I joined Critical Speed for Tri Training this year. It's a smaller group which is nice because you get more individual attention. The club does things outside of swim,bike and run such as snowshoeing. Last month we went to Chster Lake.
Come spring, I'll be better prepared for the bike and T2. Thursdays are 2 hour rides whereas last year's longest ride was 90 mins. These sessions include vertical jumps, squats, lunges, push ups and core. They're great leg busters which make the last hour of biking twice as hard.
Track sessions are similar. On Tuesday we Ran 200m FAST, 90 sec jog, 800m at 10km race pace, 2 minute rest. Repeat that 2x, then burpees, push ups, pull ups, side leg lifts, supermans, push ups, crunches, v-sits 8x each. Repeat the entire set 3 times!
I felt like crap Because i ate poorly that day. The first few sets felt horible but had decent times of 3:05, 3:10, then I fell off the pace 3:15, 3:20, 3:25, and last set whipped out a 2:58. Average pace of 4:03min/km.
Kona Ironman is on TV this weekend (Saturday)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxvEoaJc-OM&feature=player_embedded
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Dream Home
I've been looking at condos in Calgary and came across the Niklas Group.
I wandered their website and came across some townhomes. I absolutely love this one:
http://www.niklasgroup.com/projects/homes/main25/gallery99.htm
click the spec sheet to see the layout of the 3 floors.
2700 sq feet,
on the entrance level I'd set up my bike+trainer and maybe get an endless pool to go with my treadmill for speed sets.
The kitchen looks gigantic! with tons of counter space, lots of cabinets and the island with double sink is perfect.
The ensuite 'spa' looks like it's lit naturally and a patio as big as the master bedroom.
I wonder how much it is........
I wandered their website and came across some townhomes. I absolutely love this one:
http://www.niklasgroup.com/projects/homes/main25/gallery99.htm
click the spec sheet to see the layout of the 3 floors.
2700 sq feet,
on the entrance level I'd set up my bike+trainer and maybe get an endless pool to go with my treadmill for speed sets.
The kitchen looks gigantic! with tons of counter space, lots of cabinets and the island with double sink is perfect.
The ensuite 'spa' looks like it's lit naturally and a patio as big as the master bedroom.
I wonder how much it is........
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Break Time
After the Victoria Marathon I did NOTHING for 3 weeks. The most I did was a 25 minute stationary bike ride and 5 mins on the tready.
Last week I ran about 8km with Jane, and then 10km fundraiser for Doctors without borders. I tried pacing a co-worker for 52mins but we were 3 minutes slow thanks to the cold (both temperature and sickness).
In the 3 weeks, I spent 2 of them at work. It was nice to catch up on sleep instead of running till 10pm after work.
I spent my week at home cooking. In elementary I remember watching Cin Bons being made at Cinnabon at Market Mall. The next day i tried to make them myself. They turned out okay, probably a little overbaked cuz i was scared of eating raw dough.
Point being, I've always liked to cook and eat!
Something about Vancouver inspired me to get back into cooking. It might have been walking through Granville island seeing all the fresh ingredients, or maybe it was watching the Barista Competition and seeing how TECHNICAL it was. It inspired me to reach for perfection.
That week I made my own chicken stock, Scallop and pea risotto, Thai Chicken, I rolled my own pasta and made ricotta/spinach ravioli, Duck breast salad, Seared Ahi Tuna.
Work has been great too. It's been below 0 Celcius for a few weeks now. My schedule is finally set (I was switched to the opposite shift) so it's been easier to get on a roll. I always know when I'm 5 days into a shift because that's when my left eye starts twitching.
Last interesting fact..I randomnly popped onto a dating site (no i didn't sign up), and it threw out the stat that 43% of people will GOOGLE their new date!
If you google "Allan Tam" you get:
-some other allan tam's facebook
-wikipedia site with alan tam, the old, but famous hong kong singer,movie star.
-allanmtam twitter, that one's mine
If you google "Allan Tam Calgary" then all the hits on the first page are mine:
-5 sites to do with race results
-2 sites with comments that I've made on other ppl's sites
-2 are from this blog.
Cool
Last week I ran about 8km with Jane, and then 10km fundraiser for Doctors without borders. I tried pacing a co-worker for 52mins but we were 3 minutes slow thanks to the cold (both temperature and sickness).
In the 3 weeks, I spent 2 of them at work. It was nice to catch up on sleep instead of running till 10pm after work.
I spent my week at home cooking. In elementary I remember watching Cin Bons being made at Cinnabon at Market Mall. The next day i tried to make them myself. They turned out okay, probably a little overbaked cuz i was scared of eating raw dough.
Point being, I've always liked to cook and eat!
Something about Vancouver inspired me to get back into cooking. It might have been walking through Granville island seeing all the fresh ingredients, or maybe it was watching the Barista Competition and seeing how TECHNICAL it was. It inspired me to reach for perfection.
That week I made my own chicken stock, Scallop and pea risotto, Thai Chicken, I rolled my own pasta and made ricotta/spinach ravioli, Duck breast salad, Seared Ahi Tuna.
Work has been great too. It's been below 0 Celcius for a few weeks now. My schedule is finally set (I was switched to the opposite shift) so it's been easier to get on a roll. I always know when I'm 5 days into a shift because that's when my left eye starts twitching.
Last interesting fact..I randomnly popped onto a dating site (no i didn't sign up), and it threw out the stat that 43% of people will GOOGLE their new date!
If you google "Allan Tam" you get:
-some other allan tam's facebook
-wikipedia site with alan tam, the old, but famous hong kong singer,movie star.
-allanmtam twitter, that one's mine
If you google "Allan Tam Calgary" then all the hits on the first page are mine:
-5 sites to do with race results
-2 sites with comments that I've made on other ppl's sites
-2 are from this blog.
Cool
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Victoria Marathon
The fact that I made the start line is a story in itself.....there was a fire on one of the ferries Friday evening, RIGHT BEFORE A LONG WEEKEND!
That ferry was taken out of service making it SUPER busy. You couldn't drive onto the ferry without a reservation...and on Saturday the ferries were booked up till 5pm (on paper), But since a ferry was out of service, everyone was bumped back 2 or 3 hours.
Luckily I was travelling as a foot passenger. I was able to show up 10 minutes before sailing and walk on with no wait.
The ferry drops you off at Swartz Bay which is 30 minute drive from downtown. I jumped on a shuttle bus which takes you straight to downtown. The bus depot is next door to the convention center where package pick-up was.
The organizers were understanding so I was able to get 7 race packages without showing ID, or e-mail confirmations :) But I had to lug it all around for a few hours.
They say to never try anything new the day before a race........I had baked acorn with cream and cheese baked on top....with rice.....Randomest (but seasonal!) meal but it had the carbs and Calcium that I was looking for.
I cheaped out and stayed at a hostel 4 blocks away from the start line instead of a hotel with some friends. When I got back to the hostel I realized that I left my shoe liners at home! the last time I raced was the calgary corporate challenge 10km (Just over 40 mins! darn!) where it rained! I had pulled them out to let them dry. BOO So i took my 3 year old shoes which happened to be saucony as well and trimmed them a little to fit the shoe.
