Last Post on this Blog

Hey everyone, My new site is up and running and pretty much finished.

I have started posting on my new blog, http://www.tylerduncanracing.com/blog/ so if you have been following me here or have me on your blogroll, thank you and please transfer over to my new site!

See you there!

www.tylerduncanracing.com

Hello Everyone!

In an effort to actually use the university degree seem to be finally finishing, I have started offering coaching services, in addition to my racing aspirations. So, to better serve my athletes, I have started a new web site that will allow athletes to learn about me, my services, and access their programs.

The Web site will also serve as my new blog, so if you have been following my poorly edited ramblings; let me first say thank you! and ask you to please continue following me at my new web site. Also if you use my blog as a jumping point to find all the other fantastic athletes I follow, don't worry, I have transferred all the links to the new site.

So this will be my last post to this site, I look forward to hearing from you all at my new site www.tylerduncanracing.com

Best Wishes,

Tyler D.

The Ocean is Salty...

That was about the only thing I could think of as I was standing on Jericho Beach last Saturday. I was getting ready for a short swim to test out the arms before the Vancouver International Half-Iron on Sunday. Having never done an ocean swim race before I was a little bit nervous going in to it, mostly because I tend to swallow a fair bit of water during races, and as I said above......

For my third half relay of the year the format remained the same, I took care of the swim and the bike while my third runner of the year, Leif, took care of the run. I have been really fortunate this year to find some truly talented runners to team up with for my races, I has defiantly made getting through the injury season a little easier!

As you may have guessed, my first Ocean race didn't feel all that great. I did end up swallowing some water, and my stomach was not super happy getting on to the bike. I was a great learning experience though, and my swim is a constant work in progress, so I came away from it with some good ideas to focus on.

The Bike was a different matter, all I can say is.... Fantastic!! After my stomach settled down a little and I started to feel a bit of power in my legs I got down to business and started to put some hurt on. The Vancouver course is basically a series of out and backs, so I was constantly seeing the leaders and judging the time gap between us. I was able to get a good pace going with Anthony Toth and we worked off each other for the whole ride, pushing the pace back and forth. We were able to make up serious time that was lost on the swim and ended up catching all but the top lead men!

It was an amazing field to race against, Jeff Symonds destroyed the field, while Steven Kilshaw and Mike Neill both had fantastic races on their way to Ironman (Mike at Lake Placid in a couple weeks!). It was a pleasure to get to see where I was against some of the bigger names in Canada. I still have a long way to go, but I'm pretty happy with where I'm at right now!

Best Wishes!

Tennis is a sport I will never understand...

Apparently not a problem for this guy!! Thanks to A-Russ for posting!

NB 1/2 Iron Relay Hilarity

Yesterday was the 15th annual New Balance Half-Iron at Elk lake, and a great day was had by all!!

As I am still struggling with my shins and a serious lack of running, I was racing the relay with my roommate Myke! As per the pattern for my season, I was doing the swim and the bike while Myke was brining it home with the run.

My portion of the race started of pretty well. I got a much smother start to the swim then I usually do. I was able to hang on to the leaders feet until right around the first buoy, at which point they slowly started to pull off into the distance. I settled in to a good rhythm though and came out of the water feeling strong.

The bike was great!. Noa and I had discussed a couple of key points coming out of Shawnigan including bringing my cadence down from my normal hill crushing 105-110 to a more maintainable 85-90, and adjusting my pre-race nutrition. Keeping to the plan kept me feeling strong and hammering hard right to the end. My bike time was right on par with the leaders, so I managed to get Myke into a good position for the run.

Here are a couple pics from the bike, Thanks to Mari and Adam!

Myke pulled out a great run, and brought us home in a very respectable fashion. We had been hoping to repeat my win in Shawnigan but in the end we were cleanly beaten by some seriously strong teams and finished 2nd overall in the men's relay division. So my goal for the west coast series goes from four wins to four podiums, but I'm still really happy with the day ;)

A huge congratulations goes out to Adam O'Meara for pulling out his first win! He is one of the most dedicated athletes I know, and truly deserves his success!

Thank you to all the Volunteers who were helping out on the weekend, and all the organizers for a great race!

What happens when training gets boring

I bet this guy doesn't worry about traffic to much...

A weekend in Wasa

I have been feeling a little antsy lately so I decided to accompany Leif and Kamal up to Cranbrook last weekend for the Wasa Lake Triathlon. The trip served two purposes, first it gave me a chance to get out of Vic and get a little variety in my training, but mostly it was an opportunity to share a trip with some good friends and support my teammates!

