What's Up With Ian

The Benefits of the Video Camera

2012-02-06T11:49:00.002-04:00

So I have attended both of our local triathlon training camps here in good ole Halifax (well Dartmouth really) this year. My main reason for going this year was that TriNS had purchased a GoPro camera and was going to do some video analysis of our swimming.

I was of two minds. 1) I didn't want to see how bad I was swimming and 2) I really needed to see why I was swimming so badly. Reason 2 won as I just had to know.

Well the second camp just happened this past weekend and we got to review our videos. Luckily for me I had been taped twice and we all got to crowd around and critique loads of footage of Ian swimming.

I have learned a few things (I would have posted a video but I don't have it at the moment). I am uneven, and one arms is not too bad, while the other arm is signalling for a taxi or something. My hips sink, so my kick tries to compensate, so that looks bad. I breathe like I am drowning (well I knew that one already). And my flip turn looks like an open turn. Well I don't actually flip turn so that is fine.

Words and ideas were thrown about on how to help me correct these things. Catch, turn, rotate, head down, chest down, hips up!!! So basically, learn to swim you fool!

As my readers know, I just learned how to swim. I am finally comfortable enough in the water that I think I can start to figure out how to do these wonderful things like "catch the water." I am obviously, though, going to have to figure out exactly what all of this means. Normally I see all sorts of pictures of descriptions of the "catch." Or else full speed shots of it from pro swimmers. Great! But I still don't actually get it. What the heck is my arm supposed to be doing? And just when I think I start to figure it out I read something different.

Well I picked up a DVD from the library called "The Swim" the other day. I have watched a grand total of 5 minutes so far, but I have high hopes that it will contain some vital p[piece of info that I am missing. I plan on going through it ASAP, and will fill you in on how good (or bad) it really is. And you will be learning the truth from a mediocre swimmers.

But back to video for a second. Get it done. No matter what image you have in your head of you swimming (or running or cycling), you really can't know until you see it through someone else's eyes. And preferably in High Def. And when it comes to swimming, below the water line because that is where you are swimming.

I hope to have a video done later this year, after I have time to digest the info given to me, and figure out what it all means. And once I figure out how I should look under the water.

Hey, don't get me wrong here, I am really happy with where I am. I couldn't front crawl at all 2 years ago at my first triathlon. And here I am coming in only slightly behind the group in a training session now. But maybe I can get to the point where I am with the slow people, and no the slow person.

Ian's Nutrition - Dates

2012-02-01T09:54:00.003-04:00

Okay, I don't want to be preachy about food here. I just want to share some of the things I have been discovering about food and how it is working for me. I find it best when people present things in a way that makes others want to investigate it themselves. Also food is so subjective and the human body so forgiving that what works for some doesn't work for all. But when I find something yummy and handy it seems like a no brainer to share.

Dried dates. Why dried? Well I don't have access to fresh dates, have never eaten a fresh date, and therefore can't comment. But dried dates? Well, I have been there and let me tell you, yum.

I discovered dried dates (from now on referred to simply as dates) not that long ago on one of my many trips to our local Bulk Barn bulk food store. I love that place, as it is full of amazing healthy food choices and candy. What more could I want. Plus the prices are decent and the lack of wasted packaging is so great.

Anyway, I was picking up some grain or flour or something and saw that dates were on sale. Fine I said, I'll grab some dates and give them a try. I had previously tried them years ago as a kid and hated them (I think, I can't really remember). But I thought they might make a nice healthy snack, and I think I am on to something that a huge portion of the world is already privy to.

First off, dates are sweet. Like raisins and so many other dried fruits, dates are mostly sugar. So eating them by the handful is like cramming cups of sugar into your body. Not a great idea. But I find their sweetness really limits the amount I can eat in a sitting. The standard serving size is 100 g or maybe 1/2 a cup. This packs in anywhere from 200-300 calories. But I really have to dole out that portion size into a few dates here and there and frankly, as an amateur athlete that level of caloric intake isn't that scary to me. And as a food source while training, dates are the perfect size. Throw 5-10 in a zip lock baggy and pop a couple when you are feeling low.

But what else makes a date good. I mean sugar can come from any fruit or drink or bar, so that can't be the sole reason I like them. Well, my basic internet research (and yes, I did at least look up quite a few web sites) shows that dates are rich in fiber (never a bad thing), numerous Vitamins (A, C, E, K), the B Vitamins (great for athletes) and a great source of iron and potassium and a moderate amount of protein. So not only great to have while training, but an excellent recovery food as well.

Now dates are low in sodium, which if you are eating after training isn't a huge deal, but it is something to know about if you are training in hot weather and require a little extra salt to keep the muscles working well. Normally we get plenty in our sports drinks though. Low sodium is a nice thing if you aren't into heavy training or have high blood pressure (just watch the potassium if you take blood pressure meds).

Okay so enough of my new found love of dates. Give them a try though, they really are a great food source, especially for physical activities like hiking, running, or cycling. They travel well, satisfy the sweet cravings and also get me through a hard day at work. But like any food eat in moderation and enjoy. And when buying make sure they aren't treated with sulphur or packed in syrup.

Logged workout | Run by tkos on 2012-01-14 | Slowtwitch.com

2012-01-14T11:23:00.000-04:00

Logged workout | Run by tkos on 2012-01-14 | Slowtwitch.com

2012 Starts, Winter Comes, Mountains Bikes?

2012-01-11T11:49:00.002-04:00

Okay so here we are in 2012. And so far the year has be starting much the way the last one ended. I hit the pool, I run when I get the chance and I commute to work by bike come snow (rain) or sun, warm or cold.

I did just attend the first 2012 Tri Nova Scotia Triathlon training camp. These are great sessions that I rather enjoyed last year. I wasn't going to be able to stick around for the full day, but as the bike portion was held last I was okay with that. The track sessions and pool session are the best for me. And this year they filmed our stroke in the pool and will give an analysis of that. Can't wait.

Anyway, I signed up for the first triathlon of the year. This one is being held in February and is a 5 km skate on our local outdoor long track speed skating oval, followed by a 6 km mountain bike ride, and a 4.2 km run. Now my skating is rather poor, though once I get used to it with a few sessions I will be adequate at that portion. And with the oval open I plan on hitting that bad boy more than a few times to get my skating legs (and muscles) are ready. So that is taken care of.

Winter running on snow and ice is tricky, but I have trail shoes, it is in the city on cleared sidewalks mostly, and I can train for that any day. Again it is just getting some winter running legs under yourself.

Mountain bike? Well I don't own a mountain bike so training just got a little tougher. Also racing as well, as you must use a mountain bike to race. So I checked in at Sportwheels and my good friend Mike Phillips. He said, no problem and lent me his great 2011 Devinci Desperado.

(You can tell I was the roadie as no one else put a water bottle on their bike)

What a fancy nice bike it is . 26 inch wheels with hydrolic brakes and SRAM drive train, not to mention that awesome shock up front and the fact that it is white. But now how do I actually ride this beast with any confidence.

Well Sportwheels does a group mountain bike ride weekly, so last night I joined up and headed out to Shubie Park. Everyone's first group mountain bike ride should be in pitch darkness with a headlamp, snow and ice covered ground and unfamiliar terrain. Seriously though, it was a blast. We went out for close to 1.5 hours and when through hills, loose gravel, single track, tight corners you name it. I definitely want more. So for the next few weeks, at least, I will be throwing this beast of a bike into my car and heading out to these fun rides to get the hang of riding fast on a mountain bike on rough and uneven terrain.

If you check out Mike's bike you may see the 29 inch front wheel and 26 inch rear. Way to go on that setup. Mike realized after loaning me his bike that he didn't have a suitable winter bike to take out on the ride so through the Kona together. Awesome.

And yes, it was dark.

So maybe I will see you all on the trails sometime soon. Trust me, the cold goes away quickly once you get riding. And for those competing against me at Tri-the-Oval, well you better get a good head start on your skates, ha ha.

2011 By the Numbers

2012-01-01T17:01:00.002-04:00

So here is is January 1, 2012. Today I went for a 10km run at a balmy 2C. While I was running I thought about 2011 a bit and what I may wish to do with my 2012 season.

Well I know that race-wise I will probably end up doing many of the events I have done the last few seasons. They have been fun, and I have done well at them. At least one new challenge for me will be the Tri-the-Oval winter triathlon this February. I am a bad skater and who knows how good at Mountain Biking, but it should be fun anyway.

As for training I am probably going to stick to a not too dissimilar plan that I had last year as well. My goal then was to get a whole bunch of good base endurance with a little bit of speed work. That, of course, was up and down as I had some nagging injuries that I was dealing with. But they weren't serious and hopefully this year I have a better handle on them.

So how did I do last year? And what can I do to better that?

Swimming: Well this was probably the first year going into swimming for me, where I could actually swim. Not well, and not far. But still, I could at least do it. the swimming portion of my races was mediocre, but I didn't die, so hooray! Last year I managed to swim (or at least log) 126650 meters of swimming. I like it in meters so it seems huge. Some of that was drills, some open water but an awful lot was just plain old laps. So what is up for next season? Well more open water for sure, which will include swimming with others, but also just more laps. In the last few months I have gone from an average swim session of 1500 m to 2000 m. Endurance is my weak point in swimming (well speed as well). I can get my speed up a bit but cannot hold it for any length of time. So here's 2 more twice a week sessions this winter, but many more laps in total.

Cycling: Well I cycle a lot. Much of that is "short" 16-18 km trips to work or about 32 km a day round trip. I tend to ride long or hard on the weekend, as the thought of a bike ride after cycling home from work is rather odd. I managed around 6058 km of cycling last year. Not too bad. But this season I would love to get a few more long endurance style rides in. The one century ride I did last year left me very worn out. And while I don't race at those distances, I would like to be able to complete long rides feeling more refreshed and maybe a little faster. I was so focused last season on my half marathon that I neglected early season bike training other than commuting. I hope to get out a little earlier this year and get some solid long rides in.

Running: Well here is where I had really hoped to make gains. With my first half marathon planned I had wanted to get loads of easy long runs in to build my endurance. And I did start out with that in mind. But alas, some form issues and bad weather reduced my long runs to medium, then short runs and a lot more rest than I had hoped for. I did get that half marathon in, but trying to keep my weekly totals up over 30 kms did not happen most weeks. I did manage to get about 1027 km in of decent run training which I was happy with. This coming season with a new running gait I am working on, better info about my shoes and access to the Dalplex indoor track I am ready to go. At this point I have been getting a few medium runs outdoors at a moderate pace with 2 speed session indoors prior to my swims. Currently the total mileage isn't super high, but as I adjust to a more forefoot running style I don't want to push myself too hard too fast. I am already adapting quite well and hope that soon I will be getting back above 10 km runs, especially with this super easy winter weather we have been having.

Well back to my rest on this great day. We will see where 2012 brings us. And maybe soon I may post about my goals for the year.

Know When to Hold 'em, Know When to Fold 'em

2011-12-14T10:02:00.001-04:00

So Kenny Rogers sang a great song that really is a life lesson.

Sometimes you have to know when is the right time to stop and walk away.

Well I had been doing so well on my base training run plan. I was getting out each day for a decent run. Nothing too fast, and often just a short distance (5 km or so). After 2 weeks I had banked almost 95 km of easy running.

Now let's turn back time a bit (and not in that Cher kind of way). Before I began this Odyssey of mine, I had been running less frequently but greater distances. Two weeks before starting I ran 21.3 km followed 2 days later by a 16 km run. This is the point where I noticed perhaps my shoes were done. I had developed during the second long run a bit of pain in my shin. So off to Aerobics 1st I went for some new New Balances (see a couple of posts back). I got these shoes but then went on a business trip where running wasn't easily doable. So I figured a little rest before base training wouldn't be a bad thing.

Once back from the trip I began running and as I said, 14 days later I managed a decent 95 ish km. But on the last run I did (13 km), that shin began to hurt a bit again. Now this isn't the type of pain that makes you scream out loud, nor does it persist. But you can tell it is there. And you just know that it has the chance to get worse. And frankly stress fractures or long term shin splints are not where I want to be. Running needs to be fun as much as training.

So I took my cue and called a halt to my daily running experiment. And now 4 days later I still haven't run. Instead I have made my bike commutes more challenging, and upped my swim distance the other night. And I have been getting back into yoga and my stretch/ strengthen routine that I received from my Chiropractor. Now my shins and ankles are still slightly sore, but more in a tired muscles kind of way and not an injury kind of way.

I think that I may try a run maybe this weekend and see where things are. And if it feels good, I will go back to the drawing board and rethink my running plan. Perhaps if I hadn't run on worn out shoes a month ago, things might be better. But I can't fix that past problem, and can only fix what I do going forward. I'll let you know what I come up with.

Run Base Season and Forming Habits

2011-12-04T17:04:00.001-04:00

So November came and went and here we are in December. 'Tis the season for base training to begin I guess as all my races are well and done for the year.

Base training was never my forte. I rode or ran as I saw fit, when I was feeling up to it. That suited me at the time, though it did nothing to help me become a better athlete. Then over the last few seasons I finally gave in.

Last year I learned about long, slow running from Shane MacLeod during a Tri Nova Scotia training camp. For me running slow seemed counter intuitive, but I did it anyway. I began training with runs much slower than race pace and much longer. And I loved it. By the time winter made it too hard for me to continue my long runs I had been up to 17 km. I backed it down to 8 and 10 km runs as I lost my trail and then road side to ice and snow. But as the distance slipped my speed came up. I was actually really happy.

But as usually happens to me, I tend not to like to pull back. So as the snow and ice melted away and I was able to run further again (and I was training at this point for the Bluenose Half Marathon) I started going the distance but with my new found speed.

As one can imagine, I eventually over did it. Leading into the month before the Bluenose, I had to drop my distances back and the speed too, and and also the frequency. And as you can imagine, once you get a little injury and start spending less time running / training and more time on the sofa, the desire to actually head out kinda goes away.

Well a few chiropractor trips and some ART as well as a packed early season of racing cured my desire to stay on the sofa.

So here we are back in the fall and base season. And it is time to try something new. I have loads of time before the Bluenose comes around, and I now know I can make the distance so trying to cram long runs in right now just isn't that appealing to me (darn dark evenings and living outside the city). But I still want to get the sort of distance in that I was before. So my new plan is to try my best to run every day.

Now that seems excessive doesn't it. But my plan is slightly well thought out. Right now I am aiming for light paced runs of varying short distances. Yesterday was in fact my longest run of the week at 12km.

My runs for the last 8 days have been from 4.4 km to 12 km. Some on the trail near my house, some on the road, and one at Dalplex on the inside track (that was not a long one at all). And it is working from many standpoints. I am getting my distance in (actually slightly increased distance) per week, I am enjoying the runs and most of all I am not achy, sore, in pain, hobbling around or waking up stiff. I run just fast enough to give my legs a bit of a workout (around 5 min pace or so) but not enough to cause any need for taking time off. That was a major problem with my long runs in the past. They were long enough that it meant I usually had to rest for a day or 2 in between.

As it stands, I will continue this system until running outdoors just gets too hard / not safe / not convenient. By that point I hope to have formed a good habit. I will slowly increase my mileage at a safe rate and not worry about going particularly long until my body is ready for it, probably by March or so. Of course if I know for soem reason that I won't be able to run the next day, I leave myself the option of going a little harder or a little further that day, knowing I will have a rest.

This all seems smart in my head. We will see if for once I can get into Spring in one piece, with medical need, and still have what it takes for a good hard half marathon, followed by a fast paced Duathlon season.

New Shoes - Tis the Season

2011-11-21T08:53:00.001-04:00

Alright, so this is a picture of my new shoe, though one I stole from a website. Mine looks just like it, I swear. The New balance 880.

Last year I had a great time getting used to New Balance 759's. They were a great shoe. Moderately light weight for a trainer, with just the right amount of cushion and support I needed. Then I was transitioning from a Brooks Dyad shoe, which is a giant huge clompy beast with tons of support, but was the shoe I needed after injuring my leg.

As any good company does, New Balance changed the name of its shoe from the 759 to the 880. A natural transition, I guess. Luckily the people at Aerobics First in Halifax new the new names (if they didn't they would be very good at selling shoes I guess).

I new it was time to get new shoes as my old ones had seen far too many miles (kilometers) and I was getting some nagging sore spots in my lower legs that hadn't been there before. I am also in that time of year where I am trying to get as many base miles (kilometers) as possible, prior to the sow falling and making outdoor running slippery and less fun. Sure I will still run outside during the winter, but my local routes are severely shortened.

Well into Aerobics 1st I went this past weekend and met up with Luke MacDonald. One look at my old shoes and he knew I was due. We tried on the 880's and I went for a little run outdoors. I was amazed at how different new shoes felt. You get used to the old ones and don't realize just how worn they are. But this run back and forth on the sidewalk didn't hurt a bit. Sold.

But Luke wanted me to try the 890's. Similar shoe but with less of a heel. This is a shoe headed towards the realm of minimalist. Still it offers some support and cushioning. But I was amazed. All of a sudden it hurt to run again. The shoe felt great, until I went out door. With my current aches and pains, this was not going to work. And as I am ramping into heavily mileage (kilomereatage?) season, a mew style of shoe was not going to cut it. Maybe one day, but not now.

Anyway, I can't wait to get these babies out and some decent runs in. Last week I manged a 21 K run, a 5K run, and a 15 K run. It was the last one that showed how worn out my shoes were and I think now I will take a few days off prior to another run. But I look forward to running without the aches in these new guys.

Moral of the story? Get your old runners checked out and pay attention to your legs.

2011 Tri NS Awards

2011-11-06T09:10:00.002-04:00

Well we had a great awards banquet to close out the season for Triathlon Nova Scotia. Another tasty feast of lasagna, followed by coffee and cake, and a great presentation by sports psychologist Dr Savoy on the use of imagery in helping to reach your goals.

And the photo above? Well that was my Age Group award for being number one in the men aged 35-39 category for duathlons. The top three in each group get a mug, but the jelly beans are the bonus for those of us in the number 1 spot.

There was some great tough competition this past season, and a lot of new faces for duathlon, which is always great. Hopefully next season sees the same growth in the sport.

So what does the off season bring for me? Well a little rest, but right back into training. Cycling usually falls to the level of bike commuting for me come the winter, but running and swimming will be stepping up. Especially swimming, as I make the move to claim a top three age group prize in triathlons next year. Of course the duathlons will still be my favorite.

See you at the races, or maybe running the road. Let me know if you need a running partner on a cold day.

Running for Fun

2011-10-30T19:15:00.000-03:00

Well, I typed running for fun into Google images and this picture came up.

I don't know if bees in fact do like to run or not, but this fella sure is happy, and look at that stride.

As this past sporting season was wearing down, so was I. My joints weren't feeling peppy any more, my shoulders were dying, and my love of the run was waning. I ended with great runs at both the Riverport Duathlon and Rum Runners, where I ran PB's that were leaps and bounds above my norm. Afterwards I did a few more runs using this beast:

I bought my first Garmin this Fall after having used one for the first time at Rum Runners. It was great at helping me pace through the run, so I knew I had to bite the bullet and buy one (they are quite reasonably priced right now). Of course this meant that even though my competitive season was done, my training runs following this purchase were probably a bit too hard, but who could resist with all that data flashing in my eyes.

Still I finally just lost the urge. As I mentioned, things hurt, sleep wasn't great, and my desire to run was lost. I still enjoyed cycling and swimming was also fun, but running? Meh.

So the other day I ran to work. It wasn't the first time I did that, but it was the first time I didn't care how fast I ran and how quickly I got to work. Turns out it was fun. I even wore the Garmin but didn't look at it until I was done. A few runs later and I caught the bug again.

No more coming in after a run exhausted. Instead the last few runs I have done have left me happy, exhilarated and peppy. And low an behold, sleep is better and things don't hurt as much.

So it is back to base training for me. Long slow runs will be the norm until next season comes along. This should give me loads of time to reconnect with the spirit of running and not worry about the numbers. Oh of course I will keep using my new toy, the Garmin 305, but more as a way to track what I did, not what I am doing.

See you out there. And watch out next year. A healthy Ian will be a fast one.

2011 Riverport Duathlon

2011-10-06T14:30:00.000-03:00

Well here we go. The final race of the Triathlon Nova Scotia 2011 season was upon us last weekend. And the weekend started with a bang by having a huge storm come up the coast and soak us with heavy rain. My wife and I decided to make a little vacation this year instead of the usual, get up super early and drive to Riverport on the Sunday routine. So we decided to go to Lunenburg, drive around, have some good meals and stay in town for the evening. That turned out to be really a great idea as I didn't have more than 20 minute drive to the race that morning, and therefore could sleep in a bit.

Now Riverport is always one of my favorite races. It is the first Duathlon I ever took part in a few years back. And each year has always brought me a little more success. I remember my first race here and my complete lack of any running ability, coupled with no actual running shoes. Ah the fun.

Well race day morning brought more rain. I arrived early at the community hall where the race would start (a departure from the school it had been at most years). We were old space would be limited so early I didn't want to miss out on a prime bike rack spot.

Well after everyone was signed in and the race meeting took place, we headed out to the wet start to get ready to go. It was at this point where the bike rack my bike was on decided to collapse. It was a little crazy at the time but a temporary solution was made and the race started.

This Duathlon starts with a 4 km run that is dead flat. So I knew I had to hold nothing back on the short trip. I took off with the leaders on what was a hard but comfortable pace. I am horrible with judging distances though and the halfway point always seems to take forever to get to. But finally I got there, made the turn and headed back to the start / T1. At this point I was in 9th place overall and feeling pretty good. I came running into T1 with a time of 15:28 for a 3:52 pace.

Now the great thing about a Duathlon is the relatively fast transition times, since all you really need to do is change your shoes and head gear. But coming into this T1 I was unsure what had happened to the broken bike rack they were fixing when the race started. Well I found my spot, got my helmet and shoes on, grabbed my bike and thanked Ron. Ron was holding the end of the rack up for everyone. It was very kind of him. And thankfully that piece of the rack only had 3 or 4 carbon fiber bikes anyway. Still it was funny to see.

Off I went on the bike. And I was riding quite well, keeping my pace steady and hanging back on one rider ahead of me, just out of the draft zone. I suppose I could have pushed through, but that would have been silly as we were only a couple of kilometers into the race by this point. We both eventually got passed by one rider. Then came the Grimm Rd.

Now this hill seems to terrify people. I like it. The road is a series of smaller climbs and if you hit each just right you can zoom right up them. I took this as my opportunity to pass the rider ahead of me. And off I went. Now part way down this road another cyclist caught me and started to make a pass, so I did the right thing and lifted for a second and off he went. But right on his wheel was another rider. Man I hate drafting. And I really hate blatant drafting. And this guy drafted for most of the rest of the ride as I watched from a safe distance back. It is really hard to watch though, when the people in question should know better. Anyway, I can't do anything about that now.