Race day: I ran a +12 min split comparing the 2nd half to the 1st half. It's not the result I was looking for and showed that I started out too fast again.
What I did was run at 160 bpm. In Calgary usually that's a 5min/km pace..but since it was at sea level i was running 4:30min/km!! What was limiting my run was my CALVES which felt like they were gonna cramp at 20km! actually within the first km my left foot hurt already. The ball of the foot on the big toe was hurting me all week.
So at the half mark I slowed down a little...but after 2 km i felt great and picked it back up again. This was probably my mistake..I should have kept it easy from 21-30km because the last 10km was HELL! I knew i was slowing down, so I pmped my arms to force the legs to move.
I didn't stop for water in the last 8 km and stopped taking walk breaks....it was the only way to 'slow the bleeding' of time.
at 1/2 I was on pace for 3:20:00
at 30km I was on pace for 3:23
and it kinda sucked doing the math in my head as i realized that I might go over 3:30!
3:28:45 is great though! I'm happy I didn't cramp. but it's 82 seconds slower than my first marathon.
I ate an Ahi Tuna Burger right after. and lots of water
I stayed at my friends hotel that night. We spend an hour with our legs up against the wall :) haha.
3 of us had run, while 1 didn't because of calf injury, so we're all limping along. She took one of our medals to wear as we walked along the streets. At cross walks she did high knees and butt kicks making us look like wimps! hahaha it was hilarious!
We ate mexican food that night....walked around a bit but called it quits early.
I tried to catch the 3pm ferry on monday but it was full, and 4pm was canceled. I ended up getting home at 8:30. I called my parents and they were all having thanksgiving dinner.....we NEVER eat turkey at thanksgiving!
The rest of Vancouver was awesome though! I ate like a PIG. dim sum, sushi, indian, shanghai chinese food.
After the race was the Canadian Batista competition. Mike and Ben from Phil and Sebastein's were competing. It was nice to see an intense competition that's incredibly different than running. They have to schmooze the judges along with all the technical details that go into making coffee
With all my hobbies, I had to deceide my identity before packing (Weight Issues!) I chose to be a Runner and Food Critic over Photographer. So I have only a few photos from the Grouse Grind which Clem Ag Mark and I did in 60 mins.
That ferry was taken out of service making it SUPER busy. You couldn't drive onto the ferry without a reservation...and on Saturday the ferries were booked up till 5pm (on paper), But since a ferry was out of service, everyone was bumped back 2 or 3 hours.
Luckily I was travelling as a foot passenger. I was able to show up 10 minutes before sailing and walk on with no wait.
The ferry drops you off at Swartz Bay which is 30 minute drive from downtown. I jumped on a shuttle bus which takes you straight to downtown. The bus depot is next door to the convention center where package pick-up was.
The organizers were understanding so I was able to get 7 race packages without showing ID, or e-mail confirmations :) But I had to lug it all around for a few hours.
They say to never try anything new the day before a race........I had baked acorn with cream and cheese baked on top....with rice.....Randomest (but seasonal!) meal but it had the carbs and Calcium that I was looking for.
I cheaped out and stayed at a hostel 4 blocks away from the start line instead of a hotel with some friends. When I got back to the hostel I realized that I left my shoe liners at home! the last time I raced was the calgary corporate challenge 10km (Just over 40 mins! darn!) where it rained! I had pulled them out to let them dry. BOO So i took my 3 year old shoes which happened to be saucony as well and trimmed them a little to fit the shoe.
Race day: I ran a +12 min split comparing the 2nd half to the 1st half. It's not the result I was looking for and showed that I started out too fast again.
What I did was run at 160 bpm. In Calgary usually that's a 5min/km pace..but since it was at sea level i was running 4:30min/km!! What was limiting my run was my CALVES which felt like they were gonna cramp at 20km! actually within the first km my left foot hurt already. The ball of the foot on the big toe was hurting me all week.
So at the half mark I slowed down a little...but after 2 km i felt great and picked it back up again. This was probably my mistake..I should have kept it easy from 21-30km because the last 10km was HELL! I knew i was slowing down, so I pmped my arms to force the legs to move.
I didn't stop for water in the last 8 km and stopped taking walk breaks....it was the only way to 'slow the bleeding' of time.
at 1/2 I was on pace for 3:20:00
at 30km I was on pace for 3:23
and it kinda sucked doing the math in my head as i realized that I might go over 3:30!
3:28:45 is great though! I'm happy I didn't cramp. but it's 82 seconds slower than my first marathon.
I ate an Ahi Tuna Burger right after. and lots of water
I stayed at my friends hotel that night. We spend an hour with our legs up against the wall :) haha.
3 of us had run, while 1 didn't because of calf injury, so we're all limping along. She took one of our medals to wear as we walked along the streets. At cross walks she did high knees and butt kicks making us look like wimps! hahaha it was hilarious!
We ate mexican food that night....walked around a bit but called it quits early.
I tried to catch the 3pm ferry on monday but it was full, and 4pm was canceled. I ended up getting home at 8:30. I called my parents and they were all having thanksgiving dinner.....we NEVER eat turkey at thanksgiving!
The rest of Vancouver was awesome though! I ate like a PIG. dim sum, sushi, indian, shanghai chinese food.
After the race was the Canadian Batista competition. Mike and Ben from Phil and Sebastein's were competing. It was nice to see an intense competition that's incredibly different than running. They have to schmooze the judges along with all the technical details that go into making coffee
With all my hobbies, I had to deceide my identity before packing (Weight Issues!) I chose to be a Runner and Food Critic over Photographer. So I have only a few photos from the Grouse Grind which Clem Ag Mark and I did in 60 mins.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Vancouver - Prepping for RVM
I've been blessed with an amazing job.
I work shift work at Firebag, one of Suncor Energy's operating facilities. I work 7 days in a row @ 12 hours per day. Each paycheque is therefore 80 hours.
The upside is that I get 7 days OFF leaving me plenty of time to travel.
This week I've been in Vancouver thanks to a seat sale from Air Canada. So far my time has been spent eating sushi, dim sum, climbing the Grouse Mountain and enjoying the 18 degree weather. MUCH nicer than -5 and SNOW in Calgary!
The timing of this trip worked out perfectly since I'm running the Royal Victoria Marathon October 11, 2009. I signed up for this race back in June. I figured that completing 2 Half Ironmans would be a good 'base' so as long as I got some Long Runs in September, I might be able to complete the Marathon.
Long Runs consisted of a 2.5, 3.0 and 3.2 hours. All were grueling and left me questioning my readiness for the marathon. The highlight of my speed workouts included a 10x1 mile repeats with 2 mins rest at a 6:45 min/mile pace!
I've only completed 1 marathon which was Vancouver 2008. I hobbled across the finish line since my hamstrings were cramped thanks to running the first 32 km at speed which wasn't supported by my training. I was too serious and too obsessed with qualifying for Boston. This time it's a little different. My approach will be to run the first 32 km at a set heart rate. From there, maintaining the Heart Rate will be an achievement in itself, but to bump it up another 10 bpm would leave me with an amazing time. It's my muscles that will limit me, more than my cardio.