The weekend couldn't have been better. Seeing as I was just there to train and watch the race, I was able to relax and enjoy the fantastic 30 degree weather (a nice change from the "summer" here in Vic).

A wonderful Morning for a race!

Kamal in a great mood before the race

Sprint Start

At the end of the day Victoria a athletes faired well, with Leif posting the run of his life and a top ten finnish! Unfortunately, Kamal wasn't in quite as good a mood after the race. I was able to get some great training in, with a couple nice open water swims at the race site, and some good rides around the area.

I wish I could say I was impressed with the race, but other than the fantastic location I didn't find it to be very well organized. I would be interested to know why the RD made some of the decisions he made regarding transition set up and scheduling, but I don't think Wasa will be a race I will be making the trip for again.

I'm a movie star!!

and by star, I mean you might see me flash by the camera for about half a micro-secound!

Through the bike shop grape vine I heard about an opportunity to make a little money for once!

The new lifetime movie "Bond of Silence" was in Victoria and they were looking for cyclists to stage a bike race scene. They were offering a days worth of free food and a little cash so I decided to check it out.

It ended up being a pretty fun day, lots of familiar faces from around the biking community. The work was simple enough, they just had us riding our bikes around getting shots of group riding and a "finishing sprint". Of course they chose the one rainy day in the middle of our sunny streak, but it actually worked out pretty well for them since it was supposed to be December in California!

Overall it was an interesting experience to see the movies from the other side of the screen. Lots of hard work goes into making even the smallest scene. The crew is impressive to watch, turning downtown Vic in summer to a Christmas scene in California in a couple hours!

A cold day at Shawnigan...

Overall it was a good day to be alive at Shawnigan lake on Sunday!

The Howitzer blast tore through the morning stillness, jolting hearts and minds, and starting the Shawnigan lake half-iron. For me it was also the one year anniversary of my start in long distance tri (and what an amazing year it has been!).

As per the plan, I was racing the swim and the bike portions for team PT Performance. A very nice woman named Karen came on at the last minute and filled in the run, so my job for the day was to come off the bike in good position for Karen to run it home!

The swim got off to a bit of a rocky start. I am still not strong or aggressive enough to really fight for position in the initial blender of human bodies, so I was pushed off my ideal line for the first couple hundred meters. I settled into a good rhythm though, and was able to bridge up to the group in front of me. I came out of the water leading the second pack, just a couple minutes behind the leaders! Overall I am really happy with my swim, I think my pacing was bang on and I think it was a great start to the season!

The bike was not the smoothest of my life. The cold water/air lead to stiff/numb hands and feet, making it all but impossible to get my shoes on. About halfway through the first lap my breakfast decided it didn't really feel like staying in my stomach anymore, and I spent the next 1.5 laps in an epic battle with my gag reflex trying to talk it into sticking around. The end result of this struggle was complete lack of nutrition for the first half of the bike! I was still setting a good pace for the first three laps though and managed to maintain my position despite hitting a bit of a wall going into the last 20km.

At the end of the day I managed to get the job done, coming off the bike in 6th overall and leading the relay teams, giving Karen a bit of head start on the run. Karen ran a FANTASTIC 1:32:00ish to maintain our lead, and it was two tired but smiling faces high fiving at the finish line!

I am really happy with the race overall. I feel like it has given me a good step to carry forward with the rest of the season!

The PT crew was out in strength, lead on by a course record run and strong finish by Adam!

Congrats to all the other competitors, it was a cold, hard day for everyone!

Finally a big thank you to all the volunteers, without you non of it is possible!

My two cents...

This issue has been passed around a lot over the last six months or so, but it seems to keep popping up. Other than ranting with training partners (Moka house has debates that rival parliament!), or the odd comment supporting what others have said, I usually stay relatively silent in these instances. Mostly because I don't consider myself a good enough writer to construct a decent argument.

The problem being athletes portraying themselves as something they are not, possibly taking support and recognition away from others. Noa Deutsch has already commented on this and her post is a much more concise and well written version of my opinion. I highly recommend reading her post.

I would simply like to say that during my short time in triathlon I have had the opportunity to train with (and around) athletes that embody the pure ideals that athletics strive to instill within society. Whether they are Pro, elite, or age-grouper, they show up to training and work hard everyday because it is what they love to do. They set goals that are realistic (although sometimes lofty ;) for them and take pride in reaching them. When not racing they take pride in sanding on the side lines and cheering their training partners, finding joy in seeing their friends succeed.