I rode my ride and by the end, the road is a slight downhill for the last few kilometers before T2. So I made sure to not lose too much time and I don't think I went below 45km/hr at this point.

Coming into T2, I was a little confused about the dismount line as there was none (rain and all). I ended up dismounting twice I think. And then I was a little confused to see my rack was missing. But as I crossed the timing Ron was there to take my bike from me.

Thanks again Ron. It felt like I was a Pro at an huge event with all sorts of helpers. Well it at least felt confusing anyway. Time coming into T2 was 48:09 over the 28 (ish) kilometer course including T1 for an average bike speed of 34.9 km/hr. Not bad at all on this wet and windy day.

T2 was really just my shoes, which were un neatly in a pile on the ground mixed with other people's shoes and helmets. But I don't think I wasted too much time getting things sorted out.

Then off I went. Just a simple flat 4 km to go. In fact the same 4 km I already ran not that long ago. Now between the cold and wet and the just finished bike ride, my feet were oddly slightly numb at the beginning of the run. It was a strange sensation but I pushed through. And my calves were screaming. But I pushed through. I managed to pass one guy who had a great bike ride but was feeling it on the second run. And I skipped the water stop (unusual for me) as I think I was getting plenty of fluid from the sky.

I end of the race was finally around the corner. I picked up the pace and sprinted to the finish (as I usually try to do), crossing toe to toe with another runner. A good run down for sure. Add in T2 time and I managed a 17:33 overall for the last run and a 4:24 pace. Not bad, but I will work on that for next year.

In the end I was scored in 11th place overall and 3rd out of 19 in my age group. Another increase in position from last year where I was scored 14th. My overall time was also better. A 1:21:10 this year versus some 3 minutes slower last year (with an altered course). I look to go south of 1:20 next season. A fine result and still room for improvement. And a fine way to cap off the year.

I think I am done racing this year. Anything else will be spur of the moment. Training will begin for next season after a small break (like this week I think). And I will do a summary of my racing accomplishments in an upcoming blog post. Oh and I have a Garmin 305 on the way. Maybe I will write about that as well. Hmmm. Take care racers and non racers.

Rum Runners 2011 - Here We Go Again

2011-09-26T14:49:00.001-03:00

So last year was my first taste of the relay running / long distance style of race. I was an alternate for Runningmania.com. I must say I rather enjoyed last year and Leg 6 of the race where I placed in the top ten and had a personal best time for the distance I ran (10.7 km).

This year I was a full fledged team member due to my running the year before and I was ready. When asked which legs I might want to do, I requested first and foremost Leg 9. I was offered it the year before but was intimidated by he extra distance of 12.6 km, having never really run ore than 10km before. But this year I had already completed a half marathon and numerous training runs well over 13 kms. So I figured I could compete.

My main goal was to beat 1 hour, having run a best practice time of 1 hour and 5 minutes. But that was practice and the excitement of race day always speeds one up. Also Ian McGrath was kind enough to lend me his Garmin 305 for my Leg, which was going to help me with pacing. Side note, that thing was awesome and I now must buy one.

The day had been going very well. Our runners were doing great jobs in their legs, and even though our main goal is fun first, it is nice to give it your all on the day. We had a number of new teammates who all succeeded in conquering their Legs of the relay, even though the weather went from blah to blaher.

The day started with fog and humidity for Ian McGrath in the dark (nice) and right before my Leg was a downpour. I stayed dry inside Mike Milloy's van while waiting for him to finish Leg 8 as I didn't want to be soaked before I ran. And waiting helped. Just as they called us to the start line at 4:15 PM, the rain let up leaving only a thick humid mist.

I said before that I wanted Leg 9 as my first choice this year. Partly I liked the distance, but mostly I liked the fact that you finish coming into Mahone Bay and it is a darn pretty way to finish any run. Also this meant I actually would know the end of the run pretty well, having traveled there numerous times.

So the start came about on time (as usual in this event), I hit start on the Garmin and began signing Don't Stop Believin' in my head (as the beat was just right for me). I stayed with the first few runners for the first kilometer or so and kept them in site for the first 2 kilometers or so. This was nice as they were impressive runners.

Now normally I go out as fast or faster than the leaders, but then slow down and get caught up, then find a rhythm, then finish the race really fast. So I was happy to have the use of the Garmin to keep me in check. I wanted to keep a pace of 4:30 min/km and this beast would tell me exactly how I was doing. This would get me well under 1 hour for the race at about 58 minutes or so.

About 2-3 minutes into the race as the leaders were pulling away I was stuck behind a guy and our pace was 4:18. I felt good and made the bold move to pass him even though we were well ahead of my goal pace. But then, I am stupid that way. It just felt slow at that point and I wanted to hit a comfortable stride. I stopped looking at the Garmin and ran at a decent pace.

Awhile later I looked down and saw my pace was anywhere from 4:08 to 4:18 and I was still feeling good 20 minutes in. I knew only 5 people were ahead of me as well and one runner was maybe 100 meters ahead. He would end up staying there for almost the entire race.

The run felt great and only once did I look down and see my pace had drifted far from where I wanted to be. So the Garmin really helped and I was able to get back to the low 4's and away from almost a 5 min pace. I must have really put some distance the people behind me as well, as I didn't here anyone being cheered for after I passed the jubilant fans on the the road side as the water stops. This Leg was also very up and down with little rollers, which I run through very well. This probably helped me put some distance on those behind me.

Finally I rounded a corner on the road and saw those famous churches of Mahone Bay and I knew I was but a couple of kilometers away from the finish. I picked the pace up a bit in this downhill section to try and catch up to the runner ahead of me as well. I had avoided doing this earlier in the race as I was afraid pushing my pace would lead to me running out of steam too early and allow those behind me to pass. I would have rather stayed 6th than end up 10th. But now I knew I had a little reserve.

It would seem though that I was only slightly faster and the gap was not really closing down any. So I kept running, though the on coming cramps in my ribs. But just as I was set to accept a well raced 6th with a great time, I found a little more speed and caught right up with Chris Smith. I paced right in behind him, having to slow myself to do so to see if he had anything left in the tank. He didn't respond, and with a 150 meters or so to go, I took off. I didn't look back but kept running hard and fast and made the finish in a time of 52:39 for an average pace of 4:11 min/km. Thank you Garmin and Ian for the push to get me up there.

Needless to say I was extremely happy with the result and 5th pace overall in the Leg. I had beat my set goal by over 5 minutes, which in itself was probably 7 minutes faster or so that I had done in practice. And I was also extremely impressed with our team placing, coming in 21 overall (out of 60) with an average pace of 4:57 min/km. Way to go team.

Here is looking to next year.

Shubie Doobie Tri 2011

2011-09-13T14:53:00.001-03:00

Well here we were, early Sunday, Dartmouth, and tons of fog. Wow, Shubie Park was truly fogged in. I headed to the beach to see the water and I could barely see 10 feet. Needless to say, the Shubie Dooby Triathlon was going to be a little late starting.

Still I arrived at the Tri early to grab a nice spot in transition and have a chance to relax. This was, after all, my second open water swim Triathlon and my first was a few months ago in Ingonish. After setting up my bike, I decided to slip into my wetsuit and go jump in the lake.

Having been here the day before, I knew the water was going to be warm. And it truly was. The previous day it was 22C and I doubt it had cooled much over night. So getting in was rather easy. And it helped me settle the nerves a bit. Also the wetsuit was rather nice to have on me as I was standing in the cold, waiting for my race to start. In fact I probably stood around in that wetsuit for well over 1 1/2 hours. Thanks Xterra for making it so comfy.

Eventually the Olympic Distance people took off. This gave we Sprinters another opportunity to bounce about in the water, I mean do a proper warm up. Finally, almost an hour late (due to fog, not organization) we got our pre race lecture and we set out for the swim.

Okay this isn't actually the Sprint start but it looks pretty close.

Now due to the larger number of participants in the Sprint race, and the fact that the swim start area isn't that large, the RD (Mark Campbell) split it into a wave start of men then women. Less people in the water together made me happy. We took off like rockets into the water and unlike Ingonish, I actually didn't hold back. I jumped right in and started doing a version of the front crawl. I say version, as there were many thrashing bodies around me and I couldn't quite open right up.

Eventually I got a good rhythm going and headed for the first buoy. I didn't panic as I had my head hit a few times, or my legs grabbed or my arms pulled. I pushed through and fought for my ground. It felt rather good.

Finally after what seemed an eternity, I round that farthest buoy and headed to the shore. 15 :22 is what the chip timing people say I did my swim in. And I will take that. Turns out I was 78th fastest out of 127 people. Okay so not really all that fast.

Off to T1, and a leisurely change to my bike shoes, helmet et al. (I was a bit dizzy and therefore in no rush) and away I went. The start of the bike ride was a bit drafty (hint hint), but I was okay with it as the road is busy, and the riders are just getting settled down. Also it allowed me to pass at one point 6 riders in a row. And I think I did so in my 15 second time allowance.

I had never done this event before and didn't really know the course well. People warned me prior about the large amount of hills. I just thought, good. And I pushed hard for the next 39:26 (including T1 time or what must have been over 2 minutes), passing many riders. The drafting got less severe after I finally reached the turn around. Most people seemed to have settled a bit. I knew, though, that I couldn't slow down as I needed to make up some time still and had less than 10 kms to do it in (well maybe more as the course was a bit long according to my bike computer). At one point I apparently hit 62 km per hour in my rush back to the TZ, where I finally arrived with an average speed of 30.4 km/hr and the 6th fastest bike split of the day (33.2 on my bike computer which accounted for the extra biking distance and didn't include my transition time). Bike racked, helmet off, shoe change and away I went on the run to the finish.

5Kms of hilly trails awaited me and I followed David Kilpatrick for all of it.

This is the only official photo of me at the event, check out those calves.

We paced each other well, but I had just enough to hang with him. Also I was unaware of the course and was quite surprised as I rounded a corner to see the finish line. Dave was off like a flash and I was as well, taking one runner in the process but not being able to keep up with Dave. In the end I had the 12th fastest run time of the day with a 24:07 (oddly faster than Dave's time due to T2 timing).

So all in all I exited the water in 78th place and clawed my way back to 17th overall and 3rd in the Age Group Men 30-39, with a total time of 1:18:54. Not too shabby.

With a little swim practice, I say, watch out!

Middleton Century Ride 2011 - Third Time Lucky

2011-08-17T13:19:00.002-03:00

Well it was the annual Middleton Century ride time again this past weekend. The Spinachers headed up with goals in mind. For many, the 100 km metric century was going to be a first. For a few others, tackling the entire 162 kms was going to be a first. For me, I was glad to have others that were to start with me, finish with me.

From the outset, I stuck with Ian McGrath as a huge number of riders (250 or so) took off from central Middleton, NS. The group very quickly sorts itself out into smaller and smaller packs and by the time of the first rest stop in Bridgetown, things have settled nicely.

This year, like last, the temperature was nice to begin. And while it probably did soar above the 28.5C of last year, I doubt it was much higher than 31 or 32 (the exact number I have no idea about).

Again, well appointed rest stops made the journey very enjoyable. Watermelon, bananas, granola bars, pretzels Gatorade, water and even cookies and ice cream occasionally.

This was Ian McGrath's first century and I wanted to make sure not to go too crazy on the pace. So we accepted being passed early on by groups of riders, especially as many of them would turn out to be riding the metric century. We needed to save the legs for the extra 60km or so.

That extra 60 km of riding in behind Annapolis Royal is rather nice. Yeah, there are some major chunky sections of pavement, but for the most part very little traffic. We rode and chatted and rode some more.

On our way back to Annapolis Royal we were passed by Mark Campbell and friend, who helped us along with taunts and jeers. I didn't want to bite, I really didn't. And I didn't rush after them. After all this was the 90 km mark of the ride. But I knew that this section of the ride was going to be big rollers, nice little climbs that all seemed to lack any real descent. And I knew that the biggest of these hills was coming up. So I picked up the pace a little, just enough. And when I saw the corner that was to be the start of the biggest climb (probably my favourite part of last years ride) I picked up my speed a bit. And there halfway up the hill was Mark and Mike (?). I began my climb. I had prewarned Ian M. that I may pull a Schleck and go for it near the end of this stage, so I didn't feel too sorry when I took off on him. I blew by Mark by the 2/3rds point of the climb with a little gloat of my own.

At this point I was going to wait at the top for the guys to arrive. But instead I went for it. I rode hard with at least 18 km to go in the stage. And I arrived back at the Annapolis Royal rest stop with minutes to spare.

Ian and I would regroup for the next stage, where Mark would blow by us again, only to have Mike have a mechanical. Now it was almost a challenge to make sure we finished ahead of him. Of course all in fun (ha ha).

A usual the final 25 km of this ride is the toughest. Sure it isn't that hilly, but it is rollers and you have just completed 130 some odd other kms throughout the day. On the way we met up with the Spinacher ladies who were finishing up their metric century and seemingly still smiling (though Lynn had a tough start to the day). We ha da brief chat with them as we rode by. This allowed the crazy Mark to recatch us again. Ugh.

This time McGrath said, stay with them. So I hurried up and caught their wheels. This was just as the base of a small climb. Figuring to take advantage of the hill, I tore up it. And thinking they would be right after me, I kept that pace until after I rode by a group of other cyclists standing by the side of the rode.

By this time I had gone over a series of 3 or 4 little climbs. I looked back and saw no one. I thought, "should I hold up and wait?" Well the answer was no. I had 10 kms or so to go and figured that Ian would tag along with those guys. So I put my head down and kept riding. I also knew that if I let up my legs, by this time, might not be happy to restart. I watched as my speed rarely dipped below 35 km/hr. I pushed harder. This seemed more time trial like and therefore maybe more Evans than Schleck. Definitely not Schleck like.

I finally rode into Middleton again and finally allowed myself the chance to sit up as I navigated the last kilometer or so of the ride.

I came in at 5:55 of riding time. Sure that was less than the 5:36 or so I did last year, but I had a great time riding with Ian and a few others along the way. Also I was quite able to stand around a chat following the event with no aches or pain. It was great.

I waited a few minutes for Ian M to come in and then another few minutes for Mark. The it was time for BBQ chicken, which was perfect. After eating we were happy to see Fred and Ross ride in after their gruelling journey. I was impressed especially with Fred, who had taken a tumble earlier this summer during a ride and obviously has made a great recovery. Also, Fred hates hills. And while these were no Alps, they were hilly enough.

Sorry for the lack of photos. I was lax this year in that respect. But my rear jersey pockets were already full of sundry items anyway because I was prepared for about 30 flat tires I think, but instead received no. Perhaps thanks to my new Michelin Lithions. Nice.

Building a Better Ian - The Next Phase, Shoulders

2011-08-05T12:23:00.000-03:00

Since I was a teen my left shoulder has hurt. Not all the time, but usually it hurts. Mild most days, darn right sore other days and sometimes I can't turn my head. It runs the gambit of achy, numb, tingly, and even itchy. But I just deal with it and move on.

Well after all the success I have and seeing my Chiropractor and having ART done to fix my ITBS issues I thought, why the heck am I not asking about this. Perhaps it is time to get rid of this pain. Truth be told I finally came to this realization this past weekend while doing a solo ride around the Peggys Cove loop. 85kms or so and by 50kms in my shoulder was numb. Sure I changed positions, shuffled a bit, did a little stretch and things went back to being okay, but I knew that I just had to stop "dealing" with the issue and get it looked at.

When I was a teen I saw my doctor. He said, pinched nerve and gave me some exercises to do. They didn't do much, I was a teen, and I gave up. Easy. But I am older now and darn it, I don't want to be even older and in more pain.

Well into the Chiropractor I went. We chatted about the history of the injury. This was obviously a chronic thing, so it wasn't going to be solved over night. But after a little assessment we came up with the beginnings of a plan of attack.

It turns out I have very little range of motion in my shoulders themselves. Instead my pecs have been controlling things for a long time. I basically brute force my shoulders to do what I want them to. Great, I have strong pecs, hooray! I also have very low shoulders, which is odd for many people, but maybe not so much for cyclists.

See as cyclists, we lean forward a lot. And we stretch out our arms to do so. So our trapezius can elongate. This, in my case, also lead to my scalpular muscles rotating. It all seems to just add together into one big problem.

Where did this all begin? I don't know, but of course things like cycling and swimming can make things worse. So it has been slowly getting worse over time.

Right now we are working on a huge bundle of scar tissue and muscle adhesion that has formed over time in my teres muscles (I think it is those muscles). They are kind of under and beside the scalpula, in and around the armpit area. And I am working on stretching out my pecs to get my arms and shoulders to go backwards a bit. One session and I regained quite a few degrees of motion. Hopefully a few more sessions and some exercises at home will lead to me becoming pain free and will help in my active lifestyle.

In swimming, for instance, I have the choice of swimming with stubby arms and swimming slow, or using my major muscles to force my arms into a nice elongated form. The second option means I tend to throw the rest of my body out of position which leads to dropped hips and tons of drag. This can be easily seen when I wear a wetsuit for open water. Doing so can gain me almost 4 minutes over a 750m swim, as my hips are forced to float high. We will see if freeing my shoulders will lead to an decrease in my sprint distance swim time.

Any way, that seems like enough info for now. Any of you medical-ish type people reading this should be aware that my knowledge of the human muscular structure and use of proper names for different muscles groups is completely due to the internet. I am sure I got a lot of that stuff wrong. Sorry about that.

I'll update my "condition" as my treatment continues and we will journey together to see how this may affect my life as a Triathlete / Duathlete.

Ingonish Triathlon - Race 7 (sorry for the ramble)

2011-07-05T11:50:00.001-03:00

Well after all that swim training and purchasing a wetsuit, it seemed inevitable that I would have to bite the bullet and sign up for a Triathlon. The earliest ones of the season were pool swims, which of course seem like the best idea for one nervous of the water, but those ones also included Duathlons. And of course Duathlons are still my favourite events at this point. Also after getting through the Aquathlon in Greenwood back in April, a pool swim didn’t seem like the challenge I needed.

Now my swim strength isn’t great so I knew a sprint distance tri was the smartest starting point. All of this lead to my choosing the Heart of the Highlands Triathlon in Ingonish. Open water swim, sprint distance, probable warm weather and a lake swim to boot. Sure Nova Scotia lakes don’t warm up until August, but the wetsuit would take care of that. And as I posted earlier, I was able to get out a handful of times with my wetsuit to know that it would keep me suitably warm, especially for the 750 meters of the sprint swim.

We drove up to Ingonish on the Friday before the race. I wanted to make this into a little vacation, so we rented a cottage, brought the dogs and packed until Monday. Turns out that Mark Campbell and friends arrived slightly before us and were staying 2 cottages over. That turned out to be good for both of us. Mark needed my lap top to register for the race, and I enjoyed the group ride we did together moments after I unpacked. A quick trip from Ingonish up and over Smokey, was great for the legs. Also it was fun zipping up the Cape Smokey on a bike (and beating Mark to the top, hee hee).

Well the next day brought a nice solo ride of the course and a dip into the lake at Ingonish Beach. Wow, what a shallow lake, more on that later. Then check in the day before the race, a handy option.
Race morning came and I had my pre race meal of Frosted Mini Wheats and Red Bull. Yum. Then to transition and the race brief. After the brief we were allowed a quick dip in the lake, very useful to us nervous swimmer types. We were allowed another quick warmup after the Olympic distance guys and gals started their race. Again, I opted to go for it.

Finally it was time to start. I decided to hang back a bitand allow the melee of the swim begin ahead of me. I started by walking a bitbehind the first bit of swimmers. Then I walked more, and more. See this lakeis insanely shallow. I was walking past swimmers at this point. But finally Ijust had to take the plunge. Of course finding a spot to get into with the madthrashing around me wasn’t easy. A fewkicks here, a few slaps there. But eventually I was swimming. Then I was fending off someone grabbing my ankle. Then Iwas avoiding the swerving mass of people that can’t swim in a straight line.Obviously this was going to be a tough swim. But I stuck with it, changing mystroke when I needed to and I finially broke past the crazy. After turning atthe final buoy I saw nothing but empty lake ahead. Everyone else was far off tothe shore which seemed odd to me. But I was able to now get a decent strongstroke going and powered to shore. I exited the water at 14:30, a personal best750 meter swim by more than 2 minutes. Wow, I know the wetsuit helps a bit buthooray for me.

I'm the sleeveless one

Now onto the journey to T1. This is a long run on gravel of about 300 meters. I didn’t stopto put on shoes like many did and was happy not to. Numb feet are very good atnot caring about gravel. Also i k new my feet would be covered with beach sand anyway. Sandy shoes aren't fun.

Into T1, off with the wetsuit (RD's take note - grass is kind to wetsuits), on with the helmet, sunglasses, bike shoes and a quick gel. Then off for a hilly ride. Being in 26th at this point meant I had much time to make up. I knew this was not going to be a great result going in, due to the swim. But still you want to give it your best. I passed a few people in T1, then started to pick them off on the ride. This happened a lot on up hills. Finally as I was nearing the turn around at km 23, I started to count thee people coming back. Of course try and count when you are red lining things going down hill. It is tricky. But I think it was 10 people. Great I thought. So I pounded harder on the way back and passed maybe 3 more people?

I came riding into T2, and just about missed the dismount point (they hate that and I am sorry). My bike computer registered an avg speed of 34 km/hr. My official result was 31.1 km/hr including T1 and the long run from the lake.This was the 5th fastest ride of the Sprint. Off the bike over the timing matt and a quick change to my running gear.

It was now sweltering with heat and only a slight wind had picked up (that would be a rather large headwind home for the Olympic riders) 5K run to go and my legs were done. I knew catching anyone else would be a no go, but as I didn't see anyone behind me I knew I had to push to maintain my placing. First the run is up, up, up. I like hills but my legs said no thanks, so I pushed a long. As always this is the longest 5K of my life. Where the heck was the turn around?

As I did approach the turn around I had a friendly dig back and forth with Don MacDonald who was kicking some butt that day.

Disregard the clock which was showing Olympic Start time

Then finally I turned, headed home and managed a nice sprint for the line. I am glad that was it. The heat was getting to be a bit much for me, and that ride killed my legs trying to make up time. I had the 7th fastest run of the day in the Sprint with a time (including T2) of 22:55 for an avg pace of 4:35. I was happy with that.

My goals for the day had been to try and achieve a finish in the top half of the field. Well with 46 entrants plus 5 teams I did do that. I also wanted to break 1:25 and with a 1:21:50 I did that as well. I also placed in the top 3 for my age group and won a lovely picture. So all in all a great day. And a perfect way to finish my first open water Triathlon. Thanks to the RD, TNS Officials, and all the great Volunteers. And to Parks Canada for hosting the event in a great venue.

