sleep, although it wasn't long enough. By the time we got up, checked out and got back on the road, I just got to my appointment with 10 minutes to spare. I dropped the family off at a local mall and I went to visit Craig Swayze at Grandville Printing. I've talked to Craig over the phone but have never met him. Craig and I hit it off and it turns out that he too is an Ironman triathlete. He's the one that convinced me I should do the Steelhead race. He's also doing it as part of his training for Ironman Wisconsin. He gave me some pointers about the race and told me about a tire he uses that is a tubular and a clincher in one. Never heard of it, but I'm going to check it out. He also told me about a stem that can be adjusted up and down and an iPod that he uses in the pool. I'm checking those out as well. Craig's specialty is swimming, he'll be one of the first out of the water. His Ironman swims are in the 1:03's.

When I left Grandville, we headed directly to Benton Harbor. Craig suggested that I shouldn't swim at the YMCA or any pool in Benton Harbor. He said that it is not the greatest area for one's safety. When we got to our hotel, I could see why. We are staying at the Howard Johnson and it doesn't look like they've painted it since it opened in the 60's. I almost cancelled our reservation but all the hotels in the area are booked. Craig told me the race will have over 2000 athletes. Reluctantly, I took the Ho Jo. By this time it was dinner and we went to a Texas BBQ grill. It was the first restaurant I've been in for years that allows inside smoking at your table. It's now strange watching people eat and smoke, Reid thought it was cool. He loves old school rules and thinks Alice and I were lucky to grow up when we did. Afterwards we went for a drive and did some sightseeing around the neighborhood.

We went to St Joesph, which is the other side of the tracks, and it's very nice. Next time I'm going to stay in that area. Then we drove along the water, eventually ending up in an old downtown area. I have the GPS, so I like just driving anywhere and then when I'm totally lost, I turn it on and it guides me back to the hotel. Eventually I did just that and the drive to the hotel was wild. It took us through a residential black area where we didn't see one white person, and it wasn't a short ride, we drove through that area for at least 10 minutes. It was a very active community and most of the people where outside on there yards or porches and the kids playing on the side walk and street. As we drove through, everyone was looking at us. I'm think it was for two reasons, we were white and our vehicle was newer. Most of the vehicles were fairly old. I'm sure they figured we must be lost.

We finally made it to the edge of the residential neighborhood and into the commercial area and then we saw the greatest store sign, "Ultimate Shoes & Tobacco". What a combination. I can only imagine the discussion that came up with that combination and then presenting the business plan to the bank or investors. I'd love to know how they figured selling shoes and tobacco is a natural fit. (Now that I think about it, I buy runners and cigars, it's a perfect fit for me). We ended up at Meijer's grocery store, it's big and has food and clothes. This is a super sized community, they had some cool Orange Crush shirts, but the smallest size was XL and the largest was XXXL. I couldn't find a medium. On the way out of the store, a lady asked us if we could borrow her a quarter for a drink and I told her, truthfully, we are from Canada and only have Canadian coins. Then she hastily asked me how I bought our stuff, I said debit card. She then started to yell at me and tell me to use it to buy her a drink. Then I ignored her and she went on to harassing other people walking into the store. Nice.

When we finally got to the hotel, just outside was a white hooker and standing about 50 yards away was her black pimp. The family was laughing and bugging me about "another great hotel choice by dad". When we got back to the room, I was beat. I think having a couple beers at dinner and last nights late drive did me in, so I feel asleep while the family watched some National Geographic Animal stuff about animals mating in Russia. I was so tired, the laughing was even bothering me. I just looked at them and told them to enjoy there "Animal Porn" and fell asleep. Needless to say, I didn't go to a local pool to do a swim. I'll do it in the lake tomorrow with the other triathletes.

Rest Taper Day

6

Up early to bed late...

This morning I had to get up early, 7 am, which is early for me. I had to go to the physiotherapist to get laser treatment on my foot. Just behind my big toe, the orthopaedic surgeon thinks I have a stress fracture. He knows I'm not going to stop training until the end of the racing season and figured the laser treatment may help. I felt like a rock start during treatment because I don't think they get a lot of athletes coming in. When I looked around it was a lot of workplace related type injuries on sedentary people. One older gentleman was doing leg exercises pulling on an elastic band. I'll take the laser and ultrasound, but I don't think I could stand paying for the elastic band or exercises that I could do on my own at home.

My therapist was quite excited about using laser therapy on me while I maintained training. He's curious to see if it can heal the problem without me having to stop training. I got the impression that laser was a newer technology to them. I also laughed when he told me it will help heal my blister quicker. My blister is right underneath the bone that is fractured. When they did the assessment, I didn't know if it was the bone hurting or the blister hurting. They've booked me for 3 appointments every week as they say laser works best with 3 quicker blasts back to back. I'm a cynic and in the back of my mind I wonder if this works or not or is it just a placebo that helps them make money?

I'm driving to Michigan tomorrow to visit a printing company. The sales rep, Craig Swayze, is also an Ironman triathlete. I'm going to tour his plant and then stay the weekend and compete in the Steelhead 70.3 Ironman Series race. He's doing it also. Because I had so much to do before I left I couldn't get to the pool at noon. Then in the afternoon I had another doctors appointment with the research study I'm part of and that also prolonged the start of my day's training. Turns out I have one more official visit and it completes the four year study. Which is good and bad, I enjoy the visits and feel like I'm helping future generations, but they take up an hour a month.

When I got home I was going to do my 90 minute bike right away but then I realized that I need to put my racing wheels on the bike. The wheels were deflated and up against the kitchen wall for the past week, I was trying to evaporate the water inside them. On my last ride on them it rained and water got into the wheels and was sloshing around. I was told to deflate the tubes and the water will drain out. Most of it did but not all, so I decided to take the tire off and dry off the inside. I was nervous about doing it because I've never changed a tire on my carbon wheels. Once I got started it was tough. The tire was so tight around the rim it was hard to get off, then it was double as hard to put back on. Once I put it back on and tried to inflate it, the stem broke, so I had to take the tire off again and replace the tube. Putting the tire on the second time was even harder.

I tried to inflate the tire but it wasn't working. I had Alice help me with the pump while I adjusted the head of the pump on the stem and it still didn't work. As a last resort I tried my CO2 cartridge and it worked. I then thought it might be a pump problem. I tried to pump my regular wheels and it didn't work. I looks like I need a new pump, and I just got that one less than 2 years ago. Then as I was putting my new wheels on I couldn't remember if I had the right brake pads on. When I took the race wheels off after Winnipeg, did I take the carbon brake pads off or did I leave the steel wheel ones on? I couldn't remember, but I think I left the carbon ones on as an oversight.

Both pads look identical. There is no markings to say with is for the carbon wheels and which is for regular wheels. I called the bike store and they said the carbon is lighter in color, but it's very, very slight. I looked and couldn't tell the difference. I don't think I did replace the brake pads when I took the carbon wheels off because the brake pads on the bike looked really worn and I'm told that the carbon brake pads are softer and will wear out quicker on metal rims. I guess all that downhill stopping and slowing down in Lake Placid really wore them down. I did one last seat adjustment before I left the house. This is probably the 6th adjustment I've made and the irony is that I'm slowly going back to it's original position, which feels most comfortable.

I finished my ride and then did a brick run. On the run I felt a slight twinge in my right lower back and thought, "oh no, not this again", "another race, another sore back"? I just relaxed and when I got home I stretched. Then I had to pack because we were going to drive part way to Grand Rapids tonight. I'm normally anal when it comes to packing, in order to make sure I don't forget anything, but this time I decided to relax and not cause any additional tension in my back. I calmly got ready, which I'm sure my kids appreciated, they tell me I'm not fun to be around when I get ready, and we were in the car and on the road at 10:30 pm for a late night drive.

One highlight of my day was that I weighed in 2 lbs lighter at 183.0. I guess the salt from that Dairy Queen burger flushed through my system.