I work shift work at Firebag, one of Suncor Energy's operating facilities. I work 7 days in a row @ 12 hours per day. Each paycheque is therefore 80 hours.
The upside is that I get 7 days OFF leaving me plenty of time to travel.
This week I've been in Vancouver thanks to a seat sale from Air Canada. So far my time has been spent eating sushi, dim sum, climbing the Grouse Mountain and enjoying the 18 degree weather. MUCH nicer than -5 and SNOW in Calgary!
The timing of this trip worked out perfectly since I'm running the Royal Victoria Marathon October 11, 2009. I signed up for this race back in June. I figured that completing 2 Half Ironmans would be a good 'base' so as long as I got some Long Runs in September, I might be able to complete the Marathon.
Long Runs consisted of a 2.5, 3.0 and 3.2 hours. All were grueling and left me questioning my readiness for the marathon. The highlight of my speed workouts included a 10x1 mile repeats with 2 mins rest at a 6:45 min/mile pace!
I've only completed 1 marathon which was Vancouver 2008. I hobbled across the finish line since my hamstrings were cramped thanks to running the first 32 km at speed which wasn't supported by my training. I was too serious and too obsessed with qualifying for Boston. This time it's a little different. My approach will be to run the first 32 km at a set heart rate. From there, maintaining the Heart Rate will be an achievement in itself, but to bump it up another 10 bpm would leave me with an amazing time. It's my muscles that will limit me, more than my cardio.
Overdue Philippines 70.3 Update
I planned on traveling through hong kong and singapore in November, but was moved up to August because of Cobra Ironman 70.3.
Before boarding the plane in Manila, volunteers tagged our bikes and helped us with the check in procedure. after the short 1 hour flight to Naga, we were greeted by a BAND and DANCERS! This first impression was only a sign of things to come. Once entering the airport, I was greeted with a Pili Nut Necklace which was probably hand made by a volunteer. I handed my baggage tag to a volunteer who helped to locate my bike, and load it onto the hotel shuttle bus for me.
The volunteers gave SO MUCH of their time to make this event a success. Most Triathlons in north america have volunteer positions for a few hours at most and struggle to fill all the positions. There were Philipino volunteers working from 7am to 10pm for 5 days straight! I was unable to stay at the Camsur Watersport Complex where the majority of the athletes stayed. In a way it was a blessing since I got a chance to walk around Naga and experience the Philippino culture first hand. I found a local bakery which i visited every day. There were no descriptions as to what was inside the buns...so each day I tried something new. The girls behind the counter were amazed at the Philippino looking, english speaking Chinese guy.
There were 400 racers, which was the largest race every held in the Philippines! (update the 2010 race doubled in entries which is a true testament to how great this race is!) There was so much excitement leading up to this race and the organizers did an amazing job of promoting this event. With registration, we got a carbo load dinner and awards dinner.....which put this race heads and shoulders above IM Calgary. The swag also included 4 t-shirts, several re-usable bags and towel. Being a smaller race, we were able to interact with the pros. They were all such normal, nice people!
The night before the race I had a horrible fever. I didn't sleep well and was worried that I'd have to drop out of the race. I think the fever was from jumping into the AC after sweating hard in the 34 degree weather (with high humidity). I popped some tylenol race morning and seemed to be okay.
Swim felt great, I was worried since it was a non-wetsuit swim (warm 30 degree water), and was fresh water. Luckily I survived the swim and was able to draft off others. Usually I just go my own pace, and work on my own, so my tactics are getting better.
Time was 47:35 which is slower than Calgary, but considering the non-wetsuit swim, I was quite proud of it.
Bike was super super Flat which should have been an advantage for me since the Philipinnos thought it was 'hilly'. However, being off the bike for 2 weeks left my legs lazy. the first half felt okay, but I had no energy for the way back. The streets were LINED with kids, teenagers, and adults from local villages. They liked to chant "ironman ironman go go go!". It was quite adorable and helped to keep me going, but still was the most difficult ride to date. I kept telling myself that I would ROCK the run and that by going slower on the bike I'd have more energy. Time was 3:12:00 which I'm not happy with.
Transition to the Run was okay, I started slow and controlled but the 37 degree heat eventually got to me. The aid stations, and villagers dumping water on me helped, but I still walked every km (every aid staiton). I did not ROCK the run like I planned. Final time was 2:26:00...but this time includes T2...and maybe T1. I wasn't happy with this either....since I never run at a 6:56 min/km pace. It's almost embarassing to say that I"m a runner.
All in all, it was an amazing experience. My only regret is that I didn't get to SEE more of the Philippines. In a country made of 7000 islands, I didn't see the Ocean up close, in the form of scuba diving, or being on a beach. There are many natural beauties, such as volcanoes, chocolate hills (that's right!) and coral reefs.
Before boarding the plane in Manila, volunteers tagged our bikes and helped us with the check in procedure. after the short 1 hour flight to Naga, we were greeted by a BAND and DANCERS! This first impression was only a sign of things to come. Once entering the airport, I was greeted with a Pili Nut Necklace which was probably hand made by a volunteer. I handed my baggage tag to a volunteer who helped to locate my bike, and load it onto the hotel shuttle bus for me.
The volunteers gave SO MUCH of their time to make this event a success. Most Triathlons in north america have volunteer positions for a few hours at most and struggle to fill all the positions. There were Philipino volunteers working from 7am to 10pm for 5 days straight! I was unable to stay at the Camsur Watersport Complex where the majority of the athletes stayed. In a way it was a blessing since I got a chance to walk around Naga and experience the Philippino culture first hand. I found a local bakery which i visited every day. There were no descriptions as to what was inside the buns...so each day I tried something new. The girls behind the counter were amazed at the Philippino looking, english speaking Chinese guy.
There were 400 racers, which was the largest race every held in the Philippines! (update the 2010 race doubled in entries which is a true testament to how great this race is!) There was so much excitement leading up to this race and the organizers did an amazing job of promoting this event. With registration, we got a carbo load dinner and awards dinner.....which put this race heads and shoulders above IM Calgary. The swag also included 4 t-shirts, several re-usable bags and towel. Being a smaller race, we were able to interact with the pros. They were all such normal, nice people!
The night before the race I had a horrible fever. I didn't sleep well and was worried that I'd have to drop out of the race. I think the fever was from jumping into the AC after sweating hard in the 34 degree weather (with high humidity). I popped some tylenol race morning and seemed to be okay.
Swim felt great, I was worried since it was a non-wetsuit swim (warm 30 degree water), and was fresh water. Luckily I survived the swim and was able to draft off others. Usually I just go my own pace, and work on my own, so my tactics are getting better.
Time was 47:35 which is slower than Calgary, but considering the non-wetsuit swim, I was quite proud of it.
Bike was super super Flat which should have been an advantage for me since the Philipinnos thought it was 'hilly'. However, being off the bike for 2 weeks left my legs lazy. the first half felt okay, but I had no energy for the way back. The streets were LINED with kids, teenagers, and adults from local villages. They liked to chant "ironman ironman go go go!". It was quite adorable and helped to keep me going, but still was the most difficult ride to date. I kept telling myself that I would ROCK the run and that by going slower on the bike I'd have more energy. Time was 3:12:00 which I'm not happy with.
