Bad news..sort of.

Well i'm sad to say that I won't be going to Ottawa over the holidays.  The college is shut down until the 2nd of January, so it's just not going to fit into the schedule. During March break, they will have full tours and such, so that may be a better option for my son to visit then.

Sooooooooo...that of course leaves me to do ..ummm..nuthin!  I'm not a "do nuthin" person.  Decisions, decisions.  Does anyone have a "warm" place that I can come and visit during the holidays.  Maybe train a little, drink a little..hee hee.  I'm still keeping my eyes peeled for deals on the net as they come up..hopefully something will come up soon.

Back at it..sort of.

This a.m. I went to masters after not being there since..gulp..October?? How did that happen, when did December hit us so quickly?  I was happy to see my friends though, even some new people are there now...sweet!  I only swam about 45mins, just enough.  In excitement of returning though I was up at 2:30, 3:30, 4:30 I finally said.."just get up"...i'm an early morning person for sure, but this is crazy..:-))

I learned that Sunday me and some friends will meet up here , to go mountain biking we'll probably also travel to Ojibway which also has trails.  Lots of fun, hopefully we won't have too much excitement like the last time we were there..:-))

Secret Santa..

I belong to an e-mail list that I have been off and on now for about 10 years or so.

One fun thing we do every year is exchange race t-shirts, along with other various triathlon goodies.

I have gotten some pretty neat things over the years.and some..well not so neat...like OLD stinky t-shirts.  It's not about the shirt, but the exchange part and the secret part..okay..and about the "goodies" part.  

This year I got the coolest person of all, I can't wait to send my secret goodies to this person.  I don't know if they read my blog or not, but I won't ruin the surprise.

I'll definitely post when I get my goodies..if I do..:-))

She did it!!!

Katie did it: 

She crossed the line, completely spent, in 11:15:08 (or there abouts) for a total race time of 32:48:20...or close too it!

 

She finished in daylight and already has her crocs on and is enjoying being able to sit down!!!

So I hope someone was at the finish yelling "Katie you are an Ultraman"...:-)  Way to go!!!

Ultraman

I was thinking of Katie Paulson yesterday, she's doing Ultraman.  I was especially thinking how someone can swim 6 miles..or let alone train for that.  I can't stand doing anymore than 2miles..sheesh..

've been getting a lot of updates on how she's doing.  This is an example of one of the updates: 

After 171.4mi on the bike, Katie rolled across the DAY 2 FINISH LINE in 10:03:19 (17.14mph).  16:55:39 / 21:33:12

 

She is placed 24th for the day, 3rd female.  She moved up 4 places today!

 

Combined bike time:  16:55:39  Total race time: 21:33:12

 

Katie thought today was easier than yesterday, so that should help going into tomorrow!

 

She is already in the massage tent, getting reworked for tomorrow!!  Then they will refuel her and get her relaxed and hopefully she will get a good night's sleep!!!

 

Tomorrow is STAGE 3:

 

Stage III - 52.4-mile (84 km) double-marathon run from Hawi to Kawaihae (Route 270), then on to Kailua-Kona (via Route 19) and finishing on the beach at the Old Airport State Park.

 

To give you some perspective.  Ironman Hawaii bike starts in Kona and heads out to Hawi (the turnaround) and back.   So Katie is going to run, YES RUN, the back half of the IM bike!!!

 

She is going to need every bit of good vibe that each of you have left for tomorrow...her legs will be tired, but hopefully her brain will be strong and her tenacity fierce!

I hope she does well and finishes strong..or JUST finishes..just amazing!

Four Christmas's

Last night I went and watched Four Christmases.    I thought it was a cute movie, and funny at times.  There were 3 women in front of us who obviously thought it was hilarious..I personally did not  find it "that" funny.  My son and his friend proceeded to entertain themselves the rest of the night making fun of these ladies and laughing hysterically outloud when they did..sigh..teenagers.  Oh well, I was laughing more at my son, then I did at the movie.  I won't go into many details about this movie, but I will say it had a happy ending and i'm all about "happy endings" right now!!

