Guysborough County Triathlon

Beauty day for perhaps my favorite triathlon in the province. 2:42:23 for a 10 minute improvement over Ingonish a few weeks ago. Hopefully have some pics to put up soon.

Triathlon Season Begins!

As it has for the past 2 years, my 2013 tri season started in Ingonish. This is a great race in one of the most beautiful settings in the province. The Ingonish tri is slightly longer that the other races in the province (due to the nature of the the bike course) and is the most challenging one I've done. The bike and run course are quite challenging with some gnarly hills on each. With Ironman training in full swing I've made the move to Olympic distance races this season; Ingonish being only my second. I was quite happy with my time of 2:52:05 which was a significant improvement over my time in Bridgetown last year. My swim and bike were but great. The run got a bit tough with the heat. I ended up walking the hills on the second loop of the run course. I wasn't too happy about the run but all in all I was happy with the race.

 Coming out of Freshwater Lake

 Heading out for the hot hilly run.

Jody completed the Try a Tri this year. She had a great race and her time of 58 minutes and change was very impressive. Super proud of her!

Jody heading into T2

My second race of the season was a big one. I joined my sister and brother in law to compete in the team event at Epic Dartmouth. Cara did the 3.8km swim, Richard did the first 90km of the bike leg and I did the second 90km and the 21.1km run. I basically completed a half Ironman distance without the swim. This was a good test and came at a good time out from IMMT. I was happy with my bike time, averaging 28.5 km/hr for the 90km. The last 20 km were pretty tough, physically and mentally as my energy level really dropped and I was having a hard time keeping a decent pace. I had a goal in mind for the bike and the run. I met and exceeded my bike goal ( thought I'd average more like 25km/hr) but I paid for it on the run. I had a tough go right from the start. My legs were beat and I was having a hard time staying motivated. I did a little bit of walking early on but was still keeping a decent pace. At some point I started to feel the beginnings of leg cramps. First my calves and quads and then the dreaded hamstring cramps that are just incapacitating. By km 12 they were getting pretty bad, to the point that I was having to stop and massage and stretch them out just to keep going. Not a nice feeling and hell on the pace. I won't soon forget the feeling of leaning against the fence that made up the end of the run course, rubbing the back of my legs to make them work with a big crowd and the announcer saying my name as I was finishing. 200 metres to the finish and I was standing still. I finished with a smile on my face but I'd really like to sort out this cramping issue. Is it nutritional? More training required? More salt? Gotta work on it. 

Gettin' Cranky Wit It

Been trying to do most of my own bike maintenance. This was probably the biggest job I've taken on so far. I just replaced the original Race Face crank with a Shimano 105 Compact. I have the tools to build a house or dismantle a car but had to borrow a few things and do a pile of digging just to find the right tools for this job. Bikes are not standard! In fact, I needed different tools to remove one crank than I did to install the other. It'll be all worth it though when I'm spinning up those hills that once tortured me! Had it it out for a first run today, almost 70km (my longest ride to date) with a few good climbs. Definitely an improvement over the old set up. Still have to do some work on my legs though; what kind of tools would I need to swap those?

Old crank (my nickname) partially, and incorrectly, dismantled.

Lots of research and a few borrowed tools later and the old crank is history

Shiny new 105 ready to rock.

Trails and Beavers

30 easy minutes on the IM scedule turned into a quick little trail ride. Fun stuff. New beaver dam on the trail since last year. The beaver was not feeling particularly social.

Doctor's NS Youth Run/ Fiddler's Fun Run

The family had a running kind of weekend. On Saturday the girls blazed the youth run. They both had a great time. What a long way they've come in just a few years. Becca decided to take Sunday off but Jody, Anna and I all took part in the Fiddler's Fun Run. Jody and Anna did the 5k and I did the 10. It was the first time Anna did a 5k race on her own and she loved every second. She was the youngest runner of the day and completed the slightly long 5k course in 40 minutes. What a champ! Jody picked up a pb for the distance. I had a great run on very tired legs. Saturday was an hour in the pool followed by 2hrs on the bike and a fast 20 minute run. I wasn't sure what I'd be able to do on Sunday but I went out fairly strong and thought I could keep it up for the 10k. I ended up with a pb for 10k and finally broke the 50 minute mark. My finish time was 50:27 for 10.25 k but my 10k time was just under 50 minutes. I will take it.