As a grassroots athlete that has received a lot of support (see my wonderful sponsors) my issue is not with "lower" level athletes receiving support. There are many athletes that get support because of the work they do in their community, and there are many companies that have grassroots programs. I take issue when an athlete misrepresents himself to his sponsors and community at large. When someone make false claims it not only discredits themselves, but damages the sport as a whole.

I can only hope that hard work, honesty, and integrity will win out in the end and people that deserve support are not hurt by the dishonesty of others.

I have dedicated my life to sport education because I believe it is the best way to teach the values that society builds upon. Thank you to all the fantastic athletes that continue to present themselves in a manner that makes me proud to be involved in sport (even in my small way)!

The last two weeks in the life of me...

For those of you that don't know my life is divided nicely into two (usually) equal halves. I manage to keep a fairly good balance between my training and going to school for physical education. Sometimes my two lives do spill into each-other and the halves become slightly less than equal....

Usually my priorities tend to shift more to the side of my training, which often forces me spend unreasonable amounts of time in the library every few weeks. These past weeks, though, the balance has been heavily weighed on the school side.

The last two years of teachers college are spent taking teaching methods classes and spending time in schools getting practice teaching (practicums). We start with two weeks, and then do four months before we get certified. My first practicum was at St. Michaels University school. I spent the last two weeks observing classes and I had the opportunity to teach both science and PE (my two teaching areas). It was defiantly hard balancing training with full time work. Lots of early mornings and late nights, made for a very tired Tyler.

I was happy to discover that that I really enjoy teaching though, I was especially surprised by how much I enjoyed teaching science. Being in the classroom was a new experience for me, very different from teaching PE.

I find a lot of parallels between my life in triathlon and my life at school. Both the Tri community and the PE department at UVic are small worlds, where everyone knows each-other. One of the best parts about being part of a small training unit is that you can all help each other through difficult times and share in everyones success (read the same for school)!

I am happy to report that all my friends (and I) passed our practicums with flying colors, and as far as I have heard, enjoyed their time in the classroom as much as I did!

Congratulations to all my friends who completed their practicums this year, both their two week and their four month!

Now I am excited to get started on the summer, focus on training and make some big gains! Lots of hard work and big races coming up, can't wait!

Best wishes!

I only puked a little...

Those were the first words out of my mouth after I finished the Warp Speed time trial (20km) on Sunday.

Needless to say it was a hard race. Although I am not super stoked with the final result, there were some definite positives that I am happy to focus on.

First off, it was my first time trial of the year and my first race period on my new Transition. Met up with Cam from Riders last friday to get my disk dialed in, and I must say that blue bike+red disk=sexy!! (sorry, didn't get a pic yet, somehow the dozen or so photographers on course missed me:(

I was really excited to get on my bike and see what it could do!

The Warp speed corse is a hard out and back with a long false flat, and on the day a slight cross wind. I think I went out a little hard over the first 5km or so, hit a solid wall just before the turn around. The power drop in my legs was accompanied by a slightly more chunky spit than usual, and I was in pain mode for the last half of the race.

I managed to hang on for a sub-thirty finnish (28:23), good enough for 29th overall. Not exactly what I was hoping for, but good for the first race of the year.

Lots of good lessons, back to training. The summer is on!

I'm so excited...

At long last, the big day arrived! Bike Fitting day!!!

My new race bike came in from Specialized a little while ago, but due to a couple of issues it took a while to get built up.

Before I get into it I need to start by thanking Specialized for hooking me up with my new S-Works and Riders for having so much patience with me!

Special thanks to Luke and Cam for all there help with everything. Luke did such an amazing job setting me up with everything and keeping on top of everything, and Cam is one of the best and most patient mechanics I have every seen!!

Noa and I have been chomping at the bike to get me fitted and riding, so once it was built up we wasted no time!

Here are some pics from the fitting session,

Setting it up on the trainer, getting ready to go!

Settling into my new ride!

The Genius at work (Noa has a masters degree in bike fitting... Actually!)

Going to be fast! :)

My first race is the Warp Speed TT next weekend, can't wait to see what I can do!

Saturday= lots of time to think

One of my favorite things about being an amateur endurance athlete is the way we choose to spend our "off" time.