A Different Kind of Race for Ian this Past Weekend

2011-06-27T11:38:00.000-03:00

Okay so I got the call Friday night from my friend Dave. AMP (Atlantic Motorsport Park) was beckoning us. Dave's cousin Paul had a race car and drivers but sure could use a hand with pit crew duties. What ws I to say but, "What time do you need me."

Yes, I love to race my bike. I love to race by foot as well. Love to race in the water (well, I do like to swim, so we will leave it at that)? But I also love to watch cars race. From Formula 1 cars to Nascar, so IndyCars, to the 24 Hours of LeMans, they are all good. And to get the chance to work on the actual race car while watching the race as well? Yipee!

So here we have the BWM 318i in all its glory. A truly pretty beast for sure. Inside you will find no comfort. Just a driver's seat, horribly snug looking seatbelt system (5 points of contact) and a few gauges. This is built to go fast.

Now these are shorter, amateur races(though these are excellent drivers to say the least). So being on the pit crew doesn't mean standing next to the race track, ready to change to tires out in 10 seconds or less. It means making sure that in between races the car gets gas, tire pressure checked, in car camera turned on or off, look for fluid leaks etc...

Here we are changing from rain tires to slick tires for better grip. Turns out the rain didn't come for us, which was awesome. We also fueled the car. I have no pictures of that as it was my job to hold the fire extinguisher just in case, and I didn't want to try and do pictures at the same time. Luckily I also spoted a small fuel leak before the first race which was easily fixed by one of the drivers.

Here Tim (one of the three drivers, the other 2 being names Paul) is checking the engine during the 1 hour lunch break. We just wanted to make sure the fluids were up, no leaks were happening and that the engine was still there. It was. Whew.

Here we see Paul M. getting himself into the car. Luckily for Triathletes, we don't have to wear a horribly heavy helmet and horribly hot fireproof racing suit. But it is best to be safe when climbing into one of these cars.

With three different drivers doing different races, we also had to change the car number to go with the driver in question. The car was normally #98, which was reserved for Paul, the car owner. The other drivers were #198 and #981. For us that meant a quick piece of coloured duct tape to correspond with who was in the car.

Our final job was counting laps and recording lap times. This helps the drivers know how to improve, and it also helps them calculate fuel mileage. By the way these cars eat gas. And they eat expensive gas. This is by no means a green sport. Our pit wall duties of lap counting and being prepared is necessary to run to the truck for tools, meant that we weren't able to wander around the track to watch the race from different areas. Still, I found this to be a great way to relax on a Saturday

Oh and congrats to our team. Paul C., Paul M., and Tim all won in there different races with this new to them car. And they all set great lap times enroute to winning

2011 Greenwood Duathlon - Race 6

2011-06-20T11:19:00.005-03:00

So it was up early. Greenwood is a decent 1:45 or so away from my place (depending on traffic and speed) and the race started at 10 with a race briefing at 9:45am. The car was packed the night before to allow myself a leisurely morning of food and coffee. It is also best to just wear your race clothes, well as much as possible, to save any time you can upon arrival. This includes a pre race vintage 7 Eleven hat.

The sites on the way to the race are always fun. Hey look Llamas!

Then after what seems like a long time behind the wheel, Greenwood! (Oh I know the race officials are up even earlier than me, and maybe it is too dark for them to see the fun llamas on the way in. But thanks to them for doing it).

Anyway, that is the end of my pictures for this event, so bear with my rambling while I describe the rest of the day.

9am arrival and the weather is holding. The weatherman had said maybe showers, but so far so good. Overcast, check. Windless, check. Cool, check. All of this seemed great. Not too hot, not too sunny, no winds (at Greenwood?). But then after setting up my bike and stopping for a few chats, it started. Drop, drip, splat. The light sprinkling of rain came down. Not too bad, annoying but okay I said. Then thunder, lightening and the skies opened up. Massive downpour. The temporarily suspended racing and pulled people out of the pool (now I didn't see them actually pull anyone physically pout, but these are triathletes, so I imagine some had to be). How odd is it to hear, " Shoes and helmets are floating away in Transition." Oh yeah, there was that much rain. Easily ankle deep in 15 minutes. But the rain let up, we got things going and we were all wet.

Thankfully they held the start for a bit while I finished getting my bike shoes and helmet and water bottle set back up in the TZ. Then it was line up, race brief (2 laps, 3 laps, 1 lap) and the horn blasted. Alan Miner told me to chase down the leader right before the start. I think he was just trying to tire me out. Little did he know that I just take off regardless. The leader (I was later told) was pretty unstoppable by anyone on the duathlon and he raced a few ITU events. Oh well, whatever. I still held with him for the first km or so, then found my proper pace and kept running. Eventually after about 3kms Alan passed me, but I stuck with him for the rest of the run a few steps back. He took a wrong turn heading into Transition so officially I beat him in the first run, though just by a second. Another sub 20 minute 5K for me. Big thanks on that go to Shane M. for holding those winter Tri Camps this year. Also I am sure my half marathon training helped a lot. I ended with a time of 19:56.

Then on to the bike. My helmet was all messed up from the rain. It was soaked and the straps were tangled. After try number 2 I got it on, put on my shoes and headed to the mount line. Then off I was for the flattest time trial you will get around here (if it weren't for that first hill at Shearwater it would be a tie). Head down, legs pumping, redline it to the end of 20km. It was great with no wind until the final lap when a bit started to pick up. I kept Alan in my sights the whole way, but he is pretty strong on the bike and I couldn't get any closer to him. It was also good to see no drafting on course. That is great on such a small course. I came into T2 with a time of 32:20 for a avg speed of 37.1km/hr. Like I said flat and windless.

I dropped off the bike, helmet and changed shoes. I was about to grab for my running hat but it was in a puddle 2 inches deep. So I decided against that. Sunglasses would have to do. Though the sun was coming out strong and I am sure it would have helped (I had switched to yellow lenses with the horrible rain and overcast conditions).

Off I went. I could just see Alan in the distance. My legs felt okay but much slower now. I wasn't cramping like in past year or having ITBS like last year, so I couldn't complain. I just pushed through the tired and went for it. After all the second run was only going to be 2.5km. I kept pace with Alan, but his lead was too much for me. I came across a guy running in the Sprint Triathlon and paced him back to the finish. He looked miserable and needed a boost. So I chatted with him as we picked up his pace a bit. We rounded the corner for the finish and he apologized for trying to out sprint me, though I beat him to the mat. Nice try ( I had told him I was in a different race). A sprint finish is always fun. I raced the last 2.5km (including T2) in a time of 11:25 to take 3rd place overall and first in Age Group. Same as last year so I was pretty happy. I had hoped to break 1 hour, but it was not to be and a time of 1:03:40 is still nice. Still two great runs and a strong ride made me really happy for the last Duathlon until Riverport in October.

Next up? As far as multisport and TNS go, that will be Ingonish in 2 weeks time. My first Sprint distance triathlon and first swimming competition in open water. Should be fun and scary.

2011 Cyclesmith Duathlon

2011-06-13T12:07:00.000-03:00

So the day had come. The big Cyclesmith Duathlon. Sure I had done 2 other Dus this year, but they were short and fast (and fun) events. This was a much longer event (and fun as well - aren't they all?). This one always pushes me to my max to see what I can accomplish. A 5K run that starts out going stright up a huge hill, followed by a hill, then a bike ride of 34K that is full of hills (rollers yes, but some are quite steep), and then an off road 6K run to finish it off (no hills!!). Oh and I like hills, but that is a lot of hills.

Well the event (being in Nova Scotia and being held in Lawrencetown) is always weather unpredictable. Rain, fog, wind are all expected. And with the Spring we have been having lately, very expected. But it was sunny. And turns out quite hot as well (the reddish hue to my skin attests to the lovely high UV we experienced). Glad I thought to put a little sunscreen on first. And glad that my wife insists we have SPF 60 or some such silly level thing (didn't Robocop offer SPF 1000).

The field was large. It usually is for Cyclesmith's Du, but I hear there was 100 people entered in the race (There was also a Youth Du and as always the Team Competition). And of those entered, there was some serious fast people. My goal was to try and better last years time and effort. As these fields get bigger and better, a better placing isn't always possible, but I really hoped for a top 20 finish and top half of my Age Group.

In the above photo, taken right after the start horn, you can see a line of really fast guys and me. Well I managed to stay with them for about the first half km up the big first hill. Then I found my rhythm and stuck to that It meant a few more people passed me, but not too many. After the hilly section heading away from the beach, we head back on a pretty flat trail system to T1. I had my Timex stopwatch going but I guess I forgot to hit the lap feature. Luckily the nice chips on our ankles recorded everything.

As I said I wanted to go faster than last year. And I did. Oddly running a PB 5K time of 19:40 with a pace of 3:56. My old PB 5K time was set on a flat stand alone event in Bedford 2 years ago at 19:56. Needless to say, I was happy with that. It was the 18th fastest time for that leg out of 85 people in the event.

Into T1, off with the running shoes and hat, on with the cycling shoes and helmet (always important), and away I went.

The ride was moderately wind free which was nice. But it always seems so extra long. Where is that 17K turn around point? Oh where is it? I was passed by this point by a few riders and then on the way back by 1 or 2 more. But I managed to pass a few as well, so I was basically staying put in the standings. By the time I returned to the TZ I was still 18th place. I had a time (which included T1) of 1:02 and a pace of 32.6km/hr. I think my bike computer shows a pace on the bike closer to 2km/hr faster, but it didn't care about me changing my shoes. I was hoping to be a little faster on the bike portion this year, but that first run probably sapped a little juice from my legs and my lower back started to hurt a little. Also I had to let up a bit and make sure I fell out of the draft zone of the guys who were a bit faster than me. I wasn't chancing penalties at this point.

T2 was upon me. A quick shoe change, head gear swap, swig of magic juice and I was off. My legs were spent, but to my amazement, not cramping. Yea! I was passed by one runner who stayed about 7 seconds ahead of me, just out of reach. then one more runner who blazed by me. Turns out he ended up with the fastest second run of the day. No matching that for me.

But I managed to hold off all other runners. Usually by this point someone speedy comes blazing by while I am halfway into the second run. This makes me sad. But this day I kept a decent pace. I even managed to track down one runner (she was part of a team, whom I beat on the first run, and was passed by on the bike portion). I ended up with a 6K run time of 28:29 including T2 for a 4:45 pace. A couple of years back I would have been happy with that pace in a stand alone event.

Final time for me was 1:50:32. I was rather close to the 2 runners ahead of me, but had no oompf in the tank to get an extra kick. I bettered last years time by 3 minutes (last years second run was a bit more difficult with a small hill but not 3 minutes more difficult), was 6th out of 20 in my Age Group (1 away from a prize), and still managed a top 20 finish in a really tough field.

Another great event and what turned out to be a rare sunny beautiful day in Lawrencetown.

Next up is Greenwood. But first a rest is in order. Perhaps my new taper system called the Hammock (if the rain lets up).

Oh and to all the animal lovers out there. I managed to avoid a slithering snake that zipped into my path on the bike. Phew. To the snake haters out there, don't read that part.

'Tis the Season for the Wetsuit

2011-06-06T09:24:00.000-03:00

Okay so June is upon us. Soon the Triathlons will be outdoors completely (following the upcoming Greenwood Tri/Du/Aquathlon). And my goal this year (well one of them) is to compete (ish) in 2 Sprint distance open water swim Triathlons.

Of course this means a wetsuit is needed. I know some might say it is helpful but not needed, I say it is needed. My swim is weak, I am skinny and get cold in the water fairly easily. So I need a wetsuit. Of course dishing out the cash for a decent one isn't easy, especially when you aren't competing for top AG spots. To this end I decdied to try out the offerings from Xterra, as they have great sales on. I bought the Vortex 3 sleeveless for a nice low price. The reason for sleeveless? Well it is mail order, I was picking it up from my American relative's house (free shipping) and I wanted to make sure the blasted thing would fit (shoulders and all). Also the sleeveless option was significantly cheaper.

Well I got it, tried it on and it fit like a charm. The only alteration I needed was to trim the legs to the proper length (easy enough).

Still, I had this thing in April and it wasn't until this past weekend that I was brave enough to actually try it out in the water. Part of the bravado came from the warm day we were having, part from the anxiety I was having from the realisation that the first open water Tri was only weeks away.

I had decided to do the Ingonish Sprint distance Tri earlier in the year. I book a place to stay over a month ago.So with it coming in 4 weeks from now I thought, better try this blasted thing out.

I have found that the other nice thing about a sleeveless wetsuit is that it fits nicely into your panier. So off I went on my commuter bike to my secret lake swim spot. Upon arrival, I ditched my bike in the woods, slipped on the wetsuit (oh how easy it is to get this on, with a little work), and stepped into the water.

Well I will say this. Lakes are still cold. My feet went numb fairly quick. But I kept going. I sat down in the water to get all over wet and just let myself acclimate a bit. Then off I went.

I would love to say that I jumped in and threw down a quick 1000m of awesome. I truly would love to say that. Alas I threw down a slow 100m of breast stroke to start. But the suit was doing its job. I was sort of warmish and I floated well. After another 100m or so of muddling about I took the plunge and began a half assed frontcrawl. Maybe I got 100m more in, I don't know. But I did it. Then I got out of the water and road home all nice and wet.

Wetsuit attempt #1 a success (ish). This bodes well for my future attempts and I plan on getting at least a few more in before heading to Cape Breton. First though? 2 more Duathlons. See you there.

Navy Trident Duathlon (Triathlon for some) 2011 - Race 4

2011-05-31T06:55:00.052-03:00

So Race 4 of my season came up this past weekend. I decided to Do the Du at the Navy Trident's Triathlon/ Duathlon event on May 29th. I have done this event twice before and always enjoyed it. Okay, so maybe I don't enjoy getting up at 5am to drive get to the event by 6:30am, but the actual event has been fun. And not to disappoint, once again it was also foggy / wet out, though at least wind free this year.

I was really looking forward to this years event, as well, because I have been running pain free on a great knee / leg combo as I have mentioned in other posts. So nothing mentally or physically slowing me down. And the field was a decent size this year as well. 24 people signed up for the Duathlon, which normally is seen as the sad afterthought to the great and mighty Triathlon. So to have a decent percentage of the total people signed up doing the Du, that was great. And some really strong competitors as well, also great to see.

The course was slightly different this year, but still 3/20/3 for the distances. I (being #63 in this race as is still evidenced by the marker on my leg - really sturdy marker it seems), lined up and was off with the whistle (or horn or some sort of sound device). It was a fast start and I felt great on just out of bed / Redbull legs. I managed a strong first run coming in 4th overall with a time of 12:51 for a 4:17 pace. Now that to me seems slow, and I always wonder about the distances on this course being odd for the run as I managed a 3:50 pace over 4 km at the last Duathlon. But it matters not as everyone runs the same distance. And coming in ahead of some great fast guys like Kurt was very moral boosting.

Now the bike leg starts by going right up a nice steep hill, which I don't mind as it helps get the blood headed right to the legs. As it was the year before, the bike course was almost too foggy to find, but I still managed. I did a little off course excursion, nothing huge, but found my way back. Apparently a few others did as well, but them's the breaks. The main portion of the course is 3 loops on the main runway of the airport and it is dead flat. Normally it is also a nasty headwind and great tailwind combo, but as I mentioned, in the early portion of the event, the wind was quite dead. I did get passed by a couple of guys on the bike but held a decent pace and didn't completely kill my legs. When I came back to the dismount line, and back out of T2 I managed a time of 32:57 for the bike portion and T1 combined (a listed avg speed of 36.4, slightly higher on my bike computer which didn't have to change its shoes and put on its helmet) for the 7th fastest time of this leg of the journey.

Finally the dreaded second run on dead legs. Well the legs felt fine, worn a bit, but okay. I picked a decent pace and headed off. I did have to stop for a quick shoe tightening, but other than that was solid and steady. This was the same as the first run (2 laps for a 3K total). And this course was almost dead flat but for one nice hill. I love hills, but they will take their toll when you are tired. Still I think I kept fairly steady for a 14:41 time with a 4:54 pace (this of course also includes T2 time). sadly I wasn't able to hold my place and fell down one in the rankings with about 1K to go. I was passed by Jimi Owen and tried to hold on, which I did until the very end. With the finish line being 2 90 degree corners and a tight sidealk run, I let up just slightly before the second turn as I didn't have enough to "fight" for that kind of finish and Jimi was just running stronger.

All in all I managed what I wanted. Top 10? Check, 8th place overall. Top 3 Age Group? Check, 2 out of 4. And sub one hour? Checkish sort off. Well I managed 1 hour and 29 seconds. I can't be upset with that.

Lessons learned? Sunglasses in thick fog = no vision. Giant bowl of cereal 1 hour before event? Not a great idea. Pressed for time? Redbull is quicker than coffee, though not nearly as enjoyable. Coffee came after the event.

Next up? Lawrencetown Duathlon. Be there people!

Bluenose Half Marathon - Race 3, 2011

2011-05-23T10:57:00.001-03:00

Well I started training for extra running this winter. I reported on my increased base training, my inclusion of the long slow run and just more running in general. I did this mostly so that I could get to be a fitter runner, so that my running off the bike in duathlons would be stronger, so that I could hold my pace longer. But also I wanted to compete in my first half marathon.

I chose the Bluenose half as it was early in the season, really close to home, and heck it is a reasonably priced race. I had previously run the Bluenose 10K twice but needed a new challenge and a full marathon just wasn't what i wanted (training time ect... being too much for me).

Well training hadn't gone as well as I had hoped up until this point with a few "injuries" setting me back, so my original goal of a 1:40 time was up in the air. By race morning I had decided that following the 1:45 pace bunny would be a good idea, and possibly if I felt good enough I could try to forge out on my own at some point in the race.

Race morning arrived, I had all my race kit ready to go and of course the weather said to me that my choices may not have been a great idea. It was cold, foggy, windy, typical Bluenose I guess. Still I stuck with shorts, a bike jersey (much to Andrew Dacanay's disgust), and removable sleeves. Seriously I like running in bike jerseys. They are snug, have a zipper to open up when it gets hot, and most of all they have rear pockets. So much nicer to hold gels and food. I also chose my tried and true Brooks Dyads shoes. They have been with me for a year and were at the end of their life, but they deserved to see me through my first half. Now they are retired from running.

Well I lined up right with the two 1:45 pace bunnies and we took off right at 9:25. The early pace was erratic as we weaved through a sea of runners, but as we went past the first few km signs the overall pace was dead on 5 min per km. It felt decent so I stayed right with them.

I had 2 gels in my pockets just in case I needed them, and the rest of the plan was to take a drink at every water stop we came across. The first one was a mere 1 km into the race, but I still grabbed a drink. It is funny to jostle through a group of people to get to the right side of the road, but I managed. And I continued this practice right through to the end of the race, only avoiding the final stop (which was only about 1km or so from the end so seemed a bit silly to stop at). I also had a gel at 30 minutes and again at 1 hour. Nutrition wise I was right on.

As usual I didn't really know the course. I rarely like to know these things,it makes the run more interesting. But I had heard there was some sort of great hill in Point Pleasant Park. This would have been just past the half way point, so I was keeping my pace until at least that point. The "hill" came and I was quite disappointed. I love hills. That was a series of bumps with flat spots along the way. If it weren't for the tree branches hanging into the way that needed avoiding, I wouldn't have had much to do going up it. In fact that hardest part of the journey for me was the downhills, which were steep but short. Oh well.

By the 14th km mark (or there about), I found myself constantly pulling ahead of the pace bunnies without much work, so I figured it was time to leave the group. They had done a great job, we were right on a 5 min pace still at 1:10. So I slowly increase my pace and started to pick off a few people in front of me. This continued right until the end. Of course it was a mix of people now, both marathon and half marathon people. It felt great to pick up the pace and my legs and knees felt fine.

The rest of the race was me continually increasing my pace and picking off a few people along the way. I guess that the "easy" first 14Km really helped, as I usually kill myself at the beginning of a race, slow down int he last third, then eventually get a bit of steam back. This time it was all increase for the last third. Kind of fun actually.

The final turn down to Brunswick and the last couple of km's was fast for me. I don't have a fancy Garmin watch or anything but I know my pace was getting below 4 min per km pace. You know that pace where you have the choice to breath or swallow and lactic acid build up just keeps happening. I was there. It was great. I crossed the line at 1:42:24 (chip time or 1:42:36 gun time). I ended up 195th overall out of 1767 (I think) people in the half, and 55 out of 208 in my category. Most important, my knees never hurt, second most important I was pretty darn close to what I hoped to achieve. And I know that with a little more training I can get that time down quite a bit more.

So I awake the next morning to various aches. In the past this would be a real assortment of muscles that hurt and would be really uneven over my body. Thanks to the work down by Dr Jason Gray at Kinetesis Sports, everything hurts all nice and even, and I know helped keep me injury free for the duration. Also thanks to those Pace Bunnies (Charles Paradis and Renee MacDonald) for their great work for the first two 3rds of my half.

And it was also great seeing all the people I have come to know through running and multisport following the race. It is good to see everyone so happy to have finished and competed in these events. Makes finishing even better.

Now it is on to the rest of the multisport season. I have duatlons, and couple of triathlons on the radar this year, and maybe a couple of century rides as well. It is certainly a busy month ahead, a month of fun.

Race 2: 2011 Du It For Shelter

2011-05-16T18:41:00.030-03:00

Well here we go. Second race of the season is done. First Duathlon, and a proper good one at that. The Du It For Shelter, is a 4K run, 24K bike ride, 4K run, and since it is generally flat (as flat as bike ride get around here in Nova Scotia), it is an all out hammer fest (well for me anyway).

The weather held up, it was cool with a light breeze, but no rain (for once this month). We lined up for the stat at 9AM, and I was happy not to have a painful knee this year (thanks to ART - look into you people with aches). Look for me in the picture above, I swear I am there.

My plan, as usual was to stick as close to the leaders as possible on the first run, push through the bike, and hang on for dear life in the second run. Well it turns out my half marathon training this year has really helped my short distance speed and endurance. Last year I ran about a 16:38 or so in the first run which was slightly shorter than this years run. This year I ran a 15:23 with some life left in me. I passed quite a few guys who last year could easily outpaced me. This was the 7th fastest time of the first run out of 58 people and only 50 seconds slower than the fastest run (good job Matthew White).

Coming into T1 I had a decent cushion but there was no time for rest. I knew that a few fast riders were behind me.

Transition this year was new and all on paved surfaces. It was quite a long run to the mount line as well. Definitely more suited to those that leave their shoes clipped to the bike and not to me (see me running in my Look cleats - ouch). T1 took me about 1:30 or so (it wasn't timed but I had a rough guess from my watch).

