Friday, September 25, 2015

It's Been A While!

 Hello peeps! It's been a while. Once September hits I'm usually in full travel mode for work. September has seen me in Ottawa, Thunder Bay x 2, Edmonton, Sudbury and Huntsville. While I enjoy going to all these places, after almost 20 years of it, it becomes a little tiring. Fortunately the people I work with are great and I make sure to run wherever I am - a great way to see the community. The pic above is another Turnbull street sign - my third one found. This one is about a 45 minute ride from my house. The other two? There is one not far from Weber's on Hwy 11 near Orillia and the other is on Canal Rd near Deerhurst Resort in Huntsville. Feel free to check them out - haha.

 At an event in Ottawa which took place in a museum. I remember this weekend as it was the same day as Ironman Mont Tremblant. The athletes definitely earned it as the temperatures with humidity were in the high 30s. Two athletes from our club punched their tickets to Kona - very cool!

 For those that don't know I work for a Pharmaceutical company and I deal with urologists. The pic to the left is a healthy stream. If you stream is slow or intermittent please go see your local urologist. This has been a public service announcement.

 No way man! Bikes are made for ridin!!

 September has been spectacular for weather this year. The extension of summer has been nice. Taking this year off has been the best thing I could have done. I did manage an Olympic and Half Ironman this year but overall scaled back the long sessions. I feel more like myself prior to the 4 Ironmans in 2 years period. It feels good and I've seen my mojo return. I look forward to the off season and general base building.

 Sara-aero!

 It IS off season after all so why not have a few beverages!

 


 More travel. This one from the lakefront in Sudbury. Besides running I also tend to swim. Swimmersguide.com is great for finding lane swims. Many of the northern Ontario pools are phenomenal.

 Another week, another plane. This time to Thunder Bay.


 Currently I'm upping my running frequency. I've had a few weeks of 4-5 runs per week. I plan of spending the fall doing 5-6 runs a week of at least 30 minutes in duration. In 2011 I did the Slowtwitch 100 runs in 100 days challenge. This is a base building challenge. It runs from December to March. I did 76 runs in 2011 and ended up having my best season ever. I plan on breaking my 76 record this go around. The vast majority of the runs are at an easy pace. The accumulative effect is where the gains are made. Check it out!
 
Cheers!

Thursday, September 3, 2015

Spectating Is Exhausting!

 This past weekend Sara and I played spectator at the inaugural Ironman Muskoka. First off, check who I grabbed a picture with - none other than 6-time Hawaii Ironman champ Dave Scott. Dave came to Muskoka with a lady friend who decided to enter the race last minute. He said he rode most of the course, about 150k of it, and he said it was a legit and challenging course.

 We watched our club mates from TCOB and other friends facing this epic course. For the bike we positioned ourselves near Dwight Beach road and Hwy 35. We saw everyone for both loops. We purposely chose this area for the proximity to our campground and to encourage the athletes in an area not covered by a lot of spectators. People were appreciative of the cheers and well wishes.

 Once done with the bike it was onto town for the run. We decided to park ourselves in the exact spot we occupied for the 70.3 on Hwy 60. We chose this spot because it's on a stretch of road that tends to be long and rolling and hot when exposed to the sun. Our spot is also on the crest of a hill on both sides, the apex. With our big red beach umbrella, lawn chairs and cooler, we set up camp and began cheering.

 Observing an Ironman for the first time, I got a new perspective of this event. There are as many stories as there are athletes, each one unique. For some the day turns out great, for others not so good. It could nutrition problems, overpacing mistakes, or the body just came up flat. At any rate, the amount of work put in in preparation does not always equate to Ironman success. Emotions can be raw. I was amazed by how many athletes thanked us for being out all day cheering. I witnessed a lot of people digging deep. My range of Ironman finishes is from 11:09 to 13:55 so I know that anything can happen and, while spectating, I witnessed this first hand. I will admit that, by day's end, we were exhausted! Not as exhausted as the athletes but pretty bagged nonetheless. I now have a new appreciation for Sara and the many races she's watched me compete in.

 At the end of the day, Ironman is a race that we sign up for and attempt to conquer. If it doesn't turn out as expected so be it. There will be other races. The last two years while completing four Ironmans I would classify my races as unsuccessful in that I did not come close to meeting my expectations. At the same time I did 4 Ironmans in 2 years - not a lot of people can say that. Taking this year off of Ironman racing was the smartest thing I could have done. I feel more rested and rejuvenated. More importantly, I'm enjoying training again and feel more motivated to put in the work.
 
While my tri-season is over for 2015 I look forward to building a base and increasing strength. Next year I age up to the 50-54 age group and I'd like to put in a good year for the big 5-0!!
 
Cheers!