What is your idea of a perfect Saturday (or whatever your big day off is)? If you are like a lot of my friends, you probably sleep in a little, get up and take a nice long shower, make a yummy breakfast, watch a little TV. Or maybe you head out for a relaxed breakfast with some friends at your favorite Café, then wander around the downtown shops. Whatever it is, you probably consider it one of your favorite days of the week. Before you know it the hours have flown by and you've forgotten to do have the things on your "to do" list that you've been promising yourself you will get done for weeks ;)

My Saturday is very much the same, only I choose to start my day a little differently. Saturday is my long ride day, at this time in my season that means 3-4.5 hours on my bike. I do get to sleep in a little, I usually climb out of my bed around 730 to give myself enough time to have a light breakfast and get all my gear ready, then 830 is go time. Most weeks I make my way down to the OBB ride for 3hrs of group riding around Saanich Peninsula, then do any extra time on my own after. Sometimes I meet up this Noa and the PT Boys for a group session, or once in a while (like this morning) I set out for four hours of solo contemplation time.

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that going out for a ride is better than your Saturday routine. I just spent the morning thinking about the different definitions of fun that people have, and how I am so happy that we live in a part of the world where we can choose to spend our time doing the things we love!. Most people think I am nuts (my entire family included ;).

I will say that going out for a ride on a day like today (pouring rain), makes you appreciate the little things in life. The brief sun breaks, slight tail winds, long hot showers, and my personal favorite the post ride meal!!

Fruit Smoothie, Smoked Salmon and creme cheese on rice cakes, and swiss char/spinach salad with goat cheese, carrots, strawberries, and balsamic vinaigrette. It tasted even better than it looks (I know not hard, presentation is not my strong suit)

Back to studying!

Getting ready for the Season..

I am facing an aspect to race planning that I have never experienced before, Finding team mates!

For those of you that don't know, I am planning on racing the west coast Half-Iron series (Shawnigan, Victoria, Vancouver, and Sooke) as part of relay teams. Ideally I would like to race the swim and the bike, and then find some fast runners to finnish it off!

Having always been an individual athlete, skiing, cycling, triathlon, I have never had to rely on someone else for my competitions. I have never had to worry about other people showing up, or being ready to go come race day, but I have also never really been part of a team!

I have been part of training teams and programs, and it is always great to see your training partners succeed, but I have never had the experience of sharing a win with teammates after a

group effort, going out for a celebratory dinner after a job well done, you get the idea..!

Really looking forward to a season filled with new people, new lessons, and new experiences!

Jackpot...

Exciting times for me!! With exams in full swing and stress levels peeking I need some fun to help me with my final exam time push.

Thats right this will be my last exam period of my undergrad! That is of course depending on whether I pass everything. I have a couple classes that I am a little worried about, and I am having serious issues with concentration (hence writing a blog post in the library at twenty to six...).

Count on my fantastic sponsors to provide me with a much needed pick me up though!

About a week ago I got a call from Luke that a couple of big boxes came in the mail to Rider's! It was like Christmas had come early for me as I got to play with all my new toys courtesy ofRider's and Specialized!!

My new race kit!! So epic I can even express it. Specialized had put together some of the nicest tri gear I have ever seen. I can't wait to put it to good use!

The Helmet is so sweet I couldn't help myself.

Plus you never know what kind of monsters will come over during a bike cleaning session (sorry Steph, I couldn't help myself ;)

Anywhooo, all the new gear is sweet and I am once again so amazed and excited to be associated with companies who are willing to support local athletes!

My new S-Works Transition should be ready to go by next week, just in time for a nice little 20km TT in Vancouver. This bike is going to be super fast, I don't think I have ever been so stoked for a bike in my life!

Hoping to post some pics of the build up soon (if Cam lets me in to his super secret tech shop;). At the very least expect some sweet shots of it built up and going fast!

Great job to all the Canadians in the Junior race in Monterrey Yesterday! Good luck to Austin, Andrew, Andrew, @Andre_Paul tomorrow!

Making the best of it...

Once again it has been a little while since my last post (I know, this seems to be a fairly common statement for everyone). I have been dealing with some harsh realities that I am now starting to come to terms with, so I thought I would let you all in.

What has finally spured me in to writing is a post from Lauren; I have a huge amount of respect for her and her attitude, she seems to be going through a similar thought process to me right now.

As anyone who has spent any time with be know, I had a huge expectations for myself going in to this season. I had goals in my mind and not reaching them was not an option. I got out to a great start, my training was going really well, and I was posting some fantastic winter results.