But off I took, starting my Gatorade nourishment from the start. I decided for this short of a race the little bit of fluid and food I needed would come in the sugary form of my favorite sports beverage.

I forgot my bike computer, sadly, so I just decided to ride by feeling. I kept a decent cadence, probably around 85 or so. It took Kurt Stevenson probably about 10 minutes or so to catch and pass me. Then I was passed by a few other rides (darn those speedy Tri bikes). Still I decided not to push things too crazy as I had to get back and keep a decent run time. On the way back I could afford to push slightly harder, even with the slight headwind. I was passed by 2 riders. I eventually took one back and kept fairly close to the other (not in a drafting kind of way though)

As you can see the other rider was pretty much on me by the time we got back to the line

Coming into T2, my legs were wobbly, but I figured I could get the feeling back easily enough.

Here I motion to Stacy to keep my medal warm for my return

Coming out of T2 my time for the bike portion was 42:19, which was about where I figured I would be at fitness wise (take that first T1 time off to get the actual bike ride time). Here I passed the 2 guys that had been close to me on the bike. One of them (I assume Alex Russell?) caught shortly into the run, but no one else did.

My usual cramps seemed to be held back. Sure there were some aches, some pains, some tired, but it was all good. I was easily able to keep a decent stride and cadence on the run.

Coming back to the finish I started to pick up the pace. It was hard to hear if anyone was behind me, and I didn't dare look back, and I was not going to get passed at this point. And as usual there is always room for a flashy sprint across the line to get my Popsicle stick. And I was proud to see it say #11 on it (though as I later found out it does not count as a double win). This was up from my 17th place finish last year and far better times. My final run including T2 time was 17:59. Now this was actually slightly slower than last years final run time, but with transition moved, it meant a much great distance. According to my watch this was close to a 2 minute T2, so I was in fact far faster than last year overall.

Next up for me is the Bluenose Half Marathon. Then back to the world of Duathlons. A racing season, it is so nice to be back.

ZX Aquathlon - Race 1

2011-04-18T14:59:00.001-03:00

So it has happened. Race 1 of my season has come and gone. this past weekend I took part in the 1st (annual?) ZX Aquathlon in Greenwood. Yes, the same Greenwood that has hosted a great early season Tri and Du for the past few years.

Now what is an Aquathlon you may ask? Much like a Duathlon is a run/bike/run event, the Aquathlon is a swim and run event. Technically run/swim/run, but as that would be hard to do in a pool situation so it was turned into a swim/run event. 750 meter swim followed by a 5K run.

Being early season I was slightly concerned about what to wear and how to get changed in transition. I mean, it is April and the weather over the last week had been as high as 15 C or more and as low as -3. we had seen rain and snow. But in the end I decided to load the car with everything just in case.

By the time I arrived the temp had warmed up to 6C or so. The sun was sort of shining and the wind was picking up. So I decided to run in my Tri top and jammers and throw on a windbreaker and toque. Luckily T1 (or T only) was indoors so that was nice.

We had enough time to do a few warm up laps in the pool. That is always nice as my heart rate starts to sky rockets at the beginning of events and as a novice swimmer that generally leads to breathing issues. A few laps back and forth and a little breathing control and things calmed down. I had a nice lane mate Mallory.

Someone yelled go, or a whistle blew or a horn sounded or something. I can't quite remember that part of the event for some reason. I just remember starting to swim. And swim. And swim. Yeah, I know only 750 meters, but for me that seemed like an all day journey.

I knew I was going to be slow and as shown in the picture above, my widely spread fingers apparently don't make me any faster. Anyway, I eventually saw the board placed in the water to indicate I had 50 meters to go. So I "picked up" the pace a bit and finished. In the end I had a swim time of 18:41, which included transition time as well. So it was actually pretty much where I thought I would be. In the end that would place me 24th out of 30 swimmers for the day. Obviously for a decent result I would have to run fast.

The whole event was pretty flat. Well generally swims are I suppose, but so was the run. Sort of.

I threw on my windbreaker, number belt, toque and sneakers (socks? nah too short of a race).

Now windbreaker is a bit of a funny word. Turns out it may be good for light breezes but this race presented slightly more than breezes. It was darn windy, from what I can tell there were gusts up to 80km/hr throwing us around. That little jackets didn't do much, though at points I think it was more of a parachute.

I ran at what i thought was a comfy 5K pace, not having really ever run after a swim. Slowly I picked off a few other swimmers, then some more, then some more (well that sounds like there may have been tons of people in the swim, but still you get the idea). By the turn around (where I was offered a cup of warm water) I had passed all I was going to an down had to work to get my time down and keep those others behind me. I also thought it may have started to rain at this point, but in fact that was sand getting whipped around by the wind. Later on that would hurt.

Finally after running up hill (okay, it was truly flat but that wind was like a huge hill it seemed), I came to the finishing straight, or wind tunnel. Yes, the wind was harder here, perfect for testing out new aero devices for your bike. Not great for a sprint finish. Still I pushed through and finished. Man that was tough. 21:50 for the 5th fastest run time and only 2 1/2 minutes shy of our speedy Italian friend Gianluca. I was happy, and that wind probably meant I had more speed to give, nice.

So after all was said and done I pulled myself up from 24th to 14th. I thought at best I would be under 42 minutes in total, and I managed a 40:31. Now bring on the open water! (eek). Actually next up, Du-It-For-Shelter. Sign up now for a great race. Again, mostly flat, all fast.

Oh, when I mentioned the sand storm thing hurt later. Well it put lots of nice sand in my shoes, and as I had no socks on, I ended up with many fun abrasions. Today brings painful steps to me. Ouch.

The Long Slow - Ride?

2011-04-12T14:24:00.000-03:00

Yes, we have all begun our long slow runs. Well maybe some of us have, maybe some haven't and maybe some won't. But to those that swim, ride and run, endurance is often over looked in the quest for speed. I know I was generally guilty of this in the past. I mean the runs were only going to be 5 or 6K max. So why run more. Just practice those faster right? So that is what I did.

But this year I added a half marathon to my goals. So the long slow run was added as a necessity. And what did it do? It surely didn't hurt my speed. In fact it allowed my shorts runs to be faster as I could now hold my higher speeds for just that little extra. So this must work on the bike right?

Again, in the past I road hard as long as I could. It was fun, I got tired, I did pretty well in races, though again, by the end of the ride I was running out of steam. So I decided this year to do the same thing as running. The long slow ride.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have finally incorporated my heart rate monitor into my training. Sure power would be better, but my budget is low and I have a HRM already. So armed with my newly gained knowledge of my heart rate zones (see lactic tests from a few posts back) I have been heading out for 2 plus hour rides, attempting to keep an nice even pace, one that stay aerobic and easy.

Sure you Iron folks out there probably already do this. And I am sure many of you smarter short distance folks do it as well. But for those that aren't doing it, give it a try. I am amazed at how much longer I can now hold a high paced time trial like effort. Or better yet, how my bike during a triathlon style workout can be done at an increased while still easy on my legs like effort.

There is still a little while before the first events start to happen. Well the bike events anyway. Until then I am really starting to enjoy this "off season" training.

Swimming Tips for Triathletes (with Thanks from Swim Smooth)

2011-03-26T11:38:00.001-03:00

How To Train Your Triathlon Swimming

A Swim Coaching Article By Swim Smooth

reproduced with permission (see here)

All the staff here at Swim Smooth are triathletes or open water swimmers. We understand the different preparation required to race in open water versus the pool and the need to balance out your training between the three disciplines.

If you are new to triathlon, here are some important pointers to maximise your performance in the water during your triathlon season:

Your Individual Stroke Technique

One of the differences between being a pure swimmer and a triathlete is that your training time is split between the three disciplines so you have time less available for swimming. As a 'time poor' triathlete it's very important to understand what you need to work on for your individual stroke so you make the best you of your available time in the water.

If you have a coach at your pool or club, seek out their help and get some advice on your stroke and how to go about improving it. Also, it's worthwhile asking what is naturally good about your stroke too (be brave!) as this will help you simplify things. There are all manner of drills and techniques you can work on with your swimming and it can be quite overwhelming – try and simplify things down to your individual needs wherever possible and you'll make much quicker progress.

Training As Well As Technique

As a distance swimmer, one of the biggest mistakes you can make with your swimming preparation is to solely focus on your technique, swimming only 50 or 100m at a time. Becoming a 'technique hermit' is bad for your swimming because as a distance swimmer you need to be able to maintain your technique over longer distances. By only ever swimming short drill sets you tend to develop a technique that overloads the smaller muscle groups of the shoulder which quickly tire beyond 100m.

Drill work is a great for your swimming but also incorporate continuous swims of 200m, 400m and even 800m into your sessions so that you develop a stroke that you can maintain over longer race distances. You may find this results in a slightly shorter stroke that is more rhythmical to you, such strokes are often more efficient over longer distances.

Include A Distance Focused Swim Once A week

Many pure swimmers come from a sprint (50/100m) or middle distance (200/400m) background and so masters swim groups often focus on short fast sets with lots of recovery. However, triathlon is a true distance event in that you will be racing for at least an hour and as such you need a distance focus to your swim training.
We recommend that once a week you put in a longer distance swim at steady pace. If you're doing Sprint or Olympic distance then building up to 1500m of steady swimming will build the necessary endurance for your race. You can swim this continuously or if you prefer break it down into a set with short recoveries – e.g. 3x500m with 30 seconds rest between each 500m.

If you are training for Ironman then you have a 3800m swim ahead of you in the race and because of the longer distance, your weekly long swim arguably becomes the most important session of your swim week. If you can, build up your long swim so you reach 4000m a few weeks before the race and you'll be all set for a fantastic Ironman swim leg.

If you train with a club or masters group that never does any longer distance sets it's well worth missing one of the club sessions, replacing it with a session of your own focusing on steady distance pace.

Developing Your Pacing Skills

As a distance swimmer your ability to pace your swimming correctly is critical. With any swim that you do, be it in training or a race, it's extremely easy to start off quickly and then slow dramatically after 100m or 200m. In a race situation you might not realise this is happening because everybody else is starting too fast around you and doing the same thing!

When you swim your sets in training, keep an eye on the times you swim for each repetition. If you can, also monitor your splits within each set – so if you're swimming 200m, monitor each 25 or 50m split. Not all of us are analytical or numbers people but asking a coach or friend to check this regularly is very worthwhile to develop your pacing skills and so improve your performances in races.

If you are interested in investing in a gadget to improve this area of your swimming then we would highly recommend a Wetronome to you. You can program it to a certain time per length and then place it under your swim cap where it will beep to you at the time you should be turning each lap. It's fascinating how easy it is to get ahead of the beep over the first 25 or 50m and then how the beep catches up with you as you slow down. It's a bit like the red-line they show on the Olympic swimming coverage!

Practise Open Water Skills (even during the winter)

If we told you that by focusing on a particular drill or training method you would take several minutes off your triathlon swim split, you'd jump at the chance right? Well, you really can save several minutes by optimising your drafting and navigation skills for open water swimming.

When you swim behind, or to the side and slightly behind another swimmer you save up to 25% of your energy expenditure – or put another way, swim much faster for the same effort. This sounds easy but is actually very skilful to perfect as you have to swim very close to other swimmers to get maximum benefit. If you are not used to doing this it can be slightly unsettling at first – you need to practise this in the pool with some friends or with your training squad:

Your ability to swim straight in open water is also critical as it's easy to lose large chunks of time by swimming off course. We've recently been equipping some triathletes with GPS tracking devices and seeing how straight they swim in open water – the answer is not very straight at all! It's easy to lose anywhere between one and ten minutes by swimming off course. Our twin blog posts on this subject make fascinating reading:

Open Water Navigation

Swimming Straighter In Open Water

The key is to practise your sighting skills in the pool so that come the race you are entirely comfortable raising you head slightly to look forwards without excess effort or ruining the rhythm of your stroke. The easier and more natural sighting feels the straighter you will end up swimming!

Quick tip: Don't try and sight forward and breathe at the same time – this will mean lifting your head too far above the surface which will sink your legs. Instead, time your sighting to happen just before you're going to take a breath. Lift your eyes out of the water by pressing down lightly on the water with your lead arm (in this example your right arm). Only lift up enough to get your eyes just out of the water:

Your left arm will have now started recovering over the water, as it does so, turn your head to the right with your body to breathe. As you do so, let your head drop down in the water to a normal breathing position.

Putting It All Together

After reading the above you're probably thinking "OK, how do I fit all that in?". If we were designing your swim training, and you were swimming three times per week, we'd structure it something like this:

Session 1: A stroke technique focused warm-up followed by threshold pace work at race pace. See CSS Training

Session 2: A longer steady paced swim building up to race distance. We might split this into a set with short recoveries with a focus on good pacing.

Session 3: A stroke technique focused warm-up followed by a fun open water skills session in the pool with some friends. This would include group drafting work and sighting skills. (This is great fun and in the Swim Smooth squads in Perth is the most popular session of the week!)

improve your swimming with Swim Smooth!

Swim Smooth is an innovate swimming coaching company famed for its straightforward approach to stroke correction. Visit our website for plenty more fascinating articles to improve your swimming. Don't miss our amazing new DVD Catch Masterclass featuring incredible underwater video of champion swimmers in action. Also see our other swimming DVDs, training plans and training tools in our swim shop. Last but not least don't miss our animated swimmer "Mr Smooth" showing you a great freestyle stroke in super-high detail. Unmissable! :

Swim Smooth!

Article © Swim Smooth 2011

Food Glorious Food

2011-03-23T21:27:00.000-03:00

Okay so a long time ago I rode really far on my bike with a fruit roll up and a bottle of water. Needless to say, I fared poorly. A couple of years ago I rode 3 hours on a cool rainy day with 1 water and a Gatorade, think why would I need food. I just made it home. Usually I am good about food and water when I exercise, but occasionally I have been caught out.

Well that happened again the other day. And frankly I should have been paying attention more, but instead I have been paying so much attention to the actual exercise and things like increased base training, that I may have neglected my calories (and I am one of those people that needs a decent amount of calories). Well I won't make that mistake again this season.

Most of my training so far this year has been under 1 hour. 8-10K runs, bike commutes and swims. All in the name of building a good base. I don't need food during that level of exercise. I can easily make up that deficit when I get home or to work. But alas as I started to add in long runs in my attempt to get ready for a half marathon, I didn't think to bring anything with me.

My first 15K run was fine. I ran slow, I made it home and had a decent meal. It was very good. Then a week later I headed out for a long slow 20K run (well I headed out for a 2 hour run). I ran along and by the end I was dragging myself home. It took me 3 days to get back into shape. a week later I ran with a bottle of Gatorade and a Powerbar. The next day I swam 2400M and rode 32 KM without any trouble.

So I write this mostly as a message to myself not to forget about calories and as a warning to others starting their long runs and long rides after a winter of slumber. Find something you can carry, bring 2 bottles on a ride, and if need be set your watch to beep every 20 minutes or so and take a bite and a swig of the bottle.

Now I need a rest. Just managed an 8K run at a 4:13 pace. Yeah, I had plenty to eat and drink today and had some good old chocolate milk when I got home. Mmmm.

It's March, Ian. How's that Base Training?

2011-03-07T21:17:00.000-04:00

Well here are. March is well underway and the race season is upon us (well for some anyway). I personally have no races planned for the next bit (though one can always jump into something if the right opportunity arises) and my main focus right now is prepping for the Bluenose Half Marathon.

Yes, I have signed up for the Bluenose Half and I hope to do well in it. Doing the half (even though I am not a runner, I swear) has been mostly about making sure that my running is truly up to snuff for the Du and Tri season. I mean normally my winter running is at best small 4-5K jaunts. But with most of my running being 5K placeholders before I get on my bike and have some fun, it was easy to justify the small amount of base training in the past. Well no longer as I have to get ready for that half. I have already put close to 200Km of outdoor running in.

But the most exciting thing has happened. Last Fall Shane MacLeod told us at the Provincial Training Center event that doing a lot of long slow running will make you run faster. So I started doing that and kept it up fairly well all winter long. Those 4-5K occasional runs became 8-10 K runs at least 3 times a week. And now that the snow and ice are melting away they will become even longer. And what has this meant? Well I have been running with a Heart Rate Monitor and keeping track of my "Zones" and while my heart rate stays pretty much the same (okay it goes up when I cruise up some hills sometimes) my speed is increasing.

How much Ian? Well I started with a modest 5:15 training pace and now it is easily a 4:30 pace. We are talking my race pace from normal years, in March. This is months before my season will start. And soon my harder training will begin.

Does this mean I may be able to actually break that 40 minute 10K barrier? Maybe. The elusive 20 minute 5K? Well I have done that before but I think I can do that much more easily now, and by more than a few seconds. But really I hope it means I get off that bike in the Dus and take off with happy fresh legs that i didn't burn out on the first run. Oh how I hope.

Remember, It's All About Performance

2011-02-20T17:16:00.000-04:00

Indoor training made fun?

2011-02-11T08:19:00.000-04:00

The numbers, the numbers!

2011-02-07T11:22:00.000-04:00

Okay so like I said before, I had my LT all done up. My what? Lactate Threshold test, which produces some interesting numbers which can help a person tailor their training. Again, I am only many years behind on the curve, but what the heck.

These numbers basically show at what point either when using power (ie watts) or heart rate, or even PRE (perceived rate of exertion) that the lactic acid produced in your body can no longer be dealt with and starts to accumulate. This is generally also called going anaerobic. This set of numbers is great if you follow training programs like Friel's or other zone based ones.

So what were my numbers and how will I use them? And what did they do to get them? Well to get them I road at a steady cadence on my bike (on a trainer of course) and every 4 minutes or so the difficulty of the trainer was increased while I get pace. This means you work harder of course and gets that heart a pumping. Right before the increase in difficulty, my heart rate was taken, my power output was recorded and my finger was pricked to draw a small sample of blood from which was recorded the level of lactic acid in my body. I kept this up until I could no longer keep a steady pace. This took about 32 minutes or so.

So the numbers were like this:

As you can see right in the mid 160's heart rate or right after 240 watts, my lactic acid started to grow quicker than my body could deal with it, until I crashed eventually (by the way awesome workout). By 17 minutes things started to get rough.

What can I do with this? Well as I will be training with heart rate and not power, I will be able to design a plan (or have one designed for me) that will let me know how to best use my time. Instead of heading out on the bike for a long ride where I hammer it down, then cruise, then coast, then hammer, then kill a hill, then get killed by a hill (etc..) I will be able to say, "Let's keep the heart rate at 150 bpm for an hour," which of course will mean, go slower up hills and faster down quite often. It will be interesting to see how this ends up. But needless to say I have been using it for my base training of running this winter and my speed has actually increased with less effort (though I am running a bit more so we will have to see how it continues).

Anyway, I am excited. It is an easy test to do, and can be done on the treadmill or on a bike. And it can be really useful information for those that don't have all the time in the world to train, as it has the ability to help you train more efficiently.

Ian's Training Catches Up With 20 Years Ago

2011-01-16T12:43:00.000-04:00

Okay well maybe 20 years ago is a bit reaching, but since I have had this Cateye Heartrate Monitor (and bike computer) fro well over 5 years now it does make sense that I might actually have used it.

Last week I had my LT measured (lactic threshold). Now I haven't posted about that yet as I am waiting for my full report to come back to me. But during this event I wore my good old heartrate monitor. I wasn't even sure if it would work. It has been a long time since I wore it. And even then, I wore it more as a source of amusement than anything else. I really had no idea what I was supposed to do with the information it was telling me, but it was nice to know my heart was working.

Anyway, I know everyone has fancy Garmin's and GPS pace thingies and power meters etc... but alas I do not. For running I have used my circa 2000 Ironman brand Timex watch to keep track of things and a little math in my head. I guess that hasn't been too bad for me, but of course all that info told me was how fast I was running overall, not how hard I was working.

Now that I have decided to actually train for gain this year, I figured knowing a bit about how I ticked was a good thing. The LT test was a start (enough already I will write about that later). So yesterday, for the first time ever, I wore my good old Cateye for a run. Well actually it was a bit of a brick workout as the pavement was so nice and dry I had to get a little 10K bike ride in first to warm me up.

Starting out already nice and warm on the run meant my heart rate quickly climbed to around 140 bpm after the first kilometer or so. I figured this was a good point to keep it at for the duration of my training session. This number is well below my LT and maybe even considered to be in some sort of zone (I haven't got all that figure out yet). So I should be able to keep a rather nice even training pace at this heartrate.

My regular winter run is a sidewalk run of 10K which is slightly rolling in terrain, though no real "hills" to speak of. Armed with my new wrist toy I found myself looking down at my bpm number quite often. 137, 142, 139, 140, 143, etc... It seemed to be staying rather steady as I plodded along. I felt good as my pace didn't seem to alter much (I still use head math for pace calculations). Then close to home on the way back as I approached the real hill of the run I checked out my numbers at teh bottom of the hill, 142 bpm. Then halfway up, 149 bpm. Then at the top 157 bpm. Then cresting the top, 153 bpm. Wow. I didn't expect that much change. My pace stayed the same and my body worked harder. Who woulda thunk it? Again hitting my subdivision, 140 at the entrance, 164 at the top of the hill, 150 as I crested the top and started down the other side.

What do I do with this information? Well, I suppose I take it and devise some sort of training plan based on all these zones I read about. Hopefully this will help me avoid running to hard in sections of my base period training runs, which will help me recover faster and lead to me heading out for more runs. My usual sprints up the hill at this time of year and during longer runs might not be a good idea as I see it actually means my system needs to work a little more.

I guess I will see how well this style of training helps me to improve. Maybe I am 20 years late to the training table, maybe this system is passé? We'll see I guess.

One Year in, How's the Swimming Going?

2011-01-12T09:35:00.000-04:00

So it is pretty much one year since I signed up for Adult Stroke Improvement Swimming Lessons at Centennial Pool. Stroke Improvement is a funny term, at least for me. I mean, could you really improve my dog paddling technique anymore? I think not. And as I had no other significant stokes to improve, this was simply swimming lessons for adults. I thank Val for getting me on the right track with 10 great lessons. And I thank almost all the other students in the class for dropping out and giving my so much more student and teacher time.

I came out of that class with a great breast stroke, pretty decent back stroke and a mediocre front crawl. But still, I could swim and not look a fool doing it (well by beach standards not triathlon standards). It felt great and I kicked myself for not having taken lessons sooner.

While I could actually swim now, I still lacked two thing. Comfort in the water and any endurance. Comfort was my first major challenge, as it means that I can't swim for long since I am dragging my non supple body and sinking legs. It is something I am still working on but getting there leaps and bounds. And endurance? Well I started with rests after each lap, then after 2 laps and then sets of 4 laps. It has been a great progression.