Mod Bike - 1:31:26 / 49.86 km / 32.7 kph

Brick Mod Run - 30:38 / 3.83 miles / 7:59 pace / 134 avg hr

I need to call Jenny...

I woke up this morning and reluctantly stepped on the bathroom scale. I predicted 185 lbs and I was close, 184.8 lbs and 20.8 BMI. I cringed when I saw that. Twenty days ago I was 7 lbs lighter at 178 lbs and a 22.2 BMI. The damage started July 11th and went on for 17 days. In that 17 days I've eaten very unhealthy and have drank a lots of beer. I mentioned in previous blog postings that I've eaten more wings and deep fried foods in the last few weeks than I have in the past 6 months.

It started in Winnipeg, while on holidays, eating all those great soul foods. And when we got back home from Winnipeg, sans kids, it didn't stop, Alice and I went to more restaurants and I was also eating junk food at home. Even last night on my way back from Lake Placid I had some ice cream and had a greasy burger from Dairy Queen. The worst, and I mean the worst, is my beer consumption. In 16 days I drank 134 beers. I was thinking that I was "bloated" from the anti-inflammatory pills I was taking. In hindsight, I don't think that is the real reason. It's obvious my diet has been atrocious over the last two and a half weeks. Hence, the 7 lb weight gain, although my BMI is lower? Strange.

This month has been a good training month, even with all the eating and drinking, I've still maintained my training. Thank goodness. If I didn't, I'd hate to see how much weight I would have gained. Since my first race in Muskoka this year my performance has declined. I started the year with a pb half marathon of 1:27, then I had the best triathlon race ever in Muskoka and since then I've been flat and feel like I'm going backwards. I went so hard in Muskoka I had trouble moving for a week. I was sore and exhausted. I've noticed that my running training pace is much slower than it was and I'm not sure why? Was it the expenditure I made at the race or is it the new shoes I have that are causing me to use a new set of muscles that need to be developed. Or is it something else, like diet or illness?

Yesterday I had a terrible bike ride in Lake Placid and today I had a good ride. I don't get it. The only thing consistent is my reduction in running speed. I was doing 7:40's as a moderate run back 3 months ago and now I'm around 8:15's and I don't know why. Most likely it's the abuse I put on my body.

For the past few weeks I've been thinking about setting some new goals and making some lifestyle changes. I'm not going to disclose what they are, at least not yet, but I'm in the process of finishing a road map that will help me achieve my physical, mental, financial, relationship and business goals within the next 24 months. I figured that I went from "fat to fit" in 18 months and I should have no excuse to do the same in other parts of my life. I've never been more excited about these new challenges and the new direction they are going to take my life. Setting and achieving my triathlon goals has given me a renewed sense of confidence and ambition. I feel like I've got the energy I did in my 20's, the only difference is I've now got wisdom rather than blind ambition.

I got a message from Carlos today that he and Hans and are also doing Lake Placid next year. It turns out that the Lake Placid Ironman did not sell out on site and it briefly went online and they were able to get in. I'm glad they got in. At first I thought, damn, I didn't have to go and spend a couple of days away from home. But then I thought back to those two days and I really enjoyed myself. I was able to formulate my goals and plans during the drive, experience the course, the race and have some fun experiences along the way. I'm glad I went, no regrets.

Speed Bike - 56:32 / 30.3 km / 32.0 kph

Speed Run - 43.38 / 5.57 miles / 7:49 / 146 avg hr

Was it fate???

I was nervous about getting up on time. Even though the registration for next years Lake Placid Ironman was at 9 am, I didn't want to oversleep. I set my wake up call with the hotel and even set a couple of alarms on my iPhone. It turns out I didn't need either. I had a very restless sleep and was looking at the clock every couple of hours. I also couldn't stop sweating, even with the air conditioning on all night. I finally got up at 6:30 am and decided I was going to do a ride, which would give me enough time to finish, shower and be in line by 9 am.

I took the course map and as I rode past the start area I noticed a huge line up of people. It was as if they had camped there all night. I couldn't believe it, it was 6:45 am and there must have been at least 1000 people in line. I asked and was told this was the line for next years entry. I immediately turned my bike around and headed back to my hotel to change and hurry back to stand in line. Twenty minutes later I was in line and now the line had even grown larger. As I was standing in the first line I was talking to someone and found out that I was in the wrong line. The line I was in was for volunteers from yesterday's race that are signing up for next years Ironman, they get priority over the non volunteers. The guy told me where the line for the non volunteers was and off I went.

In the right line, I met a few people and strangely they were all from Toronto, except for a 240 lb overweight doctor from Florida who does two Ironman's a year and has 3 kids. If you looked at him you would never think he does Ironman races, maybe bowling, but not the Ironman. It just shows that people of all shape and sizes can do triathlons. Two of the other people were married and had just opened up a Running Free Store in New Market, Henrietta and George. And another guy in his mid-thirtys was doing his first ever Ironman after quitting smoking 18 months ago and deciding to get back into shape. It's amazing how much you get to know other people when your standing in line with them for over 4 hours. That's what it took, exactly 4 hours and 18 minutes of standing in line to get registered.

I got back to my hotel just before noon, the check out was 11 am and hurried to get packed. The maid was doing the room next store and mine was next, I got out just in the nick of time. I drove just past the race start, which is the Lake Placid Olympic Oval, parked my truck, took out my bike and decided to ride part of the bike course. At first I was going fast and then, all of a sudden, it felt like I had a flat tire or my brake was rubbing because I was going so slow. I stopped and looked, but there was no problem. At that point I remember a guy in line telling me he rode the course yesterday and he too thought he had a flat tire because he was going so slow due to the hills. As I continued on my ride I wondered if I would have signed up if I knew this bike course was going to be so challenging. It is up and down and the hills are not easy or short.

One of the downhills must have went on for at least 3 miles. I was flying and got up to 74 kph. The hill just wouldn't stop. I can't ever recall riding down a hill that long. John Barclay would never do Lake Placid, it would scare him to death. As I was riding down, I started spinning and I think I even did a spin backwards, I'm not certain, then my chain seized on me and I couldn't pedal. I was going fast and was still on the slope and had to brake hard to stop to find out the problem. Luckily I had this type of problem last year with my Quintana Roo and I was used to the sensation of my chain seizing, so I didn't panic. When I stopped I couldn't believe my eyes. It looked worse than I've ever seen it. It was almost twisted like it was in a ball. I had no idea how it got to that shape. It looked like some one took one of the links out and tied it up and then reattached the link. It was a brain teaser, how did it get in that shape without being taken apart?

Literally 20 seconds after this happened. I looked up and a car stopped 50 yards in front of me and a guy got out and asked me if I need help. Normally I just say no and fix whatever the problem is. This time I said yes. I asked him if he had any experience and he said something like "not much". He came over and looked at it and I got the sense he too was a little surprised. He gingerly took the chain off the sprockets and was able to figure out how to unravel the chain. But it still wasn't running through the derailleur properly, so he asked me to bring my bike closer to his car. He thought it might need an adjustment and it was safer to be behind his car. As I got to the car, his wife or girl friend got out and said high and she told me "he should be able to fix it, he's a bike mechanic". I couldn't believe it. Of all the people who pull over when I have a major problem it's a bike mechanic.

As he looked at it closer he realized it wasn't the derailleur but the chain was twisted. I could see it, it was serious. All I could think of was having to get a ride 22 km back to my truck and not being able to get in my ride. As I was just ready to figure out plan B to get back, he pulled out this big tool box and pulled out a tool I'd never seen before. It was a chain straightener. On the side of the highway he was able to straighten my chain and get my bike back working, all in a matter of maybe 3 minutes. Afterwards we had a nice conversation. They were from Boston and he had to drop out of yesterday's Ironman due to a bad back, due to a poor bike fitting that puts stress on his lower back, and they love Canadians. What caught my attention about them was that they didn't seem to have a lot of money. The car was old and rusty, but boy did they have positive energy about them. They were just a great people and a natural couple.