Transition to the Run was okay, I started slow and controlled but the 37 degree heat eventually got to me. The aid stations, and villagers dumping water on me helped, but I still walked every km (every aid staiton). I did not ROCK the run like I planned. Final time was 2:26:00...but this time includes T2...and maybe T1. I wasn't happy with this either....since I never run at a 6:56 min/km pace. It's almost embarassing to say that I"m a runner.
All in all, it was an amazing experience. My only regret is that I didn't get to SEE more of the Philippines. In a country made of 7000 islands, I didn't see the Ocean up close, in the form of scuba diving, or being on a beach. There are many natural beauties, such as volcanoes, chocolate hills (that's right!) and coral reefs.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Ironman Calgary 70.3
So first things first: Thanks to all the volunteers at the race who gave up some of their long weekend to make athlete packages, set up transitions, strip wetsuits and the list goes on. Another big thank you to all the family and friends of all athletes who showed up in the blazing HEAT to cheer on the athletes. My entire family and several friends came out to watch the run portion which mean alot to me since it was my first Ironman 70.3 race!
I just checked the donations webpage and in total, our Suncor Triathlon team raised $4876.01 which will be matched by the Suncor Energy Foundation. A few non-Suncor athletes joined in raising money so in total we've raised $10 452.02!!!!!!!!!! Thank you to all my co-workers and friends who generously donated.
Now for the race summary starting with some stats:
Total time 6:02:13
1900m swim 45:13
Transition 5:36
94km bike 2:59:19
Transition2 1:40
21.1km run 2:10:26
The entire year I heard about how cold Ghost Lake would be but it was pretty much perfect! I didn't even need the thermal cap and there was no need to double cap. I started near the center of the pack which was a mistake since I got passed by a ton of people. One person kicked me in the face. Luckily they missed my nose and teeth. All I had to do was tread water for a bit as I drained the water and repositioned the goggles. I settled into my pace pretty quickly. I had troubles swimming straight on the way BACK since there was a good 600m between the two buoys. At one point I looked up and saw the kayak right in front of me, the girl pointed to the left which was the direction that I SHOULD have been travelling. Many people said their swim times were about 3 minutes long....but i'm stil happy with finishing a 1.9km swim! I had many doubts throughout the year and honestly didn't believe I could swim the entire distance. Next up is the Philippines which will be a NON-wetsuit swim which will be the REAL test to my swimming abilities.
I forgot to pack a towel, so I could get all the grass/dirt off my feet before putting socks and shoes on. It felt like a smooth transition.
I executed the bike portion as I had planned. the first 20 minutes was easy spinning until the bottom of the Grand Valley Hill. I kept the heart rate under control and also began eating and drinking fluids. The hard work on the hills (golden triangle and sylvan camp) paid off as I passed quite a few people. I looked back to the heart rate data and the only time i went above my Ceiling was coming DOWN horse creek road! I guess the fresh pavement and downhill got to my head and I hammered a little too hard.
Highway 22 Hill went really well. Honestly it was a blur and I can't remember the details. I do remember cars lined up on the right side since we had a left turn onto springbank road. As I passed one cyclist, he looked over at me. At that moment, his rear tire popped. I wonder if he thought it was my fault for making him move over to the right.....who knows.
I started to feel a little tired after the 2nd aid station and a bit of a cramp on the left quad. It wasn't because of dehydration since I had to pee a couple times. It was possibly because of electrolytes since I dropped my NUUN drink in the first 20km of the bike.
The first 10km of the run felt great and I thought I was on pace for my 1:45 half marathon. However once I was in Weasel head, I knew I would have to slow down. I felt a cramp coming in the back of my knee. Once again i'm not sure the reason why. I wasn't overly hot, was drinking ALOT. My suspects include lack of Calcium, bad positioning on the bike, not wearing compression shorts...
I saw my support crew at the 16km mark which helped get through that km. but 17-21.1 included ALOT of walking. I didn't know how i'd feel crossing the line...I wasn't super emotional, just tired. It's funny because I was more emotional on the bike, thinking about the finish than I was at the ACTUAL finish.
Thanks to Ken and Celine for the awesome photos!!
I just checked the donations webpage and in total, our Suncor Triathlon team raised $4876.01 which will be matched by the Suncor Energy Foundation. A few non-Suncor athletes joined in raising money so in total we've raised $10 452.02!!!!!!!!!! Thank you to all my co-workers and friends who generously donated.
Now for the race summary starting with some stats:
Total time 6:02:13
1900m swim 45:13
Transition 5:36
94km bike 2:59:19
Transition2 1:40
21.1km run 2:10:26
The entire year I heard about how cold Ghost Lake would be but it was pretty much perfect! I didn't even need the thermal cap and there was no need to double cap. I started near the center of the pack which was a mistake since I got passed by a ton of people. One person kicked me in the face. Luckily they missed my nose and teeth. All I had to do was tread water for a bit as I drained the water and repositioned the goggles. I settled into my pace pretty quickly. I had troubles swimming straight on the way BACK since there was a good 600m between the two buoys. At one point I looked up and saw the kayak right in front of me, the girl pointed to the left which was the direction that I SHOULD have been travelling. Many people said their swim times were about 3 minutes long....but i'm stil happy with finishing a 1.9km swim! I had many doubts throughout the year and honestly didn't believe I could swim the entire distance. Next up is the Philippines which will be a NON-wetsuit swim which will be the REAL test to my swimming abilities.
I forgot to pack a towel, so I could get all the grass/dirt off my feet before putting socks and shoes on. It felt like a smooth transition.
I executed the bike portion as I had planned. the first 20 minutes was easy spinning until the bottom of the Grand Valley Hill. I kept the heart rate under control and also began eating and drinking fluids. The hard work on the hills (golden triangle and sylvan camp) paid off as I passed quite a few people. I looked back to the heart rate data and the only time i went above my Ceiling was coming DOWN horse creek road! I guess the fresh pavement and downhill got to my head and I hammered a little too hard.
Highway 22 Hill went really well. Honestly it was a blur and I can't remember the details. I do remember cars lined up on the right side since we had a left turn onto springbank road. As I passed one cyclist, he looked over at me. At that moment, his rear tire popped. I wonder if he thought it was my fault for making him move over to the right.....who knows.
I started to feel a little tired after the 2nd aid station and a bit of a cramp on the left quad. It wasn't because of dehydration since I had to pee a couple times. It was possibly because of electrolytes since I dropped my NUUN drink in the first 20km of the bike.
The first 10km of the run felt great and I thought I was on pace for my 1:45 half marathon. However once I was in Weasel head, I knew I would have to slow down. I felt a cramp coming in the back of my knee. Once again i'm not sure the reason why. I wasn't overly hot, was drinking ALOT. My suspects include lack of Calcium, bad positioning on the bike, not wearing compression shorts...
I saw my support crew at the 16km mark which helped get through that km. but 17-21.1 included ALOT of walking. I didn't know how i'd feel crossing the line...I wasn't super emotional, just tired. It's funny because I was more emotional on the bike, thinking about the finish than I was at the ACTUAL finish.