Last summer I wanted to do a triathlon to complement my duathlons. I knew I couldn't do 750 meters so I opted for a try a tri or super sprint style event. Only 400 meters to swim. I think it took me about 9 minutes and I had to breast stroke the whole way. But I survived and was happy to have gotten that out of the way.

Now I try my best to get to the pool twice a week, once a week for sure. My endurance and comfort are growing. Last night I swam front crawl for 400 meters straight with no rests (I still don't flip turn so i do have to stop and turn around). It took me probably 8 minutes or so, probably 1 minute faster than my Super Sprint from last summer. And that was a slightly easy pace designed to allow me to get much more distance in, not "race pace." So I was over the moon.

I continued on last night to swim 1550 meters or 62 laps in around 50 minutes with a few 10 second rests here or there and 150 meters of kick drills with my new fins. I think during that first 30 minute of lesson one year ago I managed to swim 150 meters total.

here's looking forward to seeing what this year's swimming will bring.

Ooo, Training Fins

2011-01-01T17:46:00.001-04:00

Yes, I got me some rather nice Speedo training fins for Christmas. As swimming is not only my worst event of triathlon (who can't say that), it is nice to be able to add a little something to my training regieme.

So I took these beasts to the pool a few days back. After a few warmup laps I put them on for the first time. I flew across the pool. Wow, these things are like magic. I only did 8 laps in total during my 50 laps of swimming that night but what a difference.

Overall I hope these will be able to get my kick a lot stronger and maybe add some flexibility to my ankles. Now if I can figure out how to get these things past any officials during a race (ha ha). Seriously though, these are a ton of fun.

Running, Can it Truly Be Fun?

2010-12-17T18:29:00.001-04:00

Okay, so maybe today is a funny day for me to be writing about running. Or maybe it isn’t seeing as if the weather were a bit better outside I would be running rather than writing. That thought process is starting to turn into one of those guys looking in a mirror at a guy looking in a mirror etc….

Anyway, running and me aren’t always the best of friends. Usually I see it as a bit of a chore, one that needs to be done or why bother trying to compete in Tri’s and Du's. Running hurts. Running never gets me that far from home like cycling does. And running in the winter can be hazardous at best.

I started running close to three years ago (give or take). It was really just an idea I had to do a little cross training off the bike. I would run 1 or 2 kms or (as I would say) for a good solid 15 minutes. I tried the whole run 10 walk 1 thing. That didn’t work as it meant looking at my watch a lot. My feet and legs would hurt and I would come back into my house sweaty with very little reward. Still on I went.

Then I tried my first Du 3 years ago. It was in Riverport, NS and I showed up never having run more than 3 kms at one time. This was going to be tough for me with two 4km runs to complete and me in a 10 year old pair of squash shoes. Needless to say I hurt for days after that and didn’t run again until the following Spring when I foolishly signed up for the Bluenose 10K run.

Fast forward to now. My running training has increased. But I have still being classifying myself as a short distance runner, with speed being my main focus. Long running distances (anything above 10K) seemed too much. But I figured I needed a bit of a change and began training for a half marathon next season.

Now I am not on a structured plan at the moment. I am really just trying to get some base miles (kms) in and get my legs used to running for more than 50 minutes at a time or so. What used to be my weekly 5 km runs have changed to 8-10 km runs. And what was my “long” run of 10-11 kms has become my new epic journey. Last weekend I managed a 19Km run for the first time ever.

Now as I said this is base training. I am sticking to a comfy pace 9for me) or around 5:15 kms. And this has been great. In fact so great that after I get warmed up a bit I really like running. By km 3 or so my legs lighten up, my breathing calms down and I relax. By km 8-9 when I turn around to come home I feel just as good and don’t get tired until I reach my house.

So it turns out I pigeon holed myself into the short distances and turns out I might just be more suited to the longer runs. Maybe, who knows until I try some, especially at speed. But until then I think I will really enjoy the idea of the long slow run (not to mention my new New Balance 759’s in place of those old squash shoes). Perhaps we can head out for one of these long slow runs before the winter obscures my running path too much.

The 2010 Sporting Year in Review – Part 4 – Multisport

2010-12-06T18:42:00.001-04:00

Yes, it all culminates in this doesn’t it, multisport events. For me that is generally considered to be Duathlons, though this year I get to add Triathlon to the list as well.

Looking back at my goals for the year I see that I what I wanted to accomplish was pretty simple. Do better than last year. Well as this was only my second full year doing the Du’s that seemed to be a rather good goal.

My knee problems couldn’t have come at a worse time though. Du’s are early season events generally, as they happen when the open water is too cold for most. Still these are my favourite events and I wasn’t going to let a silly problem like a failing knee keep me down. No sir. So I entered all the events and competed. I didn’t train much as each event seemed to follow the next right away and I needed that weeks time to rest up my aches and pains before the next one. Ya know what? I did pretty good in most of them. My knee did mean that my final run was usually a bit of a let down, but my cycling improved over last year and my first run was pretty darn good.

In the end I managed a 1st place in age group for the Greenwood event (though sadly like last year with a small field), much higher placements than last year in all other events and a lot of new knowledge. I ended up 3rd in the final age group standing (35-40) but fell short of my goal of a top 3 overall. Seems there was a few new speed demons that partook in more of the events this year. That’s fine with me. Competition is a good thing. No sense placing well with no one to fight against. And that gives me a greater fire for next year.

Triathlons? Like I said these are a new thing to me as swimming is a recently introduced sport to me. Well I entered the Wolfville Tri Festival. Why this event? Simple, it was a pool swim and it didn’t conflict with my Duathlon events. Plus I also needed an event with a short swim. At this point I was still confined to the breaststroke.

So I did it and I really enjoyed it. I know what the heck I did wrong and what I did right and what I will need going into the future with triathlons. And I really see myself doing more next year, especially open water. Oh, by the way I managed 2nd overall at Wolville. If my swim wasn’t the second slowest time I might have actually won. It was fun though and a really great event.

A good year? Yeah, not bad. A few years back I was happy with 30 minute bike rides. Now I am not happy unless I feel like throwing up when I cross the finish line. Here’s to next year. I understand the Tri NS memberships for 2011 are available already. I guess I better get on that.

The 2010 Sporting Year in Review – Part 3 – Swimming

2010-12-05T17:30:00.001-04:00

Well, much like cycling this year, I never intended my swimming goals to be grandiose. I think ultimately I fell a little short on my goals here. Yes, this was in fact the first year I have done any real swimming, having just learned how to even do proper strokes. And yes, my water phobias / issues are for sure not easy to over come. But I really had hoped to be much further along by this point.

I didn’t get many chances to do open water swimming this summer. And without a wetsuit I was stuck swimming outdoors when the water was warm. As well, my lack of endurance meant that I could only swim so far outside of the pool.

Of course as it turns out my lack of endurance was partly due to a lack of proper swimming technique. And thanks to the website http://www.swimsmooth.com/ I found some of my issues were pretty easy to fix. Oh if I had only found this website long ago. Still I suggest anyone check it out for some great tips. Thanks to it I can all of a sudden swim 1000 m with very few stops for rest. Yeah, it isn’t fast and the last few laps aren’t pretty but I get there.

So I guess I shouldn’t be too hard on myself. I have discovered a weakness, figured out how to work with it and hopefully eliminate it. Here’s looking to a great winter of pool swimming and maybe the purchase of a wetsuit next year for some early open water workouts.

The 2010 Sporting Year in Review - Part 2 - Cycling

2010-12-02T13:20:00.000-04:00

Okay, looking back on my cycling goals show that I pretty much accomplished what I wanted to do on the bike. I had no real competitions in mind this year, as far as just cycling goes, so it was pretty easy. I got loads of distance in and had some fun as well.

My major goal was to do a century ride this year. I did a proper 100 mile ride this past August in the Valley. The Middleton Century ride is a great event and I suggest anyone who is contemplating such a long ride to go try this one. The only issue is heat. August and the Valley make for a warm day. But with rest stops each 25kms it wasn't too hard to get through. This year was better than last year which itself was really nice. You get a route map and the corners are all well marked with spray paint.

I also managed to get a metric century in thanks to the Heartland Tour. A ride from the Halifax Commons to Peggy's Cove and back for me was 110km or so. Very nice. Yeah, I tried to to push the pace. Yeah it was fun for most of the ride. But the end was killer and I just collapsed. Still a nice day.

I also wanted to get group rides in. I actually got fewer of these than I had hoped. But things come up, people don't get out or get out at times you can't work with. But this is more of a constant goal in life and therefore I will always be looking forward to rides with friends. And now that my wife has found cycling to be enjoyable I see some great trail rides with people as a real possibility.

My injury didn't prevent my cycling very much this year, which is a good thing. Perhaps my cycling didn't help my injury? I don't know but what is passed is past.

Next season? Same old goals. Long endurance rides, group rides, family rides, a century or two. All good fun. Yeah, sure I train hard for my multisport events, but that is a different kettle of fish (and it is hard to get a fish in a kettle).

The 2010 Sporting Year in Review - Part 1 - Running

2010-11-24T21:02:00.000-04:00

Well earlier this year I laid out my goals for the year, at least as far as my sporting life is concerned. I thought by doing so it would help me to plan the year better and also force me not to be too lazy. Well, this didn't go exactly as I planned.

My biggest issue was an unplanned injury. Of course no injuries are planned, but I really didn't see this one coming at all. One day fine, the next down for the count. My left leg went and let me down. My IT Band was tight, my knee was sore and my ankle seized. All the muscles in the leg were working against me, preventing any running from happening. This I already wrote about. Anyway, I stopped running and pretty much stopped cycling for awhile. I swam a bit, but even kicking my leg for the breast stroke hurt.

My first planned race was the 5K Lung Run. Instead I watched it as my wife ran. I was glad to see her do so well. My next was to be the Bluenose. This race I had paid for well in advance and I just decided to run the blasted thing anyway, taking it easy and enjoying it as best I could. I ran slowly and managed to pull off a time a minute faster than the year before. Not the 42 minute time i hoped for but still, an improvement.

Some more rest, some stretching and the Duathlon season was upon me. I'll cover it that in another post, but needless to say I ran through that.

It seems running fast kept the pain at bay. The only time the pain came in was near the end of the runs as I slowed due to fatigue and my form started to fail. Eventually I got a new pair of shoes (thanks Aerobics First for all the help) and some great medical help (thanks Dr Jason Gray) and my leg found some strength.

My next race was the Bedford 5K. Same result as last year, 7th place, with a slightly slower time. But the run felt good. It was really humid day and all the times were slower. So I didn't feel so bad. Finally I was able to run again and train again.

At this point I didn't really have a specific race to look forward to but continued to train for further duathlons. I had hoped (as I mentioned in my goals) to do 3 stand alone running events this year. The opportunity did arise as it turns out.

I was lucky to be invited to join a Rum Runners team, Runningmania.com. My leg was to be Leg 7, a 10.7K hilly route from Hubbards to East Chester. It was my first foray into the world of relay running. And I had a blast. Not only did I have a fun day spent with great friends, but I blazed through my route to a 7th place finish, in a time that would shame my best 10K run but almost a minute. For me this showed that I was back, I could run again. My disappointments from earlier in the year were erased.

What have I learned from 2010? Don't fret when an injury happens. Find a solution to the problem and get it fixed. I learned that proper running footwear is essential and having a knowledgeable person help you get that information is key. A proper strength training and stretching regime is essential, especially as we get older, to help prevent and eliminate injuries. Oh and have fun, enjoy the run.

I have already started to up my training for next year. It is time to get those base miles in (kilometers I guess). Though I never fancied myself a distance runner, I do plan on training for the Bluenose Half Marathon next year. I figure this will be a great source of run training for my attempt at improving my duathlon and triathlon run times. Some endurance never hurt. I am sure I will talk more about this as the next season starts.

Movember 2010

2010-11-10T20:37:00.000-04:00

This Movember, the month formerly known as November I’ve decided to donate my face to raising awareness about prostate cancer. My donation and commitment is the growth of a moustache for the entire month of Movember, which I know will generate conversation, controversy and laughter.

I’m doing this because 4,400 men die of prostate cancer in Canada each year and one in six men will be diagnosed during his lifetime.
This is a cause that I feel passionately about and I’m asking you to support my efforts by making a donation to Prostate Cancer Canada.

To help, you can either:

* Click this link http://ca.movember.com/mospace/207895/ and donate online using your credit card or PayPal account
* Write a cheque payable to Prostate Cancer Canada, referencing my name or Registration Number 207895 and mailing it to: Prostate Cancer Canada, Suite 306 145 Front Street East, Toronto, ON M5A 1E3, Canada.

All donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.

For more details on how the funds raised from previous campaigns have been used and the impact Movember is having please visit: http://ca.movemberfoundation.com/research-and-programs.

Thank you in advance for helping me to support men’s health. If you are already my Facebook friend then follow my journey of face hair online http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=243410&id=634161945

What's Next 2010

2010-10-29T12:37:00.000-03:00

So I am sitting in Porter's Lounge at the Toronto Island Airport drinking my 3rd cappuccino in less than 30 minutes (seriously they are pretty darn good) and I thought, might as well update the blog as I haven't written in a few weeks. Part of that is due to the travel I have done (San Fra, Colorado, now Toronto) since finishing my last event (Riverport Du). Part of it is due to me not actually knowing what my next step is on my list of sporting goals.

I know I promised to look back at my proposed goals of 2010 after my events were done and I will. But I don't know yet if the year is over. So that can wait. (Sneak preview, I think I achieved much of what I wanted to, despite my injury).

Well what is next. There is a cyclocross series put on in Halifax starting this weekend. I have really wanted to tackle this sport over the last few years but haven't had the time. This year i seem to have the time but I lack a couple of important things. One is a suitable bike. I bought a new bike and had hoped I could convert my old road bike to a wide tired cyclocross machine. But alas that just isn't a possibility. And my "Mountain" bike has long since been dumbed down to a commuter bike. Even it would require at a minimum new tires to compete. And that means cash.

The second issue is that my leg is still not 100%. Sure the pain while competing is gone, but there is a slight discomfort, which has not been helped by sitting on so many airplanes this past while. And I really fear that cyclocross' demands might just push me back into the realm of pain.

So it looks like another year goes by with cyclocross for me. I will survive though. In fact since taking a runner's strengthening course this fall I have been toying with the idea of finally running further than 10K in races. I think that next year it is time to tackle a half marathon. My reason for this is twofold. One, I want to get faster at short distance races and the extra endurance I will get from longer distance training will hopefully help that. And 2, I can't possibly win short distance races, so I need a new challenge. While winning a half marathon isn't going to happen either at least I can challenge myself to something new.

So that is where my mind is right now. I will continue riding and swimming as often as possible, and increasing my running (slowly this time to avoid injuries). And I will continue to drink cappuccinos while I wait patiently for my airplane to arrive. Two more and I will possibly rethink doing cyclocross, ha ha.

Riverport Duathlon - Race Recap - Final Du of 2010

2010-10-05T12:07:00.000-03:00

Well the final (at least as far as I know) local Duathlon of 2010 has come and gone. The ever popular Riverport Duathlon occurred this past weekend and saw a record number of entrants. In the classic Du (4K run, 28K bike, 4K run) 92 racers took to the start line.

This was to be my "A" race of the year. The one I really wanted to accomplish big things in. Sure I love the other Du's as well, not to mention the running races and other events I did this year, but Riverport was my first step into Multisports over 2 years ago and thus hold s a little something special for me.

So I had a plan going into this race. And not just my standard go really fast plan. Well, okay, maybe that was my plan. But go really fast and pay attention to what I was doing. The past two years have seen me run the first section in an okay time, then bike really hard, then collapse in a pile of cramping pain on the second run, only to see 20-30 people pass me by. Not this year by golly, I needed to stay focused and run smartly.

So I lined up right at the front this year for Run1. No hiding in the back only to be stuck behind people while I found my legs. No way. The command to start went off and away I ran. I started with a good pace, seriously hoping I could run with a 4:00 minute/K pace. This was just 4K after all and I managed a 4:19 pace last weekend over 10.7K. Well things were looking good. I hit the 2K turn around at about 8:05. So not too far off and with the front runners (well within visual contact anyway). But I slowed a bit after that and came into T1 with a total time of 17:01 for a 4:16 pace. I was sad to see that I was actually 3 seconds slower than last year but way faster than my time 2 years ago of 18:47. Anyway, I donned my helmet, changed my shoes and grabbed my bike and onto the bike course I went.

I came into T1 in 13th place. For me that is a great result. My running, while better this year, still lacks. Now it was time to put the hammer down and gain some ground over those behind me.

Well that worked only so well, as a few racers actually passed me near the beginning of the ride. Still I was focused and began my 28K ride. This ride is coastal, so that means rollers or a series of rolling hills. I don't mind these as you can get some decent speed going. Plus the wind was low this year (and it wasn't a torrential down pour like last year) so I managed a good bit of speed. Then came the Grim Road.

So the Grimm Road is a series of short steepish climbs in succession over 7 or 8k. You can generally spin up the beginning and then hammer near the top of each without too much work. I was starting to tire of these I must say near the end, but made it through without having any other riders come past me (note to self, more hill climbing work next year). Then it was on to the final section of this triangular course. A mere 10K to go (there abouts) on the bike.

The road was rather rough and bumpy. In anticipation, I dropped the tire pressure on my bike down to about 100psi. This seemed to help make the ride less severe, though in the end I wonder if that helped or hindered my overall speed, especially during the climbs. The bumpiness of the road lead to much Gatorade being splashed from my aerodrink bottle onto me and my bike. Yum. But on I pushed, until with about 6K to go another cyclist finally caught and passed me. I let him get to the non drafting distance ahead of me and then paced off of him. Perhaps I had started to mentally drift on the ride? I don't know but I managed to pickup my pace to keep him in sight and not let me pull away too far.

So we entered T2 pretty much together, my new adversary and I. My offcial Bike and T1 combined tiem show as 48:51 for a 34.4 k/hr avg speed. This is down a touch from the 34.7 k/hr of last years event but I was attempting to save a little for the final run.

My T2 went fairly well. I racked the bike, took off my shoes, got my sneakers on, and took off my helmet. Then onto the final run. We were warned about the fact that we needed to cross the street to get to the proper side of the road and that cars could be an issue. Luckily for me it wasn't and I was right behind my new foe, who had a T2 which was a few seconds worse than mine.

And so it began. Remember, I wanted a good second run. The kind were when you look back on the results you can't say, dang if only. My 2 previous years read like that. Poor times, loads of people passing me. Yuck. But now I was on a mission. And I was right behind my nemesis of the day. And my calves started to cramp and scream and yell. Ah memories of the other years already.

In the past I kept running but slowed right down to work things out. I have also taken the time in the past to stretch. But this year I was thinking of one thing only. Jens Voigt and his little video I had seen online. To paraphrase him,"Shut up Body and do what I tell you" (in a nice German accent). I yelled at my legs (though I kept it all nice and inside so as not to give away my pain to my competitor) and they responded with a "we give up." I sped past #1476 and kept going. Speed would be my friend along with a long stride.

(okay so that doesn't really show a nice long stride does it)

I pushed through and it was actually a long time before I finally saw the leaders pass me going back to the finish. I was probably close to 2K in when this happened. And I even saw others in the distance (though not at all close enough to catch). I pushed some more and got to the 2K turn around, grabbed some water and headed back. This was the first time I got to see who was behind me, as I had not even dared look back during previous to this. I now had a sizable lead over the next runner, who was no longer #1476 but a new foe. So I pushed on. This new guy was obviously a fast runner who had come from way back on the bike and was pushing through the field. I couldn't let him pass me.

I ran a little faster and finally go to the 0.5K to go spot (or the turn around for the Do a Du peeps). I didn't look back. I pushed on a bit more and Shawn A. (who was cooling down from having just finished) encouraged me on and said he saw no one behind me. But I needed to have a good time (for series points) and therefore I couldn't slow down. Plus I always finish with a sprint. So I couldn't do less this time. I rounded the last corner and put the power down, blowing through the finish line 14th overall, 4/21 in my age group and with a time of 1:25:37, over 2 minutes faster than last year and 11 places higher. Oh yeah.

Riverport is a great race also as there is a big sit down meal of chili and apple crisp post race. Sure there are prize draws as well, but it is the food I wanted. And it didn't disappoint at all.

So thanks to the Bridgewater Tri Club for a great event again. Thanks weather fro being nice for a change. And thanks to those that read this silly report for paying attention. I will be doing a season long results post soon, seeing how my expectations for the year actually help up.

Rum Runners Relay - Race Recap

2010-09-27T21:05:00.000-03:00

Well it happened this past weekend. I joined up with a relay style running team. No not the baton carrying kind that runs in circles. The kind that races all day over an insane distance, approx. 10K at a time.

The team I joined was Runningmania.com and the race was the historic Nova Scotian Rum Runners Relay.

I was pegged to do Leg 6 for this team of people who just like to run, and whose moto is have fun first. Due to injuries and last minute things, I was asked to join in by a couple of my friends (Mike and Ian) who were already on the team.

Leg 6 starts in Hubbards at the Yacht Club which is down a short but really steep hill (see above). When the starter said go off I went, zipping up that hill like a fool possessed. Luckily all that strength training I have been doing lately paid off and the hill meant nothing to me. While I took the lead of the race early, that lasted for a mere 0.5 kms or so when I was easily passed by Parker V (see guy next to me in above photo as well). This followed a few more people eventually passing me.

But I was smart and kept to my pace. I assumed that was going to be a 4:45 or maybe a 4:30 at best for this distance (oh by the way it was 10.7 K). That seemed like something I could do. But I also wanted to stay within my Team number (#16) as that was a little challenge some of my team mates had. Eventually when the 8th runner passed me I decided not to let him get away. I pushed a little harder and fell in line with him.

See above for how I actually matched this guys footsteps for the longest time to make sure I matched his pace. That seemed to work as I followed him for probably 5 kms before I finally saw the finish line. The finish was down hill. At a certain point my muscles started to yell at my brain that they were very excited and needed to go faster. My brain said, hey wait a minute we need to play this smart and not go charging too soon. Seconds later my brain gave up as I charged ahead into my horrifying downhill sprint. Sadly I seemed to have very little control of my speed as I approached what I assumed was a slight turn off the road. But alas it as a 90 degree turn downhill and a probably 50 meters to the finish line from the turn. I was way out of control, made the turn barely and sped through the finish line for a total time of 46:13 and a pace well above expectations at 4:19. Oh and it turns out the guy behind me never picked up his pace. I practically killed myself, though judging from some pictures I saw I did so with flair and a stunning 8th place finish out of 60 entrants.