I managed to finish my ride and on the way back it wasn't easy. I had to climb that long 3 mile hill and had to do it into a head wind to boot. I just kept thinking that next years Ironman is not going to be close to a personal best and my strategy should be just to finish it without dying. Once I got back to the truck I put a blanket around me and changed at the side of the rode. As I started driving away, it started to rain lightly. I couldn't believe my fortune for the day. Had I not got up early and rode by the line up, I may not have got in. Had I not found out I was in the wrong line, I may not have got in. And had I not had a mechanic driving behind me, I would most definitely been hitch hiking back to my truck and wouldn't have finished my training ride. Everything seemed to work out.

On the ride home I was a little tired and started dozing off. It was a little scary, so I pulled into a parking lot to fall asleep for a while. It only ended up being for 5 minutes but that made all the difference in the world. It took me 6 hours to get home and for the last hour the sun went down and I was starting to feel tired. I guess driving 6 hours yesterday, running 2 hours, waiting in line 4 hours plus, biking 2 hours and driving back 6 hours all in a 36 hour period finally caught up to me. When I got home, I didn't even want to unpack, but I did, then I went right to bed.

Mod Bike - 1:58:16 / 52.52 km / 26.6 kph

I made it to Lake Placid...

I didn't want to leave to Lake Placid until after I picked the kids up from the Airport and spent some time with them. We took them for dinner and they told us about their Winnipeg adventures, and that they were ready to come home. Turns out a couple nights before, there was all sort of action and they got kicked out of my brothers house and had to walk to my parents house at 3:30 am. I wonder if my brother was drinking? Hum, let me think, duh, I'd mortgage my house on it. Then in the morning, the nanny sheriff took over, shooting first and asking questions later and everyone got in trouble. Reid said he liked the yelling, he said he never hears yelling at home and it was fun.

After we laughed like hell at all the kids stories, I got in my truck and started driving to Lake Placid around 8:30 pm . About 15 minute into the drive I saw I'd arrive at 2:30 am according to the GPS. I then turned around and went back home. I figured that I'd be really tired by the time I got there, I'd have to find a hotel and drive the entire way in the dark, which could be dangerous. I ended up sleeping in my own bed and leaving at 7:30 am, I figured so long as I was there in enough time to do my long run, I'd be fine.

The drive was easy. I actually got there in about 6 hours and that included a lunch stop at the Lumber Jack restaurant, they have an excellent all day breakfast special. My rule of thumb is to always stop at the restaurant where the parking lot is full. The drive was beautiful, lots of hills, turns and forest. I think Lake Placid is one of the best places for a triathlon, I can see why it sells out on-site. It is a quaint village, kinda like Aspen, and the community is into it. The entire bike and run course is even closed to traffic. The amount of spectators is amazing. I love Ironman Canada, but think Lake Placid my be as good if not a better location. I'm not going to compare it to Hawaii because that's unfair. The Hawaiian Ironman is ground zero and legend, it's not to be compared.

I did my long run alongside the actual run course. It is a two loop course, I did one of the loops and it worked out perfectly. I couldn't get over the size of the crowds and the amount of volunteers, I had to do a lot of running around them. It seemed like people were lined up for miles on the run. I brought my camera and took a LOT of pictures along the way. My plan is to make a motivational video for my training for next years race. Providing I get in and they don't sell out before they get to my spot in line.

I wasn't running a fast pace, but it was much faster than the athletes. I must have passed at least 300 - 400. I was just imagining the incredible feeling I'd have if I could run that strong in the Ironman after the bike. It was supposed to be raining all day in Lake Placid but it didn't. It was sunny and was even warm on the run. I was sweating like crazy, it's a good thing there was some aid stations. I actually felt guilty taking a in some water and Gatorade along the way. All the volunteers thought I was in the race, even though I was running on the side walk or the shoulder of the road. Wherever I could I ran somewhere along side the course and not directly on it. I'm so glad I got to see the entire course. It's a really nice run, rolling hills and there is at least some shade, not like Louisville. I'll know what to expect for next year.

Most of the hotels are on the Main drive and so is the start, finish and transition. It is really easy to walk to the site from the hotels and the walk is really enjoyable, there is lots of little shops. I didn't feel that good after the run, my shorts, shoes and shirt were dripping wet with sweat and my legs felt tired. For the last three days my body has been in full sweat mode, even resting. I decided to stop taking the anti inflammatories the doctor gave me. They're making me retain water and I feel so bloated. Even Reid thought my face looked fatter when I picked him up at the Airport. Then I found out that I if I'm drinking, or if I have liver problems, I shouldn't be taking them. I stopped yesterday and all I've been doing since is going pee pee. I was going every 45 minutes on the drive to Lake Placid, it was a hassle. Even after my run, I had to take a shower right away, it was unusual in that my sweat was very stinky. I couldn't even stand it.

I went for dinner to a restaurant, on the top of a hill, above the finish area. I couldn't see the finish line but I could hear the announcer and the crowds cheering. I also saw all the finishers walking there bikes back to their hotels. Most looked dead. That is the toughest part of the Ironman, having to pick up your bike and belongings and walk them home. Especially if you don't have a hotel close to the finish line. After I ate, and I must say I had the best duck I've ever tasted, I started feeling better and I walked down the hill to the finish area to watch some of the 14 hour plus athletes come in. After a while my legs started to feel back to normal.

As I walked back to my hotel, there was a 37 year old girl walking in front of me and she was walking as good as me. I commented on how strong she looked. She told me "she's never going to do another Ironman in her life". It was too hard and it turns out she's a pretty good athlete. She's a strong swimmer and a 3:09 marathon runner. As we walked, I shared some of the popcorn I picked up a few minutes earlier and told her I felt the same way after Louisville, but that feeling goes away. I tried to tell her my analogy of a woman who just gives birth and says she never wants to go through that pain again, and then as time goes by she forgets about the pain and has another baby. She didn't seem interested and insisted, and I believe her, that she's never going to another Ironman. Her Dad had told her not to do an Ironman, then she said "she should have listened to her Dad". She was dead serious and mad at herself.

Long Run - 1:57:00 / 13.93 miles / 8:24 pace / 136 avg hr

2

Another rainy ride...

I feel great today. I got to bed early last night, had a great sleep and woke up just in time to watch the last 30 km of the Tour de France. I loved watching Lance earn a 3rd place finish. He stayed with the lead group going up that last hill and it didn't look like he was suffering at all. I also read that Lance is coming back next year as part of a new American team which will be team Radio Shack.

What a coup on Radio Shacks part. He'll be promoting them as part of Livestrong and they'll be promoting Livestrong at their 4400 stores. The interesting part about the press release is that Lance will be riding for Team Radio shack in next years Tour and also in some triathlons. I know Lance has said he wants to do the Ironman, and compete. I wonder if it will be this year. When he does the Ironman I'm sure it will be a huge boost for the sport. I'm also sure he won't have to qualify like the rest of us.

I still haven't decided when I'm going to drive to Lake Placid. I think I may go after dinner and drive half way. I want to see the kids when they get back and I'll see if either of them want to come with me. I was thinking about going this morning, bringing my bike, and do my long ride when I got there. But after seeing that Lake Placid is raining with thunder and lightening, I decided to do my long ride at home. I'm still going to take my bike and do a ride at Lake Placid on Monday.

Today's ride was another wet one, for the last hour and a half it was raining pretty good. The bright side is that when I got home it started to rain a lot harder. I must have stopped 4 times on today's ride to keep adjusting my seat. Two of the times, another cyclist would ride by me, which I didn't mind, it gave me someone to chase and pass. I was happy with the ride, it felt like one of my easier ones and when I got home it didn't even feel like I trained. My legs felt fresh.

Long Bike - 3:08:14 / 101.90 km / 32.4 kph / 127 avg hr

I finally got caught up and it wasn't easy...