Three years in a row!

December 21st will mark the 3rd time i'm going to see the Trans Siberian Orchestra. It's very special as it's the weekend before my birthday and both my sons will be able to make it this year, I know it will be a spectacular time.

27 days till Christmas?? What??

First of all, Happy Thanksgiving to all my U.S. friends, may you enjoy your 4000 calorie dinner tonight..:-D

When did the holidays creep up so fast, wasn't it just July?? Hmmm..I must be dreaming.

So in an effort to avoid having to sit at home for a solid week during our shut down, I have a few choices.

My son has decided that come spring he will apply to the Aviation Management program at Algonquin College up in Pembroke. This is Ottawa..Canada, it's cold there..very cold. I thought it would be a good idea to have a private tour of the College and Ian could see if he really liked the campus and the program. BUT... I hate cold! I'm not sure I would be happy there. Soooo, that's one option.

Option two, I've been scowering these places on line. It's warm there, I like warm..:-)

Option three, stay at home, do nothing....boring..yawn yawn.

So this:

Or this:

Yahhhhhhh BABYYYYYYYYY

Triathlon Party

Now the season is over everyone is letting their wetsuits dryout, their bikes collect dust and the running shoes well..some people are still running..:-))

Last night I was invited to Geoff & Sarah's house for a triathlon party, a time to talk about the seasons past events and look to a bright and hopefull season for 2009. I was picked up by my friend Tim whom I haven't seen in a few months. It was great as then I didn't have to worry about drinking and driving. Yay a DD for me. We arrived and the party was getting started.

The invitation had said "no wetsuit required". Bill here (second from left), had forgotten that one little thing, as you can see the wetsuit around his neck. But......

As you can see, he had us all fooled..a QR wetsuit Dickie...LOL. He had us laughing pretty hard. It was hilarious.

Us triathletes are pretty friendly.

There was lots of food to be had, I just happened to be standing next to these meat balls...

Ralph (on the left) just finished the Clearwater 70.3 championships in a blazing time of 4:45 I think. On the right (Marko) finished IMCanada this year.

Who says triathletes don't drink too, I have proof...JELLO SHOTS!! Yay!!!!!!!

And here's Ralph being the tarbender for the night. Lets see...they made me a chocolate martini, which he stole and drank for me, but he was nice enough to make me another. Look at all those drinks..

Keith (on the left) is signed up for his VERY FIRST Ironman for next year. Of couse he picked probably one of the hardest out there..IMFrance..sigh. Then he'll do his second, IMCOZ in November.

Everyone was trying to steal Bills wetsuit dickie..how dare them!!

Now the next two pictures have something in common and it involves a certain Ironman race that we'll all be teaming up to do..wonder which one..hmmmm???????

Ralph and Doug, another speedy fast swimmer having a "moment"..awwwww Well I told some that we should take turns having a triathlon party every Saturday until we have to start training in January...I think everyone will agree to that!!

Today I'm off to a NEW spinning class with some of my buddies, should be fun I think.

What I needed!!

Thank you Andrew, THANK YOU!

Things I learned:

When you screw up and no one says anything anymore, that's a very bad place to be. When your critics stop telling you this, means they no longer care.

Brick walls are there for a reason, not to keep us out, but they prove to us how badly we want something.

There's a good way to say "I don't know".

"People vs. things".

Be a tigger, no an eyore

tell the truth, live with integrity

Say you're sorry

Show gratitude

Don't complain, just work harder!!!!!!!  "Play the game hard"!!!

If you live properly the dreams will come to you.

THE END

Ironman Cuba

Ironman Cuba History HERE

Most are not aware of this, but this weekend there will be two Ironman races run.  

One will have all the glitz and glam we've come to know.  

One will not.

One will have a safely lined swim course with buoys marking the way along with lots of volunteers in kayaks and music blaring and a helicopter buzzing overhead.

One will not.

One will have thousands of cheering fans, wetsuit strippers, bike courses adorned with a banquet after every 10 miles, everything you'll need.