The rest of the day was spent watching the other runners take off and finish and cheering them on. Thanks to Mike and his boys we had a blast riding, taking photos and playing the vuvuzela all day.

Congrats to the other runningmania.com team members who all ran wonderfully. We finished the day in 34th place overall out of 60 teams. Great stuff.

Oh and as I like to try new things before any given race, my new socks performed great.

Rum Running - A little something new

2010-09-23T19:29:00.000-03:00

Okay, so a pure running race isn't something entirely new to me. I have been entering a few of those the past couple of years. To be accurate, I think I have entered a grand total of 5. So while I am not a "runner" per se, I am not a total newb.

Running is also not my favorite sporting event. That is probably because it isn't my strongest sport. When coupled with cycling though I find it makes for a dandy weekend bit of fun.

But I got the call from my friend Ian M. He said his relay team for the Rum Runners event was down a few members due to injury. So I stepped up and decided to take on a leg. This is my first time in a team style event like this that takes place as an all day event over numerous legs. It certainly does sound like fun and the distances offered for most legs fit within my skill level.

I am by no means a long distance runner. I have never run more than 12K, and that was one day this past winter when I was out for a training run. I am more used to 10K and 5K events. So a distance of 10.2K for Leg 6 of the Rum Runners sounded just about right.

I will be travelling with Mike M and his boys for most of the day (he is running Leg 4) and hanging out with the rest of the team and probably others whom I have met over the past couple of years since taking up running and triathlon / duathlon.

There is a virtual TNS (Tri Nova Scotia) Rum Runners team being put together by Andrew D as a fun sort of what if scenario. I gotta say that it is this sort of fun that made me not regret leaving the world of pure cycling. Runners just seem to have fun and so many of the TNS members seem to be runners at heart. Who knows maybe I will head towards more running events in the future as well.

But lets not get ahead of ourselves. First things first, get this event out of the way, have fun and sleep in on Sunday.

A bit of SCUBA

2010-08-29T08:49:00.000-03:00

Well I went for a nice bit of SCUBA yesterday with my neighbour Daniel. Even though the water was rather shallow (no more than 26 feet according to my computer) it was a fun time. We saw so many lobsters it wasn't funny. Even managed to get one to attack our flashlight (boy are they strong). And we even managed to see a less than legal trap. But enough about that.

This time of year is great for quick dives. The water is often really warm, our dive temp being around 20C. The bad part , though, about the high temps is that a lot of the seaweed has started to die back. This means the really great colours just aren't as plentiful. Still you do get a few great shots like this:

Hopefully I will get back for another dive soon. I have a few more places I like to pop in the water at and maybe they will have some great fish to see.

Also I like to think of this as great training for the triathlon swims. Well maybe one day they will allow flippers and air tanks. Maybe.

2010 Wolfville Tri Festival

2010-08-25T09:43:00.000-03:00

Well it happened. I did my first triathlon. This past weekend Wolfville's rec department put on a Try a Tri event for kids and adults. My event was considered to be the Long Course at 400m/10km/4km. While the biking and running were short for me, the swim was just about right. In fact it was to be the furthest I had ever swam in one go. Sure I have spent enough time at the pool practicing that I swam 1km. But that took me 2 hours with lots of rest stops. This was going to be my time to shine with people looking on.

I started in Wave 2 or the 3 Waves which were to happen. This meant that my competition was going to be in different waves than me. Oh well, that just means you have to push yourself and not rely on pacing off of others. So push I did.

Now my swimming is not great (as I mentioned). And what is worse is my attempts at front crawl. Too bad, as this is the most efficient swim stroke for Tri's. But I relied on my tried and true breaststroke to carry me through. I started with a bang and for the first few las of the pool was just as fast as most people doing the front crawl. Sadly though my endurance began to falter and I fell back. I slowed, but carried on as best as I could. Finally I got out of the pool 3rd last and ran to to T1.

T1 was where I found out how hard it was to get dressed while wet. Next time, better jersey choice. Luckily I had already committed to a no socks approach, so that helped. Onto the bike I got and out onto the course.

the course was a very short 2.5km out and back we had to do twice. Luckily there was plenty of volunteer and police presence to keep us safe. It was hard, though, to get a good rhythm with all the turn arounds, but I still managed to do the course in 18 minutes flat at 33.2 km/hr. Did I mention it was bumpy? Oh yeah, it was. I survived though and onto the run.

The run started on the Acadia University track. That was nice as it is a cushioned surface. nice on the feet and legs. Then out a rails to trail, loop back, around the track again repeat and down the finishing chute to grab your numbered Popsicle stick. The run was pretty easy, though my upper body was starting to cramp, almost surely from the swim (I have never done a brick workout that involved much of a swim). But the cramps went away by the second lap and I picked up the pace. I finished with my standard sprint (see above photo) which was nice to do.

As this was a just for fun event, there were no awards per se. We did get medals for finishing and some great draw prizes. And the food layout was great as well, plus a nice post race massage. Latter on we received our times and I ended up second fastest overall behind Kevin Besner, a mere 30 seconds out of first. It is hard to loose by 30 seconds when you can look back and actually find those 30 seconds you lost, but those are the breaks. And in the end I know I gave it a good go. I ended with a time of 49:18. And I think 20 minutes of that was putting my jersey on while I was wet (lol).

So that was one of my sports goals for the year. Complete a Tri of any distance and prepare for something bigger and better next year. Big thanks goes out to Shannon Read who organized this event, to the Town of Wolfville, to the RCMP officers that kept us safe, to the crazy amount of volunteers as and to the weather for being so nice.

Volunteer Ian McGrath, Constantly telling me I was about to turn on my bike at the wrong spot.

2010 Middleton Century Ride

2010-08-16T11:09:00.002-03:00

Chad Smith

Well it was time for the second year of the Middleton Century Ride. 160 kms of fun Nova Scotia Valley heat. and once again I rode (or at least started) with members of the Spinachers cycling team. Above is Chad Smith who joined us for the first time this year aboard his trusty Madonne Steed. We rode the first 50kms together and had a great chat and a few fun breakaways. Then it was up to me to continue on sans Spinachers. Last year the metric century and full century rode the first 100kms together. This year the split was at teh 50km mark and I was the only foolish person that decided to carry on for the full.

I took off with a group of other cyclists. Slowly we drifted apart until it was only 6 of us random fellows. Though there was great guy named Dave who I rode a bit with last year that showed up. It was nice to ride with him again. And I must also say it was much niceer just riding the course this year. While last years ride was fun and an adventure, the rest stops were so much better appointed this year, including an ice cream stop at the 85km mark of the full century ride. yes, your choice of many yummy ice cream flavours. Also the heat and humidity of last yeat satyed away. The temps never soard any higher than 28C. That alone was nice.

Now as it turns out the extra 60 kms was hilly. Oh nothing crazy but there werea few fun climbs. And I was happy to say that i aced them. I do a love a variable degree climb that starts out with say a 3-4% grade and then finishes with a nice 8 % or so. I can really geta good rythem and spins up those. Needless to say by the end of that section our little group was ripped apart. But we met back up at the next rest stop.

Here the Mavic Neutral Service Car makes for good drafting. Though the Kayaks won't help if we get a flat

As I didn't want to cool down too much I figured I would do my traditional solo effort from Annopolis Royal to Bridgetown. It is generally a bit of a tail wind and mostly flat so you get a good cadence going and really fly. Considering how much I rode already I was happy to see the speed stay in the high 30's and often into the 40's for the solo effort.

The final 25 kms saw Dave and I reteam our efforts and repass our friend on the recumbant bike. He was just a tenacious fellow, though he must have been lonely. This section was all rollers and a few gravel patches. But tight hamstrings be damned we pushed through and arrived back at the start point to a BBQ and food and the rest of the Spinachers who finished their metric century ride in fine form.

Spinachers enjoying a rest stop

I was really happy that I beat last years ride time by 1/2 an hour for a total of 5 hours and 39 minutes with an average speed of around 28.5 km/hr. And now I am looking forward to next year and getting that time down again. I think a 5:30 is in the cards.

First "Tri" Swim Approaching - Thoughts

2010-08-13T09:50:00.000-03:00

So yeah, my first "Tri" swim is approaching in a little over a week. Why is Tri in quotes? Because it is only 400 meters. Seems easy enough. And it is in a pool. That seems nice. But here's the thing. I haven't actually been able to swim 400 meters in one go yet. My arms just run out of steam.

Why do I keep seeing this image in my head when I dream about this upcoming swim?

Can it be, the first Triathlon for Ian?

2010-08-06T11:41:00.001-03:00

Okay so I do the Du's. Duathlons that is. I like them. I like riding my bike and I like short fast runs. So of course Duathlons are a great chocie for me. But try and tell people, "Oh, I'm a Duathlete," and you always get the same response, "Oh don't you mean Biathlon?" Of course I don't but oh well, stupid skiing and shooting. Tell a person you compete in Triathlons and they know what the heck that is.

One of my early season goals was to complete / compete in a triathlon. While I mentioned my love of running and cycling I didn't mention my love of swimming. Now don't get me wrong, I love popping in a lake or ocean to putz around and cool off. But I don't really swim. In fact I have this great ability to hyperventilate with my face in the water. Yes, "in" the water. Therefore sucking in loads of wet goodness. Not a great trait. In the past i solved this problem through the use of scuba equipment.

Well in order to do a Tri I was going to have to learn to get over this and actually figure out how to "swim." I took lessons and finally figured out the front crawl and breast stroke. Good. But I still have a little issue with breathing while swimming and the endurance hasn't come along quite like I hoped it might. Part of that is due to a leg injury I had and part is due to 30+ years of water to face phobia which I am slowly overcoming.

So that brings us to my first Triathlon. I wanted it to be a pool swim (this allows me to stand up, cough up the water I have sucked back and continue) and I wanted the swim to be relatively short. I also didn't want it to be held at the same time as a Du (remember from the first bit where I said I do Du's). This left very few choices for the year. But along came the Wolfville Tri Festival. A 400meter swim, 10K bike and 4 K run. Well the bike is a bit short but that's fine, the run is nice (I said I liked short and fast) and the swim is doable.

Part of me does feel a little silly entering a Try a Tri type event. I mean these are supposed to be for those that have no idea what to expect or also for kids who aren't old enough to enter full Sprint and above Tri's. But then I think, heck, I suck at swimming so this type of non-competitive (yeah right) event is what I need to get started. And to that effect I entered the darn event which will be held in 2 weeks from now).

I know my swim will be slow, maybe 9 minutes for 400 meters is not going to win anything. But I can ride fast and run fast as well, and I can have some fun doing the transitions.

Of course all this assumes I won't drown in the pool. Can you use flutter boards in events?

Running Pain Free

2010-07-17T13:25:00.001-03:00

Well it has been a few months now since my leg started to bother me. It started one day while swimming. It then progressed into a problem while running. This put me behind in all the training I had wanted to do to get ready for a full season of Duathlons and Runs. Now I did manage to compete in most of the events that I had hoped to, but with a lack of training I was probably not at my best. I am happy to say that all of my training from before the knee/leg issues must have been good as my results were still pretty darn good.

Anyway, I eventually found a good doctor (Dr Jason Gray) who specializes in sports medicine (he is a Chiropractor) and specifically ART (Active Release Technique). We assessed that my issue was a very tight group of muscles in my hamstrings and calf on my left leg. This in turn led to my ankle turning funny and causing knee pain.

Now not being a patient guy I began to wonder if this was going to work after a few treatments. My knee would still pain after a run, and be very tight at other times. But I kept the treatments up as well as the stretching and strength exercises. Now about a month and a half after I started seeing Dr Gray, I can say that i am running pain free. Things aren’t 100% in my left leg, but they are much better and without the tightness and pain I was having.

Today I managed a 7K run in some nasty humidity with an average pace of 5min per K (I started out a bit faster but faded near the end). I am happy with that as it is fairly close to where I left off when I was last training. This is now a good place to get some base mileage back into my legs and then work on getting some speed (and endurance) back.

It certainly is nice to know a little more about the mechanics of running now, and with my new stretching regime, I anticipate years more of pain free running (well sore muscles after a good hard run are okay).

Spinachers Ride the Heartland Tour

2010-07-11T13:11:00.000-03:00

The Heartland Tour made its Halifax stop this past Saturday (July 10th). So the Spinachers Team had to show up and take part. Donning our impressive jerseys we split into 2 groups depending on our ride choice. A 27.5km ride to Purcell's Cove or the mammoth 96km ride from the Halifax Commons to Peggy's Cove. My wife joined in with those opting for the Purcell's Cove ride, partly as 96kms was a crazy distance for her, but also so she could sleep in a bit longer. I opted to join in the longer ride that began at 8am (ish).

We started as a group and headed to the Roundabout to begin our ride. A police escort out of town made life rather easy. Being near the lead I decided to stretch the legs a bit and zoom up the Bay Rd hill leading to the start of the Peggy's Cove Loop. That felt nice and I gave myself an imaginary Polka Dot jersey for my effort (also that was probably the biggest hill on the ride). As a group David's son Jeff and I decided to go for a breakaway lead, the rest of the team (David, Ross and Fred) all kept to the main peleton (or long string of riders as it were). Eventually Jeff and I were riding alone, having dropped our rivals (sure this was a friendly ride, sure) during some rollers. Actually dropping those other riders with us was a mistake as I thought I was supposed to be hammering through those hills. Luckily for me Jeff is a darn strong rider.

Eventually the 2 of us arrived at Peggy's Cove and proceeded to wait for the rest of the Tour riders. Perhaps that was too long of a wait in retrospect, we were there for over 30 minutes in the cold damp fog and occasional drizzle. But we had some food and drink and eventually took off as other riders were starting to leave to head back to Halifax.

I stuck to Jeff on the way back, jumping from one slow group of riders to the next until we met with a good strong lead pack. We hammered with them for quite awhile, eventually though my lack of mileage this year started to catch up. As I dropped from the lead of the pace line I couldn't quite stick to the last rider int he group and fell off, though I was still amazed that I continued riding at 37kph until I eventually caught them as they stopped to let some other riders catch on. My goodness, they were going fast as a group.

At this point as riders took off again we all pretty much fell into smaller groups or single riders as our legs were at various degrees of ouchiness. Mine in particular were running very low on steam. I lost Jeff pretty quickly as he sped away. I kept my speed up but would occasionally be passed by a few riders here or there until I eventually made it back into town and could have a proper rest and some good food provided to us for free. That was nice, especially the crepes and chocolate milk.

Including my ride to the commons to start the event, I logged 107 kms that day. That was nice. I managed a pace of 30.6kph on avg, which included a very slow meander through town to start, so overall I was pretty happy, and really only a few minutes behind the first group to finish.

I was sad that my cadence really dropped near the end and my average was 82. I really hopped to be able to keep that higher, but again my lack of riding any real distance this year hit me hard near the end.

All in all a really great ride, with a lot of Tri NS members taking part, which was great to see.

Hopefully this ride continues next year and grows in size. And a big congrats to my wife for her solo epic adventure to Purcell's Cove. I look forward to longer rides with her int he near future as well.

Bedford 5K 2010

2010-07-05T10:03:00.000-03:00

Well, I was waiting to post about this race hoping that some photos of the even might pop up. But alas, nothing so far. I know they exist as I chatted with Trevor Allen the photographer and saw some great shots. But people get busy and I decided not to wait any longer.

Anyway this was the Bedford 5K to raise money for Lung Cancer research hosted by my friend Jean St.Amand. It is a great event and my second year attending. I had contemplated not going due to my knee and this being a short fast race, but in the end it being for charity, the weather being nice and me wanting to defend my 7th place finish from last year won out.

I arrived rather early as I had not yet registered and didn't want to wain in any sort of line. After registering I decided to walk the course as last year I had no clue where I was going and missed a corner (though I penalized myself for doing so by letting the people behind me pass rather easily). The course was the same and was nice and flat. For once, I actually planned a strategy as well, while I sat and waited for the race to start.

At the line I took off with a few people and true to form I started at the pace of the leaders. I hung in there for a bit (most of the first kilometer) and then knee pain kicked in. Ouch that hurt. So I pulled back to a better pace and a few people passed me by. I let them go and continued on, think to myself that it was only 5K and it would all be over very soon.

I found that by the 3K mark I was still on the heels of a few people that had passed me. So I picked up my pace a bit. And the next thing I knew I passed a couple of people. I then drafted in behind a few more fast people and managed to sneak by them as well.

With no one else in front of me (at least people I could see) I know had to fight to keep my placing. I ran the absolute straightest line I could, as corners and knee pain always meet. I got through the final corner without looking back and saw the finish line ahead. So I picked up the pace again, not wishing to get passed and not knowing where anyone else was. I cruised through the finish line in a time of 20:26.That was good enough for another 7th place, though almost 40 seconds slower than last years time. Still I was happy. And hot. i think one reason I was a bit slower was the sheer humidity of the day. The air was truly thick. Last year was misty and cool, a lovely running day.

Anyway, no races for a bit. the leg/knee issue is being worked on and I hope to be back to full strength soon.At least I can ride my bike to work for now to keep my cardio up.

Greenwood Duathlon 2010

2010-06-14T17:38:00.001-03:00

Well another Sunday another race. This time down to the Valley and the Greenwood military base for a duathlon 5k, 20k, 5k(there was of course a triathlon happening but who wants to get wet on such a nice day). Yes, it was a nice day, perhaps too nice. Great hot sun and little wind. Hearkens back the nice day we had for the Bluenose 10K (yeah I guess it was a marathon as well).

Well the drive to the race was fun. Up a 5am to get ready, almost 2 hour drive, and finally arrival. My knee was already stiff from sitting that long. But I had some time to move around, stretch and warm up (a good reason to arrive early).

Well race time was finally upon us. I knew only 2 other racers, Kurt and Alan, both of whom are much better runners than I am. The other I had no clue about. So my plan was stick with Kurt and Alan as long as possible and go from there. Okay, so that is my usual plan, stick to the leader as long as possible and then fade to a comfortable pace.

So the race started and we quickly got up to speed. I stuck with Kurt for probably the first 1.5K, with Alan already taking off. I then settled into a slightly slower pace (one my knee was comfortable with) and continued on for the rest of the first 5K. Heading into the first transition I was comfortably in third, ahead of fourth by close to 2 minutes with a 22:32 run. A quick switch to bike shoes and helmet I was off to the bike portion. This was a great ride for speed, with the only turns being at the ends of the laps (3 in total). The course itself had a slight curve that didn't amount to much and only a slight "hill" barely worth mentioning. Also practically no wind. Nice. I finished the 20K ride in 37:46 which also included both transitions. My bike computer showed an average speed of 34.2 kph which was nice with those slow turns at the end of each lap and an impressive 56.03 kph top speed (also nice with no hills or wind). With both transitions added (and I took my time stumbling with my helmet) my avg pace on the bike drops to around 32 kph, but I was happy.

Heading into run 2 I had a sizable lead over fourth (almost 14 minutes). But take nothing for granted I say and who knows Alan or Kurt could have faltered for some reason. So push on I did. The knee was achy to start out and I was baking hot at this point. At the run turn around the kind volunteer pointed out the gel pack I dropped during the first run. Thanks. I plodded along and finally the finish line came up. I zipped across as fast as I could in typical Ian fashion (don't get in my way when the finish line is in sight) and finished in 1:24:23, 7 minutes behind Kurt in second and 8 behind Alan in first. I was happy,and since I have had absolutely no run training this year due to my bad leg/knee that really looks great for the future when this issue is finally sorted out.

So I ended up in third place overall and first in age group 30-39 (same as last year, though no Mike Milloy to fight against this year).

Okay the field was small compared to the Du it for Shelter event and the Cyclesmith Du (and inevitability for the Riverport race in the Fall) but it was a great fight and I feel quite happy in what I achieved. One of my goals was an age group win for the year and another was a top three result. So heck, lets get that done in one race.

Now time for a rest.

Big thanks to the volunteers and TNS officials at the race for the help and words of encouragement and to Sarah Wood for standing on the corner of the run and cheering us all on. That always helps.

Cyclesmith Duathlon 2010

2010-06-07T18:38:00.000-03:00

Well another weekend another Duathlon. This time the venerable Cyclesmith Du held at Lawrencetown Beach. I must say it was looking like shades of last week, at least weather wise. Buckets of rain, cool temps and fog were all being forecast, not to mention heavy wind. Yipee! Of course unlike last weekend, the weather took a turn for the good. The rain stopped before the race started, the fog lifted enough to make the course visible enough and the wind died down. Wow. The pavement even dried up.

So there I was, once again hoping my knee would survive the onslaught of what is the most grueling Duathlon in Nova Scotia. A 5K road run to start with a decent hill, followed by a 34K bike ride on rolling roads (with a few mini climbs) and finally a 6K trail run. But I was prepared with my new Brooks Dyads which I had fitted the day before at Aerobics First. Yeah, I know, never wear a new pair of shoes right before the big race. But alas, my "new" shoes I bought before Christmas were actually far too small for me and probably a good reason my knee went wonky in the first place. So I figured better go with shoes the right size rather than the devil I knew.

The "go" was sounded and off we went. I hung the the lead group for the first 1.5K then started to ease my pace to something slightly more comfortable. In the end I finished the first 5K in 20:43 for a 4:09 pace. I was pretty darn happy with that seeing as it was 3 minutes faster than last year. Then on to the bike.

As usual my bike goal is to ride as hard and darn fast as possible, kill the legs and go for broke. I know, there is still one more run, but the run is my weak point so I like to make up my time here. With my new Devinci CX I managed a great time of 1:00:53 for an average pace of 33.5 km per hour (the 15th fastest time and on a non-time trial bike and including T1). I came barreling into Transition 2 very excited and well away from most of the riders behind me (all of whom were much faster runners).

A quick switch to my new Dyads and off I went. Now normally at this point my legs turn to jelly, thick knotted jelly. But darn if they didn't hold together for that first kilometer. Wow. I kept my pace easy but my stride long, as this seems to be best for my knee. Well, eventually 3K in to the run a few people started to catch up to me. I couldn't risk pushing my pace but kept going as best I could. Eventually the finish line was in sight and one last runner was catching me. I heard yells and cheering, alas not so much for me but for the runners on my heels (at least the yells I could hear). I picked up my pace to keep the other runner (happened to end up being Heather Doucette) at my side, then with a few hundred meters of race left I sprinted with all my might (see above photo) and took 20th place by 4 seconds. My final 6K run time was 31:43 for a 5:18 pace (including T2).

Now I am nursing my worn and tired knee but pretty darn happy. Last year I was 42nd, this year 20th and with little to no practice. And my running is actually not bad but I can't wait to see how much better it can become. Now one more Du this Spring before a big rest and the final one, the Riverport Du in October. So next up, the Greenwood Du. But first, time for a rest.