I'm lucky I got up in time for work this morning. It was a late party night last night. I didn't set the alarm, and had my bladder not woken me up, I'm sure I would have slept till noon. I haven't felt this bad in a while. You know your in trouble when your body is craving grease and on my way to work I had to pick up a greasy breakfast at McDonald's. I was surprisingly productive today but most of the day I was nauseous and had a sore head. At lunch time I did my swim and I find there is nothing better for a hangover than a swim in nice cool water. When I got out of the pool I felt much better for a while, until the endorphins wore off. I did notice during the swim that my calves were tight, which is a sign of dehydration, not a surprise.

When I got home from work I really didn't want to do my speed work run session. I still didn't feel good and I was concerned that I needed more hydration or it could cause cramping problems. I was also starting to feel sick again. Rather than train, Alice and I went out for dinner. When we got back I felt a little better, eating food and drinking a couple beers always helps, but I was still felt unmotivated to do my speed run. I decided to watch some TV and relax. Finally by 9 pm I got enough motivation to do my speed work session. I motivated myself by looking at my new Zoots and wanting to try them out. I figured they are for racing and a speed work session would be a great way to try them out.

These shoes are meant to be worn barefoot. With the premise that you will have faster racing transitions because you don't have to waste time putting socks on. The first thing I noticed about these runners is that they are hard to put on. They took me longer than normal. Then, 10 minutes into my run, I could feel chaffing on my left foot at the Achilles. Then I felt a blister starting on the bottom of my left foot. I decided to keep running and determined if I want to wear these in a race I'm going to have to go through the blister and chaffing phase and toughen up my skin. My right foot was perfect no problems, it was just my left foot that was causing me problems. When I got back from the run my foot was bleeding and I couldn't wait to get the shoes off, I was in pain. Now I'm not sure if I'm going to use them without socks. The run sucked, my speed was much slower than normal, I assume it's from the abuse I put on my body last night. My standing heart rate was around 75 - 80 bpm, normally it's in the low 50's.

I'm not sure when I'm going to drive to Lake Placid, I'm still trying to figure that out. My plan was to go early and volunteer, but when I looked into it, the volunteer slots are all full. They don't require additional volunteers. What a race, they sell out at the race site and they sell out on volunteer support. I've heard it's a good race and people love doing it, they say the energy and support of the community is great. No doubt.

By doing my run tonight I finally got caught up from taking Monday off. I re-arranged the workouts and managed to get all of them in and it wasn't easy. Without the kids home it still feels like we are on vacation, I told Alice we are on a "Stay-cation". Starting tomorrow I'm going to get back to good eating, my pants are feeling a little tight and my brain feels like mush. These past two weeks have been hell on my body.

Swim - 1:02:04 / 3000 meters

Speed Run - 53:33 / 7.12 miles / 7:31 pace / avg 148 bpm

4

Full contact ride...

It was pissing rain this morning and I had no choice but to ride in it. There is only two times I wear contacts, one is when I race and the other time is when I ride in the rain. Today was a contact day. The worst part of riding in the rain is getting wet feet. If I didn't get wet feet I'd actually enjoy it. I try to prevent the wet feet by wrapping and taping plastic grocery bags to my feet, and it does help, but only for about a half hour.

Today was a speed session and I did two monster hills. It was pretty cloudy and dark out and I'm glad I picked up a new flashing light, I needed it and felt much safer, especially going on roads with heavily treed canopies that make the road dark. I was surprised how strong I felt going up the hills since I haven't done hill training for about a month. I made sure I went really slow down the hills, I was super paranoid about going down fast in the rain because there is no way to stop. Even riding the brakes slowly down the hill was a challenge. The water makes it impossible for the brakes to firmly grip the rim. I was up and on the road by 7 am, I had a golf game set up with a Mark Jackson and Sam Paulos, a couple of old high school classmates that I hadn't seem in 25 years. I managed to get my ride in and do a weight training session before I was at the golf course. Which makes for a guilt free afternoon.

It turned out that we didn't golf, it was still raining and too wet, so we did the next best thing. We sat at the golf course and drank the afternoon away. It was fun. The one thing about Ontario is that a lot of the restaurants and bars are paranoid about people drinking and driving, which is a good thing. After a couple hours the manager came to see if we had someone coming to pick us up. Which we did. I'm actually happy they are starting to do that. Alice picked me up around 5 pm and the party continued. With the kids away it still feels like were on holidays and I'm still eating to much "crappy" but "tasty" food. I've had more chicken wings in the last two weeks than I've had in the previous two years.

We ended up at my neighbor Jamie's place and he screwed me up. He's just like me, a drinker, a cigar smoker and an Ironman Triathlete. Where we differ is he buys expensive Cohiba's for $35 - $75 a piece and I don't like spending more than $8 per cigar. He gave me one of his cigars to smoke and I couldn't believe the flavor difference. I've always bought what I thought were decent cigars and even yesterday smoked one of mine and thought it was great. After smoking one of Jamie's I realized mine are "shit" compared to his. When I got home I had one of mine, I couldn't even smoke more than two or three puffs before putting it down. I've decided to sell all my knock offs to some of the guys at work and I'm going to restock my humidor with some of the premium stuff. Like I said, he screwed me up and now it's going to cost me.

Speed Bike - 1:18:09 / 36 km / 27.7 kph

Power Weights - 45

18

When is Summer going to start???

It's almost the end of July and it doesn't feel that summer has started yet. Normally we get 30 days over 31 C per summer. This year we've had two. All of Canada east of Alberta has had terrible weather. Cloudy, rainy and cooler than normal temperatures. In a way I'm glad I'm not training for an Ironman this Summer, it's just too cold to spend lots of hours on the road and enjoy it.

Today was no different, cloudy and cool. I was able to get my ride in without any rain, which was a good thing. For some reason my heart rate was unusually low. It averaged 111 bpm and I was able to average 31.2 kph, strange. One really strong rider came up behind me and passed me, which is rare, and there was no way I was going to let him go, so I sped up and was on his tail at 42 kph for quite a while, at that time my heart rate jumped to 146 bpm and that was factored in to my 111 bpm average. He ended up going in a different direction than I was headed, which was a good thing, I needed to keep my heart rate under 135 bpm.

I stopped a couple of times to adjust my seat. I moved it forward about a centimeter, hoping it will prevent chaffing. I think the problem is the fit. I don't think the guy who originally fit me was qualified. He put a longer stem on my bike and I think I'm stretching out too far. I've ordered a pair of Shimano triathlon cycling shoes and clipless pedals that should arrive by the end of July and once I get them I'm going to go back and get re-fitted for the third time. This time I'm going to request the owner, who I know is F.I.S.T. certified.

After dinner and a brief nap I went for my run and of course it started raining and it was cool outside. Dang, all I want is some warm weather. My heart rate was up and down for the entire run. One minute it would go up to 140 bpm and then I'd slow down again and it would go as low as 117 bpm. I've never had that happen before, more strangeness.

Recently our business was recognized by Graphic Monthly Monthly as one of the Top 100 printers in Canada. I just got the latest edition of Canadian Printer and my brothers business was recognized by them as one of the Top 100 printers in Canada. Printing is in our blood. Sometimes when I look back on how the industry has changed, I think I need a blood transfusion.

Mod Bike - 2:04:36 / 64.96 km / 31.2 kph / 111 avg hr

Mod Run - 1:15:11 / 9.08 miles / 8:16 pace / 134 avg hr

The warranty ran out at 40...

Since I turned 40 my body no longer is indestructible. Yesterday was another example. I was referred to an oral surgeon from my dentist and he determined that I need a tooth pulled and have it replaced with an implant or a bridge. Either option will cost about $3500. The implant is not covered by insurance and I'm not sure how much of the bridge the Insurance company will cover. Ah, another unexpected expense. Yesterday I learnt about my fractured left foot and today I need a tooth pulled. Just this past year alone I've had 3 crowns put in, I guess I shouldn't have opened beer bottles with my teeth when I was a kid.

