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....