One will not.

One will have a bike finish area. After safely getting off of your bike, you will be greeted with someone who carefully takes your bike for you and puts it in a safe place. Then you get all the volunteers help so you can quickly start your run in your pretty brand new running shoes.

One will not.

One will have lots of support and cheering fans lining the run course.  One will have fully stocked aid stations at every mile providing you with your every want out there.

One will not.

One will have a timing mat, a beautiful finish line, with full medical staff, a medal, new finishers hat/shirt and Mike Reilly yelling.."you are an Ironman".

One will not.

Good luck to my friend Raul Alcolea who will be competing in the weekends Ironman in Cuba.  Also good luck to those competing at Ironman Arizona.

May you both achieve your dreams!

KS and Winter

I refuse to be a recluse this winter, hiding under the covers until the spring thaw comes around.

 Also..gasp...not wanting to do annnything triathlon related for awhile, I had to come up with something new, something i've never tried before, something that requires skill, athleticism, agility, flexibility....hmmmm what could that be?

I'll give you my first hint:   (nooo, i'm not going to be a sock model)

Happy song..

Can you imagine?

Losing your brother at the age of 41 to cancer?

Can you imagine...

only to find out at the age of 39 that you too have this horrible disease.

Can you imagine...

travelling around the world in search of hope, a miracle, a cure

Can you imagine...

being told that there is no cure available

Can you imagine...

watching as they bring the hospital bed into your home so you can die in peace

Can you imagine...

comforting your family when they tell you you'll beat this and YOU being the one to tell them "no, i'm going to die, you need to deal with this".

Can you imagine...

leaving your two young children, 6 and 4 and your most loving caring and devoted wife to raise them alone for you?

Can you imagine...

being gone at such a young age of 41

Can you imagine...

God speed Eric, god speed...

Wishes...

Everyday at 10 and 3 the girls in my office head out for a coffee and a smoke. It's like clockwork, I never have to look at my watch as I know what time it is based on the daily ritual they have.

I don't mind smokers as long as the smoke NEVER blows my way. So while they're all out there smoking their brains out..wayyyyyy..on the other side of the building, I bring out my little can of air freshner...this month it's called "apple cinnamon". Why do I do this you ask? Well because when they come in from their lovely smoke..cough cough..they also drag in with them the smell of their..lovely smoke..cough cough.. I wish so badly that I worked in another office..sigh. Maybe I should be careful what I wish for eh?

In case you want to do Muskoka next year.

Yup winter is here..

These are the roads that my son and I had to deal with yesterday.  Yay for snow eh?

Ontario and Canada Baseball awards.

Tonight my son and I had the pleasure of being welcomed with an all expense paid trip to Toronto. The hotel is beautiful and the food has been wonderful.
The reason we came up was for the Ontario Baseball/Canada Baseball awards. This included awards for umpires as well.

Ian had been nominated for the "youth Umpire award".

So without further adeau, I'll let you watch this and then you'll see who won!

This is Steve Rogers, a hall of famer

Now apparently this fellow below is an actor who was in the movie "Tommy Boy". Not sure of his name, but Ian sure had fun talking with him. There were other hall of famers, Toronto dignataries, actors, writers from the Toronto Sun. I can't remember who else. It was a huge night for baseball Canada awards though.

A bike fitting today.

New position
New position.
Old position
Old position





Today in Toronto I had a bike fitting at Gears Bicycle shop that came highly recommended by my coach. It was worth every penny the fit felt amazingly different and I could feel power in my quads like never before. These guys took their time and were totally professional and I felt the paid a lot of attention to all the angles and fit. I just hope it gives me some much added speed in the new year.

Oh and I have some pretty new exciting news to tell...but that will have to wait, i'm off to the awards gala with my son in Toronto, we've been at a very nice hotel and have so far been enjoying ourselves. It has been nice to spend some alone time with him!

Trumpets..

My son who has been playing the trumpet for 2 years now came to me and said he's practicing the Batman theme.  Then he proceeded to tell me that his music teacher explained to him how the creator of the Batman theme was very clever using several trumpets to make it sound as though there were vocalists singing the word "Batman"...give it a listen.