Then disaster struck, pain in my shin that I had been downplaying turned out to be a stress fracture and my running was put on an instant hold. Still the ever positive and with lots of time remaining before my first race, I was disappointed but my images of a perfect season still played in my mind.

Around two months later I got the news, you can RUN! Yaaaaaa!

Welllll, that lasted all of a week, and two twenty minute run/walks later I was back in my physio's office in more pain than ever. Now my crystal ball was beginning to shatter. New Orleans was less than a month away (no chance there) and people seemed to get really quiet when I asked how much longer I would be out for. It became clear pretty quick that I was not going to be happy with any answer I got. Now I was sitting on the fine knife point of despair over a chasm depression. I got pretty down on training for a bit and didn't even want to think about, let alone deal with the situation.

Then strange things started to happen. I started to accept that I would have to do a lot of my races as relays, and I didn't freak out. Then one night Noa started talking about my best options for Ironman, namely doing the swim/bike and dropping out for the run. Again I didn't get overly upset, or hug my pillow that night.

Don't get my wrong, I am still shattered that my season is not shaping up the way I had hoped, and I am hoping for a miracle in the coming weeks but I am also coming to a new realization. It could be worse!

I have been able to train my swimming and biking harder than I have ever trained before in my life. I have gone from being the worst swimmer in the pool to being the slowest kid in the fast lane (I'm not getting lapped every 100 anymore :), and my biking has progressed light years in no time. Plus I have been able to adress major issues with my mobility that my Noa and Linda think caused a lot of my injuries.

To finnish. While I would love to say that I am fully fit and healthy with goals intact, I am happy to say that I am at least fit and have been able to adjust my goals to something I think I can be very happy with. I am planning on finding some fast runners who want to light the Westcoast Half-iron relay circuit on fire. I will re-asses closer to, but I am excited to see what I can do over the swim and the bike at IMC. I have finished my level two tri coaching, and I am looking for athletes to help reach their goals. Most importantly though, I am stoked to be working with a fantastic group of dedicated athletes, an amazing coach, supportive sponsors (see right, they are all amazing!) and I feel like I am in a strong place for the coming years.

So thanks Lauren, for spurring me to get out my thoughts, and for being such an amazing Canadian Athlete!

I can't wait to see everyone succeed this season! (Dearbear just crushed the WC swim standard!)

Now back to studying for finals....

Might need to add this to my to do list...

Just a short one...

So not much to report but I wanted to let everyone in on what has been going on.
I completed my level two tri coaching in Vancouver last weekend, overall it was a pretty good experience with a lot of opportunity for practical work with some athletes who were kind enough to come out. I was especially happy to be able to coach some swimming, as that is my weakest area, and I don't get very much opportunity to work with athletes in the pool.
In other news, I had a bit of a set back with my stress fracture. I got two runs in before I started to have soreness in my shin again. I am trying to be smart about this (rather than just push through as I usually do), so I have backed off again, back in the pool for water running!
I was pretty depressed about this set back for a couple of days, but I have calmed down and focused back on training. I need to keep my focus on this being a development season. I have a lot of years ahead of me in this sport, and healing properly for a career is more important than one race.
So the summary is, Swim good, Bike GOOD, run In progress...
good wishes for all!

Fun times x2...

Exciting times for me this last week!

Firstly Noa asked me to help out with a bike clinic she was running for Team West Coast. The goal of the clinic was to teach basic group riding skills and bike handling, not a small task to fit in to two and half hours on a Saturday morning!

Noa and I had a plan for what we wanted to do, but I didn't really have any idea what to expect. The clinic started with a quick 20min ride just to get an idea of where everyone was and what we needed to focus on. Right from the start I was actually pleasantly surprised, everyone was comfortable on their bikes and group cohesion was better than I thought it would be.
Getting right into it we had the group ride for about 40min practicing single file and double file riding, while I was hanging out at the back keeping an eye on everyone. Hanging on to the back of a group is actually pretty tough! Trying to stay close enough to stay in the draft, but far enough away that you don't impede the rider falling back is a delicate balance that was new to me.

The group cohesion fell apart a bit when we moved in to double file riding, so Noa and I took everyone to a parking lot to practice some close quarter bike skills. It always amazes me how fast simple drills can make people comfortable with a skill. Just having everyone ride in pairs touching shoulders, or with hand on shoulder, made them realize that they were much more capable than they had realized.

