Ironman week is coming!

Work was tough and challenging this week. It started off rough because I had a 6am flight to catch and was up at 4:45am. Not a very good start to the week sleep wise. Work was insanely busy for the first part of the week which burned me out. My weakened immune system, plus the stress of work plus the drop in temperatures caused me to get sick. Right now I have a runny nose, sore throat and a bit of a headache. Anyone believe in the power of prayer and healing?? I've asked some close friends and family to keep me in prayer specifically with the sickness that I'm experiencing.

I did a lot of reminiscing this week about where I've come from athletically. It's been a 13 year journey since I started in athletics. Up until jr high I was the typical Chinese kid who played piano, went to speech arts, Kumon, Chinese school etc etc. Everything BUT sports! Finally in grade 7 I had the chance to try out for vball. I was hesitant to try out for a sport that I'd never tried but Scott K said it'd be easy! over 24 people tried out (50% of our class), and so they made no cuts....I was on the 'A Team". If it wasn't for that experience I may never have joined basketball which i absolutely loved for a period of 6 years. My coach at the time (Ken Miller) was a no nonsense-let's beat them with hardwork-a strong defence is the best offence kind of guy. He was also my track coach and this fall I may have the opportunity to coach with him. This is a critical time in my life when kids may have lower self esteems for whatever reason and through sports I felt ALIVE and found something I was GOOD at.

midway through university I challenged myself with a 5km race on Mother's day and I've been hooked ever since! My first 10km race was the Terry Fox run at Firebag and I continued to train at site and ran the Calgary 1/2 Marathon. Vancouver 2008 was my first Marathon and was also a BIG lesson in patience, pacing and humility.

I almost missed out on triathlon because I didn't know how to swim! I ran into a girl, Catherine (who i didn't know at the time), just outside our house. she was walking home from swim practice and I was finishing up a run. I started talking to her because I saw her UCTC (University of Calgary Triathlon Club) Jacket. She gave me the final push and convinced me that I could do a triathlon. The first year was still a struggle and I ended up breastroking most of my first sprint distance race. Eventually things clicked and i raced my first half ironman in Calgary. It was HOT during the run but was good prep for the Philippines where it reached 35C plus HIGH humidity on the run!

This year I focused more on the bike was able to put together a solid race which qualified me for Ironman Canada! It was a tough decision whether to take the spot this year or not. My plans were to race in 2011 so I could have more support from family and friends. I signing up for 2010 because I was feeling healthy and trained strong since January.

Most Ironmen need a 'drive' of some sort to complete the 140.6mile course. Some are chasing a spot in the World Championship and some just want to Finish. Others are battling weight loss or suffered a recent divorce. MY drive has been my #1 fan, My Grandma. When she was still living at home she always asked me where I was going when I was leaving the house. I always made her guess. So she'd guess swimming.....then biking....then running...usually it'd be one of the 3 but every so often she'd be wrong because I was going to school or work. She always said that I needed to find a girl who was just as active :). I think about her alot during my long bike rides and sometimes my runs intentionally go through the Confed graveyard so that I can stop by to visit. This was a big reason as to why i decided to race this year. Although it makes me sad to think that she's no longer here I'm assured that I will see her again since she came to know Jesus while she was in Calgary:)

This post came from an e-mail which had 4 versions. The versions were for coworkers, friends, family and people who would be in penticton. I seriously tear up every time I edit which has been about 20 times now.

This is a special weekend for me because it's the biggest physical challenge I've ever faced, but also special because it will bring some closure to a tough year.



Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Heb 12:1-3

Tri Season is over......or so i thought!

This weekend I raced the Great White North 1/2 Ironman held in Stony Plain, Alberta. It was a well organized event and was the 19th time it'd been hosted by Stony Plain. The were many many many wheat and canola fields which we passed on the drive to Stony Plain. At 1 point on the bike I looked over my right shoulder to see the dramatic black and white clouds (it POURED rain shortly after the race ended), with green and yellow fields in the foreground. I wish I had my camera.

We were treated to an amazing carbo dinner Friday night. It was delicious and extra delicious after a 3 hour drive from Calgary. Saturday was a relaxed day in the hotel. We slept in (till 9pm), watched Argentina lose to Germany in the world cup :(. And also watched the first stage of the Tour de France. The pre-race jitters were worked out by a short swim in the lake (lots of goose poo!), and 20 minute bike ride around the hotel. I was in bed by 10pm, but probably asleep past midnight because the room was a little TOO warm.

