Jordan Rapp is a SUPER STAR

I was in front of my computer screen a lot today seeing how one of my training mates was doing at Ironman Canada.  It was funny, Jordan just decided on Friday that he was going to do the race so he got a flight booked that morning and was on a plane for Penticton by 2PM that day.  I was all for him doing it as I think that he is an awesome athlete...very talented...some people disagreed with his decision BUT he ended up having a SOLID race and finishing 5th in his first Ironman.  I think that there is still lots that he could have improved upon in that race but considering he did not train for this race....AWESOME JORDAN!

Training this week has been going OK.  We are starting to get into the short prep style workouts as we are tapering.  WORLDS is in less than a week.  Half the team left today to Hamburg (the ones racing Saturday or earlier) and the mens elite team is leaving tomorrow.  Hopefully I get upgraded!  I still have not used any certificates this year...by help from lady luck and coach Joel giving up his seat one time for me.  Packing is almost done...if there is one thing in the world I hate, it is packing.

The last four nights I have been in the altitude tent...sleeping better than previous times in the tent thanks to AP letting me borrow his generator from AltitudeTech which is much quieter and easier to set up than the CAT's which I have been previously using.  Last time I was using the CAT's I was going way too high the first couple nights because it is near impossible to get it to stay where you need it while sleeping....you just set it to a number between 1-10 and hope that it is somewhere close to the altitude you need it to be.  AP's gernerator lets you set it to the exact altitude you need on the generator and it actually stays there all night long...no worries!  Tonight is my last night in the tent...I will be sleeping somewhere between 11,500 and 12,500ft.

This week we also saw one of our BAMF members temporarily leave us to go back to Ontario for a couple months.  Dano is going to be joining us back come January wherever we may be at that time.  I challenged Dano on his last workout to beat my big island non-wetsuit record.  I had the record from last year swimming it in 15:50.  Dano went 15:44 and earned himself a BAMF cap in his last workout....GOOD JOB DANO!  I still hold the wetsuit record for that loop from last year and the year is ending FAST!!!  Will anyone break it before year's end?

Speaking if BAMF caps...guess who just got one!?!?!?!  Thats right...I did!!!  I had a pretty solid run workout yesterday on Lochside doing some km repeats and some 400's.  By the end I had a BAMF cap in my hand...I was happy with that!

One last thing before I go to bed...I just added one more World Cup to the schedule three weeks after the Beijing World Cup.  I will be racing the Rhodes World Cup in Greece in the beginning of October.  Im excited to be going back to Europe for the third time this year...hopefully the fires there do not hop onto Rhodes Island.  I know that AP will be joining me on that trip to race the World Cup also.  Should be good.  I also took the Eilat World Cup off the schedule.  Going all the way to Isreal that late in the season does not make too much sense.  By that time I will be in my down time getting ready to start rocking the training come January.

Off to bed now to wake up early...get in a short swim and run...finish packing and then off to the airport and onto Hamburg!

Man this week has been tough...

Just finishing up the final prep stages for Worlds that are coming up in two weeks.  I have had an OK past couple weeks.  Training hard, getting dropped in some workouts but pushing it in others.  You also know that everyone is tired and a big race is coming up when there was almost a UFC fight in lake this week.  Lots of screaming, tempers high, adrenaline running lead too a solid second half of the swim.  Everyone was on like Donkey Kong.

This morning the group did 4x harder than hamish loops in the rain....well light rain...still got wet.  Everyone was running really well which means that I was running on my own at the back wishing that my legs could move faster to have someone to run with.  ICE in the ocean and then went out to Brunch with some of the boys.  Before I know it, it is time to get my swim stuff ready and head over to the lake for a afternoon session there....gotta get my stuff ready now.

Almost a month

So I was going to wait a month to update my blog...just thought that it sounded like a good number but I have been recieving death threats from my mom if I did not post something soon.  "IF I SEE REST DAY AND A SLUG ONE MORE TIME...." hahaha

So since the last post I have travelled to England, raced in the Salford World Cup, visited relatives in England, went back to Ontario for a bit to see my parents and I am now back in Victoria.  The plan was that the weekend after Salford I would be racing in our National Championships in Quebec.  I was going to drive there with my parents and they would be able to see me race live for the first time this year.  BUT I ended up with a sore shoulder the week before and had to make the decision to not go.  I was disappointed but not injuring my shoulder more before Worlds and the Beijing World Cup that are coming up in less than a month was my top priority.  But I am happy to say now that my shoulder is healing up nice and I am able to swim now...I was getting worried there a bit before hand not being able to swim for 8 days.

So far this week training has been going well.  I have got a solid workout in each sport this week so far.  This morning we have open water swimming which Dano is going to be picking me up soon for so this is it for now.