From there we moved into some basic obstacle courses and bike handling drills, before taking the group out to the Observatory to see how they did with a bit of a climb! Already everyone looked so much better riding in a group, the gaps closed right up and people were filling off the front like pros! Then, despite a bit of happy complaining, they rocked up the observatory like it was a mole hill!

Moving right on from the bike clinic on Saturday, to the TC clinic on Sunday! Because I haven't been able to run, I have been leading the TC 10k walk group at Cedar Hill Rec, and I am so excited to see how everyone is coming along! I have a whole range of ability levels, from people with time goals, to one older lady recovering from a series of medical problems. No matter the reason though, everyone has been working hard and are well on their way to meeting their goals! Of particular note, however, the woman who is recovering from a stroke has more than doubled her activity levels in 8 short weeks! and I have one woman who wants to walk to 10km in under an hour and a half and I think she needs to adjust her goal, faster!!

I always forget how much I love coaching and running clinics, it is fantastic working out in the community with athletes of all ability levels. Seeing people reach their goals is highly rewarding!

Finally a short note on my training. I am happy to report that I went for my first run yesterday after two months off with a stress fracture! I am taking it really easy and knocking of every piece of wood I can find, but hopefully I will be ready to go in New Orleans!

Paralympics are super cool!

This is one of the Videos from the Canadian Paralympic Committee's new (and first) add Campaign. It features Canada's Steph Dixon, 19 time Paralympic medalist and one of the most incredible people I know.
For those of you that don't know the Vancouver paralympics are starting in a couple of days and Canada is home to an unbelievable array of Athletes. I am so excited to see Vancouver again play host to the worlds most talented athletes and make no doubt about it these athletes are amazing!
So please remember to come out and support the paralympics! Write to your local TV stations and tell them you want to see more coverage!
For those of you in Victoria this Saturday the torch relay is coming through, so come out and join in the spirit!!!!
In case the video doesn't work here is a link to facebook http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=848870200731



Pictures are even better when in video form!

Thanks Kamal for putting a sweet video together, He promises version 2.0 when he gets more pics!

Tucson The end...

Just a short on to sum up the camp in Tucson.

I had a fantastic time a my first triathlon training camp. I was a wonderful experience to be surrounded by amazing people totally focused on being the best we could be in every workout. Everyone pushed their limits and were surprised by the results.

On my end, having to focus on only swimming and biking lead to the biggest week of cycling I have ever had, ridding across Canada included. I was very happy with how i handled the training, especially with how I was able to push myself during the harder efforts and big climbs! At the same time though I realize how far I have to go, as my mobility and muscle imbalances, amplified by the huge training volume, led to me finishing the week with a very sore hip that caused me to miss the last workout of the camp.

With Noa's help I am looking at all my training very positively right now. I am not exactly where I would like to be, but I am learning a lot about myself and what I need to work on. Being new to the sport and relatively new to endurance sports in general, I am amazed at how far I have come already and can't wait to continue growing!

I'd like to leave you with a beautiful new addition to the "playing for change" sound track. This program continues to amaze me with the quality and power of music from around the world!

Tucson the pain...

Well we are in the last couple days of training camp now and I am HURTing......

There have been so many hard swims and rides that they are all blending into one. We were actually sitting around the living room today, trying to remember what workout was when and had to call in Coach Noa to sort everything out!

(I was trying to sneak up behind and scare him but it turned into lame pose)

For me the camp has been an endless assault of biking. The hours of endless peddling through hard workouts just keep coming. I hit my breaking point after an epic 27 mile, 8000 ft, 1:56 min climb of Mt. Lemon (to the top of the ski hill!), complete with snow and painfully cold decent (pictures coming!!). In total it was a 6.5 hr, 150 km ride that ended with me lying on the floor unable to verbalize more than single word grunts.

Pretty cool shot of us on a recovery ride just having fun!

By the end of the camp I will have done almost thirty hours of cycling. I know that isn't unheard of for a lot of cycling specific pros out there, but of little old me thats a HELL of a lot of time on the bike! Unfortunately it has taken its toll, my hip and tail bone feel like they have had a boxer pounding on them for about three days straight, and I can bairly get through the twenty minute spin to the pool with out whimpering in pain.

This afternoon has been spent siting on the roller and stretching to try and aleviate some of the tightness, but we will see in the morning if I am going to do the final ride of the camp (three hours of hill repeats!!).

Don't try this at home... on second thought just don't try this...