The swim was two loops around Hubbles Lake and was 2000m, 100m longer than a typical 1/2 IM distance. I surprised myself when i saw 21:XX on the watch after the first lap. In total the swim took 43:44, 3 minutes faster than my previous 1900m swims. Since the course was 100m longer, I was 5 minutes faster than previous races!

The bike course was described as 'flat'. However, race day was WINDY! typical to Alberta, it was a Western wind. Training in Calgary usually means a headwind AND slight incline when heading west making for a slow ride out, and FAST ride back. I was suprised to see the speed I was averaging going into the wind, but it made sense since it was a flat course. I pushed harder going into the wind, figuring that I'd have an easier ride coming back. I kept a cadence of 90rpm, and was able to pass quite a few people. Wade Church, the event organizer, made a big deal about drafting...it annoyed me when riders would make a pass, then slow down once they moved back in 'line'. Instead of maintaining their speed and creating room for me, I'd have to make a pass on them...which 'over-revved' my engine. At the 50km turnaround my legs were starting to feel the burn....and I was extremely glad to ride the wind home. It was at this point that I passed a teammate (Tina). I eventually slowed down, and She passed me again. I struggled through the last 20km but was happy to get to the run. total bike time was 2:52:17 which includes T1. Average speed of 31.3km/hr

The BIG focus of this race was to have a good run. Previous races had 2:10 and 2:30 1/2 marathons which is no where near what i should be running. The key was to start slow. I gave myself the limit of 5:15min/km which i held for 2km's. From there i went by feel and by about the 5th km I was down to 5:00min/km. I did some quick math which worked out to an average pace BELOW 5:00min/km.........WHAT????? I thought I was running 5:15's? At this point i thought maybe the signs were in the wrong spot.....but redid the calculations at the 10th km and sure enough I was still below a 5:00min/km pace. This got me pumped so i picked it up a bit so that the WATCH was reading 4:45min/km which meant I was running 4:20's?? I ran with the fuel belt, which i normally don't do, but it seemed to work for me! I was able to take a swig of gel/water mix whenever I felt my HR, cadence, or speed falling. I was very pleased with my run which ended up being 1:42:37, average pace 4:52min/km. The goal was 7:30min/mile...but I was 17sec/mile slower....but who cares when you shave 45 mins off your previous PB!

GWN is a qualifier for Ironman Canada.....What does that mean??
to get a spot in Canada's only full distance Ironman, you have to show up 1 year in advance with $550 in hand. For those that can't make the trip to penticton, 1 option is to go for a community spot which involves donating or raising a LARGE sum of money ($2000, i think). The other way is to find a race which will qualify you. Spots are given away based on placing within your age group and there is also the lottery system where names are drawn at random.
There were 4 people in our age group wanting spots, and for some reason they allocated 2 IMC spots to our age group. I qualified for the 2nd spot......and accepted it! I originally wanted to race Ironman in 2012, but decided 2011 would be a good year.....But now that's been shifted up to 2010! What a great way to celebrate being 25.

I wouldn't have accepted the position if I wasn't ready, or didn't have the base fitness. May long weekend was spent in penticton biking the course a couple times. The Run has been solid with intervals up to 10x1mile repeats. The swim has felt solid, even though I swim 4 times a month!

I have 8 weeks to prepare for the longest distance Triathlon I've ever attempted!
The next 4 weeks will involve stretching the swims from 2/week to 4/week when i'm back in town. distance will increase from 2500m to 5000m. I've ridden 100km+ 6 times this season? That'll increase to 200km and also a few 160km's in there. Mile repeats will continue, but some longer duration runs will be included as well.
I like that I only have 2 months to worry and do my final preparations for this race. The alternative is to sweat over the race for 12 full months, battle with mental issues of 'can i do this?' and also risk the potential of overtraining TOO early in the season and peaking early as well. I believe that I'll get through the race. My goal is to run a strong marathon. This was the same mentality as GWN, and it caused me to pace myself on the bike.

Overall time was 5:18:36. thanks to the CSR fans who came out to cheer, and to all the volunteers for making the race possible. Many CSR athlets had personal bests! Coach Cal had a solid race and ran himself into 3rd place with a SMOKIN time of 4:08:48. A couple other athletes qualified and accepted Ironman spots. My runner partner, Jane, got a spot and I'm so happy for her! Crescent Road here we come!