Chrissie is a class act!

Chrissie Wellington is selling her bike on e-bay and will donate the proceeds to the Blazeman foundation for the war on ALS.

I have had the good fortune of being able to talk to Ryan Van Praet from my hometown of Chatham.  You can also see a more recent story of Ryan here.  We had hoped to meet in person this coming weekend for a local 5k Jingle Bells run.  I'll be in Toronto with my son, so it will have to wait for another time soon!  Ryan will be putting on a spin-a-thon to raise funds for ALS in the new year.  I will rally everyone I know to go there and help out, what fun that will be..:-)

X-Stretch

Today I did P90X stretch..no videos sorry..i'm sore and lazy..and umm sore..:-)

The stretching though was really really good and it also incorporates yoga poses. Not bad!

Now i'm off to watch Survivor...

P90X Day 3

I have to say that my butt still hurts from 2 nights ago. Obviously this is a part of my huge weakness in running.."weak core". Having weak glutes has been a huge contributor as well to my knee problems. I decided to do "core synergistics" last night. I love love this one. You really got a total body workout with this and the added cardio is a bonus. A lot of the exercises make you engage your core muscles. You really need to think about this as it's not the big core muscles you need to engage, but the little ones that you can't feel and yet they are and should be a big focus for runners..like me..:-)

P90X Day 2

Day 2 of P90X, my arms are a bit sore from yesterday.  I know tomorrow, they will be really sore from working my buttox...:-))

P90X..ouch!

I've decided to give P90X again this year.  My tri-training is done, but I need something to do right?  Tonight I broke out the back/arms DVD and got at it.

Sliding Doors

Last night I watched the movie "Sliding Doors"...an old movie that I have always loved and I was surprised to see it on.  It takes on the premise of what can happen when a simple difference occurs in your life. A happening, distraction, change or choice, if you will.  It was kind of an eye opener for me watching this.  I empathized with the character and know that putting your mind to anything and following through can make a huge life altering change sometimes.  Or, is it just one tiny little thing that just "happens" and from then on your life is altered, or changed forever?  Thought provoking for sure!

Stay Tuned Report

Not sure you all are aware of this, but I listen to The Stay Tuned Report, which can be downloaded at iTunes.  This week was special as I got a little mention..how cool!!!! Go there and give the show a listen, anything you need to know about the current tri world is there.

Also, Triboomer is running for best blog as well.  Follow the link below and lets see if we can get him pushed up to the top!

VOTE TRIBOOMER AS BEST BLOG OF 2008

Cut and Paste this Address into Your Browser: http://tinyurl.com/4zcus9

Sunday day off # 7

It's been one week since IMFLA has been over. What have I been doing? A big fat nothing!

I had a long talk with my coach yesterday. We spoke of my past season, races, nutrition, all kinds of things. We will plan out my next year training and races. He will have some exciting news coming up shortly for team LPC too. Can't wait.

As for the trail run I wanted to do today, well that was put on the back burner. Yesterday a.m. I went to my massage therapist and in doing so, we discovered all kinds of hot sore spots. Plus trying to run on uneven terrain and the pounding on my legs was not a good idea at this time.

Later for the trail running!

I have some exciting news to report for my oldest son though. He was nominated for the top Jr. Umpire in all of Ontario. Next weekend just my son and I will travel to Toronto for the weekend. All accomodations are being covered by the association, so wooopeee. There will be gala on Saturday night where the presentations will be made. I hope he wins, this will be a grand boost for his self esteem and plus he'll have fun travelling with just his mother..right?

I'm really trying to get in to see a bike fitter at Gears Bike Shop in Mississauga.

It's a good thing to do in the off season and plus i've not yet had one on my new bike. If I can't, there's always the upscale shopping at Eatons..woot!

Oh one other thing.

Everyman tri is holding a contest to see who has the best blog. Looks like Mr. Steven Stenzel is winning again this year...vote and vote often!