Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays to all!

Christmas was awesome; I managed to get spoiled by Santa and the parents once again this year! Thanks to the family for a great one! All the best to everyone on a happy 2009.

Before Christmas we had a solid training camp, picking up the swim and bike volume for me. In one week I tripled my normal swim volume. Threw in a bunch of 7km swims followed with hard bikes and runs and the ultimate 10km swim! By the time we reached the 10km there were only a select few left who finished the whole thing. Here Is a pick from the 100x100 group without a-russle who did the whole thing but had to leave early. Props to the people who did it!




The rest of the camp went well, and got a little time off during the holidays. I managed to hurt myself in a snow-skimming injury during the holidays but hope to be better asap! Couple more days of recovery should make it all good.

A couple training camp pictures....

Time to get back into good habits.

It has been so long since I posted my last post that I don't even remember what it is about! I think it has officially been 3 months..haha. What has gone in since? So much it is insane! We have had a 3rd annual run/walk for the homeless which was well attended raising just under $10,000 for the homeless community of Victoria. I have been continuing on my own run focus which has been going really well! Running lot's and enjoying it, which is great! I am also starting to plan for a trip over seas to France! Hopefully I will be going there to race in the grand prix circuit all across of France! Last season seems ages ago, and I am glad, and looking forward to an awesome season this year! That is a quick and brief catch up of everything, now for right now.

Andy and I just started going for tready runs at PISE. The new center is unreal, tready with TV's and iPod hookups, no lineups and no max time! We have been really enjoying doing our runs in there instead of in our new found snow! We also just started a new training camp today, which I am looking forward to! We started the day with some killer draft pack work, reaching about 6.5km by the end of the swim. The boys were cranking it and ended up going solid on the last few! Finish that and upstairs for a solid windtrainer ride with some solid tempo and steady state worked in. Then home, quick snack and off to work until 9:30, sleep and then similar thing again tomorrow. I am stoked for it! Should be a really good training camp.

Plus a random picture from zona!!

Wrap it up...

It is finally that time, I have put off thinking about last season for as long as possible, but now it is time to reflect. There were a lot of pro's last season when you come to think of it. I managed to be more focused on training then I have ever been. I had an amazing training camp in Arizona which I came out of the most fit I have ever been. I even managed to get to go to some cool places that I have never been before, including Arizona and mazatlan, Mexico. I learned lots of new things from my awesome teammates, my very wise coaches, my super generous parents, and most of all myself. However I also managed to have a lot of con's as well, maybe even more con's then pro's. This is actually not a bad thing as long as you learn from them. I still have not figured out if I have or not. I can not honestly say that I had a good race last year. Lot's of races that had good parts, but not a full race that I was stocked about. Back to the drawing board? Well it has actually been pretty good this year most years I would have mopped around for a few weeks then realized I should start training, and the slowly get back into it. This year I managed to get back into it quickly and just ready for a new year of racing. I know something has to change this year though, the last three years I have ended off the year without being excited about the previous season. It is not as much fun when the results you expect don't happen. The last three years I have thought I would do better then I have. For a while I thought my goals were to high, but I know now that I am just not doing something right. Once I found that something it is go time. For now I am looking for what I need to change.

Some kelowna Pictures...

Me in a pack??

soloing it. That is more like how my race went!

If you are going to race poor then you mine as well look good while doing it. Loving the headband.

Kelowna T minus 6 days!

Over the last couple day I have noticed my body ready to just shut down. Standing hurts, getting out of bed in the moring hurts, and heck even laughing hurts these days. This is awsome! It means I am finally ready to race Kelwona next weekend! I feel like ever since Mexico my training has gone down and has not came back up again, until the last few weeks. I am ready to go again. I am finally convinced that I have put in the time and ready for a great result. There has also been a few things bugging me about what to do next year with schooling, triathlon, work, and everything else. I am finally able to put all of that aside and focus on the race. I will figure it all out after nationals, but for now it is go time. Just going to have a great race which I have waited long enough for. Very excited for some tapering in a big way!!

Also last weekend was the sri triathlon which is always really well put on and always alot of fun. Here are some pictures.. photos by Mark Creery.




P.S. The headband is making a comeback in a big way. And Special thanks to Andy McCartney for the beuty aero helmet!