Monday is my off day in this Ironman schedule. I love Monday. Tuesday was a hard track workout and then a great, solid 1:20 ish workout in the pool. Today I rode from Howie Centre to Bras Dor in a nasty headwind. The legs are done for the day. Run/swim day tomorrow!

The crew! 

Cabot Trail Relay Race 2013

Week 1 of Ironman training ended with leg 14 of the 26th running of the Cabot Trail Relay Race. This is only my second year participating in the race. I can say I never want to miss it. Amazing atmosphere and a chance to run in one of the most beautiful places on the planet. Leg 14 is a 19.8 km rolling leg along the West Coast of the island leaving from St. Joseph Du Moin before heading inland along the Margaree River to finish in Margaree Forks. Start time 3:37 am. This year runners were treated to headwind and pounding rain for much of the run. Still a beautiful leg and a really enjoyable run on very little sleep. I was a bit worried going in because I've been nursing an injured back and as a result did not get in my long runs as I should. I'm happy with my time of 1:47 and change and pace of 5:28/km all things considered.

This year I ran for Team Totally 80's; an enthusiastic and nutty group of runners. I had to apologize for being the least fun person in the group (by a mile) but I'll admit that it was a blast.

Team Totally 80's. I swear I'm on the team. I'm not just photo-bombing!

March 27 2013

2 months since my last post. The training is ongoing. Barely missed a beat. More on that soon. Ironman training program started a week ago. It’s going to be tiring and busy but I welcome it openly. More on that soon too.

The world is a wonderful place. I love the people in my life; my family, the people I train with, my friends old and new. The world fills me with awe and wonder. It is beautiful and inspiring. But sometimes this world is cruel, devastating and raw. Sometimes it seems to take pleasure in testing you. Sometimes the world is stripped bare and all it once contained is replaced with darkness… or pure light.

In Like a Lion

Ice Beard Buds!

Mar 10th 5.2 0:31:00 Easy jog on Crestdale and Route 4 with Duke and George.
Mar 10th 4.3 0:30:00 Super easy on TM. 1600m swim tonight as well.
Mar 11th 5.5 0:30:20 Route 4 with the dogs. Decent run. Broke 500km! I'll be running in Calgary for the rest of the week!

The next few runs were in Calgary while staying with my brother. Had some decent runs with his dogs but definitely felt the effects of the increased altitude. Calgary is at about 3500ft above sea level. Didn't notice too much while running on flats or downhill but it was quite noticeable on any climbs. I took a day off this week to go snowboarding in the rockies. We spent a day at Sunshine riding fresh powder and having a blast. I also took a day off to rest my very sore, swollen and freshly tattoed leg. I got tattoed twice while in Calgary. I'd been looking forward to it for quite a while but it will certainly not do me any favours in the water. A week in Calgary and (hopefully) two weeks to heal is a lot of time out of the pool. I'll have to work twice as hard when I get back in next week.

Powder day at Sunshine

Mar 12th 5.7 0:32:00 Through MJ's neighbourhood in Calgary with Princess Mia. Great run but very shallow breathing going uphill. Definitely could feel the elevation.
Mar 13th 4.7 0:30:00 Snakey run through the neighbourhood with Gusto. Ran in shorts!
Mar 16th 6.66 0:47:40 Got lost in Nosehill Park with Mia. Beautiful place to run. Gnarly hills. Had to walk some of the DOWNHILLS in the snow! Cold and windy.  
Mar 17th 4.9 0:31:48 Last run in Calgary. Ran un and down the streets and long ally ways in MJ and Beth's hood. The dog and I both had icy beards.
Mar 19th 6 0:35:00 Route 4 to Blackett's Lake Bridge and back. With the dogs. Storm just rolling in. Nice to be back at sea level.
Mar 20th ??? Missed something here. Hmmm
Mar 21st 5 0:30:00 TM in the hotel in Dartmouth. 30 minutes in front of 24 feet of mirrors=gruesome. Also did an easy spin of 20-25 minutes.
Mar 22nd 6 0:35:30 Stuck in Dartmouth - Bad. Finding a few kms of trails in Burnside Industrial Park - Good.
Mar 23rd 6 0:33:30 Regular 6km route from home. Beauty day.
Mar 24th 5.2 0:30:00 Crestdale and Rt. 4 with the dogs. Feels like spring.
Mar 24th 5 0:30:00 TM at home. Vivos. I think this gets me out of debt for the travel/jet lag/ visitors perfect storm of last week.
Mar 25th 5.25 0:30:00 Graveyard with Duke. Off leash run training. Duke rules. Distance is a guess.

