Post youtube videos of course:

Sci-fi geeks would like this one…

Time to dust off the cobwebs on my blog…

As I’m evolving away from a tri geek, I’ve decide to change the name and look of my blog… new look to go with some new thinking.

In the new year I plan to try some new challenges, revisit some old ones.  I will still be racing triathlon, but if the budget allows, I’m finally going to pick up a road bike and do some road racing. I have met a bunch of the guys from ERTC here in Edmonton so will likely join them in the Cat 5 ranks… with my first race being the Velocity Stage race… which starts only 30km from my front door in Josephburg.

The only triathlon I have on the schedule so far is the Oliver 1/2 Ironman on June 6.

Due to the return of El Niño, we have had some incredible snow here in the capital region.  The ski areas are in great condition and I have managed to get out 3 times already… last year my total ski days was 6!

On the Sunday before Christmas I was tasked with trying to teach skate skiing to Naomi and our friend Lisa, who just purchased her skis.  Skate skiing to me came pretty easy as I had to learn how to skate on downhill skis on the flats.. and my I can skate on ice skates pretty well too… years of hockey as a kid and I never lost that skill.  However, to teach skiing… I don’t know how to break down the technical elements…. nor do I understand skiing on a technical level. I’ll leave the lessons to others…

A couple of weeks ago, when we received our first big dump of snow, Naomi really wanted to get a pair of snowshoes… to enjoy tromping around the golf course next to our condo complex.  MEC has incredible selection this year and we picked up some Atlas Elektra 9 series snowshoes for her.  I wasn’t sure I wanted snowshoes… so I decided to wait and research which pair would suit me best.   I decided on the Atlas running shoes, and this week went in and purchased a pair with my Christmas present money from Naomi’s parents.  Eager to try them out… I skipped my planned spin session on the bike and drove out the Waskahegan Staging Area of the Cooking Lake/Blackfoot Provincial Recreation area… which has awesome classic ski trails (site of the Canadian Birkie) and some incredible snowshoeing terrain.  Loads of fun! However, I need to get some warmer shoes or figure out how to keep my feet warmer… I was only able to last 30mins in the -14C temps.

The guy who runs the Xterra Canada page on facebook just announced an epic showshoe race at Sunshine on April 11…. I think that may be my a training focus for the next couple of months!

The past week with the back to back stat holidays, I took my first  vacation day from work in over a year and a half… and we traveled back to SK for Christmas (read Naomi’s post here). It was great to see the family again… but alas we were unable to make time to catch up with friends this year.  Hopefully this summer, or in the fall we can get back for a couple of days. Naomi doesn’t know what Saskatchewan is like without snow and -30 temps (-38 windchill)! The summers are quite nice… if you have mosquito repellant… and don’t mind scrubbing dead grasshoppers from your car grill.

For New Years we plan to lie low, maybe have some friends over… or go to a movie. New Years day we will be out at the Strathcona Wilderness Centre for some skiing, snowshoeing… and all sorts of winter fun… if the weather co-operates that is… forecast is for cooling temps into the new year.

Some stuff I’m listening to… yes, I have have eclectic taste…

1) Deadmau5 – loved the Essential mix so much I went and bought both his albums.

2) Fred Falke – another brilliant find from the Essential mix. French disco/house producer. No albums.. but his remixes are really good.  Listen to a bunch of his stuff here.

3) Chantal Kreviazuk – Naomi wanted to go to her STARS fundraiser show in Edmonton last month… it was quite good.  Who knew she loves to drop the f-bomb… and frequently?!  Then again… she is from Winnipeg. I bought Naomi her latest disc.

4) Mugasha.com -  Endless sets to listen to at work…

5) Metric – yeah.. I do still listen to some indie rock now and then, mostly on Sonic 102.9 driving to/from work…

6) Lykke Li – Quirky… Swedish… how can it be bad? I googled her name from the awesome Fred Falke remix of “I’m good, I’m gone”. She has a track on the New Moon soundtrack… but you won’t catch me watching those crap vampire movies.

I read this story a while ago, it’s been posted a million times on the internet but it is a favorite…

Zen teachers train their young pupils to express themselves. Two Zen temples each had a child protege. One child, going to obtain vegetables each morning, would meet the other on the way.

“Where are you going?” asked the one.

“I am going wherever my feet go,” the other responded.

This reply puzzled the first child who went to his teacher for help. “Tomorrow morning,” the teacher told him, “when you meet that little fellow, ask him the same question. He will give you the same answer, and then you ask him: ‘Suppose you have no feet, then where are you going?’ That will fix him.”

The children met again the following morning.

“Where are you going?” asked the first child.

“I am going wherever the wind blows,” answered the other.

This again nonplussed the youngster, who took his defeat to the teacher.

Ask him where he is going if there is no wind,” suggested the teacher.

The next day the children met a third time.

“Where are you going?” asked the first child.

“I am going to the market to buy vegetables,” the other replied.

I’ve been neglectful of my blog for the past month.   Not for lack of things to write, of course.

First of all, I’d like to share a website, that Naomi has shared with me called tinybuddha.com. It’s full of quotes and articles, a great read.. and no you don’t have to be a Buddhist to enjoy.

The past six weeks has been about finding routine.  With Naomi back to school and off her summer schedule, we have to be very organized and conscious of our time to get everything sorted each week.  Some may consider the hectic schedule a stressor, but for me, routine is good.