In the end though both Noa and I are really happy with how the camp has gone. My swimming has been great. Haven't really mentioned it because it seems so minor compared to the epic amount of cycling, but the 30+km we have done is still the most swim volume I have ever done in a week!

More to come after our last big day tomorrow and we pack up to head home!

Just relaxing after getting stopped by road crews on our afternoon ride

Tucson the beginning...

Arriving in Tucson was an experience, no matter how many times I come down to the states I seem for forget how BIG everything is.
The first hit was flying into Phoenix over the endless miles of suburban sprawl and the rental car mall that was bigger than the Victoria airport!
Kamal, Derek, and I go, what I am calling, the texas upgrade on our car. The garage attendant did a double look between our bike boxes and the little Kia they were going to give us, disappeared for ten minutes and came back with a full sized EXPEDITION. I was honestly the most ridiculously oversized monstrosity I have ever seen. I hurt my sole a little to drive it, but we were able to fit three bikes, three bags, and three people in and still have room for Derek to lie down and sleep during the drive.
Our house turned out to be pretty sweet! Pool table, big kitchen, comfy living area, now if they could just bring us beds...
There were a few key Items missing when we arrived (beds, pots, toilet paper) but they all got taken care of and it has been pretty great. They even brought us a magic bullet to make smoothies!

Sponsor Please!!

The work out have been goood so far. It all started with an easy bike to get things going just a light 70 min. Then we jumped right into it with a 2 hr. bike with 4 x 15min high zone 3 low zone four (ie. HARD), 3 min easy.

Bikes are fun!

This morning wasn't much easier with a 5km swim MS 6 x ( 3 x 200 building 1-3) alternating FS, Paddles and pull. All this in a 25 yard pool, LOTS of flip turns.

Where's the sun?

This afternoon hold a 2.5 hr bike in the wind storm, should be super!
Two days in and already SORE, its going to be a great week :)

Great week...

So much exciting news!
I am coming to the end of a nice recovery week, after a couple weeks of just pounding out milage in the pool and on the bike!
What about running you ask? WELL, that nagging pain in my shin that everybody said "don't worry about is, can't be stress fracture, your negative for all the tests and the pains not that bad." Yaaaaaa turned out that that I have a stress fracture in my tibia, and I can't run for a little while.

Its all good though, I have been off for about a month and a half now. I will be starting to lace up the shoes again at the beginning of march, and because of the (ridiculous) milage I have been doing on the bike and the (looooong) hours of water running I have been doing I should come back pretty strong.
Coach Noa isn't to concerned about it affecting my season to badly so I am going with the positive attitude!

On a much cooler note! The fantastic guys at Riders cycles here in Victoria have decided that they would like to work with me and have offered me a very cool sponsorship deal! I can't wait to work with all the guys over there and be associated with such a sweet shot. I was in the shop talking to Luke today and it sounds like he's got some sweet plans for putting a team togeather and really supporting local athletes!


So, PT is off to Tucson on Saturday. I am Super excited for some warm weather, hard training, and good people! plus absolutely killing myself on Mt. Lemon, 24 mile climb anybody!?!

Best commercial ever!

Finally here...

After all the hype, all the lead up, the good, the bad, the ugly... The Olympics have finally arrived!!!
As a former winter athlete I am really excited to watch the Vancouver games and cheer on all the athletes, but I would like to take a moment to send out my best wishes to on e particular group of people who I am on pins and needles with excitement for.
So to Robbie Dixon, Manual Osborne-Paradis, Britt Janyk, Michael Janyk, Watch for great things from these althletes in Alpine Skiing!
Ashleigh McLvor, Julia Murray, and Andra Nedelcu will all be ripping it up in Ski cross!!
(sorry to anyone I missed!)

You have all been racing those hills for years, Just another training run!
Our lives have gone different paths, but I am so proud to have known you all. You are the finest examples of Canadian athletics and I am so happy for you all.

These are all fantastic Vancouver/Whistler athletes who, regardless of how you feel about the Olympics politically, and along with the rest of the Canadian team and all the athletes, deserve your full support and admiration.
So cheer on and support these athletes for representing the absolute best that humans beings can be, and embodying the highest ideals we should all strive for!

All the best to all the athletes in the coming weeks!

Dear Cannondale...