Hoo hoo hoo said you could skip a day?

Marching On

So my last post was on Valentine's day and ended with a poem. That cracks me up. I feel like I haven't been swimming nearly enough. When I get there I feel great but I really need to get back to the pool. Here's another boring stats log:

• Feb 15th-5.5km Crestdale Dr
• Feb 16th-3800m swim followed by 12km loop of Point Edward with Karen. Great run and my last longish run before the Long John Jaunt.
• Feb 17th- 5ish km on the dreadmill. Starting to hate that thing. Did part of the run in Vivos. I usually start my TM runs either barefoot or in Vivos.
• Feb 18th-Mini brick at home. 30min spin and 5km on the TM.
• Feb 19th- 9.5km. Modified Tuesday route with P-Mac, Bighead, Corey and Stephany. Hard fast run for me. Followed with 2350m swim
• Feb 20th- 6km. Home to Blackett's Lake Bridge and back. 1km warm-up, 4km speed work, 1km warm-down. Last hard effort before the LJJ.
• Feb 21st- 5.7km from the pool. Beautiful day. Easy pace. Now I am 38.
• Feb 22nd- Super easy 30 mins on the TM. LJJ Eve.
• Feb 23rd- 2013 JJ McDermett Long John Jaunt. I did my first and only other half-marathon last year at the first LJJ. I fell apart in the last 5km and was not very happy with my time of 2:10. This year I hoped to break 2:00. 2 days ago Karen asked me to run with her to try to get 1:45. I really didn't think I could do it (especially during this 100 runs madness) but I thought I'd go out and give it a shot and fall off the pace when I started to hurt. Turned out to be a great run. I did it in 1:50 and change for an improvement of 20mins over last year. I was really stoked. The last 3km were really tough but rather than fall apart and do some walking as I might have done in the past I put my head down and went to work to grind out those last few km. Super happy with my result. As I've said before, I may not be fast but at least I'm slow.
• Feb 24th- Super dooper easy recovery run on Crestdale. About 4.25 km in 30 minutes. 
• I'm on a new team this year for the Cabot Trail Relay. We picked our legs tonight and I ended up with leg 14 which is exactly what I wanted. It is a long one, very close to half-marathon distance and I will be running through Margaree Harbour and along the river as the sun comes up. I can't honestly think of anything much better than that. I'll also take it as a good sign that I volunteered for another plus 20km run the day after the LJJ.
• Feb 25th- 4.7km at home on the TM. Easy effort. Legs still a bit trashed.
• Feb 26th- 7km. Northend loop from the pool. Legs still sore and a bit numb. Felt like crap so I skipped swimming.
• Feb 27th- Had to take a day off with a blown back. Today was also the day I made the decision to see a new chiropractor on the recommendation of Alan MacKenzie. I'm hoping this guy will be interested in finding long-term solutions to these back problems. This blow out has been a bit longer lasting than others I've had. In fact, as I type this on March 9th I'm still a bit sore.
• Feb 28th- I managed about 4km in 30 minutes on the TM. Even that was miserable. It took some breaks and stretching to get me through it but I know that moving carefully is usually better for me than being still.
• March 1st- Ran twice today. 5km on the TM this morning and 6km on the road in the afternoon. Back was really starting to loosen up by the second run.
• March 2nd- 8km Louisbourg Slush Run. Boy did I feel like dog shit. Couldn't push the way I wanted to; the way I've been able to in my last few races. I think I was still recovering from a tough week with the back problems and the LJJ. Still ran a PB at 39:47.
• March 3rd- 5km TM
• March 4th- 5.6km. Crestdale Dr. including 3x hard up the Rock Cut Hill plus recovery. The dogs love hill repeats.
• March 5th- 11.1km Tuesday night route with Chrissy. Good run but legs sore enough that I avoided the last climp up Royal Ave and took a slightly easier route through Ashby. Followed with 2800m in the pool which included a solid 1900m (half IM distance) swim. Felt great.
• March 6th- Northend with Jody. Nice day for a run downtown. 5.7 km easy pace
• March 7th- 4.35 km in 30mins on the TM. In my 100 runs notes i just wrote "yuck". Not a good run. Feeling pretty drained.
• March 8th- 5.5km. Graveyard and Crestdale Dr. A few hill repeats and a few sprints. With the doggies. Actually felt pretty strong today.
• March 9th- 5.2km in about 30 mins. Route 4 and onto Edgewater Drive. Started off feeling strong but got pretty slow and draggy on the way back. That drained feeling again. Are we seeing a pattern?
• March 9th- Decided to put one in the bank in case I miss a day while I'm in Calgary next week. 30 mins on the TM. Did some speed build ups and "sprints". Felt much better than earlier today. Maybe because the 6 beers and 4 hours sleep had sort of worn off? I may not be smart but at least I'm stupid.