I had a good swim today. I often dread driving to the pool, but once I get in and start swimming I'm actually starting to enjoy my swims. Because I've been swimming regularly for the past two years I feel like a true triathlete. A lot of people do triathlons but don't swim much, other than a month or two before the race. They bike and run regularly, but don't swim regularly. I don't know if I consider those type of people true triathletes. I know I now feel like a true triathlete. I got back in the weight room after the swim and I actually did pretty good, my muscles didn't feel like I hadn't been lifting for a few weeks. The only exercise that stressed my muscles was the lunges. My butt was sore after.

On Monday my legs were so sore from Sunday's long run that I had a tough time walking. The ligaments at the side of my knees felt like I just ran a marathon. I'm perplexed about it. I don't know why I'm sore. Long runs aren't new to me. I was wondering if the last two races which included a total of 4 weeks of taper caused me to lose some strength? Or the new shoes are causing me to use new muscles? By the end of the day on Monday I was feeling much better and I think taking the day off from training helped. I find it kinda cool that my muscles are sore, I interpret that as they are growing and getting stronger. For the Steelhead 70.3 I'm only going to taper over the last 5 days. My back is still bothering me and I could feel it being stressed during the weight training, but the stress felt positive and back strengthening.

I was going to ride and run today but decided to push all my training back one day and be caught up by Friday. It was pouring ran and cool and I really didn't want to do another 3 plus hours of training in that weather. I didn't think it would hurt to give my legs and foot an extra day's rest. I also didn't want to train all night and make Alice an Iron Widow during our holiday away from the kids. Unfortunately she spoke to Alyssa, and she's really sick right now. That's a bummer, especially because she can't hang out with her old friends.

Swim - 1:03:48 / 3000 meters

Weights - 45:00 / power b

8

I'm helping the economy...

First day back to work and there was lots of catch up. I didn't get a chance to get out to the pool at lunch time and on Monday nights I can't swim because they have a triathlon club swimming and they use all the lanes. I was kinda glad I couldn't workout because I really didn't feel like it. Alice is home by herself, the kids are still in Winnipeg, and I don't want to leave her alone all day and all night. So I decided to combine today's training with tomorrows. Alice and I end up making a night out of it and went out for dinner and ended up at Jamie Grant's house for a couple of drinks.

My bank account went down today. When I got to work my Zoot Ultra TT 2.0 shoes and cigars arrived from the States. And at the end of the day I went to the fracture clinic and beforehand I picked up more water bottles and a flashing safety light for when I ride. I keep losing water bottles on my rides, they pop out of the cage holders behind my seat when I go over major bumps. I also lost my flashing light that I put on my bike and I wanted to get a new one, it makes me feel safer when ride.

I went to the fracture clinic at the end of day. I thought it was going to be a waste of time because my heel hasn't bothered me in about a month. They took x-rays of my heel and told me there wasn't a stress fracture on my heal. I mentioned to the doctor that the ball of my foot has been bothering me for months. He sent me back for more x-rays and thinks I have a fracture on the bones right behind my big toe. He understood that I'm in the middle of my racing season and not running for 6 weeks to let it heal is not an option. He gave me a month's prescription for anti-inflammatories and told me to come back in a month. My plan is to get through this years race season and then take some healing time off between November and January.

I've also decided to sign up for Ironman Lake Placid. It a very popular race and usually fills up at the race site registration and doesn't go online for general entry. So this weekend, I'm going to make the 7 hour drive to Lake Placid and register on site, the Monday morning after the race. I'm going to bring my bike along and do Saturday's long ride on the course and do my long run on the course on Sunday, if I'm allowed. I think I may also volunteer. I've never volunteered before and I think it would be interesting to see the race from a volunteers perspective.

Rest Day -

9

The holiday's almost over...

I'm getting used to holiday's, it's nice getting to sleep in every morning. At least this morning I was able to get up early enough to catch the last hour of the Tour de France. It looks like Lance is going to finish second this year, Lance conceded that Contador is showing he's the best. I also relaxed with my morning coffee and watched the guys behind our house cut down and bail the hay. I felt like I was watching farmers in the country.

I didn't get out on my run until around 2 pm and spent most of the morning and early afternoon downloading audio books and podcasts. I'm enjoying them more than music when I train. I'm more mentally engaged and I'm learning new things, it's energizing my soul. I'm also feel I'm been more productive. On my run today I started to listen to "The 4 Hour Work Week" audio book. Pretty much 95 % of what they say, I'm doing or I've been thinking about doing. It's been a long time since I've read or listened to self help books, I guess I thought I knew it all, but I'm finding that I'm getting more spring in my step and a better mental attitude by listening to them. On yesterdays ride, I finished my last audio book and with an hour of training remaining and had to go back to listening to music. It was boring.

Today's run was good, I still felt light on my feet and my heart rate stayed relatively low. I did some major sweating on the run. The last mile of the run my heart rate shot up, I think is was because I hadn't eaten or drank anything for 2 hours. When I got home, all my clothes were dripping wet, as if I ran in the rain. I drank 3 pints of water and still weighed about 4 lbs less than I should. These past two day's of training I've felt really good, I like getting back to my normal training routine. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that Alice and I went to the Pixar movie UP on Friday. What a great movie. Even though it is a G rated family movie I recommend it for adults as well. It is a good story.

Long Run - 2:01:51 / 15.52 miles / 7:51 pace / 138 avg hr.

10

Go Bombers Go...

I had the worst sleep last night. All I kept thinking about my application for the TV show Mantracker. My mind was racing and I had trouble falling and keeping asleep. I downloaded and started filling in the application to be on the show earlier in the evening. Mantracker is a reality TV show and the premise is that you and a partner are put into the wilderness and Mantracker's job is to hunt you down. Your called the "Prey" and your given a map and compass and know where the finish line is and you have two days to get there. To win, you have to get there before Mantracker catches you and he doesn't even know where the finish line is. The guy is amazing, he can tell where you are from foot prints, bent grass, knocked over rocks, etc. My plan for Mantracker would be to use my Ironman fitness and rush to the end, out running the horses, and just one foot before the finish line, I'd turnaround and go back into the bush to torment Mantracker. My dream would be to steal his boots, horse or both when he sleeps. Or do anything else to bug him. He's a pretty intense guy and that would definitely piss him off.

I ended up getting less than 6 hours of sleep and was really tired when I got up. Rather than trying to go back to sleep, I had a hearty breakfast and went out for my long ride and brick run. I made sure I ate a lot because I didn't want to have another bonking episode like 2 weeks ago. On my bike I stayed relaxed, as per my new philosophy, and just tried to enjoy the ride and not put any time pressure on myself. I had to stop a few times and try to adjust my seat because I'm still getting chaffing in the groin and after a couple of hours my neck hurts. I think it is the bike fit and I'm going to take it back and get refit again for the third time. I figured it's best to do it before my first years' warranty wears out. The run felt great, finally. My back is feeling much better and my range of motion is much improved. As I ran, I felt light again.

John Barclay had a few tickets to the Hamilton Tiger Cats versus Winnipeg Blue Bombers football game tonight and invited Alice and I. It was fun, to bad the Bombers lost, er, I mean got beat up on. I don't know what's happened to the Blue Bombers, when I was a kid, every year they had a good team, now it seems like it's the opposite. After the game we met up with John's wife Heather and had dinner and some drinks. Alice and I really had a good time hanging with them. John has some incredible Police stories. John is a big time cop and has been on special task forces that have had to deal with murderers, serial killers, mafia, drug dealers, etc. I could listen to his stories all day long, they are world class. John's such a nice guy, I have a tough time visualizing him holding a gun to someones head and yelling at them that he'll blow their F****head off if they don't do something, which he's had to do a lot of times.

With John's Ironman background, police surveillance and k-9 experience, we are going to co-apply for the Mantracker show as a team. If we got selected, it could be fun. I've already spent 90 minutes filling in the application and then we have to make a 2 minute video of ourselves and send it in with the application.