I know we've been on shaky ground lately. I know I messed up when I jammed your chain and I know you hurting.
Every relationship goes through it's hard parts and this is our first fight so I think we can get back to a good place.
We might have to work out some issues, it might take us a little time but I know we love eachother and we have many wonderful miles ahead of us.
That being said, I would also like to apologize for taking you out in the rain today, I swear it wasn't my fault. You know how Look is, every time she gets a little sick she takes FOREVER to heal and she won't leave the house even if she's a little under the weather. Look's not as nimble as she used to be. She's getting a little long in the tooth, and her old bones are a little brittle on the cold rides.
Your not like that though, your always so dependable. Rain or shine I know I can alway count on you for a great ride. Your so young and full of energy I know I can count on you to leap at even the hardest challenge.
For the sake of our relationship I feel I need to be honest with you though. I did not think the two flat tires today were called for. I am trying to work on our relationship. I took you to the doctor to get you a check up, and to the spa for a full body treatment; everything a girl could ask for. Then you do a thing like that. I felt it was very underhanded and undermined my efforts to carry on with our time together. I hope you get get past this grudge you are holding against me and we can get back to that beutiful place we once were.
With love,
Tyler

Fun People, Fun Workouts...

The PT team got together for a training ride yesterday and all the regular insanity ensued. Every time we have a group workout I am reminded how happy I am to have such a fantastic group of guys to train with.
A hard workout goes by in no time when you have friends to joke around with and push you to preform at your best.
Here are some photos from the trainer ride...

Kamal has trouble staying on his bike sometimes...


Leif got the spot right next to the fan.. Lucky!


Noa has to put up with us...Deep down shes laughing to...


Don't ask...

New life goal..

I have always wanted to be the guy that manages to get a whole bar room involved in a spontaneous, but somehow perfectly choreographed sing/dance routine.
The highlight of my life so far has been being on a plane when someone else got the whole plane to sing along to "I'm leaving on a jet plane"
But I would like to thank Derek for posting this on his Facebook and bringing my dream to a whole new level!



I must make this happen! (animated bird included). I wonder if Noa can work rehearsal and bird training time in to my training schedule!

Separating body and mind...

So I always thought that this was pretty common but all my fellow PT trainers looked at me like I was crazy yesterday...

Whether it is in training or during a race I always feel there is a separation of my body and mind. Sometimes they work together sometimes they don't, but there is always a distinct separation in my mind.

To clarify I don't mean that I actually have two distinct voices telling me what to do, because that is call schizophrenia and that would be really bad...

I am more referring to that voice that pops up in the middle of a long swim, or the first couple steps off the bike in a tri. The voice that reminds you how easy it would be to just stop and let you muscle rest, that points out how much the acid is burning your legs and tries to tell you that only crazy people do this silly endurance racing thing.

But then there is the other voice that urges you to keep going, that says "Its not that bad, you can push harder," "remember all that training, this is when it pays off," or my personal favorite "Stop whining, you can rest when you get to the finish!"

Anybody that knows the pain of pushing through a hard workout, or finding that last bit of power for a sprint finish, has had moments where they ask themselves "why am I doing this?"

I have had many workouts where something in me just isn't there, the drive to carry on just doesn't come through, and I ask myself "is this really what I call fun?". But then I remember the days where body and mind are in total sync; when all the voices are quiet and the universe comes into line, when everything feels smooth and effortless. Those rare and wonderful moments where time stands still and distance flies by.

So the next time I ask myself "why am I DOING this," I will know it is for those undefinable, perfect moments where body and mind become one and the world becomes my playground.

On a side note... Cool!

Quote of the week...

If at first you don't succeed.... Sky diving is not for you...

-anonymous guy in bar

I was probably laughing for about ten minutes after I heard this... No context just a random blurt over heard that I thought I would share

Running fun...

So for those of you that don't know me, one of my major passions is developing and supporting active lifestyle programs, mainly for young children, but I love working with all age groups.

For the last week I have been working on getting back in to running after my shin flared up and I took it easy over the christmas break. Trying to keep it light but still work up the time a big, I have been running on the treadmills at crystal after morning swims.

After all the elite tri groups clear out and the lanes are changed over a flood of elderly people seem to come from no where and fill the pool with water aerobics and the aquatic version of knitting circles gabbing away!

I love seeing a whole mix of ages, abilities, and body types coming together and just enjoying being active. Whether it is dancing to YMCA like a high school dance gone wrong or walking back and forth sharing the local gossip with the ladies, everyone just looks like they are having a fantastic time!

Activity should be a life time pursuit of healthy living and getting the most out of your time. To all the people getting healthy with their friends a crystal pool in the morning I thank you for giving my some great entertainment on my long treadmill runs!