2008 Crit Season

For the last few years, I have been lucky enough to race in some of the local criteriums. The races are awesome for a few things, firstly they are always a good workout. If you need to work harder just go up front and take a longer pull. They are also really good for bike handling and good conering practice. Lastly you always can get a wicked hill workout out of them cause there is always a decent hil in it. Here is some photos from this year.

Quick Thought, and Random Pen Pictures

What is the first thought that enters your head in the morning? Have you ever took the time to listen to it? Does it bring you joy, or stress you out. I awoke this morning to a thought of Prince George and Kelowna last year. I was forunate enogh to coach a small kids of steel camp in Prince George before Kelowna Triathlon last year. Just being around younger people learning about triathlons and sharing my stories remeinded me of how lucky I really was and still am. Kelowna was also my first race after my "short retirement" from the sport. I was so happy to be back racing everything about triathlon was getting me fired up even the silly little things like the race breifing or trying to eat food early race morning (everything always tastes a little different race morning for some reason)! I had not felt this happy about triathlon to many times this year. I have worried too much about this and that, and now I am ready to enjoy it! Take advantage of the fact that I am able to do something like this. No more worrying and more enjoying. Looking forward to the SRI this weekend. The summer is almost over and summer being my favourite season of the year I am not going to waste it. Time to take advantage of summer and racing!


On a lighter note some random pictures from my travels to Penticton that I have not posted yet.

I've got an idea lets stop and take a swim in the river to cool off.

Its too cold stevo, you will never

get me to put my legs in that water.

Home sweet home. (well at least for the weekend)

P.S. You may have noticed on our trips shirts are always optional. haha

The Pen,

So Last weekend Stevo and I were lucky enough to travel up to Penticton for the peach classic triathlon. We decided that we would be going on Friday morning after the swim at about 10:00 went home packed and was in the ferry lineup at 12:35 waiting to get on the 1:00 ferry boat. We new the trip was off to a good start when we got on to the ferry after showing up only 10 minutes before it starts to load. The trip up was awesome! We took the scenic way, on the old highway which took about the same amount of time as the kokahala. When we arrived there We were both stoked to be back in pen where we had enjoyed watching the Ironman last year. We stayed with the Symmonds which was awesome. Thanks to them for there awesome hospitality. We had all day Saturday to swim in the lake and hit the bike barn where we had an experience with mounting tubular tires. A solid Pre-race day nice and laid back and finished it up with a nice little hair buzzing. Yes I did buzz my hair, it is... different not good not bad just different. The race was early Sunday morning where is was hoping to beat the heat, but no such like. The race itself was a little bit ruff and a pretty stressful morning overall between forgetting my goggles, my race suit would not do up, and did not get to warm up for even 30 seconds in the swim. So shoes off 1500m a hard bike that I did not drink enough or eat on and then a run that started uphill for 4km and was on the hot pavement. O did I mention it was about 30 degrees at 8:00 in the morning. It seems like it has been a while since I have been able to say that is was a good race, but what can you do. The good news is that we learned a few new tricks to stay cool in the heat. After Kelowna which are nationals I will be able to say that I had a great race though. haha. Being that we were in Penticton I was not ready for this to bug me, at least not till I got back to Vic. So I enjoyed being in Penticton for the 24 hours even though we did not do much because we were so drained. Then time to head back.

Awesome trip back too! We saw coyotes, swam in the river to cool off, and showed up at the ferry at 6:54 and made it on the 7:00 ferry. Overall a really fun trip! Thanks to Stevo my partner in crime for driving up and making it fun.

It's always good to be back home and get back into training hard though, which is exactly what this week was. Stevo and I have figured we have raced 4 time now in the last 3 weeks so we are starting to get a little tired. That ok The Sri Triathlon next weekend and then two more weeks before having a great race at nationals in Kelowna!

Lastly a solid swim this morning at the HTO open water swim at Thetis. The goal time was just to be under 36:00 for the 3km as I went into it pretty soar from a wicked bike workout yesterday. Crushed a 35:59, good enough, especially considering that I probably did an extra 150m by picking poor lines to the buoys. Congratulations to that fundraiser for raising over $40,000 to the MS Society. I was taking some serious notes for the Run/Walk this year! It will be soon time to start organizing again.

P.S Props to the younger Dagnall who won the 800m in age 16-18 nationals in Calgary with a gutsy swim just off his 8:33 PB.


Quote for the Day:

Nobody who ever gave his best regretted it.
- George Halas