Long Bike - 3:31:37 / 113.41 / 32.1 kph / 127 avg hr

Brick Run - 30:00 / 4.04 / 7:25 / 146 avg hr

9

Back to the routine...

It's amazing how your world gets turned upside down when you travel. It's fun, but there's no schedule, which is okay for a while. I didn't know if I was coming or going. The minute we got back home everything started to settle down and feel normal again. Don't get me wrong, I had a ton of fun in Winnipeg, it just felt good to get my bearings back. It also felt nice to sleep in my own bed. I ended up sleeping for 13 hours, I can't remember ever sleeping that long, other than when I was a teenager. My body must have really needed healing time, especially the blister on my toe.

My back is still bothering me after 11 days. It felt a little better when I woke up, but then it really got sore during today's swim session. I thought doing weights afterwards would help it, but I forgot my runners and tried to do weights wearing my flip flops. I managed to do only one set before they kicked me out because I wasn't wearing runners. The swim was good, I had a guy beside me that was fast and during my sets I'd push hard to catch and try to pass him.

I've been giving a lot of thought about my triathlon training and racing, especially in light of the Cornman race. For that race I put too much pressure on myself. The weeks leading up to the race was not fun. I've been reflecting and have been trying to put everything in perspective. My goal is to do longer distance triathlons until I'm so old I can't. It's the ideal sport for my mental and physical health. Yet, I'm treating it like I'm a professional athlete. My focus is on the immediate goal and not the journey, and when I focus short term, I put to much pressure on myself and it's not fun. My family will tell you I'm not too much fun to be around before a race, I'm too serious. That's not good, I don't like hearing that.

So now I'm re-adjusting my triathlon philosophy. I'm going to enjoy my training and not judge each workout or relate it to race performance or past workouts. I've decided to do the workouts to the best of my ability and let the races fall where they may. My goal is going to finish the best I can on that day, but not put any pressure on myself in the day's and weeks leading up to it. I've also realized that I need to accept that I'm going to get injured and sick and not let it bother me. I need to just anticipate that it WILL happen, especially when you train as much as I do. The key is to deal with it in a positive way. I no longer want to dwell on injuries and worry about how it will effect my race performance. I need to do my workouts and try to smell the roses along the way.

Yesterday I registered for the Whirlpool Ironman 70.3 Steelhead in Michigan on August 1st. Normally I'd want a month before races, but keeping to my new philosophy of having fun, I think it will be a great destination race, and so what if I don't set a personal best. It's just over a 6 hour drive from our house and I'm going to mix it as a business and pleasure trip. I have a printer in the U.S. who we're working in partnership with to promote a product they have developed in Canada and I want to tour their plant. They are only 2 hours from the race site and the sales rep I deal with is also an Ironman triathlete and he's also going to be doing the Steelhead race. It should be fun doing the race with him. It also looks like the Steelhead has some really good post party festivities with lots of cheap beer. I think we'll stay over the extra night and enjoy ourselves in Michigan.

Swim - 1:03:24 / 3000 meters

4

Farewell Winnipeg...

The last time we were in Winnipeg in the Summer was about four years ago. We've been there every year for Christmas, but it's not the same as going in the Summer when the City is alive. Since our last summer visit, Alice and I have really noticed a change to the City. Primarily, it is a much more dangerous place than we ever remembered it to be. We were hearing all kinds of stories about crime, especially caused by the Native Indian's. We noticed that the population of Native Indian's has really grown in Winnipeg.

My brother in-law Chuck was telling us about what happened to him last Friday. At 1:30 am he took his two dogs out for a walk and an Indian teenager walked across the street and asked him if he knew where to get electronics? Chuck was puzzled with the question and said "What"?, the next thing he knew was that he was being sprayed in the face with Bear Mace. It was so bad, he couldn't see anything and the only way he got home was because he was only half a block away and the dogs guided him back. He went to the hospital and while he was away, someone tried to break into his house, but he had his daughter come over to watch the house before he went to the hospital and she was able to scare them away. The cops told Chuck that they are getting about 19 calls a week of people having the same thing done to them in all areas of the City except for Tuxedo. Apparently they spray you, follow you home, when you leave to go to the hospital, they rob your house.

I was also reading the Winnipeg Sun and Free Press and there was a lot of commentary from out of town people that have had there cars stolen or vandalized. Turns out that Winnipeg is the worst City in Canada for car thefts. Everywhere you look, people have "the club" on their steering wheel to prevent theft. One of my other brother in-laws showed me an invoice for $320 for a immobilizer, a devise that prevents the car from be stolen. His insurance company paid the full amount of the immobilizer because it is cheaper than paying out future claims. They do it for all their clients with certain model cars. That's how bad car theft is, and the worse part is that they are just stealing cars for fun, there is no other purpose, their not even making money by doing it. One newspaper article showed a car that was driven into a house last week and caused $80,000 damage to the house. The car was stolen and the drivers fled and were not caught.

Even at the Norvilla, which was a local bar in a decent neighborhood, has become dangerous. Now the Villa has never been a classy bar, not even close, and has always been filled with bar flies, but was fairly harmless. Now the Villa has a strange energy, with a lot of young kids that dress gangster, and apparently there is fights there every night. They don't even allow tabs, or credit cards anymore, everything is cash. That says it all. We were there for about 25 minutes last night and Rich had some young kid come up to him and ask him to buy him a case of beer and if Rich hadn't handled it properly it could have gotten out of hand. It was a little scary sitting in there. Even when I talked to Davis and Paul, Rich's kids, they tell me it's known as a dangerous bar.

Needless to say it was a real eye opener going back to Winnipeg. The City has really gone downhill. I'm not sure if you live there you notice it as much, but we haven't been back in the Summer for 4 years and Alice and I really noticed the deterioration. At times I've second guessed myself and wondered if moving to Toronto was a good idea. Now without hesitation I'll never second guess myself again. The minute we arrived back home and got off the plane you could feel and see the difference. I'm glad our kids are growing up here. I'll always love Winnipegers, they are great people and I'm proud to be one, I just don't like Winnipeg. Unless, or until, they clean it up.

Travel Recovery Day - No Training.

13

More traditions...

We didn't get home from Alice's sisters place until 3:30 am last night, it was fun. We anticipated a late night and had to meet with our lawyer today, so we wisely scheduled the meeting for the afternoon. On the way to the lawyers we stopped at VJ's for lunch, another Winnipeg food tradition, and had a VJ burger and fries. You just can't get that type of burger in Burlington, it was great.

After our meeting I decided to go for a run. I needed to burn off all those calories I've been eating. I knew this week was going to be all family, friends and food, so I'm not feeling too guilty. I've decided just to enjoy myself and savor the flavor. Heck, I'm on vacation and when I get back home I'll get back on the healthy eating track. VJ's is the gift that just keeps giving, on my run all I was doing was burping up my VJ burger.

Tonight we went out for dinner with Rich and Sharon, they took us to this great little Italian restaurant in Osborne Village. The food was amazing and getting there was also half the fun. We drove in Sharon's mom's big boat of a car for laughs, the outside all dinged and rusted up, we looked like we were on welfare. Those old cars have the most comfortable seats, it was like driving while sitting on a sofa. After dinner we went to the Norvilla, which is a neighborhood bar, it had bad Karma with lots of aggressive testosterone, so we left and went to Triple B's where we met up with my brother Bob, Rich's kids Paul and Davis and their friend Dylan. We closed down Triple B's and then went to my parents house for a few more cocktails. It was another late night. I'm glad we're leaving tomorrow because I don't know if I could take one more day of eating, drinking and late nights.

Run - 49:25 / 6.40 miles / 7:42 pace / 138 avg hr

15

I had my best ride ever...

For the first time in at least 3 weeks I had an awesome sleep. I think it ended up being about 11 hours long and when I woke up my back was much better. Even the chaffing in my groin area and blister on my toe was feeling better. And I was so motivated to get on the bike and go for a ride out to Lockport. Riding down Henderson Highway from Winnipeg to Lockport is one of the few decent cycling routes and it's the one I always did. When I looked out the window it was raining and I thought it might be better to wait until tomorrow. I thought the rain was an omen.