Thanks to Ken and Celine for the awesome photos!!
Monday, July 27, 2009
CRAZY!
Things have been insanely crazy the past few days. The combinataion of:
1) A two day wedding Aug 1,2
2) Engagement shoot/Maternity photos
3) Getting ready for Ironman Calgary on Aug 2
4) Packing and getting ready for 3 weeks vacation leaving Aug 4th.
5) Saying goodbye to 3 friends who are leaving for school before I get back from Vacation :(
I've had a rare chance to rest and take things easy. I'm sitting at KAWA having a Tanzanian coffee prepared on the clover. It's a little TOO acidic for my liking. I seriously haven't had a coffee that I've liked for 2 years. My favourite is still the Ethiopia that tasted like peaches at Phil and Sebastians a LONG time ago. I dusted off my ibook (haven't touched it for two years since I got my Macbook Pro). I need to clear up some space since I plan on travelling with this brick.
I went for a long ride which was supposed to be 90km on Saturday. I rode 1A from home to Cochrane, then turned onto Highway 22 to climb another big hill before turning back. On Crowchild near Stoney, I got my first flat of the year, and Second in my road biking 'career'. Unfortunately, I had left my tire lever at home. I improvised and used the house key to pry the tire off the rim. Patching the tube went smoothly but when I attached the CO2, it wouldn't inflate! The little pin which punctures the CO2 cartridge had broken off. I gave my brother I call since none of the motorists were stopping to lend a hand.
Shortly after calling for help...two seperate cyclists rode by without saying a word....WTF!!!! A super nice lady stopped and asked if I wanted a ride. Her husband was a cyclist as well so i think she understood my predicament. I declined since my brother was on the way. Another cyclists rode by but this one offered to help along with another gentleman who had just been picked up by his wife.
I'm extremely excited for Ironman Calgary coming up. It's been a long year of training. I've let nutrition slip a little which is funny because I've been so good all year long. There'll be alot of support on the course. I'll constantly be reminding myself to pace myself since I've never completed the full distance.
1) A two day wedding Aug 1,2
2) Engagement shoot/Maternity photos
3) Getting ready for Ironman Calgary on Aug 2
4) Packing and getting ready for 3 weeks vacation leaving Aug 4th.
5) Saying goodbye to 3 friends who are leaving for school before I get back from Vacation :(
I've had a rare chance to rest and take things easy. I'm sitting at KAWA having a Tanzanian coffee prepared on the clover. It's a little TOO acidic for my liking. I seriously haven't had a coffee that I've liked for 2 years. My favourite is still the Ethiopia that tasted like peaches at Phil and Sebastians a LONG time ago. I dusted off my ibook (haven't touched it for two years since I got my Macbook Pro). I need to clear up some space since I plan on travelling with this brick.
I went for a long ride which was supposed to be 90km on Saturday. I rode 1A from home to Cochrane, then turned onto Highway 22 to climb another big hill before turning back. On Crowchild near Stoney, I got my first flat of the year, and Second in my road biking 'career'. Unfortunately, I had left my tire lever at home. I improvised and used the house key to pry the tire off the rim. Patching the tube went smoothly but when I attached the CO2, it wouldn't inflate! The little pin which punctures the CO2 cartridge had broken off. I gave my brother I call since none of the motorists were stopping to lend a hand.
Shortly after calling for help...two seperate cyclists rode by without saying a word....WTF!!!! A super nice lady stopped and asked if I wanted a ride. Her husband was a cyclist as well so i think she understood my predicament. I declined since my brother was on the way. Another cyclists rode by but this one offered to help along with another gentleman who had just been picked up by his wife.
I'm extremely excited for Ironman Calgary coming up. It's been a long year of training. I've let nutrition slip a little which is funny because I've been so good all year long. There'll be alot of support on the course. I'll constantly be reminding myself to pace myself since I've never completed the full distance.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Victoria
I went to Victoria June 26-30 as part of my 7 days off. I was sitting on the fence because I knew Victoria would be amazing, but I wasn't keen on training on my own in a new city. Westjet had a seat sale for $49 which pushed me to comitt to the trip.
Luckily, after buying the tickets, Amy and Kjell told me that they'd be driving out and could meet me on the Big Island of Hawaii (I wish). My flight landed at night, so we settled into the Gaunt's place which was next to Elk Lake. In case you didn't know, Elk Lake is notorious for Rowing. National teams, and our very own olympic team row out of Elk Lake. In fact, the Gaunts were hosting two rowers, One was going to school in Princeton and the other at Toronto (i think). They were both on the Junior National Squad.
I'm pretty obsessed with Simon Whitfield and Kirsten Sweetland. I was DYING to randomly run into these two during a training ride/run. But no luck :( I was reading Bree Wee's blog last night. She's been in Victoria the past week and was running mile repeats with Mr Whitfield himself. They were doing loops around Elk Lake!! Darn it! i missed them by two weeks.
Anyways, here's a summary of the work outs and a few photos.
Victoria, Tofino, Uclulet Training including:
-140km ride Victoria to Salt Spring Island and back
-20km rain forest trail run along the ocean
-80km ride from Uclulet to Tofino and back with a stop along Long Bach
-1hr Swim in Thetis Lake which was WARM!
-15km run to the top of Mount doug (210m elevation gain) for a GREAT view of the Peninsula.
-40km ride through farmland riding pass Butchart Gardens.
Good food, Better Seafood, Great friends, and fun!
The majority of the trip was out on the WEST COAST by Tofino and Uclulet. Both were AMAZING little fishing/surfing towns. The weather worked out perfect and I couldn't have asked for more!
Luckily, after buying the tickets, Amy and Kjell told me that they'd be driving out and could meet me on the Big Island of Hawaii (I wish). My flight landed at night, so we settled into the Gaunt's place which was next to Elk Lake. In case you didn't know, Elk Lake is notorious for Rowing. National teams, and our very own olympic team row out of Elk Lake. In fact, the Gaunts were hosting two rowers, One was going to school in Princeton and the other at Toronto (i think). They were both on the Junior National Squad.
I'm pretty obsessed with Simon Whitfield and Kirsten Sweetland. I was DYING to randomly run into these two during a training ride/run. But no luck :( I was reading Bree Wee's blog last night. She's been in Victoria the past week and was running mile repeats with Mr Whitfield himself. They were doing loops around Elk Lake!! Darn it! i missed them by two weeks.
Anyways, here's a summary of the work outs and a few photos.
Victoria, Tofino, Uclulet Training including:
-140km ride Victoria to Salt Spring Island and back
-20km rain forest trail run along the ocean
-80km ride from Uclulet to Tofino and back with a stop along Long Bach
-1hr Swim in Thetis Lake which was WARM!
-15km run to the top of Mount doug (210m elevation gain) for a GREAT view of the Peninsula.
-40km ride through farmland riding pass Butchart Gardens.
Good food, Better Seafood, Great friends, and fun!
The majority of the trip was out on the WEST COAST by Tofino and Uclulet. Both were AMAZING little fishing/surfing towns. The weather worked out perfect and I couldn't have asked for more!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Fong Ting and Benny
The morning started at 5am for the girls (who stayed up well past midnight!). We took photos of the girls getting ready before the guys showed up to 'buy' the bride.