Duin' the Double Duty at the Navy Tri

2010-05-31T08:01:00.000-03:00

Well this past weekend for me saw the next in the Duathlon series of races come up. this was the second of the year and my 3rd actual sporting event. Of course as I have mentioned numerous times my IT Band is going through some ITBFS (look it up, I swear it is real). This leads to a pain in my knee, generally just during running (and then for a day afterwards). But enough of that, I competed and did my best with what I had, so that`s that.

The day for me started at 5 AM. I had to get up, get dressed, eat and hit the road for a 7AM start time (this event was at Shearwater Airforce Base in Dartmouth, NS), and ideally you show up 1 hr before your event. I was there on time, but the weather was not cooperating for a smooth 7AM start time and we didn`t end up getting off until 730 AM. Still that was fine. It was starting to rain and the fog was thick. How thick? We'll I was about to find out.

We headed out on mass at the start (well all 14 of us in the Duathlon - most were doing the Triathlons also running that day). The first leg was a 3K run, mostly flat with a decent little hill at the midpoint of each lap (we did 2 laps). I manged to run this in 11:40 for a 3:54 pace which I was happy with landing me in 7th at the time. I switched to my bike and headed out for the 20km ride.

Well what a ride. The ground was soaked with huge puddles (not great for speed) and the ride up to the runway was quite technical. Then it was into the fog. It was so thick for us that to find the runway I had to ride from yellow cone to yellow cone, which were spaced maybe 10 feet apart at most? Then 4 laps on the runway and back down. I managed to catch the 6th place runner and put some real distance on him before the final run, which I figured I would need to make up for what I assumed might be a slowish final run). My time computer tells me I road at a 33.3 kph avg for little over 20km and kept my cadence at 91 avg. Thanks computer. The official results include the transition time from bike to running (which means a shoe change of course) and have me posted as 5th in speed overall with a total time of 36:52 and an avg pace of 32.5kph. Again, I'm pretty happy with this.

The final run started with a slow transition (resulting in a slower run time overall). This was mostly do to my inability to feel my fingers from the cold and wet and be able to put on my running shoes easily, but I managed and took off, for the 8th fastest final run time on the same 3K course for a 13:37 time and a 4:33 pace. But my cycling had put me in position to hold easily onto 6th place and finish in a time of 1:02:07.

I haven't been able to train all year for my events due to my leg/knee issue, so I am really happy to be able to be able to put up those numbers. I look forward to seeing what I can do with some proper training. And thanks to a chiropractor who was attending the race, hopefully this issue will be able to be taken care of sooner rather than later. I am looking forward to getting some rehab started.

But that brings me to "Duin' the Double." I finished the race strong but soaked and hungry. I had a bite from the snack table, then got changed into dry clothes and a rain coat and headed out to relieve one of the course workers so he could go and get ready to race. Yes, good old Ian decided to volunteer to stand in the rain and fog and show cyclists the right way to turn as they headed to the runway. I got soaked I must say, and paced the entire time to keep my legs from getting too stiff. But you know what, volunteering that these events is a good thing when possible. It makes it easy for the athletes to get their job done and helps keep the costs to run these things reasonable. And that means as an athlete I pay far less up front for most events. I like that and therefore am willing to stand around in the cold and wet for a few hours to help out. But I did get a great bagged lunch to keep me full and plenty to drink (though the bag did not weather the storm).

Bluenose 10K

2010-05-24T09:58:00.002-03:00

Well I just completed the Bluenose 10K run yesterday. It was a sunny and warm (some might say hot) day, which is of course atypical for the Bluenose. But it was fun to be running. My leg and knee were still having issues so I didn't kill myself try to get to some exciting new goal. Instead I ran with my buddy Mike and we set a great pace (he was holding back as he has a big race next weekend). We perhaps started back a bit far in the opening pack, but made loads of passing maneuvers early on (and late on as well). We partook of the lovely water being offered at all but the last station (seriously why would you stop for a drink with less than a 1K to go?). In the end I managed a pace of 4:51 for a time of 48:35, almost 10 seconds faster than last years healthy Ian.

While I am annoyed that my leg and knee prevented me from finding my maximum at this event, I am excited that I have the potential to do so much better and I know that in the future I will.

I now have 3 consecutive weekends of events coming up, Duathlons. The run is much shorter and the bike doesn't hurt my leg and knee too much. Then I will be taking a good long break from running to make sure I can get good and healed. More massage therapy is in order as well as potentially some physio. We'll see.

Congrats to all the other runners out there this weekend. It was an awesome turnout for Halifax and spectacular weather.

Thanks to Mike for the company. And thanks to Ian McGrath for not catching us while he pace bunnied the 10k to a 55min finish.

Getting Fueled for Racing

2010-05-20T13:54:00.005-03:00

Over the last few years I have really tried to get my eating sorted out. I mean, I like to eat. Food is yummy as is beverage. But alas I weighed a little too much and had really bad heartburn, forcing me to take meds (yuck). So I changed what I ate somewhat, added a smattering of exercise and voila life was better.

Well that dietary change was fine for a smattering of exercise (20 minute bike rides and some nice long walks with a little yoga), but now I train to run and cycle and swim and also add those together for triathlons and duathlons. So I figured I should eat even better.

Don't get me wrong. I still love to eat and most things are good (and the bad stuff is generally better), but now I eat to fuel the body for racing (or training). So what does that entail?

Well for me that means doing my best to avoid the premade food section of the grocery store, save yummy milk based products like cheese and yogurt. It has also meant delving into the world of whole grains and seeds.

Thanks to the Bulk Barn (our local bulk food store), I have access to so many odd and exciting grains, seeds and nuts. And I use these to make great breakfast porridges, bake some really awesome breads and recently I have discovered the exciting (get ready) Seed Loaf! This is based on a sidedish recipe I found but have since modified to make it a powerhouse side or main dish. It includes massive amounts of good fibers, proteins, and carbs and is quite low in fat. And it can easily be tailored to suit most tastes.

So here it is for the adventurous:

Take 1/2 cup uncooked grains/seeds: I used quinoa, millet, scotch oats, lentils, poppy seeds and flax seeds

Add 1 cup water and 1/2 tsp salt, bring to boil, reduce to medium low (simmer level) and cover for 10 minutes

This will require a little stirring occasionally but when you do open the lid to stir, drop in 1 tsp of thyme and basil or rosemary or frankly whatever herbs you really like (want spice add cayenne).

When it is done cooking take it off the heat and add 1/2 cup of veggies (your choice I like frozen corn and spinach). If you are adding root veggies chop them up and add to the grains when you add the spices to get them a bit softer.

Now stir in 1/2 cup cottage cheese and 1 beaten egg.

Place this into a baking dish and bake in a 375F oven for 45 minutes. Take out, let cool and bit and voila, yum yum. The powerhouse of food, IMO.

This is great for post exercise or lunch at work to keep you fueled for the day. Though if you aren't a big grain person, don't eat this right before the big race. A tad too much fiber for those with delicate tummies.

Have fun at the Bluenose this weekend, those in Nova Scotia. I will be running the 10K. Bad knee and all (ugh). But at least I won't be hungry.

Du It For Shelter Duathlon

2010-05-12T10:05:00.000-03:00

Well I signed up for the first Duathlon of the year. I had all of one week to get myself ready for it (due to my IT Band issues) and I woke up the morning of May 9, 2010 wondering if my leg and knee would hold out. Nervous? Yup.

This event though was a charity event first and foremost so I couldn't say no. It was raising money for the St Leonard's Society. And that is a good thing.

Elizabeth, Newt and I arrived in Musquobodoit Habour at a nice and early time to get ready without having to rush around. That is always the best idea in Triathlons/Duathlons. It means you can pick a good spot of the bike racks, maybe pedal a little bit and go for a light jog to warm up. Oh and go to the bathroom 100 times.

Anyway, the weather was nice. Some thought the wind was bad, but I thought it was fine (by product of cycling over the MacDonald Bridge everyday I guess). The rain held off, the sun often poked out often and the temp was decent (slightly chilly). The course as well was nice and flat (some rollers on the bike section) and was listed as 4k/25k/4k.

Well the starter said go and off I went. I seeded myself a bit back as I didn't know how I would feel on the run and hate getting in the way. But as it turns out I was feeling good and maybe a little stupid, so I passed a few people and made some good time. then it was the first transition of the year. New bike, new bike setup, and a change in pedals made things interesting. But t all turned out great. My Devinci CX1 felt smooth on the road and I flew through the bike leg of the course. Then it was onto Transition 2. In the past I ran my bike back as fast as possible and always ended up cramping into the first part of the run. This time I decided to jog it back, using this time to relax a bit. Man did that help. Changing shoes was a breeze, and off I went.

Sure there was a little cramping in the legs and the knee started to pain a bit but I made it through (getting passed by many of those I passed in the bike section). I finished strong and felt good (ie was able to walk). And my little dog was waiting for me, tail a wagging.

My final results were 0:16:38 / 0:42:02 / 0:17:46 for a total of 1:16:26. This left me in 15 out of 46 for the overall and 7 out of 9 in my age group. I am super happy with my time, less than thrilled with my age group placing, but what the heck, the other guys went faster.

Lesson learned: if placing gels in your back pocket and preopening them, do not grab them hard or you will be forced to do an entire race with a sticky hand. Ugh.

Getting Back in the Saddle

2010-05-06T09:50:00.000-03:00

Well it seems to have been a long time since I did any serious running. I had all of these plans about Personal Bests and all but a silly IT Band left me hobbling around instead. I hadn't even been biking or swimming. So much for winning any events that were to be coming up. Oh well.

But since watching my wife get her personal best at the Credit Union 5K Lung Run, I have rested, done physio, rested, drove to work (ugh), rested, compression, heat, ice, ice baths (ugh again) and massage therapy. All of this was in an effort to make sure that come hell or high water I would be running a 10K at the Bluenose (I already paid and I would hate to waste that).

Eventually i got fed up waiting for this blasted thing, so I started to ride my bike a little. The knee felt funny but didn't hurt. Then I started commuting again on my bike. It was nice. I restarted Thursday night swims training and without the crutch of the breast stroke my front crawl has actually become way better.

So finally I had to try some running. Of course I also found out about a new Duathlon for this year which I just had to compete in. Du it for Shelter. Somehow I had to be able to get two 4K runs in when I hadn't run in close to a month. Sure I could walk those legs of the Du but, why would anyone want to do that.

I began last weekend. 1K. That's it. I wouldn't let myself run further. And I stuck to that as well. Some slight pressure on the knee but otherwise good. Six min kilometer though. Oh well.

Then each day add a kilometer. Bend the knee a little more. Push a little harder. Yesterday I ran a 23 minute 5K. A 4:40 pace. Okay so that won't win my anything, won't even be the greatest run I have had at a Du, but I am back. Pain free (well the bad pain anyway). Just in time for what is to be a crazy month of events (I think I have one weekend off).

Yea!

2010 Lung Run

2010-04-14T16:59:00.001-03:00

Well the past weekend saw the 4th annual (?) Credit Union Lung Run happen in Halifax. And I was all ready to run this 5K event as prep for the upcoming Du's and Tri's. But alas my wounded leg (IT Band) said please don't and I heeded its words (thoughts, pains, whatever). Instead I got to be the sideline person for this event while my wife (see woman in blue hat in the above photo) cruised around to her personal best 5K time. She shaved at least 3 minutes off last years 5K time and came in witha chip time of 32:04. Good for her, and here she thought she was running slow.

I did receive some harsh, deep tissue massage today for the leg. A whole 1/2 hour on one leg and the massuse got right in there. Here's hoping that it will help get this thing healing up. I will continue stretching and resting it, which probably means if it is ready in time for teh first Du of the season that I won't get a lot more training in. Still, one has to deal with these issues sometimes, especially when you push the body past its limits.

Bike Safety

2010-04-05T19:26:00.000-03:00

Ian's 2010 Sporting Goals - Multisport

2010-04-05T16:48:00.000-03:00

Well I am finally getting to the last of my years goals postings. This is the big one I guess, the one where all the other sports meet to form one super sport - be it Triathlon or Duathlon (and no folks it isn't Triath-a-lon or duath-a-lon).

This type of event is fairly new to me. I just started running last year, and I just learned how to swim correctly this year.

last year I competed in all four of the duathlon events that Triathlon Nova Scotia (TNS) hosted. I managed some decent times, and got some great finishes. I did manage to even win my age group, though it was just Mike Milloy and I in that group as the field was very small. Still in the end I managed 3rd int he seasons point series and took home a very shiny coffee mug full of jelly beans.

This year I plan on competing in all the du's again. There are 5 currently listed, with a new one on May 9th this year. My goals are pretty simple. Improve in each event that I competed in last year. Simple as that. Run faster, ride faster, run faster again and place higher. Could be tricky but I think it is all very doable. And in those couple of events where most people are doing full tri's? Well I want to place in the top three, and I will push to get that done.

By the end of the year I want to remain int he top three in the points series, and I want to place in the top three in my age group as well, which will be 35-40. This last one will be tricky as it is a very full age group, but I will push as best as I can to get it done.

Now as for tri's? Well I have never done one before, and as I mentioned I have just learned to swim after many years of paddling around in the ocean and lakes like a rabid dog. So I would like to really get out at some point this summer and do a super sprint. As it is only 300-400 meters of swimming, I feel that I can go that distance and still be in a competitive time. Also I should be able to swim that kind of distance fast enough that a wetsuit will not be needed. I can't see myself buying a full wetsuit for 1 event this year as the entry level cost is around $200 or more. This sort of event I will be happy to finish in a decent time, as i know the running and biking won't be an issue. I will just be happy to have swam in a competition for the first time ever.

Of course a lot of this is dependent on my knee righting itself. I am sure it will, but it is ever so frustrating to not be able to push through an injury.

As the season progresses I will update my blog with how things are going, and what I could/ should be doing better.

Running Goal 2010 - Update

2010-04-01T08:34:00.002-03:00

Well it was bound to happen. I had to make adjustments to my goals already. But my knee seems t be hurt. I am sure it is a mild IT band issue, but it has meant that I haven't done any serious running in close to 2 weeks now. This has now meant that the April 10th 5K Lung Run in Halifax is off the books. Sure I might be able to get ready in time for it, but instead I have decided to take the time off for proper rest. Instead I will be cheering on my wife who will be competing an looking for PB of her own, all while getting herself ready for the Bluenose 5K. I don't mind really as she has always been good about coming to many of my events over the last couple of years. And what can be more special for a spectator that watching a bike time trial.

I am hoping this rest period, with loads of stretching and massage therapy will get me ready for the events I have planned in May.

My Workshop

2010-03-29T21:12:00.000-03:00

I have recently switched positions at my place of employment. I still work for Parks Canada, but instead of conserving archaeological finds I have now switched to the conservation and restoration of furniture and wooden objects. It is a great new challenge professionally. In the course of my job I have to know not only standard wood workign practices of modern times but also all of the older styles of wood working as well. I see this as a great new chapter in my career. It should help keep my job from getting too stale. Anyway, I thought I would show a couple of pictures of my work shop.

Ian's 2010 Sporting Goals - Swimming

2010-03-27T11:16:00.002-03:00

Well the third part in my goals for the year blog entry series is finally up. I do seem very slow at posting these. Anyways, this post concerns my goals for swimming this year. Well, in the past i don't think I would ever have thought about swimming goals other than trying to get to the lake or ocean on hot days. This year is different. Over the winter I decided to take swimming lessons and actually learn how to swim properly. Well, those lessons are over now and thanks to Val at Centennial Pool I can now properly do a back crawl, front crawl, and a really awesome breast stroke. We won't talk about the butterfly, really we won't.

Of course I still have a lot of improvement to do, mostly in the area of endurance. I can't do much more than 6 laps of the 25 meter pool at a time without a rest. So to think that my goals for the year should be lofty, is well, silly.

So I will put this out there, by the end of the year I want to be able to swim 750 meters without stopping. Simple as that. yes, that will mean loads of practice, but it is essential for next years sporting goals. Wow, to think I am planning for a year from now.

Anyway, the final installment of the goals should be coming soon (I hope). That being MultiSports (ie Triathlon/Duathlon, where all of these other goals will come together into a great big messy crash.

Ian's 2010 Sporting Goals - Cycling

2010-03-12T19:33:00.004-04:00

Cycling as a stand alone sport was where I started when I first got into competitions. of course this was a only a few years back (maybe 6 now?). Anyway, it was a reason to justify buying a fancy (to me) bike. Anyway, due to reasons I won't get into, the world of bike races in Nova Scotia just aren't fun for me at the moment. So my goals for cycling this year are pretty simple.

I want to get as much riding as I can in. Now my 35 KMs of commuting each day sure make that easy to do. Some days it seems a chore, most days it is the best thing in the world. But it is still just a commute and not a real goal.

My goal is to get some good group rides in with some good friends. Short and hard rides, long and slow, doesn't matter (long and hard are good as well). This will include at least 3-4 Peggy's Cove loops (my favorite ride). This will also include at least 1 organized century ride. I think that this year it will be the Bridgewater Century if the timing works out well. this event is actually a slight elongated metric century it seems, but it should be hilly so that's fine by me.

There you have it. An easy one for me. No training necessary. Of course I will be training, as you just can't get that out of the blood. Plus cycling will form a major component in one of my other goals (multi-sports). But I'll write more about that later.

I hope to be riding with you any time now.

Ian's 2010 Sporting Goals - Running

2010-02-25T20:02:00.003-04:00

Well I never write this stuff down. I always sort of dream stuff up in my head that morphs and changes as the year goes on. But everything I read says, "start with goals," write them down and achieve them. So what the heck, I think I will write these things down and see what I can do to achieve them as the year goes on.

Rather than one really large and annoying to read super post, e I will make this into a multiple posts over the next little while and will start with my running goals for the coming year.

Last year was the first year I actually did any serious running. And I will be the first to admit that my motivation for training in running is rather low as I would so much rather jump on the bike and ride, or even sleep on the sofa. But with little training and a cheap pair of running shoes I managed some (to me) impressive results last year, starting with the Bluenose Marathon's 10K race. I had planned to run that beast in 50 minutes last year and managed 48 minutes having never run 10K in training (I know, I know). This year I have some training under my belt, an 11K training route and a much nicer pair of shoes. Not to mention I have already started training months ahead of last year. So I expect bigger and better things from me. So here we go.

Bluenose 10K. I need a top 100 finish (last year 165th) and a minimum finishing time of 45 minutes (last year 48:43). The ideal result will be a PB, which for me in the 10K is 43:40 (set in Beford on a cold, rainy autumn day). I have already signed up for this event.

I also look to better my 5K PB. I only ran one 5K race last year in Bedford on Bedford Days. I look to do this race again this year and beat my time of 19:30 (ish) and better my 5th place finish.

I want to run in at least 3 stand alone running events this year, more if my time allows. With the sporting season seeming so far away, I will plan on doing The Credit Union Atlantic Lung Run 5K in April. This moves the season up and gets me training and thinking about the season much earlier. And to keep my training and motivation in the world of running at a high, I will look to find events that are in summer and autumn.

Next post: Cycling

Swimming Update

2010-02-24T10:03:00.000-04:00

Well now I think I have been taking swimming lessons for 6 weeks now. the thing I have really learned is that swimming right isn't easy, especially when you are trying to make up for 30 some odd years of poor swimming. But I have been persevering and I think I am finally seeing all my hard work come out. My breast stroke and whip kick are dynamite, and my back crawl isn't too bad. But of course it is truly the front crawl that I am most interested in.

This stroke has been my nemesis. Mostly due to my avoidance of breathing while putting my face in and out of the water. But slowly and surely I have made progress. I can now do 2 lengths without stopping (so 50 meters) and I am sucking less pool water up my nose now, so that is great as well. I fully see myself actually being able to compete in a full triathlon this summer. My first goal being a Super Sprint distance, due to the swim portion being relatively short at 300-400 meters.

My next goal in triathlon / event training, is to make a list of this years goals. And actual list, written down somewhere, and not the ever changing version I usually do in my head. In fact I may even post it on the blog for all the none of you to read (ha ha).

Swimming

2010-01-18T19:58:00.001-04:00

So I have signed up for adult swim lessons. This was week 2. Now it isn’t that I can’t swim, but judging from how much I have learned in two 1/2 hour sessions, I must say that I surely didn’t know how to swim well.

My plan, this year, is to see if I can do a triathlon. I have run races, I have cycled races and I have done duathlons, but now a new challenge is upon me.

Hopefully my stroke and breathing (oh man the breathing) will improve enough that I will attempt a sprint triathlon. But that is a 750m swim and so far I haven’t come close to that distance. But at least there is a try a tri I can look at. A 400m swim might be just the kick I need to see where I am at. The 10K bike ride and 5K run certainly won’t pose a problem for me. We’ll see.

For those of you that can’t swim or swim poorly though, I highly suggest some lessons. Fairly cheap, and a great thing to do over a winter.

Last week front stroke. This week continued that and added back stroke. Neither stroke worthy yet, but soon, oh soon.

Found a Great New (to me) Band

2010-01-15T19:46:00.000-04:00

Okay so casually browsing through Youtube can sometimes turn up real gems. By accident I found a video for a band called Friendly Fires. The video in question is called Skeleton Boy and is truly a great and unique piece. Plus the song ain't too bad either. Great for a workout (I will be adding it to my running mix I think). Check these guys out.

Welcome to a New Year

2010-01-07T07:26:00.000-04:00

So 2010 has arrived and it may be the start of a new decade for some and the end for others (depends on whether year zero is counts I guess). Anyway, here in Nova Scotia we started out with a bang. That is snow, crazy temps and add in some rain as well. But now that it has that out of its system we have been fairly blessed with mild (near freezing) daily temps and little new snow. Good.

Of course all this new snow and wet roads mean that I still can't properly take out my new bike which I purchased from the good folks at Sport Wheels. It is just far too pretty to get dirty this early in its life. Instead I still ride my good trusty old commuter mountain bike. It rarely lets me down and generally when it does it is actually my fault.

The new year also brings about new changes at my work. While I was working solely on the conservation and restoration of Archaeological finds these past 10 years, I am now moving into the Parks Canada Furniture and Wooden Objects conservation and restoration lab. New and exciting things ahead for me.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season as well. I did in Colorado with my extended family. We even flew our little dog Newt down with us for vacation. And while she doesn't care much for cold and snow, she had a blast getting all sorts of attention from all sorts of new people.

Here's looking forward to more exciting things in 2010. I include in that the possibility of me doing a Triathlon this year. Swimming lessons are now paid for and start in a few days. More on that in the future.

Take care.