I had a craving for the legendary "Giant Apple Pancake" from the Original Pancake house, another Winnipeg tradition. So I went with Alice and my mom. The pancake didn't disappoint. It has fresh apples and is baked with Cinnamon and brown sugar, it's delicious. When we got home, my full stomach was motivating me to do a ride. Even though it was raining lightly I decided to do the Lockport route. Just as I left the house I heard a squeaking sound and tracked it down to my rear tire, it was rubbing against my frame. Turns out the the hub wasn't pulled back far enough. I fixed it by adjusting the screws that keep the hub pulled back and then realized that it must have been rubbing the entire time during the race, but I couldn't hear it over the noise from the wind howling. I guess it also made the ride a little harder. Like I said before "expect the unexpected".

The ride was my best ever. It was a cross wind and I did a moderate effort. I didn't start the speedometer correctly for the first half of the ride but I did for the second half. I ended up doing the return from Lockport to Winnipeg, which is 17 km, averaging 38.5 kph / 23.87 mph and my average heart rate was around 135 bpm. If I pushed it, I could have went faster. For most of the ride it was pouring rain and I had to take my glasses off and I'm near blind without my glasses, so I "kept my fingers crossed" that I didn't hit a groove or a pothole. Which I didn't. I'm glad I had that fast of a ride because I was starting to wonder if I lost my biking mojo after the Morden race. Today my legs felt great, they were super strong. Plus, I needed that ride to burn off that "Giant Apple Pancake" and eat up some of those party calories I'm going to consume at Alice's sisters house tonight. They've invited us over for a barbecue.

My overall ride average speed was a little slower but that was because I had a slow warm up and cool down.

Mod Bike - 37.08 km / 35.19 kph / 131 bpm

15

2009 Cornman Triathlon Video is Alive...

I actually thought that my back pain would go away after the race, I figured it was caused from pre-race anxiety and tension. When I woke up this morning and it was still sore I was a little discouraged. First thing I did was book a massage and an hour later I was on the table. I've had a lot of massages over the years and some are good and some are not so good based on the skill of the masseuse. This was a good one, she had a natural touch. She was surprised how good my muscles felt after doing a half ironman. The only areas that were a little tight was my left calf, right quad and upper back. I'm sure the epicenter was my lower back and those parts got sore from overcompensating. By the end of the session I felt much better. Still sore but better.

I'm not a golfer, don't really like it. If golfing was 13 holes I wouldn't mind it, but 18 holes is too long. The only reason I golf is to sit in the cart, spend time in the sun, drink beer and smoke cigars. My son Reid has started to get into golf and I wanted to take him to a local city golf course, called Kildonan Park. I used to play Kildonan when I was his age and legend has it that Bob Hope played his first ever golf game at Kildonan Park Golf Course in his vaudeville days.

I didn't know how I was going to swing a golf club with my bad back but I figured I'd just go really slow and try not to kill the ball. The most important thing to remember about golf is to load the golf bag up with some Coors Light and Rum. It was a beautiful day and Reid, my mom and I played and Alice was the passenger in my cart. My mom got the golf bug not that long ago and all I hear her talking about is golf, the same way she hears about me talking about triathlons. I was really surprised to see how good she was. I expected her to be okay but still suck. I was completely wrong. She was really good and ended up shooting a 104 and beating me by 20 strokes. She had some amazing chip shots. Reid was an exceptional driver, of the cart. On the way back from golfing we saw my uncles picture and ad on a bus bench, he just started working for Century 21. I have seen him for a while so we stopped and got a picture with him.

I have to get back to eating properly. Winnipeg is known for good soul type food and every time we come back home we have to visit all the classic places. So far we've been to Salisbury House, Sorrento's, Niakwa Pizza and had a Jeanne's Cake. The only thing I haven't had yet is a Fat Boy burger. Maybe tomorrow. For now, I'm going to try and live guilt free until we leave on Thursday.

Rest Day

6

Calculations done, the final result is in...

I did it!!! I broke 5 hours, my actual time, once I factored in the time it took to do the extra 7 kms, would have been 4:59:35 and that would have put me in 4th place behind Darren Cote, I took a picture with him after the race, we're now brothers in arms. I may also have done better because who knows how my legs would have felt with 7 less kilometers on the bike and the added motivation to place higher on the run. I also noticed that the run was a little long, according to my Garmin it was 13.19 miles, which added a little time. By my calculations I had the second fastest bike ride and it may have even been the fastest because I'm not sure if the course was actually measured to 90 km long, someone said it may have been shorter. If it was shorter, I would have had the fastest bike split. Ah, the trials and tribulations of doing a grassroots triathlon.

Either way I'm super happy with the result. My goals were to break 5 hours (check), place in the top 3 (close but no cigar -came 4th), win my age group (would have come 2nd), do Davis's first half ironman with him and beat him (check), beat my best time I did in this race in my 20's, which was a 5:15:00 with a mile short run (check), average 40 kph on the bike (not even close, the wind was too strong). In a way I'm glad I didn't make it to the podium, I would have had to hang around and it turns out they didn't have medals or plaques, they gave a water bottle and some passes to a local fitness center.

The one thing that amazes me is how much wind can affect your average bike time. I did the Ironman with a slight wind and averaged over 33 kph on rolling hills, not exceeding 140 bpm, and 4 weeks ago I nothing but hills in Muskoka long course and averaged over 35 km. Then I come to Winnipeg and the prairie winds slow me right down, amazing. I can now say, from this experience, that flat roads with wind are harder to ride on than any other terrain. Who would have thunk.

For the next couple of day's I'm going to rest and do some little light training and spending time with family and friends. I woke up this morning and my back was much better, figures. I think it was from the industrial grade Yucca I took last night. This Yucca is not like the stuff you buy in the health food stores. Rich used to work at a farm chemical supplier and this is the stuff they feed to the pigs, I've nick named it "pig juice". I ran out of the stuff I had, but my mom still had a bottle I gave her. Usually it takes 2 days and the pain is gone after I take it. It must be good because farmers are cheap and won't spend money on anything that doesn't work. They feed it to the pigs to bring the ammonia levels down in the barn. My mom also swears by it as well, she hasn't had a bad back in 2 years and was reluctant to let me have it. It also works great for gout, it gets rid of the acid. I had it once in my finger, I took the pig juice and it was gone the same day. I've told Rich he has to get us some more.

Final Race Results

Swim - 34:36 / 1.9 km / 1:50 per 100 meters.

Bike - 2:54:01 / 97.17 km / 33.9 kph

Run - 1:44:44 / 7:55 per mile

Total - 5:13:19

Adjusted Total for Long Bike -4:59:35

9

Expect the unexpected...

In an article I was reading from Mark Allen, he said to expect the unexpected on race day, boy are those words to live by. The day started off okay, I got 5 hours of decent sleep, although when I woke up my back was still bothering me. With all the travel it had gotten worse and was a 6 on 10. I was hoping it was going to be an 8 on 10 by race day.

The day was beautifully sunny, although the weather man said the winds would be light, they weren't. Damn. In the prairies, in cycling circles, we call wind, prairie hills. The swim was great, the water was 19.5 C and I didn't touch one other swimmer, didn't even come close. That's one perk about racing with only about 77 people. Only once did I feel a little panic where my chest felt tight from the wet suit, but I was able to get rid of that feeling in less than 20 seconds and another time I had to stop briefly to adjust my goggles because water was coming into one of them. It was a two loop course and the first loop was just over 17 minutes and I finished in 34:10 when I hit the beach. I did well and I was probably in around 10-15 th spot out of the water.