The bridemaidss play games with the groomsmens like listing 10 reasons why Benny loved Fong Ting, or making the guys share the same donut! This was followed by a chinese tea ceremony at the bride's parent's house, followed by the groom's parent's house.
A beautiful ceremony was held at the Mckenzie Towne Church. Here's are some photos from
the day which had 60% chance of rain!
The bridemaidss play games with the groomsmens like listing 10 reasons why Benny loved Fong Ting, or making the guys share the same donut! This was followed by a chinese tea ceremony at the bride's parent's house, followed by the groom's parent's house.
A beautiful ceremony was held at the Mckenzie Towne Church. Here's are some photos from
the day which had 60% chance of rain!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Wasa Lake Olympic Triathlon
I knew that Wasa was near radium/invemere but I didn't realize was about 1.5 hours past those towns. It's a bit of a logistic nightmare since the race is in wasa, race package pick up is in Cranbrook, and our accomodations were in Kimberley.
We left at 10:30am after struggling to put Meghann's new bike rack on her car. We arrived at 4:00pm for package pick up. We attended the MANDATORY pre-race meeting which was kinda pointless....all the info was already included in the e-mails. The organizer even said "it's totally different seeing the map on the wall, versus the real thing. Tomorrow morning I'll go over transitions in a chalk talk".
We had a 3 bedroom condo in kimberley which was REALLY! nice and cheap too! A hot tub/corona party happened and I was in bed at 11:30. I slept probably a total of 10 minutes all night..it was horrible. I blame summer solstice coming up and the HUGE window on the door which had no blinds.
Alright...so actual race day.
I woke up at 5am since it's a 25 min drive to the race venue. I started out too fast in the swim and had to tread water after 300m. I always fight with doubt during the swim. I would think about the 70.3 and question myself if I could actually finish the swim. I was able to calm myself down by counting my strokes. I wanted to count to 100 before taking my next 'break'. Fortunately I caught my breath and was able to continue before needing to take another break.
I found that I COULD NOT swim straight! I'd sight, take 6 strokes, sight again, and I'd veer to the right. So i started to breath bilaterally and that fixed things a little.
The swim course ended up being short by about 200m...and I had a swim time of 27:51.
The bike course was flat and the headwind wasn't too strong. I settled into a nice pace for the first 20km and pushed a little harder on the last 20km. SO many Drafters/cheaters! and for some reason people liked to ride on the road even though there was a HUGE shoulder...so I'd yell 'pass left!' but they wouldn't move....so a few times i shoulder checked to make sure the referee wasn't there and I'd pass on the right....
I hit a bump on the bridge and was riding 1 handed (eating gel) at the time..so my aerodrink fell off the aero bars and i lost half my water. I could feel a quad cramp coming on in the last 10km so slowed up a little.
run was great! footpod wasn't working so all I had was heart rate. I held 160 and was probably moving like a turtle for the first 3km. but then my legs caught up and I started to fly! I ended up running 45 mins, but who knows maybe the course was short.
7th in my age group
125th in the mens
154th overall.
It was an interesting race because the men started 22 mins before the womens....Since the bike was out and back, and so was the run. I was able to see my placing in the men's..but could also see the lead woman gaining on me! I was able to hold her off and crossed the line 1 min before her (but really she beat me by 21 mins!)
Results here!
http://www.winningtime.ca/09/09wasa/olymale.txt
We left at 10:30am after struggling to put Meghann's new bike rack on her car. We arrived at 4:00pm for package pick up. We attended the MANDATORY pre-race meeting which was kinda pointless....all the info was already included in the e-mails. The organizer even said "it's totally different seeing the map on the wall, versus the real thing. Tomorrow morning I'll go over transitions in a chalk talk".
We had a 3 bedroom condo in kimberley which was REALLY! nice and cheap too! A hot tub/corona party happened and I was in bed at 11:30. I slept probably a total of 10 minutes all night..it was horrible. I blame summer solstice coming up and the HUGE window on the door which had no blinds.
Alright...so actual race day.
I woke up at 5am since it's a 25 min drive to the race venue. I started out too fast in the swim and had to tread water after 300m. I always fight with doubt during the swim. I would think about the 70.3 and question myself if I could actually finish the swim. I was able to calm myself down by counting my strokes. I wanted to count to 100 before taking my next 'break'. Fortunately I caught my breath and was able to continue before needing to take another break.
I found that I COULD NOT swim straight! I'd sight, take 6 strokes, sight again, and I'd veer to the right. So i started to breath bilaterally and that fixed things a little.
The swim course ended up being short by about 200m...and I had a swim time of 27:51.
The bike course was flat and the headwind wasn't too strong. I settled into a nice pace for the first 20km and pushed a little harder on the last 20km. SO many Drafters/cheaters! and for some reason people liked to ride on the road even though there was a HUGE shoulder...so I'd yell 'pass left!' but they wouldn't move....so a few times i shoulder checked to make sure the referee wasn't there and I'd pass on the right....
I hit a bump on the bridge and was riding 1 handed (eating gel) at the time..so my aerodrink fell off the aero bars and i lost half my water. I could feel a quad cramp coming on in the last 10km so slowed up a little.
run was great! footpod wasn't working so all I had was heart rate. I held 160 and was probably moving like a turtle for the first 3km. but then my legs caught up and I started to fly! I ended up running 45 mins, but who knows maybe the course was short.
7th in my age group
125th in the mens
154th overall.
It was an interesting race because the men started 22 mins before the womens....Since the bike was out and back, and so was the run. I was able to see my placing in the men's..but could also see the lead woman gaining on me! I was able to hold her off and crossed the line 1 min before her (but really she beat me by 21 mins!)
Results here!
http://www.winningtime.ca/09/09wasa/olymale.txt
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Turning Twenty Four
Turning 23 was a milestone for me. It was the year I graduated from University and the start of a career, but not before doing a bit of travelling ;).
It started with running the Vancouver Marathon which taught me alot about patience and not being TOO intense TOO early.
I then flew to Hawaii where I was TOO intense! An unfortunate surfing accident left me with 9 stiches across my face and 'ruined' the rest of my trip. I was still able to see the entire island of Oahu but I feel the need to travel to Hawaii again.
After that was the Sylvan Lake camp (which is where i'm head this year as well) where I tried to run when i should have been resting from the marathon. This left me with IT band problems all year.
A few weddings (not mine, but I took photos at these weddings) later I was enjoying Sydney (olympic sights, surfing, the zoo and roti!), Brisbane (chilling out drinking bubble tea almost every day), Cairns (SCUBA DIVING, gorgeous sun, and cold water), and New Zealand (Tauranga volcano climbs, rain, hot springs, bungee jumping and visiting my buddy Stefan).
Work started in September and I was placed in Calgary for 6 months before moving to Firebag (north of fort mcmurray) where I'll spend the next few years learning and gaining valuable experience.
So! Twenty Four. I have a few goals this year which I won't verbalize, otherwise i'm accountable to those goals :). I tend to look forward to the future instead of enjoying the 'now'. I want to take the time to enjoy each moment while looking ahead to 2012, the next major milestone that I've created for myself.