On Wednesday nights I have been thoroughly enjoying the x-c series here in Edmonton. 7 races in 7 weeks. After doing very little training in August, I have been slowly racing myself back into shape.  The first races were quite painful, but I’m finally feeling like I can finish without vomiting! I’ve entered the 10 Miler this weekend too… not sure if I have my season opening fitness, but I’ll give it my best shot. I think I might enter the Stewart Cup (AB x-c champs) at the end of this month as well.

I’m feel so much joy in racing and training right now, because I look at it as PLAY time.   I think if we all stepped back from the seriousness of our sports and rediscovered the sense of PLAY that we had as children, we’d all be much happier, and healthier…

Last month I had the opportunity to race my first cyclo-cross race. Well… cruiser cross.  Naomi and I volunteered to help set up the “School of Cross” race here in Edmonton.  On Friday night we staked the course and built stairs, etc.  After a nice 2 hour ride Saturday morning I headed down to the race to do the “cruiser cross” race. Any bike could be used, it was unsanctioned, and silly costumes were encouraged.  I went all out from the gun… it was a blast! Getting my 40lb single-speed (too tough to change gears quickly) bike up and down hills and over barricades was a bit of challenge, but I had a big smile the whole time. I definitely want to get a real cross bike and compete in the categorized divisions next time.

Since that weekend, we have gone from summer extreme temps, to bone-chilling winds and snow! It’s quite rare to see all the leaves fall from the trees when they are still green.  I’m not minding though… if we can hang onto the snow, x-c ski season is right around the corner! I plan to groom a private route on the golf course next to our condo complex when we get a decent base. Walk 100m to ski… sounds like a good plan.

Anyhoo, off to bed and happy dreams…

Cheers.

Ok, so I’m no longer fronting a triathlon club, so Naomi and I have decided to create a non-geek endurance athlete club that is to follow STRICT rules:

Not Allowed:
1) Compression socks: Never. Ok.. I own a pair.. I love them.. but seriously… dorky.
2) 140.1, 26.2, 13.1,TRI, MDOT etc… stickers, trailer hitches, license plate holders
3) Sleeveless bike jerseys
4) at a social gathering of non-athletes, mention of race splits, training volume, sports nutrition, training techniques, your last workout, equipment, etc..
5) Bragging about the number of times you’ve been to Kona or done the Boston marathon
6) m-DOT tatoos (yes, I now a bunch of you have em… I’m not a fan… sue me)
7) drinking from a water bottle while at the dinner table
wearing of race shirts. they are for cleaning your bike chain, mkay?
9) add your own here…

Membership is free. No refunds.

“Never idealize others. They will never live up to your expectations. Don’t over-analyse your relationships. Stop playing games. A growing relationship can only be nurtured by genuineness.” Leo F. Buscaglia

Around this part of the world… the triathlon season is coming to a close. There are only a few races left, the days are starting to get shorter, and the weather a bit cooler…. all a bit depressing! Oh well.. there’s always cyclocross season, x-country running series, then nordic skiing when the snow falls… and don’t forget the fall marathon.

My season ended at Calgary 70.3. I haven’t done a single workout for about 11 days now. I didn’t really plan to take this time off… I just felt I needed a break, but more mentally than physically. I’ve been sleeping in, drinking a few extra beers, had my parents visit from Regina for a few days, and even went out for a round of golf! I’m itching to get back at it though… will start again tomorrow with some short workouts to ease my body into it.

It’s August, and that means Ironman Canada taper time! Many of my friends have been putting in plenty of hard training for the past year and are now counting down the days to the big show in Penticton on August 30. Unfortunately, Naomi and I will be unable to make the trip this year… her first operational day at school is Aug 31… and there is no way we can watch the race and make it back to Edmonton by the next morning!
On that note, I would like to dispel a myth about the taper. It has become so common for people to become sick during their taper, whether it be for a 1/2 or full ironman, that getting sick during a taper is considered “completely normal”. It is even thought of as GOOD, and it’s just our body letting us know we need some rest.

Huh? What? Let’s set the record straight. Coming down with a cold/flu is not normal, for age groupers OR elites; very common, yes. Normal? No. In fact, it doesn’t have to be that way. If you get sick you are tapering improperly. The reason for getting sick is not that you need rest, it is because you ARE resting!

First, lets state the key rule of tapering:

The length and structure of a taper is relative to an athlete’s training volume and accumulated fatigue.

There is no “formulaic” approach to structuring a taper. How long you need to recover depends on how consistently, how hard, and for how long you have been training. The greater the total accumulated fatigue, the longer you need to taper. Most age groupers start their taper much too early, and get to race day feeling stale. If you’ve been training 12 hours/week, you don’t need a 4 week taper for Ironman!

When we are training hard our immune system gets stimulated to ward off illness. However, if over train, we push our bodies into a catabolic state, raising our cortisol levels too high. This increases the likelihood of becoming sick. When tapering, the reverse can happen. If we drop the work load too quickly, the immune system goes into “rest mode” and says “I don’t have to work so hard anymore, going to sleep now!”. The sudden depressed state of the immune system will also increase the likelihood of becoming sick.

By keeping the Body’s Five Systems firing, while at the same time decreasing the workload gradually, or the shortening the length of our taper altogether, we can prevent our bodies from going into “rest mode” and the “ill” effects that come with it.

Enjoy Your Taper.