Paragliding!

This weekend I took a FUN course introducing myself to the sport of paragliding. The focus was on ground handling and learning to take off. The first day had constant wind for about 2 hours and we go some good practice in, but then the wind shifted and was heading the wrong direction. We called it quits at 1030am.
Day 2 brought us to a steeper, longer hill and the wind was much better. It actually picked up towards the end, and the instructors called it quits because of the chance of catching a thermal, and the potential for us to freak out, and crash to the ground........My theory is that they stop the lesson right when you're feeling confident and wanting more. It's a good way to hook you for the intermediate course.
Normally you wouldn't attempt 20 take offs in a 2 hour span. As a result, my biceps and groin are bruised from the unpadded equipment. max height was maybe 10 ft off the ground and flew for 15 seconds :)

The cost of the course was $100 and well worth it! I'll have to sit and think about the $750 intermediate course....it's tempting.

There was a really good sermon at Centre Street today. I was challenged in many ways including being a good family member and also leading a good family (in the future). Being a member of God's family also means helping out other families in need (single parents etc).

Hobby Updates

Cooking - I made Pho last week and invited a friend over for lunch. I found the recipe online, but the broth included beef/chicken bones, staranise, fish sauce, onion, ginger and some other stuff. It called for Daikon which i couldn't find at T&T. It started off too watery, so I had to boil it down but ended up tasting great! I left it in the thermos overnight instead of boiling on low heat all night.

Photography - We shot a wedding this weekend (Janna and Andrew Wing). Lovely couple who pretty much started dating long distance. It's amazing to see how God has led them through the past 3 years. No they're both going to be doctors and are moving to Halifax, NS. I wish them all the best.

Adventure sports - My paragliding course is this weekend. I looked at the details last night and now I'm a little worried. After 1.5 hours in the classroom, they'll take us out for 4 hours of flying. I hope I learn enough emergency maneuvers in the 1.5 hours! I kinda like my legs and don't want them to be crushed from a fall.

Triathlon - I took time off for the wedding this weekend and I'm taking a Vibrations course in town at the start of next shift. I have a solid 2 week period to get in some quality training for GWN, which is July 4th. This is my 1 and only triathlon this year. Signing up for IMC 2011 was dependent on my results and feelings with GWN, but I've jumped the gun and already plan on signing up for IMC. I finally bought mtn bike shoes and pedals and headed to COP last week with the crew. We did a few warm up loops before hitting the Canada Cup Trail. FUN FUN FUN!!! I'm tempted to try Xterra now, but mtn biking in itself is fun enough.

Travel - I booked tickets to Honolulu in October. I'll spend the night there before heading to KONA for 5 days. I plan on watching and taking photos of the kona IM. After that I'll do some coffee tours, scuba dive with manta rays, mtn bike through volcano national park.
Then it's off to Maui for some more scubadiving and site seeing. Xterra world champs are also that weekend so I will take photos....(and perhaps race since i'll have my bike....yes..I know i just said i wouldn't race xterra..but we all know that it'll happen eventually). Racing xterra depends on A) someone dropping out due to injury or cuz they're BEAT tired from racing Kona B) Coach Cal pulling some strings and getting the organizers to let me race. If i can't get a spot i'll run the 10km trail run the day before.

I believe that's it for hobbies!

I paper cut my face today

I paper cut my face while licking an envelope.

The envelope was to send a deposit cheque to book a 12-14 person house in penticton for Ironman 2011! It's a little bit early, but the owner allowed me to book early and I was able to meet him and see the place when I was in penticton last weekend.

We rode 120km, ran 16miles, and rode 160km over the 3 day camp. A few of us skipped the swim in skaha lake (cold at this time of year), in order to wine taste! I came home with 28 bottles of wine. Surprisingly, over half the bottles were whites. I've learned that whites 'cellar' for shorter periods of time before they're ready to drink...so perhaps I actually knew what I was doing. haha. I need a wine fridge now to keep the wine at 7C. The red which I'll cellar for a few years is 2007 'superego' from Therapy Vineyards. Cab Sauv- 63%, Merlot- 23%, Cab Franc- 10%, Shiraz-2%, Petite Verdot- 2%