It started with running the Vancouver Marathon which taught me alot about patience and not being TOO intense TOO early.
I then flew to Hawaii where I was TOO intense! An unfortunate surfing accident left me with 9 stiches across my face and 'ruined' the rest of my trip. I was still able to see the entire island of Oahu but I feel the need to travel to Hawaii again.
After that was the Sylvan Lake camp (which is where i'm head this year as well) where I tried to run when i should have been resting from the marathon. This left me with IT band problems all year.
A few weddings (not mine, but I took photos at these weddings) later I was enjoying Sydney (olympic sights, surfing, the zoo and roti!), Brisbane (chilling out drinking bubble tea almost every day), Cairns (SCUBA DIVING, gorgeous sun, and cold water), and New Zealand (Tauranga volcano climbs, rain, hot springs, bungee jumping and visiting my buddy Stefan).
Work started in September and I was placed in Calgary for 6 months before moving to Firebag (north of fort mcmurray) where I'll spend the next few years learning and gaining valuable experience.
So! Twenty Four. I have a few goals this year which I won't verbalize, otherwise i'm accountable to those goals :). I tend to look forward to the future instead of enjoying the 'now'. I want to take the time to enjoy each moment while looking ahead to 2012, the next major milestone that I've created for myself.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Golden Triangle
May 1-3, 2009 I biked from Banff to Golden, Golden to Radium and Radium back to banff.
In total it was 380km ride over the 3 days. My longest ride before the GT was 70km so day 1 was a bit of a shock to the system! I intentially rode a slower pace to make it through the day. I cramped a bit due to lack of electrolytes. Day 2 i tried to go harder since it was an 'easy' day at 100km. the road was much bumpier and vibrated against my already-sore butt.
Finally i had a great ride on the 3rd day even with the rain! The day started with a 600m climb over 12km. I'm glad to have heather with me for all the hills. We chatted every single hill and discovered the 'granny position' on the bike which saves the back :)
After a few day recovery with easy swims and runs I flew back to Firebag on my b-day, May 7th. We also had a pub night on the 6th at the cat and fiddle.
Here are a few pics from the trip.
In total it was 380km ride over the 3 days. My longest ride before the GT was 70km so day 1 was a bit of a shock to the system! I intentially rode a slower pace to make it through the day. I cramped a bit due to lack of electrolytes. Day 2 i tried to go harder since it was an 'easy' day at 100km. the road was much bumpier and vibrated against my already-sore butt.
Finally i had a great ride on the 3rd day even with the rain! The day started with a 600m climb over 12km. I'm glad to have heather with me for all the hills. We chatted every single hill and discovered the 'granny position' on the bike which saves the back :)
After a few day recovery with easy swims and runs I flew back to Firebag on my b-day, May 7th. We also had a pub night on the 6th at the cat and fiddle.
Here are a few pics from the trip.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Friday, March 20, 2009
I miss Hawaii
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Thurs:
-10km slow run in the morning
-1.5 hour Ride OUTSIDE in the sun :)
-2km swim at night
-Friday (Rest Day):
-Stretched for 20 mins
-Watched Flawless (movie about diamonds, starring demi moore and michael caine). I liked it, it was a good way to kill the morning
-Dim Sum Lunch with Tiff, Charita and Kat. Jon and a co-worker randomly walked into the same restaurant and joined us.
-Hair cut
-MEC - I bought White bar tape among other things. I'm pimping my ride!
-Janice Beaton for Cheese, Wine Market for.....Wine.
The highlight of today was the sun. It was perfect t-shirt weather with the sun out and a slight breeze.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
I love days off.
GREAT DAY today. I spent the first three hours of the day editing wedding photos and got through about 1/4 of them.
At noon I went to Bohdi Tree for Yoga. A donation of $5 will get you into the Wednesday Noon class.
Lunch was sushi taken out from Globefish.
I stretched and rolled my IT band for an hour before going for a run with Meghann, one of my new running buddies.
I wanted to do a long slow run so i kept my Heart Rate below 150bpm.
The numbers:
15.15km
5:31 min/km average
147 bpm average HR
1059 Calories according to Mr. Garmin
Spin at the university for 1:30:00
147 bpm average HR (MATCHED THE RUN!)
720 calories burned according to Mr. Garmin
At noon I went to Bohdi Tree for Yoga. A donation of $5 will get you into the Wednesday Noon class.
Lunch was sushi taken out from Globefish.
I stretched and rolled my IT band for an hour before going for a run with Meghann, one of my new running buddies.
I wanted to do a long slow run so i kept my Heart Rate below 150bpm.
The numbers:
15.15km
5:31 min/km average
147 bpm average HR
1059 Calories according to Mr. Garmin
Spin at the university for 1:30:00
147 bpm average HR (MATCHED THE RUN!)
720 calories burned according to Mr. Garmin
5 days on 9 days off
I got back last night from Firebag and I'm looking forward to the next 9 days off :)
This past week consisted of 4 safety training sessions including permit training, fall arrest, Confined space entry and confined space monitor.
In Layman's terms:
Permit Training: Permits are the forms of communication with the operator so they know the WORK that you're doing in the Operating Facility.
Fall Arrest: Strap on a harness and anchor yourself to something solid so that you don't SPLAT on the floor. Actually the forces generated from a fall are quite scary. To properly decelerate and catch yourself might take 19 ft of 'rope'. hopefully you aren't 18 feet above the ground.
Confined Space Entry: Accessing a structure which isn't designed for long term human occupancy. (IE a vessel which normal holds gas). Or the structure doesn't allow for easy access or exit. It's important to have a Safety Monitor in case you pass out from the dangerous gas.
Work outs were non existent at Firebag besides stretching, and using my travel roller.
Last week workouts included a few speed sessions:
8x200m @ 4:00 Pace
5x1000m @ 4:15 pace
My Vo2 max results showed that my 'zone 5' is alright, but I'm a little weak in my aerobic zone.
My bike seat was adjusted from 8 degrees to 3 degrees and moved back. New Aero bars were put on and put me in a less aggressive position.
Coming up this week:
Working on wedding photos
Long Ride Outside since the weather's nice
Long Run Outside since the weather's nice
Yoga
Dim Sum
Look at Power Meters/Gramin 705
This past week consisted of 4 safety training sessions including permit training, fall arrest, Confined space entry and confined space monitor.
In Layman's terms:
Permit Training: Permits are the forms of communication with the operator so they know the WORK that you're doing in the Operating Facility.
Fall Arrest: Strap on a harness and anchor yourself to something solid so that you don't SPLAT on the floor. Actually the forces generated from a fall are quite scary. To properly decelerate and catch yourself might take 19 ft of 'rope'. hopefully you aren't 18 feet above the ground.
Confined Space Entry: Accessing a structure which isn't designed for long term human occupancy. (IE a vessel which normal holds gas). Or the structure doesn't allow for easy access or exit. It's important to have a Safety Monitor in case you pass out from the dangerous gas.
Work outs were non existent at Firebag besides stretching, and using my travel roller.