My Childhood Memories of Great TV

2009-11-06T17:59:00.001-04:00

Okay so I just got through watching the re-release of V - Visitors this past week. I remember that mini series well from the 80's. And as I watched the new version I hoped for one of those great things to happen, the new outshining the original. Or at least the new one being good enough to keep watching. But alas this is no remake of Battlestar Galactica. This seemed to be a much lower production value. And the choice of completely wooden actors didn't help. The only thing I can hope for is a return of Robert Englund as the "slow" V with a heart of gold. One can hope.

So far as I watch remakes of many shows and characters that I loved as a child I have been sadly depressed. I wish they would just come up with some new ideas, or at least hire a script writer that can mold that original concept into something better than it was (ala Battlestar).

I mean really, Transformers? That was a sad attempt to make things blow up. GI Joe? Why did I bother. And Astro Boy? Well I haven't seen it yet, but judging from how much I loved that cartoon as a kid I will probably avoid seeing this new version.

Perhaps I just watch too much TV. Perhaps my judgement was clouded as a kid. Regardless, at least when doing these remakes, please take a little time to create something fun and worth my time.

Riverport Duathlon a Success

2009-10-07T12:58:00.000-03:00

Well the Riverport Duathlon is done now. My racing is over for the year (I think). The result was pretty darn good.

The Day began all cold and dreary with a forecast of rain. Luckily the rain held off until the start of the race, which meant I didn't have to stand around getting cold before heading out. And the real bad weather held off until the bike portion of the race was started. I don't mind biking in the rain, I hate running in the rain.

Anyway, the race started well for me. I was next to my friend Mike. But I really wanted to get to the front early on and started to work my way past many of the other runners. My philosophy on racing is to go out really fast and hope that momentum carries you over the finish line.

Well I finished the first run strong and entered Transition 1 with a time of 16:58 for 4 KMs (a 4:14 kph avg pace). I quickly got into my bike shoes, helmet and grabbed my bike. As it was wet, running to the bike start line was tricky and of course as always I fumbled clipping into my peddals (I should work on that). Then off I went.

I was happy with my bike ride. I passed a few riders as well as a couple of cars. The rain started to really come down and my feet were soaked. My new aero setup was really comfortable and allowed me to stay in a tuck position for almost the whole 28KM lap. I entered tranisition zone 2 with a time of 48:21 (34.7 KPH). And as I had purchased a quick clip shoe system I was into my running shoes in record time. Off I went for the run.

And just like last year my legs immediately gave up. All that training went out the window and the cramps set in. I did my best and kept my pace as high as I could manage. It took me close to 3 of the 4 KMs to get the legs working again. By that time of course I had lost many spots to other runners, and my goal of a top 20 finish was dashed. But my other goal of a decent improvement over last years total time was still there. So I picked up the pace as best I could, I turned the bend for the last 100 meters or so and sprinted my butt off and managed to stop the clock at 1:27:50 to beat last years total time (on a sunny day at that) of 1:35 and change. My final run was 22:32 for 4 KM. Although that seems slow it is still so much faster than last years sub 26 minute run.

I know have something to strive for again in next years events. I have a years worth of data on my successes and failures for Duathlons and Running races. And next year I also hope to add in a triathlon or 2 as well, assuming I can learn to swim well enough.

Riverport Du Is Coming

2009-09-16T18:19:00.000-03:00

Okay, so I like the Du's (see earlier posts). For me the biggest of the season is coming up. All other events that I have participated in have lead to this one. The Riverport Duathlon, this October 4th. I have registered in advance (I think I was 3rd or 4th to do so) and have, for the past few weeks started training specifically for the demands that this event will place on me.

What makes this one so special compared to other things I have done this year (my first Century ride, my first running races, and even longer more grueling Du)? Well this is the first Duathlon that I have repeated. Therefore I have expectations for this event. Last year I finished 44th overall, 17th out of 20 in my age group. That was a great finish as I had never run that far in my life, let alone with a bike ride in the middle.

So this year I have to beat that. I have to place higher than 44th, as I have been training hard. In fact I want to see a top 20 finish overall. And I really want to get into the top half of my age group.

We'll see how training continues and I will report back. So far I have ramped up my distances to 2 k run, 20 k bike ride and 3 k run. This weekend I plan on upping that first run by a km and the last run by 4 k. I may even time myself this weekend to see how my times are coming along.

Crab Fight!!

2009-09-05T12:44:00.000-03:00

I went to do some SCUBA with Dave yesterday. It was like crab city down there. And this crew (in the bottom corner) was fighting for supremacy. I am sure it is a hard fought battle between 2 tough oponents, but when they are only 4 inches big or so, it is a very cute sight.

No interesting fish on this dive. A few small lobsters were seen though, but they are the biggest cowards of the sea.

Ian Finishes His First Real Century Ride

2009-08-17T08:58:00.000-03:00

So yesterday (Sunday the 16th of Aug) I rode my first real century ride. A proper 100 miles in one day event. Well in Canada of course that is 160KM's. I have ridden many metric centuries in the past which are 100KM's, but never the traditional style.

Anyway this was the Middleton Century Ride, in Middleton, Nova Scotia. They were celebrating their 100 years as a town. And what a great event. Rest/food stops each 25K for the first 100K then a brief water stop at the 130K mark before a final ride back to the beginning.

I rode originally with 2 friends from my riding team, the Spinachers. Mike and Fred decided to sign up for the metric century as the time needed to complete the whole ride was going to be too much. So at the 100K mark I waved goodbye and moved on solo for the next 30K. At the final water stop I met up with Dave who I had spoken with a few times in other legs of the ride and rode off with him. Then a large group of moderately fast riders came up, we joined in and off we went. A minor crash later and we managed to finish with a riding time of 6:08:35.

My final computer readings were for 164.31 KM at an average of 26.7 KM/H.

Most important is that today, though tired, I am not at all sore or stiff.

Ian discovers......

2009-08-13T06:41:00.000-03:00

So I am not always fast when it comes to web apps and useful tools. I am also not always the first to jump on the its so cool bandwagon. But often I do get there. Anyway I just picked up 3 useful things lately.

1. Chrome Web Browser from Google. Why another web browser? Well I use a lot of Google products (search, mail, calendar, blog, photos....) and this browser runs them all very well. Also it is super fast compared to the latest offering from Firefox. And I can move the tabs around on the top of the browser to reorganize things. Sure it is a bare bones look, the style just isn't there yet. But I suspect it will be soon. And I hope they get some sort of add blocking app for it as well. For that reason Firefox will stay on my computer.

2. Twitter. Okay so I do Facebook already, I don't own a smart phone (nor do I make many cell phone calls) and do people really care if I just went for a swim (see my 4th Twitter post). Well maybe I don't need Twitter, but if is growing in popularity, it is free, and I thought I should grab my user name of choice prior to it going away. And while I was at it I might as well have a few posts added for good looks. Will I keep up the Twittering (or Tweeting)? Maybe, but as they say, if a tree falls in the forest....

3. stuffwhitepeoplelike.com Yeah I know. Everyone else already knows about this site. Well I did too but just never went there. Finally did. Good for a chuckle. I do like satire (see: The Onion)and this site is full of it. But mostly I like reading some of the comments on this blog, as so many people don't seem to understand satire at all and take this a a truth giving site. Oh my.......

Second Running Race of the Season - Success

2009-06-29T23:20:00.000-03:00

Well I did the Bedford 5K in support of Cancer Research this past weekend. The day was overcast and a little foggy. But the course was fast and I impressed myself with a personal best of 19:06. I managed 7th place out of 225 people. My previous best 5 K was from a duathlon segment in which I managed 23 minutes. I must say that my running is coming a long way and I look forward to seeing how far I can take it. My main goal is still the duathlons and cycling, but running sure is a fun addition to my sports repertoire.

My wife also ran in the same race and she managed a personal best as well. She knocked 3 minutes off of her 5K time from the Bluenose Marathon event and came in at 32 minutes. A great result.

Third Duathlon of the Season Completed

2009-06-24T09:18:00.000-03:00

Well, my Duathlon season is almost over. With only 4 events to do (or is it Du?) I knew it would come and go quickly. But this last event was pretty nice. The turn out for the Du was small, only about 14 people or so in total but that was to be expected as the Triathlons are in swing now and that is where people seem to want to turn their attention. I guess Du's just aren't as sexy.

Anyway, I was happy with my result. 5th overall and first in my age class with a time of 1:15. The distances were 3.5K/20K/5K. It was a great test for me with running being so new. These short distances can be killer as the regulars can sprint these much better than I can. But I managed to keep as close as possoble on the first run and then went all out on the bike, which was great.

I have lots of room for improvement, but the final event isn't until Octobre, so that is fine. I have my new Aerobars on order and look forward to really getting my bike setup for these short distance sprints.

Next weekend I have a 5K running race in support of Lung Cancer Research and my wife will be joining me. I look forward to it.

Sun is Shining, Better Get Out and Train

2009-06-14T09:21:00.000-03:00

Well the second Duathlon was completed last week. I was happy with my performance overall but I seriously need to train and get faster if I want to compete for top honours in the future. I think I have to really work on my running if I want to have a shot at moving up. So I look outside today and see the sun shining and I know that I have to get a good training run in prior to next weekends Duathlon in Greenwood.

My friend Mike Milloy has decided to give a duathlon a try and is popping over this afternoon for a tarining session. I think he will do really well next weekend. But first we have to show him the fun of jumping off your bike at high speed and grabbing your running shoes and taking off on foot.

My ultimate goal this year is still to succeed in the October duathlon in Riverport, NS. that was my first race last year and I know what I need to do well there. A top 3 age group finish will let me know I am on my way to succuss in the future. The race will have over 100 competitors and will be fast. But I will be ready for it.

Well take care!

2009 Cyclesmith Duathlon

2009-06-04T06:54:00.000-03:00

Well the first Duathlon is over. What an event. The weather was great (warm, cool breeze, sun shinning), the turn out was great (over a hundred people in the overall standings), and the volunteers and course workers were super helpful.

I pushed through the first run, getting a personal best on a 5 KM run, then flew through the cycling section of the course (34KM), finishing with a cramped filled 6KM run at the end (I pushed through the cramps early and finished strong).

I didn't manage to beat 2 hours like I hoped to, but I got close with 2 hours 3 minutes. I ended 42 overall, 11/20 for my age group. Not a bad start. My cycling, oddly, was the part that let me down the most. I could only manage 30.7 KM/H over the course. I really need to get training on the bike more I guess, though my running is still not as great as it could be either (but getting better all the time).

Anyway, next event is this weekend. Hopefully I have enough recovery time, though this event is shorter which means I will be able to push even harder for a good result.

Ian Does a Little Gardening

2009-05-30T17:09:00.000-03:00

So I decided to plants a new little garden on the property. This one is beside the back deck. Its main purpose was to house a clematis plant which will hopefully cover the new trellis we installed on the deck last year. But since I was planting in this spot anyway, I thought I might take the time to make a proper garden in the space. So I built a nice wooden raised bed (or Victory Garden). This allowed me to add lots of great fresh soil for the plants to grow in. And since this is an area we don't look at much I thought I could plant some useful plants here which would serve us well over the summer months. To this end I added broccoli, thyme, dill and chives. No the experiment begins. Will these plants like this spot? Will they grow nice and big. If not, then next year I will try other plants. I suppose I could look at potentially something like a berry bush or rhubarb in this spot. Who knows.

Oh and the stain is of course incomplete at this point. The weather held up just long enough to put that much stain on the wood. Soon, I hope to at least get this whole side done, and all the spots where the clematis vine will grow.

Bluenose 10K Results Are In

2009-05-19T11:41:00.000-03:00

Well what a race. 1903 people registered to run the 10K race at the Bluenose Marathon. I started as close to the front as possible to avoid all the squished slow start that was to befall the other racers. In fact I was one of the first couple of people across the line.

I tried to pace myself for the long run as this was my first real race. So I took it in stride (no pun) when people were passing me. And even though it was wet and cool I always grabbed the water or Gatorade from the feeding stations. The only incident I had was when a racer jumped in front of me to grab some water. I had to push off of him to avoid a pile up. Odd as there was no one else around so he could have easily avoided me.

Anyway the race was great. I hurt most of the way but held in for a pace that was faster than I had been practicing. I hoped to get under 50 minutes and I did with a 48:43.1 and finished 165th overall (pace of 4:53 km/minute). 32/181 in my category (men aged 30-39).

All in all a great weekend at the event, starting with a trade show, pasta village, after race food and friends, plus meeting all sorts of interesting people. Anyone not having been before and who may even think they would like to try the 5K should definitely give it a go.

Oh and congrats to my wife who did her first major sporting event with the 5K run. She bested her projected goal and came in under 35 minutes!!! Plus she only started running less than a year ago. Look out next year for her!

It is almost time for the Bluenose Marathon

2009-05-12T09:04:00.000-03:00

Okay, so I am not actually running a marathon or even a half marathon. I am running a 10 KM race, but it is still part of the race day of the Bluenose in Halifax. I am really excited about this race.

Last weekend I did my final big training run of 8+km in 41 minutes. That should put me somewhere near my hopeful goal of 50 minutes or less for the 10 km run. And if that holds up then I might even get my other goal of a top 100 finish.

I will post about the weekend this coming Monday I hope. And hopefully will have good news.

Turns out this running thing can actually be fun.

Ian's Switch in Summertime Activities

2009-04-23T10:42:00.000-03:00

Okay, so for the past few years I have been all about racing my bike in the local road racing series through Bicycles Nova Scotia. Due to many factors this year I have decided to take on a new challenge. That being Duathlons. So for those that don't know that is a run - bike - run race. Normally hosted by the same people that do triathlons, but without the swimming (which I am horrible at). Anyway, I did one of these last year and fell in love with the sport and the organization that hosted the race ( I think there was an older post about that in the archives).

So that is my plan, along with maybe some running races as well (I did enter the 10K Bluenose Race this May in Halifax). I will keep you updated on results and my impressions of the sport as I go along. Here's hoping for a fun summer of run - bike - run for me.

Breeding Fish

2009-04-15T15:58:00.000-03:00

Well I bought some new Neon Dwarf Rainbow's last weekend (those being tropical by the way). 1 male and 1 female to ad to my already nice group of 1 male and 2 females.

I try never to put new fish right into my main tanks in case they have illness or parasites, so I set up a small quarantine tank in which I can watch them. Well it is a few days later, I come home from work and those little fish are getting very frisky. I notice some freshly laid eggs on various areas of my fish tank. So I guess they are healthy. But I will still wait to see if any parasites show up in that tank.

I am not too worried about the eggs hatching, the Rainbows are supposed to be very good at eating their own eggs, and I have no where else to put them at teh moment. Still it is nice to see the act of breeding in process. Adn who knows a few little guys might survive.

Last photo of Reno

2009-04-12T18:59:00.000-03:00

Just a quick last closeup of the tile. I have added the sealer and caulking in this picture. I was really impressed with the lack of shine from the sealer and the fact that the caulking matched the grout so well.

Kitchen Reno Project Done

2009-04-12T09:11:00.001-03:00

So there it is. I have waited as per all directions and now I have
been able to get the caulking done on my kitech tile back splash. I
bought the crazy expensive (oh alright $9) caulk that matches the
grout I used for the tiles. I didn't think it would be that close of a
colour and texture match but low and behold, it did. They even add a
grit to the caulk so the texture is right. I was impressed.

So now that the tiles are done and ready for use it is time to look
at more home projects to complete. At this point we still have our
ideas for built in's in the living room, plus we have our outdoor
gardening to think about.

--
Ian Loughead

Phase 3 of the Kitchen Project Complete.

2009-04-09T09:41:00.000-03:00

Okay so no photos this time. Nothing really to see in fact. I sealed the grout last night. At first I assumed it would darken things slightly, but in the end the colour reverted back to light once dry. That is nice. All that is left is to caulk around the edges and I am really looking forward to that. I will wait until tomorrow so that I can di things in the light of day and not at night, when I am generally sleepier.

The worst part about the sealing process? Cracking my head on the sharp corner of the range hood. Ahhhh. And I did it right at the start, so I had to just slap a bandage on my head and carry on.

I will now have to start thinkg of new projects for the house.

Kitchen Reno Phase 2 - Grout

2009-04-05T14:00:00.000-03:00

So the grout is in. I am very glad that I don't have to grout walls often. Ouch. My arms and hands are sore and it was just a tiny area. Anyway, it is done and now just needs to dry before I caulk the edges. And after 3 days I can seal it. Then the project will be totally complete.

Kitchen Reno Project Phase 1

2009-04-04T17:30:00.000-03:00

So I started the day with no tiles on the wall behind my stove. Now I have tiles. This was my first attempt and I must say I like the results so far. Now i have to wait 24 hours until I can add the grout. Then 3 days before I can seal the grout and tiles. Until then the kitchen is on simple food prep only. No splashy food mess for now.

I would like to thank my friend Rick for loaning me the tools to do this project adn to the guy at Home Depot who helped us pick out our products.

Phase 2 pics to follow. Check out the complete set of photos in my web album.

Home Reno Time

2009-04-03T08:25:00.000-03:00

Well it is finally time to start looking at some of those little projects around the house. I just installed hooks on all the bathroom doors which I am proud of, but the big test should be this weekend. Time for some tiling.

This will be my first tiling project, though it will be a small one. I am going to be tiling the back splash / wall behind the stove. Enough uncleanable splatters on the wall I say. And time to add a littel character to that area.

We decided on 2x2 tiles on a sheet. Ceramic with a faux stone look, which should go with the flooring really well I think. Only 10 sheets of tiles will be needed so hopefully it should be too hard to accomplish, and there are only a few cuts to make, which is also great.

I will post some pictures of the process as I get it done.

Interesterified fat? The New Trans Fat

2009-03-28T16:51:00.000-03:00

Man, those food companies have figured out how to avoid the bad label of trans fats and the use of hydrogenated oils. Now they have Interesterified fat. I just noticed it on my box of Trans Fat free crackers.

That is a link to a story about it all. And a quick search of the web shows lots of hits and lots of studies.

I have already been forced to make my own bread to feel somewhat good about eating it. Do I have to make my own crackers now?

This new fat will only show up in the nutrition section of your processed food as Saturated fat.

And what is with the name. At least Trans Fat was easy to pronounce.

Back from the Sun, Back to Winter.

2009-03-23T15:49:00.000-03:00

Oklay so my wife and I just got back from the Dominican Republic. Oh how Imiss the warmth and sunshine. Today they are calling for another winter storm in Halifax. Seriously, Spring has officially arrived and I have to put up with 10-20 cm's of snow again. I was so happy to see grass, even though it was brown. The tropics had me spoiled.

I have posted some pictures from the trip in my web album. Check them out.

I must say though, that the thing I miss the most about the trip is the nice man that made me poached eggs each morning. I never liked poached eggs a whole lot. I like them a lot when someone else makes them for me. The free booze was okay as well, but fresh eggs for me was a hit. Oh and fresh doughnuts with sugar. Darn, now I am hungry.

Bluenose Marathon

2009-03-02T08:38:00.000-04:00

So my wife and I decided to throw our hats in the ring and join up for the Bluenose Marathon. It is a marathon help each year in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Now we didn't actually choose to run the marathon proper as we are both very new to the running game. Instead she chose to run the 5K and I chose to run the 10K. This will be very fun I hope. I looked at last years entrants for the 10K and there were over 1500 people running that event.

The most I have ever run in a day, at this point, is 8K which was broken into 2 sections of 4K for a duathlon (there was a bike ride in the middle portion). So 10K will be a good challenge for me and really give me something to train for.

Now the event isn't until May 15-17, but entering now saved us $60, so it was time to take the plunge and join up.

I guess that training starts today for me!!

PETA? Sea Kittens? Crazy?

2009-01-19T09:26:00.000-04:00

Okay, so now PETA wants to re brand fish as Sea-Kittens (http://www.peta.org/sea_kittens/). Their hope is that if people think that fish are kittens they won't eat them. Really? Are they truly that mad? Have any of you tried to hug a fish? I have, it isn't fun. And I must say that I like fish. I have very nice tropical fish tanks at home (which I am sure PETA hates as well). But they still aren't fun to hug and play with like real kittens.

And if you do go to the website you will notice it is focused at children. This is possibly the part of PETA I hate the most. They aim a lot of stuff at kids without parents permission.

I think in the end they should approach this anti-fish eating campaign a different way. When I was young I didn't eat fish due to its icky factor. Fish were slimy and gross. Go with that PETA.

But at least PETA lets you design and download your very own sea-kitten. Awsome:

Create Your Own Sea Kitten at peta.org!

New Year, Same Bad Weather

2009-01-14T08:14:00.001-04:00

Wow, how can the weather be this bad in Halifax. I am not sure how often I have seen the sun these past few months, let alone how often I have been able to keep dry. It is either rainy, snowy or foggy. Often I feel like we must live in a mountain or something.

Cold I can deal with, I can dress properly for that. But cold and wet. Yuck.

Yesterday my bike drivetrain froze up. Too much water in the rear freewheel. There is nothing quite as nice as peddling on your bike and not going forward. In the end I had to go home and take it all aprt to clean thinsg up. Lots of good grease later and I am back and riding again. Though not today as it is cold and rainy and they tell us that it will freeze over and be a sheet of ice going home. Ahhh.

Gas Prices Drop !!

2008-10-31T09:17:00.001-03:00

Well I'll be. I never thought I would see it again but gas in Nova Scotia has finally dropped below $1 a liter. Wow. Now as a cyclist I don't use a whole lot of gas driving my car, but I do use some. So seeing the price drop is great in my eyes.

Of course it is simply a reaction to the falling economy, which isn't a good thing. But it could be worse. The economy could be down and the price of gas could be up!

Movember - Important Info here folks

2008-10-22T11:29:00.000-03:00

What is Movember? Read about it in detail here . Simply though it is a fund raiser for Prostate Cancer in which participants pledge to grow a moustache throughout the month of November and you pledge to give them support and hopefully a donation.

I donated to my friend Mike Milloy . By clicking on his name you can also donate to this worthy cause. Or maybe you already know someone who is seeking donations, or maybe you want to grow a mom as well!

Duathlon

2008-10-20T14:48:00.000-03:00

Well I completed my first ever Duathlon. This took place in Riverport, Nova Scotia. This course was familiar to me as it is where I race my bike each year. For this race though I had to run 4km, ride my bike 28 kms and finally do another 4 km run. Running isn't my strength, in fact I just started doing it seriously this summer. Still I managed a personal best time int he first 4k, then did a great 28k tima trial on my bike with an avg speed of 33km/hr followed with a very slow but steady final 4k. I was spent for sure but managed to place 45th out of 84 people entered which was a great intro I think. I look forward to doing another one in the future.

Also I must say wow to the Triathlon Nova Scotia people who put on the event. Well organized, plenty of help, computerized time tracking, plenty of food and water and all went at schedualed times. That meant we were done, had lunch and awards were handed out all before noon.

My total time of 1:35 is now my base for future events.