Guided by Orion

Here's another recap of the past couple of weeks.

• Jan 29th- Double run day. No 1 was 5km on the dreadmill. No 2 was the regular 11km tempo tuesday route. Followed with a 2600m swim
• Jan 30th- 5km in 30 mins on Crestdale Dr. and Rt. 4. Snow, rain, ice etc. Nice and easy. Yesterday was tough.
• Jan 31st- 5.6km on TM at work. 2 sets of 3 x 5 mins increasing speed plus cooldown. Barefoot warm-up.
• Feb 1st- New Waterford big loop from school. 5.9km in 30-ish minutes. Cool and windy. Mind was like, "YES". Legs were like, "NO".
• Feb 2nd- 5km. Colder than I thought. -10-ish. Rt. 4. Easy pace. Big run tomorrow. With Duke and George. 3800m swim at the CGC this morning.
• Feb 3rd- Coxheath loop from home with P-Mac. Just under 2hrs for 21.4 km which is what I was hoping for. Snowy slippery conditions but perfect temp. Maximum beard ice.
• Feb 4th- 5km on Crestdale Drive with the dogs. Easy pace after yesterday. Beautiful conditions... for skating. Running into an icy headwind is its own reward... on the way home.
• Feb 5th- 11km. Tempo Tuesday route with P-Mac and Sarah. Slippery around town. Short swim afterward. Around 1500m. Was not feelin' it.
• Feb 6th- North End loop with Jody. 5.5 km. 1800m swim later in the night.
• Feb 7th- 4.8 km. TM at work. Some barefoot.
• Feb 8th- 5km in 32 mins. On the lake with the dogs and my cleats. Very slippery and slow but beautiful. Alien formations on the ice. Incredible and beautiful variation in ice conditions. Rippled surfaces, crusty snow, hills of ice and places so clear you can see through to the reeds below. Running on the lake has been a fantastic experience and has given me a new perspective on the place I live.
• Feb 9th- Blizzard day 1. 5.4 km. Crestdale Drive with Duke. Just plowed but slippery. 
• Feb 10th- Blizzard day 2. 8km. Rt. 4 to Coxheath Road and back. My apologies to the blizzard for having to endure me two days in a row.
• Feb 11th- 16km. This is the start of a 2 week taper to the LJJ. I'm a bit worried about the pain in my right ankle. I had a similar thing happen last year around this time. It seems to come with long runs and I really need to think about having it checked out. Home to Mountain Rd. and back with Duke. Beautiful sunny day. Felt great. A few pick-ups in the mix. Broke 300km in the 100 days challenge. 3000m swim too!
• Feb 12th- 7.3km. Northend loop from the pool. Reminded me of the annual Ski Ben Eoin slush bowl. 3200m swim.
• Feb 13th- 5.4km. Northend with Jody. The downtown slush bowl has become a skating rink! Super slow and easy.
• Feb 14th- 4.25km. Really slow and easy run. I really was not feeling like running today. My ankle is sore and I'm dead tired. I put it off until around 10 when I finally took the dogs and headed down Crestdale. Stunningly beautiful clear night. Parts of Crestdale are pitch black at night and the stars and a yellow crescent moon lit the way. 

A Haiku

A night of darkness

See Orion the hunter

And the two black dogs

Recipes

Links for future reference:

Super-awesome-granola-bars This whole site looks good.

Energy Bars

My fave recovery drink:

• 1 banana
• 1 large tablespoon of natural PB
• 4 ice cubes
• Top up mini blender with chocolate almond milk
• Blend until smooth

Regular chocolate milk or chocolate soy milk are just as tasty.

Stats and that eh.