Last week workouts included a few speed sessions:
8x200m @ 4:00 Pace
5x1000m @ 4:15 pace
My Vo2 max results showed that my 'zone 5' is alright, but I'm a little weak in my aerobic zone.
My bike seat was adjusted from 8 degrees to 3 degrees and moved back. New Aero bars were put on and put me in a less aggressive position.
Coming up this week:
Working on wedding photos
Long Ride Outside since the weather's nice
Long Run Outside since the weather's nice
Yoga
Dim Sum
Look at Power Meters/Gramin 705
Monday, March 9, 2009
A New Life
I completed my first 7 day shift at Firebag (Fort McMurray) which was followed by 5 more days of training in Fort McMurray. We learned to use the RBI (Risk Based Inspection) program created by Capstone. Essentially it's a way to determine the criticality of each piece of equipment in your operating plane, and how to form inspection plans based on the results.
I tend to have a list of things that I want to accomplish on my days back. The major items for these 7 days include:
-VO2 Max and Lactate Threshold testing at TCR sports
-Bike Fit at TCR Sports
-Returning my library books (exciting life i know!)
-1500m time trail in my new wetsuit.
-Taking photos of doctors for a friend's clinic
Everything else is scheduled if I have time or when I feel like doing it :) I like this lifestyle very much.
The only downside is that I have way too much time by myself. I know a few other triathletes who work shift schedules, but we aren't getting together until the weather warms up and the snow disappears.
speaking of which...I CANNOT wait for spring and summer.
"Calgary Tris for 70.3 Thousand Dollars" has already raised $1079.55 and the race is still 1/2 a year away!
I tend to have a list of things that I want to accomplish on my days back. The major items for these 7 days include:
-VO2 Max and Lactate Threshold testing at TCR sports
-Bike Fit at TCR Sports
-Returning my library books (exciting life i know!)
-1500m time trail in my new wetsuit.
-Taking photos of doctors for a friend's clinic
Everything else is scheduled if I have time or when I feel like doing it :) I like this lifestyle very much.
The only downside is that I have way too much time by myself. I know a few other triathletes who work shift schedules, but we aren't getting together until the weather warms up and the snow disappears.
speaking of which...I CANNOT wait for spring and summer.
"Calgary Tris for 70.3 Thousand Dollars" has already raised $1079.55 and the race is still 1/2 a year away!
Saturday, February 14, 2009
New Race Schedule
My Week:
Now that my work schedule is semi-finalized, I can finally start signing up for races. You can pretty much ignore my schedule from two posts ago.
I found out that Lance Armstrong used to be a triathlete when he ran NYC marathon for the 2nd time. There's talk of him going for the Ironman championship!!
I'm all about sports nutrition right now. I'm reading Nancy Clark RD's book on sports nutrition and I've found some interesting things such as, vegetables have more if not equal amount of nutrients as fruit. All this time i thought I was eating vegetables for fibre only! Nature's vitamin pills.
Now that my work schedule is semi-finalized, I can finally start signing up for races. You can pretty much ignore my schedule from two posts ago.
I found out that Lance Armstrong used to be a triathlete when he ran NYC marathon for the 2nd time. There's talk of him going for the Ironman championship!!
I'm all about sports nutrition right now. I'm reading Nancy Clark RD's book on sports nutrition and I've found some interesting things such as, vegetables have more if not equal amount of nutrients as fruit. All this time i thought I was eating vegetables for fibre only! Nature's vitamin pills.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
My Turn
I regularly check (once a day, sometimes twice in the same night) Simon Whitfield and Kirsten Sweetland's blogs for updates on their training and/or life happenings. I get super excited when there are new posts, which made me realize that I should post ALOT more.
So the most exciting news I have is that I'm moving back up to Firebag, one of Suncor's operations in the Fort McMurray area. I move up February 24th, leaving me 12 days to see everyone. It's really not that bad. Sure the days are 12 hours long for 7 days in a row, but the weekends are also 7 days long. I'll be able to live like a 'professional athlete' and focus on training for a solid 7 days and then focus on flexibility, core and weights for the 7 days on site.
The other bit of news is that I've decided to use Ironman Calgary 70.3 as a fundraiser for the Alberta Cancer Foundation. It started earlier this year when I entered for a lottery spot in the London (England) Marathon. I wasn't accepted, but I was already set to use the marathon as a fundraiser since 99.9999999% of runners run for charities (Run fat boy run).
I knew that the Suncor Energy Foundation would grant up to $5000 to match employees fundraising efforts, but the funds had to be raised by a TEAM of employees. After forming a team of 9 employees, I realized that OTHER companies might match as well.
To cut the story short, the goal is to raise $70 300 (70.3 thousand dollars) for the Alberta Cancer Foundation!
More info can be found at:
www.CalgaryTris.com
which will be up by next week.
So the most exciting news I have is that I'm moving back up to Firebag, one of Suncor's operations in the Fort McMurray area. I move up February 24th, leaving me 12 days to see everyone. It's really not that bad. Sure the days are 12 hours long for 7 days in a row, but the weekends are also 7 days long. I'll be able to live like a 'professional athlete' and focus on training for a solid 7 days and then focus on flexibility, core and weights for the 7 days on site.
The other bit of news is that I've decided to use Ironman Calgary 70.3 as a fundraiser for the Alberta Cancer Foundation. It started earlier this year when I entered for a lottery spot in the London (England) Marathon. I wasn't accepted, but I was already set to use the marathon as a fundraiser since 99.9999999% of runners run for charities (Run fat boy run).
I knew that the Suncor Energy Foundation would grant up to $5000 to match employees fundraising efforts, but the funds had to be raised by a TEAM of employees. After forming a team of 9 employees, I realized that OTHER companies might match as well.
To cut the story short, the goal is to raise $70 300 (70.3 thousand dollars) for the Alberta Cancer Foundation!
More info can be found at:
www.CalgaryTris.com
which will be up by next week.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Race Schedule
I've put together my race schedule for 2009.
April 26 - Calgary Police Half Marathon
May 10 - Forzani's Mother's day 5km
May 16-18 - UCTC Triathlon Training Camp at Sylvan Lake
May 31 - Calgary Half Marathon
June 14 - Arbour Lake Olympic Triathlon
June 26-28 - Bike The Golden Triangle (300km) and/or Highwood Pass (Hills!!!)
August 2 - Ironman Calgary
I'm also considering marathons in toronto, New York and chicago.
I've only fully committed (paid $) to 2 races, the Calgary Police and IM Calgary.
I might be moving back to site before the end of summer, but hopefully not!
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April 26 - Calgary Police Half Marathon
May 10 - Forzani's Mother's day 5km
May 16-18 - UCTC Triathlon Training Camp at Sylvan Lake
May 31 - Calgary Half Marathon
June 14 - Arbour Lake Olympic Triathlon
June 26-28 - Bike The Golden Triangle (300km) and/or Highwood Pass (Hills!!!)
August 2 - Ironman Calgary
I'm also considering marathons in toronto, New York and chicago.
I've only fully committed (paid $) to 2 races, the Calgary Police and IM Calgary.
I might be moving back to site before the end of summer, but hopefully not!
.jpg)
.jpg)
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