The transition was a disaster. I had trouble getting my wetsuit off and then I kicked over my can of Ensure, which is like spinach to me before getting on the bike. It was not as quick as I would have liked. Once I got on the bike I started pushing. The first part of the course is West and it was directly into a West prairie wind, I'm sure it was at least 20 kph, minimum, and it was a little cool at 13 C. But that was no problem, I put my head down and started going as hard as I could into the wind. For 27 km straight into a wind I averaged about 27 kph and pulled myself into 2nd place. At the 23.5 km point, there was an orange pylon on the road with a sign, but no attendant. Me and the 3rd place guy didn't know if this was the turn or if it was further a head. You see they were having two races, one an Olympic and the other a half ironman. We didn't know which turnaround this was.

I remember seeing on the race map that the turnaround was at the 27 km point, so I said I think it's ahead and off we went. The guy in first place definitely turned at the unmanned pylon and I figured when we'd finish he'd be disqualified. At the 27 km marker there was NO pylon, we then decided to turn back and low and behold there was someone at the pylon and telling half ironman participants to turn. Man was I pissed off. I had caught all these people and now I had to try and catch them all again. As I rode by the pylon with the guy holding the sign I yelled out at him that he's at the wrong spot. After the race I found out that the guy who was supposed to be at the turnaround didn't show up and some kids came by and threw all the turnaround signs in the ditch, except for the lone pylon and the hand held sign. I was talking to Edie Fisher after the race, a fellow Mark Allen trained athlete, and she told me that she was starting to go past to follow us when a truck pulled up and told her to turnaround. She assumed he was going to get us, which he didn't.

Anyways, I was pissed, I went from 2nd place to around 15th or more again. I just tried to stay positive and kept telling myself to expect the unexpected. At the turnaround I had the wind at my back and was hitting speeds of 45 - 50 kph sustained, before going south with crosswinds for 40 kms. I started passing people again but I was probably going way harder than I should have. There were two major hills, other than the prairie hills, and they are the sides of a valley. I rode it last night with Davis and my plan was to ride the breaks but I didn't bother, I didn't even stop pedaling. For most of the ride I was in the 150 - 155 bpm range. I ended up catching a lot more people and even passed Edie again and got myself into about sixth or seventh position going out onto the run. In total I cycled 7.19 more km's than what was required. Assuming that they had the course actually measured at 90 km. Someone was saying they made it shorter because of road construction. At the 72 km marker my groin was rubbed raw, I got to get a new seat. I had to go from aero to sitting up just to give myself some relief.

As I got off my bike, my back was tight and for the first half mile I was running like a duck before it started to loosen up. Right away I knew this wasn't going to be a good run because the lowest pace I had initially was around 7:18 per mile and as I ran, the pace kept getting higher, at the end, the average was a 7:56 pace. My heart rate was great, for the entire run I averaged 143 bpm and I couldn't get it higher because my legs would just not respond to go faster. I gave it so hard on the bike, especially for the last 70 km's trying to get back in contention that they were empty. There is one steep gravely hill on the run and I tried to run it, but couldn't, my quads wouldn't let me. I ended up walking on the first and second loop. Around mile 6 I just wanted this race to be over, I kept looking at my watch and calculating how much faster I'd be if I didn't go off course. I saw guys who I had passed on the bike in front of me on the run, trying to catch them and knowing if I hadn't cycled 7 km extra they'd be trying to catch me. It hurt.

The last 7 miles were a blur, I didn't ever get into a pain zone, but I just couldn't go fast. Around mile 6 I felt a big blister starting on the inside of my second toe which was rubbing beside my big toe. This was the first race I did in these new shoes so it was to be expected, and it didn't really hurt that much, and I knew it wouldn't be a problem to the finish. I also got lost on the run course but that only cost me about 30 seconds. It was a nice run course in that it had shade, and it was a crummy run course in that it made so many twists and turns. However, I did like the run through the park where they had a chalked line, it was easy to follow. They should have done the entire course like that.

I finally made it to the finish in 5:13 and was trying to do the calculations, I still haven't got the final calculations, but it will be very close to a sub 5:00. I did notice that if I factored in the extra distance, I had either the fastest or for sure the second fastest bike ride of the day. The first three guys to finish were pretty darn good triathletes. Going by memory, the results aren't on the web yet, I think the winner had a 1:26 half marathon. I ended up in 7 th place overall and when I factor my detour time, I would have ended up in 4th spot, not bad considering the top 3 guys were good athletes.

There was some real positives and negatives to this race. First the negatives. It is small with limited volunteers, hence the race course problems. Edie was also telling me that she's experienced the same sort of problems in years past and she uses it as a training race. I'm used to Ontario where we get 700 - 1500 athletes out for a race. Now in all fairness to the organizers in Morden, they don't do this for a living, it is purely volunteer to raise money for cancer. Whereas the races in Ontario are well oiled for profit ventures. That's all the bad stuff I have to say.

Now the good stuff. I had my family with me which was great. I had my old time friend Gord Brauer come up and watch me and video tape me (my family is sick of it). Because the race is so small, my parents, Alice and Gord were able to drive the course and watch the race from my perspective. They would video tape beside me, go ahead and stop and watch, and were also able to watch from behind. They were amazed at how good I am on the bike, the words "pac man" were used. Gord said I was the only rider who passed so many people and they were so excited when I got into second place and then they were deflated when they realized I missed the turnaround. They still cheered me on and Gord yelled his past triathlon racing advice and they all yelled encouragement from the window and the side of the road.

The other good thing was that I didn't get a flat, the roads were okay and I didn't wipe out or get a speed wobble down one of the hills. I didn't bonk and I did okay with all things considered and I stayed positive. Even after the race, me and the other guy that went off course, were joking about it and saying we should have read the course map. I said I did, and drove the course. When Gord asked the organizers about the map supplied, they said the one they gave us was last years version. So there was nothing we could have done differently.

I was also thankful that I raced as strong as I did considering that I had calve problems for the past few weeks, that I bonked and had a wicked flu and was bed ridden for all of last weekend and that I threw out my back a few days ago and still raced. With all things considered I should be pleased, which I am. I was also able to do race along side Davis Sohor in his first half ironman, I did it with his dad's first half ironman race 24 years ago.

The greatest thrill was at the end of the race. Alyssa, Reid, Aaron, Coco and Elena, all went to Walmart and picked up bandannas and wife beater tee shirts (like the bloods gang in LA). They then wrote all kinds of messages of support on the front and backs of the shirts in color and got very creative. One even had a drawing of a Cornman. As I was about 50 meters from the finish, they came running out and starting running beside me and we all crossed the finish line together with our arms raised. It was a great moment. Which reminds me that one of the other positives was that this race is small and grassroots like. Everyone watching got a kick out of it, and I knew I wouldn't be disqualified or even care if I was. It was a great moment.

Davis Sohor also had a great race, better than I would have expected for his first ever half ironman. He finished 5:20:48 and came in 8th place. Davis has to go to a friends wedding reception tonight, but I told him he has to come by my parent place tonight because I bought him a cake with the words "Congratulations Chief", he seemed touched. Gord Brauer ended up driving back with Davis later, because Davis had to stay and pick up his first place in the 20 - 24 age group award. I found out later that Davis was happy about that because he didn't think he'd have the energy to drive home. Ah...the memory of your first half ironman.

Now it is party time. Alice and I picked up food for a post party barbecue at my parents and we invited friends and family. I'm looking forward to putting that first beer to my lips after a week and a half abstinence. I'm glad the race is over, I'm glad I did well, even with the added detour time I beat my best time I did at this race in my 20's and got closure, I think that will be my last Morden Cornman. Closing statement - "Even though at times I'll get home sick for Manitoba, I don't miss those prairie winds".

I've attached photo's, if you look closely you can see the bad back effect. The shoulders are back and the tummy is out, especially when you see me with the group photo the night before and the start of the swim photo with Davis. The photo of me getting off the bike was one painful transition moment, I had to try to straighten up and it took a while for me to get off the bike. I also included a couple of photo's from my very first Morden Tinman (now called the Cornman), that was 24 years ago.

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