Ok, I'll try to make this a weekly habit. I've had some great runs and some shit runs. A scary hint of an injury and a bit of a recovery. Haven't been in the water in almost two weeks. That must change asap. Here we go:

• Jan 17th - 4.4km 30mins on the treadmill at work. Some barefoot for strength.
• Jan 18th - 5km home from Mountainview
• Jan 19th - 4.7km in 30-ish minutes on frozen Blackett's Lake. Great run and so much fun for a change. I ran in hiking boots in a few inches of fresh snow so it was a hard effort for the slow pace. Nice to run with both dogs off leash.
• Jan 20th - Long run. 18km in 1:49. Home to Coxheath and back. Started off stiff and not feeling great. Ended up having a great run and a near perfect split. Duke kept me company and ensured that I looked slightly less crazy talking to a dog than I would talking to myself.
• Jan 21st - 4.2 km in 30 mins. Very easy on TM at work. Very stiff and sore from yesterday (2.5 hrs of snowboarding didn't help) but felt better toward the end. This is the start of a rest week so I will be putting in fewer kms.
• Jan 22nd - 6km in 35mins. Home to Blackett's Lake Bridge and back. Lots of snow on the sidewalk. Pretty slippery. -8 and very little wind. Avec chiens.
• Jan 23rd - 5.9km in 35mins. TM at work.
• Jan 24th - Had to take the day off with a terribly blown-out back. Had me worried that I wouldn't be able to continue with the challenge. I have said from the beginning that I will not risk an injury that would keep me out of the Long John Jaunt or any triathlon training just for the 100 in 100.
• Jan 25th - 10am- 4.8km in 30mins. TM at work. 10pm- 5km in 30 mins in the cold and wind. Had to make up the double. Back was better but still a question mark.
• Jan 26th - 4.2km in 30 mins on the Lake. Much harder to run on the lake today. Clumps of packed snow and very slippery patches of exposed ice made it tough and slow. Ran further up the the head of the lake as far as possible before turning around. I've only ever been up that far in a canoe. A very cool perspective. Hopefully I'll get a chance to go for a longer run and go right around the lake at some point. Took the dogs and was joined by Flop on the turnaround loop from the house to the Nun's.
• Jan 27th - 12km in 1:08. Around the lake to Cann's farm and back. Ran the first 4km with Jody and Cara at a nice comfortable pace and then picked it up for 8km at or above my hopeful race pace for the LJJ. We'll see bud.

Take... whatever...

This would not be the first blog to be abandoned by me. No, sir. However I'd like to see it through at least to IMMT if for no other reason than to be able to look back on how all the shit went down. A dull pencil is sometimes better than a sharp mind and I've been in the habit of jotting all my workouts down on a calendar. So, at the very least, here's a list of stuff since late December.

• Dec 23rd - 8-ish km run. 45 mins.
• Dec 24th - 5km run.
• Dec 26th - 11+km run to town from home. Boxing day din din at Mom's.
• Dec 29th - 3500m swim. Second Saturday at the Northside Pool with a pared down Crusties group. Two excellent workouts. Apparently I also ran 12km that day but I can't remember where. Oh yeah, 8 with Jody (her first 8) and then another 4 with Duke. I think this was the start of the build toward the Long John Jaunt training.
• Dec 31st - Happy New Year or whatever. 1:20 on the bike trainer avec Spinervals. Followed immediately with a 25 minute hilly run. Happy Brick Day everyone!
• January 1st - Resolution Run. 8.6 km. Day 1 of 100 runs in 100 days. I'm doing it but I'll quit as soon as I feel like I should.
• Jan 2nd - 5km +
• Jan 3rd - 5km on the treadmill. 35 mins.
• Jan 4th - 4.5 km. Treadmill. 30 mins.
• Jan 5th - 6km. Road. 35 mins.
• Jan 6th - ditto
• Jan 7th - 6.4 km. 42 mins. TM
• Jan 8th - 14+km. 1:17. Tuesday tempo run. 1500m swim.
• Jan 9th - 5.5km
• Jan 10th - 5.4 km. RR. 30 mins
• Jan 11th - 4.6 km.
• Jan 12th - 3500m swim. 5.3 km in Petersfield Park.
• Jan 13th - 16km. 1:35. With Duke. He managed 2 poops and 3 pees.
• Jan 14th - 5.4 km. 30 mins. RR.
• Jan 15th - 11.3 km. 59 mins including a 10km pb. Go figure. Julie C carried me up Hardwood Hill on her back. 3200m swim.
• Jan 16th - 5.25 km. 33 mins. RR- Northend loop with Jody.

Whew. This explains why I'm tired all the time.